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

[ian5555]

Pass at that price for sure.

[CanadaClassics]

Absolutely...next question.

[Zargon]

Way too much for me, don't think my wallet (or my wife) could take that price. Would be better to get it piecemeal, starting with weapons rak, throne, etc.

[Mern-Ra]

This is a tough one cuz all I want is the front face piece, and I can't believe that would be $200 to $300.

[mike122976]

depends on what it looks like, made out of, etc...I just cant throw numbers out with out having even seen a product.
Kinda ass backwards if you ask me.

[phantom1592]

If they expect to sell it at that price, then they should tell fans a year in advance.

They better not push it at christmas either!! The only time I'd EVER be able to handle something like that would be march-april...

Hit me with something Awesome around tax return time... I MAY be weak...

but seriously $300 is my whole paycheck for the week... Maybe for a car payment or rent... but a backdrop toy...

ehhh.....

[brutal81]

Even if it would be "only" $200 i wouldn't buy it. After customs and shipping it would still cost over $300 for me.

[Princess Adora NJ]

If it for the full castle I could see it, but if it just the backdrop (ei the front of the castle) than no unless it is out of this world.

[Merman79]

Yes i would buy, but i want Snake Mountain first.

[Hordaiquiri]

HA! Guys, PLEASE don't fall for this.

That's TG and Mattel trying to gauge who much more they can gouge us suckers. If you say "well, shucks, I guess $200 isn't bad," then that's what it will be.

As soon as I saw the "fumbling for a price range" in the answers, I figured you'd be the one to catch this.

I think it would still sell out at that price.

No doubt! It won't break any figure records for sure, but even at $300 I wouldn't see it hanging around forever.

Another thing to consider is whether you'd have the full internal sculpting. A lot of the original set was engineered to make the action features - the elevator and throne with trap door and the door- functional. Would they try to engineer a new one to have these features as well? If so it would likely have less room inside and be more limited. Should they?

There probably won't be anything moveable in the interiors, they are already mostly firm on the "no action features" rules in the figures, (on a case-by-case basis) so I doubt it will be anything but immoveable plastic. It'll look pretty, but it won't do anything.

200-300?

What are they selling--The U.S.S. Flagg?

I'm sure if they show us a Casttle Grayskull prototype, there would be a lot of people that is now saying I wouldn't pay 300 bucks, changing their minds...

It's true. Pavlov would have a field day with MOTU fans.

It depends. Will it include the real "POWER" ?
No? Then nope!

I don't doubt people would pay a large amount if prompted, after all, look at the cash we plunk down year after year on electronics and other gadgets with a "gotta have it", "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality.

[Skeletortilla]

I don't believe Toyguru is playing with us or trying to guess how much they can gouge fans for.

He mentioned two VERY important factors in answering that question, namely SIZE and DETAIL.
Remember, this is not a $150 SW Millennium Falcon that is going to sell 20,000 units.

They have obviously cost estimated Castle Grayskull at $200-300 if it is done with the MOTUC level of detail and much larger size.

So, would I pay that much for one? YES. Yes I would.

I would simply recommend to anybody who wants one to start setting aside a little money for it here and there. I know Grayskull is coming eventually, and I'm not gonna be worrying about how to pay for it when the time comes.

[testo24]

Agree with a few other posters here...

If it's a fully functional built out castle that has lots of details and cool accessories, and fit our figures with ample space...I'd GLADLY pay $300.

If it's ho-hum or a back drop, I'd pass.

[Dayton72]

Man - that would be way too pricey. The original CG was only about $35 so I would have guessed $99. For $200-300 it better be the coolest castle ever....with perfect quality working gizmos and doo-dads as well as a full size power sword!

[Xetheus]

I think I would not pay more than 150 dollars for it. To pay 200 dollars it should be the castle of castles including ALL extras ever imaginable...best of the best of the best and even then it should have tons of extras an nice gimmicks and detail. For 300 dollars it should be extremly huge, highly detailed and a fan's dream...otherwise 150 is my max....if it would come down being the coolest thing ever...I would save money for it...but I want it to be worth any penny of my 300 dollars. If I do not have that feeling I will pass.

[orbles]

Sorry, I cant comment on any MOTUC spending beyond the 2011 subscription!

Seriously, I could not begin to think about plunking down $300 for a CG without having something to look at. I own 3 of the BMF from Star Was, but that is a massive iconic vehicle with electronics and action features and it only cost $150..actually the 3rd was only about $56, but you get the picture.

