Thor 2 coming Nov 2013, Will we get minimates?

[Mirymate]

Let's see. Frog-Thor is a part of what is considered one of the best Thor stories ever that solidified Uncle Walt among the top creators of his day. Cap-Wolf was widly reguarded as one of the dumbest stories ever put to paper and Gru was teased about it till the day he died. Hmmmm, tough one to call there.

[stegron01]

Sounds a good plan. I'm with you all the way!

>

Guys, suggest a comic Thor wave to Ask DST. Throw out specific classic Thor characters you can't believe we don't have. Chuck loves old Marvel Comics. I'm not saying Ulik is a no brainer, or Hela, but Enchantress? Executioner? We just announced a Master of Evil, so why not more?

Chuck always seems pretty receptive to some of the more well known (relatively speaking) Thor characters. I kinda recall him saying he'd like to see the Warrior's Three, Executioner, and Enchantress. And I would too. So, Mystery Man, let me know when you start your Ask DST push. I'll definitely let my voice be heard.

As for Thor 2 'mates, I really hope Hogun and Fandral make the cut. Hopefully they'll get additional screen time in Thor 2 to justify being in the regular assortments. Based on what's been announced, it looks like we have the potential for some good stuff: Hogun, Fandral, Heimdall, Malekith, Kurse, and Tyr. Maybe some dark elf army builders. I'm definitely more looking forward to Thor 2 'mates than IM3.

Consider my push started. I just shot off he following to "Ask DST":

Hi!

I'd like to put the bug in your ear regarding classic comic book versions of the

following Thor characters:

Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg, Heimdall, Enchantress, Executioner, Hela, Mr. Hyde, Cobra, Grey Gargoyle.

I think the Jack Kirby designs from their early appearances would be colorful, fun and compliment the existing comic-book Thor minimates. Any of these characters may or may not get made in "Thor 2" movie assortments... but the comic book versions really stand out in my mind as some incredibly unique costumes that would translate wonderfully to Minimate designs.

I'll even lend you guys my copy of "The Mighty Thor" Omnibus featuring all these characters from the beginning of Thor's stories at Marvel if it'll help. Seriously.

Thank you for your consideration,

Matt

There are plenty others I'd like... but I'm a Silver Age fool, so that's what gets my love.

And yes, it's 10 characters... 2 more than a what a regular series encompasses. But I don't get to do the planning on 'mates... just the wishing for characters from the 1960's.

Well done for getting the campaign started MM and a very well worded question which I couldn't have put better myself - as DST will discover when I send off something very similar to them in the next couple of days!

Oh and regarding Frog Thor, ironically enough I don't feel too strongly about him compared to the supporting cast/villains as I have never read that story but I generally like my minimates the standard size and thus "proper" minimates. Since we have a 2" galactus, we may as well have a 2" frog thor in my opinion.

[pappymojo]

I shot Ask DST a different suggestion, a series of hero/villain two-packs based on the classic Avengers Under Siege story. Not only did it feature the Wrecking Crew, but it also had Mr. Hyde, the Black Knight, Titania, Moonstone. Throw in an updated Absorbing Man and Hercules, and baby, you've got yourself a stew going.

Sounds a good plan. I'm with you all the way!

>>

Guys, suggest a comic Thor wave to Ask DST. Throw out specific classic Thor characters you can't believe we don't have. Chuck loves old Marvel Comics. I'm not saying Ulik is a no brainer, or Hela, but Enchantress? Executioner? We just announced a Master of Evil, so why not more?

Chuck always seems pretty receptive to some of the more well known (relatively speaking) Thor characters. I kinda recall him saying he'd like to see the Warrior's Three, Executioner, and Enchantress. And I would too. So, Mystery Man, let me know when you start your Ask DST push. I'll definitely let my voice be heard.

As for Thor 2 'mates, I really hope Hogun and Fandral make the cut. Hopefully they'll get additional screen time in Thor 2 to justify being in the regular assortments. Based on what's been announced, it looks like we have the potential for some good stuff: Hogun, Fandral, Heimdall, Malekith, Kurse, and Tyr. Maybe some dark elf army builders. I'm definitely more looking forward to Thor 2 'mates than IM3.

Consider my push started. I just shot off he following to "Ask DST":


Hi!

I'd like to put the bug in your ear regarding classic comic book versions of the
following Thor characters:

Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg, Heimdall, Enchantress, Executioner, Hela, Mr. Hyde, Cobra, Grey Gargoyle.

I think the Jack Kirby designs from their early appearances would be colorful, fun and compliment the existing comic-book Thor minimates. Any of these characters may or may not get made in "Thor 2" movie assortments... but the comic book versions really stand out in my mind as some incredibly unique costumes that would translate wonderfully to Minimate designs.

I'll even lend you guys my copy of "The Mighty Thor" Omnibus featuring all these characters from the beginning of Thor's stories at Marvel if it'll help. Seriously.

Thank you for your consideration,

Matt

There are plenty others I'd like... but I'm a Silver Age fool, so that's what gets my love.

