New Q&A stuff from AA's site

[edge2100]

Doesn't count. Someone will always buy kubricks for insane amounts of money.

Perhaps slightly off topic, but I've been wanting to say it for a long time now...I just don't get Kubricks (literally and figuratively). I don't know their history--I assume they are the father of block-style figures. They look funky and not right to me somehow. They make me think of a pear-shaped-loser (seinfeld reference anyone?). Don't mean to insult any of you who collect both mates and bricks--maybe you can enlighten me.

[buttheadsmate]

There are some shockingly bad kubricks & because the majority of members here collect the Marvel line they will compare,first & foremost, Marvel kubricks with the Marvel Minimates that they love . In that category Minimates win hands down.....no contest. I said it in the early days of the kubrick thread & maybe I'm paraphrasing ....Minimates are always compared like for like but they are as similar as cats are to dogs . I prefer Minimates to kubricks but I still love some of the kubrick characters . I think tribalism comes into this as well because when I collected palZ I 'told myself' that I didn't like 'those Minimates ' ......I now love Minimates but I still like the palZ.....& the kubricks....& the Cosbabies.....& Ma.k.....etc.

[karamazov80]

I think there is definitely something to people "marrying themselves" to a particular style and singing their praise while (sometimes unjustifiably) criticizing others, and dogmatically defending people who criticize their own choice of figure, etc. Personally, I like both Minimates and Kubricks, but like BHM says, it depends on the figure and, in some instances, the line. It used to be that you could distinguish Kubricks from Minimates because they would employ as many fancy sculpted parts as necessary to get a certain look down. To the point where you only know that some figures are Kubricks because of their arms and feet, if that (e.g. Nightmare Before Christmas Santa, Alien Queen, Toy Story RC Car and spider/baby toy).

I guess it is still true that Minimates maintain some uniform Minimate base (frequently excluding hands and feet), but I think they have recently come to rival Kubricks in terms of the sculpted parts. Look no further than the Battle Beast and Halo-Mates, which are almost unrecognizable as Minimates to the untrained eye or without close inspection.

My point is, I'm not even sure that there is a "Minimate style" anymore, and I know there is no real uniformity among all Kubricks. So, you can dislike whichever you want, but if I am going to be honest, both have winners and losers.

In terms of licenses, excluding Ghostbusters, Kubricks blow Minimates out of the water.

[groundhog7s]

But I think that we all can cross the bi-partisan lines, join hands and in one voice, announce together that 'Shockini's suck!'. I think that would make Martin Luther King Jr. proud.

[karamazov80]

I think Shockinis could have driven MLK to violence.

[buttheadsmate]

I think Shockinis could have driven MLK to violence.

His brother 'Don' collected shockinis.

Edited April 29, 2010 by buttheadsmate

[groundhog7s]

I hear Malcolm X had a complete set of them too. So did Hitler.

[buttheadsmate]

I hear Malcolm X had a complete set of them too. So did Hitler.

On pre-order of course.

[groundhog7s]

Actually, I heard Hitler used his astrologers to predict which ones would be made and he customized his own. Pretty creepy stuff when you think about what could have happened had Germany gotten the atomic bomb first.

Edited April 29, 2010 by groundhog7s

[buttheadsmate]

Shouldn't that be in the 'Replying to New Q&A stuff from Atomic Alamos site' thread?

-fatboysmate

[NorthRaider]

No new Q&A, but this may be of interest...

Long story short is that it appears those Femme Fatales statues first shown at Toy Fair turned out to be in-house designs by DST based on public domain characters. I'd say this is definitely a neat step in the right direction for them, along the same lines as the M.A.X. line and the pirates.

Am I the only one here morbidly curious as to whether some 'mates of these might be a possibility?

[TM2 Dinobot]

Nice. I know polystone aint exactly cheap, but you'd think that as public domain they could knock those ladies down in price to a more achievable price point. Get more people to buy them. I mean, who wouldn't buy a 8-12" statue at $20-30?

[battlecat]

-fatboysmate

Wow, you know the Fat Boys?!

[buttheadsmate]

-fatboysmate

Wow, you know the Fat Boys?!

We hang.

[A.J.V.]

A new Q&A has been posted over at

http://www.artasylum.com/blog/2010/05/askdst-87/

Looks like no blank minimates for retail...ever.

[groundhog7s]

Today's Q&A was a real downer.

I'll ignore the obvious bad news of 'there are no TNG mates planned pretty much ever' official statement and hit on the no Kirk and Spock mates planned comment. What does this mean about the shuttle craft shown at TF?

And since I was the one asking about contacting DC about Minimates, has anyone else actually tried to find a way to contact DC Direct? They have proven they really don't want to know what people that buy their products think. At least DST will communicate with us that they won't sell us what we want.

And it's nice to know Chuck's been aware of the Friends and Foes QC issues for awhile...

