MOTUC Q&A's From Around the Net (12/15/2010)

[MegaGearMax]

http://www.hordak.de

From the bios we've learned that Orko is a secret agent and that every He-Man has had a Trollan (secret agent) as sidekick- and Toy Guru has mentioned before, that NEW Trollans could be possible... so can we expect a Trollan for every He-Man in ths canon?

While we don’t have plans for a Trollan sidekick for all the He-Men, we do have plans for more Trollans in the future if and when we get to them.

2. The budget for the SDCC exclusives is higher than for normal figures. Can you tell us, without telling us specifics- if Mattel is making any profit out of these figures or are they just promotional without profit to earn?

We tend to break even in the best case scenario. Many times the SDCC items are completed for PR purposes and help draw in more customers for a line.

3. Would you consider Dread Tread more as a beast (it could reuse parts like arms/biceps) or more as a vehicle?

Sure we could consider it. No plans right now, but we know there is demand.

4. Now that Buzz-Off is officially king of the Andreenids, is Andreeno his wife?

The royal relationship among the bee like Andreenids is a bit different from “Earth” royalty as we know it. Kings and chosen based on valor and serve at the request of the ruling queen. Many times different “Kings” rotate in and out based on politics or current conflicts. King is more of an appointed title where Queen is a birthright for this species.

5. Is Mattel aware that there are 37 official vintage German audio dramas? Any chance that characters from this media (like Anti-He-Man) could be included in the classcis line?

Yes we are aware of these (and the different origins some characters have such as Trap Jaw). No plans right now for characters from this series however right now.

http://www.motucportal.com/

1. We have noticed that there is no mention of Sorceress in the MOTUC biographies. Not even one Sorceress throughout ages is mentioned. Even Veena is reffered in Grayskull's bio as "his devoted and loving widow". Now, just to clarify, is there a Sorceress, past or present, in the MOTUC universe?

Absolutely. There are a lot of characters that have not been mentioned yet, but the Sorceress is of course around doing everything that she normally does. Veena was not mentioned on Grayskull’s bio by name because the name “Veena” is not available at this time.

2. Any updates to provide on an iPhone application that maybe provides character bios and MOTUC related content?

Not yet. It is something we are continuing to look into. Right now all of our efforts are going into improving the buying process. Once that is fixed we will explore other opportunities!

3. Since we got the She-Ra sword in a two tone color scheme would it be possible to get the He-Man power sword in a solid gray color scheme in a future weapons pak?

Always possible but nothing is planned right now.

4. The redesigned way the halves of the power sword fit together that we see with the re-release of King Grayskull is fantastic - will this be the new standard going forward with figures released with a power sword?

Ideally yes. We did retool the swords for this release to ensure the fit together better due to fan demands!

5. The skirt type thing on Adora while looking better in person then pictures, does not create the same visual lines / angles of a unitard that many POP figures have. While Evil Lyn and Teela both have a very distinctive V shape to the armor creating in my opinion a nicer silhouette (less stubby and chunky then Adora) - when doing a character like Glimmer, should we expect the "granny pantie" Adora style or something a bit more like Teela/Evil Lyn?

Eric from the Horsemen really took these fan comments to heart and is working on ensuring future figures do have a more unitard look.

http://www.he-man.de/

1. Are there any plans to make some weapons and armor with a metallic or chrome-like finish to make them look more realistic or "noble"?

Yes. You will see a lot of this in the 2011 Brave and the Bold total armor series.

2. In Buzz-Off's biography on mattycollector.com "Mekaneck" is spelled "Mekanek". Is this a typo or his current trademarked name?

It was a type-o.

3. Are you aware of the character "Anti He-Man"? This character was introduced in the German audioplays from "Studio Europa" back in the 80ies and nowadays enjoys great popularity worldwide. Would this figure be available to Mattel?

Right now the German audio plays are not available. This character would be cool if they are ever made available!

4. Are there any news about the lifesized Power Sword as a prop replica which was on display at SDCC?

It will continue to be on display at other conventions but there are no plans to produce one at this time. Mattel does not create actual blade weapons. After all, we are a toy company in the end and it is not something we are able to do at this time.

5. Vintage Sy-Klone had two closed fists. For MOTUC She-Ra I had wished for one of her hands to have a closed fist too. Is there any possibility to offer swappable hands/fists for upcoming figures?

This is something we have looked into. Nothing to announce right now but always a possibility if the right figure comes along.

