DSTZach

Asked on Facebook and answered about the Ardeth Bey:

"It does not appear so. Only in his mummy form."

WTF!!!!

It's Boris Freakin' Karloff!! It's like getting another monster in the set, he's so creepy & cool! Plus Ardeth is a recognizable character! He's more important than another generic Man in Tux or Woman in Dress (I would gladly give up BOTH for Ardeth!)

Plus, I would have bought several for customs if he had his fez!

Zach, can you tell us what happened here??

We made him as The Mummy? The way he first appears, rather than as a dude in a fez? It's still Karloff, and I guess they wanted more supporting characters, rather than multiple Karloffs. The set exclusive is Helen Grosvenor, and the TRU exclusive is Henry Wipple.

Minimates Wave 3 (Toys R Us) - September (Mummy/Sarcophagus, Quasimodo/Phoebus, Princess Anck Es En Amon/Henry Wipple, Mummy/Quasi B&W)

Minimates Series 3 Hunchback of Notre Dame Box Set - September (Quasimodo, Esmerelda, Phoebus, King of Fools Quasimodo)

Minimates Series 3 The Mummy Box Set - September (Mummy, Sarcophagus, Princess Anck Es En Amon, Helen Grosvenor)

Awesome. Just got my shipping notice. Looking Foreward to getting these.

Whew! Glad to hear it.

So, so, so excited about this line.

Stallone.

Statham.

Li.

Lundgren.

Couture.

Rourke.

Crews.

Norris.

Van Damme.

Schwarzenegger.

Willis.

Roberts.

Austin.

Other dudes.

I am completely unaware of the unreleased Trek wave, what was the line-up?

I may be talking out my exhaust port. I thought a wave of Minimates had been cancelled, but now I'm not seeing anything beyond the actually released Wave 5. IGNORE ME!

Great customs!

I don't mind them releasing sets like this to appeal to newer buyers, it makes perfect sense. My only issue is the following:

While nice, none of these characters is that hard to come by, and while this is certainly geared to new collectors, it really draws attention to other waves. I won't call it out specifically but it begins with a 4 and ends with a 4, that feature versions of some of these characters which will hit around the same time. If they're going to rerelease certain characters in sets like this for the new or casual fans, wouldn't it make more sense to not include those same characters again in waves both before AND after them?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't get where the market is coming from for all these retreads. I can go to TRU right now and have my choice of 3-4 versions of Cap, Iron Man, Thor, etc. and it seems like putting out more of the same characters so often just dilutes the brand overall. I know the big names sell well to kids/casual fans/new fans, but they also warm pegs harder than anyone else. The TRU Crossbones/Secret War Cap sells really fast, and I don't think it's just because it has Captain America in it.

Make your big names if you must, but give those of us who have been with you for years a reason to want them, and everyone wins. Just a thought.

If this wave does not appeal to collectors, that is because collectors were not the target audience. This wave's line-up was selected to appeal to comic shop owners and to their customers, and it was designed to incorporate their most famous looks, the ones most recognizable to kids, parents and casual collectors. It did not take the place of anything intended for die-hard collectors, and was created expressly for Diamond Comics Distributors.

If you guys can get anything out of it, that's great. But the line was meant to appeal to comics fans whose LCSs did not already order in Wave 41, 42, 43 or 44. Yes, there is a fair amount of Avengers overlap with Wave 44, but this wave hits next week, while Wave 44 is still a couple months off. Besides, the Avengers have never been more popular than they are right now. Also, while certain characters may be easy to find elsewhere, there are many comic shops that simply do not order Minimates, where ALL Minimates are hard to find. This will hopefully remedy that.

Since it is not numbered, it will be a timeless wave that can be ordered (and sold) for months and even years to come, and one that, hopefully, series completists will not feel obligated to collect. If they do, well, hopefully they can forgive us. We are, after all, making Vindicator.

@ Zach: Any chance we could see what Brood Wolverine looks like under the mask?

Shoot -- I saw an extra base head in the box, and could not imagine who would want to see that. Silly me.

hey Zach, how will the differently tooled Dazzler and Colossus be available?

i dont know if this has been officially said but i think the two colossus' are the same mate, he just includes different accessories and the same goes for dazzler

I said it officially somewhere, possibly in the TF 2012 thread. Colossus comes with both chests and the Fastball hand, and Dazzler gets two hairpieces and a jacket. At least, that is the plan.

Outback X-Men are my favorite! But am I missing something? That list by DST doesn't say when this wave will be released, and where does it say that Storm and Havok are going to be in the TRU wave? This is all I found

Not positive, but I'm pretty sure 47 is September, and TRU 14 is slated for around the same time. And Storm and Havok are in that wave.

