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

[Pancho]

+1 on a pre-order cancel..I can build a better one myself.

I'd really love to see that.

[He-loser]

If I had the time...you might

- - - Updated - - -

- - - Updated - - -

where did u find the TMNT play-set for 99$, all the toy r us stores i went to had it from 179$ to maybe if u were lucky to find it on sale for 150$?

Toys R us is where I got mine $99...with a coupon could of had it for $79 but lost it. It pops up from time to time for $99. Target I believe also. for some reason...some toys r us dont update their price tags on the shelves..you gotta scan it..in store. I went to 2 stores 8 miles from each other..one had turtles buy one get one half off..the other didnt post that. depends on how on top of their game the store managers are.

[He-Man123]

The castle is amazing. So happy I preorderd. The size is perfect. The features are perfect. December is too far of.

Wow, that TMNT playset is really cheap looking.

[Lord Anubis]

The castle LOOKS nice,but that bottom lip stand could have been avoided and made more clearance room for everything.

I think ill just keep my 200X one and be done with it and save 300 bucks.

[braxsis364]

The castle LOOKS nice,but that bottom lip stand could have been avoided and made more clearance room for everything.

I think ill just keep my 200X one and be done with it and save 300 bucks.

I am not happey as well better be some marked inprovements. or I Will be cancelling, I belive we should all take a stand on this.and demand these nessarsary changes are made to our beloved Castle Grayskull.I for one am extraordernarliy mad.and I dont want the the one they showed us.

[bObA_fEtt_Ox]

The sculpture is perfect, but just would need a bigger size to have a beautiful entrance and more space inside for the prison and for the windraider.

[Crusader]

I am not happey as well better be some marked inprovements. or I Will be cancelling, I belive we should all take a stand on this.and demand these nessarsary changes are made to our beloved Castle Grayskull.I for one am extraordernarliy mad.and I dont want the the one they showed us.

I think it's kind of a lost cause. For one thing, TG has made it quite clear that it's a take it or leave it type situation but most importantly - even though there is a general disappointment about the size reduction - there's only a small amount of fans who really consider it to be a dealbreaker.

We don't know why the originally proposed size is now too expensive: is it the amount of plastic, the rise in shipping costs (for such a large item a price hike would cut their profits significantly and they can't pass those losses on to us anymore since the shipping cost was set during the pre-orders) or something else entirely? ... the only thing we know for sure is that, one way or the other, Mattel is cutting corners on the Castle. No petition is going to change that. Maybe if people were willing to cut all the accessories (yes, all of them: the throne, the terminals, the gun, the flags, the dungeon walls, ...) maybe then Mattel would save enough on molds, plastic and paint applications to make the castle in the original scale. But I don't really see that happening, to be honest.

[Berserker79]

When Mattel sells only the front for 60$, I would buy it...

Seriously, I don't need a playset, because I don't play with my figures... It's more important to make the interior visual appealing, but I don't see any Filmation stuff in it and there are to many compromises with the already sculpted stuff... the space suit made of one piece? No sculpted dungeon grate? No sculpted inner walls?

This castle has the right size for vintage figures, I wait, until I got one for my Classics figures...

[Beastmaster]

I'm waiting until SDCC, if I'm not happy then, I'll cancel.

[Micro-Man]

It's a shame that they won't at least publicly acknowledge to take some of our suggestions into consideration...Especially since we're not asking for anything drastic like a complete resculpt. They could just take the existing sculpt and digitally resize it to be 7-10% bigger and it would be fine. Also, it's not even any work to just take out the Wind Raider base and use the budget towards anything else.

I recall in the Pixel Dan video that Scott mentioned that the trap door would be scaled down enough to fit the floor because the sculpt tends to "shrink" slightly in the molding process. I wonder if this is what happened to the resin prototype that was shown at NYTF. I'm really hoping that they're using the time between now and SDCC to do something to improve the castle. It's a beautiful sculpt, and looks good with all the accessories, but only needs that little extra touch to make it perfect!

[nato]

It only takes 4 customers to cancel their preorder, and Mattel loses $1,000. I would think they would be more concerned about keeping that money.

[EtherianChronicles]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qCH93LeNMg
and here is the proposed blueprints:
http://castlegrayskull.info/?p=33
I find it hard to believe that the front of the prototype is 28.3" wide as proposed in Mattels blueprints and this thing sure doesnt seem as grand as Scott proposed when he wanted us to shell out $300 plus...
I felt cheated when I was viewing the video and still do and to be honest I probably wouldnt have pre-ordered one if I knew. Scott made promises of it being molded inside and out...it looks like a cheap garbage recreation of the 82 one. While I would have liked an 82 version..I would have wanted updates and more space..it looks super cramped and all those videos and foam mockups were all a load of marketing B.S. and I feel weve all been had. At $99 the ninja turtles sewer playset is a much grander and useful playset.
dont get me wrong...the fascia sculpt is beautiful...but the castle is too small (he-man and battlecat cannot fit in doorway) but is also overall way too narrow which cramps interior space and scott even mentions how some pieces will be hollowed out like the space suit (no..not to fit on figures..but to save plastic) dont be surprised if thats not the only only piece of the castle thats gonna be hollowed out in final version..just as our wallets were hollowed out.

