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NYCC exclusive Contest of Champions 'mates


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8 hours ago, DSTZach said:

I'm pretty sure the reason Mattel wasn't able to offer Hal Jordan at retail was because the Hal Jordan merchandise rights were tied up somewhere else. I worked at ToyFare at the time, and that is what I believe I was told. The movie might have been in development even then.

And that's one of the most famous examples of releasing an exclusive character to a very small audience of elites. Luckily, we have never done that, unless you count Steve Geppi, who is not a character. I'm not 100% familiar with the distribution for the Fanboy and Goth Girl characters, but aside from those two, a couple of technically different Goblins and various solid-colored BLANK Minimates, every giveaway we've done has been a character offered somewhere else, in a different package or coloration.

These CoC Mates appear to be given away (according it all goes to plan) at the booth to visitors. Not even players, visitors. I think that means everyone. So I assume you will see them on the market. If they want to promote their game with these characters, we are not going to tell them not to introduce CoC fans to Minimates. I do not know what the future of these characters and this license holds.

That Hal situation, the memories...

 

I remember how goth girl played out but I'm drawing a blank on your mention of "fanboy," was that "The Hunt" promo from SDCC?

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Goth Girl was tough to find .

The fanboy ? Ivan's base shows 6  variants ........IMHO the first Hunt version is fairly hard to get ,the T-shirt more so .

 

 

I would like to add at this point that  my 2014 C2E2 Multiverse promo is treasured .......it also makes me part of an elite , I am therefore a hypocrite .  I was given a TBT Bomber & its stablemate      .........I love them but they never sit well in my collection (see above) .

 

Geppimate ?  There are 2 versions ,one plus a variant,that I know of which might mean there is a third.......if there is please don't tell me .

Silver & Gold Spideys are tough to find  , the stories regarding 'numbers made' less so:D

Whilst I'm at it :

The BSG line is heavy with unique promo variants whilst Spock alone has a couple .......none are that difficult except perhaps Bloody Elf Cylon .

Comic Wow & Comic Pro are tough.

  • Many TRU Marvel waves carry subtle versions of their LCS contemporary counterparts :huh:

 

One 'mate that always gets overlooked for uniqueness is Santa Spidey ......not rare at all,not at all......but often misjudged as 'just' a spidey with a hat on!

 

Enough?

 

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The Hal thing was much worse than those articles make it. And they did have rights to Hal, hell they eventually made him, just not the way they were supposed to. Mattel was in a particularly petty period back then especially with the people that were at the helm of the JLU brand. They bilked fans for years, instead of you know, trying to support and build up that fanbase. They bled them dry instead. It could be a case study in how NOT to treat your customers.

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Yeah, the Hal they ended up offering in that 3-pack wasn't even based on JLU, it was based on The New Frontier.

 

And I find it hard to believe Mattel didn't have merchandise rights to one character out of the hundred or so that also appeared on the show. That's not how these agreements usually work. There were plenty of films in development at that time, from Batman and Superman reboots to Wonder Woman and Aquaman. That didn't affect those characters.

 

While there have been customs out there using molds from that holiday figure, I'm wondering if 3D printing technology might make it easier to produce more of these for collectors who really want to add Hal to their shelves.

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Except the film came out in 2011 and the Hal 3-pack came out two years prior. Also rights to the movie and JLU are two separate things, even for a "master toy licensee." Maybe someday someone in the know will spill the beans.

 

Having a figure worth $3,500 must have been a nice holiday bonus for those 100 lucky people.

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Regardless, if someone could snag these CoC mates for me it'd be nice. If I miss them, it's not the end of the world, the end of minimates, the ruination of the line, my collection, or life itself. It's a pair of alt universe mates. A nice promo for both minimates and the game. Hope it brings more interest in both.

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19 hours ago, buttheadsmate said:

Goth Girl was tough to find .

