DSTZach

Ah - so it's just being swapped for the REDACTED?

Got it now. For some reason i thought this was going to bump out an old character in favour of a new one. My Bad.

Thanks for the update Zach

Yes, we just needed to put all our Redacted in one basket.

Oh, and tan pants on Hulk and new boots on Cap, for those keeping score at home. No waffle treads that I can see, but a nice new sculpt that reflects their curvy lines.

Hey Zach, are there any plans to sell these display stands that are coming with these two-packs? I believe these would be a great solution for those Minimates that like to stage dive.

I think we were looking into it at one point. Not sure it's still under discussion.

Zach, can you comment if the General Lee would even be an option that DST would pursue, due to the controversial nature of the flag?

I cannot! Never discussed it. Only one Hazzard question in the Q&As I can see, and Chuck focused on the cost of the rights, and the limited product possibilities.

BUT when I suggested CHiPs once, he laughed and laughed. I think that's why he likes having me around. The laughter I provide. :biggrin:

Cap's mouth is too low i think. Reminds me of Obama's Not Bad Meme

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lltzgnHi5F1qzib3wo1_400.jpg

Plus the suit lacks the white part on his biceps.

Oh and the shield should be red, blue and silver.

And if possible, please give him treaded boots/feet. lol.

just sayin. XD

It's a prototype, so the white may still be added. Face is inserted digitally, so that may be tweaked, as well. But please send me your reference pics of the bottom of Cap's feet from the movie! Not sure we have any.

Nick is going to TRU and a mystery character is going to LCS, for timing purposes.

So - who is being bumped from the TRU assortment to make room for Nick?

Great point, Nessex.

Zach, are you able to confirm that this is the new line-up?

Marvel Minimates Wave 45 (Specialty stores/comic shops)

- Captain America & Thor

- Iron Man MK7 & Hulk

- REDACTED (from TRU wave) & REDACTED (exclusive)

- Maria Hill & REDACTED (exclusive)

Marvel Minimates - The Avengers (Toys “R” Us/toysrus.com)

- Captain America & Thor

- Iron Man MK7 & Hulk

- Hawkeye & Black Widow (exclusive)

- Loki & Nick Fury (exclusive)

Looks right, should have said "Redacted" and not "mystery character." Sorry, Nessex. Not POSITIVE we're keeping the Hawkeye/Black Widow/Loki/Fury pairings, but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.

While I imagine that would be a tough box set to get greenlit, it's possibly the most brilliant idea for a boxset I've ever heard. Has that been suggested here before? Iron Lad, Rama-Tut, Kang, Immortus? Because it's the first time I've heard it, and it made me smile.

Never mind, did a search, found it in the "Through the Ages" thread, back in March. I wasn't here yet. I certainly know people want Kang, just hadn't seen it expressed in that format. I liked it. I don't do line plans, though. But I would like to see more villains at the conventions.

Yeah that "Kang Through The Ages" box set will blow my mind.

While I imagine that would be a tough box set to get greenlit, it's possibly the most brilliant idea for a boxset I've ever heard. Has that been suggested here before? Iron Lad, Rama-Tut, Kang, Immortus? Because it's the first time I've heard it, and it made me smile.

Im interested as to why Zach picked Titania, given that she is a character a lot of people would quite like to have.

At least ten of you!

http://www.minimatemultiverse.com/index.php?showtopic=10434&st=0

If they are going this route I hope we get an AFX or other Con exclusive 4 pack that has at least Titania, Absorbing Man, Attuma and Juggy to complete the Villains.

I don't think anyone will even be able to remember Titania's name once we start announcing AFX and con four-packs.

it totally cracks me up the hulk is blacked out. like people don't know what the hulk looks like.

Marvel Studios has said no Hulk merchandise promotion until January 31st. And yes, your questions are the same as mine.

Not leaked, digital Previews was released today. BUT the text on that BBTS listing is incorrect. We've actually changed the lineup for this assortment a tad. Nick Fury is no longer in this assortment, he'll be at TRU. We'll be able to show Hulk at the end of the month, but the remaining three figures in the wave are all going to be off-limits for a while. And yes, that includes Maria Hill.

So, if he is moving to TRU, who is he bumping out of their assortment? And if he is no longer in the LCS wave, who gets his spot? Will he and a TRU character be swapped? Or maybe DST learned about the "other Big Bad" and was able to include that character in the LCS wave....

