I used to feel this way as somebody who collected the DC Direct stuff, but then I started thinking how Mondo makes up for it in other ways. Would I have loved these if they were full-fledged, mixed media 1/6th scale figures? Yeah, but, at the same time, I know damn well we wouldn’t be getting four or five different heads and nearly as many accessories. I feel like there’s a really weird disconnect, because, in my brain, I think of these figures as toys. They’re sturdy, there’s tons of “play” potential with all the options and they’ve honestly surpassed the DC Direct line for me, I think, to the point where I’m considering selling off my re-releases and getting out of it for good.
There are areas where smaller is better. I don’t think I’d ever need to spend $200 on a Mondo Condiment King, for instance, but I really like how this line has developed and it has infinitely exceeded my original expectations of it. It seems like only a few years ago, we had a two year turnaround time between figures and we felt we’d be lucky if we ever saw that original line-up by the time we croaked. Now, we get two to four figures up for order within a year and the turnaround time is actually really decent. Like, comparative to Hot Toys or InArt or half the third party companies I have **** on order from, I feel like Mondo have really hit their stride in terms of churning this **** out.
If they could just hone in on effective QC and making sure the products are stable and tough enough to withstand all the posing and accessorizing they’re designed for, I would have zero qualms calling it one of my favorite toy lines out there at the moment. I do agree and think they charge too much, on the whole, but I also think that applies to pretty much every facet of this industry. All this **** probably costs 75 bucks to make in China, but they know their market and it’s nerds with expendable income, so, they figure “**** it” and I feel like that’s pretty much across the board for all these companies.
