blackwater_park

Who's being irrational? DC Direct needs us way more than we need them right now. Mattel being on the scene really puts a cramp into DCD's style so to speak.

Calling names? Brewer and Co have a history of screwing fans over and not completing lines. Anything he/they is/are being called is well deserved IMO.

Honestly, the only thing that'll make an impact on DC Direct is a boycott of their lines - ALL their lines. Barring that, Brewer and Co will think they were justified in cancelling 'mates because collectors continue to buy SuperBat stuff.

I've bought a lot of DC Direct stuff in the past but that's it for me with that shower. It's not so much that I don't believe the line wasn't as successful as the top brass would like - it's more a case of the company manufacturing line upon line of expensively produced crap which I doubt sells in anywhere near the same numbers as Minimates. The anime-inspired figures are getting a second series - who's buying that stuff? Is it kept on because Brewer likes it?

Regarding Mattel's 3 3/4 inch line, well possiblythat might have made an impact in the decision but the two aren't necessarily competing lines. Mattel's small scale isn't going to compete with DC Direct's minimates. The figure styles are completely different. Are the two in cahoots over this?

I have some suspicions on the quality of Infinite Heroes having had a quick look at them but will reserve judgment until they're on pegs. I would be lying if I didn't get a little excited to see a modern Adam Strange there but heck, that Batman is a mess.

http://i.toynewsi.com/g/index.php?mode=alb...600&start=0

Any news past wave 8 yet?

Wave 9 will consist of:

Anger and Denial

Line Supporter and The Total Shaft

Fanbase Fury and Company Indifference

The Enthusiast and Golden Age Bottom Line Man.

( Now fuming over the inclusion of Elseworlds characters in the final wave ).

So have the unveiling's met or exceeded everyones expectations so far? I have to say the new Marvel minimates are amazing. I especially love the Iron Man and War Machine mates. The metallic paint jobs on them (and Nova's helmet) look great.

Very, very happy with them. I'd stopped keeping a eye on Marvel comics round about the House of M era and as such Nova and the Annihilation story arc completely passed me by as I was reading old Alan Moore Swamp Things collections and various other DC odd and sods.

However, Nova looked like such a cool little minimate I've ordered the tpbs of Annihilation just so I can get a handle on him. Marvel's spacefaring characters passed me by as kid in favour of Spidey and the Hulk.

The fact that Marvel minimates are continuing is brilliant news and I'm not overly concerned now that some heavy hitters have still to make an appearance - especially after the glut of fan favourites in recent waves. What better way to re-energise post movie/comic Ironman waves than with Gambit and Deadpool making an appearance then?

Slightly disappointed in a lack of DC news as I'm primarily a comics guy but I wouldn't put it past DC Direct to just announce another wave in their solicitations without much fanfare. Perhaps they didn't want to get brand new stuff overshadowed by Wave 7 and 8 being on display. Who knows? It would be cruel in the extreme of DC to not give us a Martian Manhunter and Atom at some point in the future.

Overall, I'm delighted with the updates and coverage. Thanks everyone.

Just received my set of wave 7.

Delighted with them, but have to mention The Flash. I love the detail of the more complex mates but the little additions to a relatively basic Wally elevate him into the top echelon for me.

First, he has a perfect cut-out newly sculpted mask - these are far preferable to the full face bat-cowls and remind me of my very first minimate, Bullseye and why I started to collect these little guys obsessively.

Secondly, the treads on his boots. Hardly noticeable but like Aquaman's calf fins a lovely, surprising touch.

Lastly, the ever so subtle pearlescent finish to his costume. It's brilliant. Don't get me wrong he doesn't look like Liberace but he has a noticeable sheen to him. The same kind of finish would look absolutely fantastic on a redone Silver Surfer. Really hope we see more of this effect when appropriate.

Fantastic news. Will buy them all!

But if you listen closely, you can hear hundreds of Silver Centurion Iron Men once lovingly daubed with black magic marker, scream out in pain!

Not liking the hole in the back of ultrons head or the transparent arms/legs on vision

I'm hoping the parts from the extra Loki can be put to good use on the Vision, then it will just be his cape which is phasing, which is kind of cool!

Really like Mysterio though!

I would've prefered white eyes. The fact that you can see the eyes makes the character seem........wrong somehow I'm with Dinobot

Well, it would be really easy to just stick a piece of white paper over his eyes and then stick the mask on to see if you prefer that look.

I like the clear eye look he has been given. It's comic accurate. Do a search for Wally West in google images. Only the animated look has white eyes as a rule.

Man, this wave sucks. They systematically remaking C3 figures and voiding the originals out, there's TWO 2.5"ers in this wave, Starfire looks awful, Ambush Bug is a blank.

