MOTUC Q&A's From Around the Net (2/1/2012)

[MISSILE-TOE]

Isn't this line like planned one year in advance so the Horsemen can sculpt the figures and or accessories required at a time?
What do they mean that they don't know if the Keldor blades will be available to be shown at NTYF or SDCC?

It means that Scott isn't sure if the Terry Haguchi 30th anniversay figure, "The Son Of Keldor" will be ready to show off at NYTF, as he is the one that will come with the Keldor swords....

[Morningstar]

Modulok

*ears perk up*

A skinny buck would definitely be a cool addition. There are quite a few figures that could use this including the ones you listed and others like Modulok and other vintage figures. If and when we get to these figures this is certainly something we can look into.

So wait, Modulok is theoretically going to be based on the slim torso vintage figure, while Grizzlor (who was also somewhat slim in the arms/legs) is bulked up with the basic MOTUC parts, and Leech (who was a little bulkier in the torso) was slimmed down into the basic MOTUC parts, are changed to fit the line's shared-parts needs? I'm confused.

I mean, I'm happy either way as long as he's made but still...

That answer about the vehicles is no good. Do over!

I want Filmation Modulok

[Skystalker]

Oh well. As I doubt there will ever be a movie, I doubt there will ever be a Battle Ram. And even if there is a movie, it's just still just a 'maybe'.
I don't know why they don't just add it to the sub.

Although I feel as if we are sometimes to quick to judge Mattel for decisions, especially since they will never tell us the whole story for why they do things because the corporate world is run by lawyers (thanks John Edwards!), it still makes little sense why they do not switch out one beast/multipack slot for a similarly priced vehicle. I mean, they gave us the Star Sisters for $60. Would that price point not cover a Roton or Land Shark? Couldn't they do a Road Ripper or non-motorized Attack Track for about the cost of a Wind Raider? It just does not make any sense. Even if it is a one-time tool, they have a guaranteed number of buyers. Don't you think that a vehicle would be more popular than the Star Sisters with most of the buying public anyway? (Full Disclosure: I like the Star Sisters).

[nato]

Damn, that ****** me off. Why the hell can't they just add a vehicle to the sub instead of a beast/multi-pack? If they did, BAM!, enough to validate making a vehicle. Jesus . . .

Because.......not every sub-holder wants vehicles. I know I'd drop a sub if I was forced into buying them.

[Mern-Ra]

It means that Scott isn't sure if the Terry Haguchi 30th anniversay figure, "The Son Of Keldor" will be ready to show off at NYTF, as he is the one that will come with the Keldor swords....

Oh God....really? I cannot tell you how much I am NOT interested in Skeletor and Lyn's son.

And the answer to making Battle Ram profitable is simple: MAKE MORE. Wind Raider sold out in 3 days despite it being a tough month for frivolous purchases and a confusing month thanks to Mattel's Demo-Man debocale, which means the demand for more exists. More sold means more profits, and the fact that it's a one time mold doesn't matter--and that's not even taking into account that they could use the front to sell Sky Sleds separately!

[Sabretooth]

Although I feel as if we are sometimes to quick to judge Mattel for decisions, especially since they will never tell us the whole story for why they do things because the corporate world is run by lawyers (thanks John Edwards!), it still makes little sense why they do not switch out one beast/multipack slot for a similarly priced vehicle. I mean, they gave us the Star Sisters for $60. Would that price point not cover a Roton or Land Shark? Couldn't they do a Road Ripper or non-motorized Attack Track for about the cost of a Wind Raider? It just does not make any sense. Even if it is a one-time tool, they have a guaranteed number of buyers. Don't you think that a vehicle would be more popular than the Star Sisters with most of the buying public anyway? (Full Disclosure: I like the Star Sisters).

I am not a Mattel designer nor manager but unfortunately the reason why they might not want to include a vehicle in the sub is again because of the higher cost of tooling. Star Sisters 3 pack is for 60$ but there is something more: Mattel looks at the profit too. Star Sisters shared parts with other characters so the tooling cost is spread over time. MOTUCprofitwise Star Sisters were a good choice – 3 figures (sharing tooling with other characters) sold at once (20$ each – a regular price for a single figure). Toyguru wrote in his post that they have a problem with vehicles because vehicles do not share parts so the tooling cost can not be spread over time and is a one-time deal.
So with vehicles they have no shared parts so they must produce either more units or increase the price per unit to get the profit. As another fan here at he-man.org pointed out: it looks like they decided to do the WindRaider and Granamyr expensive tooling before they experienced the drop of subscription sales at SDCC 2011. I think they hoped to sell more but after the drop in subs - with the WindRaider tooling already ready – they were careful and decided to produce less than originally intended and so the price per WindRaider unit had to be increased. IMO all that is happening now is just a delayed effect of the lower sub sales at SDCC 2011!!!
So there are these two options: produce more or increase the price. For Mattel the first option is the optimal scenario for a number of reasons:
- they produce and sell
- they show that the line is growing (they produce and sell even more)
- the price per vehicle unit is less so more people can afford it (the price for tooling is spread among more customers)
- … and I could continue with more … like Rudy Obrero doing more artwork that helps a lot to keep fan interest … etc.

