New Q&A stuff from AA's site

[groundhog7s]

Having worked in the book industry for 12+years now, I can say if we're talking publishing, I've seen QC issues from the printer that aren't consistent all the way through. I'll also say I've visited the company who prints for us (who is I believe the largest in the US) and I can see how it happens with such a huge volume of product. That being said, how many F&F sets were made? A few thousand? It shouldn't have taken all that long to put these together and really, someone would have noticed on the factory side and just ignored it. As was said before, I'm sure being near the time of year when things shut down probably factored into these bieng rushed through. And for the record, I will say there are companies out there who will send the best samples out to save face. It's not the best practice, but it happens.

[edge2100]

Although it might seem disappointing to many people about some of those licenses/releases, I am not at all surprised about the answers to most of those questions with the exception of friends and foes. I don't see how any of those would really sell on a large scale (although you never know), I'm sure most people here would buy them up--but to the minimaters out there who aren't even aware of this forum... I'm not sure what their interest would be.

I just don't understand how F&F made it out with such poor quality...and hey, they do have a great track record, but at the price point, having ONE screw up that immense is still pretty bad I would say.

[groundhog7s]

I have to disagree. I believe both Star Trek: Next Generation and DC are both brand names that could have profitable Minimate lines if only they could be launched successfully and it doesn't seem that either DST or DC Drect, respectively, is going to do that. I can understand the other stuff as being risk taking (Ultimates, blanks, etc.), but not those two.

[battlecat]

I can see Chuck not knowing about our collective problem with F&F... I know I've seen him browsing new release threads in the past for reaction, but personally I haven't seen him logged in here since the chat. He could just be busy (convention attendence/prep, running the blog stuff with Matt gone, or just work). Way back when we had the spotty distribution of Wave 25 to comic shops, which was discussed here at length, Chuck was equally oblivious to it when someone mentioned it later in a Q&A.

Really hoping no shuttlecraft doesn't mean no Deloreans...

[drgnrbrn316]

I can agree that there's probably a larger market for the Star Trek stuff than what they're aware of. That they're still rerunning TNG should be some indication of that.

I imagine that three waves of Kirk, Spock, and maybe another crew member or two wore on the retailers nerves, so they responded in kind by scaling back their preorders, and DST promptly killed the whole thing off due to lower sales. That would be what I'm inclined to believe.

Of course, I don't work behind the scenes and I don't know how much of series 4 and 5 sat on shelves somewhere. I do know series 3 made it to those limited edition Target "aisle of misfit toys" which suggests to me that TNG didn't kill the line, but was just a casualty of it.

[murderofcrows]

I have to disagree. I believe both Star Trek: Next Generation and DC are both brand names that could have profitable Minimate lines if only they could be launched successfully and it doesn't seem that either DST or DC Drect, respectively, is going to do that. I can understand the other stuff as being risk taking (Ultimates, blanks, etc.), but not those two.

except that Star Trek didnt sell the first time.

Did they handle it wrong? in my opinion yes...but regardless, they didn't sell. That is the dollars and cents side of it.

"If we can't sell Captain Kirk, how can I sell, a, uhhh, ummm...quick what is a star trek alien?"

moc847

[groundhog7s]

You can't look at Star Trek as one entity. Star Trek isn't just 'fruit', it's apples and oranges and should be treated as such. I find it very strange that DST treated each Trek series separate for the 6in scale, yet decided to lump them together in Minimate form. TNG lasted several waves in the larger figure scale and I would have hoped that showed there was some interest there. If they didn't feel there was interest in DS9, Voyager or Enterprise I'd totally agree, but there will always be interest in TNG product if it's well executed.

[luke314pi]

It was nice to see someone point DST towards my open letter. Too bad it got shot down once again.

[Nessex]

It was nice to see someone point DST towards my open letter. Too bad it got shot down once again.

At least it got mentioned and responded to i guess

We'll just have to keep rallying the troops!

[Nessex]

Mods - i'm sorry if this is in the wrong place - please feel free to relocate it.

New AskDST has been published.

http://www.artasylum.com/blog/2010/05/askdst-89/

Mostly questions about Marvel Select with some Busts thrown in for good measure <insert pun here>.

[groundhog7s]

Hot of the press, the new Q&A is up.