So we've got one good character out of this wave. Lobo. Like there was ever any doubt he'd be good. The rest just get a super duper el-PASS-o from me.

And the first person to use Lobo's quote against me gets a brick to the head.

Don't care particularly for Ambush Bug but Starfire looks quite decent to me. Very similar to this source material below. Perhaps she's a little on the plain side in terms of parts but I quite like this rendition.

This version of The Flash is fantastic what with the new treaded boots and this Nightwing is a whole lot meaner than his C3 counterpart. Both C3 versions of these two characters didn't quite "fit" with the new DC Direct mates in terms of plastic, detail and in certain cases, scale. I quite like Bats but just wish they'd used a cut / sculpted cowl rather than a full face cover but I can live with it.

I'm just glad we're still getting minimates!

EDIT: Have to disagree with Dino on the new Nightwing. Quite a considerable difference to the old one - gloss / flat colouring, face, hair, colour of escrima sticks and different shade of blue in the stripe.

On the DST Web-site it mentions becoming a 'Radical'. Once joined you become a Radical you get the E-Spectrum. If you are in the UK it sometime allows you to see Comic-Con Exclusives which can be bought on-line. It allows you to see them ........but it doesn't let you buy them

Thanks pal of Butthead!

Yeah, I'm now officially a "radical" so will have to wait it out. Itching to see Spock's Beard. Heck, I'm a fan of the band of that name.

Oh, yeah. This is exactly what I was hoping for when they announced the box set for Trek. Great mix of characters, and they all look great. We have two condenders for 2008 Sexiest Minimate right here.

Big thumbs up on the design and the decision to go the box set route.

Could a kind soul tell me how to receive or view this mythical E-spectrum?

I have an account set up at DST, but have never received this letter ( even though I have selected the newsletter option )

Thanks!

Keep out sovereignity? You do know you still use the Imperial system?

Or is that more of a "hate France more than Britain" thing

And just to clarify for blackwater - DC Direct produce DC 'mates through the Art Asylum design studio (which are now part of DST, but free to do outside work). Diamond themselves have no connection to the DC 'mates. If this rumour is true, then Diamond would no longer be able to produce Marvel 'mates (but can produce BTTF, BSG, Star Trek and others). However, there's nothing to stop Hasbro (as receivers of the Marvel License) taking over the line and continuing to make minimates through Art Asylum, similar to how they took over the Marvel Legends line from Toybiz.

Come to think of it (and this is absolutely just speculation) this may be Hasbro quibbling about having sole rights to Marvel toys and Marvel not wanting to upset their new friend. Hasbro are much bigger than DST and could well be making them more money. And Marvel would REALLY not want to lose Hasbro over something as insignificant (to them!!! Not us, never us!!!) as Minimates.

Just thinking myself through the process and the size comparison - in my mind at least: DST is smaller than Marvel, Marvel is smaller than Hasbro.

Of course, if that did happen, we probably wouldn't notice much difference other than a different logo on the box.

Too much thinking for me - off to bed.

Jo

Thanks for that YWF. So there's still modicum of hope for future Marvel mates even if Diamond has lost the license. Only a tiny bit though. Hasbro are a bottom line company and their bottom line has to take in more comparative profit than DST as their other licenses have shown. Having dabbled in Marvel Legends during the past Toybiz era and seeing the rubbish that's turned out in that name by Hasbro now, I shudder to think what cost reducing measures they'd employ.

All quite sad news regarding Marvel Minimates.

I'm no expert on toy licenses. As I understand it, Art Asylum are part of Diamond Select who produce all minimates and own the brand and are responsible for their distribution.

So Diamond still make DC mates, Marvel mates, Star Trek etc. But since Diamond *may* have lost the Marvel license then that's it for Marvel Minimates until they reacquire the Marvel license.

Can someone please clarify that this is the case? Another company, say Hasbro ( Marvel licensees ) for example, can't just do a deal with Diamond and let them continue to produce Minimates on their behalf?

It would explain the glut of key characters that have come our way in the past few months and whilst it would be a very sad and unwanted conclusion, all things come to an end. The thought of no Electro, Vulture or Kraven, three that just spring to mind, makes the fanboy enthusiast in me cry.

That is, minimate wise, very bad news for us UK enthusiasts.

I usually get my fix from winkerbean's local comic shop based in the uk and I'm not sure if the shop orders via previews or not. Probably they do.

This means that I'll have to resort to eBay and inflated prices.

Not happy!

Just received my Defenders boxset today and they're the best quality 'mates since the Ben Reilly wave. Doc Strange is absolutely fantastic and the hulk is, in my opinion, a big improvement in terms of quality and hairpiece

Nice thread. I thought this would be quite tricky but it was actually pretty easy once I thought about it...

