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All images property of their respective owners. Images from sideshowcollectors.com and toy-world.com

from Hot Toys:

Hot Toys explains why the preview head sculpt will not make it in to the final product.
From the Hot Toys Facebook page:

Dear all Hot Toys customers and figure fans,

On behalf of the Hot Toys production team, we are sorry about the latest announced backstage photo of Iron Man (Mark III) (Battle Damaged ver) collectible which has aroused strong criticism on the head sculpt on online platforms. At that time, our team would also like to express our thoughts in this statement.

First, we have replied proactively that this announced head sculpt is finally approved by licensor. The head sculpt, which was reported by magazine before, finally cannot pass the approval process successfully, amid our amendment and persuasion for many times. We were suggested to re-use the previously released head sculpt and we are reluctant but have to accept this truth. Therefore, the rumor guessing that we intentionally keep the previously reported head sculpt for future Iron Man 2 version’s use is not correct…. See More

The purpose to make this Iron Man (Mark III) (Battle Damaged ver) by our team is to provide fans with a more well-equipped product with more sophisticated and specially designed features and with accessories which incorporate a brand new painting method. To put it simple, the main focus of this product is on the advancement of technique in all aspects and shall not only be limited to a new head sculpt. During the production process, we have encountered a multitude of problems. It is more difficult than producing a simple figurine. Perhaps fans may not be able to totally understand this, but every one from our team has devoted the utmost of our heart and time on this project which we think deserves fans’ respect. Strong criticisms or even attack over a certain issue is unfair to us and that is not what our team wants to see.

Last but not least, we have to clarify that though we have to re-use the previous head sculpt in this new product reluctantly, we have used totally brand new materials and painting effects, which would make it look different from the Mark II one. Hope you would understand our purpose of producing this product is to pursue the overall advancement in developing high quality product, so we would be appreciated if you could look at the product as a whole. We admit that we may have some faults in the process, but we would definitely take this experience for future improvement.

If you are still dissatisfied with the Iron Man (Mark III) (Battle Damaged ver) head sculpt and think that the whole set of product quality cannot reach your standard and satisfy your requirement, Hong Kong customers can visit our Toy Hunters store on or after Chor 5 (Feb 18) to get the deposit back. For those Hong Kong customers who purchase with full payment can also get back the total amount on or after Feb 18. Alternatively, customers can also change the deposit or total amount to other products. It applies the same to overseas customers and please contact your local distributor or our Customer Services Dept at cs@hottoys.com.hk for the arrangement.

We will take this experience and continue to provide high quality products to meet your needs in future.

Best Regards,
Hot Toys Production Team

Here’s a few pictures of the quality control issues which have been plaguing the new Hot Toys Batman DX MMS02. The photos of the Hot Toys Dark Knight Batman show two issues. One is the soft plastic on the chest area which can rub off, even with just light touching, and can lead to tearing. Second, in a later wave of the DX MMS02, there is an oil issue which appears on the lower abs and belt of the figure. Oil seems to seep from the body armor of the figure.

All images property of their respective owners. Images from sideshowcollectors.com and toy-world.com Also see Eddie Wong’s blog for more up to date information.

HOT TOYS OFFICIAL RESPONSE:
Dear DX Batman Customers,

We have received your comments and well noted your concerns regarding the quality control on part of the DX Batman products recently. Our company has gone through detailed testing repeatedly and found out that the reason for paint fading of suit in the first batch of products is because of paint thickening in the primer paint spraying process, leading to the easily scratched nature and paint fading of the surface, which is not related to the materials used in the Batman suit.

Our company has taken immediate actions on modification and repeated checking. We affirm that this particular case only appears in a limited part of the first batch products and not all the products show similar situation. For the second batch of products, we have paid extra efforts on quality control and conducted a multitude of tests to ensure the quality standard and to avoid similar incident from happening again.

For every product, we hope to make it perfect. Because the production process of Hot Toys’ products is highly complicated, for this particular issue appeared in the production process and quality control, we have reviewed it seriously and proactively as well as deeply apologized to the customers affected. In this particular case, we will handle the replacement services flexibly and extend the replacement period in order to compensate for the inconvenience caused to the customers affected. We will also handle this case in a responsible and proactive manner.

For overseas customers, please don’t hesitate to contact our Customer Service Dept at cs@hottoys.com.hk. For enquiries from Hong Kong, please contact Toy Hunters at (852) 2388 4677 or visit our store in person with valid receipts. We apologize again for the inconvenience caused and promise to try our utmost to deliver quality collectibles in future. Thank you very much.

HOT TOYS RESPONSE FOLLOWING THE OIL ISSUES (INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS):
Hello K*****l,

Thanks for your photo!

Concerning Batman oil problem in abs area, it was caused by the circle sticker and plastic bag of the belt, please take apart the circle sticker and plastic bag of the belt, then you can slightly wipe off the oil by tissue or finger. Please try and wipe off the oil once leak out from abs area or biceps armor.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Thank you for your support for Hot Toys products!

Thanks and best regards,
SA/ Hot Toys Ltd.

photos from Hot Toys and Toy World.

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