drgnrbrn316

Personally, I found the thought of a 3" Ant Man interesting. One of the smallest characters in the largest scale? Perhaps he meant Giant Man, or whatever he was called in the movie.

The message in general was a little relief, though I did pick up on that same glimmer of worry in Adam's words that Tim mentioned. The mention of the Ant Man showed me that someone behind the scenes is trying to get something new or different though. I can understand that we can't always get new things, and sometimes liscence can get in the way, I can even understand that companies don't like to mention things not set in stone nor do they like to talk about failures, but messages like this every now and again would be nice for us consumers who support the lines. "Yes, we're still working. Yes, we're trying to bring you something new. Stay tuned for good news down the line." From what I can tell, AA just doesn't seem like that kind of company, so when they do shoot out those messages, its both good and bad. Good because, hey, its news. Bad because a company that doesn't talk suddenly asking for our patience isn't usually a beacon of hope.

Either way, I'm a bit more intrigued by what the future holds.

Hope uncomming exciting months doesn't include cereal-mates.

I'm sure the Church of Minimateology may have something different to say about that.

I'm interested in getting my hands on one of these lil...er...big guys.

Ad for the DC imprint thing that raises a question, will we see Vertigo mates under the DC imprint.

Also thanks for not naming "the company who cannot be named", last thing we want is them popping by...

As for John Carter stuff, hell yeah.

Could anyone PM me about this? Who are the guys who cant be named who I dont know because no one named them?

I'm curious myself, but if I had to guess, its a toy group as opposed to a comic group.

If these figures fail, and I mean all of the licenses lumped, it won't be because they weren't cool. It will be because the company that brought them to life, just as quickly killed them off.

Agreed. How many customs have they spawned? How many contests? How many of us members have bought them for parts, coolness factor, or just to support the line? We won't be the death of minimates, but the powers that be might.

Doing a generic line, such as the pirates mentioned above, wouldn't be too bad of an idea, if you could find a good line that will attract lots of genre fans. However, I doubt it'll ever happen, because the powers that be seem to believe that name recognition is the only way to sell a toy and say, "Let's face it, why sell any pirates if they can't be the Pirates of the Carribean." It's the same reason we'll never see civilian minimates. They had a chance to step into that world when they toyed with the idea of playsets. Instead, they offered us a playset that cost more than half of our collection, which tanked the idea of playsets all together and essentially sealed the deal on anything that could be related to a generic minimate world. They won't do army building sets either (why, I don't know, since it seems like a guaranteed way to make money for using the same mold over and over again). So, I say the chances of them doing any sort of line featuring characters that no one would recognize are pretty close to nil, despite how well it works for LEGO, Megabloks, etc.

As far as indiemates, I think they were turned off by the idea after the first run, so I doubt they'll be back. Its just not big enough name recognition in their eyes to warrant the expense, despite the fact that we've seen successful movie runs for numerous indie characters and massive popularity of others. And they could never get any relevant toys out in time, ala Batman Begins, X-Men 3, Lord of the Rings, etc, so any flux of popularity for a character would be gone before the figure ever left production stages. Same reason we won't see any story-line specific comic book minimates, such as House of M, Civil War, etc.

But won't it all be worth it when we have Lex Luthors battle suit in our hands?

Actually, no.

I was never really a fan of DC comics, though I will be collecting the minimates, much as I did C3. It was always hard for me to root for a guy with every power known to man, or a rich guy who could buy his own super hero status. I know you have to suspend some disbelief when it comes to comics, or anything else in the entertainment world for that matter, but when I first jumped on board, there really wasn't a Superman character in Marvel (Sentry is still rarely used, so I'm still good), and Daredevil was never really wealthy, so it meant more to me when he went out without powers and gave everything for a cause.

It's going to take a great deal to make thus tortuous year up to me. 2007 is going to be a make or break year for minimates as a whole.

The New Universe was an ill fated marketing gimmick begun in the mid-1980s by Marvel to launch a whole new line of comic books contained within a 'more real' universe called the New Universe. Time would pass just like it did in the real world and characters would change appropriately. The New Universe did not have mythological gods, magic, and other messy concepts that afflicted the regular Marvel Universe. Basically the 'White Event' was a singular flash that created all super-heroes on a single day. And Pittsburgh gets nuked a couple years later. Oh, and the U.S. goes to war with South Africa.

Needless to say, the series tanked.

Were they the same characters we know and love, only recreated, or was this one of those divergent realities that couldn't really be connected to the regular 616?

Nice collection. You already have a tough one out of the way with that Giant Sized X-Men set.

I like the Spidey crawling across the bottom of the shelf.

Yeah, the only real trouble you should have now is Symbiote/Black Spidey and Black Elektra. Visorless Cyclops may give you some trouble too, but most everything else can be found with a little effort.

The collection is pretty comparative to my little brother's budding collection, though in far better condition. He's only 5 years old (19 my junior!) so he tends to color them or otherwise deface them in his own fun, which is fine in and of itself, but Punisher is the only exclusive/variant that he'll be getting from me.

