Answers to WTFWTK 2.13!

[foots_mcgee]

In all fairness, I understand that a lot of collectors of the line don't want chase figures at all (including the San Diego exclusive). But I agree with Emiliano- there seems to be a good bit of overreaction/coupled with misunderstanding going on. I read the comment as only referring to the San Diego exclusive- nothing less or more... similar to King Grayskull's treatment last year.

If that is what people are upset about then how is it misunderstood? Repeating the King Grayskull treatment is exactly what irritates me.

[Eterniandreams]

Guys, calm down!
There is no talk about releasing chase figures at all!
Please DO NOT spread false rumor.

The only chase figure being talked about here is a chase for this year SDCC exclusives.
EXACTLY like last year Bronze Grayskull.

Sorry Emiliano, but the above is a bit silly.

There is no talk about chase figures...
Next sentence: SDCC will be a chase figure...
Next sentence: Bronze KG was a chase figure

That is 2 Chase figures within a year of MOTUC counting about 9 or 10 figures released!

But then again:
Guys, calm down!
There is no talk about releasing chase figures at all!

[Emiliano]

Nice.
I may have expressed myself not very well.

But:
People started saying the line will be be full of chase figures and crazy variants,
Is that true?
No.
So I had to put a stop to that.

People where saying the con exclusives won't be available online.
Is that true? Well no, but not exactly either.

Let's correct it to a Variant of the con Exclusive will be available online after the con.
Does that sounds less silly to you?

[Eterniandreams]

Let's correct it to a Variant of the con Exclusive will be available online after the con.
Does that sounds less silly to you?

No, I can live with that. But you just as well as I do that the variant of the exclusive will be "chased" by the completist to collect

Personally I rather have them something do with slight repaints and packaging than accessoires, like ToyGuru said might be possible. I would hate tooling money go to waste for justa select few...

Anyway, lets just see what happens...

[Emiliano]

No, I can live with that. But you just as well as I do that the variant of the exclusive will be "chased" by the completist to collect

Yeah, and I totally agree with you
I just tried to stop crazy speculations before they spinned out of controls, but I feel exactly the same of you guys.,
I'd prefer the only difference between the con figure and the online one was just a sticker.

[Orko's Magic Hat]

An ok Q&A, very happy to know that Battle Cat will be a bonus figure! Not that bothered about the chases/exclusives - If they are offering an exclusive at the cons AND offering the same one on Matty then it stands to reason that they will alter it in some way - Exclusive should mean exclusive, if not don't have exclusives at the con then.

I am with Mattel on this one.

[motu77]

Another round of good answers. I'm not crazy about the possibility of the con figure being different from the Matty release but I'll wait to see how Mattel will handle the situation first before I go ballistic.

[River]

Whatever the case, there is no reason for people to get so upset over a toy. *and I say that in a Tori Amos, earthy way, not a GRRR way.*

I personally like the exclusives. I think of them as comfort food - lol- after I've been completely dissected by editors out in San Diego from day after day of portfolio reviews- I like to think, "oh, well- there's always the exclusive to make me feel better.*

[Mern-Ra]

Well they don't listen to us because they just don't.
I will never understand this myself, either.
It's 200x all over again and I feel the line will be dead more sooner than later...

This line and how it has been handled is NOTHING like how things went in 200X. Saying so simply because they don't bow to EVERY SINGLE fan demand/suggestion/request is crazy, IMO.

[Man-E-Toys]

4. Why are Hordak's abs showing and painted black, rather than having a torso piece of armor?
This was a concept created by the Fourhorsemen to aide characters with armor articulate better. We think it is keen.

So am I to understand that every figure with armor will have their abs painted the color of their armor? So if I take the armor off Hordak, his chest will be gray but his stomache will be black? If this is the case, man this is a huge turnoff as the figures will look ridiculous with their armor off.

[DavidSummers]

It looks like I'm in agreement with the majority...No chase, no exclusives!

Being a "collector's line," I think that everyone collecting should have an equal opportunity to get what they want.

If we as collectors are paying $20 a pop, plus shipping...I really do hope that the powers that be listen and respond to our wants.

That being said, the MOTUC line is AWSOME and I have been very well pleased with the turnout of action figures thus far.