The fanboy ? Ivan's base shows 6  variants ........IMHO the first Hunt version is fairly hard to get ,the T-shirt more so

I would like to add at this point that  my 2014 C2E2 Multiverse promo is treasured .......it also makes me part of an elite , I am therefore a hypocrite .  I was given a TBT Bomber & its stablemate      .........I love them but they never sit well in my collection (see above) .

Geppimate ?  There are 2 versions ,one plus a variant,that I know of which might mean there is a third.......if there is please don't tell me .

Silver & Gold Spideys are tough to find  , the stories regarding 'numbers made' less so:D

Whilst I'm at it :

The BSG line is heavy with unique promo variants whilst Spock alone has a couple .......none are that difficult except perhaps Bloody Elf Cylon .

Comic Wow & Comic Pro are tough.

  • Many TRU Marvel waves carry subtle versions of their LCS contemporary counterparts :huh:

One 'mate that always gets overlooked for uniqueness is Santa Spidey ......not rare at all,not at all......but often misjudged as 'just' a spidey with a hat on!

Enough?

Enough for what? My point was that limited edition giveaways, except for Goth Girl and the Hunt mate, all are costume variations (now with hats!) or blank promos. Even Gold and Silver Spidey count as costume variations. And most of them have been given to the general public, only a relative few have been given to an elite, invite-only crowd.

The MMMV Mate was not given to an elite, it was given out to fans at C2E2, so anyone there could have gotten it. I believe ComicWow was given out to fans, as well, but it was one at a time, and I'm not sure how many were made of that one.

Obviously, many characters have been retailer exclusives, and minor variations in figures between retail outlets is usually only of interest to hardcore fans. (Geppi had two production runs, so they are slightly different, like you mentioned.)

12 hours ago, MisterPL said:

Except the film came out in 2011 and the Hal 3-pack came out two years prior. Also rights to the movie and JLU are two separate things, even for a "master toy licensee." Maybe someday someone in the know will spill the beans.

The movie coming out in 2011 doesn't mean that rights to that character were not held elsewhere in 2005. It's entirely possible there was a Hal project in development elsewhere, even elsewhere at WB, and usage was limited. The character of Hal Jordan could easily be reserved across all media for a planned or potential project. After all, John had been the DCAU GL for years at that point. The Hal three-pack came out four years later, for the First Flight animated feature -- that may have been the project, or the rights may have reverted, or perhaps they were simply more finely delineated.

Edited by DSTZach
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WB's decisions seem a lot more about whim than rights. Character rights didn't keep Hal from appearing as Green Lantern on JLU. I see no reason other than whim that Mattel couldn't have been given the go-ahead to offer that Hal GL figure to the mass market in some fashion that wouldn't devalue the original.

 

As for Contest of Champions, this might be the first Marvel line from which I pick and choose if I bother with it at all. Making a line difficult to collect right out of the gate doesn't inspire enthusiasm. Hopefully these first two 'mates will be made available elsewhere.

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3 hours ago, MisterPL said:

WB's decisions seem a lot more about whim than rights. Character rights didn't keep Hal from appearing as Green Lantern on JLU. I see no reason other than whim that Mattel couldn't have been given the go-ahead to offer that Hal GL figure to the mass market in some fashion that wouldn't devalue the original.

I honestly don't think devaluing the original was at all an issue. Hal had basically a cameo in JLU. Not a starring role, even in the one episode. That could have been within allowances that late in the series, if a special request was made. But I think marketing and releasing a Hal figure at mass was simply not possible at that time, otherwise I'm sure Mattel would have jumped at the chance. You don't make a 100-figure promo of a DC superstar offered nowhere else unless you absolutely do not have any other option.  Even if the rights cleared up later, the JLU line was more or less done. Even now, I'm fairly certain Hal is not part of any of our JLU character licensing.

3 hours ago, MisterPL said:

As for Contest of Champions, this might be the first Marvel line from which I pick and choose if I bother with it at all. Making a line difficult to collect right out of the gate doesn't inspire enthusiasm. Hopefully these first two 'mates will be made available elsewhere.

