Voltron = Latest 80s Property To Get Mattel Toys...And A Cartoon.

[JonWes]

I did post a question asking whether there was any chance we'd see a sub in 2013 or if we shouldn't get our hopes up on the Ask Matty forum. As expected, I got the response about not talking about this until SDCC. I thought it didn't hurt to try though.

[markatisu]

I did post a question asking whether there was any chance we'd see a sub in 2013 or if we shouldn't get our hopes up on the Ask Matty forum. As expected, I got the response about not talking about this until SDCC. I thought it didn't hurt to try though.

Well it was not a No I guess

I think we will see something if we are being honest, I think the rumored contract with WEP and Classic Media that led in part of the Filmation rights for MOTUC almost binds them to do something just like the contract Mattel had with Sony/Paramount bound them to make Ghostbusters toys

[Mr. Shokoti]

I'm definitely in the same boat. I'm going to get my lion Voltron and pilots and I'll be happy by year's end. The rest is icing on the cake.

This is how I feel. Voltron is one of those rare properties, IMO at least, that doesn't need a set of villain toys to feel whole. Just getting all 6 pilots and their 5 lions is great.

[markatisu]

This is how I feel. Voltron is one of those rare properties, IMO at least, that doesn't need a set of villain toys to feel whole. Just getting all 6 pilots and their 5 lions is great.

Its too bad we never seem to get Coran, Nanny or the mice. Those would be fun additions that have never been done before.

[Dr Kain]

This is how I feel. Voltron is one of those rare properties, IMO at least, that doesn't need a set of villain toys to feel whole. Just getting all 6 pilots and their 5 lions is great.

Uh no, just no. You NEED to have Zarkon, Lotor, and Hagar. That is like saying you don't need Skeletor in a He-Man line. Or Cobra Commander is unneeded in a GI Joe line.

[Firefly]

I was hoping they'd have a bad guy figure as a SDCC exclusive this year. Bummer.

[gbagok]

Well, if next year is anything other than Lotor, Zarkon, Haggar, Merla, Yorak, etc, I think I will skip the next sub. I don't think the vehicle Voltron will appeal to me, I don't remember any episodes so I have no nostalgia there. And the new Voltron is probably going to be in retail, right? I just don't know how they can make a single robeast that would stand up to the completed 2012 Voltron. I might want the Voltron force in their civilian outfits though.

[markatisu]

Well, if next year is anything other than Lotor, Zarkon, Haggar, Merla, Yorak, etc, I think I will skip the next sub. I don't think the vehicle Voltron will appeal to me, I don't remember any episodes so I have no nostalgia there. And the new Voltron is probably going to be in retail, right? I just don't know how they can make a single robeast that would stand up to the completed 2012 Voltron. I might want the Voltron force in their civilian outfits though.

The Voltron Force line is up in the air at the moment, it could go retail or it could go MattyCollector if retail passes (which many suspect is why the Classic Voltron got the sub last year)

But I agree, I mean at this point Villains are probably the only real draw outside the VF toys that the line has left. You could easily do a half sub of 6 figures for $25 each and make the sub exclusive King Alfor or Coran and I think make enough to justify it.

Especially since we know several villains were planned for Panosh Place that never made it so Mattel has the style guides and pics of them to work off giving it the MOTUC "never before made" draw

[JonWes]

$25 EACH! Don't give them ideas. $15 for a 3 3/4'' figure was enough! (Thinking that was a typo?)
I think it'd be easy to do a full year sub with figures for next year in this scale and each could have a BAF piece of a Robeast. I still think that would be amazing.

But yes, in my mind an ideal line-up for next year would be:

King Zarkon
Lotor
Hazar
Princess Allura (in Princess Outfit)
Cossak
Merla
Hagaar
Throk
Skull Scavenger
Doom Commander
Coran
King Alfour

Exclusive: Ghost of King Alfour (translucent)

[markatisu]

Well they just upped some of the DCUC to $20 at retail so $25 would not surprise me considering last year they were going to sell the 3 3/4" for $15 and all lines are facing an increase

[Firefly]

I can't picture them going much higher than $20 a figure for a Voltron sub (I think MOTUC will probably be $25 a figure next year).