[prince.nothing]

don't think i can afford anything more than $150.

[enoch]

Id buy it...its a one time expense

[MegaGearMax]

Id buy it...its a one time expense

Until they figure the fans would pay more of the same for Snake Mountain, The Fright Zone, The Crystal Castle, The Royal Palace, Eternia Towers, Starship Eternia and Nordor.

[JOXE]

i'm not reading all the pages in this thread, so what i'm going to say might have been said already...

a possible win-win solution would be to sell the Castle by diorama pieces, so those who want only the "wall" or the "tower" or the "door" can get them, and those who want the complete castle will have to buy ALL the diorama pieces and build it up. Then there could be a special boxed set with other "inner pieces" and stuff.

i think this would be a practical and affordable solution for us collectors and still feasible and profitable for Mattel.

... not that they would listen to this idea, though...

[Danavas]

Stash away $10 a month for the next two years and there's your money. By the end of the two years they might have moved on the Castle Grayskull idea.

[The Butler]

I'd buy it in a second for $200 - $300, even with the cost of shipping.

I'm actually really surprised at how many people are saying they wouldn't be willing to pay that price for Grayskull! Seriously? I thought a lot of people REALLY wanted it. If you want it, then you better be willing to pay for it.

I'm also a Transformers fan and there is a Masterpiece line of Transformers that regularly run into the $100+ range. The next figure in the line will be $200. The Star Wars Big Millennium Falcon was $150. Both are worth it to me. Castle Grayskull is the defining setpiece of MOTU! It would definitely be worth it! I can imagine all the goodies that 4H would put into a Castle Grayskull. (I actually hope 4H makes a prototype for display at a future SDCC...that might convince a few people $200-$300 is worth it.)

[JVS3]

I really think it comes down to what you get.

I don't think 200 to 300 for what boils down to a diorama shell would interest most folks.
But if it was a big in-scale with MOTU Grayskull with loads of features and weapons? I think a number of people might be enticed.

But given the lack of any action-features on the toys, I can't imagine Grayskull would come with a ton of stuff unless it had an insane price tag.

[Darkkosis]

For the type of quality Mattel is giving us, $150 should be the highest asking price they dare to announce.
$300?!! Are they kidding me? No way I can justify paying that much for a display piece made out of cheap plastic, ever!

[Sky Breaker]

Wow $200-$300 for what will no doubt be a cheap piece of plastic? There is no way Mattel would even make at attempt at reproducing and updating the original. Economy aside, asking for $200-$300 for what will be a molded plastic shell is ludricrous!

Do you have any idea what kind of Star Wars vehicle, GI Joe playset or Transformer you could buy for that kind of dough? I don't either, but if Hasbro did it, it would be mind blowing at that price point. Mind blowing.

That CG on Fwoosh looks amazing. I'd give $100 to the guy that made that before I'd give another dime to Mattel.

[diosoth]

Absolutely NOT. I also have to think that there is no way in holy hell that much anyone is going to pay the price of a PS3 on what is basically a display set. It's really bad enough that Mattel is milking this line already, refusing to really sell it in stores and making quantities limited but if they try to sell a playset for the price of a modern game console then they're just nuts. I would expect them to get burned pretty bad if they even tried it.

Wow $200-$300 for what will no doubt be a cheap piece of plastic? There is no way Mattel would even make at attempt at reproducing and updating the original. Economy aside, asking for $200-$300 for what will be a molded plastic shell is ludricrous!

Do you have any idea what kind of Star Wars vehicle, GI Joe playset or Transformer you could buy for that kind of dough? I don't either, but if Hasbro did it, it would be mind blowing at that price point. Mind blowing.

That CG on Fwoosh looks amazing. I'd give $100 to the guy that made that before I'd give another dime to Mattel.

The most expensive Hasbro was willing to go was $100 each for Devastator and the Mobile Pit. Each one basically sat around until stores pushed them at clearance. Devastator started to move at $50 and TRU finally dropped the Pit down to $20.

Beyond that, Hasbro's pushed it with their ultimate Bumblebee that almost no one bought, and Masterpiece Grimlock which is pushing overpriced at $70.

I think toy companies need to start balancing what it costs to make the stuff versus what the customer has to spend. They raise the prices, we don't have more to spend.

Really, if you just want a CG, you'd probably be better off getting the 200X version somewhere. It'd probably be cheaper and do about the same thing as any modern playset. It won't be to MOTUC scale but it's not like it was to proper scale to start with. We're not likely to ever see anything of the playset scale of the USS Flagg again, only little things.