I honestly don't know if this will be a "line" at mass or specialty. When I mentioned the expansion, I wasn't aware of the promo angle, and while I know some characters look different, I believe these are the only new characters in the game. The game may not even be part of our regular license, and just a special permission for this promo -- not dissimilar to how a promo Hal was allowed for JLU! Except this one will be given out to fans.

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I was pretty involved in the JLU fan base at the time, which was mostly centered around the Action Figure Insider forums, and MAN you wouldn't believe how bad this was. People were OUTRAGED about this whole thing. It was nuts. I've never seen anything like it. Here, by the way, is the original article about Holiday Hal:

http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/it-hits-the-fan-holiday-hal-revealed/

If you're really curious, go back into the AFI forum archives and read the reactions.

My recollection at the time was that Mattel wasn't allowed to make Hal as a regular release. Not sure exactly why, but I think Zach's theory of a licensing holdup is probably right. There were a number of other characters that Mattel was originally unable to make that were much more important to the show (such as the Question). Eventually Mattel obtained the master DC license and that all went away, and JLU expanded to include all the show characters, and even non-show characters like Blue Beetle in the JLU style.

The one holdout, though, was Hal Jordan. We were told that DC/WB had specifically said that Holiday Hal would never be released to the general public. The SDCC exclusive was Mattel's way to get around the issue and put a Green Lantern in everyone's hands... and that didn't go over any better. People were almost as outraged to get an inferior Hal Jordan as they were to get no Hal at all.

JLU was my first action figure love... at the time, it was the most comprehensive line of DC characters we were likely to ever see (though DCUC at least approached it). Eventually, I soured on the line; it was a HUGE pain in the ass to collect. Seriously, if you think Minimates are bad, JLU back in the late 2000s would have driven you to despair. I sold off my collection for quite a handsome return, keeping only a few key figures. And then, a few years ago, I started to find the Matty Collector sets in the discount stores, and on Amazon, and suddenly I've got a big JLU collection again. Don't tell my wife.

BTW, I do have a Holiday Hal of sorts... I bought the SDCC set when it turned up at a discount store, then bought a headcast of the Holiday Hal head made for those bodies. Perfect. It's the only non-Minimate custom I've ever made.

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Oh, I'm not blaming Mattel at all. I'm sure if there was a way to offer that figure they'd have done so. My point was that WB didn't really have a good reason not to allow them to do so. I find it ridiculous that they'd make that one character unavailable just because a movie was in development since 1997. But ridiculous is what WB specializes in. Look at what they did with Green Lantern and Superman Returns.

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For what it's worth, it's frustrating for Warner Bros. Consumer Products, too. They don't call the shots either. There have been plenty of times when they saw an opportunity to make some money but the studio division said, "Hang on! We might do something... someday..." I distinctly recall that with Aquaman. "Consumer confusion." (Still waiting for that flick.)

 

It's amazing how many execs are paranoid that one little plastic figure worth less than $10 retail will wreck their million (billion?) dollar film franchise.

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Oh I blame Mattel, and Hasbro, and DST and every other major US based toy manufacturer. Because we all know they do things just to offend and anger their adult collector customers because they all hate us and sit in their smoke filled back rooms at Toy Shows and laugh and laugh at how they get the little details wrong, or short pack a character they know everyone wants, or just not make them on purpose, because they collectively live to ruin their toy lines forever.
Except Japanese and 3rd party folks, they're awesome and never do anything wrong and US companies need to get with the program.

 

Or so the internet would have you to believe.

