Mattel: DC Universe Classics

[Buttmunch]

hopefully they wont be an arm and a leg on ebay lol wishful thinking i wouldnt mind the whole set , but ill settle for the joker, powergirl and man bat

Those seem to be the "big 3" of the wave. At least Joker and Powergirl are 2 per case along with the Peg Warming Black Batman. I guess that would Man-bat the hardest figure in the wave to get now.

 

[Boba Ben]

I easily found wave 5 in one late night visit to my local Wal-Mart. I'm hoping my luck is the same with wave 10.

 

[Buttmunch]

I too found all of wave 5 on one trip. Well I saw a lone Riddler at one Wal-mart and got him. Went to the next Wal-mart and found a full case there. So I left both Riddlers. But I guess that still counts.

 

[Boba Ben]

It was pretty exciting. The only one that had a little paint qc issue was Amazo. Some skin tone paint from his body bled onto one of the arms.

It was Christmas day when I opened them and I also remember that my Metallo's arm was really stuck and I spent two showings of A Christmas Story on TBS getting it to move. Thankfully I got it, although my hand was pretty sore.

 

[karamazov80]

Thankfully I got it, although my hand was pretty sore.

That's what she said.

 

[Buttmunch]

I too remember how hard it was to get Metallo's joints unstuck. And even then I new how rare the series was so I was so scared of breaking him and not being able to get a replacement. That was when Mattel's QC really sucked so I bet at least 25% of that wave broke, making it even rarer.

 

[Boba Ben]

That's what she said.

I knew 100%, without a doubt, that as soon as I posted that, someone would say that.

 

[Boba Ben]

I too remember how hard it was to get Metallo's joints unstuck. And even then I new how rare the series was so I was so scared of breaking him and not being able to get a replacement. That was when Mattel's QC really sucked so I bet at least 25% of that wave broke, making it even rarer.

It is upsetting that this series ended up being so rare. I hate to see fans and collectors pay such outrageous prices on ebay due to the poor distribution and Wal-Mart's small production request.

Now that I'm recalling that figure run for series 5, I really did go through a lot to get them. I actually forgot my debit card on my dresser and had to go get it and come straight back to pick them up.

I had to sneakily hide them behind some Elmo karaoke machine or something.

The things I do for Mattel.

 

[xcobrasoldierx]

lol i never was able to get wave 5 i got riddler off ebay for 30.00 id like to get the others someday if i can get more cash but not in need of the others wave 10 i wouldnt mind the whole wave but since i dont have a wal mart here ill prob have to resort to ebay or see if i can find people who do go to wal mart and just pay them when they find em for me

 

[karamazov80]

i think that makes a lot of sense because you just don't know how much they are gonna cost but if you don't get them when you first get a chance then you might not have another chance at all and then what are you gonna do its so hard to say because you can't look into the future and if you could you might disrupt the space-time continuum and then the world would explode lol

 

[Boba Ben]

i think that makes a lot of sense because you just don't know how much they are gonna cost but if you don't get them when you first get a chance then you might not have another chance at all and then what are you gonna do its so hard to say because you can't look into the future and if you could you might disrupt the space-time continuum and then the world would explode lol

 

[Boba Ben]

Does anyone know a good technique for permanently tightening joints on these figures that doesn't ruin the aesthetics of the figure?

 

[karamazov80]

If you have a means to getting the joints off without creating damage, you could use clear fingernail polish. Add a coat, let it dry, re-attach the joint. If it is still too loose, add another coat. I have done this with some of my old GI Joes, and it works well. The only potential drawback is that you might make joints too tight, and then. . .I guess you would need fingernail polish remover to take it off, which could take paint off, too. Also, make sure it is completely dry before re-attaching, or you could essentially be gluing the joint in place.

 

[Buttmunch]

I've heard superglue works too, but I've never tried the method.

 

[xcobrasoldierx]

lol then there will be plastic body parts all over the universe

 

[Lee in MI]

Does anyone know a good technique for permanently tightening joints on these figures that doesn't ruin the aesthetics of the figure?

