Super 7 Turtle figures shown at Power Con

[Y2Josh]

Originally Posted by teemu

Leatherhead is far from being the worse in the line (Aka metalhead, Samurai Leo, April, Gecko etc. all down the bottom of the list for me)

I think Leatherhead represents what he is supposed to represent, an upgraded toy from the original. As far as his stance, he stands fine for me. He stands on my shelf fine and has not leaned forward. Though, it is also about how you pose your figures.

Any extra paint on him is really discretional to the collector, but he looks great with all the others. As far as what we pay for these, It's all over-priced folks.

I don't think he's THE worst, but the fact that he can barely stand up really drives him down the list for me. And I do understand that some Leatherheads stand better than others, but he's my only Super7 figure where I HAVE to use a stand because he just topples forward no matter what I do. I put some polish on the hip joints to see if that helps, but he's SO front/top heavy, I don't know how much it's going to help. The waist... I'm not even sure how to fix, but it doesn't bug me that much, because it naturally swivels forward, which is basically where I'd want him anyway.

The paint is definitely discretionary, but I just don't think he looks good standing next to most of the other figures. Set him next to April, Casey or Shredder and he's the standout. Set him next to any other figure (except perhaps the other Wave 5 and 6 figures I don't own) and he looks like he's in the wrong line.

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

I appreciate the critique, Y2Josh. I think light weight plastic and balance problems plague both Super7 and Neca lines but it stands out more with the bigger S7 sculpts, especially when considering most vintage Playmates figs had great balance even with some awkward foot stances. Paint chipping plagues many new Neca figs and its too bad S7 has issues as well. It suddenly makes the old Playmates figs feel like great bargains from a by-gone era!

Paint chipping at the joints is a real problem with NECA, but I haven't personally experienced any balance issues. I do know people have reported problems with the Triceratons, but I never displayed those (I'd aged out of the cartoon by that point), so I can't speak to them. The only other NECA figure I've had a balance issue with is one of the Ultimate Foot Soldiers, and that came down to that toe joint getting loose over time.

And I don't know if you were saying it as a joke or not, but the old Playmates figures, while certainly not "collectible" quality (which I don't even think existed back then), were great for what they were. I know this is definitely colored by nostalgia, but even looking back at them, they (mostly) feel like great value for only $4.

Originally Posted by staypuftweepel

I think you made a lot of good points. I pulled mine out of the box already, but haven’t given him a good look over yet (I’m always slow with my reviews). Mine stands up straight ok, but for the people that want him to lean forward like the original, that just isn’t going to happen. I agree with you that A heavier tail would have worked really for this problem. My teeth were scuffed pretty bad and the paint wore down on the front two teeth. From what I remember the pants were a bit of a distraction for me because different parts of the legs are molded in slightly different blues. It seems very noticeable. I think the lower torso vinyl cover is also a little goofy. I think it slides around too much. The way I can forgive the belt items being unpainted and just shiny red plastic is by pretending they’re fishing lures. The plastic on bebop’s snout was such a great idea back in wave 2. Glow in the dark Muckman even had a plastic bag around joe eyeball to protect him while he sat in the muck pack.

The one thing I really liked was how flush the lower jaw connects to the head and how it looks when you open the mouth. Neca can sometimes be weird with the open mouths.

I actually just got done watching your GitD Muckman review and wondered if your comment when you were unpacking Joe Eyeball was a subtle little jab at how bafflingly they packaged Leatherhead. On mine, there's a giant streak of paint on the window, and big chunks subsequently missing from his two front teeth. Just turning his head to the side in the package would have helped this, plus they really could have reduced the size of the box at that point as well.

The only thing I really noticed with the pants was the leg with the exposed knee. The joint is the same green plastic as the body, which is fine, but looking at it from the back, it's still green and looks pretty bad because it should be the color of the pants. I will say this doesn't really bug me, though, because you're never going to see him from that angle in my setup.

