pk13

HELLPOP GETS IT.

I'm not definitely not knocking DST for making movie figures. They must be making money for you. I guess I'm just venting because it's not a very fun time to collect if you like comics based figures, which is by far the biggest slice of the Minimates line. With the little bit of comics stuff that we do see being mostly costume variations of characters we already have or figures of the Minimates Mount Rehashmore, (Cap, Spidey, IM...), the movie stuff just falls kind of flat for me. But, I realize that's just how I feel about. And I've gotten away from the blind bag focus of this thread. So until it's confirmed that these are Marvel blind bags, I'll bow out.

I really dislike blind bags. I don't feel like I should have to gamble to spend money with a company. I just want the toys. Why make me jump through hoops to give you my money? Buying a case isn't something I'm interested in either. All it does is make me spend money on multiples of things that I don't want and never would have bought that many of in the first place. Being forced to spend more money on something and end up with a lot of figures that I don't want doesn't feel like a reward to me. With that being said, I get that DST will make money with this scheme. Otherwise, they wouldn't do it, right? So from a money making standpoint, it makes sense. If it increases the bottom line then DST has done their job. It's just very disappointing from a collecting standpoint for me. I was pretty comfortable that the Minimates line was big enough to not be in constant trouble of going under but not so big that it was subject to Hasbro or Mattel style marketing practices. Which is to say marketing towards the masses with a large amount of Marvel movie product and focusing on gimmicks like blind bags and super rare chase figures in those blind bags.

That LOTR W3 pack is a thing of beauty.

Happy Birthday!!!

Popular is great. It means more money for DST, (which translates to job security for the employees), and the overall health of the line. As someone that likes to spend money with DST, that makes me feel good. It also means a possible expansion into licenses that might not have otherwise been possible. I know some things like Star Wars have more to do with other companies. But if Minimates get more exposure and are on the pegs at bigger retailers, then maybe some properties that weren't available will become available. It's a win for the retailer, DST, and all of us collectors. The only thing that worries me about "popular" is the possible side effect of the loss of push that my favorite corner of the Minimates line, Marvel Comics, could possibly deal with. Popular makes me think of a push into the most mainstream of Marvel properties... the movie and/or animated corner that most non-comic readers are familiar with. While that's not the most interesting thing to me, I completely understand why DST fills that need for movie fans and moms and pops buying for kids. The optimistic side of me hopes that the recent lack of focus on the Marvel comics side of things has more to do with the heavy movie schedule. But the pessimist toy collector in me sees paths that other companies have tread that get away from the core and focus solely on the movies. I know that Minimates collectors that focus on the comics are taking a back seat to the mainstream stuff for a little bit. I just hope that the new found popularity that the Minimates line is about to see due to certain licenses and retail partners doesn't further dilute the commitment to the comics side of things. Because not only is that my favorite part of the line, it's also the horse that brought Minimates to where thy are today.

Good grief.... Spiral is absolutely amazing!

I'm right there with you. As much as I want the figures, I want the couch even more!

This set could be filled with pieces of broken glass and banana peels and I would buy one to support Luke's Toy Store. The fact that it has four great figures with nice alternate looks and great QC potential means I'm in for two or three to open. And even though I'm an opener, I'll get one to keep packaged to commemorate the great accomplishment by LTS of getting an exclsuive.

After much bin diving, I scored a Civil War Spidey. It was like pulling a winning lotto ticket. Big thanks to yb for bringing the bin. It was so much fun to dig through and come up with random figures.

Just made it back from one hell of a great weekend and convention. Thanks to everyone for making it so much fun!

For anyone that wasn't impressed by the Plants vs. Zombies before, I will say that those are some of the best looking pieces on display. I had zero interest in them before seeing them in person but now am completely sold. Good stuff.

I'm glad for the people that wanted these. But it's just another wave that I wish was something different. There are so many movie waves to wade through that I was hoping the tiny but of attention that the comics would receive would be to take care of some classic wants instead of what we are getting. On the bright side, at least there's a Bobby Drake head to QC into a First Class and First Appearance Drake. And props to DST for releasing the entire team.

That's a fair point. If the exact same blind bag figures were available to buy without the gamble of buying blind bags, then that would be cool. I'm thinking of something like the Best Of waves. If those were available as a series of blind bags OR you could order them from Luke's and not worry about ending up with doubles/triples, then that could be pretty cool.EDIT: yb beats me to the Best Of example!

I can see where blind bags are good for for the toy company and the retailer, but they are the worst for the consumer. And it really doesn't make a difference if you're a completist or not. If an assortment came out and I wanted to buy a specific figure then I'm either having to buy it loose on the secondary market or I'm gambling on getting the thing I want to pay money for instead of the thing or things that I don't want to pay money for. Finding non-specialty minimates has become less and less fun as it is. Adding blind packs into the already broken mix just takes it to another level. As I said, I get that DST would be behind such a gimmick because it's kind of a fad now and the stores would buy them. So I'm not faulting them for jumping on the bandwagon that Lego and Hasbro are driving sales with. I'm just looking at it from the perspective of a collector that is going to have to jump through yet another hoop just to give someone money for something I want.

Yeah, blind bags/boxes would be the absolute worst. I'm really hoping that's not what's coming.

That's an extremely cool piece, yb. Congrats on the find!

Enjoy the tour! Hopefully you'll be able to catch a game as well. I'm not a huge Cards fan, but there might not be a better place on Earth to catch a baseball game than St. Louis.

Operative 55! Free Meat! Dr. Ricky! April 1st is the best day at MMDB. Hail Ivan!!!

Welcome to the Multiverse, Bruno!

Here is the bottom of a Cap movie dump box.

Welcome to the Multiverse!

And the last one has been found! Thanks for playing! All of the phrases were Arrested Development quotes hidden in spoiler boxes in old posts of mine. Here were the three winning quotes: In a Happy Birthday Ivan thread, (Hail Ivan!) In Mattallica's Customs thread, (check it out to see some fine work) And in Glantern's The Figure In Question thread, (check out his review site, it's well worth the click)

Glad you liked them, Happy Birthday Luke! You were originally going to get much larger bottles, but due to what I came to call "the slosh factor", I couldn't keep everything quiet enough to be able to get through the mail. I was watching the tracking on the package and it was held up for an extra day and I kept thinking that a bottle had busted or something. Glad to see it made it through. MiniFiend UK: It really depends on how you prefer your whiskey. If you're more of a mixed drink fan, then regular black label Jack is tough to beat. But that's just me... I do love a Jack & Coke. If you take your drink neat or on the rocks, the Single Barrel is a good choice. Since it's a TN whiskey, it's already pretty smooth. But the Single Barrel has a little more flavor to it and is a little more smooth than even the Black Label. Good stuff.

Happy Birthday to all!