TMNT Classics Collection Wave 3

[rickwj324]

Originally Posted by Powder

Ditto. I wasn't truly happy with them when they were first revealed, but the paint detail sorta made up for the semi-goofy faces. I was counting them as a must-have set of toys despite their flaws. But now? I'm so disgusted with Playmates there are no words that could truly express it. Guess the Revoltech Nick Turtles will be my only action figure purchase this year (well, I do still need that vac-metal Fugitoid... ).

Powder, I'm sure you already know but you can buy that vac-metal Fugitoid direct from Mirage for $20 shipped, signed by Peter Laird and with a FCBD TMNT Volume One #1 reprint.

Link: http://www.miragelicensing.com/paypal/fugitoid.html

[DonatelloFan1984]

I am starting to think that they are just pulling things out of thin air. Is anyone even a fan of the series that works at playmates? Are they even taking fan input into consideration? You would think that since these are geared towards us they would want them to reflect how a majority of the collectors would want them to look. At least if anything to maximize profits on their end. These go to show that playmates have zero care about the franchise or fan base. It would honestly take 10 minutes a day to jump on here and make corrections as they see our reactions. I am extremely disappointed.

[Zulithe]

I thought leo looked like the best of the 4 in earlier promo pics... now i'm not sure.

I love how playmates is almost playing games with us at this point "buy these movie turtles cause if they sell poor you'll never get shredder or any other characters, whahahah!"

Well, I'm not playing along. They'll be lucky if I even buy one of the four, and right now I may not even do that.

if you're going to do an adult collector line, please try to actually CATER to adult collectors and listen to the feedback being given.

Japan save us!

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Originally Posted by tmntmikey23

No no You Mean Dear lord, it just keeps getting better and better... i only believe in one Lord. back on topic

Seroisly, are we really having a religious debate?

[VaughnMichael]

I think the big issue here stems from the fact that someone is not hand sculpting this series.
The original toy line looked so fantastic because it was all done by hand.
Now everything is rendered by a computer and so much is lost because of it.
Playmates really needs to figure out how to play with the big boys or go home.

[Powder]

Originally Posted by rickwj324

Powder, I'm sure you already know but you can buy that vac-metal Fugitoid direct from Mirage for $20 shipped, signed by Peter Laird and with a FCBD TMNT Volume One #1 reprint.

Link: http://www.miragelicensing.com/paypal/fugitoid.html

I did know, yeah, but I appreciate that just the same!

Originally Posted by DonatelloFan1984

At least if anything to maximize profits on their end. These go to show that playmates have zero care about the franchise or fan base. It would honestly take 10 minutes a day to jump on here and make corrections as they see our reactions. I am extremely disappointed.

Yeah, they would definitely get more dough if they -get this- made accurate toys. Wild idea, huh? You're right, it would take so little effort to fix these (and other) sculpts. Checking in with a forum with 1000's of potential customers would be a great move on their part, but the very LEAST they could do is Google the friggin' designs and make their toys reflect them. Christ.

Originally Posted by Zulithe

I thought leo looked like the best of the 4 in earlier promo pics... now i'm not sure.

I love how playmates is almost playing games with us at this point "buy these movie turtles cause if they sell poor you'll never get shredder or any other characters, whahahah!"

Well, I'm not playing along. They'll be lucky if I even buy one of the four, and right now I may not even do that.

if you're going to do an adult collector line, please try to actually CATER to adult collectors and listen to the feedback being given.

Japan save us!

Agreed.

& I'm not biting either. But it's an absolutely terrible shame that they think people not buying toys because they SUCK means there's no demand for GOOD ones.

Originally Posted by VaughnMichael

I think the big issue here stems from the fact that someone is not hand sculpting this series.
The original toy line looked so fantastic because it was all done by hand.
Now everything is rendered by a computer and so much is lost because of it.
Playmates really needs to figure out how to play with the big boys or go home.

I know that you're saying there's a special touch to doing things by hand, and to some extent you're right, but a GOOD graphic designer can do amazing things. That's the problem though, their guys are subpar at best. If they hired folks like Plasticplayhouse to do specific turtles, maaaaan, the dough they'd make...

[DonatelloFan1984]

What makes this worse to me is back in the 80's and 90's the designs were a ton better. They weren't always perfect but a hell of a lot better than they are today. As powder said playmates has instant access to thousands of potential buyers all in one place that can be reached with little effort. Wasn't that way back in the 80's and 90's. When did the bottom fall out on this? There are plenty of other companies who don't mess things up this bad. Hell I would even pay 5 to 10 dollars more a figure in the tmnt classics line to get the quality and designs that the MOTU classics are getting.

[Zulithe]

I'm pretty happy with my wave 1 Classic turtles. the heads are way more pleasing to look at.

So glad i managed to get 2 of each while they were still around. I wonder if they will even be making them anymore now that these movie versions are coming?

If not it's a real shame.

[Raptor86]

No skin texture at all! That's lame...

[DonatelloFan1984]

BBTS has them on preorder again for a July release. I am snagging one more set just to have them. I don't think after this release that there will be anymore. Especially with the movie ones on their way.

[Kingoji]

Y'know, I don't think these are quite as terrible as my initial reaction convinced me they were. The head sculpts are actually pretty accurate to the first movie, especially Mike, but the paint apps (or lack thereof) lets them down terribly. I could probably get past the lack of freckles if only they weren't so bright-eyed.

[tmntmikey23]

Originally Posted by whatswiththeheadbands?

