Several months ago, I purchased a DIG figure from a seller on eBay.
I got a tremendous deal since the figure had some damaged small parts and diving suit from being displayed. Any comments about the condition are NOT a reflection on the seller, who I gave excellent feed back to.
These are commercial photos of DIG. I liked his backstory and I think the concept was fun. The diving helmet is real metal as well as the pressure regulator on his chest.
The seller included a large number of loose repair parts for some of the smaller broken items like the valve handles and such.
Originally, there was minor flaking of the pleather, which I was going to leave as "natural weathering". Unfortunately, the flaking was a terminal issue and so much came off just handling him I removed all of it.
I thought he still looked pretty cool with just the backing, but I really liked the original look and have made a few false starts constructing a new suit.
The pants were looking good, even though I was using suede, but I failed to leave enough material for the waistline hem.
I also planned on making the figure 2 legged , as I have plans for the original body.
I seam ripped the old suit and made a set of good, sturdy patterns.
This time I began with the body, the easiest part,and made a perfect copy in size and shape. Again, I am using a different color from the original, but I am not going for a specific match....
Next, I moved onto the hardest part of the suit, the sleeves and their interesting pleat design.
I made several attempts, with the one shown being my best effort, before I decided the pleather I was using was too thick. When it is all assembled, the seam between the pleather and the suede contrast piece is 7 layers thick. Multiple attemtps to make a second one of good quality failed.
I have so much material to choose from, I decided to try some much thinner black and blue pleathers. This time the going was much easier, but my hand stitching and gigantic thread lacked quality.
My final attempt, represented by the yellow partial sleeve, looks to be a winner, however, summer chores and patience have put this on hold for a while.
I have a sewing machine, but zero experience with it. I may try to get in some practice with it before I resume my work. It's hard for me to make consistent sized stitches and seams by hand.
I was still jonesing for a diver and I found a Dr Cube on eBay in Germany. Once again, the price was super! The figure was mint in box and he was a welder to boot!
Again, these are commercial pics.
I'm not a collector, so after waiting a VERY long time for the figure to arrive ( seller shipped immediately. I seem to have a long wait time when I get items from Germany, not sure why.) I unboxed him last night.
As expected, he was super neato- keen! The helmet is metal, similar to DIG, with a flip down visor. The torches are too cool for words.
The design rocks, but the execution and QC are much worse than expected from a high end figure. I see these go between $400-600 on the net. I paid much, much less.
Even though I am ultimately thrilled to have this, I have a bunch of work to do before I can play with him.
For starters, upon first handling, the black pleather has begun to flake. It is minimal right now, and neither the red nor the grey seem to have an issue. The black is only used on the wrist cuffs, so caution and care will minimize the impact.
The batteries, still sealed in the original plastic, had leaked. Understandable, since the figure was made sometime back, I had expected them to be dead either way. The plastic saved any damage to the figure.
Installing fresh batteries in the headlamp revealed a sad design flaw, the battery box is a simple press fit arrangement behind the helmets hose inlet.
It has no actual retention mechanism, nor does the hose fitting.
Attempting to attach the hoses only makes it fall off more, due to the weight.
Weight is a serious matter as well. The ankle joints cannot support the figure in anyway with the helmet on. Even just the neck collar is too much.
This was the biggest surprise, as I imagine a manufacturer like Hot Toys would have a way to deal with that.
The hoses, tank and pressure regulator are neat little "Steampunkish " pieces. Since the backstory says the suit is self contained, he is technically a scuba diver, interesting to say the least.
Unfortunately, the hose don't fit well, the couplers being a stepped design. A small pin fits into a hole deep inside the fitting, while a larger flange engages the outer portion. Unfortunately, the outer couplers vary significantly in size. The metal fittings are too large, leaving only the small pin to keep them seated, while the plastic fittings ( elbows and tank) are too small. The pin makes only minimal contact, so the hoses fall out. Pushing the hoses in very hard will sometimes get them to stay, but does not seem prudent for the small and detailed plastic.
I have found similar issues with the hoses on the DIG figure.
The final item pertains to the welding torches. Incredibly realistic in detail and one of the nicest props I have seen, there is no place for the hoses to connect. While the figure has several extra ports, none of them seems logical for oxy/acetalyne and there are no fittings of any kind on the ends.
After going back and looking at the promotional photos, I see that they are generally draped around the figure, disappearing out of site.
Even if it sounds like I am totally down on this figure, I can say I am not.
All of these issues Are manageable and I am over the moon about both deals. I have even dug out my 2 old GI Joe deep sea divers so I can have a
4 member team. I just wanted to give an honest assessment of the figures as I see them, noting that collectors might never be aware of these issues.
If I had paid the going rate for either item new in box, and discovered these problems, I would be more concerned. Right now, I have some pretty cool gear that I feel was more than worth the price.
