DSTZach

Or are we to see newly made SF characters, smuggled in quietly through the recent MvC3 license? :biggrin:

The MvC3 license only covers the SF players in that game, and it looks like we're getting to all of them by Wave 3. Hopefully, we can get back to the SF license in the future, but not through MvC3.

Zach, do you know what kind of gold Loki will have?? Is it closer to Thor-Loki or new comic Odin?? Asking because Hasbro has him in vibrant, bright gold and it looks fantastic, hoping that's the case.

Oh, and when can we see Black Widow and Maria??

You'll see Loki and BW tomorrow. Maria Hill won't be seen for a little while.

The rest of the characters in the TRU wave are Fury, Widow, Hawkeye, and Loki, right?

Yes. Oh, and the Liveblog looks like it's been moved to 2pm Eastern time, at this URL:

http://marvel.com/news/story/18052/sign_up_for_the_marvel_select_minimates_liveblog

Zach, think we'll see any of those "surprise" boxed sets this month at Toyfair?

Totally off-topic. Since most of them are retailer and/or convention exclusives, probably not.

Nice comparison pics Zach. I will say the final product looks even better! The glossy finish is pretty sweet. I have the SPM and I plan on getting the regular KITT in May. Somehow I have become obsessed with mini-vehicles. Early on I wasn't going to go for any MAX or TV/Movie vehicles.. Now I have 3 MAX jets, 3 BSG ships, 3 BTTF Cars and a Knight Rider Car. I don't even play HALO but if I find one of those ATVs on sale, I'll probably have to add that to the collection as well.

Do so! I loved the first Halo, especially the Warthogs, but even if I didn't, the Minimate Warthog is the most fun thing ever.

If I may, I would recommend a pirate ship, as well. Any of the three that are out. So neat.

I checked with them two days ago. They said they did not know when they were coming and had not been given notice that they were even shipping yet. Whats funny is they showed KARR as in stock for a few days two weeks ago but now both are showing as preorder. I think someone may have dropped the ball at AFX on this one. Still looking forward to these though. I may contact and see if I can cancel with them and order from somewhere that shows as in stock like Entertainment Earth.

It may have been an error, but definitely give them a chance to correct it, they're good guys.

The MvC3 license does NOT include MvC2. OR Ultimate MvC3. And I THINK we've made (or will make) all of the SF characters in the game: Chun Li, Ryu, Crimson Viper and Akuma.

That said, we are looking at other video games, and everyone's support for this line so far has been appreciated.

It looks like I ordered from the wrong place this time. LOL. AFX says they haven't even gotten a shipping notice on their stock of these.

Definitely check with AFX about that, because there's something wonky there.

I have not see KITT or KARR in my local TRU yet. I have been looking all the time and I have never even seen them on the pegs yet. They have been released haven't they?? I want a KITT (non-SPM) but will get both as I know teh non-SPM is not out yet.

Looks like you got things backwards, Paco. Hit your local comic shop instead.

You guys already designed a Raven Hex minimate, she was in the canceled Tarot box set, remember?

Does that design not work anymore?

I forgot all about that set. Not sure why it didn't get made, likely low orders. Unfortunate. But if I was a retailer, I'd have to keep that set behind the counter.

I don't think the Femme Fatales line is going to get dudes any time soon, and I can't imagine an alternately titled one-shot set of supporting characters is going to get the orders it needs to survive.

I'm *hoping* that the mask on the "Fear Itself" Hawkeye will match the colors with the previously released Dark Avengers Hawkeye so I can get rid of that google-eyed mask he had, swap a few parts around and have a master Br'er Hawkeye.

I wouldn't worry about it.

Do we know if Magma will come with a depowered head and hair peice like they did with wolfsbane and sunspot?

Signs point to no.

i'm assuming i should not be google image searching her at work?

Let's just say that I think we had Raven cross her arms for the Femme statue for a reason. A Minimate can't cross its arms, which means we wouldn't be able to show it to anyone.

Hopefully, she wore a shirt at some point in the series, because I'd love to see her get made.

I'm hoping they reveal who or whatever REDACTED is soon, I'm curious to see them.

Zach, I don't know if you can answer this, but will the Avengers Loki finally get a hairpiece? I felt like the Thor movie Loki 'mate suffered for not having it.

Don't expect to see the REDACTED for a loooong time. We may not actually be releasing any pictures until Wave 45 ships to specialty, and that should be around the date of the film's release. So you'll see them on eBay in March.

And I'm not seeing a hairpiece on the Loki design sheet, so we may be out of luck once again. Does anyone else have a mullet?