Nick is going to TRU and a mystery character is going to LCS, for timing purposes.

Odin may end up being gold, if recent Asgardians are any indication. I'll ask. Glad most of you like them.

Not leaked, digital Previews was released today. BUT the text on that BBTS listing is incorrect. We've actually changed the lineup for this assortment a tad. Nick Fury is no longer in this assortment, he'll be at TRU. We'll be able to show Hulk at the end of the month, but the remaining three figures in the wave are all going to be off-limits for a while. And yes, that includes Maria Hill.

called it....*has a seizure from the epicness*

you were all there, im pretty sure i called this one

Well, now I know Undeadpool's real name...

I never read Fear Itself so I don't know what the story is...but I don't really care for any of these new Mates. Both sets are a pass for me.

Not even Odin? I thought Odin came out pretty great.

There are some really random nominees in those categories. And it kills me that, ten years on, Minimates are still just tossed in the "building figures" category like an afterthought. How did individual SHS and Action League figures make the cut in the Under 5" category while no Minimates did? I think if DCAL Kilowog deserved a spot in that category, Beta Ray Bill or Galactus most certainly did.

Minimates are technically block figures, and block figures are with construction figures. I certainly hope we win this year, but I don't see how we can. It's an unfortunate categorization, and I'd love to remove the construction set component to level the playing field, but you can't compare a Minimate to a fully sculpted 3.75 inch figure, they're too different.

But thank you guys so much for your support.

My collector OCD is going to bug me that we won't get each of the Worthy and the Mighty.

Full disclosure, because I like you guys. (Not really, but let's pretend.) (Joke.) (Waits for laughter.) (No laughter.) (Moving on.) There were originally more FI box sets; I alluded to this elsewhere. So there was some more design work done, and we may see some more Worthy and/or Mighty mixed into waves down the road. Just letting you know. Hope you dig 'em as much as I dig 'em, and I hope we make a regular Grey Gargoyle someday, too. He's my fave.

I would hope that everyone on here has seen these two videos, but someone surprised me the other day by saying they'd never seen them, so here you go:

Working on a new MAX episode now.

And "Avengers Forever" might not be an event, and probably not deserving of a box set devoted to it, but it's possibly THE quintessential Avengers story, and about (I'm guesstimating here) fifty bajillion times better then any Avengers story Marvel has published in the last 10 years.

Given the fact that most of the team members are pulled from different times, and even alternate realities, and the consequences are not very tangible (Kang and Immortus split, Rick Jones and Genis merge), I tend to think of it as an alternate-reality side adventure. There's also way too much time travel (which I always considered the FF's realm) and non-members (Songbird/Capt. Marvel) and cowboys and a lot of talk about "destiny." I actually got bored halfway through and stopped buying it. Granted, I read it when it came out, so I was... 21? Practically a kid! If I read it today, in one volume, maybe I'd feel differently.

But when I think Quintessential Avengers storyline, I think of "Avengers Under Siege," or "Ultron Unlimited."

That was precisely what I was hoping against. I was specifically referring to losing character slots for Calico Jack mates. :sad:. My only criticism is I wish the weapons were more reality-based in their designs as opposed to the fantasy-based ones we got. It makes army building less interesting because the accessories are too unique for me.

We're against it, too, but orders were extremely low for the four pack. Some will be in Series 2.

Hopefully the specialty stores will be swarming over the Zombie line!

They will be.

I'm a bit disappointed as I was hoping to help support the line through my local specialty/comic store. Given the pattern for TRU outside the US (TRU Canada specifically), I'm a bit concerned that any orders TRU makes will be cancelled and the line won't be available outside the US. I hope my concerns are unfounded as I do want to support the line and see succeed.

Well, we appreciate it, but again, it was a hard sell to specialty. How many did you order through your local comic shop? Hopefully, if your TRU in Canada got in Series 1, they'll get in Series 2.

If the 4-pack does become 2-packs, does that mean 4 new characters to complete a wave? Might be an opportunity to include a monkey or parrot accessory for a new character .

I think we can manage that.

Zach, what would be the particulars of a movie line similar to the Sony Video Game wave? Would it be feasible to get a "studio license" and put out individual 2-packs of different movies? Would such a license even exist the way it did for the Sony 'Mates?

