Lobsterman

I usually buy one set online and one set locally to support my LCS (and because I hate waiting an extra week... ). But with these prices, I'm really starting to reconsider that strategy. I'm usually okay paying a few extra dollars to get the whole set on release day; this is the first time I've actually passed on a couple of the packs. Guess I'll be picking up my extra custom-fodder sets elsewhere...

just hit my LCS for wave 5, and they're up to $9.99 a pack! This is getting expensive! Anyone else seeing minimate inflation?

And Abe Lincoln could have a removable head. Hey-oh!

How about one of those giant earthballs painted up to look like Mogo?

Dang, I was kind of hoping for some TNG or DS9 minis...

Dang, my shop didn't get them in today. Oh, how I hate to wait!

That's the set I'm officially stoked for. It will be awesome to have a 3" powerhouse chest. That'll look real nice on my correctly-scaled Hulk and Thing.

The funny thing is, with a two to three month gap between DC wave 6 and 7, I'm sure everyone will be back on the Marvel bandwagon as soon as waves 19, 20 and all of the exclusive two-packs start hitting...

under any other circumstances, I'd agree with the complaints about Hulk's chestpiece looking bulky and bloated, but in this case, I think it works. In the book, zombie hulk was kind of fat and lumpy looking rather than buff, on account of his eating too much and having his stomach explode...

Is Zombie Cap's head an actual new head mold, or is it a full mask piece that slips over the standard head?

I was just wondering about doing that... Would cancelling my order with AFX make any difference as far as tracking sales (i.e., the "success" of the exclusive) goes? I assume that if BBTS is buying from AFX, product is still getting sold, right? Does AFX care who's buying it? Cancelling orders with other retailers and going with BBTS certainly sends a powerful message about shipping costs and how appealing their Pile of Loot system is for consumers.

Yep, it does have a peg. I wonder if they really did retool these molds, or if they just added the peg to them. Like you said, it wouldn't make sense to resculpt the exact same piece, and it wouldn't be hard, or too expensive to add a peg to the existing mold.

My LCBS didn't have the chase, so this is just for the base six. Overall, this is a pretty solid wave. It's nice to finally see some of the characters we've wanted for so long, but, as always, it's not perfect. There are a few easy fixes, and some that might take a little more elbow grease to get the "ideal" characters out of these mates. One thing I was struck by was how...muddy, I guess, many of the new sculpts are. The DC accessories have all been very crisp, with clean edges and clear details. A lot of the accessories on this wave are soft and seem blurry, if you get my meaning. The standby hair molds are really starting to show their age. Also, paint apps are fairly minimal on these. They found ways to avoid unnecessary (?) colors on the arms and legs, sticking to the base color and one app. The torsos and heads are sharp and look very good, but lack the minute detail of the DC mates. They're much more like the designs of mid-series Marvel mates (which makes them fit in with the line better, I guess). Thor It's obvious they blew their wad on this figure. At least five, but possibly as many as seven (if I'm not forgetting a previous use) unique pieces here -- helmet, hammer, cape/chest, belt, and boots for sure. I think the arm bands are new, too; I don't recall seeing the narrower arm bands with a groove in the middle used before. Correct me if I'm wrong (I know you will ) Notes: • The boots are interesting; they're following the DC model of full foot pieces rather than slipping over the standard foot. Also, it's nice that they wrapped the detail tampo around the sides and back on these. • The face he comes with looks awkwardly small. I swapped it for Wave 11 Cap's face, which I think looks much better. • The belt is potentially very cool, with the winged "T" sculpted on, but, as I said, the casting isn't very sharp. • Same with the hammer; potentially awesome, but the straps around the handle are indistinct. • Here's a minor gripe: I wish the cape looked more fluid and billowey (althogether now..."like the DC mates"). This one looks a lot like C3 Supes/Sentry's cape -- it drops straight down in a mostly rectangular shape. I like this figure a lot. I've been waiting a long time for a Thor, and, for the most part, I'm well pleased with this one. Loki Another budget buster, although not quite as much as his brother. Two unique pieces and one very well-thought-out reuse of White Queen's cape. Notes: • The ponytail will be useful for an Ultimate Thor custom. Not much else to do with these pieces, though. • Torso tampo has great detail. • For those concerned with Wave 20's phasing Vision, Loki's arms and legs look like they might do the trick for a solid version. I wasn't that interested in getting this figure, to be honest, but he's well done, nonetheless. She Hulk This is a fantastically-done budget Mate. Minimal paint apps, recycled hair piece, and it all came together beautifully. Notes: • I always chuckle when I see Ultimate Storm's lightning bolt earring on yet another character... • She comes with a pipe. You already know that. Good stuff. Not much else to say. Shulkie fans will be satisfied. Wonder Man There are a few things that seem kind of goofy about this one. Mostly, the face is weird and the hair is the wrong color and way too bulky. Notes: • Why brown hair? I would have used black. And the particular piece they used seems awkwardly chunky -- think of the "helmet" effect from a lot of the X3 mates. I'm not sure if it's a new sculpt or not; it looks a lot like the variously-recycled men's hairpiece (used on Cable and others I can't think of right away. Is there some kind of Dewey Decimal System for Minimate pieces so we all know which ones we're talking about? Can you guys get on that?), but it has more detail in the tufts of hair on the top. And it's really chunky. I swapped it out for the black version of Cable's hair. • Can't remember if the belt is a unique sculpt, or if it's been used before. Not my favorite figure in this wave, but an essential Avenger. Quicksilver Another good budget mate. Really nice details, and a good part reuse. Notes: • The hair comes from Ultimate Wolverine, but, again, the mold seems like it's losing some of the crispness and detail. I'm going to have to add his little hair-streaky-antenna-strand things. Because it has to be perfect. • I really like the blue color of the plastic they used. I'm glad they didn't do paint-over-clear as they have in previous waves. • For those who are worried about it, yes, the lightning tampo goes around the sides and back -- the white and the black outline. Hooray! Thumbs up. Scarlet Witch If there had to be another unique part mold, it was with Scarlet, and they did it well. A good-looking figure all-around. Really. Her torso tampo is pretty hot for being printed on a square. Notes: • Same little gripe as with Thor's cape -- flat and rectangular. It's a unique mold, though (I think). • It would have been nice if her hair had a little more body to it, like Batgirl's. Picky, picky. • Okay, just one more thing, and if I had to pick from the three, this would be the thing I would actually change. Scarlet's hex bolts have a very distinctive energy signature. It would have been awesome to see a new sculpt with crescent shapes that arced around her hands. They could have reused them for Dr. Strange. C'mon! Fine. I'll do it myself. I griped a lot, but only because I love her. This is the figure in the bunch that disappointed me most because she could have been so much cooler with a few little tweaks. She's still probably my second or third favorite. So that's it. Overall, a great wave; nothing that would stop me from recommending a buy. These guys definitely whetted my appetite for what's to come...

