Answers to WTFWTK 2.22!

[JVS3]

Toyguru has once again provided answers to your questions.
Thanks again to him for taking the time to answer these!
Check out his answers to your Round 22 questions!

This round of questions were selected by scott metzger!
Thanks to him for his help!

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1. With the reveal of Battle Armor He-Man as the January bonus figure are there still plans to rerelease/reissue He-Man in October/November as was planned?
Yes. The original He-Man will be back in Nov (with slight correction to paint ops and the shoulders will be reversed). He will have a slight package change as well, which will be revealed on our Facebook page in early Aug.

2. Are the bonus figures going to be produced in a lesser quantity than regular monthly figures and will there be a lower limit placed on how many you can order?
We can’t comment on production runs, but limits will remain at 10.

3. Because plastic degrades over time, can Mattel advise us on:
-what plastics MOTUC are made of?
-the optimal conditions for storing them?
-the known environmental hazards that speeds degradation (e.g.
sunlight, moisture?)
-how long Mattel expects a MOTUC figure to last?
Sorry, we can’t comment on these questions.

4. In the DCUC line, each wave assortment is chosen by a formula (Hero, Villain to the hero, major team member, etc.). Will MOTUC fall into a similar formula in future releases with say a Horde figure, a POP figure, a NA figure, and so forth?
A little bit, but more as a “year” vs. a wave. Meaning we will look at each year and try and produce a certain amount of POP figures per year, X amount of Snake Men, etc…

5. Battlecat, as a "bonus figure", will not be offered with the subscription, so fans are worried about getting one. What insight can you offer us into how many you will be producing?
Sorry, we can’t discuss production runs, but like the re-release of He-Man in November, if Battle Cat does well we will do a second run with a slight package change.

6. If the subscription bonus Wun-Dar will be shipped with that month's regular figure, this means that many overseas buyers will get hit by larger customs fees. Is there any way to ship them separately to international fans to help alleviate this concern?
No, they will be shipped together. In the end, Mattel and Mattycollector.com is a US based company, so anyone outside the US is taking these products on import similar to how US buyers pay extra for toys make in Japan.

7. If Battle Cat is a success, it would seem Panthor might follow shortly thereafter. If both cats are a success, would Mattel look at some of the other animals in the line that can easily be reproduced as repaints?
Yes. But we are also looking at other “large scale” items which can reuse parts as well for this sku….

8. With all the effort going into providing back stories for each character and taking parts of each canon to construct a story, are there any plans on releasing that story in book or comic form of any kind?
No.

9. International subscriptions have paid $3 tax when signing up and fear it's not a one-time charge. Will this occur each month? and if so, will there be an option to change shipping method once more options become available to international customers to help eliminate these extra charges?
This has been resolved and fans charged this fee have been refunded. Please call 1 877 GO MATTY if anyone has further questions.

10. From the summer con pictures it seems Teela has no ab crunch articulation. Is there one under her clothing and, if so, will the clothing hinder that movement?
Yes, her armor will prevent mid torso movement. This was a design choice made by the Four Horsemen.

11. Is there any update on stands for MOTUC figures or Stand-packs (like 10 Stands in a pack)?
Stands were revealed at SDCC and can be seen on our Facebook page. They will be available in packs in Spring of 2010.

12. It was revealed at the SDCC that there are going to be "original characters" introduced into the MOTUC line in the future. When this does happen, will these characters be part of the yearly subscription or will they be considered bonus figures?
This may have been taken out of context. There are no plans to introduce original characters in the line.

13. You can change your shipping address in the store default settings. When we subscribe, will the store use the default address on file when shipping a figure? Or do we need to worry that the address on file at the time of subscription is locked in for all figures in that subscription?
You can change your shipping address anytime for the subscription if you move or have other needs.

14. Now that Hordak is officially released, fans would like to know more about he origin of the name Hec-Tor Kur? Was it Hordak's original name that was dug up like Demo-Man, Sultress, and X-Man, or was he named after a Mattel employee who had a resemblance to Hordak or something like that?
A lot of MOTU figures and places have names based on Greek and Latin. Hector means “to bully” in Greek. Also, if the character took the name “Hordak” as a war name, it made sense that he would have a bit of a simple sounding real name and hence the need to upgrade to “Hordak” to strike fear into his enemies. Hec-Tor fit well for all these reasons. Obviously he wasn’t born “Hordak” just as Mer-Man wasn’t born with that name.
And unofficially, his name was influenced after Captain Barbosa from POTC. It just seemed great to have such a cool character with such a simple sounding real name!

