Mattel have done an outstanding job!
Nov 12, 2021 16:12:19 GMT -5
GR81J, The Gang, and 3 more like this
Post by kanepilk on Nov 12, 2021 16:12:19 GMT -5
As someone who was big into collecting WWE Jakks, stuff, and decided that Jakks losing the contract would signal the end of my collecting days, I kinda tuned out of the world of wrestling figures for a long time.
The first prototype images of Mattel's figures looked good, but I wasn't gonna be buying into it. Especially as Jakks had taken all the goodwill anyone could muster, and threw it back at us repeatedly, with their blatantly shoddy 7ft Paul Bearers, naked Mark Henry's, attires painted only on the front half and what seemed to be a general disdain for their WWE production line. I was out of collecting and happy enough to leave it at that.
However, I did decide to pick up a couple of Mattel Elites that I'd see here and there along the way, if they were wrestlers that I didn't get when Jakks were involved (for example, I never got an Atitude-Era Boss Man from Jakks, as they were nigh on impossible to find - I'm in Ireland). I, being a Kane fan, picked up a Kane Elite 19 along the way too as I seen it on the shelf in a shop one day.
I was amazed! The level of effort that went into what was pretty much a bog standard figure in a general series. I was shocked that I could feel all the little details, that the welder mask fit perfectly, that the figure looked like it was a one-off custom compared to the sh/te that Jakks had the neck to put on shelves.
.. and so it began. Slowly, I bought a figure here and there. An Ultimate Maniacs Warrior was on the shelf one day.. then the matching Savage, then the Hart Foundation.
Eventually, I, completely accidentally, went looking to see what Kane figures there were, and if there was one based on my favourite attire, his 2003 look, and I timed it perfectly, as it was just as the Decade of Domination Kane was being released ('burned' face scan and all!).
Cost me nearly €100 to get it including shipping as I was paying way over the odds, but I didn't want to risk missing it. Ever since, I've been picking up figures all over the place.
Despite having about 100 figures now, I'm still in awe almost all the time at the detail and effort involved. The Wyatt's being moulded in such a way that their perfect-fitting masks can clip right on. Aleister Black, a barely-known wrestler at the time, has a kneepad specifically moulded for just for his left leg. My Paul Bearer figure is actually smaller than my Undertaker figure. And My Undertaker figure is taller than my Austin figure.
IRS has actual physical suspenders, not just painted on. I can feel the red stripe on my Tugboat's legs. My Honky Tonk Man is Cool, Cocky, and Bad.
They don't get everything right, and I'm sure they have reasons for some of the decisions they make. Like I'm glad that the hard rubber accessories have started being phased out in favour of soft/cloth accessories (robes/jackets, etc).
As a big Kane fan, I would never have expected them to actually offer to rectify the Kane arm/mask paint issues. How many times have Jakks given us a Kane with a completely wrong head/mask altogether and their response was effectively "tough" if you complained.
Mattel do some questionable things, like I don't understand why they haven't moulded a set of legs for Austin with the knee braces on him, for example, and I preferred the way Jakks did the Ultimate Warrior's arm tassles (fabric, so it hangs down when his arms are raised), and so forth, but I do think Mattel have been amazing with the figures they have produced.
I have a couple of basics that, although articulation is practically non-existent, they also still have more moulded and custom pieces than I ever anticipated they would.
In the spirit of a bit of positivity, is there anything in particular that has surprised you when you got a figure? Any extra details or accessories that you just thought "oh that's a nice touch" about?
