retrogarde wrote:
I thought Hot Toys tried to get his permission and he said no. Are you saying they just made the figure without even trying to do right by him? That's crummy.
Well, I don't think anyone can truly know what conversations may or may not have happened, but the interview I saw implied he was never contacted in any way. Similar responses came from Beihn, Goldstein, and Rolsten. I've heard/read quotes from each of them that they never knew the figures existed until fans started bringing them to conventions to have them signed.
I also read that Matthews even went so far as to claim an african american figure with a generic face based on Apone would be something he would have his lawyer battle. He argues since the character was not written specifically as african american, that aspect was something that he personally brought to the character. In retrospect, that fact likely explains why the Hot Toys "Apone" did not even have the correct skin tone.
When people criticize the hot toys marines, it should be noted the faces weren't terrible because hot toys did a "bad job" or didn't "know". Of course they knew Drake didn't have red hair a mustache. They knew Vaz wasn't a gringa with dirty blonde hair and Apone wasn't light skinned with a goatie. Those decisions were made so that Hot Toys didn't have to pay anyone.
In the same interview, btw, Matthews did outright say he would love to have a figure made of him, so long as it looked like him and he was compensated.
I'll try to find the original article/interview and post it here. It was quite a while ago though. Perhaps hard feelings have taken hold or maybe he simply has other things he now prioritizes.