DST Q & A #6 Answers

[Shanester]

Hey Chuck, Thanks for doing the Q&A's and for putting up with our daft questions.

DSTChuck: No problem you guys might be crazy but without you there would be no Minimates. Someone has to buy all the Spider-Man mates I want to make.

1a) Is the stance DST seems to have on only producing licensed minimates such as Marvel, 24, BTTF etc simply a case that you feel people wont purchase generic figures or perhaps it's trickier to call them 2" collectibles if they aren't recognizable characters?

DSTChuck: Honestly we’ve looked into doing unlicensed stuff from time to time but we keep getting offered great licenses to work on so we go with that.

1b) Bearing in mind the above, Is there ever a chance DST would consider doing unlicensed/generic figures such as Swat guys, Bank Robbers, Terrorists or Spec ops? Tell me you haven't thought it would be cool for Jack Bauer to have bad guys to chase/shoot at or Doc Brown to buy his weapons grade plutonium from?

DSTChuck: Oh yea we’ve thought about doing stuff like that a million times.

Hey Chuck. Thanks, as always, for taking the time to answer questions.

DSTChuck: No problem sleeping and eating is overrated.

1.) How far in advance does the planning process for each wave generally go? For instance, while the prototypes for one wave are being produced, are you already working on the designs for a second wave, maybe the line-up for a third?

DSTChuck: In most cases it takes about 9 months from our heads to your hands. For a line like BSG we tried to think of the overall license and what we wanted to accomplish so we planned out three waves all at once so we’d have a good idea of what the line would look like. Some lines like BTTF it just makes sense to do one set for each movie and plan around there making sure we can get as many of the “key” versions we can out.

2.) What's the one Spider-man variation that you've most wanted to do but haven't gotten around to yet? Civil War Spider-man doesn't count.

DSTChuck: Maybe the six-armed version.

3.) If Spider-man and Wolverine ran off together to start a new comic book company outside the Marvel license, how would that impact the Marvel line?

DSTChuck: I think you’d have to ask Marvel but for me I guess I’d have to turn to Spider-Woman and X23 for the anchors to the line.

1) Has anyone at DST thought about doing research on the best selling Kubrick sets and creating similar Minimate sets to generate larger revenues from a larger fan base? This would be simply based on quantitative results from Kubrick sales. I ask because I see this as future revenue growth and creating an opportunity to offset the smaller sales generated by selling obscure sets to the die hard fans.

DSTChuck: Not really. We view Kubricks as an entirely different product than a Minimate. While there are of course similarities and we have the same inspiration for a father, they have kind of each gone on their own to create their niches.

2) Where are the Iron Man box sets?

DSTChuck: Where is Waldo??

Seeing as Ultimate anything is proving popular, will we be seeing any Ultimates or Ultimate Characters in Mini Form soon? X-Men, Spidey, and Goblin were good teasers, but Iron Man is a necessity.

DSTChuck: I think if all things were to go well there is a chance we’d look at Ultimates again for ideas.

Any Chance of a Cryptozoology line? That is: Jersey Devil, Bigfoot, Chupacabra ect.

DSTChuck: I don’t think in Minimate form but those are very cool characters and a part of the origins of modern horror so if we could come up with a unique spin – why not.

Any chance that a Universal Monsters license could be procured. Mummymates and an official Frankenmate would rule!

DSTChuck: They have been done as mini figures etc already so if Universal were to allow some time to pass its something that we might consider, I’m a HUGE Creature from Black Lagoon fan.

I'd love to get Blanks (for customizing) in various sizes such as 2.5" 3" and a large 6"-8" any chance you guys would make such available? That way we customizers could make larger characters that you guys either can't(Marvel) or won't (other licenses) be making. I’d love to make a 8" Giant Man or Goliath for my Avengers team.

DSTChuck: If we do give away/do more blanks they would just be 2 inchers.

The candid responses for Q & A 5 were much appreciated.... thanks

DSTChuck: Maybe it was just that the questions allowed for more direct response but thanks glad you care enough about the line to read about it.

1. When you guys are developing series of mates, like Rocky or BTTF, do you have an idea of what the series will be like, or do you just keep going, so long as there is consumer interest?

DSTChuck: Like I said above, we do the best we can to get key characters / versions planned out but you never know. Some lines stay longer then you expect and some don’t catch on like you’d expect (Like Rocky) so in the end you have to hope for the best.