1. The Comedian ( Watchmen )

2. translucent Doctor Manhattan ( Watchmen )

3. Ozymandias ( Watchmen )

4. Nite-Owl ( Watchmen )

5. Rorschach ( Watchmen )

6. Silk Spectre ( Watchmen )

7. Captain Metropolis ( Watchmen )

8. Guyver I

9. Guyver 3

10. Guyver 2

11. Electro ( would be fantastic in mini - form )

12. Vulture ( Toomes but with a Blackie Drago variant? )

13. Scorpion

14. Gambit ( Surely he'll arrive soon! )

15. Adam Strange ( again would work well in mini form )

So yeah, I'd love Alan Moore to lift his embargo on Watchmen merchandise so we could get minimate versions so this is pure fantasy. I'm not a huge Spidey fan but he was the first comic character I was familiar with as a youngster and Kraven the Hunter came very close to edging out Gambit. A Swamp Thing and Demon two-pack are always high on my wishlist too!

Nice i Review im thinkin when i get mine Wonderman is gonna get Bruce Waynes hair as i think it will suit the character more

Yeah, that was my plan also and the guys confirming the head has a female peg slot is good news and will improve this minimate tremendously.

I'm also thinking about swapping out Thor's tiny face and replacing that with Aquaman's and seeing how it looks. Either him or Cap series 11. Also wondering what Thor will look like with Raft Sentry's / Sabretooth's hair.

It's a pity the DC and Marvel mates can't share moulds more effectively ( or can they? ) as some pieces are ideal for both companies characters. Spectre's cape would be far better for Taskmaster than Dr. Doom's version.

THE WATCHMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They'd be the best minimates ever but unless Mr. Moore has change of heart it's never going to happen. Perhaps if DC do a great looking Swamp Thing he might relent on Watchmen merchandise.

Thought Swamp Thing didn't have a shot but after seeing Clayface and Gorilla Grod, I'm sure they could pull it off.

I yearn for this figure though... Imagine a minimate Dr. Manhattan with semi translucent parts to give him an eerie glow.

If it hasn't been answered Hawkeye's mask is removable and designed similair to Cap. America, Bullseye. Not the fullface decal mask that comes with Batman.

That's more good news. Don't particularly care for the decal masks. I like to change the faces around some times.

This is like Minimate dreams come true!

All my most wanted characters in one mighty swoop.

Archangel plus a blue-skinned variant! The two best looks they could have went for. The wing reuse is forgiveable and I'm pretty sure after Warren was turned back it was a while before his feathers grew back and broke out after the metal ones were damaged.

Hawkeye! Hard to tell if that mask is a full face Batman style or a Cap / Bullseye type but he looks great.

Vision! Strange that we don't get a classic regular and phasing classic but the former looks great. Hopefully the modern darker Vision will receive the same sculpted head as his classic counterpart.

I must also say that the Smart Hulk has a great likeness to the comic. He was a bit of a pinhead in that too! Surprised by how much I like that minimate!

Very. very happy and excited about these future releases. What a boost to the Avengers roster and some much needed X-men!

That Defenders box set is going to fly off the shelves too. Dr. Strange looks superb, as does Valkyrie. Even the part reuse figures are intelligently done. Warbird / Ms. Marvel is simple but highly effective, US Agent will look badass in the flesh and I feel quite nostalgic about that Spidey as he's the one I grew up on.

If someone had said we'd see all these characters last week I wouldnae have believed it. I'd have picked maybe two or three from this all-star lineup but no more.

Heck, I've not even mentioned the villains! All excellent! Mysterio? Brilliant! A villain for the Avengers that isn't Doom? Even better! Apocalypse? Get outta here!

I'll be checking this site tomorrow morning to make sure this isn't a dream!

Thanks for the pics everyone!

Spectre's hood is going on my custom Moonknight. I just got them today, So I haven't really looked at other possibilities yet.

I was going yo make a Moon Knight custom(I bought an extra Spectre/Deadman), but I put it on my Green Arrow. So no MK custom.

That never occurred to me to put the spectre's hood on Ollie until I read that. Just tried that out and it looks so much better and fairly comic accurate! Green Arrow has been elevated several notches now his skin flaps are banished!

Had a lot of time for the C3 Nightwing and he was definitely my favourite C3-er but seeing them side-by-side, this new Nightwing is a big, big improvement. He looks a good deal more badass. He's even better than his 6-inch DCD Hush figure. That was a decent sculpt but his mask was bright blue and this mini-proto even has more detailed escrima fighting sticks.

