Ask Mattel > Answers for September 1

August 31, 2011 | Poe

We take a brief break from Bat-Week for some Mattel answers.

1.) Many fans still love the original Batman sculpt the Four Horsemen did for the 2003 Batman line (i.e., “Zipline” Batman). The Four Horsemen still have their prototype, which shows the intended high level of articulation. Is there any chance of getting that figure with retooled, DCUC-level articulation (including double-elbows and double-knees)?

Always possible. Nothing is planned at this time but with a new Batman film on the horizon we will clearly be looking at ways to get out more collector Batman figs and this would be a cool figure to explore.

2.) misterbigbo asks: Have you considered producing the FHM’s mini-masters and distributing them as blind-box items? They could be sold on Mattycollector individually or by the case, or to comic/specialty shops. Lego’s recent success with minifigs is interesting, but the price point is key. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > August 26, 2011

August 26, 2011 | Poe

  • I’m going to use most of this Odds ‘n Ends to round up some of the news, articles and press releases people have sent me over the last few weeks.
  • First up, Joe Amaro sent along the news that Jazwares is now making toys based on the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time. I know nothing at all about this show, but I’ve heard some fans are quite excited by this development.
  • Poester SP wrote in to let me know about his new action figure design project “The Nightmare of Oz.” You can find pics of the designs at their Kickstarter page.
  • I also received an email about another Kickstart project by Poester JS–this one a photo book called “Souls of Toys,” described as “collecting over 80 images from 17 different toy lines ranging from the 1970s to 1990s, collected in a 9″x6” format.  From the classic action figures to the barely remembered, this book evokes memories of Saturday mornings spent in front of the television.   The front cover is designed by Charles Forsman, the Ignatz-award winning creator of the comic series Snake Oil.”
  • I also got an email from TheBigToyAuction.com, a charity site featuring auctions for custom toys and artwork to benefit children who have suffered through natural disasters, be it the earthquake in Japan, the tornados in Joplin, MO or the drought in East Africa. “A group of comic and toy artists have banded together to donate their talents to the “Heroes Give Hope” charity auction.  Through the auction of these works of art, the Pop Culture community is raising funds for ConvoyofHope.org‘s continuing disaster relief  efforts.  These dedicated donors from around the world have each offered up many one-of-a-kind pieces to be sold in this unique online Live-Auction event, with 100% of the hammer price of each going directly to Convoy of Hope. The auction features many works of original comic and pop culture related art including a piece by UK illustrator Dave Williams featuring dozens of minimalist Heroes spelling out the word “HOPE.”  It also features Transformers and Ghostbusters work by IDW artists Dan Khanna and Dan Schoening, and Dreamwave artist Matt Kuphaldt.  There are inspiring pieces by artists Lindsay Smith and Francesco Sturlese.  It includes a one-of-a-kind, hand finished Batman print by South African neo-pop artist The Meme Machine, Mego-inspired Spider-Man piece by Illustrator Dan Bru, and an original He-Man and Battle Cat Watercolor by Jonathan Reincke.” There are also plenty of regular toys going for reasonable prices.
  • And finally, I received a note pointing me to this interesting piece on the origin of gag vomit.
  • On a non-submitted-news-item note, check out this not-at-all-veiled threat of litigation against Mattel if they “even think of increasing the DC Sub figures from $15 to $20.” Did anyone think there was any danger of that happening at all? Mattel has been very clear about the subs providing exactly what’s in the sub description, and that this constitutes a contract (theoretically on both sides, despite the loophole by which subscribers can cancel by cancelling their credit card). As ToyGuru mentions in his reply, Mattel is toying with increasing the price of the non-sub figures on the website on the day of the sale. But zombie Jimmy Hoffa will smash his way out of his concrete coffin before Mattel changes anything related to the subscriptions. I’m not saying Mattel is some moral paragon. It’s that they’re mortally afraid of litigation–particularly, for some reason, false advertising and/or false promises. That’s why so many of the Q&A answers are so frustratingly vague. It’s not that he doesn’t have a point, I just think it’s overkill for something that wasn’t really an issue. Apologies for the rant–the tone of that post just annoyed me (that and the cutesy “LegalGuru” handle).
  • Moving on, it seems X-Entertainment, the longtime kid culture website (and one of my favorite sites of all time), now has a YouTube channel and has already started a Halloween Countdown. It’s weird to see Matt in motion–as Poester Ragetreb comments, “all these years I had assumed you were a sentient jpeg.” I do have to wonder, though–why the Christian-Bale-as-Batman sandpaper voice? Matt has always seemed like he wanted to keep his identity something of a secret, but that sounds like it hurts.