The jaw actually bothered me because of how obviously "a different piece" it is. I don't know what the solution there would be, and it's something that's definitely a nitpick more than actively detracting from my enjoyment of the figure. I do get what you're saying about it being flush, but I think I personally prefer the way NECA (usually) does a good job of masking the attachment points there. Like how it's nested into the upper jaw instead of wrapping the whole way around the head, if that makes sense.

[teemu]

Originally Posted by Y2Josh

Set him next to any other figure (except perhaps the other Wave 5 and 6 figures I don't own) and he looks like he's in the wrong line.

But then you could say that for the original figure and say he doesn't fit either. I think Leatherhead looks just fine with all the others.

[mikey see]

I agree that Leatherhead is lacking in the paint department. In fact, when the first in-hand photos of him came out I commented that he looked way too plain and "toy-like" compared to other figures in the line. Once I got mine I saw that he does actually have a slight bit of shading on the green but it's nowhere near the level that it could be compared to other figures. It's just a big hunk of shiny green plastic. Yet another example of Super7 inconsistency and amateurish-ness.

Mine does stand pretty well though actually, and I did not have any paint rub or slop. That almost makes it worse, as you can't ever know what you're going to get with these figures since some are perfectly fine and some are hot messes.

[jestergoblin]

Originally Posted by Y2Josh

To the paint, or lack thereof, in a lot of ways, he's very similar to the original Playmates figures where the hyper detailed sculpts ended up getting lost in the minimal paint applications. Here again, this is far more forgivable on a $4 figure than it is on a $55 figure. It just comes across lazy here.

Leatherhead has almost no paint on him, and it makes him look incredibly cheap. In the few spots where there IS paint, it's applied poorly, especially at the teeth and the soles of the boots. The paint from the teeth bleeds all over the gums and onto the mandible in some spots, and the paint on the soles extends up well on to the boot itself. His body desperately needs a light wash, as he just looks like cheap green plastic and sticks out badly against figures like Rocksteady, Slash, Muckman or even Bebop, Splinter and Mondo Gecko. The vest and pants look similarly cheap, though the pants come out a bit better just because they do have SOME detail. The belt actually feels completely out of place because it actually is painted, but even there, it feels like it needs something to make it pop. Similarly, the accessories are all over the place. His shotgun is painted, but the crawfish, turtle and... saffron? I think?... are just molded plastic. They look pretty bad on their own, but clipped to Leatherhead's belt, they just look dumb. Overall, the paint application is quite disappointing.

Wait - your Leatherhead is missing a wash and dry brushing? Mine's got a wash on all the scales (arms, tail, torso and head - everywhere but his exposed knee) plus his entire vest has a drybrushing on it as well.

[staypuftweepel]

Originally Posted by Y2Josh

I actually just got done watching your GitD Muckman review and wondered if your comment when you were unpacking Joe Eyeball was a subtle little jab at how bafflingly they packaged Leatherhead.

Haha, yep. Mine is just like yours. Long yellow streaks on the window too.

[mikey0]

Designer-Con Super7 Booth Images (Images 4, 15, 17, and 29): https://toynewsi.com/345-45164

[Dask]

Y'all are trippin'. Leatherhead is one of the best S7 figures ever made.

Hefty hunk of plastic that has the right amount of wash. I do think the lack of matte is okay in some areas, because as you know...he's an alligator and alligators tend to be wet and shiny. No sloppy paint execution on my Leatherhead.

He also stands upright, at least my version does.

Yes, some of his lobsters are steam-boiled red, but I don't really look for those things when I get a figure (Surfer Mike's crabs have the same issue, apparently).

[Dask]

Originally Posted by Y2Josh

Paint chipping at the joints is a real problem with NECA, but I haven't personally experienced any balance issues.

Krang's android body plunged two stories down his diorama. So, I permanently glued his base to his body. Drastic measures. All the Aprils and Vernons tend to lose balance as well (so they are leaning against the street scene diorama).

