So... I almost didn't sleep tonight, and when I got a notification at school that the pins were there, I raced home during a free period. I had my hubby do an unboxing video... but I can't share that, as the exact moment when my heart was shattered isn't really good video material. There were three or four halfway acceptable pins (right). The rest all look like the one on the left.
Look at the horror... it seems the bronze plating was rubbed into the enamel on nearly every single pin, causing my son to blurt out, "He looks like Farmer Jones from Animal Farm!"

Accurate.
I wrote to the company at once, and here's where the happy ending begins - they immediately called me back, apologised, and offered to redo them at no extra charge. Whew.
The downside: More waiting.
The upside: I get to update the colours - make the skin brighter, and bring back that teal of the cloak.
I hope to have the new pins at the end of April then - I'm terribly sorry for all the waiting! But now I know to stay well away from bronze plating. Why do they offer a plating that will mess up an entire production run, and why would anybody actually package these to send to customers?? How could they think that anyone would not notice?
Jenny Dolfen
2019-03-30 11:38:11 +0000 UTCZane Libiete
2019-03-30 10:35:16 +0000 UTCMary Catelli
2019-03-29 23:58:52 +0000 UTCGwendolyn
2019-03-29 23:04:43 +0000 UTCLyra
2019-03-29 19:39:38 +0000 UTCLaura Michel
2019-03-29 17:11:32 +0000 UTCLitsen
2019-03-29 16:58:38 +0000 UTCSommer Sorenson
2019-03-29 16:18:37 +0000 UTCSteven Tryon
2019-03-29 15:53:50 +0000 UTC