Hot Toys Quality Control: Whats Goin On?

[intothevoid]

Well, I am 100% of the opinion that HTs QC has been getting worse and it's down to having too many licenses and not enough resources

As for any comments suggesting SSF isn't representative of HTs customer base or that 80% defective rate amongst this board does not mean 80% or close to that of overall production has issues, well, I don't buy that argument for even half a second

 

[imranbecks]

Hmmm... Reading all this... I've actually not had any QC issues on any of my figures whether they are from Hot Toys, Medicom or Enterbay... Then again, I don't have those figures that are usually mentioned to have QC issues, thats probably why... Lucky I didn't get them I guess. I'm only worried abt the HT Spider-Man.. Wondering how the webbing details and the spidey logo on the costume would hold up over time...

Agree though that HT as a company is growing quickly and they are getting so many licenses.. How about their manpower??? Can they handle it all?? Its no wonder certain items are long delayed. They have to rush here and there to complete an item and all of that contribute to the lack of good QC...

 

[Rorywan]

Well, I am 100% of the opinion that HTs QC has been getting worse and it's down to having too many licenses and not enough resources

As for any comments suggesting SSF isn't representative of HTs customer base or that 80% defective rate amongst this board does not mean 80% or close to that of overall production has issues, well, I don't buy that argument for even half a second

 

[noisetrigger]

I did some checking with a few of my customers who actually went all the way to Singapore to get the exclusives and so far, their batman is fine. I am thinking that this might be an isolated issue that only affects a certain batch of Batman, namely the Sideshow batch.

I also receive some internal memo regarding HT and while I can't divulge the details, I can say that HT is taking new measures to tighten QC. (while they did not specifically say they are working on QC issues, the measures they are implementing will directly affect quality). Do take note that this thread has nothing to do with it. It looks like HT has been planning for this for a while and just made the announcement.

ps- some food for thought. Only about 20% of my customers actually hang out in figure forums. we have free wi-fi everywhere, broadband internet, and almost every other person has an iphone so it's definitely not a problem with accessibility.

Is it honestly very hard to believe that a lot of collectors simply do not hang out in forums or facebook? A lot of them prefer to remain discreet mind you.

 

[inuka]

For someone who claims to work for a hot toys retailer or distributor, you seem amazingly well informed on what is going on inside hot toys HQ and their work plan/business road map. I am most impressed.

 

[Rorywan]

I did some checking with a few of my customers who actually went all the way to Singapore to get the exclusives and so far, their batman is fine. I am thinking that this might be an isolated issue that only affects a certain batch of Batman, namely the Sideshow batch.

I also receive some internal memo regarding HT and while I can't divulge the details, I can say that HT is taking new measures to tighten QC. (while they did not specifically say they are working on QC issues, the measures they are implementing will directly affect quality). Do take note that this thread has nothing to do with it. It looks like HT has been planning for this for a while and just made the announcement.

ps- some food for thought. Only about 20% of my customers actually hang out in figure forums. we have free wi-fi everywhere, broadband internet, and almost every other person has an iphone so it's definitely not a problem with accessibility.

Is it honestly very hard to believe that a lot of collectors simply do not hang out in forums or facebook? A lot of them prefer to remain discreet mind you.

Sorry noistrigger, but yada yada..
There are issues with Batman outside the Sideshow batch.
And the figures you keep mentioning seem like they are being pulled out of the air. What has free wi-fi got to do with it?

Anyway, your vague mention of tightening QC measures is good if true, but that very much implies a problem to be fixed.

So I don't get the smoke screen, cloak and dagger stuff.
We all notice whats going on, we are not all based in the US, and a lot of us are seasoned collectors.

If there is a problem, fix it, no one can ask any more of HT?
I just received my DX06 set. Perfect QC, everything should be the same.

 

[Gully Foyle]

Perfect QC, everything should be the same.

Hmmm . . . . outside of a computer simulation, a movie, or a dream this state is unattainable.

Entropy's a pain, but it exists.

 

[Rorywan]

Hmmm....
WTF are you going on about?

 

[RIDDICK]

Just CUTHE****OUT, freaking HotToys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[intothevoid]

I did some checking with a few of my customers who actually went all the way to Singapore to get the exclusives and so far, their batman is fine. I am thinking that this might be an isolated issue that only affects a certain batch of Batman, namely the Sideshow batch.