Although I like Dan, I almost never watch videos on the Internet (just feels like a waste of time to me most of the time, text and pictures are fine), but I just watched this one. It made me rather sad, and I could only get a little over half-way through it before Scott's apologizing for everything and his...quirks got to me.

Mattel needs a better spokesman at these things.

Anyway, looking at the castle its limitations, I'm definitely going to cancel one of my preorders after SDCC if it doesn't get better. I ordered two, and I'll be irritated I know if I don't keep at least one, but it's just not *WOW* like it should have been. And this is the prototype, imagine once it's "dumbed down" into plastic what it will be like.

I find it interesting the bit about the little orb holder - I had thought there was supposed to be room to put the large one up there. My guess is they added this one because it was cheaper than making the castle a few inches bigger?

I just can't believe that it would cost that much to make it even two inches higher - I really feel like there must be some external reason. That much plastic cannot have been too expensive. I would bet that it quite possibly has something to do with packaging or shipping - if it went over a certain size, they would have had to have custom shipping boxes, or something like that. This is just too big a deal to do and then lop off 2" to cut costs.

To be honest, just because I want it done right - I would be fine with them cutting the non-attached accessories (i.e. everything but the elevator, computer, and throne/rug) and putting it up as an accessory pack with the dungeon grate for $50, if it just got us the castle 2" bigger. I'm sure not everyone would like that, but I'd be fine with it. I don't want this to be the biggest example in the line of "man, it could have been SPECTACULAR, but just ended up "Neat". Thing is, I bet again it had something to do with packaging and shipping, not just that they just could not afford 2" more of flat hollow green plastic.

- - - Updated - - -

It only takes 4 customers to cancel their preorder, and Mattel loses $1,000. I would think they would be more concerned about keeping that money.

True, but they are going to sell out of them at $300 when the extras go on sale.

Grayskull really got the line a lot of attention it hadn't gotten before. In Pixel Dan's video you hear a guy say, "I'm six years old all over again!" It is a nice piece, I can see some collectors picking up just Grayskull, and maybe He-man. Then they go looking for Sorceress, see shes $100+, and leave it at He-man and the Castle. I honestly think there will be enough of those people that, unfortunately, means they can make it smaller and still make $.

It's sort of like how the upkeep these days at Disneyland is much better than Disney World. Disneyland has a lot more repeat visitors, who notice things like broken effects on rides, etc., because they largely are locals and visit more often. Disney World is a place where a family goes for a week every few years (if that) and there is so much they cram in that they don't notice those details, or probably even know it's there.

[phantom1592]

I'm really disappointed with the castle's size. I'm convinced Toyguru and the 4 horsemen are doing their utmost to deliver the best castle they can produce and must be bound by rigid budgetary constraints, and I'm really happy we're getting this playset, but still, I wish something could be done to keep the scale up. I for one would be happy to pay an extra 50 bucks to have the right scale. Hopefully they can find a fix before the toy is made. Here are comparison pictures with the original Toyguru video with the cardboard blueprint. As you can see, the secret chamber underneath the dome was actually the height of a figure. Now it looks like it's designed for a 3 inch scale, Star wars type figure. This can't be right and it seems to indicate that we're not talking about an inch or two but A LOT MORE! In fact I'd love to see the Prototype next to the cardboard blue print.

Attachment 82552

Attachment 82553

Double check the stats on that mock up....

Look at the floors. One of my MAJOR concerns with that foam model was the floors were at the wrong the height. They actually had the floors covering the window and such... On the final version they raised that 3rd floor up, above the window and thus higher and 'shrinking the top floor essentially... the Dome isn't any shorter... the floor was raised up.

Which I'm glad about... blocking the sorceresses window would have been HORRIBLE

[Stratos*Major]

I just don't know what to say...

I have moved back to the big PA and really haven't had time with keeping up with MOTUC. That being said...

With the problems I have had with my 2013 sub. (the fact that DR are idiots)...this is a harder pill for me to swallow. There is no way I am signing up for a fimation sub. (thats not to say I dont want the figures). I just dont trust DR now.

The castle...wow....just WOW...did I seriously say I would pay $300.00 for THAT. It's freaking tiny. I didnt have internet when I first moved and had to use my phone and I thought...well its just because its a small image on my phone. WOW...wow...I am SO at a loss.

I just...of late mattycollector and DR seem to be trying really hard to push me away from MOTUC.