[Darkspecter]

10. Last year at SDCC we were told there wouldn't be any more chase figures. Now at NYCC we were told there might be a chase for the SDCC exclusive. Will you tell us the rarity of this particular chase so the many fans who will want one know their odds, as well as helping them avoid paying high after-market prices?
We actually have not locked down exactly what we are doing. Our challenge this year is that now that we have Matty-Collector.com and the exclusives are available online after the show, we wanted to make the figures actually at the show a little extra special as they were intended to be. It is likely that the batch we bring to the show itself will get something extra not available online. Whether this is an accessory change or a paint op change will depend on the figure, but it is something you will see in a few of our exclusives this year.

Okay...so I'm furious over this as most people, but I'm going to break it down.

#1. Already rare/limited figures. Lets just assume some production numbers, shall we? Let's say every regular MOTUC figure has a 10 000 production number and 5000 for the con exclusives. Mattel sells 3000 at the con(s) and the rest (2000) are sold online. They do not produce extra for this, just try to throw a bone for fans that couldn't be there. HOWEVER! Now they are making the con exclusive even MORE rare/limited by including a new accessory or changing up the paint job (ala 200X He-Man with the yellow sword, metallic shield and "dirt" detailing who goes for $300 or more). Doesn't Mattel realize this is going to drive costs through the ROOF?!

#2. Missing out on accessories/characters. They say they could be simple repaints (like 200X chase He-Man or Skeletor, which I wouldn't REALLY mind), but they could do this with the Green Goddess! I would die if they did that! Many people view her as an entirely different character. They may also do mini-comic repaints for con exclusives, which would enrage many. As for the accessories...Tri-Klops or Trap-Jaw's ring, an extra head (Keldor), etc. There are so many possibilities and every one I can think of would upset fans. Especially since a lot of the people who go to the cons like to pick up all the hot ticket exclusives and sell them for $300+ (see 200X He-Man comment).

#3. Mattel changing their minds. This is a REALLY big one, and PLEASE pay attention Mattel, if you're reading. If you are unsure of something, PLEASE do not tell us one thing and then go and do another. I'd much rather have a "we'll see" or "we're still talking about it" than a "yes, for sure" which never comes to be. Remember when everyone BOOED about the chases and the panel was surprised and you said no more chases? Yeah...


As for the Statue King Grayskull, I was REALLY upset how that was handled too. Bought 2 regular Grayskulls hoping to get one of each. Didn't. I had to turn to Ebay for him and he cost me $100 in the end. I thought this was what Mattel was trying to avoid? This new con exclusive policy seems to ensure this will happen much more often and for bigger bucks. The only reason I shelled out that kind of cash for Statue Grayskull was Mattel PROMISED they would not do it again!

[customcrazy]

4. Why are Hordak's abs showing and painted black, rather than having a torso piece of armor?
This was a concept created by the Fourhorsemen to aide characters with armor articulate better. We think it is keen.

So am I to understand that every figure with armor will have their abs painted the color of their armor? So if I take the armor off Hordak, his chest will be gray but his stomache will be black? If this is the case, man this is a huge turnoff as the figures will look ridiculous with their armor off.

Yeah, kind of defeats the point of removable armor if there's still a painted area. I see why they did it, to protect the articulation. But to be honest i always thought the ab crunch joint is one of the most pointless articulations on most figures.

The Horsemen do it better, but if I have to choose between not posing the mid section or having the armor compromised that's not a hard decision.

I think it looks ok on Hordak, But picturing Clawful, Fisto, Jitsu, etc. I can see how a lot of figures would look terrible.

Plus afterall the effort to ensure the armor was interchangeable it makes no sense to me.

[Eterniandreams]

4. Why are Hordak's abs showing and painted black, rather than having a torso piece of armor?
This was a concept created by the Fourhorsemen to aide characters with armor articulate better. We think it is keen.

So am I to understand that every figure with armor will have their abs painted the color of their armor? So if I take the armor off Hordak, his chest will be gray but his stomache will be black? If this is the case, man this is a huge turnoff as the figures will look ridiculous with their armor off.

What is even worse is that THERE ARE NO ABS! Which I think makes it look ridicolous with the armour off.

[Kobra Khan]

Not to repeat already said things, but just to add one more voice to the chorus:

not cool about 'chase' figures.... that blows imo. Every figure should be available to everyone. I hate 'exclusive' crap.

Thanks Mattel for thinking of making chase figures special for the cons, don't think about all the international fans who cant attend the cons.

