stack32

3 hours ago, funkguerilla said:

FWIW, I think pushing the idea that the line is ending is a surefire way to kill it all together.  Be it through negative thinking or just the powers of persuasion, it's a dangerous thing for the longevity of minimates to put those ideas out into the world.

I couldn't disagree more strongly with this. If the line is so far gone that a little speculation will kill it then we can't save it anyway. It also directly leads to the idea that any criticism of minimates or DST is dangerous to the life of the line which is one of the worst things in fan culture.

While they obviously packed these the way they did to maximize sales I suspect it never occurred to DST that anyone would have a problem with it. I'm a little surprised myself.

1 hour ago, Freaqualizer said:

...it’s a general plea to not let negativity reign supreme and squash someone else’s good time.  

If people are truly worried about negativity they have one really great option: Post something positive. Make the kinds of comments you want to see instead of worrying about policing other's.

20 minutes ago, hellpop said:

Saying things like "I don't like these pairings so I'm not buying them" adds nothing to the conversation. But sure, if you want Minimates to die, keep nitpicking.

It adds about as much as passive aggressive whining about those comments. There is actually a worthwhile conversation that could be had about perceived value per pack or in the wave as a whole that goes far beyond "nitpicking", so why not discuss it? Personally I think buying a two-pack to get one character is pretty much the standard a minimate collector should expect for value but I can understand why others might feel differently. The build-a-minimate approach changes that too since each individual character is likely losing a little bit of value to make up for the extra figure. DST also chose to pack this wave in a way that would maximize their sales but also force people to buy two different teams which could obviously be a source of frustration for some, though I'm a little surprised anyone would want one half of the wave and not the other. Still, any fan ought to be able to express their opinion about what they want to buy without "you're killing the line!" nonsense.

Kudos to Luke and DST for finding a way to do an exclusive like this, it's very cool and leaves open interesting possibilities for the future. That said, it's super-disappointing that the regular wave Madrox doesn't come with any alternate heads. Those kinds of extras have kept me interested in minimates and losing them, even for a build-a-minimate, seems like a bad deal to me.

DST's other actions with vinimates suggest they might be an easier sell than minimates for a lot of retailers.

On 5/4/2019 at 7:36 PM, Chooch said:

They could probably turn around a War of the Realms wave in time for the trades.  Golden-arm Thor and... looks like literally anyone else in the MU right now.

I'm not following the story at all but I have looked at the occasional preview and there's definitely some stuff I would buy. For some reason I really like Cap in cold weather gear wielding Jarnbjorn.

Does Walgreens do in-store returns for internet orders? That's the first explanation that springs to mind.

1 hour ago, minimatestopmotion said:

By the way, the War Machine Gun is removable.

Interesting, mine certainly doesn't feel removable, there's no give anywhere. I'll have to carefully check again.

Update: Upon further review I can confirm the gun on mine is going nowhere without the careful application of an X-acto knife, it's definitely glued to the chest piece.

Well that's intriguing.

Checked two Walgreens and found one set of the wave at one, no movie minimates at the other. My thoughts on the figures:

Ronin: One of the better figures in the wave. I think the decision to make his coat an separate piece was the right one, I just wish it fit a little tighter. The sculpt and details are nice, I especially like the hood. It's a shame there's no unmasked head and torso detailing. As fwoosheyman just pointed out, the sword does seem weirdly small.

Black Widow: For me Widow is tied with Thanos for the best of the wave and she's probably one of the better MCU 'mates that have been made, not that we're short on good MCU Black Widows. The tampos are good and it looks like all the details are present. The likeness on the face isn't especially good (or bad) but it's much better than on the Infinity War figure. Unlike most of these figures she's loaded with accessories. My only criticisms would be that the backpack harness is a little loose and her gauntlets are a bit large, the left knee is also quite loose on my figure. Still, this is my favorite MCU Black Widow and if I get around to making a non-continuity display this figure (with a hair swap) will definitely be in it.

Hulk: There's not much to praise on this figure: The tampos aren't very detailed, the colors are awful, the hair is wrong and missing any gray. I guess a smiling Hulk head is nice to have? Maybe DST had some concept art that makes this figure make sense but it's definitely not a great representation of the movie or any early art that I can find.

War Machine: Even though this is the Mk 6 this 'mate needs more bulk. I thought the Mk 4 from Infinity War was just mediocre for that armor but a similar design would have been nearly perfect for this figure. The angle the arm that holds the gun attaches to the chest piece means the gun is permanently pointed at a 45 degree angle downwards and it looks bad. Not sure there's a good way to fix this and it shouldn't happen at all. I hate the approach DST has been taking to movie armor helmets lately so I don't like this one, for what it is I guess it's okay. The Don Cheadle likeness is decent. The tampos are really excellent and I think this figure might is some of the best work DST has done.

Cap/Thor: Massive accuracy issues aside the tampos on the QR suit are very nice, I can almost imagine finding a use for it in another display since it's barely recognizable as coming from Endgame.  It's too bad this figure (or any of the QR figures) doesn't come with a QR helmet. Having an unmasked Steve Rogers head means you can get a look that's vaguely accurate to the movie. His mask was obviously part of the inaccurate reference material, mine has the A printed off center. As PrinceCuseCuse said, Thor has no scar detail which is kind of a major thing. Stormbreaker, the main draw for the set, is very nice and seems to be the right size.

Rocket: The tampo is excellent. Otherwise this figure has all the strengths and flaws (especially the creepy eyes) of the Infinity War version and feels really light on accessories.

