MOTUC Castle Grayskull Discussion Thread w/ Feb 26, 2013 Q&A

[Matthew K]

Beautiful pic, Patrick! I cannot wait until December. While I would have preferred the original dimensions, this thing is still going to look fantastic as a backdrop for figures.

[Baena]

Beautiful pic, Patrick! I cannot wait until December. While I would have preferred the original dimensions, this thing is still going to look fantastic as a backdrop for figures.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't wait to see what you do with it good sir!!!

And Patrick! That's a fantastic pic!

I might have to do something myself...

[PaTrIcKfOgArTy]

Awesome pic Patrick!

Beautiful pic, Patrick! I cannot wait until December. While I would have preferred the original dimensions, this thing is still going to look fantastic as a backdrop for figures.

And Patrick! That's a fantastic pic! I might have to do something myself...

Thanks guys! It really is such an amazing sculpt, I cannot wait!! Baena, YES PLEASE!

[Lay Ze-Man]

That pic kinda makes me wish there was more of a blackwash on the paint job.

But it looks great clean, too . . . I guess I could see it both ways.

[EtherianChronicles]

I just hope the two halves of the Castle still open by then!

I know, right.

Watch, by the time we get it there will be nothing left but two empty shells with no flooring or accessories that the poor things couldn't even afford two hinges to attach to, and it will be completely bare black plastic.

"But it's still Grayskull! Thank you Scott!", I can still hear some saying.

[Super He-Man]

I bet they could afford to make it bigger if they put one of the halves in a $250 accessory pack.

[horseman1981]

I bet they could afford to make it bigger if they put one of the halves in a $250 accessory pack.

Just spit my water out.

[Barezz]

So here is a question, a sort of "what could have been" question. If the Castle had been constructed so that the other 2 walls could have been released later (like say next year), would there have been interest? So next year the other wall and the back are released, could attach to the existing castle, and would have interior/playset features as well?

Price range I would think maybe around $200.

[He-Dad]

So here is a question, a sort of "what could have been" question. If the Castle had been constructed so that the other 2 walls could have been released later (like say next year), would there have been interest? So next year the other wall and the back are released, could attach to the existing castle, and would have interior/playset features as well?

Price range I would think maybe around $200.

They could of had the "build a castle" installment option!

[Barezz]

Yea they could have. A 4 walled Castle Grayskull really would have been unprecedented, and very cool.

[No-Ah]

They still could do that. They just have to design the two new walls to latch onto whatever's already there. But then again, who would want to close it? I imagine we'd have the four walls open to see the inside.

[Clawful Ofit]

So here is a question, a sort of "what could have been" question. If the Castle had been constructed so that the other 2 walls could have been released later (like say next year), would there have been interest? So next year the other wall and the back are released, could attach to the existing castle, and would have interior/playset features as well?

Price range I would think maybe around $200.

That could have worked, yet also could have been disastrous. I seem to recall two Star Trek build-a-somethings that didn't get finished. I would have been much more wary to order. Just imagine if they didn't get out the final piece? Poor TG would have to flee the country!

Still I'm just super excited, yes a little disappointed with head space, but overall I love it & pray I somehow get the last 32 figures I need before it gets here. C'mon December!

[phantom1592]

So here is a question, a sort of "what could have been" question. If the Castle had been constructed so that the other 2 walls could have been released later (like say next year), would there have been interest? So next year the other wall and the back are released, could attach to the existing castle, and would have interior/playset features as well?

Price range I would think maybe around $200.

No interest here.