I find this "religion" a little too short termed for my taste.

Did you know that if you kill yourself on the day that these finally ship, you get reincarnated in minimate form to live forever on TBT!'s display case? Just remember to forward your current minimate collections to me via your last will and testament.

Start thinking even farther into the future though, when your grandkids come to you, starved for entertainment and you bring out the Minimates you've kept, wrapped in raw silk in a redwood case padded in velvet and they can't believe what they're seeing; actual tangible toys, not virtual ones.

And they say, "Minimates? What a flash in the pan that turned out to be!"

Kidding aside, I've professed before to being one of AA/DST's biggest supporters in the past when they hit a slow point in creativity and gave us a couple waves of part reuse or dusted off a few old exclusives and shipped them out as new. But what turned me to this more bleak way of thinking was waves 12 & 13. Back in the old boards, we were told to be patient and that we'd be impressed with what was to come. Then, they unveiled New Avengers/Astonishing X-Men. More part reuse, yes, but they said that it was a rushed wave and that the next ones would be the real deal as far as a new era was concerned. I was even happy with the part reuse. But when six months goes by with no word, and we've come and past one or two supposed release dates with no word, you tend to analyze things a lot more closely than you would if they just revealed them then shipped them. With no new protos to look at, I keep staring at these things and just picking out everything that's wrong with the figure. A painted on hat, paint apps that don't wrap around, lack of part reuse that would have made sense (no boots or even a mask for Wolverine, no jacket for DoFP Wolverine, no boots or chest piece for Colossus, not even an unclawed hand for Wolverine!) It's enough to create some doubt in the creative direction of the product. Then, you get news, but not on what you're waiting for, but on the new stuff you're supposed to look forward to when they can't even get what they've already gotten right. DC, which would have breathed life into the struggling product if they could ever actually release any sets. Street Fighter II, which was good except for the whole not being available anywhere thing. BSG, which we still haven't seen much more beyond control art for. Rocky, which will be a bane to anyone who hates character overuseage, considering every set is likely to come with a different Rocky figure. Ghost Rider, a let down when the control art shows one of the two most prominent characters is a guy with a shovel, but an even bigger letdown when its revealed that though this is a separate liscence from the regular Marvel line, we still get no damn motorcycle. Speed Racer, which had promise right up until they fumbled the ball in crappy paint, more part reuse, and out of scale vehicles. Kellogs', which is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Add all of that with the death of the LotR line, the unknown status of the X3 line, no summer exclusives, not even a blank minimate with something slapped on it for effect. The only way we got ANYTHING new this year, was a hasty John Stewart and when some members of the board conspired to bring us the SDCC mates.

So, after all of that, its pretty understandable how those that were onboard since the beginning, or those like myself that discovered the product, quickly played catch-up, and have been swiping up everything they can ever since, how they can be a bit negative about the current prospects.

If they can ever release DC mates, then the product may have a future, as the new scales and character selection give a lot to be thought about in the Marvel brand. If they can get these things in stores where people who aren't as netsavy can find them, then there's hope. If they can make any sort of announcement on these lines that we're painfully anticipating, then there's a chance. But at present, the future looks pretty bleak. I feel bad on what they've done to us, addicts coming back for a product that just isn't giving us the satisfaction it used to, taking countless abuse at the hands of our supplier. Minimates isn't a habit that I'm looking to quit anytime soon, but how long before I'm embarrassed that I blow chunks of my money on them?

I might be onboard for this, though I'll have to wait and see on the final word first. I was never big on "same exact figure, only now he's grimacing instead of frowning" figures, but if these are truly separate representations of the generic character, then I may partake in the collecting madness. I just hope, if they go blind pack on us, that you can get all the characters in a single case instead of having one in every twenty cases having "Cylon with a machete" or something.

I dig the Ultimate universe and the occassional What If? universe, but anything beyond that gets far too complicated. What exactly is the New Universe? If the New Universe is just a retelling of the 616 stories, then we already have that: The Ultimate Universe.

On a side note, Exiles is a decent series, and visiting some of these different worlds is (again) interesting, but by having them correct problems in these divergent worlds, doesn't that negate the need for a divergent world? By me changing a problem in Earth-911, wouldn't it just merge it with the Earth-912 that spawned off of that point in time?

Spider-Cat? Was this an issue that I'm missing in my Black Cat collection, or did you just make it up? If not, which issue number was it please.

Sadly, it actually happened, though I'm unsure of which issue number. Here's my source image, if it helps:

EDIT: Oops, looks like I can't link directly to the image.

