Barry’s Blueprints of Hits and Heartbreak

[elhonez]

Glorious! Thanks for sharing Barry! The love for the source comes through -- they definitely hit all my nostalgia buttons from owning various modules and guide books. These and the carded Joes are probably my favorite packaging designs across the brand.

Edited March 23 by elhonez

[SCW]

Thanks for the detailed answer (or repost as well, I thought I had read something before) but it’s interesting.

[Kotter Comics]

I was mainly a Marvel Minimates collector, but by the end there were fewer and fewer Marvel releases that had unique characters that I wanted. The D&D line was one I was really enjoying and I'm sad we never got that last wave. Especially seeing the packaging.

[Padrino]

Thank you so much for sharing this! Absolutely beautiful work!

This one really hurts as I had the LJN Strongheart and Fire Elemental figures when I was a kid and took them everywhere. Same with the Marvel Inferno set. Loved that storyline (and so do the Stranger Things writers, apparently) and really miss the chance to have those figures in hand. 

[thereasonsy]

2 hours ago, Padrino said:

Thank you so much for sharing this! Absolutely beautiful work!

This one really hurts as I had the LJN Strongheart and Fire Elemental figures when I was a kid and took them everywhere. Same with the Marvel Inferno set. Loved that storyline (and so do the Stranger Things writers, apparently) and really miss the chance to have those figures in hand. 

Yeah… that baby Christopher was perfect and uncustomizable.

[Liney]

1 hour ago, thereasonsy said:

Yeah… that baby Christopher was perfect and uncustomizable.

Maybe someone, far more talented than I, could 3d model one? 🤔

[thereasonsy]

On 3/24/2026 at 5:51 PM, Liney said:

Maybe someone, far more talented than I, could 3d model one? 🤔

That’s the hope! 

[Liney]

Hey Barry, I was wondering if you could give a definitive answer - is there an official set of measurements for minimates?

In designing some stickers I measured a handful of mates with some digital calipers and got a variety of measurements for heads and chests. Admittedly only a difference of around 1mm at most.

I guess it comes down to different moulds in different facilities?

[Barry]

It really depends on which body you're using.  There were many updates to the tooling over the years.  The last 'official' one, in that it was a complete overhaul, was 2012 when we digitally recreated the body from the ground up thus eliminating the lack of symmetry in the previous versions.  From there, some tweaks were made though.  Prior to that, there were some tweaks as well, such as the foot replacement.  

My own measurements would be the only official ones I suppose, in that I used them to create the tampo files.  I basically measured dozens of figures and averaged them out to eliminate human error of using my calipers.  Because of the surfaces I needed to measure though, some measurements would be lacking such as the circumference of the hands as they were not able to be completely tampo covered.  I had a measurement for the area that was able to have tampo applied to it.  When we got the digital bodies, I was able to confirm the new measurements needed for tampo, but I didn't ask to get anything else.

A digital base body was used by the sculptors, but the only measurement for that given was it was an overall height from head to toe and a side view width / thickness.  They would have been able to measure any other parts, but it was not necessary for my approvals.  I only needed to know the overall height and width of the newly sculpted parts, which was called out each time.  If I needed something called out, I would ask, but it was not a good use of their time to give me each specific measurement if it wasn't really needed.

[Liney]

Thanks Barry. The 3d modelling to improve symmetry is interesting, I hadn't really noticed them as being uneven!

I'll take the same approach then - lots of measuring and average them out. Or measure specific torsos if needed.

Was the foot replacement going over to the smaller c3 foot with peg hole?

[Barry]

Yeah, it's funny if you look at the old figures how they aren't quite symmetrical.  The most noticeable point is that one leg sits lower than the other, making all early figures stand with a bit of a lean.  That was the main reason why we revisited the body, the lean drove Robert and I crazy.

The foot was indeed the replacement to the C3 smaller foot.  Peg hole aside, which ended up to be very useful after we introduced stands (for my own selfish purposes, but I knew others would benefit too!) I think the smaller foot fits the aesthetic better.

[Padrino]

38 minutes ago, Barry said:

Yeah, it's funny if you look at the old figures how they aren't quite symmetrical.  The most noticeable point is that one leg sits lower than the other, making all early figures stand with a bit of a lean.  That was the main reason why we revisited the body, the lean drove Robert and I crazy.