Right now the situation is: they got scared of lower sub sales at SDCC 2011. As they expected sub sales increase (!!!) with all the reveals they had at SDCC 2011. They made a decision to reduce number of WindRaiders prouced (with the tooling already at works) which made them to increase the price. Now they wait what will happen with SDCC 2012 sub sales to judge what to do about the vehicles.
- If the sub sales at SDCC 2012 are increased compared to SDCC 2011 (highly unlikely) this will lead to the optimal scenario above in 2013.
- If the sub sales are the same as SDCC 2011 (will be hard to do) they might consider price increase of vehicles or will try find other ways to do them or will cancel them depending on other factors that we are not aware of.
- If the sub sales are less than SDCC 2011 (this is likely to happen) the chance they will do more vehicles is quite low. Not to mention that it will further disappoint fans (like me) who want to see all the vehicles made in MOTUC.
Just my opinion.

I wish they will find a way to deliver the vehicles as I really want them! Toyguru please do something! In the end vehicles might depend on whether fans are disgusted with QC and Digital River … even if you act today it will take time until you gain back the trust. And there is not that much time left to SDCC 2012 and the sub sales.

[AnnnaMot]

I now have a terrible feeling we're not going to get the Battle Ram now

Same here
I was so hopeing to see it b4 2013

[Dragonblaster]

Two things that REALLY **** me off:

1. Modulok with thin limbs - He doesn't need thin limbs! It's a proportion thing! He's a "beast" anyway, so just make him bigger!
And by the way: WHERE IS HE?!

2. No vehicles, except MAYBE in a movie year?! If they hadn't made mistakes regarding Wind Raider's sales, we wouldn't have that problem. It's Mattel's fault not ours for god's sake!

[Orko's Magic Hat]

I like to Modulok answer - hopefully he's not far off - we need a skinnier buck soon so we can get young Adam and Lizard-Man, maybe Prince Dakon?

[Skystalker]

I like to Modulok answer - hopefully he's not far off - we need a skinnier buck soon so we can get young Adam and Lizard-Man, maybe Prince Dakon?

I'm certainly not against a skinnier buck for certain characters. But did they miss the opportunity to do some figures with a skinnier buck already? Is there anyone that should have been made with a skinny buck that has already been made with the standard buck?

[MegaGearMax]

On the bright side, at least no more vehicles frees up the tooling budget for guys like Ram Man, Mantenna, Multi-Bot, Modulok, Rokkon, Stonedar, Rio Blast, Snake Face and various NA characters.

[Skystalker]

On the bright side, at least no more vehicles frees up the tooling budget for guys like Ram Man, Mantenna, Multi-Bot, Modulok, Rokkon, Stonedar, Rio Blast, Snake Face and various NA characters.

The problem is that Matty's answers have not been all that clear that no more vehicles are coming. We know there are none in 2012, but maybe in 2013 and beyond. The question noted in this post from this round of Q&As makes it sound as if vehicles are highly unlikely, but others leave it more open. But I'm not sure that unclear communication from Mattel is a new thing!

But would the vehicle tooling have anything to do with the above-mentioned figure tooling? I'm not sure that would be the case.

[MegaGearMax]

The problem is that Matty's answers have not been all that clear that no more vehicles are coming. We know there are none in 2012, but maybe in 2013 and beyond. The question noted in this post from this round of Q&As makes it sound as if vehicles are highly unlikely, but others leave it more open. But I'm not sure that unclear communication from Mattel is a new thing!

But would the vehicle tooling have anything to do with the above-mentioned figure tooling? I'm not sure that would be the case.

Now the answer is "maybe in a movie year". Meaning that now the vehicles have the same chance as Castle Grayskull getting made in Classics without a movie. But maybe we should ask TG to clarify his statement.

Since TG mentioned that the Wind Raider had more tooling devoted to it than Ram Man, I think the Wind Raider is part of the same overall budget as figures and beasts.

[SCB]

I'm sure figures have highest priority, especially since they are part of the sub. Subs = guaranteed sales and tooling costs get paid for.

[RyanSD]

The sad thing is that Mattel could release more vehicles and make money on them, they just won't because its not as cost effective of re-using the same mold over and over again on figures. If Hot Toys can release multiple vehicles for its large scale, high-end collector lines, then I don't see why Mattel couldn't. I guess that's the difference though, Mattel is a corporate conglomerate that only cares about bottom-lines, and Hot Toys is a true collectible company.

[Dark Sorceress]

The sad thing is that Mattel could release more vehicles and make money on them, they just won't because its not as cost effective of re-using the same mold over and over again on figures. If Hot Toys can release multiple vehicles for its large scale, high-end collector lines, then I don't see why Mattel couldn't. I guess that's the difference though, Mattel is a corporate conglomerate that only cares about bottom-lines, and Hot Toys is a true collectible company.

thats true. if mattel gave a dame about the toys or the fan's this line would be gold rite now

[Darth Daddy]

i agree, it undermines the whole vote if they are going to make the others anyway. if a character doesn't win, they shouldn't be made.