Seroisly, are we really having a religious debate?

no it was a joke it was not meant to offend anyone just being funny and back to topic now

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Originally Posted by tmntmikey23

no it was a joke it was not meant to offend anyone just being funny and back to topic now

Oh. Ok then

[Discogod]

Originally Posted by VaughnMichael

I think the big issue here stems from the fact that someone is not hand sculpting this series.
The original toy line looked so fantastic because it was all done by hand.
Now everything is rendered by a computer and so much is lost because of it.
Playmates really needs to figure out how to play with the big boys or go home.

Yeah, I don't think that's fair - for example, look at the Star Wars Black figures. They're digitally sculpted, and the detail's light years ahead of the TMNT line.

I'd like to know who "sculpted" these figures. Dave Cortes, one of the best toy artists/sculptors in the business, did the first series of Classics, and if he did the movie figures they're well below his usual level. Then again, maybe the smooth, featureless look was mandated by Playmates, or Nickleodeon. It's unlikely we'll ever know...

[tmntmikey23]

Originally Posted by whatswiththeheadbands?

Oh. Ok then

yea and i plan of maybe geting the mikey movie classic just because

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by VaughnMichael

I think the big issue here stems from the fact that someone is not hand sculpting this series.
The original toy line looked so fantastic because it was all done by hand.
Now everything is rendered by a computer and so much is lost because of it.
Playmates really needs to figure out how to play with the big boys or go home.

less the medium and more the artists that are to blame here.

Working with a 3D modeling program gives you unlimited "materials" and easy sculpting tools. I'm mostly proficient in 3D Studio Max, and it's a superb modeling program, but. Zbrush is absolutely amazing for sculpting work as it simulates clay sculpting, and with equipment such as a 3D mouse for better modeling, there is no excuse for these poor sculpts, except laziness or Playmates mandating simplicity.

[Agent 86]

@ HGG - Thanks for the link to the actoys board.

I like the production versions of Mike and Don more than the prototypes, but I'm still not a fan of Leo and Raph. As others have mentioned, it's a shame that Playmates made no visible attempt to replicate the sculpted and painted details on the "skin" of the original figures.

I can't see myself buying these, even though Playmates have indicated that if these don't sell well enough, then we won't see any other characters. It's a real shame that this line has been so poorly handled by Playmates. I understand that sculpting and producing figures for the new movie probably monopolised a lot of their resources, but surely they could have released more and improved figures with a bit more effort.

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

Originally Posted by Agent 86

I understand that sculpting and producing figures for the new movie probably monopolised a lot of their resources, but surely they could have released more and improved figures with a bit more effort.

see im not sure i can just forgive playmates like that

they had the nick line, vintage remake line and classics, and the first wave of classics came out decent...even bebop and rocksteady though not show accurate looks good

i mean this is meant to be a collectors line no? yet its the same effort as the nick line aimed at kids

Bandai has the same thing going on with power rangers..the legacy line meant for Adults and you can tell...sure they arnt perfect but you can tell more effort is put in than the standard kids line



now i admit i will be buying these..id rather own these than the crappier 2014 movie figures

[turtlefanforever]

Theres so much ridiculously good stuff coming out, it hurts my wallet

[Wretched Reptile]

Originally Posted by Zulithe

I thought leo looked like the best of the 4 in earlier promo pics... now i'm not sure.

I love how playmates is almost playing games with us at this point "buy these movie turtles cause if they sell poor you'll never get shredder or any other characters, whahahah!"

Well, I'm not playing along. They'll be lucky if I even buy one of the four, and right now I may not even do that.

if you're going to do an adult collector line, please try to actually CATER to adult collectors and listen to the feedback being given.

Japan save us!

Originally Posted by Powder

Agreed.

& I'm not biting either. But it's an absolutely terrible shame that they think people not buying toys because they SUCK means there's no demand for GOOD ones.

Well said guys. The way to truly show we're not gonna swallow a sub-par product is to speak with our wallet.

I passed on Bebop and Rocksteady myself for very similar reasons. They just weren't up to the standards of the 4 turtles that preceded them. Missing paint apps is fine on the Nick line - I don't like it, but the same thing happened back on the OT line as well on some figures (General Traag's back, virtually Rat King's whole body and so on and so forth), so I'm not gonna bemoan it. It's the massive sell-through line produced in gigantic numbers to meet huge demand - I get it. But a higher-priced COLLECTOR'S line aimed strictly at older fans of the franchise? Yeah, not acceptable. My enthusiasm also dipped for Bebop and Rocksteady when I saw how horribly out of scale they are with the turtles, too. Not just the HEIGHT either, but the sheer MASS of the turtles comparatively - they're freaking HUGE next to Bebop and Rocksteady. So yeah, I won't fuss over a Shredder likely not happening, because chances are he'd be shorter AND smaller in proportion to the turtles as well, which would look super silly.

It's an absolute shame these movie turtles aren't even CLOSE to the standards of the Movie Star releases from over 20 years ago. I get that standards on toys (like most everything else) have dipped even more in the recent economic slump due to rising production costs on materials and the like, but again, certain standards should still be airtight on a line aimed at collectors who are already being asked to pay a premium price for a supposedly superior product. When I buy a Nick figure I like at roughly $10, it still feels right. $20-25 for these is just a joke. They don't even resemble the likenesses of the 1990 movie turtles well enough to warrant a buy at HALF that price. So not to be a complete stick in the mud, but if this is indeed the direction that Playmates wishes to continue taking with their "high end" collector line like Classics, then please, just let it die and perhaps come back when the time is right and someone with the proper vision is overseeing the decisions being made.

I still salivate at just what NECA could have done with the 1990 movie turtles. Admittedly, NECA themselves have suffered the wounds of QC standards and so forth dipping in the economic fallout, but we still would've been granted a more worthy product than these horribly phoned-in movie turtle figures.