And, surprise, the biggest news(to me) is confirmation the shuttlecraft isn't coming out. Who'd have thought that there still isn't any interest in Kirk or Spock after so many tries (besides, oh, everyone except for DST)? I just wish DST would take the gamble on one TNG Minimate product (shuttle or 4-pack) and see what the response is because I'm sure it would be received better than regurgitated TOS.

Edited June 7, 2010 by groundhog7s

[buttheadsmate]

.......& there is a hint about Dr.Who

Am I reading too much into what I've just read ? Did I read what I just read? Would he say that if we weren't going to get some?

If we were ....why would he spoil it by slipping it out in the QA ?

We won't be getting any will we ?

[pawcanada]

Funny someone mentioned Movie GG and Doc Ock. I was thinking about them last night.

Dissapointed we may not see any more GB mates this side of Christmas after Wave 4/SDCC exclusives. Also a little annoyd we probably won't see anything from RGB or Rookie.

Also a bit dissapointed we might not see Pirates until 2011, especally seeing as how we've seen previews of them a few times (Toy Fair and Carry Case preview).

[Turtle]

Sadly, I don't think it does mean we'll be getting Dr. Who Minimates. It just sounds like when the time is right, Dr. Who will probably be the license designed specifically for pond-jumping.

Is Michael Cooper a board member here? If so, I think I can help out. Shoot me a pm.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Turtle

[NorthRaider]

That Doctor Who hint? Red herring. Definitely a red herring. A bunch of red herring-sowing sadists, they are.

For me the biggest thing to take away from this Q&A was that apparently response to the Pirates mates at Toy Fair had been positive. (I think.) That's good to hear.

Also, I never realized that Tony's new Heroic Age look was literally called the Bleeding Edge armor. Huh.

Edited June 7, 2010 by NorthRaider

[Lobsterman]

Hmm... so am I reading right that the new Iron Man armor isn't planned for the Heroic Age set?

[boyd]

Hmm... so am I reading right that the new Iron Man armor isn't planned for the Heroic Age set?

I think so. Either that means they didn't have time to create him for the set, or they think he'd be better used anchoring a new wave of Minimates. Or maybe they just didn't think about him in their rush to add Squirrel Girl to the Heroic Age set

I'm not surprised that the shuttle craft has been cancelled. Horribly disappointed, yes, but DST's success with the Star Trek Minimates makes me think we should salt the earth and never speak of Trek Minimates again.

Not sure what to think about the Dr. Who mention. I would love Dr. Who mates, but I've been burned too many times to get optimistic about the chances.

[groundhog7s]

It seems I'll have to specify in next months Q&A that in the first few TRU waves they had army builders in each wave. I guess I thought Chuck would have remembered that and didn't go into detail more than I should have.

[youbastards]

To me, the confirmation that we aren't getting a Final Battle Whiplash from IM2 is the biggest disappointment.

:begin rant:

These Q/A sessions are really becoming a waste of time, IMO. DST should just change the question submission form to give you a "We currently have no plans, but you never know" answer when submitted.

Mark my words, the Pirates line will never come out, if they aren't even planning until 2011, then they aren't committed to the line and it's dead before it started. We may see a comic-con promo ala BattleBeasts, but that's it.

Also, after the initial release of the M.A.X. vehicles, DST will cancel the other 'planned' series that were previewed at ToyFair (police, emergency vehicles I think).

These lines are destined to fail, and we should see it now to avoid disappointment:

- an ugly superdeformed Delorean/S.U.V. to support a line that hasn't had toys made for years.

- a generic Terminator tank, also supporting a dead line.

- a blackbird-style jet that they think X-Men fans will buy, but won't

How many times do we have to request blank minimates, DST? I've never seen a company so blatantly ignore what their consumers want.

Me: "Dear Kelloggs, I love Raisin Bran, but can you sell just Bran cereal without raisins?"

Kelloggs: "Fuck you consumer, pick out the goddamn raisins if you don't want them!"

:end rant:

[buttheadsmate]

It sometimes makes me wonder how much influence pre-orders & the banter here affect DST & there confidence to actually release some of their proposed items? I can't think of one recent cancellation that I was surprised about ....disappointed of course....but not surprised. Star Trek? It's all been said hasn't it ?

Edit: It takes me so long to type that I now read youbastards post after I post my own ....only to find he's actually said what I've held back on saying.