There are several joints that come off with some care. The ankles, bicep, knees, elbows, wrist and neck joints all pop apart very easily. Just boil some water, drop the figure's limb in and gently separate the parts. They will start to cool pretty quickly and will need to be reheated to be reassembled. The thigh swivel joint can also be removed but this one is very difficult to do and have the peg remain in one piece. You have to REALLY boil the leg to get it loose and there is a huge chance of breaking the peg clean off. I don't recommend it unless you are NOT a novice.

Do not attempt to remove the torso hinge joint, the torso swivel or the swivel/hinge hip joints! These are not designed to be taken apart unless you completly open the chest and/or hip cavities...which is in and of itself very difficult to do without damaging the figure due to them not being glued but sonically welded.

Once you have the parts boiled and disassembled, do your mods, re-boil and reassemble.

Hope this helps.

Oh, and sometimes just heating and freezing the figures can help tighten some joints...try this first!

 

[Buttmunch]

I've heard with superglue you just put a drop or two into the joint and keep moving it back and forth for a few minutes to prevent it from gluing in place. It just adds enough thickness it tightens the joint a bit. Again, I've never done it and I'm probably leaving out important info, but that is the basic idea of it from what I can remember.

 

[devlinboy]

cornerstorecomics has an interesting write up about wave 9...From the sound of this specific write up, the line looks like it is in trouble.(personally i dont think it is, but if anything it will be more of a mattycollector.com line in the near future)

As the rumors morph into truth regarding the shortage of DC Universe Classics Wave 9 product
delivered to online retailers, one hero steps forward to offer his insights and opinions on the matter.
-Editor's Note: The following opinions belong solely to the interviewee and do not reflect the position of CSC.

Our hero, who wishes to remain nameless, had this to say about the shortage:
"As far as I can tell, just about every specialty retailer that has ordered a significant amount of my,
er... this wave has thus far received less than 25% of their ordered quantities. Most have also been
told that the remaining quantities that remain on open purchase orders will not be filled."

When asked what he thought might be causing the shortages, Mr. X (not his real name) offered this:
"I'm not sure there is any good explanation for what is happening to the retailers and the fans of this
line. I've heard everything from poor factory scheduling to straight up stupidity, but the truth probably
lies somewhere in between the two. Heck, I've even heard rumblings that Mattel did this intentionally
in order to better establish their position on that awful Matty Collector site as the place to buy regular
DC Universe Classics releases in addition to the club exclusives in the future. It doesn't really matter
what caused the shortage. The truly troubling part is that specialty retail has consistently moved
thousands of units on each wave that has been available to them. To come up short for nearly 75%
of their representative orders is either stupid or evil."

It has occurred to us that it if Mattel actually gave a hoot about this line or the fans and retailers that
have supported this line from day one, they shoud be able to simply order up more figures and get
those open orders filled. What gives?
"Last I heard, Mattel is aggreable to doing that... Oh wait. That offer comes with some insane
stipulations. First, the minimum quantity required to get this wave back into production is, like,
twelve thousand pieces... per figure. AND, they would now be subject to the 30% cost increase
that wasn't supposed to kick in until Wave 11. Oh, yeah, almost forgot... They would
likely arrive some time between Waves 12 & 13. Maybe.

Looking at the potential impact on the future of this line, we asked Mr. X to pontificate.
"Look. A shortage like this can do nothing but harm to this line. Between the HUGE price increases,
the mass market retail store exclusives (which fans absolutely despise, for the most part), convention
exclusves, online exclusives, and the very weak lineup of the yet-to-be-announced Wave 13, it
seems like Mattel is desperate to rid itself of the responsibility of producing this line altogether
for any length of time beyond 2009."

Strong words from someone on the inside. Let's hope that this is just speculation, and that Mattel is
being proactive in dealing with this tough situation, for the sake of the line.

 

[devlinboy]

I've heard with superglue you just put a drop or two into the joint and keep moving it back and forth for a few minutes to prevent it from gluing in place. It just adds enough thickness it tightens the joint a bit. Again, I've never done it and I'm probably leaving out important info, but that is the basic idea of it from what I can remember.

this is exactly what i do. not sure if i a missing a step either, but it has worked for me.

 

[devlinboy]

Just putting this out there....i will gladly pay a premium for a set of wave 10 if anyone comes across them. i am not sure what ebay is going to do to the prices in the near future, but i would be willing to pay about 200 for the set as of now.