Wal-Mart and McFarlane???

[HydraSpawn]

I never understood why people dislike wal-mart except for the fact that there are never enough cashiers when you need them and there stocking procedures are meh.


http://www.action-figure.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22567


But why do people "Hate" McFarlane? Lack of articulation, I got, spotchy paintjobs, I understand, poor product quality (when you take it out of the package) check.


Now without being overly NEGATIVE please post your responses.

[Liquid Identity]

Well I'd say lack of articulation, spotchy paintjobs, and poor quality are enough reasons to turn off many people. Then there's the lack of hot licenses, they're fragile, lack of accessories, small sizes lately...

There are lots of reasons to not pick up a McF. But every once in a while they make a real nice fig and if you can find a good paint app, they're smokin'!
The thing is other companies are making cooler stuff that collectors want. So yeah...
I wouldn't be surprised if this thread gets the axe.

[Gavrilo Princip]

In short, because after the company started to hit it's peak, they started back-tracking and lowering the bar on composition right after they had just raised it to new heights. From 1994 to 2003 the stuff was just getting exponentially better, and then from 2004 on it just started going steadily downhill to the point where we are now.

In two words:


Squandered potential.


--Gav

[avcprime]

honestly if mcfarlane makes a good sculpt it makes up for not having articulation. I don't pose my figures alot and I don't play with them.

[BloodPig]

honestly if mcfarlane makes a good sculpt it makes up for not having articulation. I don't pose my figures alot and I don't play with them.

I couldn't agree more. I've always felt that most of Mcfarlane toys are just AFFORDABLE mini-staues. The more articulation points= the more chances it will break there..

[Liquid Identity]

Poses keep things fresh for me. Without that, I tend to get bored of them quickly. But that's also why I rotate my display shelves with things from storage.
Some people like statues... I like variety.

Hence Gabranth. And Kratos. And all sorts of non-McF stull that is still on display, but in changed up poses. Their shelf live will easily outlive any McF product of late.

[deogg]

Well I'd say lack of articulation, spotchy paintjobs, and poor quality are enough reasons to turn off many people. Then there's the lack of hot licenses, they're fragile, lack of accessories, small sizes lately...

There are lots of reasons to not pick up a McF. But every once in a while they make a real nice fig and if you can find a good paint app, they're smokin'!
The thing is other companies are making cooler stuff that collectors want. So yeah...
I wouldn't be surprised if this thread gets the axe.

The parts in bold I couldn't possibly agree with you more.
-Lack of articulation: I want figures, NOT mini-statues. The Halo figs are definitely a step in the right direction in that respect.
-Poor Quality/Fragile: With how many times I've had a figure break straight out of the package, they should come with a bottle of super glue as an accessory. We're not using a jackhammer to get these figures out. There's no reason for figs to be busted straight out of the pacakge as often as they do.
-Lack of hot licenses: There's no other way of saying it, but as a whole, Todd is flat out getting his tail kicked in this area. World of Warcraft. Gears of War. Castlevania. AVP:R. Harry Potter. I would LOVE to personally meet the person that supplied the crack to the person that told Todd, "Nah, World of Warcraft won't sell well. Hey, let's do LOST figures instead." Granted, snagging Halo was huge, but in all honesty, one big hit doesn't make up for the string of messups. And, I think the window of opportunity to REALLY make a killing off Halo has passed. Those really should have come out closer to Halo 3's release date.

And Hydra, I don't think "hating" is the proper word for it. I think the better term is wanting to ask Todd "What are you thinking, man????"

I too wouldn't be surprised if this thread gets axed. And honestly, as long as it stays on the side of constructive criticism and steers very clear of "OMG TMP Ur the suxxors" it'd really be a shame if it does.

[frankiev951]

all ive ever seen is the sports ones at wal mart.did see the robot 2 packs on wal mart's website but lagged on ordering them so im sure theyre gone.if anybody has a good deal on them pm me.

[jt4470]

They don't have N's Player Select for one...
Halo alone doesn't cut it.

[GreenOcean]

I'm in a minority because I don't care about articulation, and in fact I prefer not to have them. I'm very happy with the statue-liked figures. I just put them on shelves and that's it. On the other hand I always have problem with figures with lots of articulation. They are difficult to stand, joints are easily break, and over time joints got so loosen that mere gravity make them turned.

I also don't care about license. I'm more attracted to dragons/fantasy stuffs than to any films.