Edited June 7, 2010 by buttheadsmate

[groundhog7s]

I think DST's big plan for their own brands involves Pirates, battle Beast, etc. to be the biog debut of next year. At some point, Marvel will loose some steam, all the other lines they currently have are running dry and they can focus on a big push for something new. I think it's the, why crowd the market with more of your own product when your roduct is already selling pretty well mindset.

And really, the tone of the Q&A is no different now than it has been since the AA days (IMO). We just keep asking in hopes that Chuck throws us some bones here and there.

It sometimes makes me wonder how much influence pre-orders & the banter here affect DST & there confidence to actually release some of their proposed items? I can't think of one recent cancellation that I was surprised about ....disappointed of course....but not surprised. Star Trek? It's all been said hasn't it ?

I think if they were listening to the banter they would A ) know more about product problems sooner (variant Angel, F&F Spidey, etc) and B ) listen to some of the more creative ideas that fans offer (ST:TNG, Dr. Who, blanks, etc.). I'm not sure we're checked out here too much.

Edited June 7, 2010 by groundhog7s

[youbastards]

Edit: It takes me so long to type that I now read youbastards post after I post my own ....only to find he's actually said what I've held back on saying.

LOL, thanks BHM!

Sorry for the attitude guys, having a crappy day at work and saw a new Q/A was posted and I just let my frustration out!

I've stated before that I'm a Marvel line guy, but I've bought some Ghostbusters/BSG and plan to buy some Halo too.

I think the most frustrating thing to all of us is that we love these little guys so much, it kills us to see some of the decisions they make from a business standpoint. I truly beleive that this line could be so much more than what it is currently, if they would just listen more to what the fans want.

I'll say it right now, DST if you are reading this, I will work as a consumer consultant on the Minimate line FREE OF CHARGE if it means getting more product out there that we want to buy. Just PM me!

Edited June 7, 2010 by youbastards

[buttheadsmate]

I'm not sure we're checked out here too much.

I don't think 'we're checked out here too much' officially. If I had a toy company & I had the opportunity to gauge people's reaction to the toys I was producing I wouldn't be able to resist checking out this place .......I might however do it furtively .

[NorthRaider]

I can see where you're coming from youbastards. To me though the problem is that despite all our whining and bitching to the contrary, DST still doesn't quite possess the same toymaking clout that "big" companies like Mattel and Hasbro do. They're still very much geared to a niche collectible market, and as such not even the full population of this board (that's the whole 1,762 strong of us) would be enough to convince the mass market that Minimates truly are an up-and-coming new force in the toy market.

Believe me, I've been through that phase. "Why can't DST produce more of our most-needed characters?" "Why can't we get Minimates of this license or that license?" "Why can't we ever get blank Minimates/accessory packs/decent vehicles/civilians at retail?" "Why won't my comic shop/Toys R Us/whathaveyou carry Minimates?" "Why won't DST stop making all these ridiculously hard-to-find exclusives?" "When will people stop supporting all these silly Superhero Squad ripoffs and just realize that Minimates are the superior mini figure???"

Shockingly enough I got something of a wake-up call after reading this blog entry about our local toy industry. It made me realize and appreciate that selling/making toys is a very complex business, and it is not as simple as it looks.

I know it may sound like I'm kissing up to DST or something. But seriously, despite everything I'm still infinitely grateful that we still get to have such an amazingly cool little toy line on our hands, and a "relatively" down-to-earth company backing them. I say this because I keep reminding myself that for all the crud we may be putting up with now, things could always get worse.

For one thing, Minimates could wind up just like Palisades. Or Xevoz. Or Stikfas. :nopity:

[karamazov80]

GH, I don't think it is inevitable (or even that likely) that Marvel winds down. DST has been able to keep it going by being fresh and creative in terms of detailing and accessories, their choice of characters released in regular waves, as well as decisions re: TRU waves and exclusives. Marvel may well lose steam, but if so, I think it will be due to bad decisions regarding releases, or people getting tired with Minimates generally, rather than the nature of the license itself. Marvel is a well-spring of great, recognizable, colorful figures.

So BHM, you don't believe the surprise/disbelief evidenced in the previous Q&A over the low quality of the Spidey Foes set was on the level?

Edited June 7, 2010 by karamazov80