DSTZach

That sounded kind of... ominous. Is that just a general observation, or did sales not go as well as expected last year? No, I'm just saying that, if Mini-Myte wants the "Worst" categories to be messages to the higher-ups as he says, it's not really going to make it onto their radar. Especially since I'm hearing the number of "worst" votes is negligible, and focuses on retread figures made for mass audiences. Right now, it just tarnishes what I think is a pretty amazing awards show -- one that I'd love to see presented in a public space, for thousands to enjoy. You guys are pretty lucky to have him putting together this labor of love for you.

Pretty sure it's a typo. Assortment for Wave 2 is 4-3-3-2, and we haven;t ordered this one from the factory yet, so it should be the same. Not positive, but pretty sure Cap/Ryu will be the 4, and Felicia/X-23 will be the 2. Wave 2 I'm a little hazier on. Spidey/Chris might be the 4, Skrull/Viper the 2.

You sir should be choosing the TRU waves with these excellent choices. On a side note who do I have to sleep with at DST to get a Gladiator made? Which Gladiator? The Imperial Guardsman? Me. The Daredevil villain? Chuck.

Yes, I just take pictures all day. (No, actually, I shoot about an hour or two a week, or whenever I have free time waiting for a train.) But that's what the '90s were, hellpop. Surely you remember. We all wore big shoulderpads and neckerchiefs.

We actually don't re-release any Minimate the exact same way for the collectors. We don't think it's fair to fans who bought the originals, maybe even tracked them down, that they could get the same figure for possibly cheaper. By tweaking it, we keep that original Mate special, and we also give collectors the option of updating or freshening up their collection with a new version. We're giving collectors something to collect -- if we re-issued the exact same figures, they wouldn't have the option.

Pretty sure the snowboard is still included, just not shown. Maybe next episode. And yes, TRU will not have these any more, but they are taking a few new lines from us. So we're opening MAX and Pirates up to everyone else.

Tentatively, they are in Wave 15. The rest of the line-up is in flux. But there is no Kang in that wave that I can see.

I would love, love, love a line based on this film. But unless they make a widely distributed Hobo 2, it will probably never happen.

If you consider anyone in the cast a favorite, and like action movies, SEE EXPENDABLES. My friends and I used to get together all the time for "Manly Movies," but somehow I didn't get to see this one in theaters. SO I FINALLY rented it a few weeks ago, and it's like the manly gods opened up the heavens and rained fire. It's a ballet of death.

Seriously? Destroyed?! Next time you guys are going to throw something out, be it control art or otherwise, I'll pay to have it shipped to me to use as contest prizes (after skimming a little off the top for myself of course!). But back on topic, I wasn't a big fan of the first film but I will DEFINITELY be picking these up! It was just a color printout on foamcore, and Robert tore it up before I could get it, I guess to protect our well-kept secrets. I snagged one board, but possible retailer interest kept me from making it a prize in the current "win posters from Toy Fair" contest. I replaced it with more original control art: http://www.artasylum.com/blog/2012/02/diamond-select-toy-fair-contest-win-part-of-the-dst-booth/ You know, I THOUGHT it was Stallone, but I forgot about this "Newsies" dream sequence.

You and I may want a shuttlecraft, and I can see a casual collector picking it up after the Enterprise, but multiple shuttlecrafts? That may be stretching it. I think we hope to get to variant Enterprises, but we'll see how this one does. We're only including one figure to keep the price down.

Double checked my schedule, There will be a Wave 15 this fall, supposedly. Line-up is still in flux.

They approve all of our line plans, but as far as I know, there is only one are of Marveldom they are no longer interested in making merchandise for, and that's zombies. Beyond that, I have heard no restrictions. So Ask DST to complete your Morrison team, and see what Chuck says!

It's like Getting two new characters! Which means this wave is six new characters in a wave of eight! Or seven in a wave of nine, if you count the alternate SHIELD hairpiece.

Sorry, never got packaged samples. Or packaged pics!

