Monsters in Motion...beware

gt350pony66

Master Member
scout2.jpegscout3.jpegscout4.jpegon a whim I bought this scout trooper helmet on sale from "Monsters in Motion" in CA. I get sales emails from them, looked pretty nice in their email (image#1) got it, opened the shipping box and found the product box top (image#2) looked ok. pulled it out of the box and this is what was inside, (image#3 and#4) looks like it was made for a fat head troll from Lord of the Rings. Totally disproportionate, unfinished flexible plastic and you can see the sloppy goo they used to glue the eye lens in. Total rip off. Their policy is you can return, you pay the freight and minimum 15% restock, store credit only. Quite thoroughly disgusted. 100 bucks this POS was, and my 75 buck Storm Trooper helmet with voice thing from Amazon is super nice. if you buy anything from these folks be SURE of what you're getting. be sure it's a box brand item you're familiar with. This is a Christie's item that looks like it was a reject that has been sitting on a shelf decaying for a decade or more.

- - - Updated - - -

the open face pic is the advertised image
scout2.jpegscout3.jpegscout4.jpegon a whim I bought this scout trooper helmet on sale from "Monsters in Motion" in CA. I get sales emails from them, looked pretty nice in their email (image#1) got it, opened the shipping box and found the product box top (image#2) looked ok. pulled it out of the box and this is what was inside, (image#3 and#4) looks like it was made for a fat head troll from Lord of the Rings. Totally disproportionate, unfinished flexible plastic and you can see the sloppy goo they used to glue the eye lens in. Total rip off. Their policy is you can return, you pay the freight and minimum 15% restock, store credit only. Quite thoroughly disgusted. 100 bucks this POS was, and my 75 buck Storm Trooper helmet with voice thing from Amazon is super nice. if you buy anything from these folks be SURE of what you're getting. be sure it's a box brand item you're familiar with. This is a Christie's item that looks like it was a reject that has been sitting on a shelf decaying for a decade or more.
 

Attachments

  • scout1.jpeg
    scout1.jpeg
    20.4 KB · Views: 163
That thing looks like a family guy parody of a Scout Trooper. Monster in Motion sell or have sold recasts in the past so I never even entertained buying from them. Maybe you can fight it through PayPal. 15% restocking is BS
 
I've bought from them before so I just used a card, no payPal. I sent them a RMA request and bitched about the quality, rather the lack of it. We'll see I reckon...but $#!T, really?! this thing is as ugly as a mud fence.
That thing looks like a family guy parody of a Scout Trooper. Monster in Motion sell or have sold recasts in the past so I never even entertained buying from them. Maybe you can fight it through PayPal. 15% restocking is BS
 
That thing is ugly as hell! Even a ten year old could've made something better looking than that, out of cardboard! Sorry this happend to you.
 
That's the Rubies -- formerly Don Post -- soft vinyl Scout Trooper lid. Undersized, and don't ever leave it in a warm car. The logo is right there on the front of the box in the first image. This is a known issue with many Don Post -- and now Rubies -- Star Wars helmets, going back years. In the case of this helmet, well over a decade. There are horror stories and tutorials for fixes all over the internet. I do not blame Monsters In Motion in the least for this.

That helmet is salvageable, but only worth the effort if it's for a kid or someone "a little short for a Stormtrooper".
 
Inquisitor is correct. MiM is a retailer and he is just reselling the stuff that Rubies sells him. Rubies is well known for this issue, especially on the Scout Trooper bucket. You're not the first to be taken in by what Rubies considers a replica. A lot of us have. Some of the "Supreme" stuff is ok, but you have to be careful about that as well.

TazMan2000
 
This is why buying things in a whim is bad. Even a cursory search would turn up the problems with Rubies Scout helmet. It's definitely not MIMs fault.
 
well, I've read all the replies and opinions...this item was on a mailer and it did not state the source/brand. All I could do was go from the image MIM displayed. If I'd known it was a Christie I would have never considered it. Therefore, since the item looks absolutely nothing like the advertised image, they should take it back and waive the 15%. I have no problem paying the return freight. However, to sell and ship this knowing full well the recipient will not be happy with it...that is MIM fault and it's deceptive.
 
Can't help but disagree. You said you went by it because of the picture in the mailer. I saw the Rubies (not Christie's -- dunno if that's a typo or if you're accidentally mentally transposing them) logo immediately, even in the thumbnail, no embiggening required. It's something I've learned to watch out for. Not every Rubies piece is garbage, to be fair, but most are. Whenever I see something from Rubies I hadn't seen previous, I Google it before making the call. Only exceptions have been the ones I see and can handle in person.

Even then, I got suckered by their re-release of the Rebel and Imperial pilot helmets last Halloween through Hot Topic. Someone said the Imperial one used the moulds of the old, accurately-sized Don Post Classic Action version. None of my local Hot Topics had one, so I snagged one off the internet. What came was exactly what was released -- Rubies' repop using their Don Post moulds... of the later, undersized, soft-vinyl TIE Fighter Pilot. A friend is now turning that POS into an Inferno Squad helmet for his son.

