buttheadsmate

Thank you for your response Zach ,it is appreciated especially as my criticism is never personal towards you except that you cannot get it into your head ( sorry I thought long & hard about putting it a nicer way) that I have & never ever had any intention whatsoever of even thinking about the UK as a market for Minimates.

Bringing things totally up to date ...if you want to order Minimates from the official DST store you are restricted to buying 2 sets . Now I'm going to hear that that is going to deter scalpers . Here's some news for you, DST : "You need some scalpers ,you really need like 'anybody' who show some confidence in the line & who will buy the f*ck out of them " . In my complete naivety,some months ago, I suggested on here that I might want to helm my own box set . I could have forgiven the question about whether I could have afforded it or any question about my mental stability but "no" the reason is, is that I have no track record as a retailer . TBQH I can't argue with that but I'm not laughing when I say this , maybe a 'retailer' like me & DST are perhaps made for each other ? I've ordered 2 Britt Baker Vinimates from the DST online store today . Therefore my mental stability perhaps remains in doubt because I have no idea why I'm buying 2 inarticulate large Minimates of an (apparently) female wrestler . The parrot is dead .

The demise of ToysRUs was definitely the death knell as ,by that time, most of the Minimate eggs were in that one basket . I don't live in the US but this forum was alive back then & it was pretty obvious that something was not quite right with distribution even then . TRU web sales were initially non-existent & then, when online orders became possible they were handled by .....I'll be too polite.....people that weren't quite up to the task . Comic stores were all but alienated by that time except for some very entrepreneurial online sellers who thankfully took over the mantle . I cringe when I see how many 'retailer' promos there are in the MMDB , there are probably more individual promos than current Minimate retailers. By the time TRU had gone so had the 'other' retailers . So we're left with a ridiculously good product with some top-line licences with no retailers . Walgreens Minimates were described on this forum recently as 'ancient history' , WG 'mates were in many instances superb & the final wave was according ,to the MMDB, January 2022 . They were never released in the US ,doesn't that say it all ?

Thank you , I may well go back & have another look at them As an adult (fairly adult most of the time) toy-collector with tunnel-vision , I rarely stray from Minimates these days. I'm staggered by the fact that Minimates generally have never taken off commercially in the way I hoped that they would . I see licences come along (like GI Joe) & I see the enthusiasm from those that are left of us on this forum only to see hopes dashed time & time again . I can't put my finger on exactly why this is but I'm an old guy who rarely knows when he's beat but maybe even I am beginning to see very little light at the end of a very long tunnel .

As difficult as it is to say but are the GI Joe Minimates that good ? I know little of GI Joe . There have been several licences over the years that I wouldn't have had a clue WTF the licence was about yet I could decide for myself whether the minimates were to my 'taste' or not . A classic example would be Mass Effect , I still don't have a clue about the franchise but the minimates were IMHO some of the finest production minimates ever made . Another example was Plants & Zombies , off the wall or what ? Invincibles ,superb. I love them & bought into them & I am really pleased I did. I'm not trying to rile you guys but I'm not sure that these Joe 'mates are that special . I bought them like I always do but ....? If I have riled anyone then tell me what there is to love about the Minimates themselves not your love for GI Joe.

Amazing isn't it ? Big list & I can nearly tick the lot .....but in the scale of things The Levi's Saddleman is perhaps the only one I'd really like .....a cowboy & his horse Kubrick that was given away with a Levi's garment years ago . Ol' stupid (me) actually has the others in the promotion along with the f*cking garments . Best Investment ? If you believe eBay then the Andy Warhol 1000% is the one ....people are asking between 3 & $15K for that big boy . I cringed when I paid over £150 or whatever for it. It is cute though. Buy the Beatles 400% kubricks which used to be around for about $160 shipped from China , they're sublime. I'm never sure what the story is behind them ,they are kubricks but they're never sold as kubricks . Weird. Then there's the 1000% Beatles set which are out of my league , they're $$$$K.