Likewise, 4 out of my 5 goons have serious balance issues and I purchased Kaiser stands for them. That's an additional $25 worth of hidden cost. General Traag and Granitor are also top heavy like Krang, and I purchased Kaiser stands for them (another $12 investment).

The frogs, Slash, Neutrinos and some of the movie turtles also have some minor balance issues.

As of now, none of my Super7 figures have balance issues except Grune [edit - Rocksteady too]

[Dask]

Originally Posted by jestergoblin

Wait - your Leatherhead is missing a wash and dry brushing? Mine's got a wash on all the scales (arms, tail, torso and head - everywhere but his exposed knee) plus his entire vest has a drybrushing on it as well.

Same. I don't seem to have any painting mishaps on mine. According to Pixel Dan, Leatherhead is "almost perfect."

Having said this, I think Super7 has to figure out if they want to make their figures "toyetic" or "upscaled" as they are wavering between the two and it is creating an inconsistent look. I am fine either way, but folks might not be so forgiving as it may not align with their expectations. Occasionally, they go for both looks in the same figure, upscaling the details but leaving the accessories unpainted as some sort of legacy homage to the vintage. I kind of get what they're doing but it may trigger an OCD itch amongst some subsets of collectors.

[Dask]

Originally Posted by teemu

Leatherhead is far from being the worse in the line (Aka metalhead, Samurai Leo, April, Gecko etc. all down the bottom of the list for me)

I think Leatherhead represents what he is supposed to represent, an upgraded toy from the original. As far as his stance, he stands fine for me. He stands on my shelf fine and has not leaned forward. Though, it is also about how you pose your figures.

Any extra paint on him is really discretional to the collector, but he looks great with all the others. As far as what we pay for these, It's all over-priced folks.

Perhaps, some people were expecting "Hunter Crocker" more so than a proper update to Leatherhead.

I do think Metalhead, April, Gecko are more underwhelming by a large margin. I quite like the Samurai Leo, but the joints were a pain, even with the heating precautions. While his joints are somewhat loose (and tight in other places like the head and wrists), my Samurai Leo seems to balance rather well. It's a faithful update, in my opinion. His alternate samurai head/mask is truly next-level and would love to see the other TMNT brothers to follow suit with similar samurai theme (hopefully, they can top off the line with Usagi and Panda Khan). There were some complaints about the metallics being less subdued but I see it as less gaudy, if that makes sense.

While I agree with your assessment, I would personally replace Samurai Leo with Undercover Raph, as that figure is lackluster in all regards.

[Meow]

Originally Posted by Dask

Having said this, I think Super7 has to figure out if they want to make their figures "toyetic" or "upscaled" as they are wavering between the two and it is creating an inconsistent look. I am fine either way, but folks might not be so forgiving as it may not align with their expectations. Occasionally, they go for both looks in the same figure, upscaling the details but leaving the accessories unpainted as some sort of legacy homage to the vintage. I kind of get what they're doing but it may trigger an OCD itch amongst some subsets of collectors.

You mean - using usagi as an example - that it's either "looks like the better, larger, more detailed version of the playmates figure" or "looks like in the fred wolf cartoon" or "looks like a mix of better, larger, more detailed PM figure and FW cartoon version" or something different?

[Dask]

Originally Posted by Meow

You mean - using usagi as an example - that it's either "looks like the better, larger, more detailed version of the playmates figure" or "looks like in the fred wolf cartoon" or "looks like a mix of better, larger, more detailed PM figure and FW cartoon version" or something different?

Not so much. Super7 generally doesn't make figures that are inspired by the FW cartoon version, except when they upscale the vintage figures that were more closely aligned with FW (e.g. Scumbug). So, unless they make Dirtbag and Groundchuck, most of their figures will remain true to vintage. Aside from Scumbug, Guerilla Gorilla (not inspired by FW) appears to have a more toon-like appearance.

