Toyguru Mattycollector.com MOTUC News Thread February 2013

[Crusader]

The size reduction has caused some VERY noticeable issues (He-Man barely fitting in the entrance of Grayskull, Fisto and Clawful barely fitting on the first floor and only being able to see up to Trap-Jaw's CHEST when he's in the dungeon. In the original b-sheet, the dungeon wall was nearly 10 inches tall...you know...so characters would be visible through the bars to the top of their head, not chest.

http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2013_To...iverse-114.jpg

We also get a nice view of his ARM through the prison window.

http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2013_To...iverse-119.jpg

Now that looks plain ridiculous. They'd better just leave the whole dungeon out then.

[bObA_fEtt_Ox]

The size reduction has caused some VERY noticeable issues (He-Man barely fitting in the entrance of Grayskull, Fisto and Clawful barely fitting on the first floor and only being able to see up to Trap-Jaw's CHEST when he's in the dungeon. In the original b-sheet, the dungeon wall was nearly 10 inches tall...you know...so characters would be visible through the bars to the top of their head, not chest.

http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2013_To...iverse-114.jpg


We also get a nice view of his ARM through the prison window.

http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2013_To...iverse-119.jpg

OMG the prison size is also ridiculous........

Concerning the size of the entrance, Joeycruel photoshop it and this is what he did :

[Tundra_Torque]

I'm glad that TG clarified that Jetlag figures won't be in the Filmation sub. I hope that Crita and Master Sebrian are eventually released in the regular line.

[orbles]

You know I really respect the 4H and what they have done and continue to do, but sometimes, logic would just dictate that things like the door and dungeon are not going to work. How does this slip by them??

[scott metzger]

You know I really respect the 4H and what they have done and continue to do, but sometimes, logic would just dictate that things like the door and dungeon are not going to work. How does this slip by them??

You're assuming they are the ones making the decisions on what works and what doesn't. THe design team, the brand manager and likely others are involved, as well, so, unles someone is there and says, "So-and-so decided to do this," it's hard to point a finger. Same reason I balk at blaming Reuben for every bad design choice.

[oulala]

You're assuming they are the ones making the decisions on what works and what doesn't. THe design team, the brand manager and likely others are involved, as well, so, unles someone is there and says, "So-and-so decided to do this," it's hard to point a finger. Same reason I balk at blaming Reuben for every bad design choice.

And you're absolutely right, Scott. We know very little about what goes on at Mattel. To me, it's pretty clear that both Scott 'Toyguru' and the 4 horsemen are ABSOLUTELY in love with this franchise and are doing their utmost to produce the best toys out there.

I for one get irritated with how much heat Toyguru is getting for things that he doesn't have control over: shipping fees (yeah, a huge castle IS expensive to ship, people!) rise of labor cost and plastic, etc. etc.

If the castle has been downsized, it's not an evil master plan from Mattel to steal your money, it probably comes from very tough decisions, balancing the interior deco versus the exterior, etc. etc. The monster arms coming from the grate is a very good example. While it seems like a no-brainer, if you look at the prototype, there are so many different colors involved, just that part probably pushes the entire budget in terms of paint apps, far more than any other elements.

I imagine it's pretty much like a movie budget - the director wants the best for his 'baby', then he has to deal with budgetary constraints, then compromise on things. Draw a list of what he's ready to make compromises on, versus stuff that HAVE to be there and that he won't cut. And as a movie director, boy, I can tell you that it's extremely painful and horrible and you can't win every battle.

I would therefore suspect that Toyguru himself and the 4 horsemen were the first ones to be disappointed with that size issue, but ultimately, they want the BEST for Castle Grayskull. It's easy to criticize for us, and fair enough, but yeah, I'm sure it's not that easy to get such a big playset made these days...

[sirsniffy]

It looks like they are going to use Vykron's face for N/A He-Man...

