elhonez

I don't have them in hand, but they sure look close on MMDB. I also have a question: does anyone know of green legs with brown "boot tops?" I know there are the Platoon mates, and first appearance Blade, but those all have shoelaces/details in front. i want pure brown. Does such an animal exist?

Thanks for the context! To be clear, I harbor only incredulity, not disdain for that set -- if it were up to me there'd probably be Murder She Wrote, Max Headroom, Glengarry Glen Ross, and/or 60 Minutes MiniMates. 'Mate em all, I say. Also I had no idea Ferris Bueller was ever on the docket. That is a tragic loss to be sure. But back to our regularly scheduled programming: D&D rules, I love how Warduke turned out. Any plans past these first two sets, or will it be wait-and-see?

Siiiick. @Zach, are there design sheets like this for every MiniMate ever created? Does DST keep them all, or are some lost to the sands of time? Also, total tangent, but how in the actual hell did the "Desperately Seeking Susan" two-pack come about?

OK, they're in hand now and WOW. These are amazing. I really love the blister card designs and execution. Sign me up for every Cobra wave from here to eternity.

I was a bigtime Cobra collector when I was a kid. I thought they looked a lot cooler than the Joes did, even if CC was a big ham. I finally ordered my set from Luke and I'm pretty torn about whether I'll open them or not -- this packaging is just the best. Kudos to the design team.

I don't have an order, but here are the ones I liked the most: Iron Man Thor: Ragnarok Captain America: Winter Soldier Captain America: Civil War Spider-Man: The Trilogy Avengers Avengers: Endgame Avengers: Infinity War

Yeah but which version?? Green Hamburglar or Face Tattoos? Edit: nevermind, I just read the not-so-fine print.

The Collector?

Is there a mutant named Storefront? Is this a new version of Luke Cage?

Welcome back!

Thanks for the insights Zach!

My favorite Marvel MiniMates release-style is still the 4-pack wave model that included a variant and an army-builder. Oh man, I bought so many. I am still drowning in Sentinels, AIM Agents, Dreadnoughts, Hellfire Guards and more. And I love it. Next up would be the added value of the "build-a-figure" model. Looking at you, Spider-Slayer! I must confess to not understanding why these models were abandoned. I have only conjecture based on reading-between-the-lines of DST comms, both official and unofficial, and my admittedly limited knowledge of the economics of toy wholesaling and distribution. Plus some n=1 first-hand data of encountering MM product "in the wild," i.e. first-hand experiences with what moved and what didn't. Oh, and anecdotes from you lot. With that belabored preamble, let the juices flow: I gathered that the economics of two-packs / "sticker shock" as a result of inflation due to "macroeconomic headwinds" made the team feel that this model would become untenable to consumers, but... Is that understanding actually correct? Would a huge price tag for a 6-pack actually be that much better? Was DST just testing the waters with this, or was there another reason for confidence in trying this model here? Was the 6-pack pivot a way to hedge against certain 2-packs selling better than others, leaving a glut of the less-popular two packs in a wave on the shelves? Are these big Marvel boxes actually performing worse than the two-packs? It sounds like maybe yes, based on where this thread is going. Are bigger packs the only way forward now, i.e. no going back to previous retail executions like 2-packs? Does it cost less to develop & produce one six pack vs. three two-packs? Were BAFs discontinued due to some license stipulation from Hasbro? Was this pivot in part due to retail pressures, for example product not moving, and dissatisfied retail customers who needed to see something new (big boxes) to have the appetite to try MM again? Lastly, a tangent: I'm going to get a lot of rotten fruit thrown at me here, but I actually think blind boxes/blind bags are pretty fun -- any thought about returning to these? The price of singles could be appealing relative to the $50 commitment of box sets now. I wouldn't want these for every release, only certain things. Like army builders. Or like what Toy Robot used to do with niche stuff. I have always felt that a very Kirby-inspired, brightly colored set of Celestials would be great in blind boxes, with commons and chases and the whole thing. Their designs fit pretty well with that whole weird vinyl collectible toy vibe. Really lastly: My summary is that 2-packs are mo' betta for me as a collector. And it was really cool when DST produced Army Builders and BAFs, and I miss 'em.

+1 For what it's worth: I need the others, but Kingpin & Bullseye in these looks aren't as compelling.

Yeah, all of em! There is no shortage of available characters. I recently replayed MM 1-6. Some great designs. 46 robot masters, plus Mega Man, Rush, Light, Wily, Proto Man and Roll. Various stage baddies (e.g. Sniper Joe). And 46 robot masters = 46 alt color schemes and accessories for MM. Doing all of them wouldn't be practical, but I'd be down for either 100% of the first couple games, or a series of box sets that highlight some of best designs across the series

Epic. Sign me up! I made a QC years ago but it hasn't really held up (and I was too lazy to make a decal festooned with a scarified pentagram).

Please cuttle this conversation before it makes me eel.

If you've got something to say BHM, she'll lend you her ears anytime.

I'm a Cobra guy. I'm very much looking forward to the Wave 4 reveal.

Ah! I just looked on page 1 and I see this is redundant. "Deadly Foes of" / Sinister Syndicate = same-same.

Sinister Syndicate would be the way, I may have already suggested this: 1. Boomerang (as noted) 2. Beetle (80s armor) 3. Rhino (armored, 80s) 4. Speed Demon (comic version) 5. "A Spider-Man" because we already have two Hydro-Men 6. Shocker (classic) who was an associate in some of the early stories

That slide is perfection.

You could do a bunch of comic Eternals with this format. Ikaris, Makkari, Thena, Sersi, Ajak, Zuras would be a pretty sweet set.

He does look pretty sweet, and has been a toy before:

A hint for the post-Cardiac offering came with Ka-Zar: it will be an "anti-mutant X-Men villain." That... is pretty broad. But I can think of a few.