Matty Collector Issues MOTUC Product Update

[JeffSaylor]

King Hssss, Lord Masque and Snake Mountain...

Mattel's collector focused division - Matty Collector - has issued a statement on their forums regarding the status of several upcoming Masters of the Universe items. These include King Hssss' delay (bad packaging layout, visible "China" stamp, no head articulation), Lord Masque's delay (color correction), and the size of Snake Mountain. The statement ends with a very candid response to the negative fan comments circulating on the web. Read on...

King Hssss

As of right now he will not be available until January 2016. For the reasons why please see below…

His face can’t be seen and he’s licking the side of the blister…

This awful China stamp right in the middle of his chest…

There’s no articulation in the major snake head and it was glued on crooked.

The team wants nothing more than to get this figure right so we went back to our manufacturing team and gave specific instruction for the issues listed above to be fixed.


Lord Masque

You pointed out that his colors were incorrect and we made a note of it. Our counterparts in Asia, however, did not. Upon receiving the production models we knew immediately this wouldn’t be acceptable so we scrapped every unit and started over. That being said, expect him to arrive a little late. He’s the January Collector’s Choice figure and while he will still arrive then don’t look for him until the end of the month.


Snake Mountain

Yes, it was displayed during the MOTU Film Festival at the Egyptian Theater. No, it was not touched or scaled down. We literally unpacked it from its SDCC box and put it in the same case that was used in San Diego. No switcheroo. No sizing witchcraft. No changes. We sent all the accessories that were originally displayed with Snake Mountain at SDCC to the Egyptian; if it appeared there were items missing that were previously on display this could be because a different team was in charge of assembly and may have forgotten/didn’t know to include them. As for the final size of SM, the only real change will be that it won’t be as tall; no other pieces have been resized and we are still working out costing to determine the final cost.

On another note…

I have read most of the threads on multiple MOTU centric boards and there’s an underlying theme criticizing this team’s lack of transparency. Let me be the first to say we have no problem sharing certain information regarding figures and the process to create them, but to think this entitles you to know every decision that is made the minute it is discussed…it’s not realistic. Most of you go to work every day with no clue of what’s going on in the higher echelons of your management; working at Mattel is no different. Over the course of one year I have had nine different managers, each with their own thoughts on how or IF this brand should continue. NINE. If we were to be honest most of us haven’t had that many bosses in the entirety of our careers. As if that weren’t already a challenge we also contend with a limited amount of resources since Matty Collector is niche and the priority lies with core brands like Hot Wheels or Barbie (example: core brands receive anywhere from five to ten designers, Matty Collector currently has one who btw works on four other brands).

Yes, we know you love and are passionate about MOTU. Yes, we know you are paying your hard earned money for these figures so you are entitled to have an opinion. However what you don’t seem to realize is that your angry, profanity laced posts do not display you in the best light of the eyes of Mattel management, and it’s extremely difficult for my team to fight for the brand when screenshots of some of your “opinions” have been brought into meetings. I’m not here to wag fingers or spank anyone’s hands behind the comments that have been posted over the past few months, but I do want to remind you of a few things:

1. We are on top of things to the best of our ability even when you think we’re not;

2. Everyone on the team is human and when you’re human there’s always a chance that mistakes will be made. None of us can control every aspect of things such as quality control, and since no one on the team is moving to Asia to supervise the painting and assembly of every single figure (and let’s be honest, neither are you lol) there will always be the possibility of a product not meeting expectation. There is no god on my team who knows all, sees all and can be everywhere handling everything simultaneously. It’s cool to be angry, everyone is entitled to their emotions and far be it from me to tell anyone how to feel. But some of the acts of disrespect we’ve seen on the boards because a figure didn’t turn out exactly how or when you thought it should? Not cool at all. Please show us the same patience and respect you would like to receive.

Let me be very clear: the team loves what we do and we love the brands we work on. We are doing the best we can with what we have to get you the best product possible, have a little faith in us.

- Skeletor’s Love Child

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[Slaargorath]

Glad to see they are taking things very seriously and aren't afraid to delay things a bit if necessary in order to get things right. Bravo!

By all means take the time you need to get this done properly, because this is probably the only shot many of these items will ever have at getting made.

I have full confidence in the team and that's why I have signed up for both subs offered in recent months and will be back again when the Thundercats sub becomes available too.

I am lovin' this line, and to everyone involved, more power to ya!