Bonecrusher27 wrote:This is part query for opinions, part rant. Here goes.
For the longest time, I've been noticing a few things that pissed me off about toys in general, and Transformers in particular. Whenever I've asked people in the know, they've always responded with "US safety and potentially litigious issues". So I'm wondering how many of you agree with the need for such 'cautions'.
Okay...let's read on.
Bonecrusher27 wrote:MissilesFirst up, missiles. I remember when we'd buy robots in the past, and get home and quickly launch missiles and fists in order to see who could shoot further. Believe me it's true that the younger you are the further you shoot.
You'd think that with technology advancing, when you get older your toys would perform better, but nooooooooo!!! The missiles on 76BB, Deluxe Brawl, and Longarm, to name but a few, come out like geriatric dribbles. About the only decent firers are Voyager SS and Ultimate BB
Is there any idiot kid who'd fire a missile into his brother's eye, and if so can companies really be sued for the stupidity of its customers? It's like a fat ass suing McDonald's for making him a fat ass!
There are plenty of idiot kids who will launch a toy missile into their brother's (or sister's!) eye.* It's those kids that helped to ruin it for everyone else. Yes, companies really can be sued, even if the stupidity rests on the shoulders of the customer. The companies are required by law to meet all safety standards before sending out the product, and if it doesn't meet standards and someone gets hurt, then it's on the company's shoulders. They shouldn't send out a potentially harmful toy to kids who may or may not know any better. Plus, all of these requirements and standards were created so bad things like a missile in the eye wouldn't happen anymore. (Meaning it happened in the past, people really got hurt, there was a call for tougher measures.)
*=My Cousin has severe mental problems, and at ten years old, he's thrown a Matchbox car at his 70+ year old Great-Grandmother and hit her in the head with it, with such force that it literally caused her to faint. Two months later, he knocked over his Grandfather and held him in a choke hold on the kitchen floor, and finished it with a punch to the mouth. He's repeatedly punched his Grandmother in the mouth, in the Doctor's office waiting room. The Therapists, Doctors, etc all said "No bad shows or movies, music included. No dangerous toys or ones that could provoke such actions." They ended up taking anything with missiles, etc away because he'd stuff XActo knives in the launchers if he could. Basically...he has fun playing "Small Soldiers" The Home Game.
Bonecrusher27 wrote:Smoke stacks
Then you have what could be perfect figures... except for obviously too short smokestacks that make a mockery of a beautiful design. Voyager Ironhide and various Primes are just some examples. If a company can be sued for an idiot stabbing himself in the eye with a smoke stack, then all the pen and pencil stationery companies might as well close shop. And action figures won't come with spears, halberds or any other polearms. Luckily my MOTU figures escaped such disaster!
It's not just eyes, it's swallowing. Heck, with the right amount of force, a kid could impale a part of themselves on these items. Granted it never happens (except in really rare occasions) so it's better to be safe, than sorry.
Bonecrusher27 wrote:Butt Plugs
Or should that be barrel plugs? I get my terminology mixed up... Can a company still be sued if someone removes that orange plug from the toy barrel and then start waving it around? Because it can be done easily and it has been done. Is a company exonerated because it did put that orange plug in anyway?
A crim who wants to wave a toy gun is going to wave it anyway. It's just a ten minute difference to him to remove it and go robbing. If so why put that plug in anyway, a token gesture that exonerates from charge as accomplice? Or does the presence of that butt plug maybe reduce statistically significant numbers of criminals who'd do this? "Damn, it's got that orange plug. Let's not do this; let's grab a Starbucks instead!"
No. The company cannot be sued, because the court can look at the same product on store shelves, and the one used in the offense and see that the customer did the modification, not the company. Now, if it's proven that the plug was nothing worth mention (I.E. they didn't meet standards, just slapped crap together) then yeah, the company could be held liable because anyone could just remove the plug. (most kids don't remove it, or don't even care that there's a plug on the gun) The plug is for everyone's protection. If an idiot robber goes to the trouble of buying a toy gun, removing the plug and going through with the crime afterwards...he's an idiot. A really lucky idiot, but one nonetheless. (Well lucky if he succeeds and doesn't get caught.) Plugs are here to stay, and they're not that big of a problem. I don't really see a reason to worry about it. Remove it if you want, leave it on for the rest.