Instead, what we are seeing are figures that are true upscaled updates of the vintage (e.g. Shredder, Foot, Splinter, April, Casey, Bebop, Mike, Don, Raph, Leo, Ray, Scratch, Surfer Mike, Samurai Leo), which remain "toyetic" or something that takes things up a notch (e.g., Rocksteady), thereby breaking away from its "toyetic" constraints or hybrid figures that mix and match (e.g. Slash, Leatherhead, Krang, Ace, Metalhead). Of course, the differences are minuscule in the grand scheme of things, but with a new/old generation of scathing critics, no rock (or detail) is left unturned. Regardless, Super7 needs to address their QC issues as it will ultimately bring down the integrity of the brand. I'm fine with whatever direction they take the aesthetics. I've been collecting for decades. These trivialities don't bother me.

[teemu]

Originally Posted by Dask

Perhaps, some people were expecting "Hunter Crocker" more so than a proper update to Leatherhead.

I do think Metalhead, April, Gecko are more underwhelming by a large margin. I quite like the Samurai Leo, but the joints were a pain, even with the heating precautions. While his joints are somewhat loose (and tight in other places like the head and wrists), my Samurai Leo seems to balance rather well. It's a faithful update, in my opinion. His alternate samurai head/mask is truly next-level and would love to see the other TMNT brothers to follow suit with similar samurai theme (hopefully, they can top off the line with Usagi and Panda Khan). There were some complaints about the metallics being less subdued but I see it as less gaudy, if that makes sense.

While I agree with your assessment, I would personally replace Samurai Leo with Undercover Raph, as that figure is lackluster in all regards.

They should of just bought the Hunter Crocker then. I think some of the complaints are unwarranted at times with the exception of QC issues and pricing

[jestergoblin]

I feel like almost every TMNT Ultimates figure is like... 90% fantastic, but that last 10% is when Super7 goes off the rails.

Some are just weird choices (like Bebop's hilariously undersized accessories he can't hold, Slash's belt, Leo's swords), engineering issues (Metalhead should have gotten another pass for balance and those leg tubes, Baxter's wings attach at the wrong angle) or production failures (Krang looks incredible but his walker is a train wreck that feels like it was intended for a hollow figure).

Even Leatherhead seems surreal to me - he's so toy centric... except his accessories aren't. Even his accessory rack isn't red!

[Y2Josh]

Originally Posted by mikey see

I agree that Leatherhead is lacking in the paint department. In fact, when the first in-hand photos of him came out I commented that he looked way too plain and "toy-like" compared to other figures in the line. Once I got mine I saw that he does actually have a slight bit of shading on the green but it's nowhere near the level that it could be compared to other figures. It's just a big hunk of shiny green plastic. Yet another example of Super7 inconsistency and amateurish-ness.

Mine does stand pretty well though actually, and I did not have any paint rub or slop. That almost makes it worse, as you can't ever know what you're going to get with these figures since some are perfectly fine and some are hot messes.

Originally Posted by jestergoblin

Wait - your Leatherhead is missing a wash and dry brushing? Mine's got a wash on all the scales (arms, tail, torso and head - everywhere but his exposed knee) plus his entire vest has a drybrushing on it as well.

Responding to these two sort of hand-in-hand... I had to go back and look since you both mentioned paint. My Leatherhead DOES have a glob of slightly darker paint than the plastic its applied to on his left outer wrist. There is no paint anywhere else on the green plastic of this figure.

The vest... is bizarre. Just looking at it, I was like... yeah, there's no paint on this thing at all. And then I pulled the vest away from the figure to look at the inside and realized the entire outside of the vast is painted in that orangey-yellow color, to the point that I wonder why they didn't just mold the vest in that color, because the paint is just covering the whole thing. There's no dry brushing or any kind of nuance there - it's just one solid color and it looks awful.

