Reply With QuoteGreat idea Scott. It was a good read even if many of us already knew this particular story. It was well written. I look forward to some of the stories that we haven't herd yet. Thanks again.
That was a nice read. As mentioned in this thread, I also like the behind the scenes take on things and this is no exception.
I won't even accuse Scott of taking my idea and going back to the start of the line just like I am doing in my blog as seen in my sig
Great idea Scott. It was a good read even if many of us already knew this particular story. It was well written. I look forward to some of the stories that we haven't herd yet. Thanks again.
Enjoyed the read. I hadn't heard this story because 200X occurred during my toy/cartoon dark ages. I first got into MOTUC right when Statros was released, and it's been all downhill from there.
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EBay: StLouisStallions
Yep, that was a great read. Really love to read this kind of stuff, and have a great appreciation for TG's efforts in getting this line off the ground.
I know TG has made some mistakes, but this line wouldn't be happening without him. It makes me think that Mighty Spector is actually pretty deserved. I like the figure for starters, but I also think its great that TG had a chance to design one.
Why would I be ticked off about this? I don't think I follow. I loved the 200x line as well, but it was long gone.Originally Posted by NagAAsi
I can't believe no one has noticed that just a few days ago Emiliano posted that he was the one who posed the idea for subscriptions, and then explained the exact circumstances, and all of a sudden TG is retelling the story. With him as the "star", of course. (And, if you notice, TG is especially solicitous of 4H in the post, which also co-incides with the exact same post where Emiliano said he suggested subscriptions, and took offense to TG's characterization of 4H as "unarticulated statue makers".)
It also makes me a bit more secure in my thought earlier today, before this came out, that, as Tootie used to say, "Someone is in...troubbbbbbbbble..."
He's in his last throes as a manager of this line, I have no doubt. (And no, a 30 SKU a year line does not rest on one person - Mattel doesn't make toys as "love letters", and they certainly don't make 30+ items a year for a line that isn't making them money. Does Mattel even have ANY other action figure line with 30 SKU's a year?) He may have been instrumental in getting it here, and I give him his due there, but it's future success does not ride on him - in fact, I think if they got a brand manager who was better at managing and less a fan, we'd be much better off.
I've got to say, TG cracks me the heck up. The guy isn't dumb, but he's just not clever enough to pull off what he tries to, which is be Mr. Suave Marketing Manipulator. I mean, it works on some - just look at some of the replies to this thread - he waves a "oooh shiny pretty" and suddenly he's a hero. But really, his machinations are so transparent a blind person could see through them.
I mean, what's he gonna do next - release a couple of bios/package art like he does post-every-scandal?
Oh, wait a minute....
A little too much gossip/conspiracy here for me. Sorry, I don't buy it. What I read was from TG's point of view. I don't take that as spin or marketing manipulation. Sure, I did notice a little bit of egocentric writing in there -- as though he is the only person behind the brand. But, again, I think that may be HIS point of view. That doesn't mean it is 100% fact, or even conjecture. I can get past this because I find it interesting to hear from the brand manager (in whatever capacity) give us some insight into the creation of these characters.I can't believe no one has noticed that just a few days ago Emiliano posted that he was the one who posed the idea for subscriptions, and then explained the exact circumstances, and all of a sudden TG is retelling the story. With him as the "star", of course. (And, if you notice, TG is especially solicitous of 4H in the post, which also co-incides with the exact same post where Emiliano said he suggested subscriptions, and took offense to TG's characterization of 4H as "unarticulated statue makers".)
It also makes me a bit more secure in my thought earlier today, before this came out, that, as Tootie used to say, "Someone is in...troubbbbbbbbble..."
He's in his last throes as a manager of this line, I have no doubt. (And no, a 30 SKU a year line does not rest on one person - Mattel doesn't make toys as "love letters", and they certainly don't make 30+ items a year for a line that isn't making them money. Does Mattel even have ANY other action figure line with 30 SKU's a year?) He may have been instrumental in getting it here, and I give him his due there, but it's future success does not ride on him - in fact, I think if they got a brand manager who was better at managing and less a fan, we'd be much better off.
I've got to say, TG cracks me the heck up. The guy isn't dumb, but he's just not clever enough to pull off what he tries to, which is be Mr. Suave Marketing Manipulator. I mean, it works on some - just look at some of the replies to this thread - he waves a "oooh shiny pretty" and suddenly he's a hero. But really, his machinations are so transparent a blind person could see through them.
