- I finally remembered to pick a winner in the Parasite/Hawkgirl contest–it was Reverend Ender. Congrats, RE!
- The blog Collider has hi-res pics of some of the Bandai Thundercats toys. No pics of the 8″ Classics line yet, though. You can also see the full product list here.
- It looks like Bif Bang Pow‘s second series of Lost figures may not be produced due to low sales. No surprise there. Look, I don’t want to bag on BBP; they seem like decent guys who really love toys. But Mego-style Lost figures was a bad idea from the start. And now Lost itself is pretty passé. To BBP: Please move on to 6″ non-Mego style Venture Bros. figures. (from Island of Lost Megos, via OAFE)
- And also make a Prince Vultan for the Flash Gordon line–heck, make it Mego style if you have to, I don’t care. But I think we’ve all waited long enough for a winged action figure of Brian Blessed in kitten heels. (I’m deadly serious here.)
- Mattel has asked a few websites, such as AFI, to put together a list of QC/engineering problems with the DCUC/MOTUC lines and present them, with pics, at NYTF. Since I’m going, I don’t mind spearheading an operation for this here on PGPoA, if people are interested. Let me know below, and if you are, I’ll put up a specific post and email address for submissions.
- Update: NOW I remember what my last Odd/End was going to be: the Sword of Ages and the Dread Axe of Darkness will be returning this month!
Cade
BBP… yeah LOST in that format just wasn't going to work. The MEGO resurgence was for comic inspired MEGO figures. Which I don't feel really had that big of a LOST crossover audience.
Ben
I just don't think people are that into collecting anything related to "Lost." The McFarlane line flopped, and that was when the show was at the height of its popularity.
The new Thundercats stuff continues to grow on me, but I'm a little disappointed to see a severe lack of villains available. It looks like we'll get Mumm-Ra in two different versions, Grune, and S-s-slithe, and most of those figures are only available in deluxe formats. The balance between good guys and bad guys helped the original Thundercats line a lot. How are you supposed to play with action figures if you don't have any bad guys to beat up?
barbecue17
I would have loved some Lost action figures, but nothing offered really excited me. LOST had a huge cast of characters, and a line that focused on this, along with some cool accessories, would have been neat. Frankly, however, I can see where most of them would have ended up as pegwarmers and we would have never got the universe building aspect that would be needed to make the line cool.
Mark
@Ben: A lot more of the Thundecats toys will be shown at the New York Toy Fair. Yeah I agree, I like the way there was an equal number of good guys and villans. I have every faith that Bandai will do a good job, unlike some companies. All the stuff Bandai has shown so far has been amazing.
Fengschwing
I have to say the hi-res picks of the Thundercats figures have confirmed my suspicions that they will be a load of old ass.
I'm totally up for the QC thing on Mattel though!…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fengschwing/33518331…
Fengschwing
Although, in fairness to Mattel…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fengschwing/33713443…
dayraven
i tell you the issue i have w/ the mattel thing… there are good, decent people, who get paid, to do that engineering & QC work… and we as fans, because we're rabid, are expected to pony up that paid work for nothing.
if it succeeds once, mattel is going to consider doing that again… and will likely fire their full time R&D and QC people, since we the fans will do the work for free… MO' MONEY!
if it doesn't succeed, mattel gets to stand on their pedestal and marginalize those who tried to be helpful but proved to be no more than "fans," who indeed do not understand the industry. we, embarrassed at our stupidity, shut up and buy the crap they sell us. MO' MONEY!
this just seems like a scheme to get us in a corner or exploit us. it's about making MO' MONEY without usin' YO' MONEY!
Too-Man-E-Faces
Hurray!
nerdbot
Yeah… I've been mulling over the most essential points to send along to Mattel, as well. But dayraven makes a good point.
Maybe we should just tell them they should, when the final products come in, open some up and play with them a bit. I mean sheesh- do they not do this? Have they never been personally annoyed by wrestling a wonky-limbed figure from its plastic tray and then- I dunno- having its leg shear off in their hands?
