tones

I only follow TBBT, HIMYM, Suits and TWD. So this is a welcome addition to my collection. And civilain mates, so it wouldn't hurt for diorama builders.

Hoping for a third boxset for their recurring guests - Stuart, Wil Wheaton, Pria and Stephen Hawking!

I agree with your first three, but I think Kripke would have to bump Hawking as he's been in many episodes where SH has only really appeared in one.

Let's not forget, both LeVar Burton and Brent Spiner have appeared on the show. Theres 3/4 of a ST:TNG/TBBT boxset right there Aw hell, just throw in James Earl Jones and be done with it

I think the worst I've ever gotten (besides the feet/hands falling off) was the Legacy Kirk with no feet. Not that they fell off in the package, but they weren't there at all. if it hadn't been my 4th or 5th Kirk, I'd have been upset. as it was I'd rather get it than have a new customer and have it turn them off to Minimates altogether.

the only other things I can think of is the TRU Iron Man/Rhino pack, IMs legs would pop off constantly and Rhino had 2 left legs. and the trouble finding TRU IM3 mates with decent paint, that was tough.

I would think/hope Disney would give the green-light for Star Wars Minimates, but I think I remember something about the problem being with LEGO as opposed to Hasbro.

Zach, (sorry if this has been answered already) any idea when "The Cage" Enterprise is shipping? I don't see it on the latest ship date updates.

That dog in the picture looks so unhappy....

that's because he's still waiting to hear some news about Star Trek Minimates

i picked up the TRU exclusive sets in NH last night, will get the other 2 sets next week.

Hey Luke, I've been wanting to make G-Force/Gatchaman customs recently, but I'm scared off by the helmets. Do you think that might be something you could do with the printer? I know at least two of us (me and Nervous) would buy a set.

i'd be up for a set of Gatchaman helmets as well! their capes wouldn't be a bad move either

i always thought it would be cool if DST released a book (or a series of books) of full page Minimate control and packaging art.

don't forget that the bulk of it can be used for the Refit and 1701-A. new nacelles, deflector, bridge lid, Captains chair & decals will pretty much do it. and yes...i'll buy it (and so will you )

ok Zach, it's Tuesday...whadduya got for us?

jk. but seriously, where should we be looking for the info (please don't say Facebook; I don't use it and couldn't get it at work even if I did)

anyway, i'll be different and guess its a WOK Enterprise.

It's not. We'll announce a new Trek Minimates product on Tuesday.

I've never wanted a weekend to go by so fast in my life

No, he's right, the assortment is 4-3-3-2. Kirk has a lot of work to do.

BUT if you compare 23rd Century to 24th Century, 24th Century has double the representation at TRU. So if you only like classic Trek (or the two new films, or the first six films), only 1/3 of the case appeals to you.

JPC, on 07 Aug 2013 - 01:39, said:

Question for those whose comic shops sell Trek Minimates: Which pack is selling best? Wouldn't happen to be Archer, would it? Maybe the Borg Queen?

my LCS has sold the most Sisko/Jem Hadar. I've bought 3 myself (plus a full set online). a new army builder is key imo. will buy another full set soon for the Enterprise jumpsuit (Mayweather custom), Khan/Kirk (for crispy face custom/field jacket) and Picard/Borg Queen (Starfleet Uniform/Voyager Queen)

I've bought 3 full sets of the TRU wave + extra Picard/Sisko/Janeway sets. my TRU just got another case in so I'm slowly picking up 1 2-pack every week just to keep them moving. i did end up with a Kirk with no feet though

thank you, thank you...it's nice to be appreciated

JPC, on 07 Aug 2013 - 01:39, said:

Question for those whose comic shops sell Trek Minimates: Which pack is selling best? Wouldn't happen to be Archer, would it? Maybe the Borg Queen?

my LCS has sold the most Sisko/Jem Hadar. I've bought 3 myself (plus a full set online). a new army builder is key imo. will by another full set soon for the Enterprise jumpsuit (Mayweather custom), Khan/Kirk (for crispy face custom/field jacket) and Picard/Borg Queen (Starfleet Uniform/Voyager Queen)

I've bought 3 full sets of the TRU wave + extra Picard/Sisko/Janeway sets. my TRU just got another case in so I'm slowly to picking up 1 2-pack every week just to keep them moving. i did end up with a Kirk with no feet though

this is awesome news! View Askew Mates have been on my wishlist forever. really hope we can get a Buddy Christ.

hope we can get a Carrie Fisher mate out of this as well just pack the Nun in w/ Cock-Knocker and call it a day! so many actors have been in these movies it's crazy.