[markatisu]

I can't picture them going much higher than $20 a figure for a Voltron sub (I think MOTUC will probably be $25 a figure next year).

I think if there is an increase (if we do get figures) it will be between $15-18, they seem to like the $2-3 increase.

Australia gets Voltron Force on DVD today, first DVD has 7 episodes (so I guess they will be 4 volumes) with Volume 2 coming next month

[Dr Kain]

So I spent the weekend watching the last 12 episodes of the series and what a subpar series this is. I mean, it isn't down right terrible, and the parodies of pop culture are hysterical (the collector's comments about Keith's gun, the zombie movie comments from Vince), but the series as a whole was just lackluster and filled with plotholes.

First off, the series had way too much focus on the cadets. I understand they are training to be pilots, but they did not need to be the centerpoint of every episode. Take the one with the old Arus space fleet or the one where they had to repair Black Lion. There was no reason for them to be in there, no reason at all. They did not need to be featured in the "vacation" episode either. They were just annoying most of the time. Sure, they had some good scenes, like the one with Voltron's biggest fan, which is probably my favorite episode in the entire series, but they were too goofy, immature, and annoying for the most part, especially Daniel, who was a brat and I do not understand the ending. Keith takes back the black lion and then 2 seconds later he is back to being the pilot. That was rushed and pointless. The next season should have done a five parter or something to train him more before doing that. This feels tacked on as if they needed something to make the season end on a cliffhanger.

Then you have Lotor, who was completely useless the entire season, and being able to be brought back from the dead constantly was a cop out. Instead of coming up with something interesting, the writer's decided to just rip off South Park. All I kept waiting for was Mahox to yell, "You killed Lotor, YOU *******S!!" Lotor was not the least threatening, nor even as interesting as he was in the original series, and he did not even feel like a king. For him to be a king, he needs an empire, and he did not have an empire at all except maybe a random platoon that would show up occassionally. Also, his five piece mech that seemed to be a threat in its premier episode was nothing more than a joke in his return. It was the one thing that showed promise and turned out to be lame.

Third, Voltron himself was a joke. He got weaker as the series went on, and the switching of the bodies just does not work for me. Sure, I thought the blue one was awesome as I love the trident, but they could have easily just had the weapons change instead of the entire body. It just makes each lion look too bulky and then they seem to get fatter when they become the body for some reason. Also, having all of these different planets now have a part in Voltron's creation does not work for me. While he may be the defender of the universe, he was created with the sole purpose of defending Arus. It ruins the entire mythos of Alfor being the creator of Voltron. And why would 8 people be required to get the blacksmith's spirit if it was five planets and five pilots? That does not make sense. It just seem to convenient that they would need 8 people. The design of Voltron was cool at times, depending on the animation of the episode, but he had too much going on. The original Voltron design was simple and it looked great. It did not have legs sticking out everywhere and all of this stuff. I understand they probably did it so the toy would match up, but sometimes that makes it way too complex and the detail just gets in the way. Oh, and now the black lion head can detach? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. If he was an arm or leg at the time, fine, I can deal with that, but when he was the main body, no, just no. That is just stupid.

Another problem with the show were the massive plot holes. Pidge's home planet is not only still in existence, but he is now a space ninja? ***? That is the dumbest thing ever. Not to mention they said in the last episode that Castle Doom being a Robeast was the biggest one they have ever face? Um, did they forget about this guy:



????????? Then you have the castle of lions' spaceship mode, which was not the first time they used this, so having them not know about was stupid.

This show completely spit all over the older Voltron crowd because it only focused on making new fans who have never heard of the show before. That would have been fine, had it been a completely brand new show with a new origin story. Instead, they set it up after the previous series, which was a dumb idea. They should have pulled a Thundercats on it and made it for audiences who grew up with the original series and attract a new crowd rather than alienating the older people. If you are under the age of 12, I can understand liking this show, but if you are older than that, this show is pretty craptastic and only has a good moment once in a while, as there would usually be one or two good episodes inbetween 5 bad ones.