[karamazov80]

He does appear completely oblivious to the Friends and Foes issue. That's really strange that Chuck wouldn't know. You figure this is some ploy, or legit?

[TM2 Dinobot]

While the blank news is devastating, i think the most disappointing bit of info is the Friends and Foes set. "They seemed fine to me" strikes me as a bit cheeky.

[Lobsterman]

He does appear completely oblivious to the Friends and Foes issue. That's really strange that Chuck wouldn't know. You figure this is some ploy, or legit?

Giving Chuck the benefit of the doubt, I could fathom him not being completely aware of the QC problem on that set. Having worked with printers, I know I don't look at every single piece they run, and they often send me the best-looking one as a production sample. I've gotten complaints from clients on printed pieces where the color came out wonky on what was delivered to them, but looked fine on the samples I got. This tends to happen when (1) you're working with a new printer who doesn't know how picky you are or (2) the printer is in a rush to get the job done. Considering that the SM:F&F set was likely produced during that pre New Year's crunch, I could see either one being the case with the printed tampos.

Vulture's wings are a different story; that must have just been an artistic difference of opinion between whoever signed off on the plastic color and the rest of us...

Anyway, I don't think Chuck is just trying to be a jerk about this; he may honestly not know how bad it was.

Edited May 10, 2010 by Lobsterman

[karamazov80]

Maybe Matt was the only one there paying attention to what was discussed here? Obviously, this is a fan site that DST can ignore if it chooses. But it would seem to be a reasonable strategy to at least check in on the fan-base's thoughts regarding releases. Feelings on the Spidey and Friends set were universally negative. I think that set was a pretty significant failure (from a QC perspective) that DST should be aware of.

Maybe there is a culture of burying heads in the sand at DST?

[NorthRaider]

And since I was the one asking about contacting DC about Minimates, has anyone else actually tried to find a way to contact DC Direct? They have proven they really don't want to know what people that buy their products think. At least DST will communicate with us that they won't sell us what we want.

Sadly this seems to be the only other lead I could come up with re: contacting DC Direct about reviving the Minimates. I'm guessing the "Business Development" () folks are the ones to turn to at a time like this.

Some interesting things I've learned after poking around in the official DC Direct site a bit:

- If you purchase a product with QC issues, the standard procedure would be to go back to the retail store you bought it from and have them contact DC Direct for you via Diamond Comics Distributors. Phew.

- It appears we're not the only ones spitting venom over the premature demise of the DC Minimate line anymore. Over on the official DC Direct forums the Minimate-centric thread is seeing some activity again.

I stand by my old theory: DC Direct does not have faith in its own product.

[groundhog7s]

I stand by my old theory: DC Direct does not have faith in its own product.

...and yet they expect the public to.

[minimadman]

I stand by my old theory: DC Direct does not have faith in its own product.

I don't think that's what it is at all. I think the cancellation stems from the fact that they didn't feel that they were making enough money from them because they were having to give a piece of it to DST. Unlike all their DCD other lines are 100% in house.

[drgnrbrn316]

That was a rather depressing Q&A, though there wasn't much there that we couldn't guess or didn't already know before. It just seemed so negative.

No more Ultimates

No more Star Trek

No more DC (and no way to contact DC even though they are the ones we're supposed to contact)

No wedding day MJ

No idea that anything was wrong with Spidey Friends & Foes

No Minimates club

No Kick Ass

No blank Minimates

Heck, the tone even made the Cap and Thor movies seem unlikely.

[buttheadsmate]

Giving Chuck the benefit of the doubt, I could fathom him not being completely aware of the QC problem on that set. Having worked with printers, I know I don't look at every single piece they run, and they often send me the best-looking one as a production sample. I've gotten complaints from clients on printed pieces where the color came out wonky on what was delivered to them, but looked fine on the samples I got. This tends to happen when (1) you're working with a new printer who doesn't know how picky you are or (2) the printer is in a rush to get the job done. Considering that the SM:F&F set was likely produced during that pre New Year's crunch, I could see either one being the case with the printed tampos.

I was a printer for nearly thirty years & although I'm not sure whether you are referring specifically to specialist tampo printers but you hit a nerve there. Every bloody customer I had was very picky but I guess that's why they picked me . Printing is a precise craft & setting a print press,any print press, takes time but once that baby is running at production speed ....no 'rush' is necessary ,10,000 printed sheets an hour is just coasting. I guess tampo printing must be different but considering the production speeds must be very slow in comparison I just can't believe the guys running these machines didn't know what was going on.

Regards 'sending the best-looking one as a production sample, that is illogical/stupid with any commercial product because the truth will out. You really can't get away with putting the best ones on top etc. it is professional suicide. I have literally printed millions of pharmaceutical packages in an eight hour shift ...they would all be exactly the same...not similar.....EXACTLY the same . If they were wrong in any way ...they would all be wrong because that is the nature of printing.......good printing anyway. Minor rant over but just saying.

Edited May 10, 2010 by buttheadsmate