Jason Lee

Jeremy London

Shannen Doherty

Claire Forlani

Stan Lee

Ben Affleck

Joey Lauren Adams

Alan Rickman

Lunda Fiorentino

Matt Damon

George Carlin

Salma Hayak

Janeane Garofalo

Alanis Morrisette

Will Ferrell

James Van Der Beek

Jason Biggs

Mark Hamill

Carrie Fisher

Eliza Dushku

Shannon Elizabeth

Ali Larter

Judd Nelson

Chris Rock

Seann William Scott

Jamie Kennedy

Wes Craven

Diedrich Bader

Jon Stewert

Tracy Morgan

Rosario Dawson

Wanda Sykes

Earthquake (Nathaniel Martin Stroman)

and thats just the "major" actors, imagine all the customs we could crank out if even half of these are produced

found series 3 in New Hampshire last night, scored a full set, luckily someone was kind enough to leave 1 each of the exclusives behind. thank you toy karma i'll take that as payback for only buying one set of IM3 exclusives last week

Most collectors don't buy multiples, even when a single figure can be two characters, so we can't rely on that as a sales possibility.

(The Enterprise uniform doesn't exactly scream "Trek," and MInimates of Malcolm Reed and Trip Tucker are gonna look a LOT alike.)

But nobody wants to see a repeat of Series 3. Never forget.

As for Series 3, it's incredibly comforting to know DST recognizes the shortcomings of that wave (who needs 2 Sareks?)

A Sarek head could always be used for the Romulan Commander from "Balance of Terror", and with a bit of work a Klingon Captain (ST:TMP) and the elder Sarek (movies & TNG). Mark Lenard was all over the Star Trek universe

If the extra head wasn't a main cast member I don't think it would be shortening the line, just being realistic. I'm optimistic, but I don't see this line lasting long enough to give us a Lt. Barclay, yet a Barclay head would go well with a Data and would make me buy 2 sets. Hypothetically. For now.

I'll need at least 3 Barclay heads; TNG, First Contact and the A-Team

I would like to see the four guys from the Big Bang Theory made in Minimate form as well but have them dressed as they were in the recent episode where Sheldon was Data, Leonard was Picard, Howard was a borg and Raj was Worf?

THIS would be a great idea for a ComicCon exclusive! as long as it was available online as well

All Marvel Minimates are now 6.98 at the stores and online.

I scanned one at TRU and the scanner stated it was part of the "ComicCon DVD Promotion". No idea what that is.

No information on how long the price reduction is good for either.

its a ComicCon DVD set with a couple pack-in figures, didn't really seem all that interesting to me. i think TRU is just trying to get rid of them. they are on the shelves in the "collector" aisle.

So at what point should I become worried BBTS still hasn’t gotten these (or Battle Beast) in?

i just got notice that my wave 48 set is in my POL. about damn time.

and not to split hairs (pun intended) but Will Riker and Tom Riker have different facial hair. we(I) need Riker in clean shaven (Season 1/Insurrection), full beard (Season 2-7/Movies), Van Dyke (Thomas Riker), and Grey (All Good Things...) versions. not to mention battle damaged for all those fights he gets in.

Not true. When he wears the Gold uniform, he has the full beard. The only time he has the Van Dyke is when he's on DS9, where he's wearing red (Netflix FTW! s6 ep24 Second Chances)

As for your other argument, I don't consider Khan and the Borg Queen "hard sells". (even though we're getting a different Khan at TRU). By your argument, the specialty waves aren't allowed to have any "heavy hitters", which if I were a retailer I'd be pissed if TRU got *all* the good stuff.

My main point was, even if TRU gets ALL the TNG uniformed cast, I dont want each wave to repeat characters in both Specialty and TRU, i.e. Data version 1 at Tru and version #2 at specialty for the same wave. IF DST continues their model of one 2-pack per series in each wave, whatever the uniform, I'd prefer wave 2, 3, etc have separate characters between the TRU TNG pack and specialty TNG pack, because if we get Data or whomever repeated *in the same wave*, it'll take a long time to get the entire crew out.

And while you state that "theoretically, Star Trek Minimates could last almost as long as Marvel has", I highly, highly doubt it! I could easily plan out 100 waves of Star Trek minimates, but I doubt the retail support will be there to keep this line going even 3 years. I would *love* to be wrong!!

I have every intention of supporting this line 110%. But it's a matter of if they are playing the long game or not, because sales will likely drop once ST Into Darkness has left the theaters. Movie support is the reason TRU is buying Trek again. If sales start to hurt, I hope it can at least continue with one market instead of both dropping at the same time.

