buttheadsmate

Far more worrying is that BBTS site shows that they've sold out of Bruce Lee Minimate box sets.

I've always wanted a compatible 'Dalek' that would completely fit in with my Minimates & after some various frantic collection building lately with various licensed Dalek toys (my OCD kicked in yet again) over the last few months I can completely recommend the die-cast Dalek from the Corgi range . In due course I'll take some photos but I can assure you that these particular critters fit the bill completely,they are quality little items & TBQH if you packed one with a Minimate you wouldn't initially know that it wasn't an actual Minimate product . I'm not actually a big Doctor Who fan & it may come as a surprise to some people that for years the Daleks were featured in a 'verse that was sans Doctor Who so it's not that odd that I love Daleks yet I'm not completely sold on Doctor Who . I still maintain that Doctor Who would be a brilliant Minimate license but I've personally had enough of him/her after fifty odd years !!!!!!! These Corgi items haven't actually been in production for a few years but you can still buy them for less than £20 for a pack of 3 (eBay sellers), there are several colours but ...there's always a but .....you'll sometimes have to buy packs which include 'other' Doctor Who figures to obtain a couple of the rarer colours. These other non-Dalek figures are all over the place scale-wise & ...well ....TBQH.....rubbish in comparison to the Daleks. I suggest using them for cake-toppers at best 'Real' Daleks aren't that articulate & these Corgi Daleks merely have a swivelling 'head' & a vertically moving eye-stalk & they are on small wheels which are completely unobtrusive . Their arms don't move but I can forgive that as well because their overwhelming feature is that they look like 'right' alongside the majority of Minimate characters . In real-life ....the one I tend to avoid ...a Dalek is a full-size fibre-glass TV prop with a full-size man sitting inside it & that was the overriding factor when I decided upon the Corgi Dalek scale being 'right' . Look at the Corgi Dalek & it is easy to imagine a Minimate sitting albeit uncomfortably inside .....it was as easy as that. I'd go as far as to say that I can't imagine a 'genuine' Minimate Dalek being superior or more compatible than what I now have in my collection.....they really are that good. I still look ever day on eBay looking for potential recruits for my now ,considerable, army but I must stop soon .....I must stop soon .....I really must!

First I'd like any of the English stereotype/cliche characters. Next up I'd have me some Nazis ...... ......I'll stop now before I'm banned .

Sorry to single out one quote from one post in an especially intriguing thread but personally I have to say that I have an unbridled consumption of the products we get & never-ending cynicism . Seriously I'm not trying to be clever or sarcastic that's how it is with me .....& I reckon I'm not alone. One thing is remaining very clear .....nobody can see a way of improving distribution of what we all feel ....despite varying levels of cynicism.....is a great toy line. I'll put it bluntly ...unless you have an established distribution network then it wouldn't matter what bloody set of characters you decided to manufacture , whatever it might be . I'm positive that that's the main reason why Minimates have stalled & it will take a pretty radical step to regain momentum . Have I the answer ? No but I've thought about it at great length ...great length . I remind you that I'm an ol' fart living in the UK so I have some but little knowledge of how things are in the US regards how people buy stuff .....all stuff not just Minimates ? In my country shops (stores) are in massive decline & in my limited, remaining life-time things ain't likely to change . Skynet Online distribution must IMVLO (in my very loftyopinion) be embraced with both arms & hugged 'til it is breathless . Shipping is a huge factor in the limitation of selling any sort of stuff online , free shipping is a myth because trust me you are paying . That said ,Minimates must be one of the lightest/smallest things that anybody can ship ,another good reason to sell online . So if we are buying online we will have needed to see what we are getting before we buy it , right ? Oddly enough Marvel Minimate packs currently fail to show me or anybody else what I'm (clearly) buying because of (I believe) some licensing issue ?? I personally love to see packaged minimates but TBQH I'll live without the current (I'll call it 'retail ') packaging . The current retail packaging is a joy to me but if people were buying online in this 'new future' then the packaging could be dispensed with , a tragedy for me but hey I'll live with it if we got some flat carded artwork thrown into the deal ....instantly we'd have a Minimate CCG as well . As an exercise ....Take a new Marvel Minimate 2-pack ,carefully remove all the tape from each opening ,remove the tape from each part of the clear-plastic trays & any accessory & then place them ready to reverse the operation . Reverse the operation as quick as you can . You will get quicker at it but I can tell you this ....add the price of every unique individual tray ,unique printed box & their assembly & you will realise ( if you hadn't) the cost of all this 'packaging' as part of the price you pay for the Minimates themselves. I made a living out of printing packaging & I know how much it costs & where it all ends up ....burnt,recycled,buried or as David Attenborough has just found out .....in the sea .....who knew !! If what I have described above takes place then marketing resources need to be transferred from packaging to promotion in the form of some serious Minimate Studios-type internet catalogue . What I regularly see as Minimate fan inspired promotion could all be harnessed as direct product promotion. Another massive issue facing Minimates & all toy consumption is the current US/China trade war , I know ....I hate politics too but it must be a worry for anybody that is in the toy industry . China apparently exports $25bn -worth of toys to the US (The Economist) Future pricing must be a nightmare . A whole post from me without aiming a single 'nasty' towards DST .