15. This year, there are numerous accounts on most toy forums of people in line who were able to buy Mattel exclusives exceeding the stated limits at the conventions. What steps are being taken to ensure that things like this will work better at future cons, and is there anything we can do to help at next year's SDCC?
Limits were strictly enforced throughout the con and were not changed at all. The only time we broke the limit rule during the entire convention was to sell 10 MOTU books each to two He-Man.org members. Any other changes to limits was human error and quickly corrected.

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And, have fun discussing Toy Guru's answers to your Round 22 questions!

[Tallstar]

4. In the DCUC line, each wave assortment is chosen by a formula (Hero, Villain to the hero, major team member, etc.). Will MOTUC fall into a similar formula in future releases with say a Horde figure, a POP figure, a NA figure, and so forth?
A little bit, but more as a “year” vs. a wave. Meaning we will look at each year and try and produce a certain amount of POP figures per year, X amount of Snake Men, etc…

Exciting stuff to see POP figures mentioned in plural.

14. Now that Hordak is officially released, fans would like to know more about he origin of the name Hec-Tor Kur? Was it Hordak's original name that was dug up like Demo-Man, Sultress, and X-Man, or was he named after a Mattel employee who had a resemblance to Hordak or something like that?
A lot of MOTU figures and places have names based on Greek and Latin. Hector means “to bully” in Greek. Also, if the character took the name “Hordak” as a war name, it made sense that he would have a bit of a simple sounding real name and hence the need to upgrade to “Hordak” to strike fear into his enemies. Hec-Tor fit well for all these reasons. Obviously he wasn’t born “Hordak” just as Mer-Man wasn’t born with that name.
And unofficially, his name was influenced after Captain Barbosa from POTC. It just seemed great to have such a cool character with such a simple sounding real name!

*quickly goes off to investigate Karak Nul in Greek and Latin* haha

Anyhow, with regards to the bonus items, I don't understand why they can't just say whether they're being produced in less quantities than regular monthly figures or not. In the past Mattel has talked about production numbers being equal on certain characters or raising production numbers, so I don't understand...

[Torvik]

5. Battlecat, as a "bonus figure", will not be offered with the subscription, so fans are worried about getting one. What insight can you offer us into how many you will be producing?
Sorry, we can’t discuss production runs, but like the re-release of He-Man in November, if Battle Cat does well we will do a second run with a slight package change.

Not a surprise here, but definitely reassuring!!

7. If Battle Cat is a success, it would seem Panthor might follow shortly thereafter. If both cats are a success, would Mattel look at some of the other animals in the line that can easily be reproduced as repaints?
Yes. But we are also looking at other “large scale” items which can reuse parts as well for this sku….

Again, VERY nice to hear!!

8. With all the effort going into providing back stories for each character and taking parts of each canon to construct a story, are there any plans on releasing that story in book or comic form of any kind?
No.

Now THIS one made me sad! No plans at ALL??? Drat!

12. It was revealed at the SDCC that there are going to be "original characters" introduced into the MOTUC line in the future. When this does happen, will these characters be part of the yearly subscription or will they be considered bonus figures?
This may have been taken out of context. There are no plans to introduce original characters in the line.

What? Now THIS is a let down too! It would have been nice to see some new characters too (though I would be more than happy to skip this IF we ever can do Filmation characters!)

[Vegtablesam]

6. If the subscription bonus Wun-Dar will be shipped with that month's regular figure, this means that many overseas buyers will get hit by larger customs fees. Is there any way to ship them separately to international fans to help alleviate this concern?
No, they will be shipped together. In the end, Mattel and Mattycollector.com is a US based company, so anyone outside the US is taking these products on import similar to how US buyers pay extra for toys make in Japan.

Ugh. So much for this being a global line, making it as easy for international fans as possible.

[sircory-1]

Wow, #12 must have been taken WAY out of context then. I've seen a lot of people talking about original characters being introduced. I guess it doesn't bother me that they won't be doing this.