To Super7's amateurishness - I think that's a fair way to put it. The fact that it's becoming anomalous to get an acceptable figure is a real problem.

Originally Posted by staypuftweepel

Haha, yep. Mine is just like yours. Long yellow streaks on the window too.

This again is where they just don't seem to have a great deal of common sense. Almost everything about Leatherhead feels like it wasn't thought through, which lead to the figure we got.

Originally Posted by Dask

Y'all are trippin'. Leatherhead is one of the best S7 figures ever made.

Hefty hunk of plastic that has the right amount of wash. I do think the lack of matte is okay in some areas, because as you know...he's an alligator and alligators tend to be wet and shiny. No sloppy paint execution on my Leatherhead.

I suppose it depends on what you're looking for in a figure, but in my opinion (where the ability for a figure to stand up is near the top of what I'm looking for), his inability to stand, the poor way he was engineered and the lazy/sloppy paint apps really drag him down towards the bottom.

I'd also disagree about the "hefty hunk of plastic" bit. His head definitely feels like a hefty hunk of plastic, but the rest of the figure feels cheap and low quality. Combined with Super7's inability to get the hips right, this is really the crux of the figure's problem. The head is far too heavy (and seated too far forward) for the rest of the figure to support.

And this is where I agree with the assessment that Super7 is very amateurish - nearly anyone could have looked at that figure and the way it would have to stand and say, "The tail needs to be a counterbalance to the head. Either the head needs to be lighter or the tail needs to be heavier." And then one assumes that this figure was looked at multiple times across multiple revisions, but they are, collectively, so bad at designing figures that NO ONE caught this very basic detail.

Originally Posted by Dask

Krang's android body plunged two stories down his diorama. So, I permanently glued his base to his body. Drastic measures. All the Aprils and Vernons tend to lose balance as well (so they are leaning against the street scene diorama).

Likewise, 4 out of my 5 goons have serious balance issues and I purchased Kaiser stands for them. That's an additional $25 worth of hidden cost. General Traag and Granitor are also top heavy like Krang, and I purchased Kaiser stands for them (another $12 investment).

The frogs, Slash, Neutrinos and some of the movie turtles also have some minor balance issues.

As of now, none of my Super7 figures have balance issues except Grune.

YMMV, but I've just never had these kinds of balance issues. I suppose it's possible that I've gotten every terrible figure that Super7 has put out and all of the best figures from NECA, but it feels more indicative of the quality of each company's output that I've had fewer truly good Super7 figures than I've had bad NECA figures.

Just to be fair, although Super7's figures (outside of April) all have absolutely atrocious balance issues, the only figure that I've had that can't stand at all is Leatherhead, and the only figure that toppled once I actually got it standing is Rocksteady - and those figures are both incredibly poorly engineered. So I'm not going to be able to get any really dynamic poses out of Super7's figures, but once I actually get them standing upright, they do usually stay that way.

Originally Posted by Dask

Having said this, I think Super7 has to figure out if they want to make their figures "toyetic" or "upscaled" as they are wavering between the two and it is creating an inconsistent look. I am fine either way, but folks might not be so forgiving as it may not align with their expectations. Occasionally, they go for both looks in the same figure, upscaling the details but leaving the accessories unpainted as some sort of legacy homage to the vintage. I kind of get what they're doing but it may trigger an OCD itch amongst some subsets of collectors.

No disrespect intended here, but I really think this comes across as you making excuses for Super7's inability to put out a quality figure. I obviously have no way of knowing for sure, but I just can't fathom anyone at Super7 is legitimately sitting there saying, "We should paint this figure really well, but then half-ass only some of the accessories and a couple of the embellishments. Best of both worlds!"

Originally Posted by Dask

Perhaps, some people were expecting "Hunter Crocker" more so than a proper update to Leatherhead.

I do think Metalhead, April, Gecko are more underwhelming by a large margin.

