Toyguru Mattycollector.com MOTUC News Thread March 2013

[The All American]

So... did Fangman, Mighty Spector & Mo-Larr make it to the top 20?

I highly doubt it. I would think Kevin got more votes than TMS and Mo-Larr.

For all we know King He-Man could have been #49 or something. If that's the case, then I wonder how the other older and more popular characters did. They are probably occupying the top 20 votes.

That's what I'm thinking. It wasn't mentioned he cracked the top 25 or 40.

I'm interested to see if any NA or POP (outside She-Ra and Catra) make it. While they have some fan demanded figs, those characters don't fit with Grayskull. It's like voting a Snake Man for the Crystal Castle playset. Whatever the final tally is, fans shouldn't worry if some big names fall below some obscure chracters; it's just a matter of who better fits the castle on Eternia.

[Old Bolty-Neck]

If King He-Man was voted (say) # 49, then that means that a full 48 other characters all beat King He-Man in the poll, which I find very plausible.

[KUZEH]

I find it hilarious how some people get all worked up about insignificant things like that...

[Micro-Man]

Sheesh, I just wanted to know when they'd announce the ten winners!

I expected He-Man and Skeletor to be a given but, like Wundarwarrior said, I would also like to see new faces on the CG box art and not just a straight rehash of the vintage art. After 30 years, we should be able to see the evolution of the MOTU mythos. King He-Man being in the Top 50 is no big surprise to me...He's one of the main focuses of the latest faction being introduced and I'd rather see him on the box art than Caz, Air Centurion, Skeleteen, Maran, Spin Whiz, Train-Or, and a LOT of the names that were on the voting list!

[Barezz]

Honest to goodness, there is way too much drama, fact checking, research and "last Crusades" over who promised what and who said this and subject to change and legality and whatever else.

What should be the happiest moment in the MOTUC collection has turned into a fiasco. And it will only be worse when SDCC hits and this is gone or that is changed and the cycle begins anew.

Seriously, couldn't this just have been fun? (And to be clear I think there have been mistakes on all "sides").

[bcrduke]

Honest to goodness, there is way too much drama, fact checking, research and "last Crusades" over who promised what and who said this and subject to change and legality and whatever else.

What should be the happiest moment in the MOTUC collection has turned into a fiasco. And it will only be worse when SDCC hits and this is gone or that is changed and the cycle begins anew.

Seriously, couldn't this just have been fun? (And to be clear I think there have been mistakes on all "sides").

TOTALLY AGREE.

The facts: we aren't getting what was pitched to get us to sign up; we are getting something less, but it's still a decent toy; Mattel will say anything lol... At this point, it is Scott who will have to deal with the ramifications of how he has marketed the line.

I just don't bother letting it get to me anymore... I certainly speak up, and we can continue to do so in a respectful way, even if that is a generous thing to do (honestly, it would be nice if Mattel were a little more proactive about making its customer base feel more valued... as Eamon suggested, we are paying for these toys).

The fact that there is any drama isn't the customers' fault... and we need to stop allowing Mattel's actions to turn us all on each other.

Those that are fine with the price not dropping, even though the item is smaller, are entitled to feel that way. Those that are upset about the change are entitled to their feelings too.

It's just a lame reality Is it perfect? No. But it could be a lot worse.

As for my comment about King He-man in the top 50, frankly, I haven't given the King He-Man figure, or character, much thought... other than thinking it was a bad choice as a Subscription Exclusive... not because it's a bad figure, but because they may have swayed fence-sitting potential Sub buyers by using a figure like Scorpia, or Lodar, or King Miro as the exclusive.

But yes, "rumor has it" that Scott IS using King He-Man and Dare as his new project... his legacy, if you will... Though, one needn't hear or read rumors to make that judgement. It's just an obvious circumstance.

He has taken Lou Scheimer's original ideas and re-structured them... I'm not sure if he's aware that the Dare/He-Ro Son of He-Man bible from Filmation is as readily available as it is... many of us have seen it

I actually like the concept of Dare... I'm not sure why Dare couldn't have remained Adora and Sea Hawk's kid raised by Adam and Teela (Lou created that concept and I think it was a classy way of paying homage to both series that came before)... and I'm still unsure why Adam needed to forsake his name in favor of being permanently King He-Man. But to each his own

In any case, it doesn't matter. I've been a Mattel customer and an Org member since before Scott Neitlich was brand manager... and I've heard and/or read it all. My judgments are based on his words and actions, and the inside intel I hear, which has almost always proven true.

But I find it amusing that a few people in this thread decided to lambast me for calling into question something this brand manager had to say. Worse yet, a few tried to make my post sound like the ravings of a ranter... my post is, categorically, not that.