Just curious, Zach, what other accessories will these Wolverine's come with? plain hands? hair? pulled down masks on the neck? (we have got to come up with a shorter name for these)

Seeing hairpiece and loose cowl, but not plain hands. We have a name for the cowl, but it's escaping me for the moment.

Any chance the Brood will come with an optional set of wings to make a queen?

Doesn't look like it.

Questions for Zach:

1. What is the red "box" beside Box? An alternate blaster hand?
2. Will the wave 44 Giant-Man actually come accessorized with three pairs of varying sized feet?
3. Which human characters will comprise series 1 of the Walking Dead (same question for wave 2) and do you know if there will be a short packed mate in each wave or will there be even numbers?

1. yes. 2. that is the plan. 3. still finalizing the firstg assortment, but it will be structured like the shared comic/TRU waves, where specialty gets a chase figure.

Two waves of Trek figures were not released due to low sales, one Minimates wave and one 6-inch wave. Both had one Kirk in it, the rest of the figures were other non-Spock characters, some never made as toys before. I seriously doubt a lone Kirk kept people from ordering those toys, or that Spock kept people from ordering the shuttlecraft. To reaction to the Enterprise has been very positive, and to release the Enterprise without Kirk seems like blasphemy. I'm hoping casual Trek fans embrace it, and that they then want more crew members.

FYI, I believe both Wolverines will have new blade claws, for those of you who don't like the round claws. Look at the Brood Wolvie pics, not the basic ones.

Nowhere officially; fwooshyman said his LCS isn't getting them next week and shows them rescheduled for that date. Zach, care to comment?

TRU may show up earlier. Sorry, guys.

Any particular reason why the "Best of" sets weren't shown at Toy Fair? I was thinking we might get to see some pics of the finished awesomeness before they hit.

They hit next week, so we didn't show them, but I don't know why Diamond Comics didn't. They're Previews exclusive, after all. I'll try to get my hands on a set. Shot some nice TRU 13 pics, though. Will post later.

So long as Colossus gets to have both the 90s and Outback X-Men looks be interchangeable I'm psyched. Um.. That IS how he's being released, right? A torso piece for 90s Colossus and a different one for Outback X-Men Colossus?

That's what I was told. Also, Fastball Special hand. Dazzler has interchangeable looks, too.

Zach, one more question, can you provide more info on the Calico Jack army builders? Is the set definitely cancelled and can we expect to see them in series 2?

That's the plan! Now cross your fingers for Series 2. It won't be at TRU, which hurts its chances. When/if you see it solicited, pre-order it.

hey any chance you are going to C2E2? I got a couple Make Kang Shirts and need to know your size...

Yes, and I'm a medium. Come by the booth, I'd love to meet you all.

I checked -- Vindicator's visor will bbe clear, and she'll have an alternate hairpiece with her glasses. Also, that's the wrong Master Chief, and Rhino is bracelets only.

1) Will Gardian/vindicator (Heather Hudson) have a clear mask?

2) Are you guys going to have even MORE new stuff to debut @ SDCC? I can't imagine too much more awesomeness this year!

1) I'll check.

2) I'm sure there will be SOMETHING new there. We'll see.

Zach - can you comment if the Halo Series 4 Master Chief will have the correct armor as solicited:

The Master Chief on display at the show appears to be the same one we already have, hoping that was just a mix up for the show.

Hrm. I'll check.

Any chance that Rhino will have non-braclet arms/legs for a classic look?

Is the Hulk poster we've seen a 4-pack Hulk through the Ages or will it be part of a series?

Probably not. And it's a 4-pack we may make, yes.

Any chance of getting the Cross-Costumes as a box set or anything like that? I would love to get Steve as Charlie so I could kit base a better Charlie then “Wolverine Vest + Egon Hair"

Cross your own costumes! Minimate head swaps. (No plans that I know of.)

I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong, Zach!) that the Pirate Santa was said to be a potential exclusive that's being shopped around, rather than a definite release.

Correct. I want one, though.

I wouldn't worry about pre-orders not justifying Expendables -- they'll be at TRU, as well. I just saw it for the first time a couple of weeks ago, after letting it get built up in my head for a year or so, and it actually surpassed my expectations. So amazing.

I would, however, NOT get too too excited about Tomb Raider. The reason there's only one Minimate made is that there are still a LOT of questions about the license. Of everything we showed, that is the most uncertain.

No Munster Minimates - just the Mego style dolls for now.

The Munster car I think is supposed to be part of the new-delayed 3rd wave of vehicles for TRU.

No Mego-Style Munsters -- they are fully sculpted 7-inch scale figures. The Munsters vehicle is slated for Wave 4. Wave 3 is just KITT and the Albion ship.

