Mezco One:12 Collective - (1:12 scale) Marvel Comics Figures

[justaguy]

Fair enough Gaspar, I get your point of view, but that's where we differ: while I understand you like Tony's choices of design better, you can't deny the fabrics he uses let alone the paint app, are inferior to what Mezco is doing. And of course they are, Mezco has the money, they can afford it. I'm sorry but to me, his Wolverine screams "amateur custom". I really say that without any mean intention, I respect his work and customizers in general, kudos to them for trying to make more faithful versions of some characters.

Also, Mezco's approach is very different than what he is doing. I wouldn't say Mezco have bad tastes of design, but they are more and more opting for a modern version of the characters. Granted they haven't been coherent with this idea from day one, because the Dark Knight Returns figures were clearly comic-book oriented whereas a figure like The Punisher looks nothing like the comic book. It's their adaptation, their take on the character, and I really like this artistic approach.

I would compare Tony's work to what Sideshow sometimes do: comic-book based version, 100% faithful. Which comes from a very respectable idea, but the execution has to be flawless and look good. I'll use an example: I hate Sideshow's Wolverine. I saw it in person and thought it looked terrible. It's faithful to the comics, but the painting, the clothes, the execution, it looks as weird as it looks faithful to the comics. Some characters really need to be re-imagined, re-designed and tweaked to look their best on a 1/12 or 1/6 clothed figure. I think the guys from Mezco have understood this concept.

So I do think Tony's Superman and TDKR Bruce heads look great when used on the Mezco figure, because those Mezco figures are comic-book based. But Jim Lee Punisher's head on the Mezco Punisher looks completely off for my taste. Same goes for Wolverine. And really the material on the clothes, I don't like it. Just my two cent.

At the end of the day it's all a matter of personal tastes. If I see customs of 1/12 Mezcos that look better to me than the official thing, you can bet I'll be the first one to buy it. But so far, I have seen none, and the line as it is... is better untouched for me. I trust the Mezco guys to keep on delivering and keep up the good work. I criticize them too, but for the price they are charging, the diversity they offer, and the quality of their products, they will keep on having my money as long as they don't ****** it up.

But huge respect to all customizers nonetheless, I appreciate that those exist to see "what could have been" figures, 100% comic-book faithful versions and so on, it's always fun to see. They are talented guys too!

 

[GasparZizou]

No, the fabric he uses scales better than the fabric Mezco uses, his paint jobs and sculpts are also superior., no debate there

Modern doesn't make their designs suck, if they want modern, there are modern versions of the characters, they just have bad taste and have no idea what makes Superheroes look cool.

Tony Mei > Mezco, bjectively speaking.

 

[ZE_501]

I hate their bad taste, I don't hate their production values, even as-is the Marvel Legends wolverine is better than Mezco.

They just make all the wrong choices in the majority of their figures, and for some reason, people eat it up just because of the fabric clothing, you strip them of that and they're literally Marvel Legends/DC Icons, only with worse design.

And the fanbase has turned into rabid shills, I'd say even worse than Neca's at this point.

No, the fabric he uses scales better than the fabric Mezco uses, his paint jobs and sculpts are also superior., no debate there

Modern doesn't make their designs suck, if they want modern, there are modern versions of the characters, they just have bad taste and have no idea what makes Superheroes look cool.

Tony Mei > Mezco, bjectively speaking.

Been reading Gaspar here on the boards for a while -- we agree on some stuff; I find I'm more casual and forgiving on other issues. But I have to align with him squarely on this.

I think Mezco came out guns blazing and got me excited, and then proceeded to make a lot of uneven and bewildering choices regarding materials, design and execution, but it's as if the momentum their first offerings whipped up created a monster. When they hit, their work is amazing. But for me personally, I think they miss more often than not. Maybe it's just me and my particular OCD taste, who knows.

I haven't compared a Mei custom with a Mezco in-hand, but judging by photos alone, I think his fabric offerings are on par or better than what Mezco's stock figures offer. As for his stuff looking like 'amateur customs' -- they don't have the 'factory finish' gloss that Mezco has, but they look really tight and not what I'd call 'amateur'. Again, just judging by photos.

So why am I even in this thread? Because I'm excited to see what Mezco produces down the line. I think they can do better and hope they will.

 

[GasparZizou]

I also look forward to the next stuff the do, I've only been complaining because the stuff it has released it's the same that was announced long ago, so the issues persist, hopefully they've learned something and make better decisions in the future. Although with the way these things are selling I doubt they have the motivation to do it.