Let's try this:

Wow, everyone is being pretty dang hard on the line. I can't say that I disagree with most of the complaints. My Racer X has some bad paint apps as well. And the cars are a little out of scale. Honestly, everything that's been said seems to be accurate, but I still find it hard to believe everyone is being so critical. These are toys. Speed Racer himself has never been a BIG american character. They are bring a newer, "hipper" show, but these are based on the classic character. Just the fact they are releasing them alone is a plus. Also, whether the cars are in scale or not, I just think they are fun. They are small and well made. I was afraid of getting some crappy "pull-back motor" type of thing, but I was glad the way they turn out. Maybe I'm alone, but I do really like my Speed Minimates. I really don't see much difference between these and the first marvel mates. No accessories? Check. Limited Characters? Check. Overpriced? Check. So, in the end I guess it's just personal preference, and I personally think they are pretty cool and would buy a second wave, if they released one. Before anyone makes a snap judgement, I recommend that you at least take a look at them for yourself. neo

Well, your argument for them is the same argument I have against them. If you're going to go through the trouble of picking up a somewhat obscure liscence, then you really need to hit the product out of the park if you want to make money off of it. I know you won't sell any to the casual observer if you can't even present a decent looking paintjob. These would sell great to my little brother, who has a habit of coloring all his minimates with markers, but for someone looking for a decent figure for display or even careful play, I don't think you'll find it here.

None of these sets have trickled down the pipes to my corner of the world yet, be it Speed Racer, Street Fighter, or the new rerelease of these characters. I forsee myself doing a campaign in my local markets for more minimate coverage. If anyone has any advertisements in their newspapers or anything for these (though Hulk being in K-Mart is the only one that comes to my mind) feel free to send them this way so I can help spread the message. I'll have to bring a few of my unboxed minis to TRU and Target to encourage some sign of change.

Ah but drgnrbrn316, its easy to make X-Men customs when there are so many X-Men parts available. Thats probably why we're all going for X-Men covers, whereas you made customs I can't work out how.

I had originally thought to do the cover to Dark Knight Returns, but then I saw the thread in the DC forum where everyone blasted it so I didn't expect to get many votes for it.

Donny, I look forward to seeing your rendition.

Yeah, we've had several different takes on some of the core characters from the X-Titles, and I figured we'd be seeing a lot of them in use, which is why I stayed away from doing an X-cover. I knew we hadn't seen many villains in any form as far as official releases go, so I decided to do a villain heavy cover, with the first appearance of the Sinister Six being a top one in my mind. Only problem with touching an old cover is that the background art is far from as dynamic and eye-catching as the modern era.

All that being said, you did a fantastic job capturing the background and the characters, be it through customization and part reuse or just good-ol'-fashioned photo manipulation. However it was achieved, you've created yourself a good piece of gold there, which will definitely be amongst the top spots when everything's said and done.

To anyone out there still on the fence about entering this thing, I still suggest going for it. Sure, we've seen some great covers so far and who knows how many good ones to come, but the contest isn't about who can create the most new figures or acquire the most factory-made figures, its about capturing the true essence and feel of the cover, and a cover with a single character can grab that feel just as easily as a mob of characters climbing all over a building or attacking a single foe. It's a close race so far, but even the most amateur of attempts has as equally good of a chance to win.

All I know is Killgore completely obliterated the effect I was going for by slapping down a custom filled cover. Definitely a close contest here all around.

Maybe these will trickle down to my backwoods little town.

Yep but as long as the Special K woman in a skimpy red bikini is the 7th I think we'll be OK.

That would be the only figure in the line that I'd look forward to.

There's no Speed Racer minimates in Greenville, nor any Speed Racer anything for that matter. I was never a fan of the old show, nor does the new one have any appeal on me, but I still wanted to do my part as a minimate addict and try and support the line, but if they can't get the product to me, then I doubt Spider-Man will be racing Wolverine in the Mach 5 anytime soon.

I'm doubtful that the sun will get made, but then again, I never thought the day would come when we'd see cereal-based minimates. I still say making a cereal based on a minimate would be a better idea.

At least I get some custom fodder.

i doubt it too. By the way, how do you pronounce your name. i want to say Dragonerborn316.

Dragon Reborn 3:16

I'm doubtful that the sun will get made, but then again, I never thought the day would come when we'd see cereal-based minimates. I still say making a cereal based on a minimate would be a better idea.

At least I get some custom fodder.

Very nice! What are the Vulture's wings wade out of?

They happen to be cut out of the blister plastic from an action figure I opened. I made a stencil, traced it twice onto the plastic, then cut it out. Then I shredded it with scissors to give it the feather look and painted it. The wings attach at the wrists, allowing the wings to move with the arm. I considered attaching it to the shoulder or neck as well, but I felt that the stiffness of the plastic would cause the arm or hand to pop loose. Still, it may be a modification that I explore later on.

On a side note, its hard to tell in the picture, but the white feathers around the Vulture's neck are sculpted from Sculpey and actually have a feathered pattern carved into them.

Just added some close ups of the Sinister Six, as well as some new pics of my updated Hawkeye, Looter, Sin Eater, Wrecker, plus new Rhino and Ghost Rider's Hell Cycle.

And this competition continues to heat up. Great work by all so far!