new DST MM news!

[TM2 Dinobot]

Okay, so I just got back from Wizard World Dallas. There I spent a lot of time talking to Matt from DST. We had a great time and he really quelled some of my fears. The funniest part had to be the beginning.

*walks up*

me: Some nice stuff you've got here

Matt: Thanks. Let me know if you've got any questions.

Me: Okay. I represent part of the online minimate community...

Matt: Oh God, not you people...

LOL. Anyways, I saw some great stuff. Here is some recap. I'm not sure what I can say and what I can't, but I'll try to just relay some stuff.

Every one needs to hold out till Feb at least. That's when we're gona start seeing some stuff again. We're gona be getting a ton of stuff then (hopefully) so just hang on a little longer!

Marvel: X3 mates, Wolvy will have new claw hands (and maybe something extra). Tentative Marvel waves through 17 are set. Yes, some of our prayers are answered in them. I suggested a Villains wave and a Female wave. He seemed very open to both ideas and said he'd definitely pass them along, especially the Villains(!) Matt said it was his personal goal to get an Aunt May out there. He also said that, while there will always be heavy hitters, we can expect a mild break. However, there is a Spiderman heavy wave coming up (happy!) he couldn't say who was in it though. Think SM3. We talked about it and he jumped at the idea of a Mysterio.

BSG mates. Wave 3 is in production, they just haven't revealed them yet. I saw some of the pieces (sorry, can't say) I got to play with the new Cylons. They have a regular head under the helmet. So, yes, they're a regular mate underneath. More classic BSG, according to Matt, will prolly not happen within the next five years. The new series is hot and they're going to be milking it for all they're worth.

TF/GI Joe. To quote Matt directly "We tried to get the liscence and Hasbro pwned our ass" They pulled every favor they had and still nothing. However, they'll try it again.

DC. I asked about the reuse of Marvel/DC/BSG/SF pieces, DC/Marvel especially. Basically what he said was DCD works through Art Asylum who actually molds the stuff and then gives it to DCD to sell. So if Art Asylum would care to rent out an already molded piece to DST, they may chose to do so. I'm not sure if it goes the other way around or not.

Street Fighter wave 2. "More likely now than 2 months ago."

Convention exclusives mates: expect them next year.

We just had a really great time. I forgot how much I love all the DST guys. Please don't give Matt a hard time. he seemed kinda scared that he'd say something that I would relate that would get him in trouble. Over all I had a really great time!

[Fujis]

Thanks for the info, TM2Dinobot! Some great news indeed!

[antacost]

New claws for X3 Wolverine? That's shocking and surprising... But awesome... Awesome it is... Hopefully, we'll see a bit of a let up in the reused parts, but it's never really bothered me that much...

[TBT!]

BSG mates. Wave 3 is in production, they just haven't revealed them yet. I saw some of the pieces (sorry, can't say)

Yes you Can, If they gave the info away at a show it's fair game

T.

[bilbofett]

This is good news. I can't wait to get more mates closer together. I don't mind the reuse of parts either, I just wish they could get more mates out a year if they do.

[Fujis]

BSG mates. Wave 3 is in production, they just haven't revealed them yet.

Have they revealed who's in Wave 2 yet?

[AdyCarter]

Cheers for the news and as if we would ever give Matt a hard time!

[luke314pi]

Thanks for the update!

[drgnrbrn316]

See, now news like this is always worth hearing. Despite lacking details on the specifics, if someone official could just release a statement like this every now and again. "We've got Marvel's lineup drawn up through wave 17," or "Expect something early next quarter," then you'd avoid a lot of the panic-driven speculation that stomped all over the internet earlier this year.

I'm not too surprised to hear about the classic BSG line, as Toyfare pretty much said the same thing this month.

Glad to hear there's still some life in the Street Fighter line, though we're still far from a confirmed second wave.

I think LEGO has the Spider-Man movie license, but it wouldn't surprise me to see a Spider-Man wave around the same time next year. Perhaps a non-damaged version of the Spidey we got in Wave 12, that grabline Black Spidey we saw in a package mock-up a while back, an update on Sandman, an update on the Goblin, Venom in some capacity, and if he decides to show up in the movie, Mysterio as well. Or just straight rereleases of some of the figures we've already seen, seeing as most of them are harder to come by these days, such as the Goblin, Venom, and original Spidey.

I've never minded the part reuse so much as it made sense to the character. It's when you start sacrificing logic that it becomes a problem, a la Luke Cage's painted hat.

And, it's probably best not to peg Matt's name on anything specific for the forseeable future, but if you'd care to "speculate" on what specifics may be in our future, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it.

[TM2 Dinobot]

Well, the BSG line, I saw three pieces from wave 3. I've never seen the show, and I don't know who they were, but there were 2 dressed the same. Take that as you will.

I also thanked him for so many girls in BSG. I like girls, even if they are flat chested. He said there's gona be at least 3 in wave 2, and possibly the chase.

I don't think anything past wave 1 has been announced.

Me: "Cereal mates. WTF?"

Matt: "Yeah, I know. That was Art Asylum's fault. We had NOTHING to do with that."

A few other points. DST actually called DCD and begged them to make their minimates 2" and not 2.5". They wouldn't go for it though. I just found it interesting that one company would call another about their own line like that.

Also, apparently "Star Trek fans will have to be happy with the action figure line." Yay!

[AdyCarter]

Also, apparently "Star Trek fans will have to be happy with the action figure line." Yay!