The foot was indeed the replacement to the C3 smaller foot.  Peg hole aside, which ended up to be very useful after we introduced stands (for my own selfish purposes, but I knew others would benefit too!) I think the smaller foot fits the aesthetic better.

Forgive me if I missed this but were you part of the C3 redesign? The change to the smaller foot with the peg hole was a real game changer!

[Barry]

No, I wasn't, I began in November 2006.  I did get the stands made though.  I was frustrated with my own display constantly dominoing over, especially when I was picking figures out to try combinations of old parts to see if they worked together.  So, I proposed the idea of the stands, figuring others were also experiencing the same frustration.

[SCW]

The stands while certainly not necessary in a general sense (so many figures struggle to stand but MMs do stand on their own nicely) was such a great little under appreciated element to the Mates. Especially as you start building out larger displays and such. Kudos.

[MisterPL]

On 3/30/2026 at 2:08 PM, Liney said:

I guess it comes down to different moulds in different facilities?

Don't forget to factor in material shrinkage. I remember how that affected the 7-inchish Star Trek figures.

[THE_CRIPPLER]

Barry, are there any Minimates (any license) that you wanted to make an updated version of, but never got the chance to? It could be one that you originally designed, or one someone else did.

[Barry]

14 hours ago, THE_CRIPPLER said:

Barry, are there any Minimates (any license) that you wanted to make an updated version of, but never got the chance to? It could be one that you originally designed, or one someone else did.

DC in general, those were very early on for me and I feel that I could design them a LOT better now.  I still like what I did, but they feel a bit dated.  I only worked on Classic Batman, Nightwing, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, Red Son Superman, and Red Son Wonder Woman.  I sort of had a chance to redo the waves I didn't work on when it came to Vinimates.  I began with New 52 styles at first because that was the new hot thing, but as interest in those slowed down, I realized that Bronze Age looks were more interesting at least to me, and a pretty core group of collectors.  I switched gears, but it was too late and the line finished.  And yet, even though they were kind of a redo of the Minimates, if I could redo those themselves, they would all be Bronze Age from the get-go.  

There's the odd figure here and there that I would update now too, like comic book First Class Jean Grey.  She just looks off to me.  I would update her tampo and choose a better hair piece, but at the time we went hog wild into reusing the BSG TRU wave hair pieces since there were so many options available.  Now, I would choose something with more body.

I would also update some of the MCU ones to be a little more faithful.  At times, we didn't have much to go on, maybe just concept art, or some shots of costumes on hangers.  Sometimes we had an actor's name, but no picture of them in costume.  Star-Lord was one of those, we knew it was Chris Pratt, but not that he got into MCU-shape for the role.  We assumed he was going to look a little more like he did on Parks N Rec, which is why his face is not quite accurate to the movie.  I also think in general I was not as good at likenesses then as I am now.  

[THE_CRIPPLER]

Can you recall who would have been in future waves of the DC Minimates if they continued? I always thought some of the choices made in the first few waves made zero sense. Ma Hunkle, S.T.R.I.P.E., Ambush Bug, etc). There were more popular characters that should have been released way before them in my opinion. What was the thought process when choosing what characters were in each wave? I would have loved an updated Catwowman, and Mr. Freeze is another that I feel that should have been in one of the early DC waves.

[Trekker 42]

5 hours ago, THE_CRIPPLER said:

Can you recall who would have been in future waves of the DC Minimates if they continued? I always thought some of the choices made in the first few waves made zero sense. Ma Hunkle, S.T.R.I.P.E., Ambush Bug, etc). There were more popular characters that should have been released way before them in my opinion. What was the thought process when choosing what characters were in each wave? I would have loved an updated Catwowman, and Mr. Freeze is another that I feel that should have been in one of the early DC waves

 

Darkseid, Beast Boy, and Martian Manhunter as well. We were so close to complete Titans and League. 
Luckily the C3 Manhunter is a viable option, but that particular set was always really hard to find. 
I’m willing to bet we were about a wave or two away from Battle Damaged Aquaman and Black Manta given the pattern of the original waves. 
I do want to commend DST for getting out so much of the JSA before the line folded. We were basically an Alan Scott away and frankly I’m not surprised they went with other Lanterns before him. 

[NerdyTrev]

3 hours ago, Trekker 42 said:

I do want to commend DST for getting out so much of the JSA before the line folded. We were basically an Alan Scott away and frankly I’m not surprised they went with other Lanterns before him. 

