Answers to WTFWTK 2.11!

[JVS3]

Toyguru has once again provided answers to your questions.
Check out his answers to your Round 11 questions!

1. Mattel originally stated that every precaution would be taken to insure mint on card collectors would be taken care of and that the items would be shipped with the highest regard to condition. But fans are still receiving items that are poorly packaged, with items arriving in poor condition as a result. What is being done to correct this?
We are looking into creating an outer shipper box much like we do for the DCUC figures and the JLU MattyCollector figures. We’ll have more news soon when we can start including this shipper box! We are very committed to doing everything we can to making sure figures are as mint as possible!

2. Many fans still do not receive confirmation notices from Matty Collector upon placing an order, and they don't seem to be going into Spam/Junk filters. What can Mattel do to resolve this?
We are actively working with our partners at Digital River to correct several issues related to sales and hope to have this resolved before the next product goes on sale.

3. Originally Mattel stated that once a first run MOTUC figure sells out, a "2nd printing" figure would be issued with a slightly modified packaging so the figure would always be available. Now Mattel has stated that once a MOTUC figure's stock is depleted, it will be retired and possibly return with modified paint ops later on. What happened?
It will still take a few more figures to judge sales, but we do plan to bring back core characters in time, but will either change the packaging, deco or accessories to preserve the collectabilty of the original release. The specific change will depend on the figure and what makes the most sense for a re-release. But you want see the words "spin" or "smash" used anytime soon. There are lots of ways to reissue main characters with fan requested re-releases and refreshes.

4. The Matty Collector site not featured among Mattel's online shop links on Mattel's official site, and MOTUC has no info represented in Mattel's products directory. Why is this?
Actually, both MattyCollector and MOTU are linked to the Mattel site and have been for quite some time. Check again! We are also currently working on adding MattyCollector to the
Mattel shop page - stay tuned!

5. Matty Collector's order Checkout is not using secure internet protocol page (https). When will this be fixed for the security of fans and collectors?
Much like question two, we are working through this with our partners at Digital River to resolve issues like this as quickly as possible.

6. What has Mattel done, if anything, in the way of testing to insure the MOTUC figure joints will remain tight and posable over time?
We have rigorous testing we do on all of our product to ensure it will remain top quality. Of course there is no amount of testing that can make up for constant use of a product which at the end of the day is a plastic figure of a man (or well, a beast or a Mer Man or, well you get it). But our collector figures are designed to last and we test all of our products before shipping to market. (In fact, Mattel as a company completes more testing then any other toy manufacturer, way more then is requires by safety standards). We do truly care for our customer’s enjoyment of our products!

7. Due to the action pose inside the packaging, many fans received a He-Man with a warped leg. What are Mattel's plans in regards to posing inside of the packaging to help insure future figures don't suffer from this same problem?
We have communicated this to our plant and are working with them to improve the quality of plastic used in the figures to insure this does not become an ongoing issues!

8. Fans were told that Mattel was looking into a way to prevent the plastic molding from being as hard/stiff as what we saw on King Grayskull, thus allowing the fans more posing options. But with the release of He-Man, we see this has not yet changed. What are Mattel's plans in this regard?
Well the loin cloth on He-Man is not as long so it should not prevent the movement of his legs the way Grayskull’s did. If we produced a future figure with a skirt or a longer loincloth we would use a material similar to the cape Grayskull had.

9. Will there be a limit on Faker at NYCC, and what are Mattel's allocation plans (percentage of Fakers at NYCC VS percentage of Faker's available online) to help that insure fans who can't attend the show will be able to purchase it via Matty Collector?
We will limit the Faker figures at NYCC to 4 per person and are not brining our full stock of Faker’s to the show. Based on first day sales of the three previous MOTUC figures we should have more then enough Faker’s online after the show to accommodate fan demand.

10. In the interest of wide-spread advertisement of MOTUC, has matty considered mentioning the Matty Collector site during one of their "CARS" commercials being broadcasted on national television?
This is something we have discussed with other brands and if they are interested they have Matty’s permission to use his logo and website on their commercials!

11. Now that MOTUC has a few figures under its belt, is Mattel seeking brick and mortar support for the line? Or will it always remain online at Matty Collector?
MOTUC will remain for the time being an exclusive for Mattycollector.com. If we did bring the line to retail, at the earliest it would be during a year with major new MOTU entertainment like a new live action film or animated series. (not that we are confirming anything, just giving examples). And if we did bring it to retail we would make sure to change up the figures a bit with new paint ops and accessories to keep the Matty releases special.

12. With talks of Entertainment Rights selling off properties, is there any hope of Mattel buying back the MOTU, POP and NA cartoon and licensing libraries?
Always a possibility but nothing we can comment on publicly for a variety of legal reasons.