Bonecrusher27 wrote:Accessories
And finally, what perhaps was the final straw for me: I finally find a Masterpiece Voltron for a decent price. I'm amazed by its quality and the ability to articulate, the form of the lions and their articulating limbs. Then I notice something glaringly missing: where are the missiles, the knives, and the firing fists? I ask the guy, and says he, oh, accessories nowadays are hard to come by for safety reasons. WTF, asks I. TTF, replies he. "Swallowing hazard".
When you have a toy that's obviously meant to be masterpiece and everything that can be done to make it perfect is done to make it the best possible representative it could be, and it's missing something obvious that would really make it the best Voltron there is, I have to wonder: Is this for real? Or is someone maybe cheaping out and cutting corners on material, and claiming safety laws as an excuse? Are any of these hazards real? Is this a wonderful society where accident from stupidity and irresponsibility can be lain on the doorstep of a toy company, and dishonest monies made through lawsuits?
He's full of crap. Toynami didn't put the missiles and other accessories in the set because they were hardly (if ever) used on screen. The Masterpiece Voltron's design is taken directly from the animation model, not the the Japanese original toy.
You could look at it as though Toynami was cutting costs by omitting the accessories, but it really was due to the fact that the Masterpiece was based on the animation model, and that's it. The head launching feature being removed was just to cut costs, it has to be. Pathetic as it is...
Yes, these hazards are real, otherwise these laws wouldn't exist. In another thread (months old by now) we spoke of old toys, and someone had mentioned a tank (or truck, that was from the '50s or '60s) with a missile launcher that was motorized and that their sibling put screwdrivers in it and would shoot them into the wall. Say what you want, but that's incredibly dangerous. Do we have any reported cases of any of those kids being seriously injured? Of course not. Stuff like that wasn't important enough to earn a spot on the news.
However, kids getting *killed* by these toys (not just maimed or injured, but KILLED) was the turning point. A three year old boy choked on a Battlestar Galactica missile from a Mattel toy in '77 or '78 (he didn't know any better, and the parents obviously thought it was okay, I mean hey...it's a toy, and their toys were far more dangerous when they were kids. But that's because their parents were full blown idiots...) The little boy died, which started this whole thing. Then kids were impaled by Lawn Darts (filled with lead, and a blunt, yet very pointed tip) killing them as well, which pushed for even more restrictions.
No one's doing this to take away your fun, no one's doing this to be a prick. They're doing this because it's legitimate.
...Kids could be killed by cops if they thought the gun was real. (A cop will use deadly force if they feel a need to)
...Kids could poke their eyes out by accident. (I don't know about you, but no toy is worth someone's eyesight.)
...Kids could choke on pieces. (It's happened, it will happen again, I just hope this time it doesn't actually kill the poor kid.)
The missiles you mentioned earlier, they were gutted in favor of the law that was created after that boy's death. Now as time has progressed, we've pretty much gotten the missile launching toy process down to an art, hence the reason why they do project, and the missiles are so insanely long, etc.
The people aren't doing this to make a quick buck.
The people aren't doing this for kicks just to make you mad.
The people are doing this because there was a call for it, based on legitimate reasons that ended the lives of several children. I'd change my product if that were me. No toy is worth the life of a human being, especially a defenseless and uninformed child.
And if you want the best Voltron (all the accessories, etc) get the Lionbot bootleg. It's die-cast metal and plastic just like the original and the Matchbox original. Heads launch, etc. It's blocky (like the original toys were) but it does everything the Masterpiece does and more, and nothing's gutted, no corners cut.
http://search.ebay.com/Lionbot_W0QQfrpp ... turnedZ300Some pretty good prices too.
NOTE: Realize that I am not a perfect Christian, nor do I profess to be. I apologize if anyone's ever offended by me, I'm not perfect. Don't hold my posts and opinions against other Christians.
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