I mean, what's he gonna do next - release a couple of bios/package art like he does post-every-scandal?
Oh, wait a minute....
I don't care who takes credit for what.
I hope you are wrong that he is in the last throes of being the brand manager. I think being a fan of the line helps more than it hurts. How many other property brand managers can you name that are as active in their fan community?
Want a nickles free of good advice that I was told by the mods here? There is a thing called "Ignore List." If you do not want to see certain people's messages and do not like what they have to say. Use it! That is what it's there for!
Sorry, but sometimes being active in the fan community can be a double edged sword! People expect more cause of it!
Last edited by Marvelous0ne; January 27, 2012 at 03:42am.
I FULLY SUPPORT THE INCLUSION OF ILLUMINA IN MOTUC!
"I mark the hours every one, Nor have I yet outrun the Sun. My use & value unto you, are gauged by what you have to do."
Enscribed onto Hermione Granger's Time Turner from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Great reading! Toyguru, please keep it up. More behind-the-scenes!
Oh, I find the story interesting.
But more in reading between the lines in what he is trying to make you think and how he's spinning the creation of the line.
I'm sorry, this guy is completely, utterly transparent. His behavior is incredibly easy to predict, and just like the "hey let's let He-man.org (oh let's throw in another site so we don't look like we did it because of them) vote on figures, Illumina will win, and then we'll see who's really a vocal minority" contest was a direct reaction to the little mini-scandal when he dismissed this place as small group of vocal fans.
Scott's in trouble. He's trying to a) get people to support him so the higher ups see less posts of his blunders, b) cement his "legacy" in the line, both for his ego and should he be kicked to the curb. Just like how Spector will be the character that ties all of the other MOTU universes together with Time Travel. Just like...20 other decisions he has made about this line - from his head on a guard, to him thinking he was a good enough writer to be the sole creator of the new - poorly written - bios, which itself is just a bid to cement himself to the MOTU brand should it go to other media (TV, etc.). Do you think Scott wants to work on toys forever? Nope, he's gunning for Hollywood, baby.
Seriously. It's not a conspiracy theory - it's just one guy, who worked in a marketing department and had a passion for a brand. But like most people in "power", it gets too tempting and they try to take more and more - till the peasants revolt. We've revolted, and the higher-ups have taken notice. "His" point of view that he is the center of the universe is exactly the problem, and it seems some of you are drinking that Kool-Aid straight from the tap.
You don't want someone in charge of something like this to be so passionate personally. It's more of a harm than good. He should have been a consultant (and it wouldn't surprise me if when he moves on, sooner or later, that he be retained as one for appearance sake).
This is why all of his favorite characters came out first, and why we even have things like Tytus, etc. - I mean, did fans ever demand anything like that in any significant number? Now he's designing them (and was rewarded with the worst received MOTUC figure EVER, by a mile). All these things have hurt more than helped.
You need someone knowledgeable, but not with such a deep-seeded self-investment, because you simply cannot objectively make decisions about something if you are so caught up in your own love of it. It's just a fact of business.
Agreed. That's the way I see it too. I imagine that it IS him and only him who is having these meetings with the big bosses trying to convince them of future ideas, trying to get more money, and pointing out things that need fixed...
Regardless of what others have suggested or brought to his attention, it's HIM who has to go present the ideas.
So.... yeah, I can see him taking a big part when he tells the story.
Actually... I remember a LOT of support for Tytus... Granted, they wanted him to be collect and connect... but them's the breaks. He-ro was another major thing the fans wanted when the line was originally announced. There were LOTS of people back then arguing about getting 'remakes of toys I already have'... and they WANTED the rare and unavailable ones that had never come out or were only overseas...
Naturally it's gone too FAR now... I think Vikor, Demo-man,Gygor, and green goddess were wastes... Personally "I" wanted the 12 back favorite characters... but I was in the minority at the time.
Last edited by phantom1592; January 27, 2012 at 04:02am.
Last sentence; ...that we were in for a hell of a ride.
Me thinks that's an understatement
Well, it's obvious he didn't sell very well, since they sent out thousands in Mad Matty Packs. And then there is no choice but to do Megator to justify the tooling.
I'll defer to your memory of people supporting him (I wasn't here at the time), but if that is the case, then it's yet another example of why they need someone in the line that could say, "Yeah, let's wait bit on big expensive giants - they just don't make sense yet. Let's focus on the actual figures".
