Official ThunderCats 2011 Toys Discussion Thread

[Dawg88]

No news yet? C'mon Mattel announcing they have the license

That's what I'm hoping is gonna happen as well

[Dr Kain]

So Bandai set up the Power Rangers display and left. They are not showing anything by themselves, WB is going to be teh one showing off the new Ben 10 stuff. As such, it's dead Jim.

[Mr. Shokoti]

I wouldn't even be broken up about this incarnation of Thundercats ending(I liked it overall, but its quality was hit & miss for me), but I sure hope this isn't the end of Thundercats & Silverhawks. I hope they either get another chance via future reboots ala G.I. Joe & Transformers, a comic featuring new adventures, or, at the very least, new toys ala MOTUC.

[Phil.Pastel]

It's hard to see what else they could put out in a 3rd wave. They seem to have given up on the classics idea after Tygra sold poorly. They made a half-hearted attempt with the 6" figures, and Mumm-ra peg-warmed. As far as the modern stuff, there have 4 Lion-o figures already (counting the deluxe figure). Other characters like Cheetara and Pantho have already had variants made. Vehicles are out until the stores get rid of all those tanks. I really doubt the public is willing to absorb more modern stuff. A 3rd wave would have to consist of less well-known characters for the most part. I can't see them doing anything like that.

[Thatman]

Yup I told people when they were revealed the upside to Mini-Mates is you will most likely get the entire line done regardless of if it sells well.

Diamond likes to do everything in 2pk and 4pks, so this line was at least guaranteed to go with 3 waves which would produce something like 12-20 figures. So if they don't do them all they should get out all of the "main" figures unlike Bandai

Also there is a very real chance at a scale Thundertank, Cat's Lair, Feliner if things do sell well just looking at Halo Mini-Mates

How is one to go about getting the first set - the Lion-O one...will it be available for sale through someone after the con, or is it going to have to be an ebay-type thing?

[markatisu]

How is one to go about getting the first set - the Lion-O one...will it be available for sale through someone after the con, or is it going to have to be an ebay-type thing?

AFX will put what stock they have left on their webstore Monday for sale, that will be the only chance outside eBay to get them from AFX

What will most likely happen is when the line "launches" the figures will be made available as 2pks, that is how they have done all their other lines (4pks first then 2pks containing some of the same figs)

[TheFallen]

Mattel are not finished yet are they? The DC Panel is now so is there any more after that?

[Hordak Alpha]

Technically Voltron only came first from the perspective of American Audiences. Super Sentai, which is the name in Japan for the series of shows that are adapted into Power Rangers here, has been going for over 35 years (starting in the mid 70s), predating Beast King GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger, the two japanese series that were adapted into Lion Voltron and Vehicle Voltron respectively, which were both made in the early 80s.

And while I fundamentally agree to being a bigger fan of Voltron than Power Rangers (Lion Voltron anyway), it's still not a fair comparison regardless of which came first since Voltron initially had a very finite lifespan and wasn't reinvented (at least not immediately) after the Lion and Vehicle versions both ended. We only had one or two failed attempts to bring Voltron back since then (i.e. Voltron the 3rd Dimension), and then there's the currently Voltron Force show which seems to be doing pretty well. I'm sure if Voltron had managed to consistently be on the air in some form or another for almost 20 years (the time that PR has been around in the US) or over 35 years (the time frame of the japanese counterpart), it would have gotten just as stale.

Not that I'm defending all of the incarnations of Power Rangers because there are many that I just don't care for, and you are fundamentally right in that with each new version, the plot is essentially the same. But my point is just that Voltron doesn't make for a very good basis for comparison for all of the reasons stated above.




http://againstlineofdance.files.word...oreyouknow.jpg

I still think Voltron still has more entertainment value. Beast King GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger both also look to have more entertainment value.


Whenever I've seen a little bit of any incarnations of the Power Rangers, I essentially have seen the same exact stuff that the American writers came up with in the 90's series. Certainly, it's a kid show and a kid's attention span is only about five microseconds, but there still could be a bit more originality put into the various spin offs of the Power Rangers.