Infinite Hollywood

I missed out on King Grayskull the second time around. Although I have my original Grayskull, I really wanted the updated deco of the second release. Is the second Grayskull considered a "regular" figure and thus could be re-released if demand warrants it?

Yes, he could be re-released but we don’t have plans right now to do so. Getting him out on a single card was intentional so that he fit into the mainline and “could” be re-released if demand was there.

Popculturenetwork.com

1) Alright, so what about the MOTU Power Tour? If there is any figure that we NEED in Classics, it's Songster! Talk about an important character...he told the whole story of He-Man and She-Ra in song! When is he coming?

Ha! We have talked about Songster. We do have the rights to him but after the so-so reaction to Mo-Larr we are bit out on more “joke” figures at the moment. But if there is enough demand, we could always change out minds. He might make a great sub figure…

2) Seems the problems with MattyCollector.com still persist. Cyber Monday was still a pain to get through, taking up to an hour to place an order. Any new updates on the improvements?

We have a new process that was scheduled to launch for the Cyber Monday sale but it wasn’t fully functional. The last thing we want to do is launch a new system and not have it work. Right now it is looking like early 2011 will see the updates to improve the buying process. We are trying to get these out as soon as possible but don’ want to do so until all the bugs are worked out!

3) We know there will be new MOTU figures shown at NY Toy Fair. Any chance you can tell us an estimate of how many new figures we might see?

Likely around the same amount as last year. We don’t have this locked in yet though.

Kitty's Pryde

4) Wave 2 of MOTUC vs DCUC just hit, but are there any hints of who we might see in the next sets?

The next figures will be revealed in the Jan shipping issue of Toy Fare!

5) Toy Guru, which MOTUC bio is your favorite and which one might you redo if given the chance?
Toy Guru jumping in here:

“I really like both Vikor and the new King Grayskull. It was fun to see the worlds really come together. Trap Jaw was also a particularly fun bio to do. Adora was also great since it helped clarify that Etheria was in Despondos. There really aren’t any bios that need to be re-done. There were two early mistakes I’d want to correct. Tytus’ bio had a few events swapped (the building of Castle Grayskull and the Towers) and Goddess’ bio mistakenly said there was 500 year between Grayskull and Adam when it was supposed to be 5,000 years.

All 200+ bios were written at the same time and while fans may be frustrated that not all the info is out there, this is intentional and in time the full picture and a greater appreciation for the work that went into this huge undertaking may come to the surface!”

Poe Ghostal

2.) barbecue17 asks: Is is possible that we could see a Teela figure in pink armor that would benefit charity breast cancer research?

This is something we have discussed. One of the issues is our production runs are very low as is for MOTUC figures (compared to say a Hot Wheels Car or a Barbie doll). Also we are very limited in the number of “slots” we have for figures and right now we are concentrating on getting out all new figures. A charity repaint is not out of the question, but not something planned right now for the MOTUC line.

3.) Mysterious Stranger asks: Toy Fair is just around the corner. Any hints as to what we can look forward to seeing in the MOTUC line? Not asking to reveal specific characters, just an idea of how many figures we could potentially see. Perhaps the rest of the first half of 2011 figures?

Likely about the same number of figures we showed last year. Although the May figure will be shown before then in the Jan shipping issue of Toy Fare!

5.) RM asks: Now that there is are new and improved power sword halves molded (as debuted with King Greyskull V.2), can we expect to see all of the power swords to date (Faker, Keldor, Wundar, etc) to be re-released in the new style (be they in Weapons Paks, or otherwise)?

Going forward yes, we will use the new Grayskull swords but no plans to rerelease the older ones quite yet.

Motucfigures.com

1.) Is Earth a factor in MOTUC continuity, or is it going to be ignored like in the MYP cartoon? Marlena being an earthling was first introduced in the DC Comics series, so this element of the story was not limited to just Filmation...

Whether or not Earth is involved will be revealed sooner then later! Keep reading the bios.

2.) What happens to the faulty figures, the ones fans return because of some quality issue? Are they simply destroyed or are they recycled in some way?

They are analyzed, reviewed and then logged. Sometimes they are destroyed at the end of the process, other times they are maintained for records

3.) Why are many of the heads on the MOTU Classics figures molded in a different color than any colors actually seen on the finished product? For example, why is a caucasian head cast in black plastic and then painted over with flesh-toned paint? It seems molding it in flesh tone would eliminate the "nose-rubs" that many of these figures experience.

Many times this is done as a cost saving measure. Other times it is a logistical issue due to the production timing.

4.) Is it possible that we may see beast-sized flight stand clips in the future for Battle Cat, Panthor, Swiftwind, etc?