Iron Man: I generally don't like Iron Man being just a basic minimate body but I think it works fine for the Mk 85. Another excellent tampo, I do wish the arc reactor was a little brighter. My comments about Rhodey's helmet apply to this one too. The Stark head has an appropriate expression but the lack or gray in the hair throws things off. The gauntlet ends up feeling like a waste. Like the Mk 50 this figure is decent for what's there but it's missing everything that makes the armor or scenes in the movie where it appears memorable so it ends up a big letdown.

Thanos: As I mentioned before I think Thanos is tied with Widow for the best in the wave. I think the armor looks excellent, the only criticism is the little bit of missing gold on the helmet. I find the figure articulated enough to do what I need him to do. His ridiculous lawnmower blade is undersized significantly but I do appreciate that it gets some paint. Did anyone else get two? Not sure if that is normal or not. The purple used looks different than Infinity War to me but I don't have that figure handy to compare.

Overall what you think of the wave is going to depend on how you choose to evaluate it. As a representation of the movie it's pretty poor. As a collection of minimates it has some really excellent work and some that's quite disappointing. I'll probably end up re-purposing the good and throwing the rest in storage since there's not enough here to make an Endgame display worthwhile.

In a sense you probably already have some. It actually might be kind of cool though. I'm sure there's a few things I would buy.

On 5/10/2019 at 8:15 AM, Planet_Of_The_Mates said:

You all have to remember that this movie was kept under wraps in different ways than the past MCU films. Even Hasbro pumped out grey team suits. That leads me to believe that all concept art showed that. You can hardly blame DST for that...

Honestly, Civil War Cap look just about the same as final battle cap... see this pic I posted on my Instagram last night...

I don't think anyone is faulting DST for using reference material that ended up different than the final movie versions but the fact that we can understand how it happened doesn't make the figures any more accurate or desirable, unless you have a concept art based collection.

Honestly, I can't believe it has to be explained to comic fans why a Cap without scale armor detailing isn't "just about the same" as one with it. It's one detail that makes a huge difference.

If that zero peg thing at Walgreens is true they're even more inept than I thought. I understand that selling toys isn't their focus but you would think they would still follow some inventory management best practices anyway.

45 minutes ago, Heinous said:

You guys are so miserable  it's depressing coming here because all I hear is "DST isn't doing this" "you did this wrong DST" your move, DST" "i can't believe DST isn't doing this" "the end is near" 

I love minimates, maybe it's because I don't collect the movie mates but you guy suck right now, hard. I can't wait for the x factor wave and the spidey wave. Geeze 

Complaining about complaining is definitely going to get you the results you're looking for.

9 hours ago, PrinceCuseCuse said:

I think that's gonna change though. Hasbro has really stepped their game up with Legends and I think those are gonna take over as my #1 toy line now.

If you're into movie stuff I don't see that there's really another viable option unless you're up for spending much more money on import figures. For comic stuff DST is still making a respectable showing but with their output reduced it's hard not to pick up some MLs in the meantime.

The trailer made me much more interested in the movie in a way that hasn't happened for a Marvel film before. Previously I thought it looked more Sony than Marvel, now I'm showing up just to see how they show Peter processing the events of Infinity War and Endgame.

On 5/3/2019 at 9:34 AM, hellpop said:

Diamond has always seemed resistant of doing things in new ways, and as an arm of a big company I suppose they have never really had to. But clearly the markets have changed, and all sorts of niche collectibles have thrived by this method. I'd love to see Diamond give it a try.

Outside of Hasbro (who is probably desperate to keep 3.75" collectors in the fold) no major companies are doing this. Maybe setting up the infrastructure to do it isn't worth the money they'd make? Maybe they worry about the impact on existing retail? Or, in DST's case, maybe they're more interested in statues than minimates?

I'm planning to buy a set one way or the other and after looking closely at pictures from a review I think you're probably right. I'm a little surprised no one has already tried it though.

2 hours ago, fwoosheyman said:

Nope and after checking the 10 Walgreens around me the past 3 wks this sure feels like IW wave 2 again.

On the bright side that means by April 2020 these will be everywhere.

To my recollection DST has never canceled something this late in the game. More likely it got put behind the Endgame set so that could release closer to the premiere.

I'm surprised we haven't gotten an updated Stealth Armor Iron Man yet. If I'm honest I'd almost rather have a modern version (I think I saw this somewhere) with a phasing limb or two. Still, I'd be up for classic and most of that list.

Whatever all the reasons are it is interesting to see the different approaches to the same license, especially since it used to be DST that would thoroughly cover a movie and Hasbro would make a couple figures and be done.

I tend to think that if orders are so low that you're in the situation where everyone needs to preorder it's already too late, the people that would pay attention to the message aren't enough to make a difference.

Isn't Chuck still holding a grudge against Ghost Rider?

9 hours ago, fwoosheyman said:

There’s no point in trying to argue w @DSTZach he’s a DST employee and it’s his job to represent the company and defend them. He’s not going to say publicly his boss/co-workers made bad decisions or are wrong even if he personally felt that way. 

Although he should probably stop getting into arguments w people here on a fan forum. I know he’s just passionate and cares but the “Chuck-like” responses he’s allowed to give won’t satisfy most people. Unless he’s willing to take people’s concerns/ideas to @DSTchuck it’s just best to stick w telling us news/info/hints.

Agreed on both counts and I should know better but some of these statements are pretty tough to take. However, we rarely get any satisfactory explanations for the head-scratching decisions DST sometimes makes so there's no reason to expect one now. Unfortunately I think they're underestimating the damage they're doing to the MCU brand at a time when they really can't afford to make product less attractive.