I don't know if we can call this a "proper" update to Leatherhead. And I think that's also part of the problem. I could be wrong, but I don't think when this line was first announced that people were hoping for "larger versions of the Playmates figures, only now they can't stand up and they break very easily."

I do agree that Metalhead, April and Mondo Gecko are all also pretty bad, but Mondo, even though mine has paint slopped all over his shorts, still looks better than Leatherhead. He has actual paint on his body to make his scales pop a bit, and - not to beat a dead horse - he can stand up on his own.

Originally Posted by Dask

Instead, what we are seeing are figures that are true upscaled updates of the vintage (e.g. Shredder, Foot, Splinter, April, Casey, Bebop, Mike, Don, Raph, Leo, Ray, Scratch, Surfer Mike, Samurai Leo), which remain "toyetic" or something that takes things up a notch (e.g., Rocksteady), thereby breaking away from its "toyetic" constraints or hybrid figures that mix and match (e.g. Slash, Leatherhead, Krang, Ace, Metalhead). Of course, the differences are minuscule in the grand scheme of things, but with a new/old generation of scathing critics, no rock (or detail) is left unturned. Regardless, Super7 needs to address their QC issues as it will ultimately bring down the integrity of the brand. I'm fine with whatever direction they take the aesthetics. I've been collecting for decades. These trivialities don't bother me.

I'm not super interested in Scratch, so I'm never going to be able to look at him in hand against these other characters, but just from reviews, he seems to be the closest to achieving the presumed intent. This could just be me not really caring about the character, but he actually feels like he captures the spirit of that original figure, plus he's painted well and appears to be engineered well. Again, I know a lot of people were upset about the ball and chain, and I can probably see that if this was a figure you were really attached to, but just looking at it from my perspective, Scratch is as close as they've come to succeeding at what I imagine the point of the line was.

To your latter point, I don't know that the answer is to lower your expectations for what is ostensibly a "premium" product that is now selling for $55-$75. I don't know to what degree NECA outsells Super7, but at $27-$30, NECA already feels overpriced and they're (usually) putting out significantly better figures in almost every regard (I do think NECA's toon figures use that same kind of malleable plastic that Super7's Michelangelo feels like he's made of, and I don't like that as well as a sturdier plastic, but I don't know if that's enough to make up the ~$20 gap in price).

And I will say, in all fairness, while I do think you come across as overly positive and far more willing to overlook some pretty serious flaws in this line, I can also recognize that the terrible experience I've had has pushed me far into the overly negative territory where something that didn't originally bug me (Leo's belt), retroactively feels like a red flag I overlooked.

[Y2Josh]

Originally Posted by jestergoblin

I feel like almost every TMNT Ultimates figure is like... 90% fantastic, but that last 10% is when Super7 goes off the rails.

Some are just weird choices (like Bebop's hilariously undersized accessories he can't hold, Slash's belt, Leo's swords), engineering issues (Metalhead should have gotten another pass for balance and those leg tubes, Baxter's wings attach at the wrong angle) or production failures (Krang looks incredible but his walker is a train wreck that feels like it was intended for a hollow figure).

Even Leatherhead seems surreal to me - he's so toy centric... except his accessories aren't. Even his accessory rack isn't red!

I do agree that there's always something good about these figures - usually the sculpt - but we're far past the point where the myriad of QC issues that plague this line should be acceptable.

I will say that I've heard, QC-wise, Wave 6 has improved exponentially, but even there, using only Slash as my example, they still have those annoying little hiccups where the accessories are made of that gummy plastic (I don't have Samurai Leo, but his accessories appeared to be REALLY bad with this) or where the figure is painted beautifully and then they have these really lazily applied shoulder pads. And to be fair, they looked bad in the render, so it's not a bait and switch like Ace, but I just feel like they need to figure out what they're doing because they already have a hefty selection of figures retailers don't seem to be able to shift.

[Dask]

Why don't you just return your Leatherhead (to Super7) and have Super7 send you a new one? Tell them that your figure doesn't stand.