Not very likely. The Beasts many times are the “stand” for the figure. If there is enough demand from fans we can look into this, but no plans in the works now.

5.) Would you ever consider releasing a pink Teela figure to benefit breast cancer research? This has been a popular topic on the mattycollector.com forums...

This is something we have discussed. One of the issues is our production runs are very low as is for MOTUC figures (compared to say a Hot Wheels Car or a Barbie doll). Also we are very limited in the number of “slots” we have for figures and right now we are concentrating on getting out all new figures. A charity repaint is not out of the question, but not something planned right now for the MOTUC line.

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The sites listed below are the sites who want to participate in the Q&A round-up in these threads and on the He-Man.org homepage news entry.
Be sure to check out their sites! There's a lot there to see in addition to the Q&As.

http://www.planeteternia.de/
http://www.popculturenetwork.com/
http://www.figures.com/
http://www.superherotimes.com/
http://www.kastorskorner.com/
http://experiencethewonder.com
http://www.motucportal.com/
http://www.hordak.de
http://www.maitresdelunivers.org/
http://www.poeghostal.com/
www.kittyspryde.com
http://www.infinitehollywood.com/
http://www.motucfigures.com/
http://www.he-man.de/

All other sites haven't gotten back to us yet about participating, or have asked not to be included which we completely understand and respect.
So, please do not post the actual questions and answers from any site not listed above.
But you are welcome to post a direct link to their Q&A, and discuss the info here in this thread.

Thanks!

[Staff Of Ka]

Great answers!

*Songster - Its a shame that he is considered a possible 'Joke' Character, I really hoped that mattel would Redeem him by making him cool. but if hes the 2012 sub figure......SIGN ME UP SCOTTY!!!!!(Neitlich that is!)

*Whats a 'Dread tread'?

*how many figures were revealed at New york this year? I think it was 8 with tytus? Which took us up to Whiplash.

Ka

[davidlogan]

I think Songster would make a terrible sub figure IF they are doing him as a joke.

Why? Because you know what my favorite part about Mo-larr was?

It's that I didn't have to buy him.

Don't waste my sub figure slot on a joke character. Give us something worthwhile like Kamo Khan. Now -that's- a great sub figure.

Don't make me buy a joke character. ty

[Tallstar]

1. We have noticed that there is no mention of Sorceress in the MOTUC biographies. Not even one Sorceress throughout ages is mentioned. Even Veena is reffered in Grayskull's bio as "his devoted and loving widow". Now, just to clarify, is there a Sorceress, past or present, in the MOTUC universe?

"Sorceress of Castle Grayskull" is mentioned in Teela's bio.

5. The skirt type thing on Adora while looking better in person then pictures, does not create the same visual lines / angles of a unitard that many POP figures have. While Evil Lyn and Teela both have a very distinctive V shape to the armor creating in my opinion a nicer silhouette (less stubby and chunky then Adora) - when doing a character like Glimmer, should we expect the "granny pantie" Adora style or something a bit more like Teela/Evil Lyn?

Eric from the Horsemen really took these fan comments to heart and is working on ensuring future figures do have a more unitard look.

This answer is sort of bitter-sweet to me. While I'm always happy to hear of improvements on the females, I think they just revealed that characters such as Glimmer and Angella will be based on Filmation instead of the toy designs which had skirts. Hopefully they can do material skirts to snap on over the unitard. This would be an excellent idea for an Adora reissue though. (Not that the original looks bad, imo.)

[MoViEfReAk]

*Whats a 'Dread tread'?

Ka

http://he-man.org/collecting/toy.php?id=1391

[sephron13]

I've been quite impressed with the Q&A's for the past couple of months...we're getting some real answers finally. Maybe not quite the answers we're looking for in some cases, but still...

Great Q&A Patrick. Real weird about Veena. Good to hear about future POP/female figures and the skirt/unitard issue.

Also, I have to say, as tired as I am of the whole "hyper-anime" issue, MoViEfReAk's signature actually made me laugh. Kudos!

[PIMPS ADAM]

Thanks Playboy.

[Reboot]

I think they just confirmed it'll be at least couple of years before we see Veena - when they say "not available", they obviously mean "not trademarked" - and given the way they scattershot TM stuff, she must be a very low priority...

[TheFallen]

2) Seems the problems with MattyCollector.com still persist. Cyber Monday was still a pain to get through, taking up to an hour to place an order. Any new updates on the improvements?