I find very little use for a castle that I can't get inside... or see inside.. or DO anything with, because it's all boxed in. Now.... a THIRD wall like the 200x version, I could be interested in. I really think that's the ONLY thing I like about the 200x one. But 4??? No chance. I'd get the Iconheroes one before I did that. It would have about the same playablitiy

[maltesefalcon]

i was hoping on a modular castle with swappable rooms myself but....
when i got my classics figures i bought the 200x castle, never having the original this was my first castle grayskull
i took the dungeon out because it was flimsy, removed the lazer cannon and the flag to make more space on top i still use it to display the heroic warriors and the weapons holders hold the power sword quite well!

when i first heard of the classics grayskull i was amazed that they were doing it wondering if it would be a mix of styles vintage,filmation,200x and movie then i started hearing more
first they were only having 2 sides: ok that was all the vintage had and there was going to be a ledge at the side so i though id get some display there
secondly there was no balcony: my favourite part of the 200x castle mainly due to watching filmation sorceress appear at the window and fire magic at skeletor, on the 200x castle this was possible however due to the tiny window on the new one it is not

but i still pre-ordered (after taking 2 hours sitting and discussing it with my 86 year old gran, she loves to see me get the new figures and i read the bios to her in a fake announcer voice!) when we hit the target i was stoked dancing and jumping around it was the he-man feild of dreams they came together to build the source of the power!

the b-sheets continued to keep me up there i redesigned my whole display room and im in the process of taking down a few other collections to make room (so long justice league, bye bye green lantern, till all are one- classics transformers)

then came nytf and i was shocked
the ledge looked like it had been cut in 2 so all my original masters with their week ankles will topple over if i put them on especially the ones with sculpting on the back of their armour
there was no room between the secret door and the throne so it makes the door a complete waste
the floors were half hanging off (could be just the prototype)
i pose my figures standing straight so they will be bumping their heads off the ceilings and they added little stairs to make sure there was even less room
where did the teeth and tounge come from on the drawbridge? even if battle cat could go through the door he would impale his paws and the tounge just adds to the clearance issues

all in all i got the impression of a very haphazardly put together turquoise small interior castle grayskull- the size on the front is fine apart from the drawbridge clearances, and i like the way the skull is designed its just the interior that seems squashed.

im keeping my pre-order and look forward to the final product but for someone who only just got the 200x castle i was looking for a giant leap for all motukind not just a small step for he-man

[Garthantula]

I understand that the cost of producing these kinds of things goes up all the time, but Scott needs to take that into consideration when he works up the initial plan/budget.

How do you know he didn't? In planning for the future, it's entirely possible to take every known factor into consideration, make no errors of judgement or illogical assumptions, and arrive at the most rational conclusions possible, only find that you failed to predict future conditions with 100% accuracy and have to adjust your plans accordingly. In fact, that's normally the way things work.

Did Scott and his team do a thorough cost analysis, develop reasonable expectations, and then give us honest projections, or did they blithely ignore relevant market conditions while throwing together an extravagant wish list of features they could never possibly deliver? We have no idea; certainly the mere fact that there have been changes from design to development doesn't indicate that one extreme is more likely than the other.

It may be that, at the time, Scott thought that he was safely underestimating what they could to put into the castle, but market conditions changed in ways that couldn't be reasonably predicted, forcing change. Or not. We don't know his intentions.

It's equally possible that Scott was lying about his expectations and knew all along that Mattel could never produce everything shown on the B-sheet at the price advertised. Or not. Because we don't know his intentions. Either of these extremes could have led to the present situation, and we don't have enough facts to draw responsible conclusions.

[goluphi]

The Castle Grayskull conspiracy.

Here's what I think happened with Castle Grayskull. Initially, Mattel/the 4H were planning on doing a $200 castle. Once they specced it all out, they realized that they might need some more room monetarily, so they decided to increase the price to $250, to absolutely ensure that fans got everything they wanted. Let's say that the Castle, as it was initially presented, would have cost Mattel $220 a unit to produce. These guys are professionals, so they ran the numbers, and found that the $250 price point was the price point to get the Castle to the level they wanted, still get a decent profit, and make the fans happy. And these are the specs that were presented on the initial Castle Grayskull preorder.