It's like asking a kid if they want to be lucky and eat ice cream every night for dinner for a whole week. Most kids would say, "YESSSSS!" but we all know by the 3rd of 4th night, most kids would want some real food. It's similar here - someone who knows how to sift through fan ideas and not choose them based on their own personal desires.
Can we have just one topic without any anti-Toyguru BS? Please?
This is supposed to be an enjoyable and informative thing for everyone! The guy took the time to type up all this stuff for us addressing the QC problems (which were few and far between imo), as well as giving us a good inside story straight from the source. I for one appreciate it and look forward to more. I hope he continues to do more insider blogs as well as videos on his youtube account.
-=¤EvilCøuntMarzø¤=-
BLÅÇK FLØWËRŠ!!!!
Maybe you should start a protected thread? Otherwise, people are just going to be honest.Can we have just one topic without any anti-Toyguru BS? Please?
I wondered what all the fuss was about a little over a year ago when I discovered the MOTUC community what all the fuss about TG or the poor DR service or the QC, etc. I figured, "Just a bunch of disgruntled fans".
Over the past 14 months or so, I've seen things that I can't believe - and I realized there is a reason for those deep-seeded feelings in the community.
Not everyone is distracted by "OOOH SHINY LOOK OVER HERE!"
We've moved from Cardbacks/Bios to Blog Posts. This time, we even got a 2-fer.
Hey, I hope everything is just wonderful from now on - but the ego on this guy is the size of Godzilla, I have my doubts he can do that. Should he, I will be the first to congratulate him.
Fair enough.
I'm distracted by "OOOH SHINY LOOK OVER HERE!" though. I can admit that.
-=¤EvilCøuntMarzø¤=-
BLÅÇK FLØWËRŠ!!!!
Hey, I find the story interesting, don't get me wrong. And I'll eagerly read any future ones. I totally see why people like this.Fair enough.
I'm distracted by "OOOH SHINY LOOK OVER HERE!" though. I can admit that.
I just wish he wouldn't be so invested in...himself. But if he's not timing things like this, he's got damned good blind luck.
I agree! Enough of all the back biting and *****ing. Scott has been instrumental in getting this line back on "our" shelves and I for one thank him for that. Hes not perfect but nobody is. We have more or less got some amazing figures and assessories so far and the fact that he is a fan is important. He has a respect for the property. Some others may not, then what might happen?Can we have just one topic without any anti-Toyguru BS? Please?
This is supposed to be an enjoyable and informative thing for everyone! The guy took the time to type up all this stuff for us addressing the QC problems (which were few and far between imo), as well as giving us a good inside story straight from the source. I for one appreciate it and look forward to more. I hope he continues to do more insider blogs as well as videos on his youtube account.
Thank you soooo much for opening our eyes to the oppressive Scott Nietlich regime.Oh, I find the story interesting.
But more in reading between the lines in what he is trying to make you think and how he's spinning the creation of the line.
I'm sorry, this guy is completely, utterly transparent. His behavior is incredibly easy to predict, and just like the "hey let's let He-man.org (oh let's throw in another site so we don't look like we did it because of them) vote on figures, Illumina will win, and then we'll see who's really a vocal minority" contest was a direct reaction to the little mini-scandal when he dismissed this place as small group of vocal fans.
Scott's in trouble. He's trying to a) get people to support him so the higher ups see less posts of his blunders, b) cement his "legacy" in the line, both for his ego and should he be kicked to the curb. Just like how Spector will be the character that ties all of the other MOTU universes together with Time Travel. Just like...20 other decisions he has made about this line - from his head on a guard, to him thinking he was a good enough writer to be the sole creator of the new - poorly written - bios, which itself is just a bid to cement himself to the MOTU brand should it go to other media (TV, etc.). Do you think Scott wants to work on toys forever? Nope, he's gunning for Hollywood, baby.
Seriously. It's not a conspiracy theory - it's just one guy, who worked in a marketing department and had a passion for a brand. But like most people in "power", it gets too tempting and they try to take more and more - till the peasants revolt. We've revolted, and the higher-ups have taken notice. "His" point of view that he is the center of the universe is exactly the problem, and it seems some of you are drinking that Kool-Aid straight from the tap.