Thanks for reading.
I got a tremendous deal since the figure had some damaged small parts and diving suit from being displayed. Any comments about the condition are NOT a reflection on the seller, who I gave excellent feed back to.
These are commercial photos of DIG. I liked his backstory and I think the concept was fun. The diving helmet is real metal as well as the pressure regulator on his chest.
The seller included a large number of loose repair parts for some of the smaller broken items like the valve handles and such.
Originally, there was minor flaking of the pleather, which I was going to leave as "natural weathering". Unfortunately, the flaking was a terminal issue and so much came off just handling him I removed all of it.
I thought he still looked pretty cool with just the backing, but I really liked the original look and have made a few false starts constructing a new suit.
The pants were looking good, even though I was using suede, but I failed to leave enough material for the waistline hem.
I also planned on making the figure 2 legged , as I have plans for the original body.
I seam ripped the old suit and made a set of good, sturdy patterns.
This time I began with the body, the easiest part,and made a perfect copy in size and shape. Again, I am using a different color from the original, but I am not going for a specific match....
Next, I moved onto the hardest part of the suit, the sleeves and their interesting pleat design.
I made several attempts, with the one shown being my best effort, before I decided the pleather I was using was too thick. When it is all assembled, the seam between the pleather and the suede contrast piece is 7 layers thick. Multiple attemtps to make a second one of good quality failed.
I have so much material to choose from, I decided to try some much thinner black and blue pleathers. This time the going was much easier, but my hand stitching and gigantic thread lacked quality.
My final attempt, represented by the yellow partial sleeve, looks to be a winner, however, summer chores and patience have put this on hold for a while.
I have a sewing machine, but zero experience with it. I may try to get in some practice with it before I resume my work. It's hard for me to make consistent sized stitches and seams by hand.
I was still jonesing for a diver and I found a Dr Cube on eBay in Germany. Once again, the price was super! The figure was mint in box and he was a welder to boot!
Again, these are commercial pics.
I'm not a collector, so after waiting a VERY long time for the figure to arrive ( seller shipped immediately. I seem to have a long wait time when I get items from Germany, not sure why.) I unboxed him last night.
As expected, he was super neato- keen! The helmet is metal, similar to DIG, with a flip down visor. The torches are too cool for words.
The design rocks, but the execution and QC are much worse than expected from a high end figure. I see these go between $400-600 on the net. I paid much, much less.
Even though I am ultimately thrilled to have this, I have a bunch of work to do before I can play with him.
For starters, upon first handling, the black pleather has begun to flake. It is minimal right now, and neither the red nor the grey seem to have an issue. The black is only used on the wrist cuffs, so caution and care will minimize the impact.
The batteries, still sealed in the original plastic, had leaked. Understandable, since the figure was made sometime back, I had expected them to be dead either way. The plastic saved any damage to the figure.
Installing fresh batteries in the headlamp revealed a sad design flaw, the battery box is a simple press fit arrangement behind the helmets hose inlet.
It has no actual retention mechanism, nor does the hose fitting.
Attempting to attach the hoses only makes it fall off more, due to the weight.
Weight is a serious matter as well. The ankle joints cannot support the figure in anyway with the helmet on. Even just the neck collar is too much.
This was the biggest surprise, as I imagine a manufacturer like Hot Toys would have a way to deal with that.
The hoses, tank and pressure regulator are neat little "Steampunkish " pieces. Since the backstory says the suit is self contained, he is technically a scuba diver, interesting to say the least.
Unfortunately, the hose don't fit well, the couplers being a stepped design. A small pin fits into a hole deep inside the fitting, while a larger flange engages the outer portion. Unfortunately, the outer couplers vary significantly in size. The metal fittings are too large, leaving only the small pin to keep them seated, while the plastic fittings ( elbows and tank) are too small. The pin makes only minimal contact, so the hoses fall out. Pushing the hoses in very hard will sometimes get them to stay, but does not seem prudent for the small and detailed plastic.
I have found similar issues with the hoses on the DIG figure.
The final item pertains to the welding torches. Incredibly realistic in detail and one of the nicest props I have seen, there is no place for the hoses to connect. While the figure has several extra ports, none of them seems logical for oxy/acetalyne and there are no fittings of any kind on the ends.
After going back and looking at the promotional photos, I see that they are generally draped around the figure, disappearing out of site.
Even if it sounds like I am totally down on this figure, I can say I am not.
All of these issues Are manageable and I am over the moon about both deals. I have even dug out my 2 old GI Joe deep sea divers so I can have a
4 member team. I just wanted to give an honest assessment of the figures as I see them, noting that collectors might never be aware of these issues.
If I had paid the going rate for either item new in box, and discovered these problems, I would be more concerned. Right now, I have some pretty cool gear that I feel was more than worth the price.
Thanks for reading.