Failure to do due-diligence, especially with Rubies, is on the buyer, not the seller. And it probably did look like the advertised image at some point. Maybe even when they shipped it. It's summer in Cali. That's enough to warp one of these in transit easy. As I said, it's fixable. And not for a lot of money, either. The biggest problem is that unless you're 5'7" or shorter, it'll look too small on you. You could probably do the base upgrades and easily get your materials costs back. Maybe poke around your local 501st Garrison to see if someone wants it...;) This from someone who's spent decades making silk purses out of pig's ears, I admit.
 
Yep, meant Rubie's, don't know why I typed that. Still though...the thing looks like it's been on a warehouse shelf for YEARS. The pivot screw covers missing, discolored, warped. I suppose I missed where it said Rubie's in the ad, my fault. however that doesn't take away from the fact that this thing is a total POS and it's going back. For 100 bucks I expected a far better product.
Can't help but disagree. You said you went by it because of the picture in the mailer. I saw the Rubies (not Christie's -- dunno if that's a typo or if you're accidentally mentally transposing them) logo immediately, even in the thumbnail, no embiggening required. It's something I've learned to watch out for. Not every Rubies piece is garbage, to be fair, but most are. Whenever I see something from Rubies I hadn't seen previous, I Google it before making the call. Only exceptions have been the ones I see and can handle in person.

Even then, I got suckered by their re-release of the Rebel and Imperial pilot helmets last Halloween through Hot Topic. Someone said the Imperial one used the moulds of the old, accurately-sized Don Post Classic Action version. None of my local Hot Topics had one, so I snagged one off the internet. What came was exactly what was released -- Rubies' repop using their Don Post moulds... of the later, undersized, soft-vinyl TIE Fighter Pilot. A friend is now turning that POS into an Inferno Squad helmet for his son.

Failure to do due-diligence, especially with Rubies, is on the buyer, not the seller. And it probably did look like the advertised image at some point. Maybe even when they shipped it. It's summer in Cali. That's enough to warp one of these in transit easy. As I said, it's fixable. And not for a lot of money, either. The biggest problem is that unless you're 5'7" or shorter, it'll look too small on you. You could probably do the base upgrades and easily get your materials costs back. Maybe poke around your local 501st Garrison to see if someone wants it...;) This from someone who's spent decades making silk purses out of pig's ears, I admit.
 
... looks like it was made for a fat head troll from Lord of the Rings...

Bwahhahaha.... being sucked in by Rubies is an indelible part of the hobby... ahhh, I don't know why the misery of those you care about is so amusing... maybe we'll evolve out of it over the next millennia or so... ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Amazingly enough, I got a return email, they're willing to take it back at full credit. Phewww, dodged another sour pill:thumbsup didn't fare so well with an E-11 blaster off of Etsy. 49 bucks for a 12 dollar Rubies white/orange toy that was painted black with not so convincing wear marks in silver paint. Not a total loss though. I stripped it with oven cleaner, sanded the irregular mating lines smooth, installed a couple of LED's, installed a battery and switch, and places a cut piece of brushed aluminum on the right side where the suede ejection port would be, poured liquid plastic inside to give it some weight and reshot it matt black. turned out ok, but cost way more than it should.
Bwahhahah.... being sucked in by Rubies is an indelible part of the hobby... ahhh, I don't know why the misery of those you care about is so amusing... maybe we'll evolve out of it over the next millennia or so... ;)

- - - Updated - - -

e111.jpege112.jpege113.jpege114.jpeg
 
I was too cheap to get a Plecter Labs BlasterCore board for a blaster build so I ended up buying 4-5 big box store blasters to get a donor board I was satisfied with... I was an idiot. :/
 
part of the hobbies is right, we all get a burn every now and then, just hopefully not TOO often, due diligence about researching unfamiliar products is a must but I gotta admit I don't always get 'er done. Say, I just noticed you're in Nashville. I grew up in Camden, ever hear of it? A life long friend lives about 2 mile from where Patsy's plane crashed.
I was too cheap to get a Plecter Labs BlasterCore board for a blaster build so I ended up buying 4-5 big box store blasters to get a donor board I was satisfied with... I was an idiot. :/
 
part of the hobbies is right, we all get a burn every now and then, just hopefully not TOO often, due diligence about researching unfamiliar products is a must but I gotta admit I don't always get 'er done. Say, I just noticed you're in Nashville. I grew up in Camden, ever hear of it? A life long friend lives about 2 mile from where Patsy's plane crashed.

Nope, never been to Camden. Looks like a nice place to grow up. I didn't realize that was where Patsy's plane went down. :(
 
This thread is more than 5 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top