One almost happened, based on the Paramount stuff that was announced:

http://www.minimatemultiverse.com/index.php?showtopic=5705

I don;t know the particulars, but it never got past the concept stage, as far as I know. Not sure why it didn't happen (or the Godfather line, for that matter), but it made me very sad.

Defunct: Hobbit/LotR, Godfather, Rocky, Beverly Hills Cop, Cereal, Father's Day, Speedracer, Trek, BSG, Ghostbusters, Street Fighter II (could be considered different than MvC), Sony (Kratos?), Ghost Rider (wave)...

By the way, for something to be defunct, it needs to have been funct in the first place. If it was never funct, how can we refunctify it?

He's you evil twin who knows when to cut and run.

Heh. You're right, I'm gone. This wave was before my time, and I know nothing about it. I'm not even supposed to BE here today!

This is the part where Zack tells us it was "Avengers Forever" with Kang, Songbird, Captain Marvel and... does it really matter? Thankfully we dodged that bullet! Am I right, guys? Guys?

Who's Zack?

And calling "Avengers Forever" an event is being generous.

You know, if Zach were reading, I'd love to hear his input...

The only thing that ever bugged me was the drastic change in letter size, but the new tweak evens that out, and makes it more legible. I don't think we'll be changing it again any time soon. Although once we get our 10th anniversary logo on the packaging, you guys might dig it.

Obviously im not going to ask what they were, but hiw bad could a set be if it was canned, whilst age of x or curse of the mutants got made?

I never said they were canceled for quality issues, but I'll ignore the dis and say that one of them was for a specific retailer, who cut back on the number of sets they wanted. I believe some of the cancelled figures will make it into the regular two-packs. But not all. And given this board's general attitude towards this year's event-based sets, I don't think they will be missed overmuch, especially since they were exclusives, and therefore a hassle for some.

it does sting a bit...hey, now that Zach is here on MMMV we should drag him into this tread

dunno what good it could do but it can't hurt right? other than the stinging of course

They're not happening.

I'm sad, too.

Please add your suggestions, and I'd love to hear Zachs thoughts

There were soldiers in the first Wave of MAX, and we're hoping to bring them back -- in a cool new deco -- in Series 3. You may have seen our Black Ops and Arctic Mission designs for that series, and those are currently on deck as well.

The APC is going to be a nice piece of military equipment -- our first two colors are police blue and arctic white, but an olive drab or camo repaint in the future is possible. We showed a MAX helicopter a while back, and as far as I know that is still in the works. And I've been pushing for some realistic-colors MAX jets (grey, maybe a camo) and will continue to do so, but we may be shelving that vehicle for a while after four paint schemes. So bust out your grey spray-paint, cuz the black ones are on sale.

By the way, you can tell DSTChuck (the Director of DST) what you want in Ask DST: http://www.artasylum.com/question

I'm sure he'd be thrilled to get a bunch of MAX or Pirate Raiders questions -- specific requests like military paint, and not just a wish list of wizards, knights and what have you. It will take us years to become Playmobil.

ps. wouldn't M.A.S.K. fit so nicely in with M.A.X.?

I've been trying to pay tribute to MASK in the stop-motion MAX shorts. Helmets lowering onto heads, teams chosen according to specialty, etc. We have a second one in production now.

Question Zach: Do comic retailers have a lot of sway over what characters you guys release?

Like I know Wal-Mart can tell companies “we want x, we don’t want y” and if those demands aren’t met the buyers won’t purchase the line for ANY of the stores, but with comic shops doesn’t it work more like “here’s the merchandise, if you want it order it” so if store K knows only one guys buys minimates they won’t order and get 3 sets left over, and if store Q knows they only sell out on X-Men waves and this is Avengers themed they’ll order less units, etc...

There’s no Comic Shoppes Cabal telling you “NO KANG! MORE SPIDER-MEN!” is there? (I mean, aside from their order numbers doing the talking, like do they have a guy who tells you what you can and can’t sell them?)

If retailer orders are low enough, we cancel waves. I assumed that was what happened with GR, but there may have been other issues at play, like timing. If reference art was late in coming, we might have missed our window -- maybe they would have gotten to shelves late. Regardless, it would have to be bad for us to eat prototyping and painting costs, as well as tooling. I can't remember another Marvel wave or set that has been cancelled after prototyping and solicitation, although some were cancelled in development. (Please do not ask me what they were.)