So, it goes from “let’s all complain about how Matty killed this line and isn’t making anything anymore” to “Matty is trying to make something, let’s crap all over it and complain”
Yes, this is a large, expensive, and admittedly ambitious choice for a product, but I don’t understand the blind hatred for something that has yet to be produced.
Isn’t this the same way they sold the Castle Greyskull they did or are doing? Did that meet it’s preorder goals for production?
Couldn’t agree more. Some people are just freakin hilarious with their reactions to this stuff.
Yes, but MOTUC also has a MUCH bigger following than Ghostbusters.
There is a difference between crapping on something just to hate it and validly criticizing the marketing and production decisions of a company that has a track record of issues in its products. Trying to be holler then thou for the wrong reasons and/or purposefully misinterpreting fan reaction just makes you look like a prick with a chip on their shoulder. Are there some outright trolls going after Matty? Of course. That doesn’t mean people aren’t bringing up important issues for people to consider before investing a not insignificant amount of money into a product. Don’t bash all the criticism, it has a point.
Granted, criticism may be justified. Still why not try to be a little more constructive in our criticism? It’s not all bads, is it? And it makes us look better. Just my suggestion.
For me it is too expensive for starters but I do have a whole year to save money, a bit every month, so I am going to study that possibility, as I want the neutrona wand as well. There was a thread here of a fan turning a 1:12 maisto caddilac into an ecto-1. I followed the thread with interest and some envy for the end result - an ecto-1 in scale with the figurines would make the ultimate diorama. I wished for this and even considered building a paper model in scale. Well, surprisingly Matty is giving the chance of making this happen. It’s now up to us. And finally an option to pre-order - no “almost gone” anxiety.
I’ve seen the bells and whistles they’ve put into the trap, and the extras put into the goggles. The Ecto surely has a lot of potential. And I am sure it will look fantastic.
As what was said in an earlier post, there’s nothing wrong with constructive criticism. That lets the company know what to expect from its fans when developing something instead of just throwing a product out there with no effort and slapping a GB logo on it with the intent to make money off of it. As long as Matty listens and understands our feedback regarding it’s products, then that’s all that matters.
I even have both the PKE and the Trap and I enjoy those props quite a bit. I don’t want to get too far off topic, but if it takes the masses of us fans to voice our concern on products related to a franchise that we proudly stand behind, then we need to be heard when it’s honest. I don’t really consider that bashing nor complaining if you ask me. It’s your right as a fan or collector, to question what you’re truly investing in. Criticism whether it’s constructive or not, does not require permission to ask.
I do hope that Matty does reach it’s pre order goal in order to put this part of the line into production.
It really bothers me that Matty is taking pre-orders on a product that they haven’t even revealed a prototype of, yet alone photos.
I’m also wondering if the leg hoses on the figures will make it difficult for them to properly sit in the cab of the Ecto-1.
Since they’ll likely be modeling the car after its latest restoration, maybe they’ll include the accurate gap in the windshield with tiny pieces of duct tape to put over it!
I’m not sure I understand why people are upset about pre-orders with no prototype. They aren’t charging any potential pre-order until the item ships so in theory between now and then if/when people don’t like the eventual prototype they can simply cancel their pre-order, correct?
All other issues aside, it’s not that anyone’s being held with a gun to their head about buying this new Ecto-1.
Is there a good chance it’ll never materialise? Likely, that’s the risk with this type of crowd-project. But you never know, it might just come to fruition.
As Kaga remarked, there isn’t likely going to be any ban on cancelling your pre-order if you’re not happy with the product, and you won’t be charged until it ships. The people taking the greater gamble are Mattel, and if they don’t reach the requisite numbers, they’re not left hugely out of pocket.
I think the big question that nobody has brought up about this is Why?
The standard Toy Guru line has been, and I’m paraphrasing, ‘We can’t make any more figures because the line can’t support itself’, the fan base isn’t big enough. So,the question is, what has changed? We go from can’t make any new figures to here’s an inscale Ecto for you, and maybe 2 figures to boot.
Actually, during the whole Hoverboard deal, Mattel was actually not planning on letting ANYONE cancel their pre-orders for the Hoverboard. Nope, this was listed in their forums many times when people asked Scott. Folks actually had to call their credit cards and have it removed that way/blacklist Matty from making a charge.
It was only a month or two before the release of the Hoverboard when public outcry was so much, Mattel FINALLY allowed people to cancel their pre-orders.
