MrClean

For a strictly limited giveaway only, at a show I'll never be able to attend, with no future release, the $28-30/pair I've seen on eBay seems a pretty good deal, so I bought them. Better deal than I got for the purple Donatello too. They're not going to be 2-pack prices, so I was prepared to pay more. That's just collecting.

Two returning Spider-heroes could be Cloak and Dagger, since (1) that would round out the missing heroes from the show and (2) visibility for the new show starting up.

Villains I’d go with Scorpion as a companion to the Kun-Lun set that just hit. And probably Vulture just to coincide with the movie.

Avengers: Wasp and Black Panther; on the show and upcoming movies.

Avengers villain in a new outfit: Red Skull?

On September 18, 2017 at 9:44 PM, DSTZach said:

Are you guys saying there were a significant number of TRU stores that did not stock these/ More than usual? I know there are stores that do not seem to get all Minimates, or any, but I thought they were the exception, not the rule.

My store had maybe a case of these, but they were never with the DST stuff or minimates endcap. They were up front with the other PoTC stuff first, then they moved them to the generic Pirates/Soldier Force Aisle where they still remain buried/unseen to the world.

10 hours ago, TENIME_art said:

Which are shared, which are TRU exclusive?

GitD Oogie/Snowman Jack is the common pack between specialty and TRU. If there's still a blind bag assortment (as BBTS shows), then GitD Pajama Jack is the only unique one in there i believe.

Found the TRU wave today along with the new NBX.

Just found the TRU newest wave today: GitD Oogie/Snowman Jack, GitD Finkelstein/Igor & Zombie Bass Player /Zombie Accordionist. Alien Covenant also arrived.

What exactly killed the line, either new or classic? I mean, it's the freakin' Ninja Turtles, it practically sells itself.

Is there any difference between the TRU Space Jockey/Spacesuit Dallas and the 2-pack Spacesuit Dallas? I’ve finally gotten back into these playing catch-up and held off on the TRU one until I get the 2-pack one. The loss of the eggs accessories also didn’t help.

I knew that people didn't like blind bags, but I didn't realize that they would such a strong reaction. I don't have a problem with blind bags. I'm sorry if there's something I'm missing, but do you people just dislike the feel method? No one at any comic shop I've been to has ever had a problem with me feeling the bags near the cash register.

It's hard to "feel" anything when you have to order them online due to nobody carrying them anywhere near the area you live in.

Yeah, this is definitely a problem for me. I can't get Burke or the other soldiers from Alien, because there is no store near me I know of that carries these. Certainly not my tiny little local comic shop. So I can get them from Ebay - right now I see the 3 of them would cost me $55 with shipping from a seller - or I can buy the case for $60 and be stuck with multiple duplicates.

And the blind bag Billy sold out really fast from Luke's, to the surprise of no one. Making them short packed and/or blind bags just make these a hassle, and more pricey, and none of that is fun. Toys are supposed to be fun!

>

In Japan, they call blind-boxed figures "Trading Figures." I used to collect trading cards and baseball cards, and while the price of a pack may not line up exactly, the way you're getting them is exactly the same, only there are lot fewer holes to fill. This community is a great place to trade, as are the Facebook groups, so I would take advantage of that.

This is a solid idea BUT...what happens when we're left with extra Predators that nobody has any interest in because they're going to buy them in a 2-pack because they come with the some of the more big name characters and are a way better value? I'm just a little disheartened that a line I was so excited about has already right out of the gate left me with expensive holes to fill or duplicates that I'm not going to be able to move.

I had no issue with the K-Mart blind bags as I was able to find multiples of everyone and even help people out on here. It's easy to feel up the bags in an entire toy aisle when there's no one around. It's WAY more awkward when comic shops have these placed right next to the cash register. I feel like an idiot trying to figure out what's what.

Yup. Nobody is going to want the Predators from the blind bags, unless they're army building them, because they are in the 2-packs. So 9 of the 18 figures in the blind bags are just duplicates. And then they make the duplicate figures the highest packed figures in the case, too! They are just trying to manipulate us with their business schemes, and we all know it, and it sucks.

I'm not saying this is all on Zach, he might have almost nothing to do with the blind bagging/short packing. But he knows this sucks and makes it a pain. I don't even like the variant figures the Marvel line has - those are a pain, too, glad I stopped buying that line ages ago. Why can't we just buy what we want? Is that being too entitled - wanting to know what we are spending our money on?

Why does the Predator's heads look different from the promos? The tan on his face has three points, where the promos and sorce material have two. You follow me?