I respectfully disagree with you. The winner of the fan poll should be the priority figure; there is no reason why the others might not / could not be made down the road. Besides, some of the characters in the poll might already be in the hopper for the remainder of 2012 or possibly for the 2013 lineup. Hasbro does polls like these for Star Wars (for example) and in many, many cases the fans end up getting several figures who once were part of various polls but might not have won [their respective poll(s)].

Because.......not every sub-holder wants vehicles. I know I'd drop a sub if I was forced into buying them.

Some may want beasts. Some may want vehicles. Some may want multi-packs. Some may want any combination of these or all/none of these. I think that the line-up for any given year should be varied and balanced. 100% of the fan base is never going to be 100% happy all of the time.

Digital River nonsense aside, that is the risk VS reward of a sub. (We all know that the Digital River nonsense is considerable.) If someone doesn't like what is offered in a sub then he/she can always elect to not get a sub for that given year. I actually can't believe I am even making this point because we all know that getting a sub/not getting a sub is like being asked if you like to have either your left leg or your right arm amputated. Both equally suck for different reasons. Fight the insanity and low production numbers on "sale day" and not get the sub figure for the year OR be forced to deal with the consistently inconsistent wide-range of crap that = Digital River.

What is a dude to do?

Oh God....really? I cannot tell you how much I am NOT interested in Skeletor and Lyn's son.

And the answer to making Battle Ram profitable is simple: MAKE MORE. Wind Raider sold out in 3 days despite it being a tough month for frivolous purchases and a confusing month thanks to Mattel's Demo-Man debocale, which means the demand for more exists. More sold means more profits, and the fact that it's a one time mold doesn't matter--and that's not even taking into account that they could use the front to sell Sky Sleds separately!

I agree with you 1000% on the Wind Raider comments.

[bcrduke]

Isn't this line like planned one year in advance so the Horsemen can sculpt the figures and or accessories required at a time?
What do they mean that they don't know if the Keldor blades will be available to be shown at NTYF or SDCC?
Also Boo! to the maybe in a movie year for vehicles!

It means that Scott isn't sure if the Terry Haguchi 30th anniversay figure, "The Son Of Keldor" will be ready to show off at NYTF, as he is the one that will come with the Keldor swords....

It's already been revealed that Geoff Johns' figure will be the 30th Anniversary figure to be shown. Terry's is not.

I bet that the Keldor swords will come with Lord Dactys.

Remember in the MYP cartoon, Dactys's people made swords/weapons. They were famous in Eternia for it.

The Keldor sword is a nice design for a celebration piece. The bat (Dactys) and the eagle (Miro/Randor/Humans)

[mk476]

I bet that the Keldor swords will come with Lord Dactys.

Remember in the MYP cartoon, Dactys's people made swords/weapons. They were famous in Eternia for it.

The Keldor sword is a nice design for a celebration piece. The bat (Dactys) and the eagle (Miro/Randor/Humans)

That would be awesome! I can't wait for those swords.

[DO4M]

It's already been revealed that Geoff Johns' figure will be the 30th Anniversary figure to be shown. Terry's is not.

I bet that the Keldor swords will come with Lord Dactys.

Remember in the MYP cartoon, Dactys's people made swords/weapons. They were famous in Eternia for it.

The Keldor sword is a nice design for a celebration piece. The bat (Dactys) and the eagle (Miro/Randor/Humans)

That would be a nice way to put the Keldor blades in the canon...

[bcrduke]

That would be a nice way to put the Keldor blades in the canon...

That's what I'm thinking. Either with Dactys, whose people make weapons; Spikor, who is Skeletor's blacksmith; or Miro, who maybe had the swords previously.

[Dr Kain]

Why do none of the other site links go directly to their Q&A?

BTW, how do you figure we are going to get a son of Keldor figure?

[oICEMANo]

I thought that was more about preventing a fan from suing them for creating something close to his or her non-winning submitted character.

It's just that in one Q&A, they adamantly decide against using non-winners, then in the next Q&A they change their minds.

I would welcome the addition of non-winners from the Create-a-character contest cos Im certain there are loads of really good designs that would fit right in with MotU...

[Darkspecter]

I'm happy about the Modulok answer.

About the Wind Raider...I forget who said this, but I totally agree with them: if the Wind Raider only sold "okay" because Mattel didn't make enough of them or STILL didn't charge enough to make a profit that Mattel deems "acceptable", do another run and sell more.

Why do none of the other site links go directly to their Q&A?

BTW, how do you figure we are going to get a son of Keldor figure?

He's a new character and the 30th Anniversary line is for new characters.

[bcrduke]

I just want to make sure everyone is on the same page.

The Create-A-Character contest is being held this year (2012) and the figure chosen will be one created by a regular person who sent in an entry.

The Fan-Choice-Figure will be one of 8 "obscure" character, including 6 chosen by Mattel, 1 chosen by the Org (Illumina), and 1 chosen by the German fansites (Geldor). The poll will be held and people who buy a subscription will be able to vote. (I think it's 8 choices, maybe it's 6, I don't remember).