You don't want someone in charge of something like this to be so passionate personally. It's more of a harm than good. He should have been a consultant (and it wouldn't surprise me if when he moves on, sooner or later, that he be retained as one for appearance sake).
This is why all of his favorite characters came out first, and why we even have things like Tytus, etc. - I mean, did fans ever demand anything like that in any significant number? Now he's designing them (and was rewarded with the worst received MOTUC figure EVER, by a mile). All these things have hurt more than helped.
You need someone knowledgeable, but not with such a deep-seeded self-investment, because you simply cannot objectively make decisions about something if you are so caught up in your own love of it. It's just a fact of business.
Just returning the favor, my dear. It was so nice for you to enlighten me about how the 25% of figures I have opened have had a major defect (two right hands, warped legs - like, completely 45 degree warped, etc.) are just me being overblown.Thank you soooo much for opening our eyes to the oppressive Scott Nietlich regime.
I don't think anyone is doing it to his back.
I'll be honest, I'm just shocked how awed people are by this post. It's mildly interesting, but I think the most astonishing thing for me is that on my first (and probably only) read-through I didn't notice any glaring mangling of the English language.
But I get the hint - he realized the cards/bios wouldn't be enough this time, and he's whipped up a tale with promises of more and people are all starry eyed. It's cute.
You guys should look up a guy named Jim Hill.
I leave you to your worship.
Last edited by EtherianChronicles; January 27, 2012 at 05:20am. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
i have only been on the forums for a couple of years now and missed the 200x cartoon and toyline it was actually optibotimus reviews on youtube that got me coming here. now while i have heard the story before from many points of view this gave more detail and im happy to get these behind the scenes nod (i also happen to be a person who listens to commentarys, my faves are mike myers in anything and ben affleck in armageddon). as ive not been collecting long ive not had really any quality issues other than the usual loose joints so maybe im not as caught in the controversy but i do aggree with the fact anyone can get these (if you are willing to pay shipping and quite frankly thats what id be paying if it was a retail line anyway because most items do not come out here)
when your world turns upside down, laugh at the people standing on their heads!
I am not hating on TG. In fact I like many of the things he's done, but I fear that this blog will be used for more revisionist history.
For instance, we all know (or at least we should all know) that TG's very first response about his face on the Palace Guard was his suggestion. Will the details change? Will it become "the 4H were 'honoring' him" like some posters now believe? (You know the old saying, "say something enough times and it becomes true")
How about when TG first said that the original drawing of Spector was given to the 4H to design the figure, then later he says the original drawing was lost long ago? Which version will make it into the blog?
Now we've got Emiliano's description of the subscription idea & this version.
The blog is a cool & fun idea, but how many contradictions will there be?
No, I am not flat out calling the guy a liar, but even his most staunch supporters have to admit there have been some factual inconsistencies over the years.
Again, I do not mean to come off as a hater, and I realize this isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.... it's just that revisionist history is a huge pet peeve of mine so I hope that does not happen with ths blog, because each entry should be an entertaining read.
After reading TG's post I looked forward to discussing it here; I shouldn't have looked forward to it though, same old tired moaning.
That always happens here (and to be fair on a lot of forums). What you don't know you just make up and pretend it is fact until you find out you are wrong, then you just pretend you didn't say anything previously.
No matter how ToyGuru paints himself in these blogs the are intended to give us an insight into how MOTUC and the individual figures/characters came to be. Nothing is truly objective, the writer, singer, painter, performer, or whoever will always have influence on what it is they are presenting, even if it's unintentional. Our individual point of views effect everything we do. So of course a story written by Scott will differ from the same story written by the 4H or Val or anyone, even down to writing styles. This blog could be an out and out lie, but I doubt it. Is it colored by Scott's own point of view, yes, but that doesn't make the information any less interesting or insightful. History books are not all fact because they are based on interpretation and the historian's own point of view. The fact that KG was first intended to be a reused 200x IA He-Man is one of key points of the blog not who's idea it was. Is it right to make oneself look better when retelling a story, no, but it is human nature.
Ok well now that I've gotten that out of the way. Distraction or not, I enjoyed learning some of the history of how SDCC King Grayskull came to be. I'm looking forward to hearing the back story of some of my favorite figures like Teela (the first female) and Adora (first POP).
TG/Scott thanks for sharing this info with us.
Last edited by Slave2Evil_Lyn; January 27, 2012 at 06:27am.
"Don't crowd me boys!"
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