 

[Eddranger]

Need that Classic Red Skull to ship out. Price is still going for over $200 in auctions.

 

[justaguy]

No, the fabric he uses scales better than the fabric Mezco uses, his paint jobs and sculpts are also superior., no debate there

Modern doesn't make their designs suck, if they want modern, there are modern versions of the characters, they just have bad taste and have no idea what makes Superheroes look cool.

Tony Mei > Mezco, bjectively speaking.

Nope.
The materials he uses are not Mezco quality, the tailoring is not on the same level and isn't as neat. It's very good for what he is doing though, but it looks too amateurish to me and for the price I'm paying these figures, I want something professional.

The paint jobs and sculpts from Tony are very good at what they're trying to do and it's cool that they exist but you're lying to yourself if you're thinking they are objectively better. Subjectively yes, you can prefer one over another. Now, objectively, Mezco are doing a better job, but then again, they have the money. You are fooled by the different choice of design but really, the paint app of what I've seen is nothing like Mezco paint app. And I'll take a modern sculpt a Punisher anyday over a Jim Lee sculpt. The level of sculpt details on the two is not something of comparison.

Finally, how much does Tony sell his customs? Let me guess: they are more expensive than the $80 retail Mezco price aren't they? Customs are often more expensive than official releases so I wouldn't be surprised.
If that's the case, that's the nail in the coffin for me really, I see zero chance of me buying a figure that's less than a Mezco but still more expensive.
I will take what I just said back if his customs are sold for a reasonable price ($15 per head sculpt and $50 for the complete figure, now that would somehow make up for the loss of material quality and paint app)

 

[Durable]

Mistake error mistake

 

[GasparZizou]

Tony Mei's tailoring and materials are much better than Mezco, not only the fabric fibers are less visible, he handles vynil aplications much better and the tailoring is much more form fitting. So are the sculpt and paint, not only do his sculpts actually look like the characters, you can't beat a hand painted sculpt and it shows, just look at Mezco's horrible Wolverine sculpts, masked and unmasked, looks like he has tattooed eyebrows and those NECA level teeth paint

Tony Mei > Mezco and it's obvious.

I repeat; objectively speaking, prefering Mezco is highly subjective and aided by the weird hype surrounding the "miniature hot toys"

I don't know if you're serious or a shill, justaguy.

Now the price is an issue, so as it is with any custom, but the only reason I haven't gotten that Superman custom is because I'd have to spend $160 in a couple of Mezco POS Supes figures first.

 

[Durable]

I hate their bad taste, I don't hate their production values, even as-is the Marvel Legends wolverine is better than Mezco.

They just make all the wrong choices in the majority of their figures, and for some reason, people eat it up just because of the fabric clothing, you strip them of that and they're literally Marvel Legends/DC Icons, only with worse design.

And the fanbase has turned into rabid shills, I'd say even worse than Neca's at this point.

Which mezco figures do you have?

 

[GasparZizou]

The original TDKR Batman, 2 of them and 2 Shazams.

Will definitely get Black Adam, and I'm thinking about dropping my PO on Red Son, got 2 of each.

 

[Bearded_Mayhem]

The original TDKR Batman, 2 of them and 2 Shazams.

Will definitely get Black Adam, and I'm thinking about dropping my PO on Red Son, got 2 of each.

So are you judging an entire line of figures based on 2 of them that you've actually experienced and the rest based on the criticisms of others?

 

[justaguy]

Tony Mei's tailoring and materials are much better than Mezco, not only the fabric fibers are less visible, he handles vynil aplications much better and the tailoring is much more form fitting. So are the sculpt and paint, not only do his sculpts actually look like the characters, you can't beat a hand painted sculpt and it shows, just look at Mezco's horrible Wolverine sculpts, masked and unmasked, looks like he has tattooed eyebrows and those NECA level teeth paint

Tony Mei > Mezco and it's obvious.

I repeat; objectively speaking, prefering Mezco is highly subjective and aided by the weird hype surrounding the "miniature hot toys"

I don't know if you're serious or a shill, justaguy.

Now the price is an issue, so as it is with any custom, but the only reason I haven't gotten that Superman custom is because I'd have to spend $160 in a couple of Mezco POS Supes figures first.

