Licensed Pulse Rifle pre-order

[Photoss]

^ Great pics btw.

 

[Cpl Potter]

funny now they are all wait listed on the website .

 

[Doombringer]

It just looks like they were tying to get them done so quickly that they didn't wait for the glue to dry or something.

This is something that occurred to me, when I thought back to how my PR was boxed. It was basically upside down inside the box, with the SPAS cage being up and the top of the shrouds being down. This is using the lettering on the box as a gauge of "right side up" - if it is readable, that's the right end up.

I thought about how a rifle packed differently, with the SPAS cage down, would lead to the droopage, through either gravity and not-quite-dried adhesives or broken welds or bumpage during shipping.

I don't know how your rifles were packed. All I can theorize is that with mine being upside down, maybe that helped keep things more in line throughout the shipping process.

Then again, I also thought about the number PR I got, and perhaps if the drooping rifles were lower numbers in the series. If they're mainly lower numbers (0-200is), maybe they got the kinks worked out by the time they got higher (mine is 303 out of 1000). That's assuming the rifles are numbered sequentially as they come off the line and they're not just assigned arbitrarily.

There's also the detective work done a page or so back that is just great Hopefully that can lead to some fixes without sending rifles back.

 

[ghostryder]

Credit "Alien" for the grabs:

 

[Omega5]

I don't really care what the stunt PR looks like. Why would I want my PR to resemble a prop which has been dropped, smashed, thrown and god knows what else on set by the actors, stuntmen, stagehands and everyone who wanted to play with it during filming? The only thing that pic of the stunt PR demonstrates to me is the extent of abuse the poor thing has taken. Besides, if HCG wanted to emulate that stunt PR look, surely they would have weathered it as well, instead of making it appear brand new, but with a wonky barrel.

I think this is a simple case of the factory assembling the barrel assembly in a hasty and haphazard fashion. As I said earlier, if my PR has this droop, it most likely is going back to HCG. However, if HCG can demonstrate a relatively simple fix, such as changing screws or applying some glue to hold up the spas cage (while honoring the warranty) then I'll do it. But there is absolutely no shot in hell I'm going to gently apply heat to this 1000 dollar replica and bend it up with a pipe. If it was 400 bucks I'd say no problem, I'll tear into it like Lindsay Lohan into a bag of coke. But for 1000, no way, not going to happen.

 

[Stuntman Mike]

Anyone thinking they may return theirs, please be sure to read HCG's refund policy. You need to let them know about the droop defect no more than 3 days upon receipt of your PR. See below:

Refund Policy
Hollywood Collectibles Group offers a fifteen day money back guarantee (excluding shipping and handling) on any of the products sold directly from this website, provided that they are returned to and received by us within 15 days of the original delivery date of the product to you. The product must also be returned in unused, undamaged condition in its original packaging and in the same condition as it was sent to you. The customer MUST inform Hollywood Collectibles Group of any defective product within three (3) days of receipt. In the case of shipping damage all packaging materials must be kept for inspection.

 

[C0mmand3rC0dy]

Some of these look really nice! Did most people get the brown bess as opposed to the green, what was the reason for the different colors?

 

[ONEYE]

Ooh, that's a pretty stiff policy. I wonder if there will be an increase of sales on these via ebay. Myself, I'd want it to be droopy-less.

 

[Mr Webber]

Sound advice Mike,
perhaps an email to HGC from owners of defective units stating they have an issue but as this is a common issue, they are not willing to
return the item until a formal statement is made by HGC is the safe play.

You guys have waited so long for this, it will pay to be a little more patient.
The best result for all will come if the same issue is presented to HGC as a whole.

If people start modifying things hap hazard it gives an out clause
Raffertys Rules we call it, different solutions for different cases, for the same issue, not good.
After all this, i want one even more, just has to be the right one.

 

[00MrNotWrong00]

This is really making me feel pretty good about myself and the stuff that I've made.

There are only 1000 of these, this will most likely never happen again, their value can only increase, having a small fix done by a competent craftsman (not the guy that ruined hoggle) should be ,,,,,,,,,,,,

What am I talking about ? Is a thousand dollars (I could probably vacuum form a cargo loader for that much cash) I think there need to be some refunds , I'm changing camps :lol

 

[SSgt Burton]

Did most people get the brown bess as opposed to the green, what was the reason for the different colors?

Brown Bess is the actual screen used colour.

But when the movie came out, because of the grainy film stock (and that no one had really heard of the colour Brown Bess) it was assumed the rifle shrouds were painted OD green- as that is what many people believed they appeared to be.

A lot of people still perfer OD green on a PR (regardless of accuracy) so HCG decided to try and please both camps with both colours.


Kevin

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

So I'm hoping the BB version has gone on 'Wait List' to resolve the issue and not because they are sold out....

 

[Kaijuboy]

Wow, Jack, great work, and I will totally be doing your mods/fixes on mine (once it arrives). And thankfully it looks relatively easy (I know that figurative, but I've had to do much worse mods on things before, so this looks like cake! :cool).

 

[Kaijuboy]

So I'm hoping the BB version has gone on 'Wait List' to resolve the issue and not because they are sold out....