[Lord Anubis]

I guess people can finally be quiet about bandai waiting till comicon for news. It was so obvious. I mean dont get me wrong, its nice to hold out hope and everything but the writing was on the wall almost from the begining. What sucks is that probably is the end of the show now as well since the toys tanked, what kills me is not knowing the ending... it was really shaping up!

Either way, the minimates, like em or not and Mezco are really picking up the slack! Original series items have never looked so good! Mezco's detail and the minimates assortments are killer! Do you realize the first pack came out today and by Dec you will be so far into the line that a Wolfrat is acceptable!?!?!?!? THATS AMAZING!

In a way im happy Matty isnt touching thundercats - at least not yet. Let it cool off from the failure and rebuild off the classic like motuc is doing. Watchmen was a beautiful annoucement cause I could care less about them lol. So happy money can finally be saved lol!

[MegaGearMax]

It's hard to see what else they could put out in a 3rd wave. They seem to have given up on the classics idea after Tygra sold poorly.

6" Panthro and Cheetara easily.

I really doubt the public is willing to absorb more modern stuff. A 3rd wave would have to consist of less well-known characters for the most part. I can't see them doing anything like that.

Like Jackalman, Monkian, Slythe, Rataro-O, Jaga, General Lynx-O and Pumyra? Aside from General Lynx-O and Rataro-O, those are major characters. All of them have nostalgia on their side.

[Phil.Pastel]

6" Panthro and Cheetara easily.

Well, they made them already in the modern styles. As I said before, they seem to have gotten spooked away from doing classics. Tygra did not sell well at all, and then Mumm-ra did not sell all that well either.

Another problem is these guys do not reuse parts. Tygra was, apparently, released just because they were able to reuse a lot of parts from Lion-o.

Like Jackalman, Monkian, Slythe, Rataro-O, Jaga, General Lynx-O and Pumyra? Aside from General Lynx-O and Rataro-O, those are major characters. All of them have nostalgia on their side.

I don't think Bandai considers them to be major characters. Look at how rare they made the Claudus figure. I had to pay out for that one. It is an impossible find. What are those, one in every 800 cases or what??

[vertigoink]

I hate to sound greedy but in a way I'm glad as customs will be a gold mine now

[MegaGearMax]

Well, they made them already in the modern styles. As I said before, they seem to have gotten spooked away from doing classics. Tygra did not sell well at all, and then Mumm-ra did not sell all that well either.

Another problem is these guys do not reuse parts. Tygra was, apparently, released just because they were able to reuse a lot of parts from Lion-o.

It wasn't because of the characters chosen. Tygra and Mumm-Ra had no torso articulation, making them look fat and constipated. Compared to Lion-O, I would have left them too.

I don't think Bandai considers them to be major characters. Look at how rare they made the Claudus figure. I had to pay out for that one. It is an impossible find. What are those, one in every 800 cases or what??

Claudus was shortpacked like Grune, Wilykit, Wilykay and Cheetara. Collectors or resellers get to Claudus before you do.

[Phil.Pastel]

It wasn't because of the characters chosen. Tygra and Mumm-Ra had no torso articulation, making them look fat and constipated. Compared to Lion-O, I would have left them too.

I'm sure Bandai thinks there wasn't anything wrong with him

Claudus was shortpacked like Grune, Wilykit, Wilykay and Cheetara. Collectors or resellers get to Claudus before you do.

I don't know about that. There have been very few of them on Ebay. I've yet to see anyone who has more than one (unlike Grune).
I checked ebay just last week, there were only 3 (which is mind-boggling). Seems to me to be more rare than the 6" Tygra.

[markatisu]

I'm sure Bandai thinks there wasn't anything wrong with him





I don't know about that. There have been very few of them on Ebay. I've yet to see anyone who has more than one (unlike Grune).
I checked ebay just last week, there were only 3 (which is mind-boggling). Seems to me to be more rare than the 6" Tygra.

No he was just 1 per case, the problem is nobody wanted to reorder that wave because they were sitting on so many of the previous waves.

