Here’s the latest roundup of Ask Mattel.
Mattel seems to be getting a little vague in their answers ahead of SDCC. For the next round (June 1), I got so many interesting reader suggestions that I submitted twice as many questions as usual.
It’s been stated that Mattycollector.com’s goal is to have MOTUC figures on sale for about two weeks before they sell out. Given that so many people order as soon as they go on sale, is that a realistic goal? Obviously as long as they’re selling out in less than an hour they’re being under-produced, but some of us are becoming concerned that these early sell-outs will create a “bubble” for MOTUC speculation that will cause Mattel to over-produce the line and then, when sales lag for less popular characters, the line might be prematurely canceled. How is Mattel taking these issues into account?
We are increasing production of MOTUC figures and will also go back into production on the older figures who have sold out.
philipjreed asks: Approximately how many Mer-Men were shipped? Will the larger production runs bring down the price on future figures?
All of the Mer-Men produced were shipped, but we do not give out production numbers or future pricing.
It was hinted on the Mattycollector Facebook page that the black-and-gray Batman repaint in the Batman/Clayface two-pack would eventually be released without the “mud splatter” paint. Assuming this is true, would this figure be otherwise identical, or is there a chance we could get the much-desired modern Batman with the pouch belt and black bat symbol (like the Infinite Heroes version)?
That is yet to be revealed!
As of right now, what is the approximate in-stores date for DCUC Wave 9?
Mid-summer.
How soon can we expect to see some hints or preview pics of Battle Cat?
We’’ll have him at SDCC.
The next round of Ask Mattel is due soon, and I’m happy to take a few of your questions to submit.
As always, I’m more likely to choose politely-expressed questions that haven’t been asked a thousand times before than, say, “y cant u rerelease DCUC5 u **********ers?!?”
Here’s your bi-weekly (bi-monthly? I can never remember) roundup of Mattel Q&As for May 1:
Some highlights:
PG: It could stand to reason Mattel would make more money were it to sell Gleek both at the convention and online via Mattycollector.com. What is the rationale for potentially limiting profits and risking alienating part of the DCUC collector base by making Gleek SDCC-only?
Mattel: We wanted to reward fans who come out to the show with an exclusive figure just as we have done in the past with Grundy, Keldar, Catwoman, She-Ra, etc… This year Gleek is out SDCC exclusive available only at the show! As a bonus, we are making other items available online through MattyCollector.com. In the past, all of our exclusives were only available at the show, so this is a huge change for fans who can not attend this year. (And yes, we know last year all of the SDCC items were available online but that was an exception to help promote the launch of the site, going forward there will always be items only available at the show to reward those who make it out and help continue to make SDCC special).
Any plans for display stands for Masters of the Universe Classics?
Yes.
Valo487 asks: After Batman, the Flash has the best rogues gallery in all of DC. Will we see more of them in either JLU or DCUC?
Yes.
Outburst asks: There are certain teams like the Royal Flush Gang or various shaded Lanterns that may be very difficult to market as individual figures. Should DC Universe Classics collectors consider those ensembles write-offs or can be we cling to our hope, remote as it may be?
Nothing is off the table!
Robinjr asks: In DCUC or DCIH, will we see Red Robin, and the new Batman and Robin who will have their own series in June? And will we see the different color Lantern Corps that are spotlighted in Blackest Night? And by the way thank you for all the figures you’ve made in DCUC, DCIH, and JLU. I’m a big fan!
Eventually, yes, we would love to get to the new Lanterns from Blackest Night. Toys are planned almost 2 years in advance, so new characters who are coming out now have a good chance of being in the line in 2011.
Here’s your bi-monthly Ask Mattel roundup. I’ll update it with any more that pop up.
Interesting tidbits:
Kastor: With the next Matty Collector DCUC 2 pack coming in only a few weeks, are there any hints about the third 2 pack for the line? A guy and a girl? Hero and Villain? A theme to the pack?
Matty: The next pack will be two villains!
That’s cool. Here’s hoping for two Flash foes–maybe Heat Wave and Mirror Master? (more…)
1.) While you can’t provide any specific numbers, can you give any sense of how much more widely available the next Walmart-exclusive wave of DCUC will be than Wave 5 (if at all)?
It is up to Wal-Mart to announce those numbers. (more…)
Here’s the roundup of the various Mattel Q&As for the beginning of April.
Just in time to not make you think it’s an April Fool’s joke, here’s the PGPoA April 1 edition of Ask Mattel.
POE: In a recent update, you stated that the Guardian figure in Wave 9 will be the classic, not the modern, version because Mattel “did not have tooling available to do both and the vintage version was farther along in the process.” At first glance, the figures look virtually identical (see attached pic). What exactly is the difference aside from the paint apps–i.e., what new tooling would the modern Guardian have required?
Mattel: The modern version had a new head, new belt and new shield.
Will Mattel continue to offer single cases of individual DCUC figures to online retailers for all (non-exclusive) waves?
Yes. We will also offer these on MattyCollector.com starting with Wave 9.
Esbat asks: I have to say kudos for the DC Infinite Heroes line, almost every figure released so far is readily available in most stores that carry it. There are very few if any kind of QC issues with the most recent waves, and the character selection is just peachy keen. My question is: with the upcoming increased articulation for DCIH, will we be seeing any future multi-packs of previously released characters but sporting the newer articulation?
Yes, in time.
Pete asks: A lot of fans will be disappointed if they don’t get a “Metropolis Kid” to finish their “Death and Return of Superman” sub-set. Given the recent legal troubles surrounding the Superboy name, do you have any plans to make a DCUC Superboy figure, or are you even allowed to?
Yes, the Superboy clone from the Return of Superman storyline is part of our contract and we would like to get to him to complete this set!
Mark asks: Are there any plans to release DCUC in UK shops and MOTU through Mattel UK?
All of our DCU product is available for world wide shipping in multiple languages. All you have to do is ask your local Mattel retailer to order some and we will ship them out. We will ship product to anyone in any country who orders it!
Poe: The Matty Mattel Facebook page has been very good about updating collectors on the status of various toy lines. However, not all collectors have Facebook accounts. Would it be possible for these updates to be cross-posted on Mattycollector.com?
Mattel: Ideally we would like to do this, but believe it or not it is a bit more complicated to update MattyCollector.com’s news page due to unforeseen legal issues which is why we started using Facebook. We highly recommend that if fans want the latest info they register for the Facebook page. (more…)