As far as head swaps, I don't expect everyone to play that game, but should the worst happen and the line is cancelled too short, then finishing off the cast should be easier with headswaps over customs. We're all armchair quarterbacking at this point, but again I really want to see how wave 2 & 3 are shaping up.

>Surely the speciality line is geared more towards variants like that? Characters that aren't essential to a collection but are still available if you want/need them. Like the above Riker's, different coloured Seven and so forth.

I guess I'm just a bit bitter that things like the TRU waves don't make it across the pond

Maybe it would be better then to have the main stuff be specialty then? I really want to see some box sets, I think that would solve a lot of issues. But I shop at both TRU and specialty, so I'm up for whatever's best for the market & the line!

okay, you got me on the Tom Riker beard thing, remembered there was something different (its filled in more under his lower lip) of course thats the one season i don't have on dvd so its been a while. so that makes 2 versions of Tom that i would like to see.

i didn't say that Kahn and the Borg Queen were "hard sells", i said that the main cast in their regular duty uniforms are a "definite sell". and should be availible at mass market (my apologies to our friends across the pond, i'll help out if i can) to maximize exposure to more than just collectors.

"theoretically, Star Trek Minimates could last almost as long as Marvel has". "theoretically" and "could" are the operative words here. i was saying that the amount of characters that could be done (spread out over all series and movies) is quite extensive and could fuel a line for a long time if it was designed to.

imo, the problem with the first (2 inch) line was that it filled out the core TOS crew too quickly. by the time they got to TNG and DS9 retailer support was gone, as a result of poor sales of (a sort of bland) wave 3. if wave 3 had the TNG and DS9 sets that ended up in waves 4 & 5 i think things would've been different. TRU on a whole knows what a good seller Minimates are, or they wouldn't keep getting exclusives.

what i'm saying about the headswap potential is that it really wouldn't be in DSTs best interests to make it that easy for us. if you can get everything you want quickly in this manner, will you still buy the official releases? it comes down to either getting what you want or what is best for the line. i'm right there with you, i've been clamouring for Star Trek minimates to return since the day they were cancelled. i'm chomping at the bit to flesh out the crews and adversaries, but not to the detrement of the line. i certainly hope sales don't drop once the movie is gone from theaters. i don't think wave 2 will be out by then.

regardless, we both agree. its great that these are back and they can't show up soon enough. i'm very anxious to see what the next waves will be. that should show us what DST has up thier sleeve. but whatever it is, i'll be there...buying cases

"someone suggested a two pack of Will Riker and Data for TRU and a Tom Riker and Lore for LCS."

While that's fine and everything, I'd prefer this was not done in the same wave. Seriously, as much as I love Star Trek and want as much as I can get, how many waves do you think we'll get? Every production piece we can get is best, because there's so many quick-customs that can be done!

I'd do something like this:

Wave 2: includes:

TRU: Data / Geordi (TNG uniforms), Data with extra Lore head or reverse printed since the hair would cover it.

Specialty :Riker / Worf (TNG, Worf with removable baldric piece similar to TOS Klingon mate)

TRU: DS9 1st season Bashir / Dax

Specialty DS9 Quark / Odo

TRU: STIII Kirk / Commander Kruge

Specialty: ST IV Kirk / Spock in white robe

TRU: Enterprise: T'Pol and Trip Tucker

Specialty: Voyager: EMH Doctor and Hirogen Warrior

Wave 3: Includes:

TRU: Wesley in grey uniform / Dr Crusher with removable lab coat (TNG)

Specialty: Data / Troi (First Contact uniforms)

TRU: DS9 1st season O'Brien / Kira

Specialty DS9 7th season (FC style) Bashir and Garak

TRU: Tholian Web Chekov / TOS Romulan

Specialty: Kirk & Spock from A Piece of the Action (Gangster suits & Tommy guns!)

TRU: Voyager Tuvok / Chakotay

Specialty: Enterprise Hoshi / Reed in Space Suit

This way, you can head-swap Riker's head on any other TNG gold uniform to make a Thomas Riker. But such a ridiculously easy headswap character should NEVER take up a spot of another character, unless we were getting 50 waves like Marvel!