Still, some things to be hopeful/excited for....larger vehicles or animals to look forward to. Battlecat will no doubt sell like crazy, so will we see the horses (Stridor, Night Stalker)? Would love to see a Land Shark...

[Tallstar]

Wow, #12 must have been taken WAY out of context then. I've seen a lot of people talking about original characters being introduced. I guess it doesn't bother me that they won't be doing this.

Same here. We've got plenty of characters who have never had a figure before and/or were newly introduced in MYP, so those are kinda sorta original.

[TheFallen]

IMO these were very disappointing answers

[Fisto69]

A lot of MOTU figures and places have names based on Greek and Latin. Hector means “to bully” in Greek. Also, if the character took the name “Hordak” as a war name, it made sense that he would have a bit of a simple sounding real name and hence the need to upgrade to “Hordak” to strike fear into his enemies. Hec-Tor fit well for all these reasons. Obviously he wasn’t born “Hordak” just as Mer-Man wasn’t born with that name.
And unofficially, his name was influenced after Captain Barbosa from POTC. It just seemed great to have such a cool character with such a simple sounding real name!

I really hope we can get more answers like this. I'm always interested in the behind the scenes to the creative development.

[mistaloko]

6. If the subscription bonus Wun-Dar will be shipped with that month's regular figure, this means that many overseas buyers will get hit by larger customs fees. Is there any way to ship them separately to international fans to help alleviate this concern?
No, they will be shipped together. In the end, Mattel and Mattycollector.com is a US based company, so anyone outside the US is taking these products on import similar to how US buyers pay extra for toys make in Japan.

Even if Wun-dar and Moss man are shipped together in March, we already have paid for Wun-dar right?
So if Mattel in March 2010 puts only in the invoice or in the box or whatever the price of Moss man 20$ I think that way international fans will avoid costums charges. (if they only want one)
Or will the price of Wun-dar also be in the invoice? As we have already paid for him in advance. Anyone knows about this?

[the.overlord]

Why do we keep on asking production numbers?

Everytime TG says: "We cannot discuss production numbers...." We are wasting our time asking questions about productuion numbers.

[MossMan710179]

Yes. The original He-Man will be back in Nov (with slight correction to paint ops and the shoulders will be reversed).

So his right sholder will be corrected and the left will be the one messed up? ...

[Tallstar]

Why do we keep on asking production numbers?

Everytime TG says: "We cannot discuss production numbers...." We are wasting our time asking questions about productuion numbers.

The question from that person wasn't asking for specific production numbers on bonuses, only if there would be less of them compared to the regular figures. Tis a fair question and one that folks assumed could be answered. I mean, they told us Tri-Klops would have increased production compared the previous figures. Also, earlier in the line they mentioned a couple figures that had comparable production numbers.

[Torvik]

So his right sholder will be corrected and the left will be the one messed up? ...

So the moral of the story is "be careful what you ask for!!"

[Merman's Head]

3. Because plastic degrades over time, can Mattel advise us on:
-what plastics MOTUC are made of?
-the optimal conditions for storing them?
-the known environmental hazards that speeds degradation (e.g.
sunlight, moisture?)
-how long Mattel expects a MOTUC figure to last?
Sorry, we can’t comment on these questions.

Sorry, but this made me laugh. If you can't comment on any of those questions, why not just skip it and pick a question that you can answer? There's plenty to choose from on each round.

[King Kahn]

What? Now THIS is a let down too! It would have been nice to see some new characters too (though I would be more than happy to skip this IF we ever can do Filmation characters!)

umm...wun-dar?? isn't he new? or do they not count that since he "kinda sorta not really at all" had a figure?

Wow, #12 must have been taken WAY out of context then. I've seen a lot of people talking about original characters being introduced. I guess it doesn't bother me that they won't be doing this.

Still, some things to be hopeful/excited for....larger vehicles or animals to look forward to. Battlecat will no doubt sell like crazy, so will we see the horses (Stridor, Night Stalker)? Would love to see a Land Shark...

i think they mean completely made up characters. i.e. they won't make a King Kahn figure(too bad lol) since he never appeared anywhere in any media

Why do we keep on asking production numbers?

Everytime TG says: "We cannot discuss production numbers...." We are wasting our time asking questions about productuion numbers.