FYI, we're supposedly going to be debuting the Hulk Minimate this Friday at 3 pm EST on Marvel.com, in a liveblog where you can ask questions (possibly via Twitter, but I'm not sure). Once I have the address, I'll let you all know.

I'm HOPING that we can also debut the rest of the TRU assortment. Not sure if that should be mentioned here or in a separate Avengers Movie Wave thread. Didn't see one.

Hey, Zach– are there any sales numbers yet suggesting there might be an opening for Femmes wave three? Maybe with that cool cyberpunk girl and barbarian Bo Peep?

She's actually steampunk, but I would love to do a cyberpunk girl. Perhaps with a dragon tattoo.

I actually do not know if we're happy with sales or not. I'd certainly love to see another wave, but we might wait until we can manage another fully licensed or unlicensed set. There are other Dawn and Darkchylde outfits we can do, and we have one new lady in the works, but I think the only other licensed character we haven't made is Raven Hex. Showing her full-frontal might be tough. But we've got a couple more of our own characters we're working on, as well.

Can somebody help me with this question...

What makes SPM Kitt and normal Kitt different?

Looks to me that the front sticks out a little, is there any other difference and does the front "stick out" section move?

It's easier to see the differences in the prototype pictures:

If you're not too picky, it could easily function as the basic KITT, at least until the TRU version comes out. And I don't think those are rockets in the front, but airfoils or mini-spoilers or something involving the airflow around the car.

ok, so doing some research on a set of customs I have really wanted to do for quite some time I came across this. I had no idea there was a Marvel Comic of these bumbling heroes. I remember loving this show when i was a little kid, the opening scene of the show is one of the best ever! I wonder if they would be covered under the license? I am pretty sure I may be the only one in the world who would want this boxset, but this has convention exclusive written all over it.

Just because Marvel published it doesn't make it Marvel property. Remember, they also did Bill & Ted, as well as Mad Dog from on the Bob Newhart TV show "Bob". This looks like it was a Paramount license.

Come on Zach, hell with Kang and Barons Zemo and Von Stucker. Forget the major forces of scum and villainy and all that crap. Dr. Bong / Black Talon 2-pack for NYCC this year.

Not sure that I can make Black Talon happen. What about American Eagle (classic version)?

Know what? She's Morgan le Faye.

After years of exile, word of Calico Jack's exploits reached Morgan le Faye on her island. Intrigued, she decided to test this mortal by taking the form of his lover, Anne Bonny. Though the wiry pirate soon saw through her disguise, Morgan decided to stay in the realm of mortals for a while, allying herself with Charles Vanes. No one knows what her intentions are, but it can be assured that her loyalties are only to herself.

Boom. Fixed. :biggrin:

Well having to get up ridiculously early for work everyday occasionally has its advantages. Here are the pics of the MvsC Wave 2 sets I was able to get from TRU. Not a bad minimate in the bunch. The updated Astonishing Wolverine is nice to have and even the spiderman is good.

I don't have the game so I have no idea why spiderman comes with a yellow wave stand. What is it supposed to be? Energy? Lemonade? Urine??

Congrats, Fwoosheyman -- you got them before I did! I haven't even seen those stands in person yet. Not sure on what the yellow stand represents, other than Spidey's attacks all being bright yellow, but pretty sure that clear stand is to help Viewtiful Joe freeze-frame in mid-kick.

If you could create your own wave or box set Zach, who would you want to see?

Nextwave

What The...?! Cast (Forbush Man, Spider-Ham, Wolverina and Milk & Cookies)

Damage Control

Fight Man and all of his foes

Keep in mind, I'm pretty sure none of these will ever happen.

Zach - I have to echo the 'great news' sentiment, but is there any chance that this could mean equal case packouts for TRU waves?

Toys "R" Us likes to have short-packed figures, so I don't think that will change. But at least now there will be TRU exclusives that are easy to find!

All this talk of toyfair has made me sad... because I miss enjoying that magazine. And that company.

Does the magazine even exist anymore? I honestly don't think it does, but I could be wrong.

They merged them into one digital magazine, but I think it's just a Website now, tied to the cons. Ill be seeing them at Toy Fair.

Zach, PLEASE tell me you have something to make C2E2 worth coming to this year! (I'd ask for something to make Wizard World worth coming to too... but since Diamond hasn't even been there the past two years, I assume they won't be this year... lol...)

We won't be at WWC, but we're trying to have an exclusive (non-Marvel) set at C2E2.

Good news indeed! Airwalker and Firelord on the way! (now if there was just more hope for Energy Form Cap'n Monica and Ben Grim from the SW voting)

Airwalker and Firelord will not be in Wave 14, but they are slated to be released this year.

Wave 14 has NOTHING from Wave 44.

Damn exciting news! are you able to confirm that we will be seeing TRU14 @ SDCC this year, if not before?