HCG last said there were still a "couple hundred left" not that long ago. Its probably due to a second run or so (maybe fixed even). My Predator 2 Bio from them was a "waitlist item", and I called before ordering, and they informed me that its due to them waiting on the next batch and it wasnt sold out. They do that so people dont immediately expect shipping. They actually say "Sold Out" on unavailable pieces.

 

[JOATRASH FX]

I just got word from Propstore that they will be trying to inspect their stock of rifles before sending them out to us in Europe. Big :thumbsup to them for taking the time to do so.

 

[DarthDarren]

With all due respect to Brundlefly, his argument about screen-used accuracy is specious, because it pertains to a STUNT.

Besides, all licensed replicas are pretty much idealized, with material, workmanship, and finish defects found in the original prop absent, unless we're talking about a deliberately weathered/distressed/battle-damaged/screen-used-stunt look, and that's always been explicit in the product advertisements.

I'm not saying HCG is guilty of a "bait & switch," but they must acknowledge the defect, because anything short of that would be a BREACH OF CONTRACT, due to the gross discrepancy between the production proof photos and the actual replicas.

Given the return policy that was just posted, this is what I would expect from HCG:

1. Announce a RECALL of all PRs exhibiting noticeably visible Thompson barrel & 870/SPAS cage droop and provide a direct phone number & e-mail address ONLY for recall claims.

2. Offer a FREE repair or replacement of the replica, including sending a pre-paid return shipping label (as an exception to the current 3-day return for refund policy).

3. Reiterate that ANY customer-attempted repairs will void the warranty.

4. Extend the return period to 3 days from receipt of the return shipping label, in case some customers are unavailable at the time of receipt of their PR to respond (this IS vacation season, after all!)

As a technical writer & branding expert who's helped prepare dozens of product warranties in my career, I feel the above is quite reasonable. A prompt & organized product recall by HCG will make the following statement true: "A bad PR should not be cause for bad PR"

D

 

[Xhiwar]

With all due respect to Brundlefly, his argument about screen-used accuracy is specious, because it pertains to a STUNT.

You certainly realize that HCG had a stunt rifle for reference, and that the HCG is by all means a replica of a stunt rifle, right?

There's only one hero rifle, and that's the one with the 10-hole vent. It has been speculated that the working Remington has then been "transplanted" from the 10-hole hero onto a Pulse Rifle with an 8-hole vent after filming, which is the one owned by propstore:
Prop Store - Ultimate Movie Collectables

However, I do believe that this particular version does not have any barrel "droop". Neither did the 10-hole hero, by the way. So if they based the "droop" on an existing rifle, it must be the stunt rifle HCG had as reference.

 

[DarthDarren]

Xhiwar, I defer to your PR expertise, and I was not aware (or simply glanced over the fact when ordering) that HCG used a droopy stunt as its reference, but if the droop in the replica is deliberate, then it should have been visible in the production proof and prototype photos, and it wasn't, as weren't all other material/workmanship/finish defects, so the point is moot.

Hasn't this thread been dedicated primarily to catching accuracy errors in the pre-production units and Matt & HCG favorably & graciously responding in good faith and correcting them prior to final production? Had anyone here known in advance that the droop was planned, trust me - there would have been a nearly unanimous & immediate demand to eliminate it. I find it also interesting that when droop was initially mentioned and photographically analyzed, no-one from HCG (or Matt) stepped up and said: "yep, good eye, people! We're duplicating the droop in the replica because we're going for screen-used stunt accuracy." :rolleyes

I just expect that good faith to continue in light of DroopGate, and HCG should do the honorable and ethical thing and bite the bullet, as any other company must do when a design or manufacturing defect triggers good cause for a recall.

D

 

[Jeyl]

You certainly realize that HCG had a stunt rifle for reference, and that the HCG is by all means a replica of a stunt rifle, right? So if they based the "droop" on an existing rifle, it must be the stunt rifle HCG had as reference.

Which for some reason was not used for their prototype that they showcased at conventions nor what they pictured on their website.

What's this?.... Oh, hi Hollywood Collectibles Group photos of the prototype that they showcased at conventions which clearly doesn't show any signs of barrel droop!

Yep. You're gona need a real working one to stem the tide good sir.

 

[Xhiwar]

I agree, if I didn't plan to gut the replica for the alu shrouds anyway, I'd be pretty mad about that barrel droop. Wasn't there in the advertising pics...

Also, the droop HAS been mentioned as soon as tommin got his rifle, but to my knowledge wasn't properly adressed by him or HCG even though the droop was very apparent in the pics. It actually was the first thing I noticed after I stopped drooling over the shrouds.

Xhiwar, I defer to your PR expertise, and I was not aware (or simply glanced over the fact when ordering) that HCG used a droopy stunt as its reference, but if the droop in the replica is deliberate, then it should have been visible in the production proof and prototype photos, and it wasn't, as weren't all other material/workmanship/finish defects, so the point is moot.

Hasn't this thread been dedicated primarily to catching accuracy errors in the pre-production units and Matt & HCG favorably & graciously responding and correcting them prior to final production? Had anyone here known in advance that the droop was planned, trust me - there would have been a nearly unanimous & immediate demand to eliminate it. I find it also interesting that when droop was initially mentioned and photographically analyzed, no-one from HCG (or Matt) stepped up and said: "yep, good eye, people! We're duplicating the droop in the replica because we're going for screen-used stunt accuracy." :rolleyes

D