Mars Toys 1/6 MAT023 Alfred Pennyworth (Batman '66)

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Inflation will probably go back up, companies are cutting left and right and hobbies like toy collecting will limit what we can afford or want . This is going to affect everyone..
 
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I see there's a lot of people reporting the same occurrence on Kit's Fcebook.

It's been suggested that it's because taxes have to be paid as well as the 10% tariff, though 4PX should've already handled that since part of their job is prepayment to facilitate smooth customs clearance on arrival.
 
I see there's a lot of people reporting the same occurrence on Kit's Fcebook.

It's been suggested that it's because taxes have to be paid as well as the 10% tariff, though 4PX should've already handled that since part of their job is prepayment to facilitate smooth customs clearance on arrival.

I may be wrong. There could've been a change in the last couple months. But I've NEVER had to pay tax for goods purchased outside my country before. But perhaps when tariffs are involved it may work differently and somehow the taxes would apply too in addition. Maybe. I'd say those who've been living with tariffs and things like VAT for years could better answer that.
 
I may be wrong. There could've been a change in the last couple months. But I've NEVER had to pay tax for goods purchased outside my country before. But perhaps when tariffs are involved it may work differently and somehow the taxes would apply too in addition. Maybe. I'd say those who've been living with tariffs and things like VAT for years could better answer that.

That's because until now there was no tax payable on items under $800.

Trump on Saturday suspended the exemption as part of new tariffs that include an additional 10% tax on Chinese goods. The nearly century-old exception, known as de minimis, has been used by many e-commerce companies to send goods worth less than $800 into the U.S. duty-free, creating a competitive advantage.

But since he did this without consultation it's caused chaos and the postal system can't cope.

Hence today:

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that puts a pause on his closing of the de minimis trade exemption, a provision commonly used by Chinese e-commerce companies Temu and Shein.

The order states that de minimis will be restored for small packages shipped from China, “but shall cease to be available for such articles upon notification by the Secretary of Commerce to the President that adequate systems are in place to fully and expediently process and collect tariff revenue” on those items.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/07/tru...-minimis-trade-exemption-targeting-china.html
 
I may be wrong. There could've been a change in the last couple months. But I've NEVER had to pay tax for goods purchased outside my country before. But perhaps when tariffs are involved it may work differently and somehow the taxes would apply too in addition. Maybe. I'd say those who've been living with tariffs and things like VAT for years could better answer that.

Bleah posted this in another thread:

Just to clarify some things upon reading more on this.

Not all toys have predetermined tariffs for the US. These are just examples of a portion that may apply here. Toys that have human likeness (Hello 1/6 scale and action figures! Lol!) are subject to 4.7% tariffs. Robots and cars don't have any. Because of the de minimis exemption or having stuff declared undervalued (value below $800), most of our stuff never got hit with 4.7% tariffs. BUT once the de minimis exemption for China is removed, it will be 4.7% plus 10% for anything resembling a human being. Others just get the 10%.

The tariffs on Chinese goods were suspended today because the system can't cope with collecting them.
 
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Sorry a bit confused but does that mean things sorta go back how things were before the chaotic mess.

Thrown off by the “small packages line”
I don’t think so…at least not right away. I can only speak for myself, but I’ve had this figure and another (2 separate shipments) that have been in the states for 3 days now with no movement. Just the one day of confusion slowed things down.
 
Sorry a bit confused but does that mean things sorta go back how things were before the chaotic mess.

Thrown off by the “small packages line”

The reports say that the 10℅ tariff has been temporarily suspended until the system is capable of processing it.

No telling how long that will be, or how many executive orders between now and then will change things further.

Yesterday Trump said he would be putting reciprocal tariffs on a lot of other countries next week. So even more chaos for the postal system that can't handle the workload at the moment.
 
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It's a doubly weird coincidence because we were talking about the $10 cards in this thread a week ago.

Out of the four $10 cards I've received over the years, three have been with Mars figures even though there haven't been that many of them compared to other brands.

Mars '89 Joker, Mars '66 Joker and now Mars '66 Alfred. The only other brand to be a winner was Ujindou in June 2023, which was my most recent until today.


Trebly weird coincidence realising that the card is close in colour to the Alfred box!
 
To answer the burning question that's on everyone's mind (!), how tall is he?

I always measure from above the heels of the shoes/boots to the point where I imagine the top of the head is under the hair.

With that method I make him 12.5" (6' 3"). Ideally in 1/6 he'd be 13" (6' 6").

However, since Hot Toys Batman and Mars Joker are under scaled he shouldn't look too wrong. I do have some ankle cups from bodies which I shortened which should bring him to just under 13".

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The sculpt is surprisingly good, and much better than it appeared to be.

It might be my imagination, but he doesn't have the blank stare I assumed. There's a very subtle expression there. From the front he looks concerned or serious, but from his left side there's the hint that he's beginning to smile. So from posing the head at different angles you might get more out of him than you expected.

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Sorry that this is being a bit episodic, but I'm far more excited with this old man than I should be. :lol

Standing beside Hot Toys' Batman the height difference is perfect, since both figures are half an inch too short.

Adam West was 6' 1 1/2” = 12.25” in 1/6 (HT Batman is 11.75").

Alan Napier was 6' 6” = 13” in 1/6 (Mars Alfred is 12.5").

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Now I'm not sure whether to add the extensions or not. :unsure:


I'll leave you all alone for a bit as the preliminary investigation is done, and I need to start working on the figures.
 
Anyone here interested in selling the Shakespeare bust, bat-phone, table, and maybe one of the glasses of milk?
 
After testing him on the shelves against the other '66 figures I decided it would be better to keep Alfred at his stock 12.5" as he looked fine. Any taller and he'd be too tall next to most of them.

My plan for the tailcoat party figure was to have him holding the tray of punch glasses in both hands. The pistol grip shaped ones are the most natural for the task but his right wrist peg swivel is so loose that it was impossible to for him to hold the tray secure or level.

The peg's tight in the arm but the piece that the hand plugs onto has zero friction, which also makes it hard changing the hand because it swivels away when trying to push it on.

I went for the tighter gripping hand and tried him holding the tray with just his left instead, and I think it worked out better:

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The tailoring is very good. Removing the tailcoat outfit (evening dress) you discover that the shirt doesn't fasten down the front, but it made like a sweater that you have to pull over his head. Mars applied white tape between his legs to keep it firmly tucked down.

The morning suit, however, has those annoying little plastic poppers down the front. The bottom one snapped on first try but the middle one was a devil. The plastic stud wanted to bend instead of going into the hole. Eventually managed it, though in the process the nail art shirt button came unglued. Gluing those tiny things back on is always fraught with danger.

To attach the braces it's handy having a DID buttonhook, though I did try one without and it wasn't too difficult.

The tie is awkward to manage as it doesn't naturally lay fat. Tucking it into the waistband helps, before taming it with either the jacket or apron.

The shirt for the morning suit doesn't fasten at the collar so isn't as neat and tightly closed as it ought to be.

It was hard deciding on a pose for this one. I'd like to have used one of the closed hands as he often held them like that, but the Mars fists are too tightly clenched to appear relaxed.

I settled on this for now. Deferential, and stooping as he often was due to his height.

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An earlier pose where the sculpt detail came out quite well:

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