It's gonna be close, and if TRU delays that wave, as well, it may be pushed past SDCC. We still have 13 and a couple of movie waves to get through.

I would guess that Zach doesn't really want to talk about the end of Toyfair, and Wizard as a company, because by all accounts the end was rather painful for all involved. A lot of people who were very passionate about what they did suffered through some brutal mismanagement. You've got my sympathies.

I've always wanted to know, though: did Tom Palmer Jr. have good stories about his dad and the Bullpen? :biggrin:

Never talked to TPJ much about his dad, but Wizard was a real roller-coaster ride. A great job, with some great colleagues who I still talk to every day, but a lot of growth followed by shrinkage. I left before I was asked to leave, but not all were so lucky.

I look forward to the new reveals, and I don't want to sound negative about the wave, they're not poorly done by any stretch of the imagination. The big question mark to me is stubble Thor and Captain America, because it seems like there's nothing about them that stands out. I guess part of it is me, I've wanted to see Captain America's supporting cast fleshed out for some time now, because I think a lot of his characters are both interesting in their own right as well as in the overall scheme of the Marvel Universe. I thought maybe they'd get a wave for both Thor and Cap, but they had to share one instead, and that's on top of the movie waves, and since now we're already gearing up for the Avengers which will see more movie and comic versions of the same characters, it just creates a lot of fatigue.

Oh, I understand. And I understand that a completist who buys every single one, no exceptions, is going to be resentful. But Avengers is SO high-profile that we have an opportunity to get a lot more eyes on Minimates this summer, and that means we need to cover the movie's stars in all markets. If we use too many slots for 2nd or 3rd tier characters, we're losing new buyers to keep the relatively small group of completists happy. Lines (and companies) have gotten in trouble that way. But here's good news for completists, assuming completists just want more unique characters:

- Outside of the movie waves, TRU waves no longer duplicate half of the LCS wave. So besides Daredevil, TRU 13 has three more slots that would normally have been taken up by half of Wave 43, and Wave 14 has NOTHING from Wave 44.

- Besides Fear Itself, there will be Previews-exclusive box sets this year that are at least half new characters, and convention-exclusive box sets that are ENTIRELY new characters.

So while there won't be more to buy, the duplication in Avengers is made up for with a lot more uniques earlier in the year, as well as later.

I understand why they were chosen, but it's just a bummer sometimes because it feels like it's been a while since there was a wave we could truly get excited about. The TRU exclusives, like the Galactus box set, have been the items I'm most excited about recently. It's just strange to see LCS waves featuring characters that are geared towards the mainstream, while the mainstream store gets the new, unique characters.

LCS retailers want A-list characters as much as TRU does -- the LCS is not an automatic sale for us any more, so they need to know that they're getting something people will know and want. But that doesn't mean we won't try something like the Jean DeWolff wave -- which has 5 new, unique characters out of 7 slots. (I count JJJ as new.) That said, TRU has been very cool about offering a variety, and has ordered some cool box sets from us for this year, while the waves will continue to be awesome.

I am sorry, man. This is not a criticism at all, but there is no way these two are the same girl.

I will admit, I don't know how Anne changed her eye color to infiltrate the Vendetta's crew, but I am assuming magic was involved. Also, black hair dye and pancake makeup.

But please, make up a name and backstory for her! Already regret not making her a straight-up evil pirate who just happens to dress EXACTLY like Anne Bonny.

That was my first issue of Toyfare, I bought for years after that. Wasn't that your first issue? I seem to remember you introducing yourself to the readers when the Horseman came for you...

Yes, that's my first appearance. Probably worth a mint. Or at least a Junior Mint.

I do want the Scott Lang Ant-Man Zach, the Iron Man and Hulk look good too. It's not that these are bad 'mates at all, I think a lot of us just didn't expect to see no new Avengers in an Avengers wave. But we don't want to bum you out.

Coming to any forum where people are free to talk about what they love and hate about a line I am becoming increasingly protective of is always gonna bum me out 50% of the time, but then I think about the fact that this site even exists, and I get happy again. "Meh" away, you princes of 'Mates. I promise not to let it get to me.

But even if you don't count Lang as a new Avenger, or Sentry because he's a new Avengers villain, I think the reason we went with this line-up is pretty clear, given the movie Avengers line-up. These are the characters people are gonna be excited about this summer. Nobody's gonna walk out of the movie craving a Dr. Druid.

Plus, there'll be some other Avengers stuff this summer, too, with a couple more new characters we haven't done yet. I'll let you know about those as soon as I can.

You survived the Headless Horseman's attack, love each day Zach!!

I also survived that haircut. The follies of my youth.