Gentle Giant QC Issues

[pdenham]

Originally Posted by Silas Loki

...These statues are not advertised as "needing finishing"...... so to assume that this is implicit in the price you pay is a dubious practice, in my opinion.

There's a huge gulf between that little imperfection that gives your statue a little bit of individuality, and having pieces missing or broken! I think the issues highlighted in this thread, and in general, fall into the second category.

You as a collector, have a right to demand what was advertised. Imagine the scenario whereby every collector takes your attitude, rolls up their sleeves and attempts to make good an imperfect statue.....what do you think will eventually happen? Let me guess, companies will throw QC out the window entirely! Why should they bother with costly QC when the collector will do that job for them. I can guarantee the practice of ignoring QC won't alter the price of states downwards either.

There is a huge difference between a Rogue or a Red Sonja coming to you in a form that is substantially altered from what you originally thought you were ordering due to paint apps or casting issues, and something that arrives with a chip or a broken fringe element. There's a difference between actual poor quality and simply bad fortune.
I never said, or meant to imply, that a customer should put up with the former and fix those kinds of issues himself.
But if you are going to consider yourself a collector of this kind of stuff, then having a small set of paints, a couple different sized brushes and some glue that works well with polystone- might come in handy during your collecting life. Even if you only ever received 100% perfect statues, there's no guarantee they'll stay that way. All kinds of little mishaps can happen. I see having a small tool kit like that no different than having a needle, thread, and patches if you wear clothes on a regular basis.

Should you have to fix every new piece you get? Of course not. But if you cultivate the ability to address a chip, a nick, or a clean break- you make this hobby a more pleasant place for a lot of people- including yourself and the people that sell you stuff in good faith in the future.
Too many people in this hobby have an attitude that is almost impossible to ever satisfy
- it has to be in 100% perfect condition or I want a new one. I DESERVE perfection!
- it has to have a low ES because I DESERVE to be one of the rare few that owns it

IMO, all that we as buyers deserve is that the product, when bought new, matches the prototype as closely as possible. If it's damaged and there are replacements available- great! This is one reason I've been a cheerleader for open ES pieces often in the past. Do I own GG's Black Widow because there are only 600? Hell no! I own it because it's an awesome statue nearly 100% realized to it's solicited prototype. I would still own it if there were 60,000 in existence.

I would also still own it if it had arrived with a small chip or break to a less critical, tertiary area (like the hair or costume). I would certainly be bummed about it, but if the alternative was no Black Widow at all, I certainly wouldn't let the awesome be the enemy of the absolute perfect either.

[FROBAY]

When I look at my Variant whisper and all the sucker punch girls they are all perfection. Just absolutely incredible factory work. I would like GG to stay on top of that quality.

[Hellboy]

This is an unfortunate turn of events for GG. One of their strongest attributes has always been their remarkable QC. I would hate to see that start changing now. Two statues in a short period of time with this many defects is alarming. The bigger area of concern is the lack of replacements available to curb these issues. Missing out on a piece altogether because of that, having to buy multiples to insure you get one good piece or needing to turn to the secondary market to secure a piece you want in your collection to fill that hole will take the fun out of the hobby rather quickly.

I received my Black Widow statue last week but have yet to open it as my holiday activity has just now started to slow down. I'll likely open it today but will admit, I am worried.

[pdenham]

This is more than just an academic discussion to me.

While the figure on my Black Widow is fine, my base came unassembled and the cubes surface wasn't protected so a couple sides are not pristine.

I was waiting until today to talk to GG about it, but as I feared there are not even replacement bases to be had. I'm hoping to have them at least send me a schematic so that I can affix the cubes myself in their proper location before I fully set the statue up. At the very least, I'm going to have to lay out more money for some acrylic fixative here.

Not real thrilled about it, but OTOH this is one statue that is well worth the trouble to me.

I also asked them about the problems with this and the Artemisia. They acknowledged they've seen issues with the latter, but said BW had been relatively problem free.

