Mars Toys Alfred and others

[BatToys]

I'm a little surprised Mars toys showed the unlicensed Riddler and Alfred because I was under the impression Warner Brothers is putting pressure on them about bootlegs. Usually Warner Bros just complains to customs to stop shipments.

Now that JazzInc has a 1966 Batman 1/6 license, I prefer to support them over bootlegs.

[AndyFish]

The price difference between Mars and JazzInc shows you what paying a license fee does. I'm with you, BatToys, if I were in on these, and I'm not because I don't care about having all the villains, I would rather pay the higher fee with residuals going to the proper individuals. This is a personal issue for me-- go to Amazon or eBay or Etsy and search for Buffy The Vampire Slayer poster-- there are Tin Signs, iPhone Cases, posters, prints of an image of a silk screen my wife did for a licensee. She doesn't see one dime from all of these folks who think its okay to rip off images like that-- and worse, we get people who email us all the time saying they bought one of these things from the above mentioned sources and they were disappointed in how badly pixelated the image is! As if we have anything to do with it-- we explain the situation and we've even had people offer to pay HER for something they bought elsewhere but reaching out to the companies selling these stolen goods is useless.

I'll stop in a minute-- there was another time I was at a convention and there was a dealer selling hundreds of prints in those big plastic sleeves. He told me they were slightly expensive because he licenses everything and pays the artists. Sure enough I come across one of my wife's images AND one of my own-- when I brought them up to him he even said "Oh- this is a married couple-- they are good friends of mine!" Audacity, man.

End of rant-- Scott & Ben I hope I didn't cross a line, if I did I shall sit in the corner.

[BiffPow]

Sure enough I come across one of my wife's images AND one of my own-- when I brought them up to him he even said "Oh- this is a married couple-- they are good friends of mine!" Audacity, man.

That would grind my gears BIG TIME, Andy!

Question: did you tell him who you were, and, if you did, how did he respond?

[AndyFish]

He was very apologetic and embarrassed.
He said he would pull them because he said the guy he got them from said they were licensed, which of course was not likely the truth.

At the end of the day there's not much we can do-- there's nothing to stop someone from buying something from us legitimately and then scanning it and selling copies. I wouldn't be OK with it- and I feel for the buyers who are probably paying more for a watered down copy, but I can't spend my days with attorneys chasing after it.

[Ben Bentley]

The price difference between Mars and JazzInc shows you what paying a license fee does. I'm with you, BatToys, if I were in on these, and I'm not because I don't care about having all the villains, I would rather pay the higher fee with residuals going to the proper individuals. This is a personal issue for me-- go to Amazon or eBay or Etsy and search for Buffy The Vampire Slayer poster-- there are Tin Signs, iPhone Cases, posters, prints of an image of a silk screen my wife did for a licensee. She doesn't see one dime from all of these folks who think its okay to rip off images like that-- and worse, we get people who email us all the time saying they bought one of these things from the above mentioned sources and they were disappointed in how badly pixelated the image is! As if we have anything to do with it-- we explain the situation and we've even had people offer to pay HER for something they bought elsewhere but reaching out to the companies selling these stolen goods is useless.

I'll stop in a minute-- there was another time I was at a convention and there was a dealer selling hundreds of prints in those big plastic sleeves. He told me they were slightly expensive because he licenses everything and pays the artists. Sure enough I come across one of my wife's images AND one of my own-- when I brought them up to him he even said "Oh- this is a married couple-- they are good friends of mine!" Audacity, man.

End of rant-- Scott & Ben I hope I didn't cross a line, if I did I shall sit in the corner.

All good - I get it, both ethically and personally/professionally.

Likeness rights and IP for artwork created by an individual are definitely very different balls of wax in my personal opinion - but i'm not going steer this thread too much further down that road.

I will note however, that as a fandom, '66 TV fans were served for decades (and still are) by independent makers and creators in lieu of formal licensing opportunities, furnishing may of us with items that we cherish and provided a flame that helped keep this show alive and relevant in the "wilderness" years. I say all of this out of love for two very specific and unlicensed items at the very heart of my collection here in my home office as I type this. After 12 years (and counting) of amazing licensed items that i'm thrilled to own, in a house fire, i'm still grabbing my Wes/Classick Plastick Batman figure and my Chuck Cowl.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

I will note however, that as a fandom, '66 TV fans were served for decades (and still are) by independent makers and creators in lieu of formal licensing opportunities, furnishing may of us with items that we cherish and provided a flame that helped keep this show alive and relevant in the "wilderness" years. I say all of this out of love for two very specific and unlicensed items at the very heart of my collection here in my home office as I type this. After 12 years (and counting) of amazing licensed items that i'm thrilled to own, in a house fire, i'm still grabbing my Wes/Classick Plastick Batman figure and my Chuck Cowl.

Agreed; I understand the legal issues, but Batman is not Star Trek, the latter with active production of merchandising actually based on the series since the 1960s, and where original series merchandise is concerned, there's no end in sight. Batman was never as prolific with TV-based merchandise, so customs and unlicensed products were the equivalent of finding a water truck in the middle of the desert: rare, unexpected, but appreciated.

I do wonder how many '66 figure collectors still plan on buying the "Enigma Villain" when it becomes available?

[AndyFish]

The quality of the Mars Joker figure-- prank villain or whatever he was called-- is exceptional, that's for sure.

[Lou Szabo]

Enigma has shipped!l

[dodgr31]

Enigma has shipped!l

Who did you order from Lou? I want to pick up Alfred, but the info is not clear on how to purchase.

[AndyFish]

Monsters in Motion had a Prank Villain (Joker) for sale this morning-- reputable seller I've bought from many times over.
They only had one- so I assume it won't last.

https://www.monstersinmotion.com/cart/i ... 32412.html

[greatlakes6]

Probably the best guy to order from, my opinion, is Kit from onesixthkit.com

[dodgr31]

Nothing shows up on pre order, I must have missed out.

[AndyFish]

Because I have such a bad memory I was wondering if I've ordered from onesixthkit because I'm on his (or her) mailing list. The site looks a wee bit sketchy (at least to me) but I'm glad to hear GreatLakes recommendation.

[dodgr31]

I emailed them about the Riddler and received a not so friendly or professional reply, just saying.

[Lou Szabo]

Ordered from onsixthkit.com

If you don’t log in, you won’t see it.

No Alfred yet, 66 anyway.