There's a Donald Trump movie ?* *I am a UK citizen .

There is a website Zachd .kubrick which is very useful . There are also 2 Kubrick 'bibles' which are catalogues of what has been produced . If you are lucky you can find a further concise volume which contains nigh on everything , this is the one to get . Unfortunately the warehouse is more like a warehouse for a house-mover I fully intend to slow down in 2 years time (if I make it) & then the fun might begin . The Pantone kubricks fascinated me purely because I spent my life, up until the millennium, as a printer .

Smaug's hoard ? Only a month ago I watched 'The Hobbit' for the very first time ....priceless . Benedict Cumberbatch ....who knew?

Me too. I try very hard.

In the first instance I probably gained my 'knowledge' from you in the first place As you may or may not realise yet I used to lead people to your eBay listings which were other than just 'eBay listings' . I am a generally tongue-in -cheek , savagely sarcastic poster .......I can tell you quite sincerely that that side of me is well & truly under lock & key in this thread . Kubrick, the director , & his films are another huge passion of mine , I have some rather nice items in 'ye olde warehouse' but don't let me stray on to that . The 'poobricks' ? It should be understood that the worst thing about them is that I actually bought them ,nobody forced me to do it. There's the Palmboy line ,several star-like figures which have arms & legs with faces that inspire you......to point a rifle at them . I have them, most of them if not all of them, they are painted with flags of the world etc.etc. I have no idea what they portray & if I had a rifle I would shoot at them. The Blythe line ....a group of doe-eyed 'girls' in various dresses etc. A man of my years might well have a lot to explain as to why they are in his toy collection ? I would deserve the question & would struggle with the answer. To-Fu kubricks..... you guessed it ,a kubrick with a cube of to-fu as a head. All colours, shapes & sizes that you'd imagine would last as a line for about as long as one box-set of 4. They in fact had 7 series of 5, several specials, several promos & one or two dealer exclusives . I tried not to indulge in them but I fell for it . I have recently seen some big 400% To-Fu kubricks on Ebay , they are new releases, so when you consider that Medicom has left the Kubrick line 99.9% dormant for several years ...To-fu must still have it's followers. The Marvel line of kubricks isn't marvellous but the Captain America Kubrick has become a favourite .

I can relate to that . Apart from 'toys' & outside of this forum I would perceive that I would be considered fairly normal ....no seriously . Enter a shed on my farm & you would be forgiven for thinking that you had entered a toy-warehouse which must belong to somebody who is a complete & utter fucking nutcase . Then there's the comics I bought new in the 70's........help me.

Medicom didn't allow themselves to be hamstrung by the rather too simple Kubrick design . Head (1) torso(2)left arm (3) right arm (4) left hand (5)right hand(6)left leg (7)right leg(8)crotch piece (9) .......9 pieces I am told that '9' is pronounced 'Koo' in Japanese , it would seem to me then that the 'Koo' isn't a coincidence .....Koo bricks ? Anyway you can see from the rather plain 'hedgehog' promo above that kubricks wouldn't have lasted long like that & TBQH there are some shockingly shite kubricks out there! However Medicom didn't allow themselves to be hamstrung & the Star Wars line in many many instances 'perhaps' look like kubricks but only just The Kelloggs line BTW had a secret chase, a Kubrick sized 'Kelloggs' capital 'K' in the Kelloggs typeface , no legs, head or arms ...just a big 'K' . It was however articulated , it swivels in the centre , Medicom took the trouble to make it articulate for no other reason, it would seem, than they wanted to.

Japaharinet hedgehog promo.......I confess that although I have it I ,again, didn't have a clue what it was. ........Japaharinet are a Japanese band (apparently ?) Favourites ? Jin Roh Panzer ....2 types ....Jin Roh &,I kid you not, KEN Roh. Gorgeous ! Toy Story 'Buzz' . The Star Wars line is my pride & joy ,sadly I am not a SW fan but they are sublime .

