captain_cbecker

Thank You All.... looking forward to many more years of collecting minimates

I hope you all had a good holiday....

Unfortunately no Minimates for me, but I did make sure my kids got their share of Minimate love, including both the Hulk & Iron man TRU exclusives, the Avengers box, Spiderman/Kraven 2-pack as well as the BTTF 3 and Fistful of Dollars sets. The latter 2 were courtesy of some well timed sales at SciFigenre.com and etoys.com that I found out about here in the Multiverse. Thanks for the info all!

For those who don't have access otherwise, ST Wave 5 showed up at Urban Outfitters for a stiff $14 per 2-pack.

I just checked BBTS and they have 5 & 6 available for preorder. I also checked my account and my preorders for these sets were still there. Are you talking about the 7" figures or all BSG stuff?

don't forget these.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product...amp;mode=retail

Much as I hate to say it, BBTS still having them for preorder doesn't mean much

BBTS doesn't do too much to update cancelled items from their list - they're always the first to post the new stuff and the last to take stuff down

I went back to UO the day before XMAS - all the Duff mates had been wiped out... DSS went about a week earlier.

They had the Lost Kubricks in blind boxes and the new Star Trek wave (at an obscene $14/set). The had a lot of the other Qee-type figures like Simpsons also.

I finally got to read the recent issue of Toyfare - according to them, DST is hooking up TRU with some BSG figures (7"), including exclusives and other stuff. Let's hope that TRU's enthusiasm for Battlestar Galactica extends to these "lost" waves of 'mates.

Otherwise 2009 is gonna be pretty disappointing.

Maybe they had to take them down to wait for some licensing or likeness approval. They had to do that with the Boomer / D'Anna two-pack of action figures. Those did get cancelled, but I think things will turn out different for the BSG minimates.

I hope it's something that easy - I'd even be happy if they re-hashed the waves into a single wave and maybe a 2-pack or box set that includes all the final cylons. I could live without the new versions of Balter or Six and perhaps a few others.

If they ultimately say that they were cancelled because there was no interest, I'd have to reply that this was poorly timed, like other licenses, so that the presells were silently being pitched while the show was in hibernation (like the last 24 series) and enthusiasm for the product was likewise hibernating.

It has to be a bad joke, I mean I was looking forward to these upcoming sets more than any!

With the lack of news about any new Star Trek waves and now this... it really bums me out!-these are 2 of my favorite lines.

It makes me feel like selling off all my mates and start collecting something else!

I know what you mean - I got into collecting 'mates becasue of the BSG license.

But, it's not the first time DST has teased us with cool product and then dumped it. Can anyone say mini-flyers... or 24 season 3, or Rocky 3 or Ghost Rider.... you get the picture. I doubt it'll be the last time either

This is indeed a downer... Unlike many here, I'm not big into the comics and really like the mates that are based on ST, BSG and some of the other, live action stuff (Platoon, Clint Eastwood, BTTF, SoTL, 24 etc).

Sadly, DST has done little in the way of bringing more of those licenses to market recently and now seems to be killing one of the coolest licenses (for minimates) they had in that area.

Worse yet, with BSG minimates going by the board, the only love they are giving BSG is the 7" figures which are horribly sculpted and don't really do the characters justice.

It seems that minimates may be returning to their comic book roots, but to tell you the truth, I'm gonna rowlf if I see any more Spiderman, Ironman or Wolverine mates. I guess originality doesn't sell as well as the same 4 comic book characters.

Bad News sports fans.... no reply to the e-mail, but the preorders for all the BSG stuff (New Caprica, Wave 5 & Wave 6) all disappeared from DST's site this afternoon.

Anyone notice that all the new BSG minimates were left off of the recent AA ship update?

I shot them an e-mail to see if they were cancelling.... anyone else heard anything?

I hope this isn't the end of Star Trek Minimates, but if it is I'm satisfied I guess. I grew up with TNG but TOS is my favorite and was just happy to get series 2 so I'd have the full bridge crew. Everything else has been icing on the cake for me. But now that we have Picard I really want the rest of the TNG crew and I'd love to have the rest of the movie guys.

And tribbles or no, I like the green-shirt Kirk. If I want tribbles bad enough I'm sure the craft store has some kinda fur balls that'll work.

That's pretty much what got included with the 3" Tribbles Kirk as well as AA's 7" series of "Trials & Tribble-ations" DS9 characters.

Given the pretty open dialogue that we share with DST Matt & Chuck, as well as the fan Q & A's both here and in the new AA site, I think that many of the arm chair quarterbacks here are losing sight of some of the logistics that we've heard (repeatedly) come into play when planning waves.

We (the Multiverse with all our customizers, army builders and completionists)) are not solely the target market - as we've heard before, the waves are subject to discussion based on what they think will be popular, fan input and marketability. There's also the small matter of cost and integrating a combination of new and old molds to be economical. I'm certain that Wave 5 was not a random assembly of characters but considered all these aspects.

Consider the following: We've heard from DST that, though we may think it's overkill, Kirk is high visibility in the various lines and incorporating him into each wave is a constant marketing challenge for DST. The inclusion of DS9 offered a new property and gave the ST License some depth - though the characters are unfortunately similar to the TNG characters of Wave 4 and don't "pop' as being new or particularly original. On the other hand, the motion picture characters do offer a new license, but with the distinction of being truly original looking (instead of DS9's re-hash TNG uniforms), and they were all done with some pretty decent new molds and designs. This wave makes sense in a lot of ways. I happen to like this wave format and enjoy seeing something a little unique each wave. Sure, I have favorites that I'd like to see, but I also have to realize that it isn't all about what I want.

