MisterPL

I have to wonder if DST's Marketing or Sales has encountered customers who've said, "Yeah, I'd love to give Minimates a try but there are so many." If Marvel Minimates needs a convenient jumping-on point for newbies, in the absence of "Greatest Hits/Best of" assortments, this is an appropriate alternative. 

Still, how many of these characters are continuing in the MCU? Black Widow seems to be Nat's swan song, especially after the events of Endgame. The Captain America, Iron Man, and (arguably) Hulk mantles have been passed on to others. Hawkeye's getting a Disney+ series but Thor's the only one who's getting another movie and it's not really his movie.

I know this is a safe SKU for DST to offer. The characters are popular and it requires minimal investment from a product standpoint. The draw will be the cool packaging, which will make a nice 9th anniversary commemorative piece. 

True convention exclusives were what drove me away from collecting Playmates Star Trek line. They were produced in such low quantities and only sold at a couple conventions so obscure that I can't even recall where. All I know is that it made the hobby more frustrating than fun.

Full disclosure: I'm historically a completist. That usually only applies to figures, not packaging. Exceptions are rare since I'm an opener. Show me some really fun, clever packaging and I'll buy the product even if I already have one. This Vader figure, for example.

Lately, "exclusives" aren't necessarily difficult to get thanks to the advent of the interwebs and online preorders. But they're not what they used to be... thankfully.

30 minutes ago, buttheadsmate said:

I loved BSG & I would have loved to have seen this hex/6 concept back in the day . 

A double-decker of Cylon skinjobs! ? ?

Walgreens seems pretty keen on NBX at least once a year. Marvel might be an evergreen but NBX has shown up every Halloween for as long as I can recall.

It'd be great if the Nightmare Before Christmas characters had a variety of expressions that intentionally lent themselves to stop-motion.

1 hour ago, WookieFodder said:

Captain Kirk Thru The Ages boxset

Deluxe Kirk with a '65 Corvette Stingray.

Deluxe Kirk with Corvette Mako Shark.

Deluxe Kirk with PX70 Motorcycle

Deluxe Kirk with "Shore Leave" Tiger!

I'd be happier if it weren't a convention exclusive. If it brings in more collectors and jumpstarts interest into the Minimates brand, I'm all for it. I'm just thinking that making it a con/line™ exclusive is not the best way to reach the broadest possible audience.

Then again, even if Walmart picked up something like this, what consumer would buy it?

The packaging better be really sexy.

3 hours ago, DSTZach said:

We upgraded the figures because I think Minimates have improved since then, they're always improving, because a long-time fan designs them and another one chooses the line-ups. 

Does this mean Cap will get the latest shield attachment? (Which was met with mixed reviews.)

I'm hoping the packaging is based on this shot:

By the way, what happened to "part two" of this announcement? Is another set going to be offered? Maybe based on NEW Avengers? (Scarlet Witch, White Vision, Captain America, White Wolf, etc.)

ROM would be great but I hope they don't decide to test the waters for Micronauts the way they did with Lost in Space and The Munsters.

Godzilla 'mates are a couple of the few sets I never opened. I almost feel like putting them on eBay just to see what the actual going rate is for them.  Yeah, some are asking upwards of $100 but are any sellers actually getting that?

So many kaiju. So few Jaeger pilots. ?

4 hours ago, Carlos_ said:

Are these confirmed for this month ?

July 7?

Godzilla vs. Kong was my first visit to the cinemas since February 2020. The auditorium was spotless, to the point I almost missed sticky floors.

After watching the Marvel sizzle reel, I can't wait to go again. That's my church.

I saw that earlier and was reminded of all the MCU 'mates we didn't get. This would be a great time to play catch-up.

The only info DST has is when Walgreens receives the stock. After that it’s up to the retailer. 
 

That said, I don’t think we’ve been told if Walgreens has gotten the assortment yet. Personally I’d prefer it to show up after I’ve managed to acquire the Falcon/Winter Soldier wave. ☹️

Cool collection! One thing has kept me from acquiring an army of Sentinels; scale. 
 

If DST would offer a Minimates-styled figure in their Diamond Select line, I think it would do well. 

1 hour ago, nandoninny said:

not sure how walgreens (if that will be the only place to get 2 packs) will feel about army builders though...

Considering these are being sold through the specialty market, I'm envisioning 4-packs that come with one army-builder that Luke's Toy Store can sell as 2-packs or 4-packs, similar to what happened with Multiple Man. DST simply made more figures for Luke and altered the existing packaging. That could work here.

Amazon has renewed Invincible for a second and third season. 
 

More Minimates might interest retailers. 

39 minutes ago, nandoninny said:

i already had a dream about a tiger force box set 

Welcome to my world. ?

Given the responses I've been reading, it seems this line could go on for quite some time. I'd just like to see a cardback that shows upcoming designs, a willingness on DST's part to take the line farther than they did with The Munsters or Lost in Space.

I also couldn't help noticing the figure designs are based on the comic. Looks like someone may have made the conscious decision to make GI Joe blend in with the other comic-based lines.

So there have been Mini Mates HORSES all this time and I'm just finding out about it NOW?

Where are the Mini Mates TIGERS?!

On 4/25/2021 at 6:42 AM, buttheadsmate said:

Imagine being offered an X-men First Appearance box set at LCSs without Angel & then finding its being offered as the variant in a contemporary wave.

Imagine being offered a Yeoman Rand Minimate five years before Captain Janeway.

On 4/25/2021 at 12:39 AM, DSTZach said:

What's wrong with launching a toy line with the big guns? Many a toy line has started with a mix of A- and B-list and never gotten to the other A's.

I'm pretty sure the promo art teased two more Joe characters. And two more A-list Cobras are a lock.

I have no problem launching a line with big guns but when your line is made up of an arsenal of big guns, it doesn't hurt to build some consumer confidence by teasing more than half a dozen in a promo piece.

Would anyone be interested in humanoid characters from the Godzilla flicks? Astronauts and Planet X aliens would be a hoot. 

I believe DST still has the license. I'm a little surprised they haven't at least offered an assortment to tie-in to the show.

Blind packaging is evil but, yes, there's plenty of good material left to mine.

4 hours ago, luke314pi said:

Solicitation image!

Nice to see they're making use of that 1,000,000 BC Phoenix hair. Gotta amortize those Xpenditures across the line.