2. The Clint Eastwood westerns are such an original idea - has there been any discussion about branching to other Eastwood movies, or are you focusing on the Fistful of Dollars/Few Dollars More themes?

DSTChuck: Right now we only have rights to the MGM movies but if they do we’ll I’m sure we will be looking to expand.

Thanks for puttin up with us Chuck, oh and happy holidays/happy New Year.

DSTChuck: My pleasure and right back at you!

With two more Tolkien movies possible (The Hobbit and Children of Hurin) is it possible you might revisit Lord of the Rings minimates, or is the licence to expensive to pursue? Thanks again.

DSTChuck: LOTR is a amazing franchise and we’ll just have to see what the future holds for it.

Hey Chuck,

Since you are a spider-man fan, will the iron spider-man appear in a near future wave since the costume is still appearing in the comics in one form, and the figure was set for the Target wave?

DSTChuck: Who told you I was a fan??? Trust me if there is ANY chance to get a Spidey out I’ll jump on it!

Chuck! Thanks for putting up with us lowly people folk.

DSTChuck: I just can’t believe people care to read anything I have to say so why not !

1) Would it be possible to do characters from a Marvel TV show? Such as X-Men Evolution? Does your license extend that far? Because that's a Wolvy costume I'd really love to see.

DSTChuck: Yea some of that stuff was cool but no we don’t have the rights to that stuff.

2) Now that Thor is out of the way, is there any chance of a fan choice thing? Like maybe we have a battle royale run off and the top 6 get made into Minimates, with the 7th being DST's favorite?

DSTChuck: A fan choice thing – what do you call the last three waves of characters we’ve done?

3) Have you thought about other classic/modern licenses as with BSG, such as Dr Who? Also, what's the low down on the BSG Classics Packs that were just unveiled?

DSTChuck: The low down is “please buy them so I don’t get fired for making MM of that dated campy TV show”… or were you looking for something more along the lines of me BEGGING you to buy them?

5)Y’all are doing a great job with the Transformers busts. I'm really enjoying them. I have a quick question. Why are there so many retailer exclusives? And do y’all also have the license for Beast Wars? If you do will y’all be doing show accurate statues/busts like the much mourned Hard Hero Rhinox and Waspinator, or more comic book inspired like the rest of G1? Either way, I've been waiting years for any representation of TM2 Dinobot.

DSTChuck: I THINK our license includes Beast Wars so you never know. As for why so many exclusives, again I’ll be VERY honest with you… The TF busts cost a TON to sculpt and produce with the size, detail and paint that goes into them. On top of that we keep them limited to only 1000 pieces so they stay pretty collectible. SO we have to do the exclusives with our partners to make the line profitable.

Any chance for comic characters from another comic company? I know that you said that the Indymates set sold very poorly, but I think that is because of the characters you chose. I was familiar with all of them, but I know a lot of other people weren't. I'd love to see a Cyberforce set, or an old school Wetworks set, not to mention characters like the Darkness, Pitt, and The Savage Dragon.

DSTChuck: Nothing planned for now but you never know! Top Cow has always been great to work with but we know there are other cool comics out there.

Just wanted to mainly say thank you very much, also if you can give my thanks to the AA people. I'm looking forward to the "Man with no Name" mates...one step closer to a Lone Ranger mate. Looking forward to Spiderman 3 mates and beyond. Some questions:

DSTChuck: Great glad you like the Western stuff. I can’t stop messing with mine!

With the Vision being clear at his arms and legs, can the Loki arms and legs fit in to make a "solid" Vision?

DSTChuck: Why not try it and LMK .

How many more lines do you have planned for the Marvel line?

DSTChuck: We’ve never really planned far ahead for Marvel we like to keep it fresh and topical if at all possible since their universe is always growing and changing.

Are you reading any Marvel comics for inspiration? If yes, which ones?

DSTChuck: I’d say I read or at least flip through 90% of the comics Marvel puts out.

Has the Lone Ranger ever been considered for Minimateness?

DSTChuck: SURE! I loved that show as a kid I even have the CD set of the radio broadcast.

Will the "Back to the Future III" mates have the boot-feet that "FaFDM" do? I noticed that the proto-pics showed them with normal ones.

DSTChuck: Boot feet

Will the Star Trek Rand and Chapel be part of a regular wave, or exclusive?