On a side note about over saturating the Kirks... Sometimes you gotta keep some mainstream stuff in the waves to draw in new buyers. No one complains 'cause there's like 50 different Spiderman Minimates, or Iron Man for that matter.

Finally... as for the issue of this being the final wave - I think the alarmists need to remember a couple of things:

1. I've said before, it's no secret that DST and AA have a lot of irons in the fire - things like Spirit and Punisher are obviously priorities while the licenses are fresh (relative to the movie releases), unlike Star Trek, which is pretty static for now - if anything, holding off on new product for a summer release may cash in on residual hype of the new movie.

"

2. It's holiday time - and as a toy and collectible retailer, I'm sure energy is being spent on geting the "now" stuff to market in time for the holiday shopping season.

3. Finally - Toyfair is coming soon - and it's fair to expect that news of new items and/or prototypes are on hold in order to allow for some new announcements at the show (especially since Playmates will probably steal some of the thunder with the new ST movie product).

4. DST has never hinted that ST Minimates are anything but a solid performer for them.

So, maybe it's a good idea not worry too much about the end of the ST license (in Minimate form) and give it a couple of months and see what shakes loose.

Received my package from AFX today, Star Trek wave 5, Marvel wave 24, and Iron Man Hostile Takeover set. Wahoo!!!

I'm hoping that mine show up today - unfortunately my set left L.A. on Monday and are getting to the SF Bay Area byway of Washington State (according to the tracking info).

Apparently this year the post office is offering Priority Mail minus the Priority.

I went back to the SF UO yesterday - still had plenty of Duff mates, but the DSS sets were wiped out. Glad I got an extra when I had a chance.

Just got notification from AFX that these are in stock along with ironman hostile takeover, and marvel wave 24 with trantula!

does that mean we will see them at our LCS this week?

Not necessarily, From What I can Tell AFX does it's own shipping from the factory and somtimes gets shipments at different times to DST.

I'm STILL waiting on a Desperately Seeking Susan pack from them.... despite those hitting retail months ago elsewhere.

T.

If you hit Urban Outfitters, they have the DSS pack for 4.99 on clearance along with Duff mates.

I got an extra set for that price

Ughh!.... Still no Trek wave 5 on this week's Diamond shipping list. Kill me now! I need a minimate fix soon or I'm gonna blow a gasket!

I switched up and ordered them from AFX since they're in stock - I got the ship notice on Saturday.

Newforce comics has them as well.

that must have been a slow news day over at the Sun

Based on the majority of the articles in the Sun, I'd say most days are slow news days.

Look! No hat making required!

Ha ha, that's wicked awesome! (Makes me want that Spirit box set SO much more now...)

Plus points if you can get The Octopus looking like an elf or a sugarplum fairy...

Ask and ye shall receive. XD

Man, okay. I seriously am going to need like 3 sets of these. Definitely 3 of the 2 pack. Black Widow and all that. But that white dress... The possibilities are endless.

Hee hee, I love it! Neat that Sand saref looks like a kind of snow fairy...

Oddly, those colors make The Octopus look even MORE badass than usual. I wish the regular version looked like that!

If there's ever a correct context to use the word "pimp-tastic", I would say that this is it.

I kind of agree with CBecker. With the money they would have to spend on licensing Star Wars, they could probably license AND produce a number of other, cool things. More wacky movie-'Mates, I say. Stuff like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Double Indemnity, Big Lebowski, Toxic Avenger, Manhattan, Goonies, the Thin Man, GHOSTBUSTERS, etc. etc.

James Bond?

There are seriously NO Bond toys to speak of. How hard can the license be to get?

I know Corgi is running loose with the Die Cast License, which they've been doing for like 30 years.

Unfortunately, I don't think Bond has the marketing power that it once did...

Jaws on the other hand.... I'd be all over that.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over missing "Darth Mul" or any other of the "new" characters. I love the original 3, but can't stand the new ones. Looks like it is a moot point, anyway.

I wouldn't lose any sleep if SW minimates never happened - as it is, the 3.75" series and the Galactic Heroes are inundated with all the EU stuff and/or obscure characters, which has made collecting Star Wars toys a huge pain in the butt. As it is, shopping for Star Wars figures has deteriorated into an excercise in combing through pegs full of six-breasted women and clone troopers of so many colors that I'd swear they're being cloned on the planet Crayola (though we all seriously know that Clone troops originate from George Lucas' home world of "Moo-Lah!)

With so many other cool licenses out there, DST should leave SW minimates alone - especially since George Lucas would leave us all teetering on the verge of Bankruptcy long before we could ever collect a complete SW set - especially HTF characters like the Paisley Clone Trooper or Mauve Fashion Assult Stormtrooper.

If you happen to have an Urban Outfitters nearby and missed out on the Duff mate, now's your second chance. I found a slew of them at UO last night being clearanced for $4.99 (originally priced at a ridonkulous $15.99).

They have an urban outfitter in SF, so I managed a second Duff set super cheap as well as DSS for $4.99 also.

I noticed Startrek.com has Wave 5 on sale with a release of 12/16

Oddly enough, I didn't think Red Dawn was particularly intense in the areas of language, action, suspense, violence or gore that it warranted the PG-13 notation.

If there's any mate that I'd like to see in a santa hat it's Hannibal Lecter (though Buffalo Bill might be fun too.

My TRU out here got a case in today. In fact, they had multiples of each set so I picked up the Iron Man Exclusive set and the Cosmic Spidey/Transformation Venom set for myself plus an extra Iron Man set.

Finally I managed to find Minimates in town.... woo hoo!