by the fans for the fans

hmmm. I dont know about the alphas anymore. I had a rook one once. the first problem was the hand. then the ankle broke on the right foot, and I tossed it. I was going to get the Macrus Rush shadow if the Maia was that improved, butI may as well not wait and get a Sue Shadow instead.

YEAH. ALREADY POSTED IN RT.COM

The thing that really kills me is that a few days ago I got the large Gakken Alpha I won off of ebay, and that thing transforms flawlessly and is sturdy, despite having clearly yellowed plastic and having been stored in less than optimal conditions.

An hour before FedEx showed up with my Maia MPC, the post office delivered the Jota Legioss and Tread I got off of ebay, and while fighter mode on the Legioss is janky, it's such a sturdy, poseable figure - and the Tread just transforms so buttery smooth, it's ridiculous.

And here's the Maia MPC re-issue - $20 more for a "fixed" edition that supposedly came from the factory that did the MPC Beta's. Now, I love my MPC Beta's - they're not only awesome for being the toy I always wanted to see as a kid, but also because they're built so sturdily and so solidly. And here we've got the same QC issues with the Maia Alpha that has occurred with all the other MPC Alpha's...

So, then there's 2 questions:

First, what was the extra $20 in price **for**, exactly? Is this simply what the new factory is charging, and Toynami and whoever retails must price accordingly to make a profit? Or is there really some "re-design" that none of us are seeing (hey! anyone seen if theirs glows in the dark or has a secret prize in the middle if they smash it open?), or some other benefit from materials used that isn't readily apparent?

Secondly, let's say that this is, for sure, the factory that built the Betas. And okay, fine, economic conditions, supply chain issues, and the cost of labor all dictate that there's no way anyone in the process can make a profit unless there's another $20 tacked onto the retail process. I'm a realist - I know that there's a ridiculous number of minutiae that are in constant flux in any endeavor. I can swallow all of that comfortably, if not necessarily happily. If this really is the fabrication plant that did such a good job with the Betas, then we have to look at the fact that the design of the MPC Alpha, and the specs dictating the material used and the fabrication thereof are fundamentally flawed in a way that simply cannot be resolved in a way that will deliver a product at a price point people will be willing to pay. So, at what point does it end? Do Toynami continue on this course, because a) the fans will buy (yes, count me among them as pathetic as that is), or b) to re-tool the product would mean to admit that they knew they were releasing a sub-standard product and to open themselves to possible legal/class-action lawsuit status (to say nothing of the public drubbing)?

Right now, they're the Toyota of the collectible world (at least, in my narrow tunnel vision, since I don't collect anything other than Robotech/Macross/Mospeada merchandise, and Southern Cross if they ever make any). The only difference is we're not at risk of life and limb, but man, do we ever feel foolish.

I have to say, I'm still new here - I started in on all of this last November, and then I got bit HARD by the collecting bug. I hadn't visited any of the forums, wasn't familiar with anything - Shadow whatnow? Hey, they've started making new material, awesome!

I read the forums, and my jaw *dropped* at what seemed to me, at the time, a great deal of fanboy whining and petulant foot-stamping that no one was getting what they wanted. I've only come to realize that that what people want has been worn down from the usual roar of self-entitlement, and down to the nub of certain fundamentals... all in the face of questionable merchandise and outright odd levels of silence in the PR realm.

(Let's be fair - I've seen Kevin descend like an avenging angel and deliver the righteous smackdown in crushingly brutal and completely logical ways on truly farcical whining and misleading speculation, and for the duds that the Alphas are, I love the Betas, and both the Megahouse and MPC Cyclones)

I love my fandom - it's totally reconnected me with a part of my childhood that was awesome. It's been great for me to find ways to dwell on positive things in my past, and connect with the fun parts of my life. Coming back to Robotech has been a touchstone to that, and collecting memorabilia and merchandise is a way to solidify that connection.

But this sucks - it really does, I don't know how else to put it. I thought I would finally have the MPC Alpha I could show off to friends and transform repeatedly, and now I feel like a chump. And there is no way that that is a positive investment in the future of my fandom towards those that steward the property now.