"Both series will ship later this year" Okay, so that's one, two... twenty-four new Marvel mates we've been promised this year. On top of the five zombies and fourteen Spidey 3 mates we're already expecting. I will personally buy everyone at DST an ice cream cone if this comes through. With sprinkles.

I love that future Marty has the high tops on. Everyone say it with me: HOV-ER-BOARD! HOV-ER-BOARD!

Sent mine mid last week. It should be there any day.

12 cases?

I personally like the environmental superpowers idea... maybe it's just the hero nut in me. Okay, Fujis, what if we did famous Canadian Prime Ministers instead? "Pierre Trudeau, with pirouette action!" Historical figures could be fun, I guess. It might be nice to have the proceeds from that benefit some sort of educational charity. And, yeah, the zombie thing is starting to lose its novelty for me, as well.

No sculpted details on Scarlet Spidey... as nice as it is to finally get him, that's kind of a bummer. It wouldn't have been a stretch to put a powerhouse chest on him – it looks totally appropriate as a sleeveless sweatshirt. Oh well. It's hard to complain too much during an all-you-can-eat minimates buffet like this year...

Bollocks. I love/hate having to scrap a custom project in progress...

I love the enviro-themed idea. I'm concerned that animal characters either 1) won't work with the block-shaped head very well or 2) would require entirely original headsculpts (see also, Kellogg's mates) I kind of like the pairs idea; it makes sense based on the way people normally buy minimates, and will get you more bang for your bid.

I guess you better get bidding, then. I keed, I keed. Here are the original illustrations for the faces. I kind of prefer the scowl, too. Thanks for the compliment, Nervous. I like your vampire quite a bit, too. Are those wings original sculpts? Pretty slick.

I don't sell a lot of stuff on ebay... does it cost extra to set up a store? Is there some other easy way to cross-link all of the auctions to get maximum traffic to all of the customs? Also, is there any chance we can get banner ads placed on some of the toy sites with lots of minimate fans – perhaps even stores like Stuckakid – to drive traffic? Would we need to get approval from ebay for something like that?

THanks for the kind words, everyone. Boyd: yep, I couldn't decide whether I wanted a scowl or a roar, so I made both. Same head, though, just on either side. Also, compliments all around to the other customizers. I was just looking back through the thread, and there's some really amazing work here. I hope someone here starts getting calls from DST to do freelance work...

I know, I know... late to the party. You know how you start fiddling with something until you screw it up and have to start over? Yeah. Anyway, here's my entry... fell beast of the frozen north, it's... Yeti! Ooo... furry! :biggrin: