3A Toys Delivered, Toy Failure
Ordered on April 27, 2011 and delivered on December 23, 2011, the World War Robot* De Plume 2 pack from 3A Toys should be an incredible work of art. Roughly four months late — the official order page promises an August delivery — and almost eight months from ordering until delivery there should have been plenty of time for 3A to do it right. To make both of the 6-inch action figures in the set amazing works of art.
They failed at that.
Opening the box everything looked good to start. This tiny version of the Dropcloth — one of the cooler World War Robot* toys in my collection (review here) — looked great packaged up. I really should have left him packaged.
The Stench of 3A
The first thing that hits you when opening the box is that stink of 3A Toys. Like an active oil well on a hot day, the weathering technique used for these toys makes them smell like they were soaked in oil for a month. Hell, for all I know a month-long oil bath is part of why it takes 3A so long to get these toys out to us. C-3PO may love oil baths, but I’ll pass if one is ever offered to me.
Loose and Locked Joints
Dropcloth here is a mix of terribly loose joints and fused joints. The shoulders and every single finger is so loose that he can’t hold position for long — Dropcloth, stop dropping your rifle! — while the elbow, hip, and ankle joints are so fused that moving them feels as if they’ll snap at any second. And the wrists! You move the wrists on this toy at your own risk; I fully expect one of these hands to snap off at any moment.
For about eight months of waiting and $100 for the set I expected better quality control. Hell, one whole month should have been spent allowing kids to playtest the toy’s durability. There was certainly enough time to allow for a month of solid play.
Eight Months is Too Long
I e-mailed 3A weeks ago and had a few exchanges that were less than useful before my questions were escalated all of the way up to the top . . . where the questions were never answered. When you’re this late in delivering something that was already paid for the least you can do is respond to customer questions.
I’ve now shoved the toys back in their packaging. I’ll take them out this weekend and study them closely, but my first impression is that these were hurried and not at all worth waiting almost eight months.
Related articles
- 3A: Using Your Money to Not Finish Toys (battlegrip.com)
- Reading – Apertore (battlegrip.com)
- Review – Bits & Pieces (battlegrip.com)
That sucks that they make such cool looking stuff but have such terrible customer relations/development times. Don’t start a business if you’re not up to dealing with it I guess.
Shame about the delivery time, and I do understand that frustration, but this line leaves me wondering if you know what you’re getting into with 3A
“Hell, one whole month should have been spent allowing kids to playtest the toy’s durability. There was certainly enough time to allow for a month of solid play.”
These are not, nor have they ever been kids toys. Even the package states that they are for 16yrs+. If you’re expecting a crazy playable toy then you might be barking up the wrong tree with 3A.
that sucks, bro. sorry to hear that. you know, this is not the first report i have read online. im sure 3A trolls around popular sites like this for feedback. sad thing is that they don’t care. they are popular and all over the place; almost a household name with collectors. yet no effort in smooth lining their production or product. woe to them because people will get tired of being strung along in this recession age we live in. what goes up WILL come down. thanks for the report and letting fence straddlers see the real face of this high-end and high-priced designer toy line.
@Alex – Just because they are not for children doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be playable. Loose joints — so loose that someone immediately modifies the hands so that the toy can hold its weapons http://www.octobertoys.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=7291&start=2040#p166836 — is unacceptable at any price, let alone at the cost of $100 + four more months than originally scheduled.
“If you’re expecting a crazy playable toy then you might be barking up the wrong tree with 3A.”
I’m expecting a solid, durable, functional toy delivered on time as promised. Toys that come out of the package already broken, or with joints so loose that they cannot hold their weapons, is not part of the deal.
Word is 3A is changing from a pre-order system to only offering toys for sale that are ready to ship. I hope this is true. And I hope that they improve their QC. The designs are great, but the details are where things go wrong with 3A.