We have a new process that was scheduled to launch for the Cyber Monday sale but it wasn’t fully functional. The last thing we want to do is launch a new system and not have it work. Right now it is looking like early 2011 will see the updates to improve the buying process. We are trying to get these out as soon as possible but don’ want to do so until all the bugs are worked out!

This made me laugh. They already have a system that doesn't work

[He-Boy]

Dread Tread? Songster? Come on people, are we seriously interested in this stuff or are we just trying to impress Mattel with our obscure-character knowledge (ok, ok, so they're not "obscure"....)

I think Songster would make a terrible sub figure IF they are doing him as a joke.

Why? Because you know what my favorite part about Mo-larr was?

It's that I didn't have to buy him.

Don't waste my sub figure slot on a joke character. Give us something worthwhile like Kamo Khan. Now -that's- a great sub figure.

Don't make me buy a joke character. ty

Exactly! I really hope mattel doesn't think that there's TOO much demand for these characters. I understand that the line is being stretched out, and so far the balance has been good, but let's not wreck it. Onto lighter stuff...

Are there any plans to make some weapons and armor with a metallic or chrome-like finish to make them look more realistic or "noble"?
Yes. You will see a lot of this in the 2011 Brave and the Bold total armor series.

Is this the first we've heard of the 'Bold & the Brave armor series'??

In Buzz-Off's biography on mattycollector.com "Mekaneck" is spelled "Mekanek". Is this a typo or his current trademarked name?
It was a type-o.

I kinda like Mekanek.

[Tallstar]

Whenever I see "The Brave and the Bold", I always think of the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful."

[TheFallen]

I think the Brave and the Bold is a DC thing, not MOTU

[mjharwood]

I think the Brave & Bold answer means they didn't know the question was in relation to MOTUC... There's a number of people on Mattel's forum that will be happy if they see this answer, because they don't get much news about that particular Batman-centric line.

[Rhanen]

Is this the first we've heard of the 'Bold & the Brave armor series'??

I think he has confused MOTUC with "Batman Brave & the Bold" (checking by this month Matty newsletter it wouldn't surprise me).

Also, Dread Tread (or is it Terror Tread?) question was not well understood either since there wasn't a clear answer

[Larry Waters]

Not a whole lot really being said...

[Croaker]

3. Would you consider Dread Tread more as a beast (it could reuse parts like arms/biceps) or more as a vehicle?

Sure we could consider it. No plans right now, but we know there is demand.


This one's my favourite.
Q: Is it A or B?
Mattel: Yes.

[Monkeyboy Prime]

Songster is by far my most wanted figure. I really hope they don't go real jokey WHEN they make him. Just let the Horsemen do their thing and make an awesome toy!

[HordeFan]

That's awesome we'll see the May figure in Jan. Toyfare. Along with the new 2 packs!! Gonna be a good issue!

[Snake Hunter]

INTERCHANGEABLE HANDS - A MUST HAVE

MOLARR a joke character!!!... MOLARR is a joke if Mattel consider it as a joke. For me is a insane doctor allied with Skeletor.

In MARVEL there are "comical" characters and they fight side by side with "serious" ones (Howard the Duck, Deadpool, Frog-Man). In Star Wars C3PO, R2D2 and Jar Jar are comical characters...

In the real world there are also comical persons and shares a space with the others.

Songster must be done in MOTUC without being a joke, because for me is more comical a Firefighter Elephant, a Skunk-Man or a Furry Horde Henchman...

[zodak74]

Ooh, can't wait for the January issue to see who our next female figure will be!

[Lookie]

3. Would you consider Dread Tread more as a beast (it could reuse parts like arms/biceps) or more as a vehicle?

Sure we could consider it. No plans right now, but we know there is demand.


This one's my favourite.
Q: Is it A or B?
Mattel: Yes.

I thought of it more like:

Q: Should I buy apples or oranges?
Mattel: Sounds good.

[MegaGearMax]

Check out Dan Lynch's site! http://www.itsalltrue.net/?p=10565

Not only does it reveal that a 2011 character will have lots of new tooling, it also reveals a tidbit about Demo-Man's place in the line.

[Kevenn]

I really hope they make Songster, and I absolutely wouldn't mind it if he's a subscription bonus figure. People keep forgetting that the subscription bonus figure is for fans who want *EVERYONE*, not a big star to "force" people into buying a subscription.

[Angel-T]

I want Songster the Eternian Bard in my collection! I also want the Etherian old Wizzardess amd Josh (Bow's Friend) who I am sure would be in the same category as Songster! I love that people seem to have love for the really obscure characters!

[SCB]

No Veena? That's not good.