(yes, I'm also a Transformers collector and my frustration with online fandom just has to vented on occasion)

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I'm pretty sure TG said back then that WB was to blame but not because they didn't have the rights, but because they wanted it to be "exclusive" because of the gift nature of Holiday Hal, but given that TG said it, that almost assuredly means it was a lie. I doubt we'll ever know the full story. Regardless, Mattel mistreated JLU fans for a long time, so they have to share a fair amount of the blame. On one hand, yes they pumped out tons of figures and continued a line far past the point that it realistically should have gone, but they did so because the sales were there and they had solid retail support from Target. And Target loved JLU. I think they'd still carry JLU if Mattel hadn't so poorly managed the line. Target was creating whole new SKUs for JLU exclusives five or six years into the line. Unheard of in this day and age.

But as I mentioned earlier, rather than trying to expand that fanbase, Mattel realized they had a very dedicated group that would buy just about anything JLU. So they devised a plan to milk those fans dry. "You mean to tell me they'll buy a 3 pack with one new figure? A 6 pack? Then that's how we'll release all our new figures!" And that's exactly what they did in ways not seen in any toyline since. And once they realized they could do that, they ended up pursuing that on a larger scale with MOTU collectors and the disaster known as MattyCollector was born. And eventually JLU even ended up there, for a few last twists of the dagger.

Holiday Hal was sort of the straw that finally broke the camel's back with JLU, though. The beginning of the end, no doubt.

Anyway, would love to see pics of these exclusive Minimates.

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While most of the blank or logo minimates that have been produced as promos didn't see a wider release, heaps of character promos that DST have done, while not available in exactly the same paint deco, became available with the lines they were advertising. We got a Goblin in the Pathfinder series. There were purchasable versions of Vorin & Merc from Battle Beasts. Technically, even BB Gator became available to buy with the carry case. 
If this does become a line, I'm optimistic that we'll see slightly different versions of these characters show up in the line. Perhaps a metallic paint variant of Civil Warrior or a slightly darker red version of Guillotine.

Edited by Nessex
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On 9/19/2017 at 1:37 AM, buttheadsmate said:

Geppimate ?  There are 2 versions ,one plus a variant,that I know of which might mean there is a third.......if there is please don't tell me .

 

On 9/19/2017 at 9:03 PM, DSTZach said:

 (Geppi had two production runs, so they are slightly different, like you mentioned.)
 

Can anyone provide a description of the differences?  Packaging, color, accessories, tampo?

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8 hours ago, Ivan said:

 

Can anyone provide a description of the differences?  Packaging, color, accessories, tampo?

Dear Ivan ,   

 

From what I know ................ ....the Geppimate variants  are most easily distinguishable by their different coloured accessories .

Forgive the bold type but I'm emphasising what I know not what I surmise .

That said both 'mates seem identical , the packaging & UPC  seem identical .

The 'mates themselves have the Diamond logo printed on the orange baseball shirt ........it is probably coincidental but the tampo seems to be higher on (what I'm calling) the 'Gold/Silver' packaged Geppimate than (what I'm calling) the 'red/blue' packaged Geppimate ......I could give a shit but if these are "two production runs" then it may not just be coincidental .

 

 

The accessories seem to be where the variations lie .

The baseball bats & caps seem identical....they are identical.

There are 4 books/catalogues/callemwhatyouwants accessories in each package ......1. is logoed 'Previews'  ,2. is logoed 'Hakes',3. is 'Baltimore' & 4. is 'Geppis Museum' .

 A 'Red Blue' packaged Geppimate has these 'books' in a sequence 1. black, 2.yellow, 3.Gold ,4. Dark Blue ........black  'Previews'  etc. 

A 'Gold Silver' packaged Geppimate has the same books in the same logoed book sequence but their colours change  1.Dark Blue, 2.Yellow (no difference here), 3.light blue, 4.Red .

If you're still with me & not entirely bored out of your brain ........the packages contain two small minimate shaped accessories similar to the 'clay puppets' that the Puppet Master 'mate had (W48).

A 'Gold/Silver' packaged Geppimate has these two small minimates painted ....you guessed.....one gold one silver.

The 'Red/blue' packaged Geppimate .....they are painted red & blue .

 

I hope that helped .  :rolleyes:

Edited by buttheadsmate
insanity
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