YES. can we PLEASE just have a moratorium implemented on questions like these? i don;t even know why these are submitted anymore. even questions that have anything to do with numbers should be discounted since they will ALWAYS answer the question "we don't discuss production (insert blank)"

when they were asked is the bonus figs were produced in the same qty as regular figs they still answered "we dont discuss qty".

for each Q&A can there be a sticky post of questions to shy away from. and why are those questions picked/submitted, especially when there are usually others that don;t deal with qty asked?

[He-Fan]

Chris here...

IMO these were very disappointing answers

As awesome as it is that Toyguru takes the time to answer these questions - I agree. I also thought they were a bit more "straight-to-the-point" than they needed to be (notably the question about the comic/book), and I'm very surprised that Mattel won't comment at all about whether there will be more or less of the bonus figures produced than regular figures, given that the question didn't ask specifics about numbers but just a ballpark question...

Still, on the positive side, that's good news re: BattleCat!

Take care...

[JVS3]

the.overlord & King Kahn:

Tallstar hit the nail on the head.

It wasn't about specific numbers, it was to see the relation to existing production, which relates to answers we've received before on similar questions.
In the past, we got responses that the numbers were increased or the same. So, take a non-answer to mean what you will.

Also, these questions aren't always just about numbers. Sometimes people ask that in conjunction with another part of their question, which is the real subject of interest. Doesn't hurt to leave it in the question, especially since they have answered production related questions before.

As long as we aren't asking specific production runs, which they won't answer,
and DO ask about comparative productions so people have an idea what to expect, which are questions they have answered, I don't see what the fuss is about.
Let's not make a mountain out of a mole hill.

[River]

Limits were strictly enforced throughout the con and were not changed at all. The only time we broke the limit rule during the entire convention was to sell 10 MOTU books each to two He-Man.org members. Any other changes to limits was human error and quickly corrected.

From my experience there at the con, there was a whole lot of human error and not a lot of correcting going on at the Matty booth. Sorry Matty, I love ya, but sometimes when you step in a big pile of the mushy brown stuff, it's better just to come out and say, "you know what- I wasn't prepared. I'm sorry." That would go a lot farther (in my opinion).

I'll say this one time only, as constructively as I can:

At one point, and this is the most blatant example, a guy walked away from the booth with a large box full of He-Man figures. There was nothing but He-Man figs in the box. He stood silently in the food court area (which was right next to Matty's booth, less than 10 feet away). Every now and then a random person would walk up to him and talk a bit, two $20 bills would be exchanged, and person after person walked away from him with a He-Man figure. And who could blame them? It was easier to pay double for a figure from the reseller than it was to endure the Matty situation and not get a figure at all.

Meanwhile, people who waited day after day after day, in awful lines, with fast passes that were of little or no use, didn't get a chance to purchase anything. I witnessed customers being outright lied to by Matty booth employees in regard to line caps and selling times, regular lines moving more quickly than fast pass lines, little coordination going on amongst the Matty booth workers, and general unfriendliness toward customers.

I understand that it is an international convention, and craziness can happen very quickly, and that there are undoubtedly things which arise in the moment that you can't plan on. Also, these are just toys, so it isn't the end of the world by any means. However, just from my experience, it was without a doubt the worst buying scenario that I've endured at a convention (and this was my sixth year attending). The bottom line: I feel that Mattel just wasn't prepared well at all this year for the convention, and when I read answers like the one posted above, I think to myself, "that was certainly revisionism..." And if for whatever reason a customer may have somehow managed to obtain their items, I'd be willing to bet that it still wasn't exactly a pleasant buying experience.

Later on at the con this year, I had what was probably one of the best buying experiences at the Last Gasp booth. Matty, you would be wise to hang around them and take notes. Yes, Last Gasp sells books instead of toys, but hear me out:

There was a limited edition book there that everyone and their third cousin twice removed wanted. It was Process Recess 3, by artist James Jean. I was picking up the book for a friend who couldn't attend the con, and I had no idea who James Jean was or what the demand for the book would be until I showed up. Turns out, people wanted the book as badly it seemed as people wanted the MOTU art book at the Matty booth. Here is the difference though:

