elhonez

I literally had no idea these existed, so stealthy to me! They really are great figures. I knew Disney Parks put out random droid figures every year that are sort of Hasbro-adjacent, but there would seem to be wisdom in offering additional lower-price collectible figures for kids/families who don't want to spring for the big ones. But I'm biased, and I want Star Wars MiniMates, so everything is going to look like a nail to this hammer.

Time to revive this thread? Check it out... DST has stealthily produced a 7" Select-scale Stormtrooper for Disney parks. And it looks amazing: The time for Star Wars MiniMates is nigh! [as theme park exclusives...]

+1 on "Best of" being the best off-the-shelf version for classic Thor. At some point I'll stop being lazy and share a pic of one of my Franken-Thors.

I think I combine pieces to make a perfect classic Thor. I'm forgetting which at the moment. I'll take a stab with my failing memory: Favorite portraits: Best Of, Ages of Thunder Favorite standard helmet & cape: Stormbreaker Box Favorite hair-front helmet & raised-shoulder cape: Heroes Return Best base body: Stormbreaker (Only) legs with 5th & 6th "armor circles": First Appearance Best boots: Best Of Favorite accessory: Spinning Hammer

I'm also a big fan of Doom Patrol! They'd have to make room for Beard Hunter and Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man too. And the "old" Doom Patrol members: Celsius, Negative Woman (Valentina), Mento, and Lodestone. I guess Tempest was also technically on the show. Oh, and Tyme, and Butt Monster army builders!

I think the Suicide Squad is a great call -- I'd love to have seen how they tackled a Starro. I'd also probably have purchased two, so I could turn one into a Shuma Gorath.

That's a good counterpoint - some fans might feel like they permanently missed out on those characters if they didn't see them represented in core waves.

I'm sure it's been mentioned many times, but I still think Masters of the Universe would be a great fit. Lots of creative parts re-use, bright and colorful designs, and the potential for small-scale vehicles if they are part of the license.

I would hope, in my naivete, that the continued Marvel (a Disney property) MiniMate offerings would indicate that this isn't off the table, and that Disney would consider allowing DST to pursue the SW license for this format. But admittedly I don't know s$#t about what it takes to make this stuff happen. I can dream!

Let this be my semi-regular lament for the lack of DC Comics MiniMates, 2021 edition.

This series exceeded my expectations. Are mates still on indefinite pause?

Digging the alt Snake Eyes, thanks for sharing!

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I think it would have instilled more goodwill with fans to introduce more character diversity with the second releases, but I'm not at all opposed to (and in fact appreciate) the alt decos. I think a key component of getting nostalgia-motivated fans excited about a new format for their favorite characters is demonstrating a commitment to depth. By releasing the same characters twice in a row (albeit with some cosmetic differences), you risk killing momentum and interest. Ultimately, I'm confident GI Joe is a big enough license to weather this, but I agree with others that these second releases might have been better saved for even slightly later in the line's progression.

MMPR was after my time, but I love the designs and the whole men-in-rubber-monster-costume phenomenon. I was always a fan of the old Godzilla movies, Ultraman & other various kaiju stuff from the 70s & 80s.

I was the kid who only collected Cobra & bad guys, so I'm loving these Dreadnoks.

Wow, that Timber looks like a dire wolf next to SE. It works though

Will the focus remain on G1 for these if they do well? I support that, just curious about the scope.

I stand by my analysis. These don't look like production-quality samples. And that's not meant to be a dig. I was, though, perhaps being a bit uncharitable about the paint. I should clarify that the detail is fantastic (especially at this scale, thanks Zac), I'm just observing that it's apparent that they are hand painted rather than factory painted. Like the black on Grimlock seeming to have tiny air bubbles. I originally thought the bumps on Grimlock's "wings" were that shiny diamond-dust looking residue from some 3D printer resins, but on closer examination they are also air bubbles? "Crude" was itself a crude word to use to describe what I was trying to communicate, so my apologies for offending with my poor word choice.

("crude" but still better than I could do :D)

I'm guessing wave 2 will also sport metallic paint -- up close (thanks RedTiger95), these look like 3D-printed mockups, with crude hand-painted & with mock decals.

I like the idea of box sets with 4 different army builders, e.g. a Crimson Guard, Viper, Cobra Trooper and Eel. I might want 8 vipers, but I wouldn't necessarily want Octuplets. That said, I could see people being bummed if the Twins took up both Cobra slots in a box set. No easy way out!

I'd think any two of Zartan, Bludd, Firefly, or Serpentor would be likely for the next boxed Cobras, if they keep releasing them this way. Eventually, they do need to get to troopers.

Update: Grimlock, Soundwave, Megatron, Blaster

Also posted in the Joe thread, since the article is about them, but in this pic you can make out Grimlock. This also answers the question of "Dino or Bot?"