Has Hot Toys Quality Control Improved?

Chockles

Hi everyone,

I am new to the 1/6 scale figure scene and there are alot of things I'm enjoying and learning along the way. I would really appreciate all your help on this matter. I found it very hard on the internet to find some kind of thread or a list that shows common problems with 1/6 scale figures, in particularly Hot Toys (HT) figures.

Recently I have aqquired a number of HT figures, namely Spiderman 3 (red/blue suit), (Black suit) and (Amazing Spiderman suit). Yes, I am a Spidey Fan:)

My concerns here are a few things which I'm sure older collectors or new collectors would appreciate very much:-
- What kind of common/known issues are related to HT figures? (General issues such as quality with paint, clothing, body etc)
- Do these issues happen to one isolated figure or its worldwide in their entire collection?

I'm not interested in their customer care services or shop services as we all know how caring HT's are, and this topic is subjective. What matters most to us are the figures and what kind of quality we expect from them. Please take a look at some of the issues I found with my Spidey with just a few hours of checking after unboxing. (Note: These are all new out of the box but out of the 14 day period warrenty. I like to display my figures rather than play with them aggresively)

Spiderman 3 (red/blue suit) = Very weak/loose ankles - I'm not sure if they are meant to be like this or are in fact broken out of the box. When I try and adjust the feet, they instantly revert back to the netural position. Starting to find it hard to stand on its own.
Spiderman 3 (black suit) = Same as above - I went through alot of threads and many collectors mentioned that the ankles for the black spidey had improved over the previous spidey. Well, I checked mine. His left foot is loose just like before, but his right foot is stiff and articulates as excpected.
Amazing Spiderman - BROKEN SHOULDERS - I just bought this figure recently and I am afriad of moving his shoulders! I have noticed no one in Toysdaily mention anything wrong with their new figure, but in the overseas forums and youtube. Many collectors are having problems with this figure. The shoulders break so easily with just simple movements. I believe this might be a big problem for us all!

Bros, I could go on and on here, example, loose/broken ankles with Thor, DX12 but I dont want to waste your time. I just think for anyone that is starting to get into HT or any current collectors looking to buy figures, it would be helpful if there was a list out there that can tell us what are the most common issues with HT figures and something that we can all adhere to. This list could then be updated on a regular basis when certain problems has been resolved. This in fact could help HT too to improve on their quality control. If theres a big enough reaction to their quality, they should do something about it. Perhaps a new revision/replacements/recall. For now, their policy on this needs improving.

Sorry for this long message. I just wanted to express the issues I had with my figures. I know HT make very nice figures in the 1/6 scale market, but nothing is perfect and I still enjoy their products overall, but I'm dissapointed with some of these problems if it happens with every figure.

What do you think?

Happy collecting:)

Chockles

I would like to add a few more issues:-

Spiderman 3 (red/blue suit)
- Broken/weak/loose ankles
- Black under bodysuit sticking out of his wrists
- Left arm sleeve longer than the right arm sleeve

Amazing Spiderman
- Broken Shoulders (Search for youtube videos on this matter and you will find lots of complaints)

Please correct me if some of these are not problems, but I believe they are mostly known by all.

BigOil

long essay~~~~~

khwong67

For amazing Spider-Man, HT has a note saying that both shoulders shouldn't be turned for more than 90 degree.

Chockles

回復 4# khwong67

Yes the warning note was given out when collecting the figure, but it can be very misleading. Some collectors did not reach that angle and still broke.

I have found a thread on sideshow freaks on how to handle the figure to prevent any shoulder problems.

Search for the following in google.
1/6 Guide (& Review) to handle HT's Amazing Spiderman body/shoulders

chankb

My Spiderman 3 (red/blue suit) is getting very loose, but not broken yet.  I suspect that the plastic pattern on the suit will dissolve later.

Chockles

回復 6# chankb

Thanks for the feedback guys.

chankb bro, how can you tell if its loose and not broken at the ankles, since the foot/joints are inside the whole plastic boot beneath the suit. Can you explain me the difference please? thanks

twinsenckw

My red blue Spider-Man also found loose in the same area.
I try to remove the boot and see inside, the plastic around the joint area was already crack and cannot hold the joint tightly.

I think the design of black spidey is the same as the red blue one,
So I sell my black spidey away before the same problem happen

chankb

回復 7# Chockles

I never check the beneath.  So I'm not sure if it has  loose or actually cracked ankles.

Chockles

回復 8# twinsenckw

Thanks for your story twinsenckw bro.

Its only just a few feedbacks from you all, but it seems the loose/broken ankles are common issues amongst the red/blue suit and black suit spiderman. This is good to know for any current and new collectors who wish to buy these old HT releases for their collection.

HT should be ashamed. Both left and right foot on my red/blue suit were loose as soon as I took it out of the new sealed box. You would have thought HT to have checked their QC before shipping these out.
It also seems that over time, the joints would eventually crack/loose, this seems to be your case and my black suit's left foot as well. I guess unless I go through with a custom fix, the only way now is to display them with their stands in a neutral pose.

I hope everyone will read this, especially HT. No one complains doesnt mean theres no problem with your products. We are avid fans of your products and would continue to buy more if QC improves.

Chockles

回復 9# chankb

chankb bro,

I hear you. This is pretty unlucky for those who love this figure yet flawed by the ankle issues. I hope you will use the stand to secure the figure before the ankles give in and the whole figure eventually falling over. I know I will use the stand. The whole figure feels flimsy compared to my other HT ones. The only good thing out of this is that even though the ankles are weak, it does not affect the overall look since the suit is covering that part.

I learnt my lesson. I wanted this red/blue suit and I joined the party late thus it was bad luck to receive a product that had bad QC. If only HT had a service where they could fix their defects for the customers outside of their warrenty. Even if they charged for this service, I believe it would bring better customer satisfaction and support down the road.

twinsenckw

I think most of the old spideys have the same issue, but most people can't check it because they don't know how to remove the boot

The use of material definitely contribute to the problem. The body of old spidey made of those black color plastic, which is different from normal hottoy body. Those kind of plastic is more fragile and easily crack

Chockles

回復 12# twinsenckw

twinsenckw bro,

Agree, it is very hard to check or fix/swap the ankles since the bodysuit covers the whole body. Now my red/blue suit has become a display figure rather than an action figure.

These previously released Spidey figures are just a small contribution to HT's
overall QC issues. If any of you bros out there have issues not just with Spidey, but with any or recent products, feel free to voice out in here. To help each other in what to look out for when buying older/newer products made by HT.

I'm about to open my DX08 1989 Joker. Fingers cross there are no issues with it.