Quote! That's my exact same feeling. Con exclusives often exceed 100$ on e-bay (200x Faker AF and Randon staction, to mention two). Change the package slightly at the Cons and sell the same figure with the same accessories on Matty afterwards.

As for the armor I say make it so that it does restrict articulation. I'd rather it look good instead of Horak being able to do ab crunches.

Exactly, this line is not meant for kids and I prefer a good looking figure to a "playable" one; and if I want to play with them so bad, immagination wins over articulation.

[soundwavempl]

Tri-Klops is coming with a flight stand for the Doomseeker! Yes! First time a question I submitted has been used in a Q&A.

Thanks to all those involved in the Q&As. It seems complaints always seem to out weight the fact we are fortunate enough to have some questions answered by Mattel on a frequent basis.

[Eric]

It's a shame there's so much negative reaction and focus on the possible chase idea because I think this was the best Q&A to date.

I liked every response. Very informative, no wishy-washy answers or dodging of questions (sometimes they have to do this, I realize). I appreciate Mattel for stuff like this. It's pretty clear they're trying their best to make MOTUC a success.

And thanks to those responsible for submitting my question (number 3) and getting an answer. I'm glad they're not chained to the idea of "So-and-so came first in the '80s, so he has to come first in MOTUC." And this also means Mekaneck's armor isn't Mekaneck's; it's armor that Mekaneck got to use first that was intended for others.

*Edit to say I just saw soundwavempl's post, and I fully agree with his last statement.

[Eterniandreams]

Thanks to all those involved in the Q&As. It seems complaints always seem to out weight the fact we are fortunate enough to have some questions answered by Mattel on a frequent basis.

I agree that that is something I also forget to do..
So... Thanks Mattel, Toy Guru, everyone from He-man.org and who-ever I forget!

[customcrazy]

Hey, it wouldn't be He-Man.org if we weren't negative!

It's true we do often speak our minds and forget to say thanks. Fact is even with the criticisms some of us have, I know 99.9% of us are so pleased to have this line and love it. Sometimes are passion to make it even better gets the better of us and how we articulate our likes and dislikes, but I think most everyone here is pretty thankful to have the line, and to have Toyguru so accessible and really listening to us.

So, THANK YOU MATTEL!!!

ps.: I still don't like Hordak's Armor

[Merman's Head]

Agreed also, chase figures and variants are not cool, isn't the fact that people who attend the shows get the figure earlier than most people enough of a bonus like faker?
I wish they would just do the same for all conventions.

I agree. I can't make it to these conventions and it drives me nuts to think I would have to pay triple (or more!) the price on Ebay.

[claw guy 3]

2. In regards to the possible Direct to Video feature, might it be a new story or a continuation of the 2002 story?
This comment actually seems to have been taken a bit too literally. To clarify, we are not currently in development of an animated direct to DVD movie or project. This is just one of many MOTU related projects that is on the table right now under discussion. At the moment, 100% f our MOTU time and resources are going into making the best possible figures in the Classics line. If sales take off enough that we can start looking into other projects, a DVD film is at the top of our “wish list” to do and we do have some ideas and concepts brewing. Our comment at NYCC was that we would “like” to do a DVD feature which is true and we are pushing for one, but there is not a project literally in the works at the moment.



4. Why are Hordak's abs showing and painted black, rather than having a torso piece of armor?
This was a concept created by the Fourhorsemen to aide characters with armor articulate better. We think it is keen.

2. Get a cartoon out while there is some hype! Don't wait for sales to drop off first

4. Well I think it sucks.
Zodac has full torso coverage. Surely Hordak can too

[gojira77]

Is it confirmed that there will be a new, smooth abdominal piece for armored characters? Hordak's abs appeared to be more than just painted differently... Would this piece be re-used for Fisto or Battle Armor He-Man?

[Overhaul]

Battle Cat as a bonus figure 2010One figure a month is a long wait.

[Fneh]

4. Why are Hordak's abs showing and painted black, rather than having a torso piece of armor?
This was a concept created by the Fourhorsemen to aide characters with armor articulate better. We think it is keen.

So am I to understand that every figure with armor will have their abs painted the color of their armor? So if I take the armor off Hordak, his chest will be gray but his stomache will be black? If this is the case, man this is a huge turnoff as the figures will look ridiculous with their armor off.

erm... i'd like to point out that in real life (that old chestnut) people that wear heavy duty armour are less agile than those that wear no armour.
A man in full plate mail SHOULDN'T be able to move as well as a man only wearing leather straps...