I also receive some internal memo regarding HT and while I can't divulge the details, I can say that HT is taking new measures to tighten QC. (while they did not specifically say they are working on QC issues, the measures they are implementing will directly affect quality). Do take note that this thread has nothing to do with it. It looks like HT has been planning for this for a while and just made the announcement.

ps- some food for thought. Only about 20% of my customers actually hang out in figure forums. we have free wi-fi everywhere, broadband internet, and almost every other person has an iphone so it's definitely not a problem with accessibility.

Is it honestly very hard to believe that a lot of collectors simply do not hang out in forums or facebook? A lot of them prefer to remain discreet mind you.

No, it's not that hard to believe - but what i'm saying is that a 20% sample size is statistically good enough to indicate overall QC issues etc. If the people on these boards and Facebook have widespread QC issues with some figure, then statistically it is almost certain that the remaining 80% will also have a similar 'lemon' rate.

It is simple stats really

 

[bandito]

...
Sure the price is high today but you are comparing with a releases from two years ago. HT has improved and advanced so much since.

HT doesn't actually control the market price. Over here, Indy is only 13 usd more than DX01. That's not an unreasonable increase by any standards. I know it's somehow a lot more higher elsewhere but HT has been getting really popular these days and a lot of sellers are raising their margin because of the demand.

Of course Enterbay is horrible. You don't have to deal with their crap. I do. Customer confidence is all time low with EB. No one wants to pre-order any EB products. People are still ordering HT products. We still get calls asking if we have any extra shipments of Mark V and Indy. What does that tell you?

I admit Alien Warrior is problematic,(the only Alien with problem and their first Alien) the ED209 is problematic too. Sarah Connor? No such complains here and pics I saw are due to mishandling and not leaky material.

.....

HT doesn't directly control the market price except for their ToyHunter store (& their price has been pretty stable, without much hike for @ least the past 3 years). It's mostly the retailers' (like SSC) fault for the more recent 2011 price hikes.

Indy and DX01 price @xl: DX01 = RM 618 (when USD was high in 2009, 3.5), DX05 = RM 698 (now where USD has dropped to 3.0-3.1). RM80 difference = USD 25.4 (much higher if you take into account USD's depreciated value).

Indy(ies) are still available @ xl..... other store's in Asia are having Mk.5 at a bargain price. HT may have over produced Mk. 5 like what they did with WarMachine. Mk.4 and 6 are numerous too (Indonesia's repainting retail units) but harder to hunt for it (at least for a Malaysian, me). Alice and New Goblin are getting price cut too.
What does that tell you? Overpriced and over-production (without much demand).

Sarah Connor was their first testing (2nd after Sheva, seemless arms) with Yulli's sculpted arms. I've 5 Sarah Connor(s), 7 out of 10 arms do not have the internal frame properly seated before casting. Thin layer will be prone to poking through the elbows. Abigail using the same arms (other that the shoulder joint) however do not suffer this (5 bodies too, 10/10 arms are alright). <This shows HT does do improvement for later releases, other examples: Knee joint improvement for Falconer/Tracker after Berserker, Back leg flap cover of Mk. 6 after Mk. 4.

No, it's not that hard to believe - but what i'm saying is that a 20% sample size is statistically good enough to indicate overall QC issues etc. If the people on these boards and Facebook have widespread QC issues with some figure, then statistically it is almost certain that the remaining 80% will also have a similar 'lemon' rate.

It is simple stats really

.... correct: Another statistical method: Random sampling of a certain number of figures.

 

[SwedishHeat]

No, it's not that hard to believe - but what i'm saying is that a 20% sample size is statistically good enough to indicate overall QC issues etc. If the people on these boards and Facebook have widespread QC issues with some figure, then statistically it is almost certain that the remaining 80% will also have a similar 'lemon' rate.

It is simple stats really

Granted it's been a while since I've been in a statistics class, but I remember enough to know what you're saying is not correct.

First, the vast majority of people go online to spread bad news. It's simple human nature to spread bad news. It's taught in every marketing class. This means the vast majority of people online discussing issues will be spreading bad news. The people online are not a valid sample of the entire population because of this. Every statistician will tell you that this is sampling bias.

If the people that go online represent 20% of the market segment and 80% of those people express disappointment with the product, the best you could estimate is that 16% of the market segment is disappointed, not that 80% of the entire segment is disappointed. The online community is not a valid representation of the market. There are still LOTS of 1/6 collectors that don't go online.

