Molecule8 John Lennon UPDATE 5/10/18 - SCAM COMPANY!

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Re: Molecule8 (New company)

They've already published the price. It's dirt-cheap for what's being offered. They're engineering a body that will be used for ALL their figures. You can't do that with the plastic bodies everyone else engineers. That's a lot of re-engineering for every single figure that needs a change.

The brush I'm painting with is half a nanometer in diameter, you could write a novel on a fly's testicle with it.

You also assumed incorrectly about their resources being quite so limited. They've obviously come into this with deep pockets to get to where they are right now. Check the job history of the people in the document I linked earlier.

Also not sure why people keep bringing up Spider-man. No one has used a steel skeleton on such a figure. In fact they're used primarily by Phicen on much more mundane figures.

Every post shows that some people just don't get it. This company is getting the buzz and the sales precisely because of the product/design decisions they've made, not in spite of them.

Well I'm sure no expert but what I think we'll see is the prices of these figures rise rather rapidly. If this figure turns out this nice then it is a great price. I think it was kept low to generate excitement and buzz which it has done.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

Whats wrong with wanting to do something better?

Not a thing if there is a reason for it. If Phicen would release the same warrior women with jointed bodies they wouldn't look the same as they do now. So they designed a seamless body and most people would agree it is awesome. Now of course they charge more for these figures. Now take that same seamless body and use it on a figure which is completely covered up and charge 50 to 75 bucks more for it than the same figure would be with a jointed body. Collectors wouldn't be too happy.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

What would be the cost of the figure be if the r&d for this new body was not included?

How many more figures would they have sold, if any, if the price was lower?

How many more ppl would be glad this was in their budget if the price was $50 less?

I didnt read anyone's post that said dont innovate. In fact i think that argument flies in the face of the general consensus of this forum- ppl are always looking for better or upgraded or more realistic. Ive read a lot of things that focused on cost and necessity. A world away from the claim of "dont innovate". If i missed those postings would someone be so kind as to show me?
This doesn't concern me at all on this figure as I have no interest. Now you show me a great Aragorn or Legolas figure and 50 dollars could be the difference between me getting it or not. You've had some great posts in this thread.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

It seems a good figure judging on the proto head and slick marketing concepts, but they still got taxi driver, willy wonka and the rest to get through, think i will chill and let the braver jump over first, and see what gives.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

Their figures were never going to be the same price as everyone else's. There's already too much competition at $200-250. $300-400 is probably where you'll see all their 1/6 offerings.

Newsflash, Apple doesn't sell as many XXXXXXX as company ABC - but look at the sweet sweet profit.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

Their figures were never going to be the same price as everyone else's. There's already too much competition at $200-250. $300-400 is probably where you'll see all their 1/6 offerings.

And once other companies see that this is the new acceptable norm expect them to jump their prices as well.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

And once other companies see that this is the new acceptable norm expect them to jump their prices as well.

They can raise their prices, but they won't have the goods to command them. This isn't just a pricing game - you don't get this interest based on price.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

Well I'm sure no expert but what I think we'll see is the prices of these figures rise rather rapidly. If this figure turns out this nice then it is a great price. I think it was kept low to generate excitement and buzz which it has done.

Doubtless. If I remember correctly, SSC Jedi Luke was the only SW figure to come in under $50. Same with the LOTR line. The initial figures were around $55 then they all rose steadily.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

Looking at this and what may come to be, I think there may be a tipping point with what consumers are willing to pay just for a high tech body (or a full figure with the same). I think the real attraction in the hobby has always been sculpt, paint, and character/license: because you can still put a HT sculpt on a $20 body, put it in a detlof, and no one may know the difference except you.

IMO the market has already filled the void regarding bodies to the general satisfaction of the consumer. Tons of options out there that vary in quality and price. I read waaaay more posts about “I wish [high quality company] would do [figure X]” versus “I wish they would come out with a new high tech body”.

Consequently, as a new company engineering a radically advanced new body would have been further down on my list. My focus would have been on hiring and retaining the best sculpting and painting talent, as well as license acquisition. IMO a start-up expending these resources on a new body design just wasn’t necessary.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

Summary

1. Cool new innovative body....perhaps something good for the future, but does not seem to make sense with a rock icon figure.

2. 1000 sales makes you a good company, unless of course the final product is terrible or does not materialize

3. 300 for a high end 1/6 figure fills a void in the hobby, which will not matter if it's not worth 300.

And Evil.....how dare you compare a Ferrari to any other car..... that thing is a work of art......and engineering , and power , and style

Saying it is in the same class as a Ford Focus is a bit of a stretch, but I get your drift


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Re: Molecule8 (New company)

This thread is pretty amazing - I find the psychology of it all fascinating. I don't want to be a wet blanket, and there's some things they are discussing that sound fantastic to me, from licenses to innovations. But there's also reality, and several things just don't add up right now.