Thanks again Chuck (especially for the "Classic BSG" and "For a Few Dollars More" mates!), 2008 looks to be an exciting year!

DSTChuck: Right now there are not Trek MM exclusives planned, so they will be part of the regular wave.

1. With the secret invasion coming up i just have to ask this: are you a Skrull?

DSTChuck: My wife and all the DST staff seem to think so!

2. Is Shanester or any other MMMV member a Skrull?

DSTChuck: I can’t say but I have my suspicions.

3. Do u know any Skrulls?

DSTChuck: Umm yea Elektra! DUH!

4. Now that we got that over with, here’s another one: I know you probably hear this a lot but what’s the status of Gambit and Ddeadpool? Have you got licenses or are they in the make or something?

DSTChuck: There are both considered all the time so you never know.

5. Are blanks coming into store soon? like a Walmart exclusive blank or something like that?

DSTChuck: None of the larger buyer have ever expressed an interest in that.

After series 19 and 20 how many more series/exclusives will be coming out in 2008? I'm talkin' unannounced stuff.

DSTChuck: IF I were to say then they wouldn’t be unannounced now would they?!

What are the odds on a Kang minimate? Hercules? Regular Giant Man/Ant-Man? Wasp? Falcon?

DSTChuck: Buy a lottery ticket tonight and LMK how you do!

I just picked up the Zombie Iron Man/Attacked Black Panther 2-pack. Now that DST has molded parts for the Black Panther head and retro Iron Man faceplate what are the chances of a release of a regular, non-zombie version of these characters?

DSTChuck: It might increase the chance slightly but it would not be a determining factor.

1)With Vision 2.0 coming out soon, is it possible we will see the rest of the Young Avengers anytime soon? A box set of them would be just awesome! *Crosses fingers* lol

DSTChuck: I don’t think so..

2)Is Black Widow (Yelena or Natasha) planned for any upcoming waves? They should be fairly easy to do with so many great parts available. The BSG Six's hair just screams Yelena =D

DSTchuck: Not right now.

1. What security controls/precautions are taken when producing minimates overseas? I've noticed some black market knockoffs recently on ebay, and I’m curious if you just wait for finished merchandise to be shipped, or if you have staff that oversee production.

DSTChuck: We only work with the best factories and have staff in HK and do the best we can to protect our products, but mistakes and leaks still happen.

2. Can we expect to see Iron Man or Hulk Movie-mates in conjunction with the movie release, or dvd release, or will movie-mates still be released separately from their cinematic releases? ie. XM3 & SM3

DSTChuck: Its certainly something we’re considering.

With the recent news that the UK and Europe will no longer be getting minimates, can I ask why (with genuine curiosity, not just internet company-bashing) it was decided to stop circulation instead of release them on time and at the same cost as the American market?

The current situation (minimates usually see distribution 1-2 months after their American release, sometimes 3+ months, and the $ sign is replaced by a £ sign instead of the price being converted) seems to be indicative of the problem with low sales, though this is probably just the price situation.

Sorry to come in so critical, as I am a slavish buyer and will continue to buy the product, but this is a board owned and created by an Englishman (and one from my home county), so it was only to be expected.

DSTChuck: We have nothing to do with the cost you the consumer are charged for our products. That’s decided by retailers and what distributors charge them. As for why we dropped the EU - As we’ve said, sales into the EU are and always have been very low so the costing on testing was just got to be more then we could absorb.

Hi Chuck,

For the Star Trek line, are you going to be done with TOS after Series 3? I ask because I'm hoping to see more aliens and adversaries from that series in the mix. Like the giant RUK!! Lokai/Bele, Romulans, Tellarites, Thelev (who actually stabs Kirk -- action feature!), a Keeper, Balok's freaky puppet, the giant Taureans, the hot Shahna, a Metron, a Melkotian... plenty of worthies to mix in with main character variants.

DSTChuck: There will be more Trek Minimates after series 3.

I was really happy to see Sarek & Spock's Brain in S3, hoping to see more fun characters and variations from TOS.

DSTChuck: Time will tell…

As for the Marvel license and its bearing on Minimates, stay tuned. News will be posted here shortly. I know questions were asked, but you have to understand the situation. The guys at DST are fans just like us, but sometimes elements of the business world just don't allow them to tell us all they want to.