Author Topic: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?  (Read 6532 times)

Offline JoshEEE

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #15 on: May 30, 2003, 02:25 PM »
You know, I was just thinking about this topic, and I realized there is one figure I did this with.

Hoth Luke on the Taun Taun. When I saw him in the stores, I looked at the back of the box, and he was supposed to be REALLY mangled. Mine looked like he only had a slight scratch and a black eye, so I looked at some others, and found one that had been a little more "brutalized". That's the one I got.

So there you go, I guess I do it too.
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Online Muftak

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #16 on: May 30, 2003, 03:21 PM »
Up until last year I never really paid much attention. When I first saw Eeth Koth on the shelf (about 20 or so of 'em) I noticed off the bat that a coupkle had really lousy face tattoos, and picked out the best one I could find.

When the Saga figures first started coming, I was grabbing without really looking, and paid for it--my Preview Jango has an unpainted right leg. Saga Palpatine also hurt--I searched through for the best liver spots I could find--only to not notice the inner-sleeve details on his left arm were missing.

Now I compare when I have the opportunity.

Offline Snively Bandar

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #17 on: May 30, 2003, 06:53 PM »
I'm like most everyone else here.  I'll definitely do some comparing if I have more than one choice (which hasn't been too often lately).  I pay a little closer attention to some of the figures with more detailed paint schemes (tattoos, buttons, eyes, hair, all astromechs, etc.)  There really are some pretty noticeable differences on them if you look closely.

I probably first started my paint scheme analysis back near the beginning of the POTJ era, or possibly the end of Ep. 1 though, when I noticed a few goofy paint screw ups on the figures I had bought, especially on Maul's head.

Offline Dimetrodon

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #18 on: May 30, 2003, 08:00 PM »
ALWAYS, and with all my toylines.
unless its on ebay.. then.. oh well.

i'd tell you why i do it, but it seems to have been covered.

Offline aka DaBigKahuna

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #19 on: May 31, 2003, 12:44 AM »
I was just reading some not so great stuff put out by Hong Kong watchdog groups, nothing I didn't expect, underpaid uneducated workers getting screwed by the man with tons of middle men in between squeezing profits out of every figure

basically, profit is around 33% per figure for Hasbro...at $5 that means everything $3.35 is profit for Hasbro...don't forget the retailer takes and about 3 middle men take as well.  The workers are left with around $0.07 per figure between around 5 workers per figure on a line.  They are usually paid on a per figure basis and work 12-14 hours per day in July-Septemeber and then get laid off once the holiday rush is done

I am not against sweatshops per se because it is capatalism at work and everyone wants to make a buck...I think everyone should think though about how it all gets from point A at the initial extruder to Point ZZ on your shelf or wall

Hello, do you have a link to this information, and not to put you on the spot per se but what will thinking about it do?  For you at least.  

Thanks,


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Offline Morgbug

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #20 on: June 3, 2003, 12:10 PM »
Heh, I'd love to compare paint jobs.  I often get to do it at my leisure, simply because no one else is buying all the damn Shaak Ti and Nikto Jedi figures clogging the pegs at TRU.  If I want anything new, I'm at the mercy of my trading partners or ebay seller.  Being picky just isn't an option.  New figures are so rare that I'm so damn excited to find one on the pegs, the only thing on my mind is making sure somebody doesn't bump into me and make me drop the card.  That and making sure the cashier doesn't beat the crap out of them or fold them to make them all fit in the bag.  

About sweatshops:
One problem I always have with these types of discussions is that some people (not saying anyone here) always tries to put a North American perspective on the conditions and wages.  Got news for those folks, the average salary in China does not equate to $5 us an hour or whatever minimum wage may be.  The comparison needs to be made between wages and working conditions in the country under consideration.  As North Americans, we have the luxury of our society and having those expectations for working conditions.  That crappy jobs exist does not mean that people are exploited.  It may well be true, but are you prepared to pay $20 US for each 3 3/4" figure?  

