Ask Mattel > Official April 1 Answers

April 2, 2010 | Poe

Fear not, folks–Matty didn’t let you down. Here are the real answers to the April 1 Q&A.

1.) The Flash III asks: This is from a Matty Q&A from June 2009: When asked, “which figure or figures were you most surprised you were actually able to get made?” you answered, “Gentleman Ghost really came out well beyond expectations. We have another obscure figure in Wave 13 next year that is just amazing. One hint: there will be a skull involved.” I’m looking at wave 13 and the only skull-related figure is the Negative Man variant. Is this the figure you were referring to or was that one pushed back?

Yes, it was Negative Man we were referring to.

2.) dayraven asks: We’ve been told “vehicles” are off the table for now in MOTUC. What distinguishes a “beast” from a “vehicle”? Would Stridor be considered a beast or a vehicle? What about Battle Bones? What is the criteria that makes a toy one and not the other? (more…)

And now, the second SDCC Exclusive: Fearless Photog(!)

April 1, 2010 | Poe

OK, now that Mattel’s real April Fool’s joke is out of the way, we can get to the good stuff–the actual SDCC exclusive announcement, direct from their Facebook page. It seems all those supposed leaks about Orko or an “official” reveal on Attack of the Show next week was just smoke and mirrors for the real event on April 1–same as last year. I guess these “fake April Fool’s joke” reveals are a Matty tradition now…

Hey toy fans,

To answer your questions–

1: Yes, this is our other SDCC MOTUC figure. It is not an April Fool’s joke.

2: Yes, just like last year, all of the action figure exclusives will be sold online after the show on Mattycollector.com.

3: Fearless Photog, like the other exclusives will be available online after the show. Also, his package will be the same as a standard MOTUC figure, no electronics, so he can ship worldwide.

Okay, I think that covers all the main points. Obviously we are very excited for this year’s show. It looks to be our biggest presence ever with tons of surprises in store. We’ll have more updates as we get closer to the show.

See you all in San Diego. I’ll be there to meet and greet in person!

Matty

Ask Mattel Answers > Early April Edition

April 1, 2010 | Poe

The latest round of Ask Mattel answers are in–and before you ask, yes, these are the real answers direct from Mattel. I’m just the messenger, folks.

1.) The Flash III asks: This is from a Matty Q&A from June 2009: When asked, “which figure or figures were you most surprised you were actually able to get made?” you answered, “Gentleman Ghost really came out well beyond expectations. We have another obscure figure in Wave 13 next year that is just amazing. One hint: there will be a skull involved.”

I’m looking at wave 13 and the only skull-related figure is the Negative Man variant. Is this the figure you were referring to or was that one pushed back? (more…)

Poe’s Point > Club Eternia & Bonus Figures

March 29, 2010 | Poe

Scott Metzger, one of my favorite He-Fans, posted this fair question over on the Mattycollector forums:

Okay, the uncertainty with Keldor’s release brought up a question that I thought had been answered:

If a regular monthly figure misses it’s release date, one of the bonus figures is supposed to be plugged in for that slot on Matty. But we have been told numerous times, especially when the issue came up as the 2010 subscriptions were being hawked, that such a substituted figure would not be part of the subscription.

So, if Keldor had to take the place of, say, the September figure, there would have been no subscription figure for that month, if I’m interpreting the above right?

Here’s TG’s reply (text after the jump). (more…)

DC vs. MOTU 2-packs review

March 28, 2010 | Poe

My review of the DC vs. MOTU 2-packs is up now over at OAFE (part of a deal with yo go re for finding the sets for me–I’ll re-post the review here, with larger pics, in a few weeks).

DC vs. MOTU 2-packs review

Keldor’s production numbers

March 24, 2010 | Poe

With the recent reveal of Keldor (the pre-skullified Skeletor, for those not in the know), many fans have been wondering whether his production numbers will reflect the increased production that’s supposed to start with She-Ra that same month (June). (more…)

Review > Moss Man (Masters of the Universe Classics)

March 22, 2010 | Poe

After all the headaches (see here and here), Masters of the Universe Classics Moss Man has finally arrived–assuming you had a subscription or were able to order him in the first three minutes of sale on MattyCollector. Everyone else will have to wait until 2011 or hit eBay.

I never owned Moss Man as a kid, and since he was rarely featured in the cartoon I didn’t even know much about him. To me he was no more than a green, furry Beast Man. To six-year-old Poe, flocking–which seemed suspiciously like fabric, and therefore associated with dolls–was little more than a way for a figure to look beat-up and scruffy really fast. One trip through the Slime Pit and Moss Man was ruined forever.

And so, I was skeptical about Mattel’s decision to do a flocked Moss Man for the Classics line. Obviously I would have preferred a new sculpt, akin to the Horsemen’s plans for the 200X figure, but due to the cost-saving nature of MOTUC, the only options were flocked or a straight Beast Man repaint, which would have been even worse. Given that choice, flocked was the right way to go. (more…)