Yeah, I noticed this. It looks a little weird. I didn't know if this was an error on mine, or a screw up at the factory, or intentional, or what.

Maybe this will help with Burke and friends.

MINIMATES ALIEN CARTER BURKE

MINIMATES ALIEN SPUNKMEYER

They sell extra cereal marshmallows?

That wasn't a question asked directly towards Zach.

I have to ask a question now, huh?

Coke or Pepsi?

Can you imagine what that whiteboard would look like? I'm guessing it would mostly be X-Men.

Thanks! Same scenes I was conerned about - including armless-but-not-harmless Walrus Man’s demise. We try to keep their movies as violence free as possible too. But sometimes even Disney movies sneak through some shock stuff I’ve forgotten about (I’m looking at you Atlantis!)

The only Disney movies my daughter has seen are Frozen and Mary Poppins. We also have concerns about women's roles, like the whole save-the-princess or find-a-true-love thing.

For what it's worth, my daughter is the same age and easily scared by movies (she was clinging to me during Paddington, for crying out loud), but had no problem at all with Star Wars. I think the fact that most of the violence isn't lingered over, and that there's not a lot in the way of threatened violence makes a big difference. Of course, we haven't let her see Episode Three yet.

I took my daughter to a movie a when she was a bit younger (maybe 4 or 5?), and it was Happy Feet 2, and there was a leopard seal attack. She asked to leave.

And anything that makes mainstream superhero comics more friendly for girls -- and also women -- is good with me. I'm fine with making outfits less skimpy, and making traditionally male characters female if there is a cool reason, although new female characters work, too. Curious to see what the content is like, and how the poseable, athletic, stand-able fashion dolls look. I like dolls, they're like big Megos, but I hate that I can never stand them up.

My question is about Star Wars. I have 2 girls, 8 and 11, who have never seen Star Wars. The youngest LOVES Chewie! She’s not afraid of too much. The oldest is very sensitive, to the point tht the witch in Snow White scares her still. So, obviously, one can’t see it without the other without major fallout for me. My dilemma, should they watch it now with strategic “close your eyes” moments? What moments does the Zach recommend be filtered? Help me Oati Zach Kenobi, you’re my only hope!

We try not to expose our daughter and son to gun violence, or even arrow and sword violence if at all possible, so I'm probably the wrong one to ask. Probably when the sandperson attacks Luke, and most of the cantina scene (just a lot of monsters), and the trash compactor scene. I can't think of too much more that's SCARY. If they can recognize the scorched remains of Beru and Lars, or what a pile of Jawa corpses looks like, then maybe those scenes, too.

My question is about Star Wars. I have 2 girls, 8 and 11, who have never seen Star Wars. The youngest LOVES Chewie! She’s not afraid of too much. The oldest is very sensitive, to the point tht the witch in Snow White scares her still. So, obviously, one can’t see it without the other without major fallout for me. My dilemma, should they watch it now with strategic “close your eyes” moments? What moments does the Zach recommend be filtered? Help me Oati Zach Kenobi, you’re my only hope!

I’d say Zenoscope, but the packaging would need black bars across the front at TRU.

Okay, I’ll play, but just throwing my pair-up ideas out there.

Well, for an animated line based on currant animated properties, essentials would seem to be to finish the core teams, supplemented with core villains. We have Spidey and Nova, let’s get Power Man, Iron Fist and White Tiger. We have Cap and Hulk, now lets get Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, Thor and newest member - Ant-Man. We have Starlord and Groot/Rocket, now let’s get Drax and Gamora. We have Hulk, now let’s see the other Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

Season 3 of Spidey brought in a lot of new heroes, Squirrel GIrl, Cloak and Dagger, Iron Spidey(Cho), Kazar & Sabu, and Agent Venom(which we have), plus all the alternate Spideys. For Villains, Red Skull & the Cabal, Goblin, Ock & the six, Thanos, Ultron, Leader… and somehow the Howling Commando Monsters need to be thrown into the mix.

Plenty of variety available, but if we don’t get the core teams, it would really miss the mark.

We aren't doing any Agents of Smash, that I'm aware of, but like I said, we're looking at the core Avengers team -- Hawkeye has already been shown, as well as an Iron Man armor -- and the core GOTG, although I'm not sure how high-priority Spidey's fellow SHIELD trainees are just yet. (Spidey's many looks and numerous villains are, of course, fair game.) Your list encompasses everyone in Series 2 except one villain.

>I think Man-Thing and Squirrel Girl will do very well, because they'll have appeal even to people who don't buy the animated versions. Personally, I don't need any of the animated versions save for 2099, who I think passes as either. But I want to support 'mates, and I think they're really well done. But the new characters will be very in demand I suspect.