13. To help continue to build excitement, could Mattel post some galleries of "work in progress" type photos each month here at He-Man.org or on Matty that include shots of concept sketches for an upcoming figure, the 4H at work sculpting, or even figures getting painted at the factory?
Definitely a possibility down the road. You can see a great video of the Horsemen at work on the third DVD of the BCI release of the MYP series.

14. With the trend in toys now leaning towards smaller figures in the 3.75" scale, is this something that will happen with MOTUC or future MOTU-based lines?
Right now we are concentrating on the Classics line. It is possible we might one day expand to other scales but not until we had new entertainment to bring the line to retail.

15. If later figures in MOTUC feature the same legs (eg: like Clawful and Skeletor in the original MOTU line), will there be any way to make the legs interchangeable like in BAF (Build-a-figure) figures?
The legs were not designed to be removable in this line but it is possible down the road we would rerelease key figures with different parts. (such as the Clawful example you mentioned or Stratos with Beastman legs and a reverse color of his jet pack and wing armor). There are lots of possibilities that are all collector cannon due to the many color and part variations in the original line.

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And have fun discussing Toy Guru's answers to your Round 11 questions!

[Binx4life]

"We are looking into creating an outer shipper box much like we do for the DCUC figures and the JLU MattyCollector figures."

What do the other lines that have these look like? I don't collect or pay attention to other lines, and how they are packaged. Is it like the box that Grayskull came in?

[Angel-T]

12. With talks of Entertainment Rights selling off properties, is there any hope of Mattel buying back the MOTU, POP and NA cartoon and licensing libraries?


"Always a possibility but nothing we can comment on publicly for a variety of legal reasons".

Hmmm....Well it's good to know there is a possibility of this happening at least. If Mattel were not intrested in the Filmation rights, (IMO) TG would probably have told us no to end the speculation. Fingers crossed Mattel are in discussions with ER to buy the liscencing rights back, maybe they legally can't comment due to confidentiality issues surrounding these kinda deals while they are being thrashed out?

[Seven_Seas]

"We are looking into creating an outer shipper box much like we do for the DCUC figures and the JLU MattyCollector figures."

What do the other lines that have these look like? I don't collect or pay attention to other lines, and how they are packaged. Is it like the box that Grayskull came in?

Same here, but I'd like that outer box idea. It would keep the blister pack snug and more protected ... and it would make 2 or more figures easier to stack, without them "denting" one another.

Then again, they might be pertaining to another shipping box.



We have communicated this to our plant and are working with them to improve the quality of plastic used in the figures to insure this does not become an ongoing issue!

Not to be a fusspot, but shouldn't they have already learned their mistakes from King Grayskull?

[Vegtablesam]

Id love it if Mattel got the toon licences, id really like some Filmation styled figures. Even if it was only a couple such as a He-man/Skeletor 2 pack.

[Tallstar]

What do the other lines that have these look like? I don't collect or pay attention to other lines, and how they are packaged. Is it like the box that Grayskull came in?

If you look at the pictures for Adam Strange and Starfire on Matty, I believe they show a picture of the white outer box.

[Angel-T]

Id love it if Mattel got the toon licences, id really like some Filmation styled figures. Even if it was only a couple such as a He-man/Skeletor 2 pack.

I personally would be all over a limited line of the primary POP & MOTU Filmation characters in 3.75" scale. (suclpted by the 4H of course). If Mattel does buy the rights back and the movie is a hit, maybe something like this can happen as a subline to the new movie toys.

[Jukka]

If Mattel does buy the rights back and the movie is a hit, maybe something like this can happen as a subline to the new movie toys.

I find it really funny how fans keep mentioning "if they just bought it back" and sometimes make it sound like a very simple, no-nonsense transaction.

While JVS3 has commented that there are lot of things that may be a factor, and also BCI Guy has stated at one point:

The thing we don't know is if ER is willing to sell MOTU/POP separately. For all we know Mattel may be trying to get them back, but ER is insisting on a package deal for the whole library. The rest of the Filmation library has very little value on its own, so to break it up, they may be asking for a ridiculous price.

For example, BCI was able to license He-Man by itself, but as soon as it starting selling really well, we were only able to get She-Ra (and the few others we wanted) if we licensed a bunch of the smaller properties as well.

IF ER would've realized the value of MOTU initially, we would've had to have paid A LOT more for it.

[Angel-T]

I find it really funny how fans keep mentioning "if they just bought it back" and sometimes make it sound like a very simple, no-nonsense transaction.

While JVS3 has commented that there are lot of things that may be a factor, and also BCI Guy has stated at one point:

Don't worry Jukka, I am very aware that trying to buy a 20 million dollar cartoon libarary and lisencing rights is no simple task. But there is nothing wrong with trying to look at the situation optimistically and hope that Mattel indeed try and to broker a deal to buy back these rights.

[Eamon]

I dare say that the MOTU library is gonna be worth even more now what with a new movie an all.

But yeah, it's cool to see that "it's a possibility".