A shill? I wish I could suspect the same but I'm going to assume we are both passionate about those figures.
About the fabric fibers being visible, that's one of the things I love about this One:12 line. I kid you not, that's the first thing that caught my eye when I saw them in person. There is a style to it. That's one of the few things that make this line so special.
Now, about the quality of the tailoring, if you can't see the quality isn't there on the Wolverine photo that was posted, there is nothing much I can do or say. You can choose to think it's of better quality, but reality check: it's not
About the hand-painted sculpt, it all depends on how well it's done. I was the first one to be disappointed when I noticed the Harley Quinn HS from Mezco was inferior to the Figuarts that was 3D-printed... I'm not in the confidence of how Mezco make so many headsculpts, but you can tell the original model of the Harley Mezco was hand sculpted by a real artist. Maybe they used molds after that, I guess they would. Whereas the Figuarts was 3D printed.
But I can only imagine sculpting on such a small scale is very hard to do. When we talk 1/6 scale, the hand sculpted heads are the winner so far, over 3D prints. But in 1/12, it all depends. Sometimes it's the hand-sculpted version, sometimes the 3D printed version.

About Tony Mei, are you sure he sculpts those heads? Who knows, maybe he uses a 3D printer as well. Again, I don't know, but it looks too lean for my taste. I don't really feel character of some hand-sculpted heads of his. Maybe I'm wrong but it looks 3D printed. It does look very nice on some figures though, I do like the Superman and Bruce Wayne head sculpts. As far as the painting goes, it's inconsistent, does he paint the heads himself? Or do other people paint them? Are the painters always the same? Maybe it's just me but I remember seeing a Batman TDKR with custom head from Tony Mei and the paint application was not so great. And another time I saw the same headsculpt with a beautiful paint application but can't remember where I saw this. It looked real. This particular paint I'm thinking about, now this was vastly superior to Mezco, it was extremely professional. But I don't think it was Tony Mei who painted it, it didn't look like his style. I'm sorry I completely forgot where I saw that picture.

About Wolverine, I'm sorry but I prefer the Mezco headsculpts over Tony Mei's. I'm not a fan of the comic-book render, it's too lean, too "cute". The Mezco versions, they have defaults, it gives character and life to the heads.
And on the paint app, except from the counter-example I just stated (and I don't know where the hell I saw the pic), from what I've seen, Tony Mei's paint application is too lean, again. The Mezco version are not perfect but they have character. It could be better, of course.

You haven't answered about the price... Do you know how much a full figure of Tony Mei cost? Or even a head sculpt? I don't, and I was just wondering just how much he charges those. Because from the quality of what I saw, it's not worth it for me if it's over Mezco retail price ($80). I could pay more than a regular Mezco figure if it was justified, if the quality of the tailoring and paint and sculpt was vastly superior to Mezco.
I know that some guys who make 1/6 customs sell some of their figures for over $1000 so I wouldn't be surprised if some upcoming 1/12 custom figures sell for $400-$500, but it would have to be really something we haven't seen before.

I'm sorry but I just can't agree with you on Tony Mei beating Mezco, didn't happen. It may though, in the future, the guy has talent and I'm more than opened to see what he offers next. He or someone else. I'm very picky and expect the best, if it's not there, well... it's not there.

 

[GasparZizou]

So are you judging an entire line of figures based on 2 of them that you've actually experienced and the rest based on the criticisms of others?

No, based on pictures, reviews and in-hand at my LCS, even though pictures are all you need (inb4 pictures don't make them justice).

I don't base my opinion on opinions of others, that's the minsed that'll take you to the Mezco hivemind.

 

[GasparZizou]

There is a style to it.

No there isn't, it's bad craft and bad decisions based in inexperience, other 1/12 manufactures don't have that problem with soft goods, they can't even add pockets to their pants FFS.

That's one of the few things that make this line so special.

Awful lot of rationalization for a craft problem.

There's also a lot of post purchase rationalization going on with Mezco, clearly mediocre/awful figures get praised after purchase, like Superman

Now, about the quality of the tailoring, if you can't see the quality isn't there on the Wolverine photo that was posted, there is nothing much I can do or say. You can choose to think it's of better quality, but reality check: it's not

The form is better, the fabic is better, the trunks are better and more formfitting without the need of those awful vynil trunks.

There is no Mezco figure outfit that Tony Mei hasn't vastly improved.