Mysterious Stranger
When I worked at a company that sold movie promotional cups and popcorn tubs to theatres we always cherry-picked the samples we sent to the studios for their approval. The printing all had to be perfect, no imperfections in the tubs, the handles all had to be the right color, etc. We never, EVER just blind-shipped a case from the factory. That's probably what's happening with Mattel. The factories are sending them hand picked and inspected samples and not a few random pieces from the production run. Even if that's what Mattel asks for I can almost guarantee that unless there is a Mattel employee pulling from the line themselves that they aren't getting anything less than a perfect example.
dayraven
@nerdbot: it's kind of a trap man. i know, as fans, we're programmed to mull over this kind of stuff as recreation… and were this a small operation, without a QC department or an R&D department, like an onell or the four horsemen studios, i'd feel less exploited.
but mattel has frequently made effort to marginalize their fanbase, so i don't feel like giving them a "freebie."
then again, by not responding, they can PR that into "we tried to give you guys a chance to make a difference, and you couldn't… maybe you should leave the business side of the hobby to those of us with jobs at mattel."
but even that is false. guru has said publicly that you stop being a "fan" by "getting a job at mattel" but now we're being asked to DO a job at mattel for nothing… that makes us CHUMPS by my estimation.
if mattel made some insinuation that we the fans would see some kind of boon from the work, i'd be happy to help. but i promise there'll be no names on box credits, no compensation, no price drop, nothing. maybe all of us should get OUR faces on the army builder packs, eh? but that's not what they're doing.
Newt
BBP dropped the Flash Gordon license. They got into an argument with me, that Vultan wasn't a draw and that nobody would buy a Vultan figure.
I tried to tell them that Vultan was arguably the most popular character in Flash Gordon, but they said that there weren't 3,000 people who would buy a Vultan.
So, yeah.
BBP are passionate people, but I don't think they always use the most common sense.
PrfktTear
That announcement from BBP is of no surprise at all. I was an ardent fan of Lost, and being a toy collector, wouldn't you think that I would be a prime demographic for buying them?
Maybe BBP should have gone the route of Big Lebowski Urban Achiever line, which from what I believe did fairly well (they did two versions of The Dude and Walter, and then had a second wave with Donnie, Jésus, and The Stranger.
LOST just has such a huge list of characters from the Flight 816 survivors, the survivors from the tail, the Others, the Dharma workers, etc, etc, etc. It'd take 20 waves of 7 figures each to do everyone.
I just hope they (BBP) doesn't blame the fanbase or assume its malcontent famboys on the internets.
googum
I just figured no Vultan because it would've been a bear to sculpt, or maybe the likeness rights. Still, I'm kinda looking forward to the 6 or 8 inch Thundercats, if they turn out.
Dead Man Walking
I just googled what a "Vultan" is…holy crap! I would NOT want that on my shelf. Lol.
Darren
I'm looking forward to the "classic" Thundercat's. I hope that the 8" line looks allot better than the Hi Rez pic's of the 3" figures. The 3" scale just look like more Bandi Power Ranger junk to me.
Monte
Wow. Those ThunderCats toys look fifteen years old.
PrfktTear
@Dead Man Walking: Who WOULDN'T?!
Also, I love that I googled "Voltan" and it took me to a Topless Robot article. OH what a tangled web we weave.
@Monte: I donno, I think they look on-par with those Ben 10 figures.
nerdbot
@Fengschwing: That's really cool that they sent an actual figure. I have called Mattel customer service twice, and both times they sent a voucher for the MSRP to replace the item. I appreciate any effort that they make to replace an item, but I think I prefer the idea of having a figure show up in the mail – even if it is a bit random. And if what shows up will be as cool as that Hal, then I'm definitely on board. (I'm a fan of that line, and it seems to me that he was pretty rare here in the States, too.)
Heli
@barbecue17: Clearly, the Lost guys should've gotten in touch with Art Asylum for some Minimates.
misterbigbo
@Heli: I thought the same thing when I just passed by my collection of BSG 'mates.
The Flash III
@dayraven:
It sounds like a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation with reporting on QC. I continue to by DCUC (except that awful wave 17 lineup) in spite of QC issues, as do many people I know. For us, it seems like reporting may be the only way to get any semblance of QC from Mattel and since we'll buy the figures anyway, it might be our only hope. Agreed that it is a shitty way to do business, though.
Croaker
@Heli:
I've got the Kubrick Lost figures – pretty good, but not too many characters.
Valo487
I'm amazed they managed to make money on series one of Lost. Maybe if BBP ever bother to make a line of action figures without trying to make everything Mego-esque they might have more success. Then again, after that ridiculous rant by Lenzi on AFI, I can't help but find some karmic joy in the guy who saw nothing but genius in those ridiculous Tron figures coming up short. Maybe this will be the wakeup call they need to realize just because you like it doesn't mean it's good.
Reverend Ender
WOOOOOOOOOOT! THANKS POE!!!!