Shanester

I went to Walgreens yesterday. The store I cleaned out so they would restock. They restocked with Black Panther...

Welcome back! Its been a while.

Not yet. My local stores usually get plenty of the BS figures. I have not been disappointed yet.

I did the same as someone else and bought all the older Minimates my closest Walgreen's had. Three weeks later, no Minimates at all.

Any ideas?

Its always a good time to start a Minimate collection!

Welcome aboard!

Agreed that any new outlet is a good thing.

All of the Spiderman and Wolverine Max statues that exist were never bought at retail. Only Sentinel and Galactus were sold at retail and they were a little on the expensive side, IMO. I think that and the shock of no articulation turned all but the most die-hard collectors off to buying these. They quickly went to the bargain bin, then dried up, then soared to a premium on the collectors market. (feel free to correct me if I am mistaken)

I am getting the Vini and if the Select looks that good in production, its bought.

Yeah, but Blackhole Minimates would be bad ass!

Maybe do away with 2-packs and go to a 4-pack (or more) format.

Hasbro has a carded Hulk exclusive. Of course they do...

Art Asylum tried to get RPG going with Minimates. I remember them offering to work with game makers to create something for Minimates, but it never appeared that anything would come of it. The idea was to create a game where Minimates were used as game pieces that could be collected and customized. Think Heroclix with interchangeable parts.

I hope we see unlicensed stuff again some day. I really like MAX. My seven year old still loves to play with them and I regard them in my collection.

Like many of you, I have been collecting these things since 2003. I have seen many a post about the demise of the line and what AA/DST are doing wrong. First, I think many of the ideas, suggestions and insights provided here are valid and this is an open community to discuss these things. That said, I can say with absolute certainty that Minimates are in a far better place now than they were before DST bought AA and I also feel confident that DST wants the line to succeed and they listen to us. What I believe to be keeping Minimates out of more common retail outlets is the POTENTIAL for profit on individual sets (both 2 packs & box sets). Retail outlets want a high profit margin based on MSRP and if they don't find it in a product, they pass. What that means is either higher per pack prices or fewer outlets for the retail buyer. I could be way off, but this is my speculation on the issue of retail availability.

Thanks to the DST guys, especially Chuck and Zach, for making this happen for us fans.

Maybe "ask DST", but would likely be speculation. If the reason they were not made is lack of interest, I am not sure why they would try another route.

I added a spoiler tag in the title of this thread. At this point, spoilers are inevitable with the level of discussion we are at. The longer the film is out, the tougher it is to dance around details. Thanks for all the diligence so far. The gates are open.

I would create another thread titled "Spoilers" or use tags. Simply out of an abundance of courtesy.

Um, yes, we made that agreement that time in that place when we were drinking and you assured me it was all quite official.

One thing I have learned to accept over the years is that the companies making the stuff we like to collect are in the game to be profitable and they can't always talk about the hows and whys of production/decisions. I think they often want to, both because they are usually fans and because they would feel better by clearing the air on what is usually presumption and/or misunderstanding. This is not always fact, but is generally true. More and more, owners of IP are restricting what producers can do and talk about openly. I am not taking sides. Its simply that I used to get very aggravated with situations and lack of explanation that I felt I was somewhat owed as a fan. Ask questions and hope for answers, but try to expect little. Its how I get by in this passion. Zach and Chuck have been pretty good to us considering how much they interact with us. Folks have a right to be upset by things they are passionate about and discussing them here with civility is part of what makes this hobby fun.

No, the mechanics are exactly like a typical 2" minimate. Friction baby.

I always like the "What if..." comics. They were one off stories just to shake things up a little and I found them fun and harmless since they were, by definition, not canon. Fan-boys thinking out loud, if you will.

Boom! Now you know.