Quality Control problems with CE figure
Dear Square Enix,
As an avid supporter of Final Fantasy XIV, I'm disappointed in the build quality of the dragon statue that came with my collector's edition. The materials and paint look decent. The level of detail is what I've come to expect from a company that also makes the Play Arts figure series. All of this is spoiled by the fit and finish of the overall package.
Simply put, my copy of the figure does not fit on the display stand properly. With the tail clipped into the display stand and the front left claw resting on the peg, the rear left claw does not actually sit properly on the stand. Upon further inspection, the rear leg appears to be bent inward towards the body and the two rear claws are almost touching. Since the plastic is fairly malleable, I've been able to work the leg back into a somewhat proper position where it now fits, but that should not have to be something a consumer needs to do.
As a person who collects figures from other major Japanese brands (Good Smile Company, Kotobukiya, GIFT, Volks, and others), I find this oversight on the part of Square Enix simply shocking. In all honesty, I could forgive this type of problem on a $20 UFO catcher figure but not for something that demanded a $90 premium over the standard edition. Even if you take out $30 for the other items that come with the CE (digital add-ons, fancier box, and BluRay), we're still left with what should be a $60 figure.
Compared to the other figures that I've purchased, this doesn't quite live up to that price tag. In the back of my mind, I'm hoping there wasn't some sort of quality lot where all of the well manufactured items went to consumers in Japan (where they're much pickier about quality) and the lower quality lots went to the rest of the world.