This was a good reading.. thank you for posting these.
Oh I want that masters_roadmap.doc to my hands. Is there any hackers here, Kim Dotcom maybe?![]()
This was a good reading.. thank you for posting these.
Oh I want that masters_roadmap.doc to my hands. Is there any hackers here, Kim Dotcom maybe?![]()
MOTUC needs:Tung Lashor, Rio-Blast and rest of the Hordes!
WANTED: Minicomics !!!Swords NEEDED !!!
MY FEEDBACK
See... I thought the exact OPPOSITE when I read that part... The fact that they knew who Scareglow WAS was amazing.
Let's be honest here... he was always a D-list character. Never showed up in either cartoons. Was in the very last wave of the series before it burnt out and was rebooted into NA...
Yeah, he's a glow in the dark skeleton, and i ALWAYS wanted him... but logically speaking, he wasn't a 'sure bet'. I'm personally amazed that they knew who he was.. .how few original parts he had. All by name alone?!?
That's pretty cool! It means that even the uppity ups of the line must have grown up with these toys as well. Also explains why they seem to have their OWN agenda over who THEY want to get made and who they don't. (obviously they aren't fans of 200x)
Though Stratos isn't a favorite of mine, I keep enjoying this blog.
I understand what you are saying, but I think that is a corporate cop out. If they can change Moss Man ears from being flocked, or the inside of The Faceless One's hood from being purple then they can tell the factory not to glue the wings down. Those other changes were made during production. If it's a manufacturing process thing, then all they have to do is follow the TRU Stratos process and apply the standard colours.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not hanging for another Stratos - I have three (standard, TRU and yellow belt), but if they are going to keep re-releasing him (is he the figure with the most re-releases?), they might as well fix the wings. AND it's likely to 'unexplainedly' sell more.
Last edited by He-Boy; February 22, 2012 at 06:54pm.
I really enjoyed reading this blog.![]()
Skeleton-Warriors, Ra-Jar, Spinwit, Rock Golem, General Tartaran, Hawke, Slob-Boar, King Agho, Hunga the Harpy, Sh'gora, Masks of Power Demons, Nocturna, Lizzor, Sagitar, Crimson Fury, Lodar, Vizar, Angast, Negator, King Miro, Melaktha, Crystal-Man, ABC Giants, Stridor, Road Ripper, Land Shark
These blog entries are great. Need to print them out.
Personally, I hope TG/Scott stays until the line is done (in 7 years...lol).
As soon as I got Stratos first thing I did was unstick his wings, a VERY easy fix and certainly not deserving of taking up a new spot in the line
I just did this to my Stratos following your instructions here.. Awesome and easy fix! Made a figure I thought was great even better! I hated the wings stuck behind his arms. Thanks for reposting!
As far as this blog entry by TG, Its my favorite to date. I think Scott has done a great job. While , I'm not an avid poster and more of a lurker, I visit often to keep up to date and I look forward to these blog entries now.
LOVING reading these behind-the-scenes blogs, SO fascinating. Really speaks to the challenges, passion and love of MOTU Scott & co. have for these characters. Thanks for sharing an awesome piece of MOTU history with the fans!
That was the best one yet! Thanks, Scott! I know Mattel can't do the 1987 movie designs, but here's hoping that they will become available as the line starts to run out of characters.
"Everything comes to he who waits."
we've heard about the roadmap before, but this is the first time ive heard they're actually still sticking to it! again loving these behind the scenes looks once agian proving its always best for a fan to be in charge!
when your world turns upside down, laugh at the people standing on their heads!
Honestly, I never really cared if the wings were 'free floating'. I'm FINE with gluing them...
I just wish they had been glued in the RIGHT position.
I like these blogs. Gives us a little more insight on to what all goes on internally at mattel when making some decisions. Helps shed some light on why things the way they are. While some accuse Toyguru or 'not doing enough', I'm glad he's running the show. I shudder to think what the line would be (if it would even exist) without his persistence on some things. Maybe I just don't pay enough attention, but what other toy lines have someone like ToyGuru running things? What other brand managers try to regularly communicate with the fandom? I'm sure there are some, but not many from what I have seen.
Right or wrong, buying a sub tells Mattel you want more MOTUC figures. Not buying does tells them you don't. Don't let MOTUC end early because you might not like their marketing strategy! Plus polls show you won't regret subbing!
One of the true fan minority - happy MOTU fans!
www.marveltoys.net - the source for marvel figure information.