I can lay out the 2 assortments he was in and even point you in the direction of where to buy his case if you wanted to spend $70-90 to get just him

He is not super rare, just a reseller beat you to him almost every time given the way the 4" line was sold. I have 1 opened and 1 carded, I have seen over 10 since the line launched. Amazon had him in stock for a few days when his wave first came out

Distribution wise the Storm Charger is much rarer than Claudus, you just happen to live in an area where nobody wanted to resell the Storm Charger

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I wish I could find a Storm Charger at cost!

[markatisu]

I wish I could find a Storm Charger at cost!

Keep looking at Walmart, it was shipped 1:1 with the Thundertank (it was a 2 unit case). If your Walmarts can move Thundertanks before their old stock goes back to the Warehouse you will find it for $15 lol

It suffers somewhat from the Claudus issue of so many previous wave (which was 2 Thundertanks per case) clogged up the shelves that consumers never really got to the newer cases

[Phil.Pastel]

No he was just 1 per case, the problem is nobody wanted to reorder that wave because they were sitting on so many of the previous waves.

I can lay out the 2 assortments he was in and even point you in the direction of where to buy his case if you wanted to spend $70-90 to get just him

He is not super rare, just a reseller beat you to him almost every time given the way the 4" line was sold. I have 1 opened and 1 carded, I have seen over 10 since the line launched. Amazon had him in stock for a few days when his wave first came out

I actually think the Tygra ThunderRacer is more rare than all of them put together. I finally found one at a Ross of all places

Distribution wise the Storm Charger is much rarer than Claudus, you just happen to live in an area where nobody wanted to resell the Storm Charger

Larger items around here have, historically, not been popular with scalper/dealer types. I thought the on-line world would have changed that, but it looks like it still holds.

[markatisu]

I actually think the Tygra ThunderRacer is more rare than all of them put together. I finally found one at a Ross of all places

I did notice that I had to chuckle when 2nd wave Tygus was easier to find than Tygra

Larger items around here have, historically, not been popular with scalper/dealer types. I thought the on-line world would have changed that, but it looks like it still holds.

Its the shipping I think that makes it not worthwhile, people who resell want to make a decent profit with little effort and trying to ship that would eat into that price and time so they don't bother.

[Phil.Pastel]

I did notice that I had to chuckle when 2nd wave Tygus was easier to find than Tygra

Yeah, I found 4 of Tygus at various Walmarts. I didn't think I would ever find a Tygra.

I think Bandai had a great idea with the ThunderRacers. They would have made a killing off of those if the tank was more popular. As it is, nobody seems to want them. The idea was good, it just didn't work out.

Its the shipping I think that makes it not worthwhile, people who resell want to make a decent profit with little effort and trying to ship that would eat into that price and time so they don't bother.

I'm wondering if there are as many scalper types around here as there used to be. I keep finding 4" Black Widow's. I sold off one and then I stopped bothering with them.

[Thatman]

I was able to get the Thundercats Minimates box set on AFX around lunchtime - it was in stock as of then, anyhow.

[MegaGearMax]

I was able to get the Thundercats Minimates box set on AFX around lunchtime - it was in stock as of then, anyhow.

Are those ThunderCat Minimates going to be at retail?

[sportsandstuff777]

Are those ThunderCat Minimates going to be at retail?

Ive been wondering the samething

[markatisu]

Yes Wave 2 and beyond will be at retail, its just this launch box was SDCC. We do not know yet if there will be any exclusives for Toys R Us but since they are the largest seller of Mini-Mates I would almost guarantee they will get at least 1 exclusive set

Also don't be surprised to see this multipack broken out into 2 packs at retail

I will be carrying it in my store whenever they announce it, I like buying mini-mates since I have a large variety I can carry vs other lines where you have to commit to only a few figures

[Mr. Shokoti]

I will be carrying it in my store whenever they announce it, I like buying mini-mates since I have a large variety I can carry vs other lines where you have to commit to only a few figures

I've heard you mention this a few times recently. Do you have a physical store or an online one?