Wonder if all-new mini Nightwing will have a holster on his back to keep the sticks in? With the DC mates it's not without the realms of possibility. No-one knew Aquaman had finned heels from the early shots, it was just a great surprise.

Not happy with the cape?

Hint!

Whilst I frequented my local comic shop, the only place in the UK that carried mates at the time, I pretty much ignored the first three waves and the only time I had a real study of the shop's meagre display they had a propensity of Ultimate X-Men from Wave 3 in the blister packaging.

At the time, I thought yeah they're cute but I was strictly a classic X-men kind of guy. My girlfriend liked them but they were passed over in favour of a Marvel Legend.

Maybe a couple of months later I returned to discover that the minimates had been repackaged into a super-cute and storeable wee box and heck... there's Bullseye! The package reminded me of a toy line called Action Jack from the late 70s and Bullseye looked such an angry wee dude!

When I got them home and realised how poseable these little critters were in comparison to Lego men or Kubricks with their fancy knee and elbow joints and as I studied the back to see the others in that wave, the bug still hadn't bit. Whilst I was impressed with the 'mates and my opinion of them had increased remarkably, I was never a huge Spidey fan and my battle-damaged Daredevil was enough for the time being...

Fast forward a couple of weeks and lo and behold, Waves 5 and 6 were in stock. Minimates buying wasn't the purpose of the visit so with the leftover cash I picked up Captain America / Absorbing Man and Stealth Iron Man / Ghost Rider. I remember thinking at the time "hmm.. variant enclosed. Think I'd prefer regular Iron Man, but hey... he's cool!" Little did I know!

It was Cap that sealed the deal. Pound for pound ( or millimetre for millimetre ) it was the best bit of plastic I'd ever bought. I just loved all the little details, his special gloves, the A on his great little mask, the shield and that enigmatic smile.... How can a bit of plastic be enigmatic? I don't know! He just looks dignified.

That was me addicted so I went back within a few days and completed the Wave 5 and 6 core lineups. I really liked the translucent Gamma Hulk I recall. The dreaded "hmm, think I'll hit eBay" thought hit and within a week, I'd scored all the Spider-man related minis from a seller on eBay - including Black Spider-man, in a job lot. Got Giant size X-men soon after and eventually tracked down those early figures and they arrived safe and well in Scotland from New York.

I bought C3 for the DC Minis and stayed abreast of all future Marvel waves and picked up the rare variants I had missed. Got a nice little display that's pictured somewhere on here but I have to admit that my interest began to wane a little due to the very poor Wave 12 and 13 after the highs of the preceding waves - both QC and character choice seemed to take a direct hit. The announcement of DC stoked the fire but the hold up dampened it and as I collected the SOTA street-fighter line, the cancelling of a miniature Ken wasn't received well either.

However, when I finally got my Green Lantern I was a happy chap and with Thor and some decent new Marvel characters getting a shot, the enthusiasm is right back for the little guys as you can tell by the length of this post. Love pretty much everything DCD are putting out and the surprises they keep pulling out for the minimate world. Blue Beetle is only a whisker behind Cap in my favourite list... A great minimate.

I'm a completist only for the DC and Marvel comic book characters and only pick up movie versions now and again but I would be very, very sad to see this line end - even after Hawkeye, Vision, Adam Strange or Swamp Thing have being immortalised in 2 inches!

This was an unexpected treat tonight!

On the whole, I'm delighted with this wave. Lucky enough to have a C3 Nightwing and Flash but old Nightwing does seem a little out of scale and a bit too friendly - this DCD rectifies that.

I'm also pleased to see that Flash has a proper sculpted mask like Cap and Bullseye rather than the style used for the Bat family so far. It just looks far nicer. I also hope Clayface is regular size as a 2.5 might look a little clumsy.

Ambush Bug is a crazy choice but it's great to see that you never, ever know what's going to come next due to the wide spectrum of characters being translated - regardless of the tooling needed for specific parts in order to convey a styllised representation of the subject's form. If this line continues as we hope it should then I have really high hopes of seeing a Swamp Thing and Etrigan two-pack and definitely Adam Strange and the Atom sooner rather than later. Martian Manhunter will obviously appear in wave 8....

Now, how would you do Starro?

Many thanks for the pics MM.

I'm well chuffed with the fins on Aquaman! Remember writing somewhere in a thread that since Aquaman is a fairly basic Minimate it would have been cool if they gave him the calf fins. That was just a forlorn hope... Now it's reality!

Wonder Woman looks fantastic, as does Deathstroke.

My only tiny gripe would be that there still seems to be some issues with the factory producing crisp diagonal paint edges for the trunks on some characters.

Can't wait for these and yes, I may do the plastic surgery on Ollie. :biggrin: