Roast Gooble Dinner - Episode 047 Discussion!

[MegaGearMax]

Yes, but the 200x style head is a line directive (that we all know about already so it doesn't need to be mentioned by Eric) and the extra accessories are often a cost issue. I think you are being totally unreasonable if you expect Eric to have to point out that Mattel won't let them do 200x heads and when they sculpt a ton of extra accessories, mean old Mattel is only willing to pay to tool up a few of them.

Why is that unreasonable? If they are talking about the artistic side of sculpting figures and having the figure come out wrong due to backwards shoulders, then how do they feel about when heads are vetoed or accessories don't make it due to budgetary reasons? You don't have to say anything negative about the company to give a comment on it.

[JVS3]

Can't you make them a bit longer

NO!

A Very Special Roast Gooble Dinner but what will they talk about the dangers of sex, drugs, logistics, anime hyperdetail?

The sex and drugs episode is the Eamon episode.
Dan and I have to sit him down and have a heart to heart.

[Pixel Dan]

The sex and drugs episode is the Eamon episode.
Dan and I have to sit him down and have a heart to heart.

Intervention!

[Eamon]

I have problems!

[JVS3]

He does. Eamon is addicted to MOTUC.
It was affecting his love life.
So he took drugs to correct the problem.
And then he got addicted to the drugs to treat his addiction.
The side effect is copious amounts of pigeon love interest.

[Eamon]

It's a never ending downard spiral!

[MegaGearMax]

The sex and drugs episode is the Eamon episode.
Dan and I have to sit him down and have a heart to heart.

Intervention!

I have problems!

He does. Eamon is addicted to MOTUC.
It was affecting his love life.
So he took drugs to correct the problem.
And then he got addicted to the drugs to treat his addiction.
The side effect is copious amounts of pigeon love interest.

And there we have it folks...a very special episode of Roast Gooble Dinner.

[Count Marzo]

Sex, drugs, MOTUC, etc...

Some people like the finer things in life.

[Darkspecter]

Wow...so many revelations right there!

[Crusader]

NO!

fiddlesticks ... where's that puppy-eyed He-Man emoticon when you need it

[Master of Disguise]

did you guys know that they banned marmite in denmark today?! ... why would they do that?! ... i need my weekly marmite fix! ...

Probably some so called "viking poli" wannabe, daydreaming he is running up or down a hill like goofy conquering high blood pressure for the greater good. I have a Danish uncle(no blood relation) pretty goofy like, probably the ancestor of a viking village idiot

[JVS3]

Speaking of which, I'm almost out of Vegemite.

I love the squeeze tube version!

[Lay Ze-Man]

GREAT EPISODE!!!!!!!

Always a pleasure to hear from Mr. Treadaway, who I absolutely consider to be one of the greatest sculptors of all time, in any field.

That said, I definitely disagree with the execution of MOTUC Clawful. Eric definitely seems to get why a lot of fans wouldn't want a recreation of the vintage version, as is outlined by his view of the vintage Whiplash head, and how happy he was to leave out the eyebrows and odd tooth right away when reinterpreting him for the 200x line. How he saw Whiplash is the same way a lot of us feel about the vintage Clawful.

(Bear with me . . . )

The difference here seems to be Clawful is one of his favorite characters, so other than Mattel axing 200x-inspired heads (which was oddly absent from the Gooble conversation) it seems to be a case where Eric is OK with Clawful being so vintage in this case because it was one of his favorite figures, and he likes it as is.

Now don't get me wrong, it's a terrific sculpt, impeccably crafted, with elegance the vintage could only dream of. But it's the same feel, it's the same tone. It's the exact same expression. And that's what I would argue to Eric is the chief difference between his updating of MOTUC Whiplash vs. MOTUC Clawful.

Vintage Whiplash has kind of a goofy, sad-eyed dopiness about it, which is all but entirely vanished in the vintage MOTUC Whiplash head, which is decidedly more mean and brutish. Vintage Clawful is (in my opinion of course) quite googly-eyed and cartoonish with a goofy, non-threatening grin, and I just don't think MOTUC Clawful changed that at all.

So I think that's what the problem is, when the TONE of the figure doesn't change.
Grizzlor, Sy-Klone, Clawful, Hiss' Snake Form . . . it really is the same exact TONE as the vintage figure.

Tri-Klops, Battle Cat, Teela, Man-At-Arms, these figures have practically identical design schemes as their vintage predecessors, but the tone has completely shifted to a modern, mature, adult feel. (Anyone get what I'm saying here?) And then you have new figures like Vikor that up the ante entirely and show what this line could really be like.

I also find the overall take on Clawful (which was described as going away from the more organic take in 200x to the more fabricated armor version of the vintage figure) to be somewhat at odds with the self-described pitch of the Classics line. To me, vintage Clawful was only fabricated armor-looking because of the technical limits and budgetary constraints of the day, and if we're thinking about how those designers would've made Clawful using today's toy-making techniques, he would've absolutely been much more organic crab-monster, and much less man in a suit.

I mean don't get me wrong, I do think it's a very layered and complex thing, and there are always gonna be so many balls juggled in the air at the same time and so many diverse people to try and please. I'm just trying to put forward this particular perspective as a potentially helpful way to understand why a lot of people have been expressing disappointment lately.

It's definitely a crazy thing to do, finding the right balance. But I just feel like the "satisfying what I wanted as a kid" and "making us feel like a kid today" thing should only be a jumping-off point, and not the set in stone rule that it seems like the line is more becoming. We're NOT kids anymore, after all . . .

I also wanted to address these comments:

VAL: To say that Classics is bad and 200x is the champion makes no sense.

EMIL: To me it makes even less sense when they say the vintage line was horrible. I know people get offended or upset because I say it, but I always wonder, OK, why are you a Masters of the Universe fan if you think the original line was horrible, the original cartoon was horrible . . . everything was horrible . . . but there wouldn't be anything new if there wasn't an original line.

With all due respect, I don't see what's so hard to understand here, and I think both you guys are exaggerating a little to make the point in this instance. Just because some fans want to see things evolve, it doesn't mean they never liked the older stuff.

And just because some of us don't see Classics going as far as it could be, doesn't mean we hate it or think it's bad. Remember, these comments are more often than not stemming from considering the most IDEAL form of a MotU toy line.

I think I speak for a decent segment of the fanbase when I say that what is maybe most compelling about MotU its timeless concepts and designs. But the problem has been that the execution of those timeless elements has NOT been timeless. For a LOT of fans, many aspects of MotU have not aged well, and while it's understood that they mean a great deal and had significant impact on people's lives, I don't think it's doing any service to be so defensive about it either.

Anyway, a few other comments . . .

• Really really bummed to hear about the Staction stuff, and that the Faker/Khan set can be added to the list of victims of that loser Chinese factory guy who majorly swindled the 4H and NECA. Thanks for the info on the "easter eggs" that Faker was to have, sounds like he would've been one of my favorites. Also was bittersweet to hear about how awesome that Mer-Man Deluxe Statue would've been, but to be honest I think the 4H definitely should've gone with Beast Man or Teela first.

But seriously??? Each Staction Wave sold HALF of what the previous Wave sold? Makes me seriously ashamed of my fellow fans. Those were some of the most amazing collectibles ever crafted.

• A big absolute 100% HECK YES!!! to Eamon's idea for a more battle-worn rugged He-Man figure. While I do really like the original He-Man head sculpt a lot (in 4H prototype form predominantly), Mattel hasn't shown they're fully capable of translating it properly. From the eye paint, to the eyebrows, to the hair placement, so many things have been off with it, so I'd really like to see it moved on from, and I think Eamon's idea is a fantastic one.

Also love Eric's thoughts on getting a bunch of takes: a pure toy version, a more Filmation one, etc. etc.
For me, the more heads, the better!
I mean, is this a Collector's Line, or not?!

Anyway, great episode, definitely worth the wait!!!

[JVS3]

With all due respect, I don't see what's so hard to understand here, and I think both you guys are exaggerating a little to make the point in this instance.

No, because that's the attitude some fans literally have.


Some fans talk like that, and we addressed it. I think we all recognize it's a vocal minority. But it can still sour a conversation really fast.

For a LOT of fans, many aspects of MotU have not aged well

I can easily say in retort that "many more" feel they've aged just fine.

But seriously??? Each Staction Wave sold HALF of what the previous Wave sold?

I was surprised by that too.
Yikes!

[NSP]

Im a new listener to Roast Gooble....and have to say...I really enjoy it!

[Larry Waters]

I was surprised by that too.
Yikes!

I think that was the thing that surprised me the most on this RGD.

When the Stactions came out, I was living in Va Beach, using eBay to complete my 200x collection and as much as I tried, I couldn't find the Stactions ANYWHERE near where I lived.

There was one Suncoast that got maybe 2 figures from each wave and the employees bought those. In stores, I found exactly 4 figures:

Snout Spout
Grizzlor
Stinkor
Clamp Champ


I would have bought them online, but sellouts and eBay "resellers" made it cost-prohibitive for one just out of college, starting a "real" life.

I would be interested to hear how the distribution was handled and if that could have contributed to the declining sales numbers.

[MegaGearMax]

I think a reason for that might have been Suncoast and Sam Goody going out of business at the time. That was where I usually got my Stactions at up to Wave 3. I never saw Waves 4 and 6 at retail. I saw Wave 5 at my LCBS, but they hiked the prices up to crazy amounts.

[Lay Ze-Man]

At the time of their release, the Stactions were available to be secured for less than $20 a piece, especially through pre-orders via numerous online retailers.

It's now defunct, but on the old 4H's forums, I remember starting a thread compiling everywhere they could be ordered. I understand not wanting to buy certain things unseen, but when many of the figures themselves couldn't be had for under $20 each via eBay, I simply don't understand anyone's possible reluctance towards the Stactions.

I can easily say in retort that "many more" feel they've aged just fine.

Ha, fair enough, but I don't think that's ever in question that there are still fans who dig the old stuff, whereas you guys were seeming to express disbelief at how someone could be a big fan of MotU, but not actively enjoy Filmation or the vintage figures.

That stuff was made for kids. So I'm wondering what's so hard to understand about mostly only (or solely) liking it when we were kids? And furthermore, what's so wrong about that?

[guitargod694]

I think that was the thing that surprised me the most on this RGD.

When the Stactions came out, I was living in Va Beach, using eBay to complete my 200x collection and as much as I tried, I couldn't find the Stactions ANYWHERE near where I lived.

There was one Suncoast that got maybe 2 figures from each wave and the employees bought those. In stores, I found exactly 4 figures:

Snout Spout
Grizzlor
Stinkor
Clamp Champ


I would have bought them online, but sellouts and eBay "resellers" made it cost-prohibitive for one just out of college, starting a "real" life.

I would be interested to hear how the distribution was handled and if that could have contributed to the declining sales numbers.

Yeah, I was in the same boat...
I got wave one and two at Suncoast, but after that I never saw them on shelves again.

I was able to get a few more online at fair prices,
but I was relatively broke back then and couldn't afford the markup a lot of places had on them.

[Larry Waters]

Yeah, I was in the same boat...
I got wave one and two at Suncoast, but after that I never saw them on shelves again.

I was able to get a few more online at fair prices,
but I was relatively broke back then and couldn't afford the markup a lot of places had on them.

That was the issue for me. There were many hobby shops that got them in, and promptly marked them up to $50 or more...I just couldn't pull the trigger on it.

[Darkspecter]

That was the issue for me. There were many hobby shops that got them in, and promptly marked them up to $50 or more...I just couldn't pull the trigger on it.

^ This. I had to go to eBay for a lot of my stactions because they weren't available locally, but my best friend found a comic book store selling some I was missing! I think they were $46.99 + 15% tax (at the time, it's 13% now) making them $54.04. I had to pay that much for Jitsu, but I think I eBayed the others, because that was ridiculous!

The cheapest I ever got stactions for were $4.99, believe it or not, at a place called "Sunrise Records" in Canada! They always sell stuff for too much, but then they go on EXTREME clearance. I've got action figures from them for $.99 before.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

For those of you who had these problems collecting the stactions, did you just start collecting them later on or something? Because AFX regularly had each wave up for preorder well in advance of release, and I don't recall any of the preorders selling out in an extremely quick manner. And they were at the standard price + shipping.

I preordered most of mine this way and knew that when they came into stock, I would get them.

[Darkspecter]

For those of you who had these problems collecting the stactions, did you just start collecting them later on or something? Because AFX regularly had each wave up for preorder well in advance of release, and I don't recall any of the preorders selling out in an extremely quick manner. And they were at the standard price + shipping.

I preordered most of mine this way and knew that when they came into stock, I would get them.

If I remember correctly, AFX's shipping cost to Canada was way too much money, which is why I've never purchased anything from AFX. I REALLY wanted to buy a bunch of things to get the free SDCC She-Ras too. I remember Tallstar took advantage of that deal they had.

[Berserker79]

He does. Eamon is addicted to MOTUC.
It was affecting his love life.
So he took drugs to correct the problem.
And then he got addicted to the drugs to treat his addiction.
The side effect is copious amounts of pigeon love interest.

I`m still on the right site?

[Power Sword]

Yeah, that Staction action was rough. The only one I ever found in a store was the Sorceress at my local Hot Topic. I bought her on the spot even though I was having a real hard time financially. When I saw the others that had been released I looked online but couldn't afford them. I wanted the Horde characters & evil warriors so bad.

I am glad though that of all the characters they released, the Sorceress was the one I got.

I love the Sorceress.

I want Sorceress in MOTUC so bad.