To be honest I am fine with the sculpt...but the size...no way...too small. I wanted a statement piece. This is not it. I really don't think they can/will change the size back now that its sculpted. They would seem like a HUGE waste of money.

I really am at a loss right now and my MOTUC spirit is really being tested!

- - - Updated - - -

Also...

I'm not trying to point fingers...

Why WHY would you anyone be willing to pay MORE for what we were already promised!? Doing that only communicates to MC that they can soke us even more!

Extra parts for extra money...

This is a toy to me and in no way does it provide any kind of benefit to me in life other than a decorative accessory.

[braxsis364]

I think it's kind of a lost cause. For one thing, TG has made it quite clear that it's a take it or leave it type situation but most importantly - even though there is a general disappointment about the size reduction - there's only a small amount of fans who really consider it to be a dealbreaker.

We don't know why the originally proposed size is now too expensive: is it the amount of plastic, the rise in shipping costs (for such a large item a price hike would cut their profits significantly and they can't pass those losses on to us anymore since the shipping cost was set during the pre-orders) or something else entirely? ... the only thing we know for sure is that, one way or the other, Mattel is cutting corners on the Castle. No petition is going to change that. Maybe if people were willing to cut all the accessories (yes, all of them: the throne, the terminals, the gun, the flags, the dungeon walls, ...) maybe then Mattel would save enough on molds, plastic and paint applications to make the castle in the original scale. But I don't really see that happening, to be honest.

You can use any theroy you want it still boils down to.do I like the Castle in witch my case is no.

inprovements need to be made and if not it would be a bad choice for matell.I see matell stands to loose a lot of money.oh well you want to be greedy you loose. not us take that to the bank Matell smoes.

[Stratos*Major]

It's the size reduction and the principle of the issue for me.

We were shown and told how big it was going to be...repeatedly.

I mean, seriously...they didn't cost the thing out first!? So "management" & "legal" wont approve so many things like a name list for the sub. but they can show and tell about the size of the castle...fishy fishy as in bait & switch.

[He-Dude]

TG even said in the video that it will be even smaller after it comes out of the mold... It is too expensive... but the only alternative is to make your own, to scale, version. A lot of us are doing it and it's not that tough... but if you think the Matty version is expensive... the cost of a light, to scale version is a lot more, if not twice the cost after shipping the Matty version. i did pre-order a castle to support the line and i won't be cancelling. Check out my custom in my profile...

[hadley]

He didn't say it would be smaller, he said that the walls would be thinner. The context was that the throne wasnt sitting right where it needed to be, and he did there would be shrinkage to the thickness of the mold. With all this negativity, please don't twist words to make this place even rougher to spend time on.

[AdultCollector]

The upcoming Gooble Dinner episode with Scott and the gang will no doubt be a great conversation about the castle. I'm totally happy overall with what we're getting, and also excited to see how fans will be customizing theirs. I'd love to see the castle stood up next to the original playset, shots of it filled with vintage figures, and other shots with 200x figures. Not to mention the box art and the massive size of the packaging!

[Berserker79]

I really like the 4HM, their attitude and passion and know that all this stuff is limited by money...

But I expected something bigger and more spectacular to pound Hasbro & Playmates playsets into dust... I expected more Filmation, since it's popular in the US. It's so sad, because I think, the sculpt on the outside is awesome, but the size and the overall appearance of the interior keep me from buying it.

[batz75]

Cheaper alternative to "not so Classic Castle Grayskull". Mrs. Goodbee's cottage, perfectly in scale with MOTUC(as far as mattel is concerned)photo (49).jpg
plenty of head room...
photo (43).jpg
photo (41).jpg
secret door to the new, and improved, orb stand...
photo (48).jpg
impregnable fortress, with extra spaceous prison area...
photo (46).jpg

[batz75]

Secret ledge...photo (47).jpg
plus all the ammenities of home...
photo (45).jpgphoto (42).jpgphoto (41).jpg

[xxxrich78xxx]

This was really funny! With all the Negativity going around about the castle, it's good to see someone can bring us a good chuckle.

[Whiplash7]

Great pictures! Love the poses and all the little things the figures are doing.
Looks like fun, but I'll wait for my He-Man dollhouse-in-the-facade-of-a-skull-fortress.

[Gama]

I wonder how the Horsemen & TG can truly be happy with the door like that. It's like PD's video. Scott couldn't even fit him thorough the door.....

I wonder the same thing

My enthusiasm for the castle is diminishing by the day, it was our best shot at the "perfect" CG and it came out with so many flaws, and so many questions why?, at least for me.

I just can't wrap around this specific design choice: What was the point of elevating the door entrance and the whole first level on the interior? Does anybody know? Was it for aesthetics reasons? If both of them were flush to the floor it would be a WORLD of difference making much needed room for the outside (door entrance) and inside (EVERY level).