[Viper245]

Originally Posted by Hellboy

This is an unfortunate turn of events for GG. One of their strongest attributes has always been their remarkable QC. I would hate to see that start changing now. Two statues in a short period of time with this many defects is alarming. The bigger area of concern is the lack of replacements available to curb these issues. Missing out on a piece altogether because of that, having to buy multiples to insure you get one good piece or needing to turn to the secondary market to secure a piece you want in your collection to fill that hole will take the fun out of the hobby rather quickly.

I received my Black Widow statue last week but have yet to open it as my holiday activity has just now started to slow down. I'll likely open it today but will admit, I am worried.

I agree, Hellboy. Hopefully your BW is a keeper. Best of luck to you.

Maybe these turn of events with GG is a result of the merger with 3D Studios. I know for a fact they used to have replacements on pieces from a few years ago. Seems like corners are being cut as of late.

[pdenham]

they produced 40 extra for replacements as per Spec Fiction.

How many do you guys feel they should they have on hand?

[Silas Loki]

Originally Posted by pdenham

There is a huge difference between a Rogue or a Red Sonja coming to you in a form that is substantially altered from what you originally thought you were ordering due to paint apps or casting issues, and something that arrives with a chip or a broken fringe element. There's a difference between actual poor quality and simply bad fortune.
I never said, or meant to imply, that a customer should put up with the former and fix those kinds of issues himself.
But if you are going to consider yourself a collector of this kind of stuff, then having a small set of paints, a couple different sized brushes and some glue that works well with polystone- might come in handy during your collecting life. Even if you only ever received 100% perfect statues, there's no guarantee they'll stay that way. All kinds of little mishaps can happen. I see having a small tool kit like that no different than having a needle, thread, and patches if you wear clothes on a regular basis.

Should you have to fix every new piece you get? Of course not. But if you cultivate the ability to address a chip, a nick, or a clean break- you make this hobby a more pleasant place for a lot of people- including yourself and the people that sell you stuff in good faith in the future.
Too many people in this hobby have an attitude that is almost impossible to ever satisfy
- it has to be in 100% perfect condition or I want a new one. I DESERVE perfection!
- it has to have a low ES because I DESERVE to be one of the rare few that owns it

IMO, all that we as buyers deserve is that the product, when bought new, matches the prototype as closely as possible. If it's damaged and there are replacements available- great! This is one reason I've been a cheerleader for open ES pieces often in the past. Do I own GG's Black Widow because there are only 600? Hell no! I own it because it's an awesome statue nearly 100% realized to it's solicited prototype. I would still own it if there were 60,000 in existence.

I would also still own it if it had arrived with a small chip or break to a less critical, tertiary area (like the hair or costume). I would certainly be bummed about it, but if the alternative was no Black Widow at all, I certainly wouldn't let the awesome be the enemy of the absolute perfect either.

I think I understand where your thinking is at. If there is an issue that appears due to poor delivery service ( something, relatively outside the producers control ) then yeah, I'm with you. Sure a customer still has a right to complain, as it's not in their control either, but they may want to pitch in with some self help if the product is in short supply, and is a heavily desired piece by the customer.

My understanding i from the examples given, is that these problems have come from the factory....so, that makes GG solely responsible.

The sense of entitlement that you refer to on the part of the customer is completely justified. Hell, it's payed for! You show me an advert where any of these collectibles companies has suggested the final piece will be anything other than the displayed prototype? People are simply being vocal about getting what they were promised.....I think that's fair.

[Viper245]

Originally Posted by pdenham

they produced 40 extra for replacements as per Spec Fiction.

How many do you guys feel they should they have on hand?

I have yet to see anyone in this section who had a defective statue say they received a replacement for either Black Widow or Artemisia so I question the validity of that number. I am assuming Spec Fiction got the number direct from Gentle Giant so they are just passing the information along.

[Remember Me?]

My Artemisia wasn't perfect, but the imperfections were acceptable.

[Bullseye]

Do GG not offer replacements? Or only to those who order direct?