I didn't think it would be possible to break up the Filmation libraries.

[Angel-T]

I dare say that the MOTU library is gonna be worth even more now what with a new movie an all.

But yeah, it's cool to see that "it's a possibility".

I didn't think it would be possible to break up the Filmation libraries.

I got to agree! As soon as Mattel confirmed the movie on Mattycollector and WB did the same on Varity, I thought the price of the Filmation cartoons and lisencing rights was just going to jump loads!

[ProfGriffin]

Well, this makes me even MORE excited for the new movie. There is no doubt in my mind that MOTU will return to Brick and Mortar stores. No doubt at all.
The summer blockbusters (especially ones based on Toylines) demand a heavy marketing and tie-ins.
So yes, when Masters of the Universe (the movie) is being made...(and we have a director tied to the project) we will see NEW toys in the stores.
That alone is reason for cheer and celebration.

Now if these new toys are MOTUC-style....all will be right with the world.

[Drewsky]

Not a lot of information in this question period that weren't already common sense.

I'm just looking forward to NYCC right now.

Drewsky...

[Greyskull]

6. What has Mattel done, if anything, in the way of testing to insure the MOTUC figure joints will remain tight and posable over time?
We have rigorous testing we do on all of our product to ensure it will remain top quality. Of course there is no amount of testing that can make up for constant use of a product which at the end of the day is a plastic figure of a man (or well, a beast or a Mer Man or, well you get it). But our collector figures are designed to last and we test all of our products before shipping to market. (In fact, Mattel as a company completes more testing then any other toy manufacturer, way more then is requires by safety standards). We do truly care for our customer’s enjoyment of our products!






Some of my figures seem like they were tested for about a year.

[Darkspecter]

6. What has Mattel done, if anything, in the way of testing to insure the MOTUC figure joints will remain tight and posable over time?

We have rigorous testing we do on all of our product to ensure it will remain top quality. Of course there is no amount of testing that can make up for constant use of a product which at the end of the day is a plastic figure of a man (or well, a beast or a Mer Man or, well you get it). But our collector figures are designed to last and we test all of our products before shipping to market. (In fact, Mattel as a company completes more testing then any other toy manufacturer, way more then is requires by safety standards). We do truly care for our customer’s enjoyment of our products!

Does anyone else find it SLIGHTLY ironic/disturbing that in a quote about the extensive testing Mattel does to make sure they have the best quality product possible...there's a grammar error? Guess they don't test the spell checker...although we knew that from SDCC...

For anyone not in the "know" they misspelled decedents in the beautiful base of the life-sized King Grayskull statue.

[chuc98]

Darkspecter…there are ALWAYS typos in Toyguru's responses. LOL

It's good to hear that they're actively working on the issues with the website and with the shipping materials.

[Mern-Ra]

14. With the trend in toys now leaning towards smaller figures in the 3.75" scale, is this something that will happen with MOTUC or future MOTU-based lines?
Right now we are concentrating on the Classics line. It is possible we might one day expand to other scales but not until we had new entertainment to bring the line to retail.

THANK GOD. I want my MOTU big! AT LEAST as big as the originals!

[chuc98]

THANK GOD. I want my MOTU big! AT LEAST as big as the originals!

Yeah I'm scratching my head over that one too. Why anyone would want a small MotU line akin to GI Joe is beyond me…the current size is awesome!

[Darkspecter]

Yeah I'm scratching my head over that one too. Why anyone would want a small MotU line akin to GI Joe is beyond me…the current size is awesome!

Someone must want to mix them up with their Joes or Star Wars guys.

[JVS3]

Yeah I'm scratching my head over that one too. Why anyone would want a small MotU line akin to GI Joe is beyond me…the current size is awesome!

I think it was a very good question.

With the rising cost of action-figures, it is a direction a number of toy manufacturers are heading in... that and a lot of vinyl toys.

It's possible that size scale may be a reality in the future for MOTU.
We never know.

[Eamon]

Well MOTU was originally gonna be very small so they could have playsets and terrains to play on.
Mattel wanted to out do Star Wars so they made them big.
The biggest action figure of it's kind back then too.

I for one would hate MOTU to go small!!

[chuc98]

Yeah…but aren't the smaller figures solid plastic anyway? It's been a while since I've actually handled a GI Joe or Star Wars figure, but I do remember them being pretty solid. Doesn't seem like it would be a cost cutting measure unless the figures remained hollow. And, I don't see this as the future of the Classics line. Why would they go even bigger than they have ever before only to retreat in size on down the line?

[oulala]

It's possible that size scale may be a reality in the future for MOTU.
We never know.

God forbid!

[phantom1592]

Not a lot of information in this question period that weren't already common sense.

I'm just looking forward to NYCC right now.

Drewsky...

Agreed. Most was common sense, and the rest was vague responses

[Tallstar]

At least the skirts on POP will be soft plastic.