Furthermore, quick-customs from those pairings and wave 1 include: a base female blue TNG uniform & First Contact uniform, male TNG gold & FC uniform, plus male red TNG & FC uniforms. I don't care too much about the collar "pips", because the scale is too small to really notice if you leave them unaltered, and if you did, a dab with a silver or black sharpie would be all that's needed . But then waves 1-3 with enough extra packs bought would get you a full TNG cast in BOTH TV & First Contact uniforms, Full DS9 Cast with the Starfleet people in both 1st and 7th season uniforms, O'Brien in TNG, 1st & 7th season DS9, Thomas Riker, Redemption Data, Wesley in red uniform, hopefully Lore, and then maybe some Voyager crew stuff too (IIRC the communicator was the only difference between VOY & 1st season DS9 uniforms, which decals should work in a pinch)

THEN as the line progresses, DST is more than welcome to go back in and release some of the simple headswaps that makes sense *if they must* (i.e. if they were released in TNG uniform, then release FC uniform), but it would be more fun to get newly sculpted variations instead, as in any crew from Q-Pid (Data as Friar Tuck!), Sherlock Holmes & Watson Data & Geordi, LOCUTUS, Times Arrow variants, All Good Things variants. (And by variants, I mean variation in characters outfit, NOT 1 per case!)

So there it is. Not my ideal choice of waves, but there's so many choices on what to make, it'll take forever to get a lot out. I just hate seeing wasted "slots" Plus I continued with one Captain per wave. I love the crewmember & an alien strategy they've started so far, I just don't want to wait for potentially 7 waves before completing crew, with no guarantee how long this line will last.

I really, really hope we get some box sets! I'm surprised there's not a "Best of Both Worlds" 4-pack with Locutus! Throw in Data, Lt Shelby and either Riker or Dr Crusher and that'll get us afew 2-pack slots freed up, along with Shelby who would be a good exclusive, but a waste in a 2-pack (plus a red female body if you want to customize an Ensign Ro)

but the problem with setting up waves like that is, you split up the "main costume" crews between TRU and Specialty. ideally, the "definite sells" like those should be the most widely available for the casual fan as well as collectors. collectors will go to an LCS or get a wave online and typically want the more obscure character selection that won't go over well at retail.

also, releasing waves with the intent toward quick customs isn't going to be something that will benefit the line in the long run. that will contribute to an early demise as it won't do DST or TRU any good sales wise. sure you'll get ppl buying up the early waves to do head swaps and such, but if the TRU Marvel waves have shown me anything, it's that an instant sell out prompts thier system to re order so much of the current wave that the next wave oftentimes gets skipped. it is a fine line to walk. theoretically, Star Trek Minimates could last almost as long as Marvel has. if it's done properly, which i think they are heading in the right direction. just have patience and support the line and we'll get what we need/want, they wouldn't have brought these back if they were going in half-hearted.

***This way, you can head-swap Riker's head on any other TNG gold uniform

to make a Thomas Riker. But such a ridiculously easy headswap character

should NEVER take up a spot of another character, unless we were getting

50 waves like Marvel!***

and not to split hairs (pun intended) but Will Riker and Tom Riker have different facial hair. we(I) need Riker in clean shaven (Season 1/Insurrection), full beard (Season 2-7/Movies), Van Dyke (Thomas Riker), and Grey (All Good Things...) versions. not to mention battle damaged for all those fights he gets in.

i'm hoping they'll take advantage of the fact that so many of the characters have alternate looks/doppelgangers. for example, have Data and Will Riker in the TRU wave and Lore and Tom Riker at specialty. assuming that the TRU waves are heavily stocked of course.

sure, it'll take a little while to get everyone, but it'll extend the life of the line IMO. the TRU sets will SELL OUT...FAST which is EXACLTY what needs to happen at retail. you'll get the casual fan as well as the collector buying the main cast and primary villians/army builer.

by the same token, the collector will also go after the specialty wave and eat up all the Lores, Tom Rikers, casual dress/alternate uniforms, Mirroe universe doppelgangers, random crew member and special guest star. I'm in for a Space Lincoln . The specialty waves are produced in lower quantities than the TRU waves so that works perfectly in that respect.

sorry, i feel like i've been trying to justify why Trek minimates should come back for so long, i can't stop. don't think it'll really set in til they're in my hands

i think the Borg that comes with Picard is Hugh. i'll still be getting 2 or 3 for Borg parts though.

you gotta cut them a little slack with these just coming back though. Kirk and Picard are proven sellers, so the line itself needs them even if you don't.

If Trek mates are going to have a successful return, these first offerings have to do really well. The fact that TRU is on board will help tremendously, but we need new buyers not just collectors looking to expand their current Star Trek collection. Having Kirk and/or Picard available from the get-go will do nothing but help and at least they aren't straight up rereleases of the previous mates. In fact getting all of the Captains out of the way early will be better for sales.

New buyers will be more likely to pick up the "main" characters before a crew member and once they have the Captains they'll be more likely to go after the crew. It's the best way to ensure that the line continues so we do get to complete all the crews, and thats what we all want.