Once all the preorders were in, and the Castle became a real thing, the Mattel execs took notice. They saw a $250 item that was ONLY making them $30 a unit. These guys have 0 understanding of the MOTUC line, all that they understand is the numbers on the Excel spreadsheets that they browse between golf games. They want to feel important. They want to feel like they are making the company money. So, an order came down from on high to increase the amount of profit on the Castle from $30 to at least $50.

This is where the 4H had to scramble to come up with a design that was still as close as possible to the original specs, while coming in at the new cost estimates for the Castle. So, they weren't able to add any additional features, and were forced to downsize the castle, and actually cut some of the features they were planning to add in. ToyGuru is probably pretty angry about this, but since he can't call out his bosses, he has to play damage control as best as he possibly can to the fans. The fans in turn get angry at ToyGuru, who is just as angry as they are (if not moreso). When, in reality, the fans should be writing letters to the brainless Mattel execs who caused the problems in the first place.

[KUZEH]

The Castle Grayskull conspiracy.

Here's what I think happened with Castle Grayskull. Initially, Mattel/the 4H were planning on doing a $200 castle. Once they specced it all out, they realized that they might need some more room monetarily, so they decided to increase the price to $250, to absolutely ensure that fans got everything they wanted. Let's say that the Castle, as it was initially presented, would have cost Mattel $220 a unit to produce. These guys are professionals, so they ran the numbers, and found that the $250 price point was the price point to get the Castle to the level they wanted, still get a decent profit, and make the fans happy. And these are the specs that were presented on the initial Castle Grayskull preorder.

Once all the preorders were in, and the Castle became a real thing, the Mattel execs took notice. They saw a $250 item that was ONLY making them $30 a unit. These guys have 0 understanding of the MOTUC line, all that they understand is the numbers on the Excel spreadsheets that they browse between golf games. They want to feel important. They want to feel like they are making the company money. So, an order came down from on high to increase the amount of profit on the Castle from $30 to at least $50.

This is where the 4H had to scramble to come up with a design that was still as close as possible to the original specs, while coming in at the new cost estimates for the Castle. So, they weren't able to add any additional features, and were forced to downsize the castle, and actually cut some of the features they were planning to add in. ToyGuru is probably pretty angry about this, but since he can't call out his bosses, he has to play damage control as best as he possibly can to the fans. The fans in turn get angry at ToyGuru, who is just as angry as they are (if not moreso). When, in reality, the fans should be writing letters to the brainless Mattel execs who caused the problems in the first place.

I strongly doubt it will cost Mattel even $100.00 per Castle, much less $220... no way in hell... :lol

[Super He-Man]

I strongly doubt it will cost Mattel even $100.00 per Castle, much less $220... no way in hell... :lol

I'm pretty sure the figures were for illustrative purposes only.

I would guess the cost falls somewhere in between. They're not making a lot of these compared to a retail item, which brings the per unit cost up a lot. If you're talking the cost to make 1 more castle, then sure it might be around $100. However, if you amortize the start-up + overhead costs per unit, the cost would be a lot more.

[MLHumble]

This one will hold us off until December...

[chuc98]

I'd love it to be bigger, but my bigger problem is that I just want it now! December can't get here fast enough so I'm entertaining myself with photoshop

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ps47c3d909.jpg

That's a great Photoshop job Patrick!

[davidlogan]

This one will hold us off until December...

That's awesome! Great picture!

[lemure77]

deeply considering cancelling my pre order and letting go. up in the air about it right now

[Berserker79]

deeply considering cancelling my pre order and letting go. up in the air about it right now

And why? I mean, it`s alright, but why now?

[bcrduke]

Don't cancel now. Wait until you see the SDCC display. There's no harm in waiting. They aren't holding the money, and you won't be charged until it ships.

[MOTU_Maniac]

deeply considering cancelling my pre order and letting go. up in the air about it right now

Don't cancel now. Wait until you see the SDCC display. There's no harm in waiting. They aren't holding the money, and you won't be charged until it ships.

Agreed. You can still cancel after it is shown at SDCC, so might as well wait to see what changes have been made.