I think they'll do well with non-animated collectors, sure, but I honestly am curious how well they'll do with kids and casual Marvel fans. Although, given the one- or two-per-store distribution, it may not make a difference. People seem to be picking up whatever they can find, and it's not like you can call a single two-pack a peg-warmer, really. But I guess we'll see!

I’m curious about the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is it a license thing? I don’t even know if it’s cancelled or still going past season 2. But, Ultimate Spidey did a multi-part crossover in season 3’s finale “Contest of Champions” that pretty much united all the heroes from all 3 series(AoS, Avengers, Ult. Spidey). Does this mean they could be a possibility “down the line” or are they completely off the table?

Wasn't Agents of SMASH cancelled? I know the style guide's been retired and hasn't been replaced. That's never a good sign.

I hope it’s not cancelled. It took some time to grow on me, but I ended up really liking the designs for the show. I think they’d look good as minimates.

Squadron Supreme completely slipped my mind! They would be good additiona as well. Honestly, I don’t mind the main heavy hitters appearing in a spot or two because the Hulk from wave 1 has moved to the #1 spot of my favorite Hulk minimates. The grinning head was a winner! I think the alternate “fun” heads like his and Spidey’s are a great idea!

Well, for an animated line based on currant animated properties, essentials would seem to be to finish the core teams, supplemented with core villains. We have Spidey and Nova, let’s get Power Man, Iron Fist and White Tiger. We have Cap and Hulk, now lets get Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, Thor and newest member - Ant-Man. We have Starlord and Groot/Rocket, now let’s get Drax and Gamora. We have Hulk, now let’s see the other Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

I thought there was 4 in the movie. Pretty sure of it.

Watched it last night, it was three.

I don't know what the specifically named storylines involve as I haven't read new comics for years. Axis and all that are lost on me as stories, but I still love the minimates. A lot of those new looks in minimate form are my first exposure to them. Even though I love classics (like Howard and Disco Dazzy), I'm okay with a lot of the modern stuff too. I don't know what a Zenpool is, but I'd probably like him, especially if there's an Entrantress. Looking over my mates last night, I realize there's still a two gaps in the Phoenix Five to fill. Might be a perfect wave to slip in that Namor and Magik.

So, I get a call during work from Hot Topic, saying the guy who reserved the case before me changed his mind because he got them somewhere else, so they held it for me!

I also grabbed an extra Clown for anyone who needs it!

If all the cases are the same, it's front to back:

Reindeer

Clown

Clown

Ripped Boogie

Mayor

Mayor

Finkelstein

Finkelstein

Jack

Jack

Jack

Jack

Sally

Sally

Sally

Boogie

Boogie

Boogie

The number of Jacks/Sallies/Boogies might be off (I wasn't keeping count), but the order is right. The exclusives are the first four, if you get to open the case like I did.

Thanks for the list! I decided to make the trek to (shudder) hot topic today and give it a try. Walked away with a whole set at buy 1/get 1 half off! They were indeed in the right order (with 2 torn oogies). Thanks!

This thread is like one big minimate blind bag. I didn't know how awesome it was until I opened it. Now where do I send my $5.95?

To me, the most frustrating thing about Minimates blind bags is that the higher price point and manufactured retailer exclusive "chase factor" are taking a lot of the fun out of collecting.

For years we've been able to buy Minimates in full sets thanks to the "custom case" availability, and all of a sudden that gets thrown out of the window to try and generate demand by artificially making 1 rare figure available in retailer exclusive blind bags.

Shouldn't the retailer exclusives be more plentiful at that retailer? What would the real harm be in including more of the retailer exclusives per case? Maybe 18 blind bag packs per case isn't the right number, maybe it needs to be 20 or 24?

For years i've been advocating that custom cases should be the standard method of distribution, and that the old 1-per-case retailer exclusive is outdated thanks to the internet. The current Blind Bag marketing technique takes the worst parts of poor distribution and artificial scarcity and combines them into something that ultimately doesn't work for either the retailer or the collector consumer.

The retailer would sell more if the retailer exclusives were more readily available and the collector consumer would buy more if the retailer exclusives were more readily available.

As for the argument that there is always the casual buyer that will only want the core characters and not care about the GITD or variant figures, then you can still attract that customer by just increasing the number of products per case from 18 to 24, or reduce the amount of unique characters per case from 8-9 to 4-5.

Amen

Does the half mask spiderman come with a full mask also? I can see something on the side but not sure what it is

Probably. The description in the article says "with web line and interchangeable half-raised mask head" Wave 1 had two heads as well.