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Mongoose have posted new pictures of the *production* figures and the quality has...dropped somewhat. A discussion thread on the Mongoose forums is here. I'm going to go sit on the balcony now. =(

Pre-Production Photo:


Production Photo:


Edit: Thanks, malfred. Added labels. I think I'm sufficiently over my shock to explain: Mongoose replaced the B:E pictures on their server. With new ones. Depicting lesser-quality miniatures. (The new pictures appear in old threads. Which is confusing). No explanation has been forthcoming. Theory? The contractor screwed them. And Mongoose has just found out. With the product shipping to stores. And they know not what to do. Save correct the images. No, I'm not over my shock yet.

Yep, they've already been discussed HERE and HERE several months ago.

To clarify: Construct posted the new pic above and the old one below.

On that page scroll down or search for Hiromoon's post. That one shows the new/old
pics of various units one above the other (like the pair that Construct posted above).

The AT-43 figs look better than this stuff. Are there pics of the tanks? One of
the posters mentioned that they didn't necessarily get hit by the ugly stick.

yeah.. very notable i was never really interested. I just wander around the boards i ALMOST picked up SST awhile back so i lurk around the boards a bit. They seem to not like AT 43 all that much and claim the the Evo prepaints are better.. i guess after this they take their words back.

Ouch. That is a noticeable drop in quality from what we were first shown and what is coming out. Crap. The lower quality paint job makes them look closer to toys than gaming pieces and since they are of softer, somewhat rubbery plastic (IIRC) repainting will be more difficult. An ink wash might be able to fix it somewhat. Ugh. Even I'm having a hard time justifying these. The only upside is at $29.95 for eight or ten infantry figures (ie: $3.75 or $2.99 each) they are priced about the same as several manufacturers unassembled and unpainted figs. If time is tight, these would fit, but I'm not seeing much market beyond that unfortunately.
:S

Ouch these are truly awful and make AT 43 figs look like Di Vinci.

The faces... the faces on pic two are just disgusting it looks like someones barfed all over the guys face. No detail, no visible lines, just a glob of pink.

I was never interested in this game, but thought the original pics were not too bad. This though just convinces me that my initial ideas about this company were and still are proved correct. Shoddy very shoddy.

I'd already decided that this stuff wasn't for me given the scale discrepencies between the tanks and the men. I also disliked the static poses on offer.

Now that we find the painting quality is truly rubbish there seems little point in going ahead with it. It may be better than *some* people's efforts, but the number of people who's efforts it is better than has just shrunk to the pre-teens...

Looks like Mongoose were shafted. I feel sorry for them, but as the saying goes: "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!" After all, Chinese companies aren't exactly renowned for their business ethics...

I hope this doesn't sink the company - from the sounds of that thread many pre-orders may be sent back, and I guess there won't be many follow-on orders coming through for them.

Shame.

This seems to be a perennial problem with Mongoose: the quality of their figures is just not good overall. Sure, they produce some real gems, like the various battlesuits and the pathfinders for SST, but you've got to dig through a lot of rough to find those diamonds (skinnies, anyone?). Compounded by production delays (LI, the various flyers still shown off on this website's front page), I think Mongoose is going to have Target Games-level problems in the near future if they can't get a handle on QC.

Pathfinders and Cougar suits yum!

The miniatures are of uneven quality at best, but the Mongoose rules I have used (Bab 5, SST) have been very good, very playable.

And since I find the notion of prepainted minis to be rubbish anyway:
http://www.blackscorpionminiatures.com/range.asp?the_range=USM

The staff at Mongoose are equally shocked. I hope that they will find a solution soon and that the company will not be in jeopardy. The casting is so bad that re-painting cannot solve the problems. They have to be re-done.

Well I like the size of the new bases....

Heads shall roll... heads shall roll.

Mongoose has finally made a response. Please see the link here:
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/forum.php

My impression is that you have to take his words with a gain of salt in your mouth. In summary, Mongoose claimed that the models are not as good as expected but still at a good or acceptable quality. May be he is right. May be he is too optimistic about the product. May be he is trying to say that there is nothing else he can do and please continue to support the company. Who knows. You really have to see the models yourself to make a final judgement.

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=24386&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

I think that quote is problematic.

"First off, we are getting some decent photos sorted out - the last set were completely my fault, as I uploaded them without double checking anything more than file names. Mea culpa. You will have these hopefully by the end of Friday and you will get a good look at what these models are about. As I say, it has been generally agreed (and by people with no connection to Mongoose, I hasten to add) that the paintwork is at least as good as those in the current market and, by and large, better. They _are_ a step forward. "
...

"Overall, I would say that we have hit the target but missed the bullseye. To stretch the archery analogy further, I believe we also moved the target a few dozen yards down range and shot in high wind. A bridge too far, to mix metaphors. However, we have still achieved something worthwhile. " -Mongoose


That must be some camera.

They are going to smear vaseline on the lens and hire Hugh Hefner's personal airbrush artist.

I am still interested in getting into the game but I will wait for the better quality wave 2, if ever available, to come out first. So, who is going to buy all these wave 1 products? The only solution Mongoose has provided is that you hold up the model in your hand and stare it the entire day and you will like it.

