darkSpyro

I was unboxing my son's new W2 Swap Force figures yesterday afternoon...and when I pulled Grilla Drilla out of his packaging I noticed he felt considerably lighter / cheaper than all of the other characters. (It's pretty bad when you know what a Skylander should feel like and/or weigh)

Has anyone else noticed this with their Grilla Drilla or any other characters....or is just this one?

I'm having to get used to the fact that half a swap lander does in fact feel light. I've only opened Nitro and Snake Dude and they both feel fine to me...but I do think they could be changing materials used for the figures.

That actually might be a good thing. The heavier they are the harder they fall.

I just checked it out. Yea, my Grilla Drilla does seem to be lighter than the others, however there also appears to be less "going on" with this figure than the others (meaning there is more detail and armor to the others). I took my Nitro Magna to compare. Nitro feels heavier. Both have somewhat small lower halves, with Grilla only having a drill on the lower half and Magna basically only having a wheel. Both bases feel about the same when I hold them in my hands. The weight difference comes from how much extra armor and things had to be put onto the Magna figure. Grilla doesn't have as much on so it takes less material to mold him. So I think that's where the weight difference comes from... but what do I know? I'm just taking a shot in the dark.

I will agree though, Grilla does feel lighter than the others.

Honestly, I've felt that most of the figures out of the first two waves of Swap Force felt less sturdy than earlier figures. And it's not just figures that are posed in such a way that you'd think that you might break them (like most any Stealth Elf figure). I've been insanely careful when trying to push the top half of any swapper out of its package for fear that if I just grabbed and yanked that something would pop off, tear, etc. I'm figuring that they've either changed materials to afford more detail/color (due to increased malleability of a less firm material) or decided to increase profits literally everywhere by going with a a cheaper plastic (possible due to the increased amount of material most characters seem to require this time around as compared to previous generations). (shrug) Nothing's broken yet, but I'm wondering how many parents will end up having to console their kids because some figures don't survive the yank out of the pack.

-Doug

I'm just sad to see no use of lights in swappers like giants figures... I understand to core figures not having them but..swappers are like the giants in cost.

Quote: largemarge133

I'm just sad to see no use of lights in swappers like giants figures... I understand to core figures not having them but..swappers are like the giants in cost.

Let me know how your giants can be split in half like swappers. Apples and oranges. You DO KNOW that there are wires to do lights right?

Easy wires in both halfs.

Magnet can be used for electronic contact I believe....I might be wrong

Quote: largemarge133

Magnet can be used for electronic contact I believe....I might be wrong

Yes magnet can be used as contacts. And GhostRoaster i see his point....since the Giants are no more(they did say there done with the Giants figures...altho they can always change there minds)the swappers have taken there place.
I also thought they would light up...seeing all the clear parts in the figures when i was looking at them on-line a few months ago.

Well, point or not...you'll have to take it up to VV why they didn't do it. I'm betting 1. technical or 2. you're getting freaking swap guys...value is there MUCH MORE this time. Everyone complains about lightcore stuff anyway...

Lightcore swapper *could* be done. That isn't really the point. The cost of doing the magnets/contacts and the LED wiring would likely make the figure more expensive. They have to limit what they do to keep the cost down. If it costs too much, it drives away customers. Swappers are smaller than giants, but probably take just as much labor/material cost to make.

Grilla Drilla only weighs about 1 ounce. Night Shift is about 2.

It doesn't matter if they feel light or not. It just means they took less plastic to make.

*waits for the Official Swap Force Weight Thread*

I think the lighter weight is because they're split into two parts. I don't really know.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Well, point or not...you'll have to take it up to VV why they didn't do it. I'm betting 1. technical or 2. you're getting freaking swap guys...value is there MUCH MORE this time. Everyone complains about lightcore stuff anyway...

Yes...yes they do ...as always can't please everybody.

Quote: defpally

Lightcore swapper *could* be done. That isn't really the point. The cost of doing the magnets/contacts and the LED wiring would likely make the figure more expensive. They have to limit what they do to keep the cost down. If it costs too much, it drives away customers. Swappers are smaller than giants, but probably take just as much labor/material cost to make.

Yes it would make them more expensive....i was just say'in it is possible to light them up. And im think it would take more labor to make, do to the solid parts having to be hollowed out for the wires...or cavities made for the LED's.

Adding the LEDs was quite a labour intensive task and likely a large portion of the cost for giants.
The whole magnet thing will have bumped the cost up a lot meaning it just wasn't possible to make them cheaply enough with magnets and leds.

I will say the swapper look cheaper in EVERY way except the magnets. Shame, Since SSA they were known for quality. That won't be the case with SF.

Hey keep an eye on your Grilla Drilla when you buy him I found one with two left arms,I would have been so pissed If he came home.

Oh gods. The Biggest Loser: Skylanders Edition...

Magna Charge is screaming for a lightcore version. even in the game his wheel and eye light up... it would have made the figure so much cooler.

Super Gulp Pop Fizz feels SUPER light! hehe...

I think that another reason may be they wire the antenna for the RFID chip in the top DOWN through the magnets using them as contacts.
This certainly isn't an easy/cheap thing to put into a toy so adding LEDs would cost too much on top.

I haven't noticed any quality reduction in the current batch. I had a Chop Chop from series 1 lose his arm though, put back on with super glue.

Aside from some atrocious paint, I have not seen any other QC issues.

Quote: stoat2337

Aside from some atrocious paint, I have not seen any other QC issues.

Heard something about a Rattle Shake with no gun.

nothing wrong with my wave 2 yet

Would love to find a rattle like that ninja.

I've also noticed an iffy quality on some of the paint, but it appears to only be common in certain runs. Single pack Chills in general I have seen have been very sloppy, lips painted off center, one had an eye/eyebrow completely left off, face color on the helmet, etc. But, the triple packs with Chill they seem perfectly fine. Similar to the lips being different colors in singles vs. triples last time. Obviously different assembly/paint lines, maybe even a different facility - with widely different quality control.

The first Riptide I had (I didn't notice when I got him) had a really poorly painted swordfish. One eye wasn't painted, white paint on the handle, sloppy paint, etc. Fortunate I went back on Saturday and they had a good one to exchange him for. The replacement was from a different shipment. I'm think one of their manufacturing facilities has quality problems that are leaking through.

Quote: jet-vac6000

Oh gods. The Biggest Loser: Skylanders Edition...

Heh, nice one.

Quote: tobby

Magna Charge is screaming for a lightcore version. even in the game his wheel and eye light up... it would have made the figure so much cooler.

Yes it would....would look very cool. There are many that would look cool lit up. But like what was said earyler...would put the cost of each Swapper at around $20 to $25...each...my guess...do to them being labor intensive.

Now what would be a good idea would to select a few Swappers in Skylanders 4, and make them lightcores. Don't think any of us would mind spending a little more for 2 or 4 of them lightcored.
Should try to get Lite Kore to come back an light up some of the prime ones, like he did his Blue Bash an the others...Magna Charge being one of them ofcorse.