I never said long-term collectors were unimportant. I said that getting new customers was important, whether they're casual buyers, budding long-term collectors or, I don't know, returning long-term collectors who sold off their collections and regretted it. (Not taking an official line, just speaking as a long-term fan and someone who covered failing and successful toy lines for 8 years.) Long-term collectors stop collecting all the time -- not due to retread fatigue, but due to the myriad of reasons that collectors stop collecting -- and we have to encourage new collectors to join, or the numbers would dwindle to the point that the line becomes infeasible. Obviously, we want long-term collectors to keep collecting, but nine years does not make Marvel Minimates an unstoppable juggernaut. I wish it did. We constantly struggle for recognition and validation. I think we make a LOT of new characters, at least as many as Marvel Universe does on a regular basis. This wave is 50% new, and three of the other four are generally anticipated re-dos. When was the last time Marvel Universe put out a wave that was all new? I'm thinking Wave 1. Heck, Marvel Legends wasn't all-new following wave 4 or 5, with the exception of Wave 13, which sounded good on paper but lingered at retail. Another thing to remember is that not all long-term collectors are completists, and if every wave was 100% new, it might actually be a financial hardship for some to keep up with. leading to even more attrition. Just my thoughts on line planning. Which I do not do. Also, I do not think we have a Spider-Woman planned all year.

Not sure if there will be a Wave 15 at holiday, but TRU has two more MvC3 waves this year, the Spidey movie wave, and, frankly, a ton of other Minimates assortments from other lines. If it is a scaling back, it might simply be a logistical one.

Magma and Punisher were on the platform at Secaucus Junction in New Jersey. Spidey was shot in the Javits Center during Toy Fair, and in front of a lightning background we used for the Universal Monsters display at our booth. The silver walls are parts of the Danger Room you can get with various Marvel Select X-Men. Mirage was in my yard. Rictor on my steps. (They need some work.)

And Wave 43, hitting soon. And MvC3 2 and 3, for what that's worth. Spidey's webs are sculpted on. Magma's hair does NOT connect to the base. That said, I may not be using it right, I've meant to ask Robert.

Accidentally posted them all to Facebook, but shot some Spidey back pics and a corrected Boomer. Also, Dani belt-a-palooza.

Because the number of non-collectors of Minimates outweighs the number of collectors. The number of people who don't own a Minimate Spider-Man FAR outweighs the number of people who do. If we close ourselves off to them, the line stagnates and dies. And the CHARACTERS in this wave were picked for new collectors, but the idea of a WAVE of A-listers was made to appeal to retailers. The best way to get new collectors is to get into outlets that were previously closed to us. Given that we've now made all of the A-listers and a good portion of the B-listers, I doubt we'll ever see an entirely new wave ever again, but that's just me. Perhaps there is a way to make a single wave that's technically all new characters, but with enough simulacrums of A-listers that it would be appealing to retailers/casual fans, but it would have to be a carefully constructed monster. That said, I'm looking into a way to make Wave 50 a collector-appreciation wave. Marvel Minimates turn 10 in 2013, and the 50th wave should fall in that timeframe.

Will do. Yes and yes. Sorry I discover some details right before you guys do. If I asked for clarification on every single Minimate accessory we made, Robert would strangle me. Looking back, I see that the belt was on the control art, and I may not have ACTUALLY looked at it. I may just see about showing you guys the artwork after each wave is revealed. Downside is something may not make the cut.

Me, too! The more realistic Punisher gets, the less he works for me. I like a guy with a gun in a skull jumpsuit. End of story. Two more, one blurry:

...Son of a... You know, I thought that collar seemed high, and I didn't turn her around to see what the back looked like. Hope that's not standard for the packaging for this wave. I'll re-shoot her later. (I was too fixated on the side of her pants.)

Got in some samples, thought you'd like to check them out. Have a Mirage and Rictor, too, will shoot them in a bit. Looks like Magma got a recolored Nova base for hot lava action. And Mirage comes with two belts? Was someone asking about that? Two belts. Wish I had more New Mutants here to shoot her with; ditto X-Force and Boomer.