I'm easily distracted.

Who said that?!

Getting back on track, I too was immediately struck by the phrase, "while still managing to improve overall quality."
I know Chandra has a reputation for corp-speak, but this was such a cliche.

I wish I could represent a consensus, but perhaps this isn't a concern to everyone. I personally think the cost-cutting is quite visible in terms of product quality: poorly painted Commons, smaller sculpts (and mismatched scale), duplicated sculpts (Hammer Agents, Checkmate Agents, Hellions), sculpts that are unpainted or painted with minimal color (Adaptoids, Mindless Ones, Ch'od, Assassins).

I can understand the economic reasons why they have to do this, and from a business standpoint it makes sense (so long as customers don't get too upset) - but why is lying about it so commonplace?

Okay, bill4935, I get that you're a sculpt quality guy. But you are agreeing with all the reasons that this might need to be done on one hand, and calling him a liar in the other.

He said -

"But our team has spent a lot of time reducing timelines and controlling costs while still managing to improve overall quality".

Super-Adaptoids and such aside, how is this a lie? The Street Fighter figures, the Blackest Night figures, various DC75th (along with the requisite numbers of bus riders, admittedly), GSX figures all have "overall better quality". The think the emphasis is on "overall".

Might be a cliche, but it doesn't make it a lie. Perhaps it's just...subjective?

I will admit there's a lot of wiggle room in the word "overall".

And probably in the word "quality" - because at the top level, quality includes collation, packaging, gameplay, even distribution across the globe, making sure the paint & plastic are lead-free, etc. And I was just thinking about visual appeal.

...Sol, why did you make me calm down and think about things rationally? I was ranting! That's what people do on the internet!


/Still think WoS and BatB were awful looking.

I'm sure there will be an occasion at some point for you to do me the same solid.

Can't argue with that. Overall.

The thing is they can't break out the "overall quality" line every quarter. Just like Doritos has pledged "Cheesier" or "Even Tastier!" on every bag of theirs since 1989. After a while it's just white noise.

I'm happy with the sets and sculpts, so my comments are just a reflection of my interest in this kind of marketing. I always wonder how companies look at the past compared to the present and future. They tout BatB as "improved" or "best set yet" (probably not their actual claim but you get the lingo), but then they say the same thing for WoS, DC75, GSX, and all the smaller sets too. So, looking back, was BatB that good at all? I mean, it's been exponentially bypassed by at least 4 levels of awesome since it's release. How can they claim it's still good product? It's something that has always intrigued me (and annoyed me, especially with food). If the "new and improved formula" comes out EVERY year for a decade or two, then gee, they really must have started with a bag of ####.

Am I the only person who feels an increase of 20% wasn't enough after 2 sets sell out really quick? If Wizkids produced 30,000 cases of GSX, all they are producing for Captain America is 36,000. Oh look, Cap sold out too!

At the moment, this seems rather improbable if Wizkids just keeps bumping up production numbers by small percentages.

Again, I ask, if 30,000 sells out weeks before the release date, and 36,000 sells out months before the release date, why won't Wizkids just make 50,000 next time? If it doesn't all sell initially, they will very likely meet their 6-8 month goal for product on shelves.

Again, all numbers are speculative.

You know that's all well and good. I'm glad that the rules had been held up. The thing that gets me about it is how in the hell did Harpua even know or find out he had two accounts? The privacy statement link isn't something I ever really read but maybe I should make sure I understand what it says. Could be that having two accounts possibly wasn't the only rules being broken.

It's important to remember that these are sell-outs at the distributor level, not the retail level.

It means that the actual B&M stores are ordering more and earlier, and that more product will be available. I talked to several comic shops in my local area. Heroclix honestly had not been a big seller around here; several stores had even dropped the line. Pretty much everyone was caught off-guard that this game took off so quickly. And is ordering more.

And 20% is not a small percentage jump in production - it's actually a tad healthier that I expected. It was also interesting to hear Superman is trending higher that CA. That says the last two sell-outs weren't a Marvel fluke, and that the demand is continuing to grow.

Anyone else been able to order Captain America for the last few weeks? I know my store hasnt.

I think it's important to keep holding their feet to the fire on this one. NECA produces painted figures, so I had higher expectations for them.

Yes, I pre-ordered about a week ago (at my B&M, and after the sell-out). The owner even called up the distributor, who said it wasn't a problem.

Agreed. Somewhere in the ballpark of 50,000 sounds more reasonable. If Superman is bumped up another 20%, we'll get 43,200. It should be at least 45,000, if not 50,000.

Hmm... my store said the distributor says we cant get any more we only got 7 cases. I told him I would order 3 more myself