Thursday afternoon, I was able to purchase the book within 15 minutes of arriving at the Last Gasp booth. On Sunday, James Jean showed up at the booth at 2:00 PM to sign copies of the book and greet customers. I showed up about fifteen minutes early, but there was already a long, winding line forming which stretched around the corner of the Last Gasp booth and down the next hallway. But, there was a plan to combat this! Passes were readily handed out by friendly employees to the customers as they walked up. The passes each had a number on it (your position in line). You were then given a time estimate of when to come back (which kept the size of the line down and avoided nastiness from the convention staff). You were also told how fast the line was moving, so that you would have a good idea of when to come back. I went away for thirty minutes. Later on, when I returned, the line had moved forward, and the Last Gasp employees put me into line according to the number on my pass (lucky #101)! They did the same with others as they walked up with their numbered pass, all the while being friendly and cooperative. Last Gasp employees were also stationed at different points along the line, to maintain order and keep the line managed and flowing smoothly. The line moved slowly, and it took an hour and a half to get through it, but the whole experience was as pleasant as it could possibly be.

[Whiplash7]

A lot of MOTU figures and places have names based on Greek and Latin. Hector means “to bully” in Greek. Also, if the character took the name “Hordak” as a war name, it made sense that he would have a bit of a simple sounding real name and hence the need to upgrade to “Hordak” to strike fear into his enemies. Hec-Tor fit well for all these reasons. Obviously he wasn’t born “Hordak” just as Mer-Man wasn’t born with that name.
And unofficially, his name was influenced after Captain Barbosa from POTC. It just seemed great to have such a cool character with such a simple sounding real name!

Wicked. Since Hector was viewed as a hero in Greek mythology I wasn't sure why they named him that other than sounding cool, and this is pretty cool indeed.

[Fneh]

Very unhappy about Wun-dar being shipped with mossy. That's going to end up making him cost more than he was really worth to me.

It's bad enough I've already paid for wun-dar and have to wait almost a year to recieve him. Having to pay customs on him if just rubbing salt in the wound.

[EMILE]

15. This year, there are numerous accounts on most toy forums of people in line who were able to buy Mattel exclusives exceeding the stated limits at the conventions. What steps are being taken to ensure that things like this will work better at future cons, and is there anything we can do to help at next year's SDCC?
Limits were strictly enforced throughout the con and were not changed at all. The only time we broke the limit rule during the entire convention was to sell 10 MOTU books each to two He-Man.org members. Any other changes to limits was human error and quickly corrected.

I don't agree with this.

[Arthur]

Not to play the part of the guy who always complains but the NO COMMENT on question 3 is making me really worried and I am seriously reconsidering my interest in this line. I see no reason why they need to come up with a "no comment" like this one if the figures are made of a good quality material. I mean he could have just said, "I assure fans that the figures are made of good quality material that will last for many years to come, but I can't provide answers to the technical questions."

Now I am starting to wonder, does the no comment mean that the figures are made of sub standard materials that will degrade in a couple of years? That would be very bad for an investment of $20/$40 a month.

And he once more confirmed that Teela has no waist nor torso articulation...the guys saying that she had almost managed to convince me at some point...

[Kevenn]

I found their Hordak answer interesting. I'm glad they shared that with us.

I can understand why they didn't answer the question about the plastics. When the whole deal with the plastic quality from China hit, Mattel received a LOT of lawsuits - these lawsuits are VERY costly - the lawyer fees (HUGELY EXPENSIVE), court costs, etc. Commenting on the quality of plastics like this could leave them open for more potential lawsuits. When people hear about toy recalls like that, you have no idea how many people look at it as a way to try to get money out of a big company. It's just as wrong as a big company charging ridiculously high prices for sub-standard merchandise.

[artodron]

This I find particularly interesting.

7. If Battle Cat is a success, it would seem Panthor might follow shortly thereafter. If both cats are a success, would Mattel look at some of the other animals in the line that can easily be reproduced as repaints?
Yes. But we are also looking at other “large scale” items which can reuse parts as well for this sku….

Other "large scale" items which can reuse parts as well for this sku….? The mind races

[Capt_Piett]

Yeah, I don't see why they couldn't just come out and say something to the extent of the numbers for bonus figures will be comparable to the monthly figures, slightly lower, etc. I mean, saying "We don't comment" instead of just replying vaguely but with nothing specific seems like a cop out on some level. As Val pointed out, they have addressed production run questions before, and even given confirmations in that regard in saying "X figure has an increased run over Y figure". Doesn't make sense.