Originally Posted by Toyguru
Let me see if I can explain this one a little better.
Think of MOTUC as a movie. If that were so, I would be the producer, Ruben is the director and the Horsemen are the actors.
It is Ruben's job (as dictated by management and Mattel structure) to translate the Horsemen's sculpts into articulated manufactured product (i.e. action figures).
Many times factors be it costs, artistic desire or even accident can affect things Ruben (or whomever is in the design seat)does. Sometimes fans have really liked these things (like when Terry darkened Shadow Weaver's robe), other times not as much (like when Ruben moved around Stinkor's glove).
But the bottom line is that it is Ruben's JOB to do these things. Much as a Director owns the artistic vision for a film. The actor (sculptor) can suggest things or provide a good starting point, but it is ultimately the director (designer) who creates the figure.
We do work as a team on MOTUC and lots of folks from across the group have contributed over the years I even got to suggest two accessories that were created, Panthor's helmet and King He-Man's sword, and I remember TC our previous engineer came up with the Orb of Grayskull concept).So we all chip in a bit.
I hope this clarifies. If you are expecting the Horsemen sculpts to be 100% the toy, I honestly just suggest managing your expectations. The Horsemen are great sculptors, but in the end it is Ruben's (or whomever is the lead designer's) toy.