Oh, and this show has managed to put out an episode that makes "Kremzeek" look brilliant. WIth that said, if there is a second season, they have a lot of work to do. If there isn't, no big loss and hopefully they try next time.

[Mr. Shokoti]

I finally caught up on the last several episodes of the show. Some of my thoughts...

*I liked seeing Allura in pink again.

* It may have been goofy, but the kid in me loved the Castle Of Lions turning into a spaceship.

* The way they tried to have Keith & Allura become a couple without actually saying it or showing any sort of emotion or attraction just felt odd to me.

* While the instant transition for Vince & Larmina's promotions felt fast, I could see them getting those spots(Vince has always acted mature & has added powers while Larmina has been trained all her life), but giving headstrong Daniel a promotion after one good mission was ridiculous.

* Since Voltron Force is, I'm assuming, somewhere in their late 20's to early 30's, the idea of retirement seems odd. Also, why talk about who Daniel is going to replace? I didn't think being a cadet was a guarantee that you would pilot a lion.

* This show needs to work on their villains in terms of design(Kayla & the Predator Robeast are the only ones that really worked for me) & charisma(Wade worked in small doses, but Lotar always felt like a plot device more than anything to me).

* I loved the 5 Lion head attack.

* I want a toy of all 5 Volron forms as well as their specific weapons.

* I still want an explanation for Zarkon & Haggar.

* Daniel never bothered me as much as he did some of you, but their amping up his unlikable qualities in the last episode felt forced.

* Was there ever an explanation for Daniel & Vince's mindlink? I'd assumed it was due to the Haggarium.

* More Sven.

* Stop making Haggarium Voltron Force's version of Smallville's Kryptonite.

[TheFallen]

According to the latest Mattel Q&A on Toyark, Mattel will not be offering a Voltron subscription next year;

5) Since you have a license for Voltron that covers a broad variety of series, what else can we expect aside from the giant Club Lion Force Voltron?

A) We are not yet ready to announce 2013 plans. We can confirm there is not going to be a subscription, but that does not mean we won’t have Voltron toys. We are just waiting to align with our great partners at Classics Media on the future of the Voltron property in all incarnations before announcing any plans.

[JonWes]

Not too surprising. Glad some more new toys could be coming up, though.

[Mr. Shokoti]

I'd like to see more toys in the classic Voltron style, but I wouldn't mind a Voltron Force line either.

[markatisu]

Not surprising since WEP has given a few indications that Voltron Force toys were going to come. I think it would be cool to continue the Classic figure series at Retail for the villains.

[gbagok]

Dang, I was hoping they'd give us a sub for a year of villains. All I can say is I'll probably save money because I won't go out of my way to buy day of sale items.

[sportsandstuff777]

Uh no, just no. You NEED to have Zarkon, Lotor, and Hagar. That is like saying you don't need Skeletor in a He-Man line. Or Cobra Commander is unneeded in a GI Joe line.

Definitely Lotor is my favorite character from Voltron

[markatisu]

Well Green Lion sold out in under 1hr, so 3 of the 5 lions now have sold out incredibly fast.

I know they said no sub, but they are going to have to do something about the license because right now its doing as well as MOTUC and very far away from what JLU, DCU and Ghostbusters ever did

[soundwavempl]

I have a Voltron sub and have yet to be charged for the Green Lion. I am holding out a few more days and hoping for a charge soon. They charged my Club Eternia and got those shipped out for this month. They also cancelled my DCIE sub and I am in the process of getting that back on track. I just hope I get my figures! I don't care if they ship separately at this point.

[JonWes]

AMAZING pics from the 1986 Panosh Place catalog! Tons and tons of them, some quite large. So many cool things. If the whole line had come out it'd been amazing. Now I want even MORE villains and things next year.

http://gregtyler.net/wordpress/2012/...-voltron-toys/



In new stuff news, carded Sven! I really like the card art. I wish all the VF pilots had come in that instead of the boxes, frankly:

[markatisu]

Man so much potential in what was coming from Panosh Place!!! I really hope Mattel can find a way to give us Voltron Classic villain figures maybe carded if they can't do the vehicle combo anymore

[JonWes]

Yeah, it's really a rich line they had planned. I just love it.