And yes, it's 10 characters... 2 more than a what a regular series encompasses. But I don't get to do the planning on 'mates... just the wishing for characters from the 1960's.

Well done for getting the campaign started MM and a very well worded question which I couldn't have put better myself - as DST will discover when I send off something very similar to them in the next couple of days!

Oh and regarding Frog Thor, ironically enough I don't feel too strongly about him compared to the supporting cast/villains as I have never read that story but I generally like my minimates the standard size and thus "proper" minimates. Since we have a 2" galactus, we may as well have a 2" frog thor in my opinion.

Or include a Frog Thor minifigure like the Puppet Master's puppets (or like the Silver Surfer that came with Galactus) where it's an accessory to another figure.

[winkerbean]

Zach, has there been any discussion at DST about bringing the Army Dumps back? I think they work great, and always seemed to sell through at the various sites I frequent. Who wouldn't want to pick up a case of these guys to fight Thor?

why did i think they were cybermen at first glance!

[Mystery Man]

I shot Ask DST a different suggestion, a series of hero/villain two-packs based on the classic Avengers Under Siege story. Not only did it feature the Wrecking Crew, but it also had Mr. Hyde, the Black Knight, Titania, Moonstone. Throw in an updated Absorbing Man and Hercules, and baby, you've got yourself a stew going.

Yessssssss!

And if they really needed another set for some reason, you could add some spice to that stew with a Jarvis!

Edited February 1, 2013 by Mystery Man

[Turtle]

Alright, I shot AskDST a question about movie Warriors Three and some other classic 616 Thor characters.

A standard size Frog Thor would be the absolute coolest. Kelvin style.

[Nessex]

Darn, I miss NorthRaider the most at times like these. She would do whatever magic she knew how to work on the search box and boom we'd know for sure, but I am prety sure there is a Wolverine 2 thread buried somewhere around here.

I think we lost it when we moved the MMMV.

I remember someone saying we'd likely lose a fw days worth of posts when it happened & i think that thread had been started during those few days

[Heroic Slacker]

Darn, I miss NorthRaider the most at times like these. She would do whatever magic she knew how to work on the search box and boom we'd know for sure, but I am prety sure there is a Wolverine 2 thread buried somewhere around here.

I think we lost it when we moved the MMMV.

I remember someone saying we'd likely lose a fw days worth of posts when it happened & i think that thread had been started during those few days

I searched, all I could find is a thread about Darren Aronofsky no longer directing The Wolverine

[bigvis497]

I shot Ask DST a different suggestion, a series of hero/villain two-packs based on the classic Avengers Under Siege story. Not only did it feature the Wrecking Crew, but it also had Mr. Hyde, the Black Knight, Titania, Moonstone. Throw in an updated Absorbing Man and Hercules, and baby, you've got yourself a stew going.

Yessssssss!

And if they really needed another set for some reason, you could add some spice to that stew with a Jarvis!

I like how DST "tries harder" with civilian type mates to overcome their toy-unfriendly nature. I could see Jarvis having a hand like the wave 47 Colossus to hold a serving tray, tea kettles, food, vacuum, the apron from puppet master, AVENGERS ID CARDS!

[Mystery Man]

I shot Ask DST a different suggestion, a series of hero/villain two-packs based on the classic Avengers Under Siege story. Not only did it feature the Wrecking Crew, but it also had Mr. Hyde, the Black Knight, Titania, Moonstone. Throw in an updated Absorbing Man and Hercules, and baby, you've got yourself a stew going.

Yessssssss!

And if they really needed another set for some reason, you could add some spice to that stew with a Jarvis! :tongue:

I like how DST "tries harder" with civilian type mates to overcome their toy-unfriendly nature. I could see Jarvis having a hand like the wave 47 Colossus to hold a serving tray, tea kettles, food, vacuum, the apron from puppet master, AVENGERS ID CARDS!

Yeah! And a big glass of mead for Thor!

[Mirymate]

And a vacuum cleaner.

[stegron01]

And some fake dust for him to vacuum up.

Oh and request for comic thor stuff now submitted to Ask DST. Slight variation on the character request but I think Chuck will be getting the general message!

[Mirymate]

Hey, I was being comic cover specific there, steggy. See:

Ah memories...

[buttheadsmate]

Is that a Kirby cover ?

[Mirymate]

_Perez

[buttheadsmate]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_Company

[Mirymate]

And I walked right into that what didn't I?

[stegron01]

Hey, I was being comic cover specific there, steggy. See:

Ah memories...

Ah! You see I wondered if you were but when you didn't include the "non-phasing vision" accessory I didn't think you could mean that cover!

[DSTZach]

This line survives and thrives thanks to parts sharing, so anytime we can re-use parts to make a new character, I think it's clever.

When that character is a kid-friendly rock guy who is also a classic Thor character as well as a modern Hulk character not to mention an army builder... That's just efficiency.

[DSTZach]

Manufacturing issues are obviously a separate issue. Our factory has a Pantone guide, I know they use it. Not sure what the issue has been in the past, possibly materials? The new one seems fine. Your background is in printing, correct, BHM?

