Quality Control

[HothHan]

Aug 13, 2024 9:01:08 GMT -5 Flair Forever said:

Quality Control is one of the reasons I always preferred to buy my figures In-Store..... so I could look over the paint apps & sometimes even spot joint-issues (usually at the ankle)....

However, it's getting harder and harder to buy them In-Store due to distribution, and with the new "Sustainable" packaging, you can't even see the feet on some lines.

If they ever move to window-less packaging, I don't think I'll buy them. I really hope that isn't a consideration.

I'm seeing a LOT of other style action figures with Window-less packaging appearing at Ollies..... I'm thinking that means people aren't buying action figures sight-unseen.

Frustrating.

Hasbro tried it with Black Series, Vintage Collection Deluxe and Marvel Legends and pivoted away from it within a year because of many people complained. 

[Gomez]

Frozen joints, heads that roll off and warped feet. I've seen it all.

Most are fixable. If a part is being stubborn, I drop the fig in hot water for a minute and it's good.

The worst though and it's not really fixable are the floppy chests. Ugh.

[CMW Toys]

Yup noticed it more and more. Alot of bad paint jobs. Frozen joints and most recent my ultimate undertaker with 2 right butterfly joints...

[Sting]

i was sifting through the reigns ultimate editions in smyths looking for one without botch jobs with the paint application and couldnt find a perfect one. i settled on one in the end, but i dont want this to be a common thing moving forward with mattel. its definitely been more of an issue lately.

[Chip]

Prices going up, Quality going down.

Thank you capitalism!!!

[nomorexclusives]

Lots of heads that dont fit the peg

[ImJoeGrizzlyBitch]

I only collect pre RA era, so I don’t buy much, but I’m pretty sure 90% of all the figures I have bought this year have had either loose ab crunch, loose hands, bobble heads, fd paint apps, messed up feet (hot water don’t help). Think that’s all I’ve dealt with so far. I’m going to start back making claims to Mattel and getting refunds on everything and if everybody starts doing that, they’ll eventually put a stop to cutting corners and have the stuff done right.

[Lorenzo Alcazar]

I’ve had a decent amount of glue related issues recently. Glue from hair pieces that’s dripped down onto the face, and random glue on other places of the body. I can usually get it off if it’s not over a painted area. But yeah, glue has been an issue for me recently. If it’s visible from in the box, I just return them.

[marino13]

My UE Sami had extra glue on his one forehead. But besides that, I've been getting lucky I suppose.

[ewilliams7237]

Just started collecting for the third time again. I have noticed a lot more of frozen legs and not rotating correctly. One of those firgires the leg peg ended up splitting in two.

I tried the heating method with a hair dryer. Is the boiling water a better method?

[PJ]

Aug 13, 2024 16:57:44 GMT -5 ewilliams7237 said:

Just started collecting for the third time again. I have noticed a lot more of frozen legs and not rotating correctly. One of those firgires the leg peg ended up splitting in two.

I tried the heating method with a hair dryer. Is the boiling water a better method?

I think the hair dryer is better than the boiling water.

[jfinnomore]

Aug 13, 2024 16:57:44 GMT -5 ewilliams7237 said:

Just started collecting for the third time again. I have noticed a lot more of frozen legs and not rotating correctly. One of those firgires the leg peg ended up splitting in two.

I tried the heating method with a hair dryer. Is the boiling water a better method?

I’ve only used boiling water and never had an issue with frozen joints. Think the water helps penetrate the joint, sucks we have to fix $23+ figures

[HardyKOfan01]

I ordered 3 of the brand new Elite 112 Seth Rollins, and only one of them is perfectly functional. The other two have two different articulation problems. One had his boots frozen right out of the box, and the other has an extremely stiff left leg (the kind of stiffness where you fear you might snap the leg joint when you try to move it…)

[warriorheart]

My Ultimate Goldberg has messed up arm joints. They don’t fit all the way in at the bicep to the shoulder. I noticed other people have posted him and he looks the same including the pic on Amazon. Tried heating them up and no dice. Thankfully you can kind of hide it if he’s holding up the belts over his head.

That’s probably my only one I noticed an issue with recently.

[attitudesback]

Yeah, most ultimates I’m buying have insanely loose heads, while the Elites are frozen stiff.

Really not great.

[shanieomaniac]

Aug 14, 2024 15:06:21 GMT -5 attitudesback said:

Yeah, most ultimates I’m buying have insanely loose heads, while the Elites are frozen stiff.

Really not great.

I have had the opposite problem

My UE Sami heads barely go on the figures. I'm terrified they'll snap the neck peg to the point that I've taken a dremel to some of them.

But Jamal and Rosey, you look at them funny and their heads pop off.

[Papi Joker]

Aug 13, 2024 19:06:57 GMT -5 jfinnomore said:

Aug 13, 2024 16:57:44 GMT -5 ewilliams7237 said:

Just started collecting for the third time again. I have noticed a lot more of frozen legs and not rotating correctly. One of those firgires the leg peg ended up splitting in two.

I tried the heating method with a hair dryer. Is the boiling water a better method?

I’ve only used boiling water and never had an issue with frozen joints. Think the water helps penetrate the joint, sucks we have to fix $23+ figures

Hot water is definetely the safest way and most efficient, also your wife/gf won't mind using it, also it is handy when parts are stuborn or you doing multiple parts, just leave them in the cup.

Hari Dryer can be risky and not to mention just noisy.

Most Americans never ever have a kettle so they find this method very weird, but at the factory this is how they assemble the plastic parts after hearting them up and keeping them in water.

For the opposite, I use KiKi solution (or mod podge) they use to do it in factory also but clearly they are not doing it as much.

[kgchampion]

Aug 13, 2024 19:06:57 GMT -5 jfinnomore said:

Aug 13, 2024 16:57:44 GMT -5 ewilliams7237 said:

Just started collecting for the third time again. I have noticed a lot more of frozen legs and not rotating correctly. One of those firgires the leg peg ended up splitting in two.

I tried the heating method with a hair dryer. Is the boiling water a better method?

I’ve only used boiling water and never had an issue with frozen joints. Think the water helps penetrate the joint, sucks we have to fix $23+ figures

With the current figures? Because I’ve done the boiling water on some of the recent figures, but the joints seize up again after a day. Maybe they’re not in the water long enough? I remove the pot from the heat and put the figures in for about 30 seconds because they soften up pretty fast.

[Nivro™]

Ordered a Bushwacker Doink figure a couple weeks ago and it came without one of thee Pearce BAF arms. Completely perfectly sealed. Its useless to bother asking about it. RSC isnt just gonna send a set of arms and all Mattel will do is give a voucher that RSC doesnt accept.

[jfinnomore]

Aug 14, 2024 19:06:16 GMT -5 kgchampion said:

Aug 13, 2024 19:06:57 GMT -5 jfinnomore said:

I’ve only used boiling water and never had an issue with frozen joints. Think the water helps penetrate the joint, sucks we have to fix $23+ figures

With the current figures? Because I’ve done the boiling water on some of the recent figures, but the joints seize up again after a day. Maybe they’re not in the water long enough? I remove the pot from the heat and put the figures in for about 30 seconds because they soften up pretty fast.

Yeah every seized figure I’ve ever had from Mattel I’ve fixed with boiling water. 20 seconds, try it, don’t force it, doesn’t go back in the drink and repeat the process.