Very interesting, especially about the road map. The variety of figures offered each year is, I've often said, one of the line's strengths. The mix of classic MOTU, NA, POP, 2002, and prototypes/unmade designs really gives us a really solid line that has something for everybody. Maybe there's an occasional character someone won't like, but that's true of any line. I really hope they keep that strategy going for as long as the line does.
"I will use this power for all the good that can be done, to work for peace, to encourage virtue, and above all, to preserve life in all its forms..." Superman
In my opinion you missed the point (Don't take that the wrong way. I'm not trying to be mean or snarky). I hear what you're saying, but that doesn't negate my point in the least.
I posted facts about Scareglow that Mattel management, despite knowing who he was, were completely unaware of. Instead of finding out about the characters and the 'value' and market demand of said customer to the paying customers, they were prepared to save him for much later in the line because they thought he wouldn't sell.
That's sheer stupidity on their part.
Which is the problem. They clearly have no idea what the fanbase desires, but are still trying to dictate to us what we should be buying in an adult collectors line. Sometimes over what the 4H and Toyguru tell them.Also explains why they seem to have their OWN agenda over who THEY want to get made and who they don't. (obviously they aren't fans of 200x)
That really was great read! Thanks TG for taking the time to fill us in with that!![]()
– No comment.
As they vintage waves went on, they got more and more wacky with a lot of new or unique sculpts. But most of that last wave were just repaints of the original basic body types. Hence, the 'cheap-out'. But if anything, that wave shows how well parts-sharing works. (unlike Stinkor and Moss Man, who really did feel like a 'cheap out' to me back in the day. At least that last wave didn't share heads).
Again, an awesome entry! I am a year new to the MOTUC line, but it's stuff like this and this site that keeps me interested and got me to buy a sub this year, as well as go back and pick up nearly all the previous releases. There have been a few issues that have affected me as well, but this line rocks over all, and is exactly the MOTU line I wish it had been back in the 80's...but if it had, I'd have missed out, like I did with the 80's line (Long story short - no money) Anyhow, great post, Scott. It seems you're hinting at leaving the line, and that would be a shame, but we'll see what comes.
Stupidity is a harsh term.
Quote from Blog.
When we presented the line up to management, I do remember in particular one of the managers looking at Scareglow (the proposed October figure, until the Mer-Man slip moved him to November) and saying “Scareglow? Really? He was one of the cheap-outs back in the day.” Which is interesting because if you look at the vintage Scareglow wave (Randor, Clamp Champ, Ninjor and Scareglow) they were all pretty much "weapon and a head only" figures. It seemed that with the popularity of the line back in 1985/1986, the team back then needed to rush some new figures to market and just as it is today, the cheapest and easiest way to rush figures to market is to use minimal tooling and redeco option.
Nowhere does it say that they raised a fuss or wanted to save him for later. They were just surprised to see him in the first wave since he was a LAST wave figure originally.
There wasn't time to do a detailed market research when TG dropped the list on their desk, and that was a first impression comment.
And it was a completley understandable first reaction. He was a D-list character, and a 'head and cape' only figure... And it was pretty much the same reaction the ORG had when it was announced that we'd get him that soon.![]()
Here's the problem though... The fanbase has NO desires. Nothing consistent anyways. CERTAINLY not as a cohesive group.
A LOT of people wanted Scareglow... .I was one of them (never had the original) but I saw a LOT of people sho did NOT want him. They didn't like the stiff cape... they didn't like the 'lame' painted on skeleton... There were huge debates over who and WHAT he was... was he a ghost serving skeletor? or was he the Skeletor's ghost?
Same thing with the 200x vs Vintage which was rampant at the time of these blogs. Any executive who did what you suggest and come online to find the 'market demand' would have shook his head, laughed and said 'Ok, they don't know WHAT they want... Screw it, here's the list!"
I'm pretty sure they expected a Ram man or Man-e-faces in the spot of Scareglow... and the fans would have been eccstatic about it![]()
Stratos was the very first figure I ever owned. I remember my parents coming home one evening (I think it was after back to school night) and giving Stratos to me and He-Man to my brother. I thought Stratos was so cool, although I initially thought he was a villain. I don't remember why. But I seem to remember him being initially villainous in his first appearance, having been tricked by Skeletor in the minicomic or something. Am I right about that?
"Mattel's policy of things being seen as a failure if they don't sell out in minutes still annoys the hell out of me." — .org Member paulioscorchio
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