During the chat earlier today, we learned that there was another set of figures from a video game on display that couldn't be photographed or talked about publicly, because things are still in negotiation. So... defunct line supposed to be getting new product... video game 'mates that can't be shown... anyone care to speculate? :biggrin:

Hrm. I didn't think we weren't allowed to talk about it. Let me check.

the one that comes with Ultimate Cap is Extremis Ironman which we've gotten before but this one has new sculpted chest, hands and legs/feet.

The pairings shown are the final ones. Ultimate Spidey comes with Ultimate Cap. Rhino comes with Iron Man. Different from what I said before, I know, but the lineup changed, and we had to tweak the pairings.

You get me the press passes, I'll be there next year

I can't get you a press pass. MMHQ can get you a press pass, though, I bet.

DST/Minimates officially have some serious catching up to do this yeah it looks like, with MU versions of Longshot, Kang, Blastarr, Bag Head, Puck, Nighthawk, Death's Head, Karnak, Medusa, & 70's Falcon.

ML is giving us Hope, Constrictor, Commander Rogers, Thunderball, Madame Masque, USAgent & Viper.

I hate to say it, but Hasbro (the company we all hated for taking over Marvel Legends) is REALLY stepping up to the plate with character selection. The MU line is starting to give Minimates a real run for their money.

I will refrain from listing Minimate characters that have been made that ML and MU have not done. (Cough Stiltman Cough) And we'll catch you on a few of those this year, as well as leaving both lines in the dust with some other releases.

Oh, and this thread is evil.

I am thinking the assortment will be:

Spidey/Peter - shared

BD Spidey/Lizard -shared

Aunt May/Swat - LCS

Uncle Ben/Swat - LCS variant (unless he doesn't die, then May will be the variant)

Captain Stacey/"first night spidey" - TRU

Gwen/Curt Connors - TRU

Not bad! Aunt May is the chase figure, though.

Apologies if this has been answered already, but i couldn't see it anywhere in this thread:

Do we have dates for when the pictures of Lizard, Gwen, Capt. Stacy, Connors & Vigilante Peter are expected to be released?

We've already seen the MU Lizard, as well as the Halloween MAsk/Gloves sets at ToyFair. Did the minimate get shown as well?

Everything should be out in June or thereabouts. Lizard Minimate is on the shelf and ready to be shot tomorrow.

Hm... I could see them doing 'mates of these, with standard bodies and oversize sculpted heads like the RGB line. Minimates might be a little blocky for the round, pudgy style of the animation, but it could work.

I wonder if that could open the door to Minimates of other Rankin Bass properties? I certainly wouldn't argue with Minimate Frosty, Kris Kringle, Jack Frost, Snow and Heat Misers...

No plans at this time, but never say never.

SORRY NO POSTS TODAY, GUYS. wouldn't be fair to tthe press I have coming tomorrow. In the name of peace, no DC matges, no SW mates. Walkin Dead we have an entire assortment finished, plus Expendables, MAX, Pirates UM and more Tomorrow I have 18 press appts, so.. why are none of you here, as deputized writers for MMHQ?

It's not that these aren't good Zach, quality wise I have no complaints. But other than TRU Wave 13 we have so little that's completely new coming up, Waves 44, 45 and 46 are all either redos or movie versions, or both.

Kinda like Waves 38, 39 and 40? This is what movie waves are. Characters we know, maybe a few we don't already have. (Sadly, a wave of completely new characters is highly unlikely, for reasons discussed ad infinitum in other threads.) It's cool, everyone has their own opinion, and I know that a large portion of this bile is directed at the new film itself, which is too bad, because it looks like it might be pretty good -- better than certain other films about dancing emo types.

On the bright side, you can get Spidey with a mask, or with no mask, depending on your preference! You're welcome!

Hey Zach,do you know if the tru wave is going to be also here in tru Canada?

No idea. I'll try to ask when TRU comes through the booth.

Sorry - shouldn't have posted before reading the entire thread!

You are by no means the only offender.

Agreed Valo487, I can't believe we are only getting uncle ben and captain stacy as new figures in wave 46 and TRU 13...

Two civilians who appeared briefly and died? Yeah, it's a mystery. :biggrin: I hope you're that excited about Jean DeWolff.

Also, the TRU assortment is not TRU 13. Kingpin/Punisher is TRU 13. This is Amazing Spider-Man. The movie waves aren't numbered at TRU, for some reason.

We've acttually designed a deprssed and despondent Rick. I'm serious. And all the zombies are from the comic. MAX Zombes are gonna wait for a (b)rainy day.

YUP, wave 46. TRU wave coming soon, with stacys, Connors and Vigilante SM. I believe BD Spidey has a beat-up face under the mask. Sorry you guys hate the figure you can't see so much.

Zach, by any chance, was the Maximum Zombies NYCC promo last year supposed to be based on Kirkman, I've always thought there is a slight resemblance?

Nope.

I choose:

c) bored and lonely

Yup.