[buttheadsmate]

My background is in lithographic printing, 30 odd years ,20 of them running my own show . The final 3 years of my print career having sold the business was spent at the UK's leading pharmaceutical packaging company showing them how it really should be done I would spend a shift running a machine that often produced 120,000 6 colour cartons each hour ...............they were all identical & if they weren't then somebody in QC would soon let me know

Just let me say Zach that on the whole I am staggered by the stuff that comes out of the Minimate factory,it's little short of wonderful most of the time .

However when I see something I really don't like I say so..... whether anybody takes any notice, bothers me not .

The pantone remark was too sarcastic even for me.......sorry.... but it irks me that I know what the problem is, how it occurs & how it could be solved .

Regards the re-use of parts .....it is clever ,very clever .....most of the time

[Minimatetastic]

Over the years of collecting I've found that the change in colors is normally because of the use of different types of plastics for different parts. It's something that plagues many figure lines I collect, notably Hasbro's Star Wars. (You can really see this in action when you take photos of them. I guess the camera picks up the difference more than the human eye does.)

You get a change in color because of it being the harder versus the softer plastic, and then also painted color versus the plastic's base color (and in the case of Minimates - printed color as well) . It isn't as cut and dry as printing because of the change of material used. It sounds like often there's tweaks that can be made to balance the color out, but as far as I've gathered from talking to collectors more in the know that I over the years - the change in color isn't really dealt with because they're not high-end items.

I've also heard that for the base plastic color, density is an issue, which is why a lot of the time Star Wars head flesh color looks different than hand color. The hands are thinner, so light can change how the color looks.

This is all based on other companies' figures though (again, mainly Hasbro). I don't know if this is the case for Minimates, but I always assumed it was the case when it did happen. I just thought I'd mention this, since I always found it interesting.

[buttheadsmate]

Without boring everybody rigid & sounding like a know-it-all (which I'm not) the main problem with Minimates & mismatched colours is always when a painted part is in proximity with a moulded unpainted part . Moulded unpainted parts generally have a glossy sheen to them whilst most painted Minimate parts have a matte or shall we say less glossy sheen .Lithographically printed Pantone books which are the ones used in the spec.sheets always specify Pantone colours prefixed with a 'c' which denotes that they are the standards for 'coated' papers.....simply speaking they are the standards for glossy colours which ain't gonna match with matte-finish colours or less than glossy finishes.

What confuses me is that this DP is apparently completely painted but not apparently the right red?

I'm not stirring here I'm actually trying to help.

Edited February 4, 2013 by buttheadsmate

[youbastards]

I think we have been looking at a combination of multiple QC issues for a while.

Minimatetastic, I agree with you 100% about the plastic and I have been vocal about this for years. Compare the plastic quality of the early Marvel waves against any of the recent waves, and there is no doubt the quality of the plastic used has changed, in my opinion, for the worse. It is softer and more pliable, where the early waves almost felt like the same rigid ABS that Lego has used for years.

Rob, you are also 100% spot on with the differences of molded/painted parts. Look at Coulson from the Thor wave for a perfect example of gloss VS matte finish:

The biggest problem that irks me is the inconsistency in molded parts. Why do some releases have a hip joint molded like the early releases (with the bar on the back) and others don't? The standard Minimate thigh has changed a lot too, look at the comparison of the thighs on Wave 2 Spider-man:

and the most recent Spider-Man, Miles Morales:

The newer thighs are thinner, and almost give him a bow-legged look, especially with the calf piece, which has the same width of the original figure. The outside of the old thighs ran parallel with the body block, and gave it a design aesthetic that I prefer.

There are obviously multiple molds in use, so it begs the question, were the old molds in such shape that they needed to be replaced, were these design changes intentionally made by DST, or are these mold variations the result of the factory remolding products in an attempt to reduce costs without DST's consent or instruction? Or, are the molds all the original molds, but the quality of plastic used is not yielding the same quality final product? I'm with Rob, not trying to stir the pot, just trying to bring attention to things that are bothering me about the line.

One more thing, I ventured over to the 'Little Rubber Guys' forum the other day to look at the Battle Beasts reception. I knew going into it that the members over there are generally disrespectful of all things Minimates, but I was surprised by something I read. One of the members actually reviewed the LCS Series 1 release, and was disappointed by something that we have just come to expect with the line: loose joints and parts that don't mate properly. For us, it isn't uncommon for us to fix loose Minimate joints with some nail polish or a little super glue. That LRG member that was fairly unfamiliar with Minimates, and as much as he liked the look of the line, the loose joints were ultimately a potential deal breaker for him.

I hope Zach or Chuck know that despite our nit-picking here and there, there are some legitimate quality control concerns that need to be addressed by DST. Too much of the final product over the last 3 years have suffered from one or more of the things we have posted.

Edited February 4, 2013 by youbastards

[Mirymate]

Yes, yes, very informative. You forgot to "Hail Ivan". Tsk tsk tsk