My considerations for people in those factories is that they are not placed in dangerous conditions.  If it is indeed a fire trap or they are beaten, then it is an issue.  If they work long, hard hours at a locally competitive wage, then I have no problem with it.  
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Offline Scott

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #21 on: June 6, 2003, 12:29 AM »
http://www.cic.org.hk/download/CIC%20Toy%20Report%20Web%20eng.pdf

It is an Acrobat file so you need that to read it

Brent, there have been incidents with some Euro Toy makers  which are a lot worse than American Companies, the problem is that the toy manufacturers really aren't owned by a parent Western company and so it is up to the local authorities to protect the workers (which due to lack of education is almost impossible)

Like I said earlier I am not against sweatshops and thank my lucky stars that there are groups like OSHA and the EPA  in the US who are out to protect workers rights and safety on the job.  I think that is the thing to think about Matthew, appreciate exactly where that toy comes from, the women on the painting line or the guys in the mold room, pumping out thousands of figures a day in conditions while they may be great for China would make most Westerners cringe.

I also read about the fact that toys have always been made in the cheapest labor spots in the world and once the price gets to high the industry will move on to other plants in other countries leaving these already seasonal employess out of jobs
« Last Edit: June 6, 2003, 12:41 AM by OCB »

Offline Morgbug

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #22 on: June 6, 2003, 01:12 AM »
Will look at your link Scott, just not tonight.  

Quote
I also read about the fact that toys have always been made in the cheapest labor spots in the world and once the price gets to high the industry will move on to other plants in other countries leaving these already seasonal employess out of jobs

All true I suspect.  You can follow the movement of the Nike factory pretty well from year to year (well, several years...) but what started out in one country is no longer there.  Pretty interesting to watch over the past 20 years.  I think they began in Taiwan (began about 20 years ago) and moved at least twice, now residing in Japan.

As regards the original topic, I finally had an opportunity to do a comparison with the McFarlane predator stuff and there is quite a bit of variation.  I believe I pulled the best paint job and took it home ;D
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #23 on: June 11, 2003, 02:03 AM »
Yeah, I usually check, and thankfully, Hasbro has been doing pretty good lately from what I have seen.  I did see a new hover chair Yoda at a collector's shop last week that had a horrible paint job on one of his eyes.  The guy was charging $23.00 for it.  ::)

With the new Imperial 4-pks, I have had to be very picky with them.  It seems that 9 out of 10 I see have horrible paint applications on the Stormtrooper mask and the AT-ST driver eyes.

 :P

Offline MisterPL

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #24 on: June 17, 2003, 09:04 PM »
Once upon a time, I had a link to some photos of a factory tour. I'll see if I can scrounge them up.

Well look what I found.  ;D

If you have broadband, check out this link. Even with my cable modem it takes a while to load, but once it does you'll be able to scroll down the left hand side (waaaayy down) to some pretty interesting pics and descriptions.

Otherwise, check out these images:

Painting Spawn figures by hand

Drybrushing Alien & Predator bases

Dabbing grass stains onto SportsPicks

Mask spraying a... baseball hat?

And here's a rundown of how McFarlane does their paint apps:

"Mask spraying is a big part of what makes a McFarlane toy what it is. On average, most companies will have only several paint applications and only a couple of colors. Most of the figure is molded in colored plastic to save money.

McFarlane figures are 100% painted and the look, I'm sure you'll agree, is noticeably different. For each dab of paint, a mask must be made. A liquid is brushed all over the piece, except where the painting is to take place. The liquid dries and the piece is immersed in a vat of chemicals, which is then electrified.

Much in the same way chrome plating is done. The liquid that was brushed onto the piece, attracts copper molecules which are suspended in the solution inside the vat. It takes about 24 hours for this process to be completed. When its finished, a copper skin can be peeled from the piece and you're ready to paint.

Not so fast though, you need to make quite a few of these masks. The masks only last a few thousand paint applications. If we make 100,000 pieces of one figure...that's a lot of masks, for just ONE paint application."


BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE:

Tampo or Pad printing

"This is a two color tampo printing machine. The object to be printed is placed in a molded holder to ensure it is held securely and always in the same place. Alignment is critical! Since this is a two-color machine, the procedure is performed twice."

I hope that helps.

(Gotta love the information superhighway.  8) )
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Offline JediMAC

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Re: Do you compare figures paint jobs before buying?
« Reply #25 on: June 17, 2003, 09:10 PM »
Wow, that's some pretty interesting stuff there John, especially that entire factory tour!  Thanks for the links and the info.  Nice to get some real insight into the manufacturing and paint application processes on this kinda stuff...

« Last Edit: June 17, 2003, 09:38 PM by JediMAC »