Alan Scott and an oversized Solomon Grundy is one of those lay-up 2packs I always imagined would've been in Wave 9. Along with Mister Miracle and Big Barda :,(

8 hours ago, THE_CRIPPLER said:

I always thought some of the choices made in the first few waves made zero sense. Ma Hunkle, S.T.R.I.P.E., Ambush Bug, etc).

I think it's just how DC ran itself at the time. The first series of DC Universe Classics, which released the same year as DC Minimates Wave 1, is endemic of this. Actually, the first wave of Minimates seems more focused on heavy-hitters compared to Metamorpho, The Demon, Red Tornado, and Orion. Many of my favorite DC Super heroes, but far from marketable, recognizable names. 

That broad variety and unpredictability is one of the things that makes me love DC Minimates. We got Sgt. Rock for cryin' out loud! A halfway decent lineup for the JSA (classic and modern)! Red Son variants! Blue Beetle and Booster Gold! Yes, there are glaring omissions (BLACK. CANARY.), but I wouldn't trade any of what we got.

[Trekker 42]

2 hours ago, NerdyTrev said:

Alan Scott and an oversized Solomon Grundy is one of those lay-up 2packs I always imagined would've been in Wave 9. Along with Mister Miracle and Big Barda :,(

I think it's just how DC ran itself at the time. The first series of DC Universe Classics, which released the same year as DC Minimates Wave 1, is endemic of this. Actually, the first wave of Minimates seems more focused on heavy-hitters compared to Metamorpho, The Demon, Red Tornado, and Orion. Many of my favorite DC Super heroes, but far from marketable, recognizable names. 

That broad variety and unpredictability is one of the things that makes me love DC Minimates. We got Sgt. Rock for cryin' out loud! A halfway decent lineup for the JSA (classic and modern)! Red Son variants! Blue Beetle and Booster Gold! Yes, there are glaring omissions (BLACK. CANARY.), but I wouldn't trade any of what we got.

I mean I’d trade Ma Hunkel, Ambush Bug, Batwoman, Salaak (love ya man but you don’t belong here yet), Blackhawk, Henshaw, and STRIPE for some more iconic characters but I understand not trading anyone. These were great minimates. Visually especially. 

[Barry]

The character choices for this line were not made by us, and I do know that certain selections were driven by personal preferences, but that was the discretion of those individuals.  I believe the line would have looked very different if done by conventional means.

Designs for Waves 9 and 10 were produced without our involvement.  At the time, it was decided that the art team could be removed from the process in order to reduce costs, based on the idea that the existing library of control art was enough to assemble new designs with minimal additions.  My understanding is that the line did not move forward because removing us from the process also impacted the ability to continue using the brand.

The lineup was:

Wave 9 – Darkseid & Orion; No Man’s Land Batman & Two-Face; Alan Scott Green Lantern & Solomon Grundy; Zatanna & The Atom

Wave 10 – Plastic Man & Martian Manhunter; Cassandra Cain Batgirl & Tim Drake Robin (One Year Later Uniform); Beast Boy & Terra; Jade & Kyle Rayner Green Lantern (Second Uniform)

I do have those images, but I won’t be sharing them, as I disagree with how they were developed.  The intent was to replace our team, and some elements were also taken from designs I created prior to my time at the company.  Those particular designs were never purchased or licensed and therefore were used without authorization.

Edited April 23 by Barry
Thought it was just front views, but looking again it was full designs.

[buttheadsmate]

I've said it many times ....so shall I say it again ?  Yep!  When you compare DC Minimates with their contemporary Marvel Minimates , they were yards ahead .  Wonder Woman  remains one of my all-time favourite Minimates.

 

Edited April 23 by buttheadsmate

[Trekker 42]

God fucking damn it those two waves would’ve filled out a damn solid roster of characters. 

ugh. Greedy ass corporate bullshit strikes again 

[Barry]

41 minutes ago, buttheadsmate said:

I've said it many times ....so shall I say it again ?  Yep!  When you compare DC Minimates with their contemporary Marvel Minimates , they were yards ahead .  Wonder Woman  remains one of my all-time favourite Minimates.

 

They were still designed in house by the same group of people, so it might've just been the change of scenery that helped refresh the artists a bit.