I'm not vilifying here, but I am disappointed. I'd like to think that things will change, and I have an immense amount of empathy for anyone who has to go through the flaming hoops that they do to get a product to market, especially with so many variables, and in the case of working with a major studio, being strangled into silence between the python-like coils of an NDA. I am not entitled to a Harmony-Gold-Hug, nor should Toynami send me an FTD apology basket. But what I do want, and I think is not unreasonable to ask is that I not be treated like a chump, either willfully or through a series of unfortunate deeds that yields the same net result.

I long ago realized that at any time, in my professional life, when I run into an unfortunate situation, person, or other obstacle, that I can't simply run to management and say "kiss my booboo and make it better!", because life doesn't owe you a bucket of skittles and a warm feeling in your tummy. But if you are going to charge up that hill, at least make sure that you're open to a dialogue, and help to bring change to a situation, as opposed to demanding it.

So that begs the question... dear HG and Toynami... what can we do to work with you to fix all of this? Because there are problems, and in light of negative kvetching, it's easy to dismiss it as the incessant quacking of entitled fans, and to lump anything else in with those who really are just acting like inarticulate brats.

So... what can we do here? How does this change?

Is anyone listening?

Man I hear you. I sold my entire TF collection to devote my space and some of my spare time to RT/ Macross/MOSPEADA. I have to agree Im dissapointed in HG and Toynami. I think we deserve more and I think we deserve better from them. Unless we all just abandon RT.com and, in that display, let HG know that the community isnt happy then possibly we can finally be heard. or we may be barking up the wrong tree. Why not send an email to WB's as fans we should let them know what we expect from RT on all fronts. Perhaps they will get HG and Toynami in line.

MAN, YOU NEED A COPY AND PAST AT RT.COM.

YOU BIT THE BIG ONE. INCLUDING MGREXX.

I JUST HOPE ITS ISOLATED TO A FEW.

MEMO1DOMINION wrote:

MAN, YOU NEED A COPY AND PAST AT RT.COM.

YOU BIT THE BIG ONE. INCLUDING MGREXX.

I JUST HOPE ITS ISOLATED TO A FEW.

three in one day... I doubt it bro.

IF ITS ISOLATED.. EMAIL TOYNAMI FOR A NEW ONE. JUST GIVE IT A TRY. EMAIL WITH PICS.

LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENS

So, at what point does it end? Do Toynami continue on this course, because a) the fans will buy (yes, count me among them as pathetic as that is), or b) to re-tool the product would mean to admit that they knew they were releasing a sub-standard product and to open themselves to possible legal/class-action lawsuit status (to say nothing of the public drubbing)?

It ends with your wallet. The buck stops with you.

What's that quote?

"Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice shame on me..."

The simple solution is to not buy Toynami products. If you buy shitty products from a company, and the company promises that they'll fix the faults and problems related to that product thus giving them more license and more chances to "fix" those products and it results in even shittier products, would you still buy that product from them? HELL NO! Would you be inclined to buy any more of their products? Answer is a resounding, HELL NO!

So conclusion: If Toynami is known to produce toys that continue to disappoint customers, DON'T BUY THEM. It's that simple!

MEMO1DOMINION wrote: !!---Please read this one Memo---!!!

IF ITS ISOLATED.. EMAIL TOYNAMI FOR A NEW ONE. JUST GIVE IT A TRY. EMAIL WITH PICS.

LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENS

If you really are a friend of Goerge Sohn (president and CEO of Toynami) would you send him these recent problems with his new "masterpieces"? because we all know that Toynami will not reply or respond to customer problems and I am not trying to flame HG again but can you ask HG to do better than Toynami?


SushiPook
If you click on the old Maia thread created at robotech.com the charged Maia at the same price and I think they made it $20 more because it is only limited to 5,000 and they think this "masterpiece" will get more valuable like the Jack Archer so they automatically add $20 for another piece of du-du.



Well I am about to ask my magic 8 ball if my Maia will be a good one.Should I?

Sushipook
Here is that old link I was talking about and you can see what a circus that was. Robotech.com at first preordered them at $59.99 then cancelled the preorders and changed price to $79.99.

www.robotech.com/community/forum/read.php?id=1935545&forumid=23

After this Toynami should be ashamed of themselves,,and HG should be ashamed of themselves for not learning from their mistakes in hiring incopetants to make their products.

If I was not trying to become a nice guy again I would have said something like this: "middle finger to Toynami and HG for keeping them on payroll to make defective products for the fans they claim to appreciate"