Answers to WTFWTK 2.49!

[JVS3]

Mattel has once again provided answers to your questions.
Thanks again to them for taking the time to answer these!
Check out their answers to your Round 49 questions!

This round of questions were selected by Reboot,
and proofed against old Q&As by Uncle Montork.
Thanks to them for their help!

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1. Reboot:
Given that you said that you "lost [your] shirts a bit on King Hsss", where does that leave Mermista who you've said in the past will have a similar arrangement (albeit for the lower half, to swap legs & mermaid tail)? Whenever she happens, will she still be a standard $20 figure or will she fall into the oversized $30+ sku?

When doing a more expensive figure like Hssss or a fully tool’d figure (i.e. Ram Man) we will try to bank them in the same year as less expensive figures (like Faker) to help balance out the cost. This is one reason we have the line figures out month to month for the next few years.

2. robaczek:
When the 4H are sculpting a MOTUC figure, what is the actual size of the prototype sculpt in relation to the final MOTUC toy?

For MOTUC it is done 1:1. Several Horsemen sculpts were on display at SDCC last year, including Hssss, Bow, Shadow Beast, Preternia He-Man and Vikor.

3. Tuukka:
When we get weapons made of soft rubber, as with Roboto, they are often warped in the package. Why not use hard plastic on guns, swords, clubs, etc?

For Roboto we needed to use a softer plastic so his weapon hands would snap onto his arm attachment. Originally Roboto was sculpted like his vintage toy. We had to change the plug mechanism so the arm attachments would be the same as Trap Jaw and this, along with current revised safety requirements, called for a softer plastic. Many times we have to go with materials that work logistically or per regulations over what we would want to do artistically.

4. Zargon:
Since Castle Grayskull's price has been estimated to be $200-$300 (when and if it happens) and figures/beasts run from $20-$40, what would be the estimated prices of the upcoming vehicle(s) by size? (small = Sky Sled-sized, medium = Land Shark-sized, large = Spydor-sized)

It is a bit too early to tell, but a mid-sized vehicle like the one planned for fall 2011 will likely run between $30 to $50 dollars depending on how complex it is.

5. Count Marzo:
Is "Galen Nycroft" an available real name for Modulok when and if you get to him?

Currently, we do not have a trademark on this name, but if it is available when, and if, we get to Modulok this is the name we would want to use based on the 1987 licensor kits!

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And, have fun discussing Mattel's answers to your Round 49 questions!

[RockinHard]

The vehicle will be mid-sized. Hmmm.

[bcrduke]

I have to say that I think it's a GOOD thing that they are using softer materials on some of the weapons and interchangeable parts.

The Evil-Lyn weapons that came with Weapons Pak II are not the same as the ones that came with Evil-Lyn. The ones that came with the figure are soft. That's a good thing.

I tried changing the crystal to the short wand today an it was virtually impossible without risking a break. There are white stress marks now on the short wand and they started to begin on the actual crystal. It was very frustrating

SO, I think they need to keep using the soft material.

[zodak74]

Cool news about Modulok! And I think $30 to $50 ain't too shabby for a nicely sculpted vehicle... it's just going to limit me buying multiples of 'em.

[The Blue Beetle]

It's gotta be Battle Ram, methinks!

[TheFallen]

It's gotta be Battle Ram, methinks!

Would that be classed as mid-size?
The Battle Ram we saw at SDCC is pretty damn big, especially if it is to fit MOTUC figures

[Staff Of Ka]

id consider Vehicles sizes to run from Small- Road Ripper,Sky Sled. Medium- Wind Raider,Roton. Large- Talon fighter,Battle ram+ sky Sled,Land shark etc.

So my moneys on Wind Raider!

[HordeFan]

I was hoping that they would just sell the Sky Sled first then the Battle Ram portion of the vehicle later. Hopefully that would help keep the price down and when you buy both you can connect them for the "full on" vehicle.

[orbles]

Based upon what they said about King Hsss and spreading out figures that have more tooling, I feel that we will not be seeing a Ram Man until 2012 at the earliest. Any thoughts about this?

[Mern-Ra]

If the first vehicle is NOT going to be the Battle Ram, they should tell us now. So many of us are SO jazzed by the prototype that we want that first, no matter what. So if it's Wind Raider (which I think it will be), I think people will be MUCH more excited about it if we're not expecting it to be the Battle Ram.

BTW I think the Wind Raider will be awesome and a great choice for the first vehicle, but the Battle Ram rules all. Always has, always will.

[Count Marzo]

That's good stuff on Galen Nycroft being an available real name for Modulok! Now that's one "real name" no one should really have a problem with at all, unless they just don't like Modulok.

[Zargon]

I was hoping that they would just sell the Sky Sled first then the Battle Ram portion of the vehicle later. Hopefully that would help keep the price down and when you buy both you can connect them for the "full on" vehicle.

Interesting idea, but I don't think Mattel would go for it. They may sell the Battle Ram whole and offer interchangeable Sky Sleds later, but they would probably not want to risk not selling (as many) back portions later. They would probably assume that more people would by a Sky Sled and be content without the rear.

[Swanmarsh]

Another round of good answers this time. No standard lines!

Galen Nycroft answer is positive and another nod to the licensing guides. I guess this confirmation of licensing guides is also further confirmation Blue Hordak is completely possible and available for MOTUC.

As one who was unhappy with my warped soft Roboto weapons, I do wonder why they cannot use the seemingly firmer plastic used on the same weapons in the Weapons Pak v2. However, I haven't yet tried to swap in and out the weapons pak versions so I don't know about the stress marks BCRDuke reports.

[Zargon]

4. Zargon:
Since Castle Grayskull's price has been estimated to be $200-$300 (when and if it happens) and figures/beasts run from $20-$40, what would be the estimated prices of the upcoming vehicle(s) by size? (small = Sky Sled-sized, medium = Land Shark-sized, large = Spydor-sized)

It is a bit too early to tell, but a mid-sized vehicle like the one planned for fall 2011 will likely run between $30 to $50 dollars depending on how complex it is.

Pretty good answer. Guess we can assume that small vehicles will be $30 or less and large will be $50 or more (hopefully previously mentioned $60 cap, but doubtful). At least the answer wasn't "can't comment on anything past King Hsss, I mean Panthor, at this time...."

[Ealo]

i hope this means the battle ram isn't coming first - i wasn't very impressed with it (though i'm sure once the 4H give it another going over it might be better).

[JVS3]

What????
Why were you not impressed?
I was blown away by the Battle Ram.

[Emiliano]

i hope this means the battle ram isn't coming first - i wasn't very impressed with it (though i'm sure once the 4H give it another going over it might be better).

I'm sure that if you ahd chance to saw it in person you'd totally change your mind

[Ealo]

i don't know, maybe it was just the pictures and irl it looks better - but it sort of looked a bit too much like a 5 year old's toy, while the classics have a more nuanced look. not that i hated it and i can appreciate others want it.

[AdultCollector]

I'd love to see a side-by-side comparison of the MOTUC Battle Ram and the vintage Battle Ram, to get an idea of the scale. A picture of a figure mounted on or standing next to the MOTUC Battle Ram would be equally helpful.

As for my one question: Would Mattel consider remaking Terror Claw Skeletor's claws (the "Terror Claws of Allocca") and including them as a bonus accessory to a new figure in the MOTUC lineup, or would Mattel more likely redesign the whole figure? The old one wasn't much to look at, but the claws were pretty awesome, and in Marvel's Masters of the Universe comic (issue #1) they did not come with a costume change, Skeletor wore his original outfit aside from wielding the claws.