MisterPL

Star Wars. From Kenner and Galoob to Hasbro, this line has such much breadth and depth and continued potential it's kept me collecting for three decades. I love the 3 3/4" scale. Honorable mention: Star Trek. Same kind of variety (Galoob's Micro Machines and Playmates Toys' figures) though it ultimately became a real pain in the ass to collect and – at least for the time being – will remain incomplete though it could have gone on indefinitely.

Just for the record, I'm pretty sure Jesus is against chase figures.

I'm against chase figures. There's just no good reason for them from a collector's point of view. The fact that Black-suit Spider-Man still eludes many a Minimate collector simply because he's destined by DST to be a chase figure just cinches it for me. It makes collecting a pain in the ass. I can't imagine WANTING to make, for instance, a Superman Blue 'mate a chase figure. Variants are fine so long as they're significant costume variants authentic to the source material. Batman with a grimace vs. Batman with a sneer is something I can live without.

I, Robot sounds like a great property to test the waters. I can't imagine it commands a high royalty or annual guarantee, it's based on a high-profile movie, and it's got army builders among its roster of characters which can help lower per-unit production costs. My choices for the first five would be Spooner, Sonny, Dr. Calvin, Dr. Lanning, and Robertson. Get those main players out in one shot. I really like the idea of a carrier for hard-core enthusiasts. That's a great way to offer army builders. Something like that could double as a displayer for the collection. And if you offer the carrier you should offer the Audi as well. Same with the NS-4 robots. Great freight container packaging idea there. I agree that the 'mates need to be 2-inch scale. I hope that's understood. That should help sell the military and police 'mates to anyone looking to build their ranks outside of this property. I also think that 1,000 worldwide is a bit low. I could be wrong. I'm MisterPL and I approve this message.

A long time ago I told AA and DST that they REALLY needed to make their 2-pack boxes more merchadising friendly by adding images of the product on TOP of the box where the frivilous Minimates logo currently is. That would make the displayers so much easier to sort through and take much better advantage of the limited real estate on that tiny box. Well, apparently they conitinue to ignore my sound design advice, but Target's listening. I've noticed stickers being applied to the box tops listing the contents. Not the nice 4-color headshots from the sides, just a tiny little 1-color strip that fits around the Minimates vanity logo. Sorry if this has been mentioned elsewhere. I'm old.

I can't help wondering if Chuck misses his old proofreader. And I'm half-tempted to post the real answers.

I can't help thinking that the QC issues we're seeing in the latest Marvel wave were also the production issues that delayed DCD's 'mates. Looking forward to adding these to my collection. Let's see some final packaging, please.

I just about went on a fucking rant there! Don't DO that to me! It's my understanding that DC Minimates will use the 2-inch body for normal-sized characters but, unlike Marvel, they'll be able to offer oversized characters using larger bodies (Ares, Killer Croc, etc.). That's cool with me especially if it gets us some new Sentinel-sized bodies or better yet forces Marvel to compete by allowing larger bodies for larger characters.

For the record, all of my 'mates have nice toight joints. Toight. Toight like a toiger.

Just got this wave this afternoon. Had no idea it would be there. Pleasant surprise. Looking forward to opening them. Bring on BSG and DCD!

Maybe it's the boots.

I know that this is just a prototype but I couldn't help noticing that the Juggernaut figure is noticeably bigger than the others. I'm hoping beyond hope that, since this movie license requires a new contract, Marvel and DST have finally found a way around the 2-inch limit with this particular property. And if so, could an honest-to-God, fully poseable, 8-inch Sentinel Maximate be far behind?

I've had my eye on this game for a while. It looks pretty cool for displaying Minimates or other miniature figures (HeroClix). Haven't bought one yet, though. Got any pics?

God bless him, my shop owner is selling these for $6.99. He said there's no way they'll move at $8.99. On a side note he's also selling the DC Direct Who's Who... whatever the hell they are for $4.99. These PVC wannabes ain't even moving at that price. He's sold only half a case in two weeks. DC Minimates can't come soon enough.

My God, I've created a monster. This is so cool. Thanks for keeping the info going, folks. This will be a great resource.

Except the in-joke wasn't very funny. "We've got a Japanese company doing a 4-inch scale Trek line for Fall '05 with a convention exclusive that summer! We should have prototypes soon but in the meantime, here's a picture of Digger feeding some fucking monkeys we know you'll enjoy!" Monkeys aren't the only primates in China who throw their own shit around like it was candy.

I just spotted these today. Passed, of course, since the same figures are included in Series 12 & 13. These might do better at checkout as an impulse item. Sandwiched in between Spidey and X-Men product on two lonely pegs, it's getting lost in a sea of cornea gumbo.

Can't have an AA thread with monkeys without a picture of Digger.

Just before the Star Trek 'mates are announced. No seriously.

Until these 'mates are in my hot little hands, DCD's announcements are little more than official wish lists. Get 'em to me this time. No more teasing.

Batgirl wears underwear?

It was my understanding that the scale issue with Marvel Minimates had to do with Toy Biz. Now that Hasbro holds the license, who knows what changed if anything. Someone at DST would have to be willing to nag Marvel. I'm not sure anyone there in a position to do so really cares. Just a feeling I get from the Q&As. Bottom line is it could happen (since neither Hasbro nor Toy Biz has any interest in the block figure category) but unfortunately it isn't looking likely.

The only thing that ad "confirms" is that those tired prototypes will once again be appearing at yet another convention. When did Series 11 come out? Seems like the 90s.

(I go away on vacation and miss all the drama. Damn.) My two cents: I didn't get into the moderator gig for compensation, I got into it because the board needed one in Tim's increasingly frequent absenses and I figured a part-time mod was better than a no-time admin. I couldn't suspend or ban anyone but I could edit content and move and lock threads. Essentially I was the school janitor while the principal was on summer vacation; I got to deal with the unruly little bastards but couldn't boot them out personally. (And for the record, I never banned or suspended anyone even when I did have the authority.) I'd like to think I did more good than harm for the community. In the beginning I tried to piss out the fires started in the AACC forum but got accused of being heavy-handed and ended up letting the whole thing implode. I can't honestly say I miss that particular cluster fuck. Great idea, lousy execution, and no real support from AA. It deserved to die. The two things I'm particularly proud of are starting the "definitive" lists (which Lurch continues to maintain, God bless him) and keeping the Q&As flowing. As with the mod gig, I saw a demand and tried my best to fulfill it. Others had made empty promises to get questions answered but DSTChuck and I were the only ones to deliver consistently. Folks might not have liked the answers but at least there was a dialogue, something that, at the time, seemed impossible with anyone at AA. I never got a "thank you" in any way, shape or form from AA so I sure don't expect an apology for being unceremoniously kicked to the curb when they were done with me. Besides, what I did was for the community they still seem to take for granted, not Adam or Digger or anyone else at AA. I was far from a kiss-ass, at one point asked to be less critical of AA as a mod. Fuck that. Wearing a muzzle was never a condition of my voluntary service that took time away from my work and family. At this point I don't think there's any swag AA could give me that I would want. With the exception of unreleased DC and Marvel Minimates, I'm all caught up. (Okay, except for the Black Spider-Woman and Frosty Ice Man, but i digress...) Anyway, office supplies would just add insult to injury.

8 lbs 11oz? Ouch. My condolences to Mrs. Lurch. Congratulations to you both!