Sorted.

Beaker is beautiful but is one of the rarest IMHO. I will confess that until I read your post I had no idea that the Batman S1 Secret/Chase was called 'Spoiler' ...I've seen checklists with the name 'spoiler' & always assumed that 'spoiler' was a placeholder name ....did I make sense there? I don't think it was as rare as Beaker . Quidditch Potter can still be bought from an online store ( Google it ) or USeBay. I've enjoyed my Kubrick hunting but it is a very lonely job . It's even lonelier trying to convince people of their beauty.

Also "Kang" or the lack of Kang became a long-running in-joke here , he eventually appeared in a fairly obscure box set . There is a second Walgreen version which is widely available & IMHO a very worthy cheap alternative . Juggernaut ? I guess the Excalibur version is rare & the best. The Excalibur box set is rare & a bit of an enigma , it contains one of the cutest Minimates ever made ,Meggan & undoubtedly one of the worst, Capt.Britain , a shockingly bad minimate that should never have seen the light of day . The Excalibur Nightcrawler is also the best version we have had.

Your post made my day week ! PALz were the reason I originally became a mini-figure fan so you're the man I blame for being broke Amazing (to me) that you also share (my) your opinion on blind - boxing Thank you Ken for posting , I'm sure there are many PALz fans but sometimes it feels very lonely being one . Not for my ego , purely for context , you can count on one hand how many kubricks (that I am aware of) that I don't own , every Minimate that is shown on the MMDB & every PALz figure ........X -Files PALz are perhaps my favourite . On another note 'Oppenheimer' & 'Barbie' are flavours of the day . Millions of people must have a Barbie doll but I'm betting few people are as proud as I am to own a "Smart bomb" ? I haven't seen mine for several years ( my collection is a mess of cartons ) but I still remember loving it .

I once read on this forum that an absolutely foolproof way of separating stuck minimate parts is to place the Minimates in a fridge & then boil them in a saucepan. What a ridiculous suggestion , who the helI owns a saucepan big enough to fit a fridge in ?

I have four Barbie items , three characters , so sorry for the confusion......13th Doctor , Mulder, Scully & the supposedly 'recalled' Scully . Apparently the long haired version was unshelved & recalled by the manufacturer . I own them ,quite why I can't answer IMHO all Barbie dolls should be unshelved,recalled & burnt I haven't seen either & despite my comment above I have heard good things about Barbie & Oppenheimer. We've just binge-watched the 1980 BBC TV production mini-series "Oppenheimer' . Although I knew of 'Oppenheimer' I knew little of the witch-hunt against him in the period after the war . An excellent show .

If it is Batroc I hope it's not going to cost an arm and a leg

Batroc first appeared In Tales of Suspense issue 75 . He was initially known as Batroc the Leper due to a printer's error , IMHO an `armless mistake .

Batroc ?

You are of course correct about Doppelgänger ,it was wave 76 which also feels like ancient history . I had it in my head it was a WG 'mate .

Spider-Ham was a secret-chase from the Marvel Kubrick line & until this week I had always assumed that another secret-chase from that line was called 'Venom-Ham' I've been calling 'him' Venom-Ham for years yet now I can find no reference to him at all ! I was going to post that maybe we'd be getting the symbiotic version of Spider-Ham in the future ....good ol' Venom-Ham ...er.....Pork Grind . I prefer Venom Ham . There were just 4 waves of Marvel kubricks (2003-2004) , just 28 figures & 4 secrets . The 4 secrets were Peter Porker ,Venom Ham Black Peter Porker, Venom-Punisher & .....Doppelganger . How on earth haven't we had those characters 'minimated' *? Amazingly Doppelgänger is the only one out of those 4 that has a Minimate equivalent but that was not a *comic-based version ......I wonder ?