You look at something simple, there were 750 of that Rogue PF made, how many people _____ed in that thread?? Maybe 50 people, which is a lot, but it's only 6% of the total edition size. Only 6% of the buyers of that specific statue voiced their opinion online, 6% is not a valid sample size

Look at this https://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm

Even at lowest acceptable confidence level, 95%, you'd need 254 people reporting to determine a valid sample at 750 units. And there most definitely were not 254 unique voices in that thread complaining.

The people in this forum have IMPOSSIBLY high standards. ABNORMALLY high standards, even.

 

[bandito]

.....
Look at this https://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm

Even at lowest acceptable confidence level, 95%, you'd need 254 people reporting to determine a valid sample at 750 units. And there most definitely were not 254 unique voices in that thread complaining.

The people in this forum have IMPOSSIBLY high standards. ABNORMALLY high standards, even.

254 (for 750) is far to big a number.... Here is where random sampling to represent the bigger population comes in.... say a random sample of 50 from 750.

Personally, I'm doing human population survey of genetic diseases, infectious pathogens and human racial divergence. Where a random sampling of say 100 people can represent the entire population that number in the Millions with high confidence. The statistical terms escape me a.t.m..... need to reread scientific papers.

Suggestion: Make a survey, where members that has (more than few dozens of posts) can vote once (and being owners). That should be a fairer accurate statical sampling of a figure's QC.

Another sampling example: I've 10 Mk.5 arms, 2 of 10 have hand guard problems.

 

[SAB]

Granted it's been a while since I've been in a statistics class, but I remember enough to know what you're saying is not correct.

First, the vast majority of people go online to spread bad news. It's simple human nature to spread bad news. It's taught in every marketing class. This means the vast majority of people online discussing issues will be spreading bad news. The people online are not a valid sample of the entire population because of this. Every statistician will tell you that this is sampling bias.

Actually its called 'researcher bias' when people make claims like 'the vast majority of people online are there to spread bad news'
That's just silly.

Check out any thread on here about a product that Hot Toys pulled off well....say the new Jack Sparrow. Are the 'vast majority' on that thread savaging the figure and spreading bad news about it? Nope....

How about the Indy thread? ....hmm well there seems to be more negativity there? Is that because of the product or simply online negativity?

 

[Lejuan]

First, the vast majority of people go online to spread bad news.

That's not my impression of this forum. If that were the case then every thread would be about whining over QC issues. Seems that a few threads attract more complaints than others, and one of those is definitely the BW Bats thread

 

[a-dev]

That's not my impression of this forum. If that were the case then every thread would be about whining over QC issues. Seems that a few threads attract more complaints than others, and one of those is definitely the BW Bats thread

I think theres some truth in it but whether it applies here on this topic or not I dunno.

It really can be more interesting to talk about bad points than good points. In many a thread I've talked about perceived flaws in sculpts and whatnot and been accused of being 'negative' on the back of that. But in truth my overall feelings are more often than not positive - I simply don't shy away from talk of negatives, I find it more interesting even. If I think a figure is perfect I simply don't have much to say about it. Popping into a thread every now and then to say 'Awesome' doesn't really interest me because its not going to breed discussion. I'll do it once or twice and then leave it, buy the figure or not.

As regards how it might play into QC complaints - well, its possible all the paranoia gets people posting about nothing - silly, minor issues that no one but the most obsessive will notice. Others seem to think just about any issue or break warrants replacing rather than simply taking some glue to it and fixing it. There was an example yesterday of a guy whose handle snapped on his T-600 gatling gun and he was wondering about having it replaced.....just glue it back, come on!

 

[Rorywan]

Well, I think everyone should head over to the batman Ex thread and have a look at Maglors set. It's just shocking. Now the thing is peeling...

This isn't whining, this is unacceptable!

https://sideshowcollectors.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99869&page=158

 

[SAB]

Sweet jebus!!

 

[Pantone]

Some people just can't handle criticism and take it far too personally when someone points out the weak points of their favourites toys.

We talk about the good and the bad because we're passionate about the hobby.

 

[a-dev]

Some people just can't handle criticism and take it far too personally when someone points out the weak points of their favourites toys.

We talk about the good and the bad because we're passionate about the hobby.

___kin' tell me about it.