Bugger, last I heard Trek mates were a strong possibility

[Shanester]

I shoulda had someone ask him where my silver spidey is hiding.

[Amazing.JL]

Thanks for the news TM2 Dinobot!

[Rad]

A few other points. DST actually called DCD and begged them to make their minimates 2" and not 2.5". They wouldn't go for it though. I just found it interesting that one company would call another about their own line like that.

Hang on a minute. The DC mates are 2" figures! Well at least Jon Stewart is. Wonder what was meant by the above?

[drgnrbrn316]

Hang on a minute. The DC mates are 2" figures! Well at least Jon Stewart is. Wonder what was meant by the above?

I imagine he meant the bigger characters like Killer Croc, etc. Early protos have shown that some of the characters will be 2.5".

I'm not sure what to think of DST calling DCD like that. DC's probably getting a kick out of lording over Marvel's mates like that, but I imagine DST isn't trying to get DC to play fair so much as keep everything in scale. Marvel can't play with the bigger scale (yet, anyways) so you lose some play value if Croc looks down on Hulk.

[TBT!]

I know you read here sometimes, Matt.

Care to confirm, deny or otherwise debunk the above?

T.

[Seanus]

Thanks! Some gd new there.

Aunt May? Nah. I wont buy her. well, unless its a Venom vs Aunt May set where shes dead like in Spiderman 3. lol

[MisterPL]

I just about went on a fucking rant there! Don't DO that to me!

It's my understanding that DC Minimates will use the 2-inch body for normal-sized characters but, unlike Marvel, they'll be able to offer oversized characters using larger bodies (Ares, Killer Croc, etc.). That's cool with me especially if it gets us some new Sentinel-sized bodies or better yet forces Marvel to compete by allowing larger bodies for larger characters.

[Rad]

That's what I thought (that matt was just referring to Ares and Croc) it just doesn't read too well though does it?

[Jatta Pake]

Thanks for the news guys!

From my reading of the above, I'm understanding that DST wanted the larger Killer Croc type characters kept in the 2" scale instead of the proposed 2.5" scale. I'm glad DCD stuck to their guns. Perhaps we can force a change with Marvel?

Let me just say this, when I featured my Big Hulks on MMHQ, I got a TON of hits from Hong Kong and New York.

[drgnrbrn316]

My whole thing is, what if DST knows Marvel won't budge on the issue? I imagine there's a lot more to the license issue than Marvel being stubborn. Some other entity may hold the license, and even if its just some garage business selling 3" figures to people in Dearborn, Massachuesetts, Marvel won't allow the change in scale on our end because of it. What if that's why DST wants DCD to not go the 2.5" route, because they know there's nothing they can do to counter it, regardless of what sales show, etc. In that circumstance, is DST wrong to try and talk to DCD? Could varying scales on DC's end kill the Marvel minimate?

Obviously, I have no insight into the license or various license holders, so my scenario could be a worst case scenario, but it serves as a reminder that there is more going on than us, the consumer, are allowed to see.

Personally, I love the idea of varying scales for the differently sized characters in all universes. If DC's size variation forces Marvel's hand, then great. And if DC can find a way to do the larger than life characters in a bigger scale, like the Sentinels and Galactus in the Marvel Universe, then I'm on board. I just don't want to see DC drop a killer hand only to find out that Marvel was already all-in. After all, what chance does a 2" Giant Man have against an 8" DC giant, although a 2" Ant Man could destroy a 1.5" DC pipsqueak.

[TM2 Dinobot]

I know you read here sometimes, Matt.

Care to confirm, deny or otherwise debunk the above?

T.

I highly doubt it. That and it was a long weekend, so some of my info may be a bit hazy. So for right now I think it'd be best to consider all this a rumor straight from the horse's mouth.

As for Trek mates, I don't think he was referring to no Trek mates at all, but rather get used to the action figures, and don't count on an entire series of mates. *shrug* Just the way I took it.

The DST/DCD 2" thing. He said that they wanted all mates to be 2" across the board. It makes it better in scale, regardless of how be they should be compared to eachother. There is NO WAY they can get the rights for more than 2" in Marvel, so they wanted every one to be the same height. Makes sense. Personally, I'm sorry DCD was being stubborn. Minimates should be 2", period. Any bigger should be because of accs. (like the Cylons) Matt even agreed with me and said the LotR was a special case in which it made sense to have them bigger.

[TBT!]

I know you read here sometimes, Matt.

Care to confirm, deny or otherwise debunk the above?

T.

I highly doubt it. That and it was a long weekend, so some of my info may be a bit hazy. So for right now I think it'd be best to consider all this a rumor straight from the horse's mouth.

Whoa Chill there Dinobot...It's not a personal slam...

I was simply asking for clarification if he could give it, as you say the info you are giving us is a little muddied, especially on the BSG stuff, you saw proto's but dont know who, you are talking about seeing info for wave 3 when wave 2 hasn't even been anounced yet etc.

T.

[Rad]

Well I'm glad DCD stuck to their guns.

[Jatta Pake]

TM2, I'm just re-reading your first post and I'm stuck on some of the Marvel comments. Can you clarify this part, as you understood it:

"He also said that, while there will always be heavy hitters, we can expect a mild break."

Does that mean we can expect a mild break from Marvel Minimates or a mild break from waves of heavy hitters?

I interpret a heavy hitter as being Thor, Vision, Deadpool, etc. Does a mild break from heavy hitters mean we get a wave of Aunt Mays and obscure characters such as Slyde? Or does this mean a mild break from Spider-Man and Wolverine heavy waves?