Mad Hatter was able to successfully exchange Super7 items in the past. He's had better luck with Super7 customer service than NECA.

My Leatherhead stands remarkably well so a good portion of your review is not universally applicable.

[Dask]

Originally Posted by Y2Josh

I could be wrong, but I don't think when this line was first announced that people were hoping for "larger versions of the Playmates figures, only now they can't stand up and they break very easily."

I can't speak for others but I originally had no intention for purchasing the Super7 line (I got GITD Baxter and that was it), but a number of factors reeled me in. I ended up getting a decent job and was able to support both lines (NECA and Super7) and the Super7 ThunderCats toy line also continued to impress, thereby subconsciously influencing my decision. I used to collect the vintage TMNT until I had an aesthetic crisis. I wanted my toys to look less like toys and more like displayable art. I also never liked the vertically compressed postures of vintage toys (TMNT, He-man and ThunderCats were all culprits) so I felt that the 2k3 series was more worthy of collecting.

Then NECA came along and blew it out of the park with their figures. They were my dream figures, since I prefer toon fidelity over vintage and this approach has never been done before (at least for TMNT, with the exception of the rather short-lived S.H Figuarts, which later inspired The Loyal Subjects). After a few waves of Super7 TMNT rolled out, I began to understand and appreciate their design philosophy. I realized the the very things that I didn't like about vintage figures were removed/corrected (e.g. hunched over posture and odd proportions/scale, unpainted details).

I'm not a toy photographer and I don't care all that much for accessories or poseability, so I picked up the Super7 TMNT line as my secondary turtles line (BST AXN is my tertiary line). For me, shelf presence is important as they evoke positive memories of my childhood every time I walk by my displays.

[Y2Josh]

Originally Posted by Dask

Why don't you just return your Leatherhead (to Super7) and have Super7 send you a new one? Tell them that your figure doesn't stand.

Mad Hatter was able to successfully exchange Super7 items in the past. He's had better luck with Super7 customer service than NECA.

My Leatherhead stands remarkably well so a good portion of your review is not universally applicable.

I can give it a shot, but my experience with Super7's customer service has been pretty abysmal (not saying NECA's is good - I've just rarely had to contact them).

I've also never purchased direct through Super7 up until the pricing glitch of Wave 9, so that seems to be the crux of their refusal to offer support. BBTS has reluctantly replaced shoddy Super7 figures in the past (the first Rocksteady I got was a mess), but their first response has always been to tell me to fix it myself.

At the end of the day, the problem is still Super7's, though. Their QC is absolutely atrocious, and that's just not acceptable at this price point. A quality figure should be the rule, not the exception.

[Macaquerie]

Originally Posted by Y2Josh

I can give it a shot, but my experience with Super7's customer service has been pretty abysmal (not saying NECA's is good - I've just rarely had to contact them).

I've also never purchased direct through Super7 up until the pricing glitch of Wave 9, so that seems to be the crux of their refusal to offer support. BBTS has reluctantly replaced shoddy Super7 figures in the past (the first Rocksteady I got was a mess), but their first response has always been to tell me to fix it myself.

At the end of the day, the problem is still Super7's, though. Their QC is absolutely atrocious, and that's just not acceptable at this price point. A quality figure should be the rule, not the exception.

The QC issues with Super7 are indicative of a small company getting into the toymaking business for the first time that hasn't established working relationship with factories and is facing these stumbling blocks that a more experienced operator would know how to avoid. The problem though is that at this point, they have been in the game for several years now and really should know better. And at this point, people have dealt with their QC issues long enough that it won't be so easy to sucker them in with flashy reveals and rake in that preorder cash, which seems to be their one and only business strategy. This is especially troublesome for Ultimates because the only reason anybody is buying them at all is in the expectation that they'll eventually get updates to the entire vintage TMNT line, which won't happen if the company can't demonstrate that it has a sustainable business model.