Odds ‘n Ends > August 24, 2011

August 24, 2011 | Poe

  • Here’s the first comment I’ve seen from Mattel on the DCUC subscription results: “The final tally was around 60-62% (I’ll need to ask the DC team for an exact number). We are literally reviewing the numbers to see if their is anyway to go forward now that we are under 100%. It may take another week or so before we will know an answer. Fans have been so passionate, but in the end it comes down to whether their are enough of them to move forward with this program!” I had been beginning to suspect late last week that a non-100% subscription rate might not mean an immediate cancellation of the sub. One idea a poster on the Fwoosh had was to raise the price of the non-sub sale day figures from $15 to $20 (while subscribers still pay $15). I think that’s a good idea. Had I not subscribed, I’d have happily paid $20 for Poison Ivy and not thought twice about it.
  • Mattel also posted a lengthy explanation for Battleground Evil-Lyn on their Facebook page. I’m still not sure how I feel about BGEL. Initially this was exactly what I had expected a Millennium Evil-lyn to be (proof here and here). I had been expecting more only after this post by ToyGuru last year. So without that post by ToyGuru, I might not have been disappointed at all. I can certainly see why a lot of fans are unhappy. And I’m a bit confused by the tooling explanation: “[…] we felt that it would be better to go with this simpler version rather than sink a lot of tooling into a version that didn’t have waist articulation, better hip function, etc. If we used up the tooling now, it may have killed the chance to do a version that 100% satisfies all of the fan requests. Now that the 2.0 body has been created and worked into the line, the door is open to do this version in the future.” Which I think raises a significant question: why do a Millennium Evil-lyn now at all, instead of waiting to use the 2.0 body with new tooling? What’s the rush? I’d happily have taken, say, a minicomic Trap Jaw instead.
  • Here’s a fantastic NECA-style Dutch from Predator custom using NECA Duke Nukem and Terminator parts.
  • I need to get more into Minimates–check out the Previews-exclusive Knight Rider KITT with Super-Pursuit Mode parts.

Odds ‘n Ends > August 22, 2011

August 22, 2011 | Poe

  • I’m (finally!) on vacation this week, and my hope is to finally get to some of those reviews I’ve been promising you guys forever. The pile of unopened toys has only gotten bigger, though, including the NECA Robocop, which I found at TRU over the weekend.
  • One thing I learned during this move is that I have a LOT of toys. More than I realized, and that was after selling off a bunch of stuff to a local comic shop. If you stop by Comicazi! in Somerville, MA any time over the next few months and buy a loose figure, there’s a good chance it may once have been mine.
  • Club Infinite Earths put up a good fight, but as of right now it’s still 40% short of its goal. I’ve said since the beginning that whatever the goal was for this sub, it was just too high. That suggests either Mattel didn’t do the due diligence on testing what the market really was, or they always knew it was going to be a long shot. At this point, even without all the QC issues, historically terrible distribution, and Gleekocalypse, I’m not sure the Club could have hit the needed subscriptions. The only hope now is that it did well enough that the brand managers can convince the higher-ups to do it.
  • Notable reviews from around the net: Pixel Dan reviews Vigo the Carpathian & MOTUC Leech; Wesitron reviews the 6″ Modern ThunderCats Lion-O

Mattel Updates > MOTUC, DC subs, Draego-Man costs

August 17, 2011 | Poe

Lots of Mattel-related stuff to discuss today. First up is this addendum to Monday’s Q&A:

3.) Gasha168 asks: Does the 23″ Voltron contain any diecast metal components at all, or is it pure plastic except for the springs and pin joints?

The Lions that combine into the 23″ Voltron do not have any die-cast parts.  At the scale that the lions are being offered, if they were die-cast, the overall weight of the combined Voltron would be too much for it to be secure or stable.  However, we do understand that die-cast is a big fan request so this is something that we’re looking into for the future.

Next, we have a bunch of updates from Mattel regarding the MOTUC and DC subs. There’s a lot to cover here–this appears to be one of those times when Mattel comes surprisingly clean with us. I’ll reply bit by bit rather than a long speech at the end.

First off is this post from the Mattycollector forums:

Hey He-Fans and She-Ravers,

With so much talk over the DC Sub (and if we have enough subscribers) I wanted to check in with all of you on the MOTUC sub.

First off, as expected we have well passed our min sub order to keep the line going. (MOTU fans are committed!) BUT, I do want to let you know that we are actually at our lowest sub sale yet. Which unless we get a huge bump in sales this week, this means Shadow Weaver will likely be the lowest produced figure in the whole line! Wow.

(more…)

Ask Mattel > Answers for Mid-August

August 15, 2011 | Poe

1.) MsMarvel fan asks: Great reveals at SDCC! I’m really excited for 2012. Can those of us with MOTUC subscriptions look forward to a way to opt into additional club figures and/or 30th Anniversary figures for shipment with our sub figures?