Many thanks for the heads up . I've never followed Instagram so I've never seen the guy's photos before.....stunning stuff ....suddenly I'm a Minimate fan . Awesome .

Tentpole properties ....... The Walking Dead line was enjoyable..... 16 waves ,3 box sets & an exclusive or two ,spanning three or so years did 'Peter out' but whilst there was much to be praised ..... far too much repetition IMHO . TMNT .....I wanted to hate them but I just loved them but ....er....far too much repetition ...... much like this post . Marvel is far from exhausted IMVHO , I do however believe that comic Marvel Minimates are the major way forward & despite my liking for certain movie mates I have ,for many years, barely tolerated the necessity for mundane civilian characters that make the numbers up........give me costumed characters ,I can make the others myself . Whilst I'm at it .......Bruce Lee Minimates ? Seriously ? A ( just one) Bruce Lee Minimate would be a great addition to any Minimate collection. 4 ? There is a massive market for Minimates in the UK & Europe but as I alluded to earlier (above) there appears to be some reticence for DST to get their passports out again. People 'here' wouldn't necessarily be begging for View Askew Minimates but I reckon a certain 'Gaul' or Time -Lord license would be well-received . Product-testing for EU certification has long-been mooted as 'the obstacle' , all I can say is that every conversation & all the correspondence I have had over the years with 'them that know' shows that there is no major obstacle . Zach mentions The Muppets & there is much that I could say about Muppet Minimates , I'll say that they're nice to have in my collection but am I the only one left wondering why some of the characters look so great whilst many of them look unfinished . Who nose? Muppet Minimates ,design-wise are all over the place & many characters fail as a Minimate , a Muppet or both. There are many great things to say about Minimates but cynical bastards like me harp on about the bad things , in my case it is sheer frustration that the brand isn't up there where it should be . It's not too late .

Personally I don't actually feel that Minimates are ending just yet , there are several factors that give me hope ,the main one ....believe it or not.......is the Vinimate . I have no idea if these are selling well but one thing is for sure ,the Minimate design team are still in action on licenses some of us Minimate fans might only dream about . Distribution outlets for Minimates is .....currently......a big problem . Personally I've never bought a Minimate pack from a B & M store in my life , I live in the UK & every pack I have in my collection has arrived at my house . I'm the last person anybody should ask when it comes to suggesting new 'outlets' because ol' butt won't be going there ,love it or loathe it 'online' is here to stay ....embrace it . Mistakes have been made by DST but what business doesn't make them ? Believe it or not I've run a business & I made plenty . Overall DST has done a magnificent job but ironically the major mistakes ,once made, seem to compound themselves . I'm not here to list those mistakes because over the years I've more or less said (here) what my feelings were as & when those mistakes were being made & I often took the flak for saying them 11 years ago I travelled to SDCC to acquire the EU/UK distribution rights to Minimates , I think the conversation lasted 5 minutes & you know the guy I spoke to . Minimates became my hobby rather than my business & I'm kind of glad that's the way things turned out but maybe I'd get 10 minutes next time

The narrative that Minimates are dying hasn't really been discussed (enough or constructively) here IMVHO . I think I'm a tad more prepared for their ending than most purely because I'm probably the oldest member on the forum & perhaps the most cynical . I'd love to discuss the 'end is nigh' re: Minimates in a constructive manner in a separate thread but ....... Talking about the 'end' of Minimates is not the same as wanting their 'end' .

Reminds me of the proposed 'Titanic' box set . I recall it actually 'shipped' but sails were non-existent . -bulkheadsmate

Beautiful Quite good ?

Very nice ! How/where the hell have you obtained them ?

Rampaging Hulk was another homage to 'comics'.

Massive potential spoilers Days before seeing Endgame ....& I had completely blanked out any potential spoilers beforehand....I found myself explaining to a couple of guys ,half my age, differences between Marvel movie characters/plots & many of the comic plots I have read over the years . I am NOT extensively knowledgeable regarding Marvel comics but I know full well that Steve Rogers ' Cap once 'died' ,Hulk has shared a consciousness(?) with Banner , Thor has gone on several 'benders' , Steve Rogers became old , Tony Stark has died several times etc. etc. Those who have seen the movie will know how my limited knowledge panned out & ........... Downey & Evans were out of contract with Marvel was perhaps the biggest spoiler ?? Great movie & TBQH 50 years of occasional Marvel comic reading spoiled nothing for me. One character that I would've loved as a 'mate would be the big-gutted guy but somebody needs to design a decent Minimate beard accessory first .

I've seen the movie yet I'm struggling to see anything outrageously 'spoiler' .....?

I suggest a thread ,precisely titled 'Completely full of Spoilers' so that those that have seen /know about the movie can post what they like . Am I being naive in thinking that that would work?