Power-Con is in full swing, and already some huge, huge news has been dropped: Castle Grayskull is coming.
Well…maybe. Here’s the info from TNI:
Today at the Masters of the Universe Power-Con convention, Mattel made an announcement about releasing a new Castle Grayskull playset. based on Mark Taylor’s original design and cost $200. Pre-orders will start in the fall on MattyCollector.com. A minimum number of pre-orders will need to be met for them to actually go through with releasing it though. This was just approved and more details will be made available at Toy Fair. The playset will not have electronics so they will be able to ship it internationally as well.
UPDATE: This will be a non-sculpt pre-order which means people will have to order sight unseen.
Here’s the Mark Taylor-designed prototype (I think):
They also revealed three new figures, Snake Face, Karatti, and Octavia (booth pics at TNI):
BTW, the convention exclusive item was a set of Keldor’s swords that don’t split apart.
UPDATE: Okay, so I just wanted to get the info out there before I went to see ParaNorman (great flick by the folks who did Coraline – really quite dark and a bit somber, too, though still funny). So here are my thoughts on everything.
Castle Grayskull is great news for fans. Frankly, after the “failure” of the Wind Raider, I’m a bit amazed this was greenlit by the high muckety-mucks, but the pre-sale requirement presumably made it a much easier sell.
Will I pre-order one? Honestly, I don’t know yet. Subscribing to 2013 was a hard decision for me this year. Thus far I’ve been a completist (except for some of the DC vs. MOTU 2-packs), but I’m not even sure I’ll get Granamyr in December. Grayskull would be quite a hit on my toy budget on top of the $600+ MOTUC is already taking.
S.H.MonsterArts is eating me alive right now and, somewhat to my surprise actually, the line shows no sign of slowing down. I may be coming to a decision point on what I want versus what I can afford. This isn’t a place I’ve been very often in my life; I’ve usually managed to muddle through, often with a few months of credit card debt and some toy selling to cover expenses. But now I’m not sure I can do that anymore.
That said, I’m not too worried about the “sight unseen” aspect of the pre-order. I’m sure it will look great. The problem, of course, is whether there will be any major quality issues. Those would probably not be evident in photos.
Snake Face – We knew he was coming, but he’s still cool.
Karatti – …who? I had no idea who this guy was – I had to look him up. I think he’d appeal to me a lot more if he had sickly, radioactive yellow/pea green skin of the vintage figure instead of plain green. Hopefully they change the paint for the production figure.
Octavia – A most-wanted Filmation figure, Octavia looks great. It appears her tentacles will be ball-jointed but not, I suspect, bendy (if someone has heard otherwise, let me know).
Convention Exclusive – Non-splitting Keldor swords? I guess that’s kind of neat, but it’s definitely not the must-have item I was worried it might be.
UPDATE 9/23 8:15pm: Mattel has snuck Clamp Champ’s clamp into the display case. About damned time.
The_Fun_has_been_Doubled
The reveals are pretty cool… Hopefully Grayskull will rock our world… and that it will fit on my shelf!
AmericanHyena
They’ve snuck Clamp Champ’s weapon into the display case at the show.
Mysterious Stranger
Here's the deal on Castle Grayskull. The preorder will start after NYCC in a few weeks, where they will be revealing the "B sheet" with all the details on it. Once enough preorders are made they will start the sculpting phase and try to have a prototype ready for Toy Fair next spring when they will open preorders again. Then if the magic number is hit they will start production for a fall 2013 release, hopefully by Christmas is what Scott said.
The payment will be authorized at the time you preorder but won't be a full charge until the Castle is ready to ship next year. So no money will be sent to Mattel until it is ready to be shipped.
On the figure reveals, the buddy I was with got the Mattel email as we were sitting in the panel so we knew the reveals before Scott announced them. They must have sent it right at 11:00 a.m.
Black Arbor
Y’know, the Grayskull news makes me really happy, but for an odd reason. I don’t actually own any of the MOTUC figures, but I sure love the look of the figures, and the reason Grayskull makes me happy is because it mean the fans who love this line are getting something awesome. also, how meta will it me to have Castle Grayskullman next to the castle? epic!
Harrig
Will the pre order mean cash upfront like with Miss Martian and Superboy? I don't think I'd go for that without at least a few snaps first. At that price I think a deposit would be OK, but the whole $200 is too much to ask, especially with that big old Dragon coming out.
Mine are displayed with the 2000X Greyskull at present, which works fine enough, but if that prototype is an indication of what this will be like, it will be fantastic.
I have been pleased by the recent reveals and these don't disappoint either. Things do seem to be improving in general – especially if they knock the black plastic issue on the head…
Harrig
The news I read on the Org is that the pre order would be authorisation of credit cards, with payment due at time of shipping.
If the model is anything like the lovely version by Icon Heroes, I'd be up for it.
ero
What I want to know is, Poe, are you in?
Poe Ghostal
As I said in my update, I'm not sure. I want to be, but my budget is tighter this year than last year, and will be tighter still next year than this year. So it may reach a point where I have to decide between, say, S.H.MonsterArts and Castle Grayskull…and I know who will win that battle.
Also: not sure I've even got room for the damn thing…I don't mean to be negative, though. I think the toy will probably be great. If Mattel was sending me samples and I were to get one, I'd be ecstatic 😉 (But would still review it fairly, of course.)
misterbigbo
Good for Scott for listening to the fans on Grayskull, and for making it a pre-order. I have serious doubts it will hit his projected minimum, but i do wish good luck to those who want one.
Monte
Holy crap, Grayskull?!?!
I don't need to see a photo, but I would definitely need to know the castle's size before I committed.
PrfktTear
Good news!
In regards to Grayskull, I guess I don't "get" what they mean by "in the fall" — we're already well into "the fall" so is that later this year or fall NEXT year?
Snake Face, Karatti, and Octavia look great though!
ero
Well, we in California don't really feel Fall the way the rest of the country does. 😉 Besides, technically Fall just started, what, today, I think? Going by the equinox at least. I'm sure they mean this Fall, just perhaps, "later" this fall. NY con is later in October.
doctorkent
Two of my most wanted figures and one that is good for what it is (Octavia), plus Castle Greyskull? Good reveals overall.
I'm fine with pre-ordering a castle without seeing a final product, based on everything so far.
Philip Reed
I'm with you. I'm quite happy with the reveals.
Poe Ghostal
I'm fine with the reveals, I just seriously did not even know who Karatti was. Kind of dims my excitement a wee bit 🙂 He also doesn't seem to offer any added value to offset his obscurity, like a second head or extra limbs or something. I guess he does have a lot of new sculpting.
I like Octavia and Snake Face, though!