Hey, very interesting discussions about MR going on in these threads! I just gotta jump in here. A few thoughts:
1) A signed petition to support MR with the Star Wars license, while very-well-meaning, is essentially useless. The disparity between Lucasfilm and MR is both politically and financially driven, with a number of other company’s agendas deeply involved in the mix as well. Lucasfilm is already well underway with discussions for a new licensee(s). Even a few thousand fans signing a document will not change the logistics of the situation one iota.
2) MR was never created to “flood the market with mass-produced crap from China” (my paraphrasing). At least (my) intent in starting the company was to be able to produce wonderful products that we wanted to own, with direct access to the originals, using manufacturing techniques that were not available to us fans as "garage manufacturers". Eg; the grips on the Dooku saber took some crazy tooling that nobody else could replicate at home. The same goes for the co-molding techniques that we utilized on several other sabers…like the Anakin Ep 2. I was tired of trying to bend rubber strip over a metal tube, stuck on with carpet tape.
I wanted more.
3) Manufacturing in China ain’t hardly done for “a bowl of rice a day”. MR (and Sideshow, QMx, et al) are using the best factories in China. These factories KNOW they are the best and charge an arm and a leg for it. I know that the price of the minis well-over-doubled while I was there, but MR never raised the price. The full size sabers costs also soared over the last five years. The markups on these items are NOT what most people here think. Add marketing costs, overhead, shipping, fulfillment, royalties, salaries, taxes, port fees, storage, rent, etc etc, and you have to realize that prop replica companies don’t make the net margains of many other companies. If you saw what the markup on jewelry and watches was, you would faint.
4) While some replicas, like the Obi Ep 4, were not absolutely correct (due a lack of viable reference) we never put out anything that didn’t have “soul”. We really sweated the details and I remember many times where I would be sitting at dinner with someone arguing about which angle of the taper on a tiny screw we should go with, because Lucas had four different versions of the original prop and they were all different. This was NOT GM making lightsticks. Everyone that I worked with at MR really cared about this stuff. I remember many times seeing Amy crying because she couldn’t come to an agreement with a dissatisfied customer. If you want to call that “soulless”, then you don’t really understand what is happening there.
5) Lucasfilm NEVER asked us to make a product “10% inaccurate” because it was too close to the original. (That one keeps popping up and just cracks me up). If anything, they told me that they held us to a “higher standard” and mercilessly busted our chops to make things better and more accurate. We were all on the same page that the products needed to be the best they could be. The problem is…what is “accurate”? There are four models at the archive…each representing ONE prop on-screen…and they vary wildly in dimensions, finish and details. What do you do?
6) Now as a “civilian”, I can say that it is very disheartening to read numerous people bagging on your company and products on and on and on. The comments that the Luke proto getting stolen were MR’s fault and that it was a marketing stunt are just foolish. MR ATE MY DOG! BOO! Joe says that if you make it THIS way, you suck…Bob says if you make it THAT way, you suck…you can’t win. “I have a grainy still here that clearly shows that your direct access to the original prop is WRONG!” Everyone can do your job better than you and will tell you that every day. You just have to do the best you can and try to make most of the customers happy. Based on talking to literally thousands of fans, I know that MR has done that, so… mission accomplished.
There ya go…