But I would agree that mcfarlane has a not so good quality control. Having bought almost a hundred mcfarlane figures in 8 months (quite new in collecting), a dozen of them have issues. Then I knew it took more than money and good shelves in this hobby, but also superglue, paint, brush, putty, small pieces of metal, clear rubber band, and art skill.

[Spawnomite]

Me hate McFarlane. No...

[GIOSplat]

I read that Halo article two days ago. It was odd to read that "so many people hate McFarlane." I think when Todd releases a series of figures, they are hit or miss. And most of the time, my problem with McFarlane has to do with the logic as far as how/when they release the figures and advertise them.

[Starfig]

I just get annoyed at certain things, fragility being a big one. And I've had enough troubles with the dragons wings fitting, or a figure snapping, just stuff like that...really can get annoying...yet I keep buyin'.

I guess if I do have a problem, it's with the 'attitude' that the company seems to have lately.

[Karnis]

I don't hate McF at all. In fact, they are my fav collectible company. But I do find their QC to be unreliable.
And it really bugs me that their core character...Spawn....seems to be getting the short end of the stick recently. I realize that Spawn is not their core SALES anymore, but I mean, c'mon. Series 31 Other Worlds seemed to have marked the end of an era of truly inspired figs. The Happy Meal Spawns for the most part werent well received...even though I have 3 of them...& the upcoming series 33 & 34 IMHO are quite lackluster.

[Peter Hoffman]

That article is absolutely ridiculous.

He's critisizing a line for not being in 6" scale when it was never even advertised as such.

action-figure.com is a joke of a website.

[JayDouble]

That article is absolutely ridiculous.

He's critisizing a line for not being in 6" scale when it was never even advertised as such.

action-figure.com is a joke of a website.

Actually it is advertised as 6" scale. What people forget is Spartans are 5" and Brutes are over 6".

[Tyler J]

Actually it is advertised as 6" scale. What people forget is Spartans are 5" and Brutes are over 6".

HUH? Here is our FIRST official announcement.
http://www.spawn.com/news/news2.aspx?id=13143
and the text
"MASTER CHIEF -- The protagonist of the Halo series stands at 5 inches tall,"

As far as I am aware, we made sure to be clear about the scale in our advertising and official announcements.

[Karnis]

McF Halo series 1 web page (http://www.spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=3376)

MASTER CHIEF
HALO 3 SERIES 1


Paint: original paint
Scale: 6-inch
Format: action figure
Packaging: clamshell

"The protagonist of the Halo series stands at 5 inches tall, and has more than 18 points of articulation. Equipped with his trademark assault rifle, Master Chief's mission is to protect Earth against the Covenant, an alien empire threatening the world in the 26th century. Biological and cybernetic enhancements and rigorous military training have resulted in Master Chief's unquestioned status as the finest soldier mankind has ever produced."

Maybe the left hand should introduce itself to the right hand on occasion. ;)

[Tyler J]

McF Halo series 1 web page (http://www.spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=3376)

MASTER CHIEF
HALO 3 SERIES 1


Paint: original paint
Scale: 6-inch
Format: action figure
Packaging: clamshell

"The protagonist of the Halo series stands at 5 inches tall, and has more than 18 points of articulation. Equipped with his trademark assault rifle, Master Chief's mission is to protect Earth against the Covenant, an alien empire threatening the world in the 26th century. Biological and cybernetic enhancements and rigorous military training have resulted in Master Chief's unquestioned status as the finest soldier mankind has ever produced."

Maybe the left hand should introduce itself to the right hand on occasion. ;)

We have met already, thank you. ;)
That is actually a technical issue with our toy database. If you look around at some of the box sets in other assortments, we have to tweak that info, and it is not necessarily the right scale.

But that to me isn't "advertising" that is spec information, and for the most part- is the only place that info exists.

[Karnis]

It may not be to you, however, many people use those web pages to find out info on your figures, and as such, should be accurate.
Just my 2 cents.

[Tyler J]

It may not be to you, however, many people use those web pages to find out info on your figures, and as such, should be accurate.
Just my 2 cents.

I don't disagree with your point. But, as you stated above, it is mostly used as reference and not so much as advertising-which is what I was trying to get across.

Just for you- we are working on getting that little technical glitch fixed so that it is accurate. But I make no promises.

[Karnis]

Understood. Thanks...I feel special. ;)

[Hempy]

Once you open them to notice big flaws which you did not see sealed it is to late to return.