Lobsterman

I figured around $5000 was the neighborhood of a run cost. It does seem wildly impractical, but here are a few points to consider: 1) If we could do universally-requested characters -- say a Hawkeye/Vision set -- I bet lots of people would come out of the woodwork. I'm not sure if there would be licensing issue with that. Would DST have the authority to do those characters under a blanket Marvel license, or do they have to get approval for each and every character they do, every time? 2) If we charged $10 a set (pretty standard) we'd need 500 people to chip in. $15 a set (pushing it), around 350. $20 a set (really pushing it) drops the number to 250. Then there are the members who buy cases without flinching -- would they chip in $25? $30? I would, for a character we might not see otherwise. 3) What if some of our kind retail sponsors stepped in to help shoulder the cost? They don't have to make the risky investment on an entire run, but get the benefit of sales it if it succeeds. 4) There seems to be greater interest in Minimates now than ever before, with new lines like DC selling like wild and the TV/movie lines breaking into retail. Strike while the iron is hot? Just something to think about. Chuck, if you're reading, any thoughts?

The answers from the latest Q&A got me thinking. How expensive is it to do a retailer-exclusive release? SillyGooser, I know you did one for ECCC. Any other store owners that have gone down that road? Would it be even remotely conceivable to do a Minimate Multiverse set of...something we could all agree on? I assume we'd have to scrape together the funds to pay up front – how much would each of the 1000 or so members of the forum have to come up with to make this happen?

Yeah, it would have been nice to get those in with the aisle-clogging Spider Man 3 displays, huh. But, as usual, that boat sailed a few months ago...

Yess... YEEES!!! Would the super-limited-edition variants have their tops on or off? I can't remember which happened less in the movie...

All of the miniflyers were listed and in stock when I ordered mine about a week and a half ago, and all still seemed to be in stock when I posted Saturday. I waited to post until my set actually arrived because I wanted to make sure I was sending people to a legit store that actually filled the order... I wouldn't jump to conclusions about people scalping. This long after they vanished from retail, there's no telling how many (or few) sets the store had in stock. And most people on this board are pretty up-and-up.

Savage Land Wolverine and Feral Wolverine from the Onslaught saga.

Dang, that was fast...

...I found an online store, www.livewireworld.com, that still has them. I just picked up a Nightwing for $6 + shipping, which is a lot better than what they've been fetching on the bay lately.

I think I'd prefer some new Marvel characters, too.

I'll be there at least Friday and Saturday.

Wow. You seriously didn't have anything to do today, did you? Gets my vote for post of the day.

Thanks for the tip! I was trying to stock up on the Twilight Frodo set, but the button kept adding Sam and Gollum instead... oh well, got some other custom fodder I needed.

Well there you go. Thanks.

Know what would be super cool? If they did an end run around the prohibition on 3" mates for Marvel by just making big pieces for a Hulkbuster Iron Man. It would make sense because the HB armor was composed of pieces that attached to the regular-sized modular armor. So the mate could be Modular Armor IM, and instead of a second mate, they could pack in 3" scale Hulkbuster pieces that fit on the 2" mate.

Not long until wave three comes out, so a little idle speculation to pass the time: The previous two waves came with pieces not pictured in solicitations. What extras will these guys come with (if any)? Here's what I'm hoping for: • A sword and/or cool gun for Deathstroke. We know he's got a holster and a pistol would be an easy remold from other characters, but I'm really hoping for a "modern" sword. • A lasso for Wonder Woman. Not sure about how, though. A molded coiled lasso would be kind of pointless, IMHO, as she has no visible belthook. AA seems to be willing to do soft goods accessories as we saw with the grappling hooks from C3 Robin and Catwoman. A lasso made out of some kind of gold metallic string could be cool. Or, perhaps a molded plastic lasso in "twirling" position • Possibly a new bat-accessory for Batman. Grappling gun? • Ares has a big ole' axe in the prototype art, but not in the solicitation photos. Hope that makes the cut. Heh. Cut.

I'm sorry to say I've had similar problems with cornerstore in the past. I hate to slam them because when they're good, they're great. They usually make an effort to make things right, but I've had a few things slip through the cracks.

Bruce Wayne (The Batman version) jacket Daredevil

...at bigbadtoystore.com. $35 for a case of 12 if you're still looking to build an army. http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product...amp;mode=retail

Does this mean the "plain" red and black costume Spideys aren't actually in the wave? Is the DST site the only place to get them?

Dangit, now I want a set. But the order page on the DST site is broken. Arrgh!

There's about one possibility I can think of to reuse the mold for Thor's helmet, and it's Valkyrie. I'm sure Valkyrie never wore a helmet. Even if she did at one point, I don't think DST and AA would make an obscure version of her. More than likely, they'd make the more traditional (Classic) version of her. VALKYRIE Yup, my mistake. I looked it up yesterday. Guess I was thinking of someone else.

There's about one possibility I can think of to reuse the mold for Thor's helmet, and it's Valkyrie.

I have a couple logistical/production questions, if you don't mind: 1) how do you determine how many new pieces versus reused pieces will go into a wave? For example, the Thor/Loki pack is obviously a big upfront expense with new accessories, chest piece and helmet (which, I assume, won't be terribly useful for any other characters). Conversely, Wonderman and She Hulk are composed entirely of reused pieces from existing molds. Are the decisions made on a pack-level like this, or on a wave-level (i.e., such-and-such wave will get 15 new sculpts, designer's discretion where to use them). Is it by weight of plastic? Sculpting difficulty? 2) Do the licensors retain ownership of the molds, or are they yours? For example, could you use molds made for Green Arrow's bow and quiver to do a Hawkeye mate, or would DC have the power to nix that and make you create new sculpts for a Marvel product? I can't recall off the top of my head seeing pieces from Marvel mates used in the prototypes for any other line; is that a pure design decision or is influenced by licensors? Thanks for indulging my curiosity...and keep up the great work!

So I guess that officially dashes our hopes for a Hawkeye/Vision con exclusive?...

A new press release from Hasbro makes mention of Marvel vehicles in the 3" Titanium line this year... including Ghost Rider motorcycles! Sounds like the right scale for mates, no? Only problem is, they're not "blocky."