This is why I don’t trust them anymore with their ‘let us have your Credit Card info and we’ll show you a product later’ kind of deal. Matty has proved in the past they really can’t be trusted with our money up front with their poor handling of the Hoverboard pre-orders.
Now, their canceling policy may have been changed with their Castle Greyskull - I have no idea…but I followed the Hoverboard pre-order since day one, and was one of the many people that put up a fuss over how they handled it.
I completely agree, there is a difference. As others have said, constructive criticism is great. It helped change Slime Blower Winston.
The problem that I’m seeing is so many elitist fans thinking they’re better than others complaining about it because now everyone will be able to buy them. That and the blatantly obvious outrage that is fueled by the fact that some of them won’t be able to make money as easily now because fans will buy this because its cheaper than ANYTHING available out there. Sorry, but its painfully obvious to me, and that is what I was referring to with being tired of the complaining.
We’re all fans. It’s not a competition over who is better. Some people can’t build props as accurate as they would like (and again, couldn’t get anywhere near this quality for this cheap). If you’re only cosplaying or building props so that you can be “better” or “stand out” then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. Be happy with what you’ve built, and others will be happy with what they build or buy. At the end of the day, we are all fans.
I had no idea about this as I didn’t really follow anything about the hoverboard. That does make it questionable if they would do the same thing again.
I haven’t seen much of of the first type of complaining you refer to and none of the second. Of course I mostly skim this section and completely ignore anything that isn’t this forum when it comes to GB so YMMV.
this is about 2 years too late for fan hype to buy into that price point…it’s a pass for me. Though I will let my packed GBs ride on the back of the 66 Batmobile that Matty is putting out this year for $60
The 66’ Batmobile has a much larger audience, and is a much easier vehicle to replicate compared to the Ecto 1.
Okay, I’m gonna beat a dead horse one more time…
I think the price is a little too high and not because this ECTO as described wouldn’t be worth it. The price is too high because… Matty can solicit these preorders, promising an excellent product, having no obligation to follow through and ultimately end up sending you an inferior product (with no warning or discount) hoping you won’t notice.
The Hoverboard is a perfect example… If they would have said, “Hey, the Hoverboard is not gonna be what we promised and we’re sorry. The price has been reduced to $50.” That would have been cool, but instead they acted like nothing was wrong and sent out an overpriced, plastic skateboard deck, with distorted sound effects. I will admit it looks cool, but just not $145 (out the door) cool. 
I’m not going to commit to this ECTO 1 preorder.
Can I have just the cardboard stand? :walterpeck:
You aren’t the only one who has wondered this.
It is funny how this time last year we were all unhappy how the line had been ended abruptly and had been handled badly, and how everyone was making suggestions of mattel to do things, like produce more popular iconic things (such as the Ecto, Firehouse, Gozer etc) instead of variants, and suggesting pre-orders as a way to do it! Hell after they did this with Castle Greyskull there were topics asking for them to do this for the firehouse and Ecto 1!
Then Mattel do it and we have counter complaints…Yes the price is high but most people heamoraged from the line, so costs for the limited run will be high, IF Ecto-1 goes ahead then Mattel will use it to guage a continuation of the line that could see reissues of the other GB items, and if they reissue Ecto-s later and a movie comes out you know they will do a stripped down version…which leads full circle to Cap’s suggestion, why produce this? could it hint at something?
We all could try thinking positively about this for a change…because its probably the last time we’ll see the licence used by Mattel anyway so what does it hurt to be optamistic/positive?
we should all pre-order two Ectos each… then as they get closer to release date, if it looks bad or falls short of what they are promising us, just cancel your orders. that way at least they have a better shot of getting produced. believe me I was very hesitant to pre-order mine (without figures) even if it is big and has all those features (REALLY ROLLS!) $215 is still a chunk of dough for a toy. if it were closer to $150 with 2 removable packs included for free, I would be their biggest supporter. I think part of it is the order of how they revealed things. to me, a proton gun with lights and sounds is worth (not just financially) more than the 6" scale Ecto, and yet they put it on display the very first day without any kind of fanfare (which is why so many of us thought they were going to reveal the proton pack during their live panel) and then the ‘big reveal’ is the car and all they have to display is a cardboard cutout with the 2 removable pack figures (which they admit they had developed long ago, which makes it even more of a bitter pill to swallow since they should have been designed that way since the very beginning of the line) so between the price and the order they revealed the new stuff, Im not super impressed with the Ecto. I am however really looking forward to the proton gun, and will be buying 2 when they are released.