[shadowfall1976]

The size reduction has caused some VERY noticeable issues (He-Man barely fitting in the entrance of Grayskull, Fisto and Clawful barely fitting on the first floor and only being able to see up to Trap-Jaw's CHEST when he's in the dungeon. In the original b-sheet, the dungeon wall was nearly 10 inches tall...you know...so characters would be visible through the bars to the top of their head, not chest.

http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2013_To...iverse-114.jpg

We also get a nice view of his ARM through the prison window.

http://www.cooltoyreview.com/2013_To...iverse-119.jpg

I am actually glad I didn't get one, I love the idea behind it, and I love the fact of getting one, but I'm not a kid anymore, I like things to be uniform and somewhat in scale to where it at least looks right. It doesn't have to be 6' tall, but the dungeon looks like crap, Trap Jaw looks like he's 10' tall inside of it scale wise, and the castle has only 7' ceilings according to the prototype.

This Castle Grayskull would be perfect if it was in Middle Earth and placed in the Shire, but for Eternia and being for He-Man, to me it falls short of greatness. I love the sculpt as always the 4H did awesomely on it, but the adult in me that likes things to appear correct....it falls short.

[JoeyCruel]

Come on people we have to find a way at least for the entrance... I accept everythin' but the entrance?

http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...stle-Grayskull

Someone asked about that to Toy Guru?
There is already a thread on the Matty forum?

OMG the prison size is also ridiculous........
Concerning the size of the entrance, Joeycruel photoshop it and this is what he did :
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/2...geproblem4.jpg

[nato]

I am actually glad I didn't get one, I love the idea behind it, and I love the fact of getting one, but I'm not a kid anymore, I like things to be uniform and somewhat in scale to where it at least looks right. It doesn't have to be 6' tall, but the dungeon looks like crap, Trap Jaw looks like he's 10' tall inside of it scale wise, and the castle has only 7' ceilings according to the prototype.

This Castle Grayskull would be perfect if it was in Middle Earth and placed in the Shire, but for Eternia and being for He-Man, to me it falls short of greatness. I love the sculpt as always the 4H did awesomely on it, but the adult in me that likes things to appear correct....it falls short.

I agree. It's sad that I would almost prefer displaying it with the vintage figures, because then it would look more in scale. For the size of these figures, the castle doesn't measure up to them.

I'm actually curious to see the pictures of the vintage castle next to the new prototype......and I'd also like to see the vintage figures in the new castle.

[Jekyll]

It looks like they are going to use Vykron's face for N/A He-Man...

Scott said that design was trying to get it to look closer to that of the prototype so hopefully we won't get stuck with the face they showed at NYTF.

http://forums.mattycollector.com/eve...7/m/1001036408

[Crow]

And you're absolutely right, Scott. We know very little about what goes on at Mattel. To me, it's pretty clear that both Scott 'Toyguru' and the 4 horsemen are ABSOLUTELY in love with this franchise and are doing their utmost to produce the best toys out there.

I for one get irritated with how much heat Toyguru is getting for things that he doesn't have control over: shipping fees (yeah, a huge castle IS expensive to ship, people!) rise of labor cost and plastic, etc. etc.

If the castle has been downsized, it's not an evil master plan from Mattel to steal your money, it probably comes from very tough decisions, balancing the interior deco versus the exterior, etc. etc. The monster arms coming from the grate is a very good example. While it seems like a no-brainer, if you look at the prototype, there are so many different colors involved, just that part probably pushes the entire budget in terms of paint apps, far more than any other elements.

I imagine it's pretty much like a movie budget - the director wants the best for his 'baby', then he has to deal with budgetary constraints, then compromise on things. Draw a list of what he's ready to make compromises on, versus stuff that HAVE to be there and that he won't cut. And as a movie director, boy, I can tell you that it's extremely painful and horrible and you can't win every battle.

I would therefore suspect that Toyguru himself and the 4 horsemen were the first ones to be disappointed with that size issue, but ultimately, they want the BEST for Castle Grayskull. It's easy to criticize for us, and fair enough, but yeah, I'm sure it's not that easy to get such a big playset made these days...

Wow! This is the most sensible post I've seen in a long time! My hats off to you sir as I 100% agree!!