We are looking into a way to possibly combine shipping on the 30th figures into a sub but we don’t have this confirmed yet. Stay tuned as we continue to explore options!

2.) Fringinator asks: Are Infinite Heroes coming back? That line went away just as I was really getting into it. Other companies are doing more and more characters on a smaller, 4-inch scale like that, and the DC universe has never gotten a big line like that.

The exact Infinite Heroes line is over for now, but that does not mean the scale is done. Again, stay tuned as we get all of our ducks in a row! We know there is a lot of fan demand for more DC figures in this scale!

3.) Gasha168 asks: Does the 23″ Voltron contain any diecast metal components at all, or is it pure plastic except for the springs and pin joints?

It does have some die cast. More details as soon as we confirm with design.

UPDATED ANSWER: The Lions that combine into the 23″ Voltron do not have any die-cast parts.  At the scale that the lions are being offered, if they were die-cast, the overall weight of the combined Voltron would be too much for it to be secure or stable.  However, we do understand that die-cast is a big fan request so this is something that we’re looking into for the future.

4.) AJ7 asks: If Shadow Weaver will not be re-released in any way, shape or form, is there still a possibility for 200X-inspired female “Shadow Wraiths” to be released in the MOTUC line?

Shadow Weaver will not be re-released but it is possible for us to do the Shadow Wraiths from 2002 from episode 35 as separate characters (and male characters at that).

5.) Snarf! Snarf! asks: After seeing the mixed reactions regarding Battleground Evil Lyn: Was she meant to be the “classicized” version of 200X Evil Lyn, or is there room for a third Evil Lyn in her Zalesian attire (A female version of The Faceless One’s vest)?

Never say never, but for now this is intended to be the Horsemen’s definitive Evil Lyn for the time being.

Feliz Maskor Dia!

August 15, 2011 | Poe

Is anyone else impressed that Mattel managed to keep a lid on MEF’s secret accessory right up to sale day? Even if it gets revealed today, I have to say congrats to Mattel–oh, and also, why do you continue to suppress information that might result in increased sales?!?! But I digress.

Here’s the link to the all-in-one page. Also on sale:

  • Megator
  • Ready To Believe You Egon w/ Library Ghost
  • Green Lantern Origins 3-Pack
  • Beast Man
  • Gygor

Odds ‘n Ends > 8/12/2011

August 12, 2011 | Poe

  • I got an email last night that said Mattel had extended all the subscriptions another week to August 22. It’s hard to know whether this is primarily to give the DC subscription a better chance or because all the subs aren’t getting the numbers they want. I still think the DC sub is screwed–the minimum number just seems to be too high–but this week I was considering subscribing until I found out that, because I already subscribed to Club Eternia and didn’t subscribe to both at the same time, I’d have to pay double shipping by adding a second subscription (“Remember, you can buy as many subscriptions as you like in any combination and they’ll all ship together when purchased in the same transaction!”). I’m sorry, but I am not paying double shipping. If Mattel wants to encourage fans to buy Club Infinite Earths, they should kick Digital River’s sorry ass and make them combine the shipping for the damned subs even if they’re ordered separately. Anything less is dumbfoundingly stupid. Period.
  • Mattel also posted more information on the future of the 6″ DC figures aside from Club Infinite Earths. The money quote, in my opinion: Yes DC 6″ will continue at retail in 2012 but their will be a lot of changes. Collect and Connect and the Wave strategy will be gone. The focus will be on much more mainstream and kid/mom friendly mixes/characters. This is WHY we created the club, to give a home to those team builders, C and  D list characters and fan demanded variants who may no longer be showing up at retail in 2012. It seems fan speculation is correct–the 6″ DC line will look like the Millennium MOTU line of the early 2000s, with tons of Superman and Batman guises. Before you start collecting kindling for Mattel’s auto-da-fé, keep in mind this is very likely being pushed by Warner Bros./DC, who are overtly trying to court a younger audience with their “Brand New DC” relaunch next month. Get the kids hooked early and all that. When will the two big comic companies stop pining for the days when Captain Marvel sold a million copies a month? That was in the 1940s, people. There were few televisions and no videogames or heck, even action figures then. Those days aren’t coming back.
  • Blogger, Poester and sometime PGPoA contributor Novelty wants to know: “What if MOTUC cherry pickers switched to the subscriptions instead?”
  • Figureoftheday.com is having an Alien/Predator event all day today. Might be worth checking out.
  • Angels preserve us, could the second G.I. Joe movie actually not suck?
  • You may remember MasterEnglish, whom I commissioned to make my 339/1 custom. I’ve just commissioned a second custom, which will be (if all goes according to plan) revealed not here, but at Power-Con first.