Well here's my problematic quotes from the Mongoose quote in question:

"Needless to say, we are having some serious talks with our factory to improve a) quality and b) quality control. This is not something that is being taken lightly by either party. "

"As always, we'll try to be as open as we possibly can with you, our customers, potential and otherwise. Yes, we were caught wrong footed here by a supplier and some serious words are being exchanged in that area. However, many people have convinced me today that Battlefield Evolution is not just acceptable, but a good product that is worth giving a try. Over the next few months, we'll continue working with our factory to elevate the level of quality of each subsequent release to first match, then exceed your expectations. That has always been our aim, and we are not going to give up because of a stumble at the first hurdle. "

I can't help but wonder if it may have been a touch of arrogance on their part in assuming that the problem of painting quality could be so simply conquered by them in their stab at the prepainted market. That sounds a bit judgemental, but it's just my first thoughts when I read his post. Honestly, how could it be a shock that the preproduction models wouldn't match the production models? Isn't there a precedent in the industry for any potential positive or negative correlations between pre- and post-production quality? Does anyone know? What I do know is that horrible QC is a given when you go to China for your low-cost factory labour, no?

I take exception to his statement that "the paintwork is at least as good as those in the current market and, by and large, better". I've seen better painting on the AT-43 models as well as some of the WotC minis (gasp! ). Moreover, to me it's not the painting that is the big problem- it's the poor sculpt quality. If I want to play a modern warfare game I have dozens of options out there for high-quality miniatures, so why would I want to choose the less attractive minis at a premium price? Historical/modern scale miniatures are really incredibly well done as it stands today so he's fighting an uphill battle by producing a new line without the same standards the established military model manufacturers have.

Obviously you'd expect Matt to have a cheery outlook (at least publicly) in this department simply for the sake of the company, but that doesn't prevent me from being frank in my comments.

I do think that Mongoose still has one strong factor on their side- peerless rules writing, but once again, they've let me down in the model department.

Posted By Drake_Marcus on 01/03/2007 5:19 PM
I do think that Mongoose still has one strong factor on their side- peerless rules writing, but once again, they've let me down in the model department.

totally agree. I was a Mighty Armies fan. Liked the rules - the models plain sucked. From the brocoli treeman, the reindeers all the way through to bulbous headed elves.

I was very much into this game, but held of until I had finally pictures/ real examples of stuff being sold to the public. I am disappointed - this was going to be the year of prepainted models for me, but it just isn't going to happen. Those are truely terrible - especially as I was looking forward to a game I could just pick up and play with friends.

Combine this with the cost of $30+ for 6 models from AT43 for the later releases, I have no plans to get either - which was irritating as I was really hyped about both. Not happy.

Posted By Dice Monkey on 01/03/2007 2:56 PM
They are going to smear vaseline on the lens and hire Hugh Hefner's personal airbrush artist.

HAHAHA brilliant you just made my tedious day at work more bearable!

Definitely a case of "wait and see". Early adopters always take a risk with a new game, so I'm quite happy to wait and see until I have the things in my greasy paws to examine for myself.

If you get carried away and belief all the corporate hype that accompanies a new model range or game, then really, you should know better!

I suspect Matt is woefully optimistic about people's propensity to pay a premium price for figures moulded and painted as badly as that. Interesting to see his about face from a position of "these figures will not go on sale" to one of "the figures aren't that bad really, so we are going ahead as planned". I suspect many of these "first wave" sets will find themselves rapidly entering the bargain bins unless the photocgraphy was really as much to blame as stated (I have my doubts!)

Not a good start to a product launch really I fear! It appears it is not only GW that can shoot itself in the foot (missing sections from the LotR rulebooks). And also, anyone remember those reprint stickers on the PP rulebooks a while back? There seems to be an ignoble trend when a "whoopsie" is dropped to press ahead regardless and not offer the customer any compensation by way of discounts for substandard new product. I can see why the companies don't want their product to appear tainted by being offered at a discount, but frankly you can't polish a turd, and if something so good was worth £20, then something not so good has got to be worth less than £20...

Myself, I *may* get the rulebook if it proves popular and someone wants to play me. I wouldn't touch the figures with someone else's though as things stand...

They _are_ a step forward.

What?!?!?!?!?!

 

Just to let everyone know that Mongoose has upgraded the pictures. Still, the bad casting is there and the painting is so so. Overall, the quality is several levels below than what was intended. That is not good enough for me.

So that's what SST figs look like? Ugh...I was hoping the table top game would be like the book, or at least the movie...what is that CRAP I see?

Yes. The Future of Gaming....

What really makes one wonder is the way that they removed everything having to do with the issue, reajusted the old thread of the photos, and rearranged the post to make it look like the figures were that crappy all along.


I'm at this point a non-mongoose fan, and after this last stunt, if you want a load of prepainted SST Figs, Ill paint them up and let them go at a fare price. More to come about that, but come on, honestly trying to rearrange the pics and insert them into the old thread is a little misleading.
I was a huge fan of the SST game, and have numerous figs in my collection, and a number of boxes of unpainted as of yet. I will be continuing my painting, but I am not going to be participating in anything having to do with this one, anymore.

Im fully suprised by the whole " What, me worry?" mentality of how the quality of the figures has declined, and the backblast reaction by the Mongoose board. Did they expect anything less, after the half stepping that was subquently done in response to the dismal GOMC1 the Skinnies, The SST fiasco, and the now infamous "Photos".

Of all things to start griping about, now that the prepaints are available, now the argument comes around to the "Quality"?

I still stand back and cant help to laugh at the irony of the circumstance.

How can you expect anything less?

Those figs make my eyes hurt and my bum-bum weep. :(

It's a shame that this quality issue would happen to Mongoose. It's an even bigger shame that Mongoose would try a photo swap on their customers and expect every to drink the purple Koolaid. Oh well.... I threw everything I own from Mongoose on Ebay and got some money for it while I still could.

I showed my FLGs these new pictures and he is cancelling his entire pre-order with his distributor. I was one of those pre-orders and told him to cancel mine (so much for the year of prepainted models I was really looking forward to.

Anyway, the thread deletion and picture swapping on the mongoose site is appalling - not exactly what I call customer service. If Matt thinks those are good (especially considering we were all expecting the pre-prod standard) her needs his eyes tested.