About Tony Mei, are you sure he sculpts those heads? Who knows, maybe he uses a 3D printer as well. Again, I don't know, but it looks too lean for my taste. I don't really feel character of some hand-sculpted heads of his. Maybe I'm wrong but it looks 3D printed. It does look very nice on some figures though, I do like the Superman and Bruce Wayne head sculpts. As far as the painting goes, it's inconsistent, does he paint the heads himself? Or do other people paint them? Are the painters always the same? Maybe it's just me but I remember seeing a Batman TDKR with custom head from Tony Mei and the paint application was not so great. And another time I saw the same headsculpt with a beautiful paint application but can't remember where I saw this. It looked real. This particular paint I'm thinking about, now this was vastly superior to Mezco, it was extremely professional. But I don't think it was Tony Mei who painted it, it didn't look like his style. I'm sorry I completely forgot where I saw that picture.

They are digitally sculpted, so are Mezco's, he does paint himself but also does outsourcing IIRC.

Headsculpts painted by him or his friends are impeccable and miles ahead of Mezco's.

You haven't answered about the price... Do you know how much a full figure of Tony Mei cost? Or even a head sculpt? I don't, and I was just wondering just how much he charges those. Because from the quality of what I saw, it's not worth it for me. I could pay more than a regular Mezco figure if it was justified, if the quality of the tailoring and paint and sculpt was vastly superior to Mezco.
I know that some guys who make 1/6 customs sell some of their figures for over $1000 so I wouldn't be surprised if some upcoming 1/12 custom figures sell for $400-$500, but it would have to be really something we haven't seen before.

I did answer that the price is an issue, IIRC a full figure is around $200 plus s/h, it's bad, but I'll hapily pay that for a definitive Superman, however I am not willing to pay $160 for 2 horrible Mezco Superman figures to have them shipped to Tony.

And the quality of everything is superior to Mezco's.

I'm sorry but I just can't agree with you on Tony Mei beating Mezco, didn't happen. It may though, in the future, the guy has talent and I'm more than opened to see what he offers next. He or someone else. I'm very picky and expect the best, if it's not there, well... it's not there.

You're not picky at all your standard is extremely low, but oddly enough you filter out the best stuff.

 

[Bearded_Mayhem]

No, based on pictures, reviews and in-hand at my LCS, even though pictures are all you need (inb4 pictures don't make them justice).

I don't base my opinion on opinions of others, that's the minsed that'll take you to the Mezco hivemind.

What are reviews other than literally the opinions of others? You come in here calling people who actually enjoy a line Shills and yet you aren't capable of forming an opinion by actually owning something yourself. That's a bit harsh man.

What is this "hivemind" you speak of? I've only met a few people who own Mezco's and none of them seem to be going bat**** over the quality and ignoring the flaws. You saying you think a ML figure is better than a Mezco is kindof crazy to me. Yes, Hasbro knocked it out of the park on Wolverine, but I don't think they did better.

For reference, I own:
X-men Deadpool, Regular Deadpool, Joker, Tiger-Stripe Wolverine, Space Ghost and Captain America, Every single one of those figures has flaws (X-men Deadpool Harness is cheap, Reg. Deadpool Sword Sheaths fall off, Joker...ok he is maybe perfect, Wolverine-Unmasked Sculpt mouth is weird and the Crotch Stitching is a bad choice, Space Ghost....again this one is maybe perfect and Cap's pants are looser than Jared's old pants after the subway diet) I get the criticisms but I also see the level of detail that Mezco gets in these figures FAR surpasses that of Hasbro and the Legends (which I also collect btw) and I have yet to see a Full Custom that surpasses what Mezco is doing, including Tony's work, (which I do love for the most part).

When it comes to customs, there are a couple things that bug me with them being brought into the argument of which is better:
1-Custom figures have way more time to be developed and have the benefit of usually only being designed by one artist from start to finish and also never have to deal with licensors approvals or a company's safety committee's approval. So they have free reign to do what they want whereas the manufacturer has multiple hands on a figure at all times and multiple opinions fighting for control even when a single artist is in the design seat.

2-most of us never see or hold or "play" with custom figures. We see that perfect shot online, of the figure under specialized lighting, in a specific pose that make it look epic. For all we know that lighting and pose hide flaws the manufacturer would NEVER let through. That fabric could be paper thin, but we wouldnt know because all we see is that picture. The actual production figure on the other hand, that gets put under a microscope of crystal clear HD video review and critiques to show "flaws" that a lot of people would never notice or give a **** about. It also has way more time in most people's collections to be admired or hated and therefore discussed whereas the customs, most people don't own and are produced on such a small scale that the group that does get them is rarely large enough to actually warrant a discussion.