[uaxuctum]

And you're absolutely right, Scott. We know very little about what goes on at Mattel. To me, it's pretty clear that both Scott 'Toyguru' and the 4 horsemen are ABSOLUTELY in love with this franchise and are doing their utmost to produce the best toys out there.

I for one get irritated with how much heat Toyguru is getting for things that he doesn't have control over: shipping fees (yeah, a huge castle IS expensive to ship, people!) rise of labor cost and plastic, etc. etc.

If the castle has been downsized, it's not an evil master plan from Mattel to steal your money, it probably comes from very tough decisions, balancing the interior deco versus the exterior, etc. etc. The monster arms coming from the grate is a very good example. While it seems like a no-brainer, if you look at the prototype, there are so many different colors involved, just that part probably pushes the entire budget in terms of paint apps, far more than any other elements.

I imagine it's pretty much like a movie budget - the director wants the best for his 'baby', then he has to deal with budgetary constraints, then compromise on things. Draw a list of what he's ready to make compromises on, versus stuff that HAVE to be there and that he won't cut. And as a movie director, boy, I can tell you that it's extremely painful and horrible and you can't win every battle.

I would therefore suspect that Toyguru himself and the 4 horsemen were the first ones to be disappointed with that size issue, but ultimately, they want the BEST for Castle Grayskull. It's easy to criticize for us, and fair enough, but yeah, I'm sure it's not that easy to get such a big playset made these days...

You may or may not be right about Scott's true underlying motives, but we'll never know that for sure (unless we could read his mind). The main problem with him, and what rubs so many fans the wrong way, is his terribly inappropriate and unprofessional attitude.

He could have been sincere and upfront about the dungeon grate and offer us a positive outlook saying: "I'm very sorry guys, we know this element is quite important to the fans and we really would have loved to include the dungeon grate, which the 4H have sculpted so wonderfully, but the amount of paint apps it would need places it beyond our available budget for the CG SKU. But I promise you we'll do our best to find some other way to release it, such as in a future Castle Grayskull expansion pack" [and afterwards he keeps and honors his promise].

Instead, we've got this person, who is supposedly in charge of marketing the line to customers, sending out snarky, evasive and deceitful comments day in day out, such as: "It will not be included, period [just stop complaining or we'll delete your comments!]. It will be a marvelous 50¢ sticker firmly secured in place with best-quality Sellotape. And if you don't like that, go ahead and cancel [if you dare]! And just to be clear: we're NOT cutting anything, because the B-sheet did not show it, so we can't cut what was not there in the first place. And if the 4H sculpted it, it was simply because they had nothing better to waste their spare time with".

See the difference?

[guy-dude]

He could have been sincere and upfront about the dungeon crate and offer us a positive outlook saying: "I'm very sorry guys, we know this element is quite important to the fans and we really would have loved to include the dungeon crate, which the 4H have sculpted so wonderfully, but the amount of paint apps it would need places it beyond our available budget for the CG SKU. But I promise you we'll do our best to find some other way to release it, such as in a future Castle Grayskull expansion pack" [and afterwards he keeps and honors his promise].

Instead, we've got this person, who is supposedly in charge of marketing the line to customers, sending out snarky, evasive and deceitful comments day in day out, such as: "It will not be included, period [just stop complaining or we'll delete your comments!]. It will be a marvelous 50¢ sticker firmly secured in place with best-quality Sellotape. And if you don't like that, go ahead and cancel [if you dare]! And just to be clear: we're NOT cutting anything, because the B-sheet did not show it, so we can't cut what was not there in the first place. And if the 4H sculpted it, it was simply because they had nothing better to waste their spare time with".

See the difference?

You also might be painting TG in a snarky light with your paraphrasing and personally added running commentary.

And with your sample quote that he could've said, he promised something that would take place behind closed doors, which ultimately you would never believe anyway.
"hey guys! I've been working with management on any possible way we could bring out a Grayskull expansion pack, but it's just not logistically possible given the amount of SKUs we have allotted. We'll keep trying! But for now it's not going to happen, sorry."

But he "promised"!

[MegaGearMax]

10 new answers are up!

Swiftwind is gone for good....