- there's no way in Hell anything is shipping to customers within the next four weeks if they don't have a production sample in hand right now, let alone not even a prototype. Now maybe they already have production samples in hand and just aren't showing any photos of anything yet...but I'm not sure why they'd do that. The concern here is they remain adamant that Lennon will be shipping, even when that seems impossible, with no explanation for how it could be possible. Even if we get prototype photos by the end of this week - that's what we heard, correct? - I don't see how anything can be ready to ship to customers for several months.

- the new body looks great, but something doesn't seem to jive with the Lennon head sculpt. The body is clearly not 'traditional', but the head and neck sculpt we've seen is. Perhaps we'll see a skin covered body/neck that a traditional head can just pop on, but that's not what we've been shown so far.

- does this guy have extremely deep pockets? He must - he didn't use a funding source like Kickstarter, but undertook what would easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars just to develop this new body and skin technique. Now, at the end of the process he has $300,000 of collector's money, certainly no small potatoes, but that's after all the development and fixed costs are complete.

- where did this guy come from? Howard Chan didn't start making a perfect sixth scale figure day one - it takes time and practice to hone the craft, just like anything else. He also didn't start out with a dozen well known licenses without ever producing a figure.

As much as I'd love to believe...or 'imagine'...something seems off. Now it's possible that this is all absolutely true, and by June 1st the lucky early adopters will be happily cradling their John Lennon. I suspect the reality will fall someplace in between, with lots of delays, lots of excuses, and product eventually in our hands in early 2018. Worst case scenario, the mystery man disappears with $300k.

Like I said, I'm hoping we get everything they've promised - it seems fantastic. But it's simply too good to be true, at least to my pragmatic brain. And I'm also very glad their first announcement wasn't the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka, because then the odds of my $300 being on the table would have gone up considerably.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

No, not you too Michael!

200-8_160822_145022.gif
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

This thread is pretty amazing - I find the psychology of it all fascinating. I don't want to be a wet blanket, and there's some things they are discussing that sound fantastic to me, from licenses to innovations. But there's also reality, and several things just don't add up right now.

- there's no way in Hell anything is shipping to customers within the next four weeks if they don't have a production sample in hand right now, let alone not even a prototype. Now maybe they already have production samples in hand and just aren't showing any photos of anything yet...but I'm not sure why they'd do that. The concern here is they remain adamant that Lennon will be shipping, even when that seems impossible, with no explanation for how it could be possible. Even if we get prototype photos by the end of this week - that's what we heard, correct? - I don't see how anything can be ready to ship to customers for several months.

- the new body looks great, but something doesn't seem to jive with the Lennon head sculpt. The body is clearly not 'traditional', but the head and neck sculpt we've seen is. Perhaps we'll see a skin covered body/neck that a traditional head can just pop on, but that's not what we've been shown so far.

- does this guy have extremely deep pockets? He must - he didn't use a funding source like Kickstarter, but undertook what would easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars just to develop this new body and skin technique. Now, at the end of the process he has $300,000 of collector's money, certainly no small potatoes, but that's after all the development and fixed costs are complete.

- where did this guy come from? Howard Chan didn't start making a perfect sixth scale figure day one - it takes time and practice to hone the craft, just like anything else. He also didn't start out with a dozen well known licenses without ever producing a figure.

As much as I'd love to believe...or 'imagine'...something seems off. Now it's possible that this is all absolutely true, and by June 1st the lucky early adopters will be happily cradling their John Lennon. I suspect the reality will fall someplace in between, with lots of delays, lots of excuses, and product eventually in our hands in early 2018. Worst case scenario, the mystery man disappears with $300k.

Like I said, I'm hoping we get everything they've promised - it seems fantastic. But it's simply too good to be true, at least to my pragmatic brain. And I'm also very glad their first announcement wasn't the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka, because then the odds of my $300 being on the table would have gone up considerably.

Finally! The voice of reason! I knew there was a reason that I have been such a big fan of your site!
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

It is a bit unusual of a choice to say you have 3 years of work on a project , nothing but CGI showing, and a release date in a few weeks.....UNLESS you plan on releasing pics when shipping so orders can't be canceled.....


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Re: Molecule8 (New company)

I last looked in on this thread two days ago and twenty pages back. It's summed up for me by this image of their correspondence address:
Molecule8HQ.jpg

I zoomed in on the windows but couldn't see any figures inside. You can just make out a big pile of money in the small bedroom.

and this link to Chadha's page at Company's House:

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/trRLS8FtlwjaMpaYo41Eo9aAOL8/appointments

which includes a company called Ignition that he resigned from in 2011 but which had £55 million in the bank recently and is linked to Disney. People with more time than me might want to take a good look - any accountants here?

Apologies if this has already been posted.
 
Re: Molecule8 (New company)

Ignition was/is a video game publisher, it's been running since the early 2000s. The Gameboy and the DS was their thing, as far as I remember.

At some point it was bought by Disney India. I also remember that some years back, an the US office of Ignition got in some bother due to some sort of dodgy goings on with the company monies, there was also something to do with either assault or sexual harassment by one of the managers. Which is always nice.

However, while that's undoubtedly a thing, that's also not linked to any of the M8 people being mentioned here, they weren't the US office.
 
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