When was the last time you saw Shartimus Prime or any of the other big youtube reviewers doing a review of a mei kai custom?You don't and never will, but I guarantee if you did, the quality wouldn't be as good as what Mezco does, the materials available to Mezco Vs. a custom maker are just too different.

 

[InebriatedGnome]

I’m just gonna leave these here:

Sculpted by Tony, painted by Dario Barbera

Two suits by Tony. DKR suit is close to the original, but closer-fitting under the arms, and you can see the difference in material in how it sits on the abs and knees. The fabric doesn’t show sharp edges in the sculpt as clearly, so it looks more natural.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GasparZizou]

What are reviews other than literally the opinions of others? You come in here calling people who actually enjoy a line Shills and yet you aren't capable of forming an opinion by actually owning something yourself. That's a bit harsh man.

Reviews are an excellent source of video footage, that's all I take from them, not the actual opinions.

The only way you can form an opinion is owning it? You can't make an accurate judgment based on pictures or even holding the figure on your hands? Sorry for you but I can.

What is this "hivemind" you speak of? I've only met a few people who own Mezco's and none of them seem to be going bat**** over the quality and ignoring the flaws. You saying you think a ML figure is better than a Mezco is kindof crazy to me. Yes, Hasbro knocked it out of the park on Wolverine, but I don't think they did better.

They did.

That hivemind is not so present here, thankfully, but check out the facebook groups, they're horrible.

When it comes to customs, there are a couple things that bug me with them being brought into the argument of which is better:
1-Custom figures have way more time to be developed and have the benefit of usually only being designed by one artist from start to finish and also never have to deal with licensors approvals or a company's safety committee's approval. So they have free reign to do what they want whereas the manufacturer has multiple hands on a figure at all times and multiple opinions fighting for control even when a single artist is in the design seat.

No argument there.

2-most of us never see or hold or "play" with custom figures. We see that perfect shot online, of the figure under specialized lighting, in a specific pose that make it look epic. For all we know that lighting and pose hide flaws the manufacturer would NEVER let through. That fabric could be paper thin, but we wouldnt know because all we see is that picture. The actual production figure on the other hand, that gets put under a microscope of crystal clear HD video review and critiques to show "flaws" that a lot of people would never notice or give a **** about. It also has way more time in most people's collections to be admired or hated and therefore discussed whereas the customs, most people don't own and are produced on such a small scale that the group that does get them is rarely large enough to actually warrant a discussion.

When was the last time you saw Shartimus Prime or any of the other big youtube reviewers doing a review of a mei kai custom?You don't and never will, but I guarantee if you did, the quality wouldn't be as good as what Mezco does, the materials available to Mezco Vs. a custom maker are just too different.

It's funny that you'd mention that, because somoene on a FB group said the exact same thing, right before someone posted a picture of their Supes briefs all ripped open.

 

[GasparZizou]

I’m just gonna leave these here:

Sculpted by Tony, painted by Dario Barbera

Two suits by Tony. DKR suit is close to the original, but closer-fitting under the arms, and you can see the difference in material in how it sits on the abs and knees. The fabric doesn’t show sharp edges in the sculpt as clearly, so it looks more natural.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Blown the **** out!

 

[Bearded_Mayhem]

I’m just gonna leave these here:

Sculpted by Tony, painted by Dario Barbera

Two suits by Tony. DKR suit is close to the original, but closer-fitting under the arms, and you can see the difference in material in how it sits on the abs and knees. The fabric doesn’t show sharp edges in the sculpt as clearly, so it looks more natural.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Closer fitting under the arms and on the legs, show me the range of articulation possible with that, show me how the suit holds up to the stress of posing over time. Show more than just that one perfect museum pose under studio lighting.

 

[Bearded_Mayhem]

Reviews are an excellent source of video footage, that's all I take from them, not the actual opinions.

The only way you can form an opinion is owning it? You can't make an accurate judgment based on pictures or even holding the figure on your hands? Sorry for you but I can.


They did.

That hivemind is not so present here, thankfully, but check out the facebook groups, they're horrible.


No argument there.


It's funny that you'd mention that, because somoene on a FB group said the exact same thing, right before someone posted a picture of their Supes briefs all ripped open.

Nah, I form opinions based on reviews and stuff too but I usually try to take those with a grain of salt until I get the figure, assuming it was one I was interested in. I'm in those FB groups, I believe 4 of them for Mezco's, I dont see a ton of apologists and hivemind people, lately all I've seen is too many shots of Wolverine's crotch.