I am alwaysfair. I praise Scott's triumphs, and I offer constructive criticism when it is deserved. I am absolutely entitled to that. No one has to agree with me... But I know a lot of people would.

[JVS3]

****************
Okay folks. Listen up!

The banstick is about to break out if some of you can't control yourselves. For crying out loud, we're talking about toys here.

The in-fighting, personal accusations and such need to end. The mods are going to be doing a thorough cleaning on this sort of thing in this and other threads. Good grief, some of you have the mods working overtime!

For example, accusations about lying have to stop! If you want to do it on another forum or on your own social media, then knock yourself out. But not here. Lying implies intentional dishonesty. Someone who contradicts themselves isn't necessarily being deceitful. Unless you have hard tangible proof of someone actually being dishonest, then steer clear of the accusations and personal judgements one someone's character. Instead, you can point out inconsistencies, you can cite contradictions, etc. And by all means, feel free to point out how it is confusing or can be misleading to fans/customers. Keep it about facts and avoid the innuendo.

If you want or hope for change, then please be proactive about it. Post constructive feedback, organize fan write-ins and call-ins, and so forth. Start being realistic and logical about everything and stop venting and fighting. Let's turn that steam into fuel for the engine.

These are toys. It's supposed to be fun. If it's not fun any more, then no one blames you for walking away. I certainly understand and realize that a lot of you are very passionate and want very specific things for MOTU and POP. And that as customers you have every right to voice constructive criticisms and feedback on QC, customer service issues, shipping and the like. But that doesn't excuse anyone for acting out about it in a derogatory manner.

Every single one of you that I've been fortunate enough to talk to at a convention speak calmly and talk friendly to each other and creators. So, my advice is to start posting like you are talking to someone face to face. And better yet, post like you want someone to talk to you.

Enough is enough, everyone. Let's take a time out and approach this in a better way.

****************

[Crusader]

Um, actually, the entire Castle's design was their idea. From the Orb room to including the ledge. The only ask from Mattel was to include a slot for Scareglow's key which is being added to the final toy. Pretty much from a design stand point this was all the awesome glory of the 4HM.

Um, actually, I kinda got a different idea based on the interview you gave on AFI.

ActionFigureInsider: This is really the first Castle Grayskull designed by a team of fans, that also happen to be toy makers.* As a life-long MOTU fan, what is the experience like to be working on, updating and designing one of the most iconic playsets in toy history?

ToyGuru: Very surreal. CG isn’t just a playset, it is a pop culture and toy icon. We all feel a great sense of responsibility going into this to execute this right, not just for the fans but for toy history as well. I would put this, the Hoverboard and our upcoming Watchmen line as three of the items I am most honored to have been able to work on. It is intimidating and exciting at the same time!

AFi: Were there features, Easter eggs or design elements that you always wanted your original (vintage) Castle Grayskull to have?


TG: For me personally I always wish the sculpted door on the back opened. I wished there was a “secret” way to break in (for* bad guys if you will) and I am thrilled we are adding that into the current design (along with a second secret door on the side ledge). I really think this adds to the play value.

AFi: Since you are still in a pre-sell phase and don’t have the full greenlight are you having to hold back the Four Horsemen and the design team?* I would imagine great ideas keep coming to them “OH!* We could do ______.” And then you have to say “Hold on guys… save it for when we know it’s going forward.”


TG: Oh we definitely do. The team came up with a lot of ideas for things to put into this castle and not everyone will be able to make it in and still keep the cost at 250.00. Some of the ideas folks had would have shot this thing well into 500.00 plus! When you are designing a castle Grayskull you are just tempted to put everything possible in! But we still wanted to keep the price reasonable at 250.00. That was the only factor limiting our imagination.

AFi: Do you have a favorite element or design feature of this new Castle?


TG: The rotating brick wall (entrance) on the ledge. So cool! Bad guys need a way to invade or good guys can sneak out. It always bugged me that their was only one way in or out of old one.* A fortress of mystery and power needs secret entrances! I also love the orb chamber.

http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/m...ch-interview-2


This was also an interesting bit:

There are certain element that are just “instant castle Grayskull” and while the 2002 castle had things like the Jaw Bridge, other elements like the action feature it included (recognizing good or bad guys based on chips in the feet) wound up shrinking the jaw bridge opening so much He-man couldn’t walk thought! [sic] For this new one we want to ensure figures can stand in that doorway!

http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/m...ch-interview-1

[Tallstar]

I'd really love to see how many votes each character got. Hopefully they can do that. At one time, before the voting ended, I thought Scott said he was going to look into getting us an "in progress" view of the voting. Did I just imagine that?

[JonWes]

It would be cool to see the full results list!

[The All American]

I'd really love to see how many votes each character got. Hopefully they can do that. At one time, before the voting ended, I thought Scott said he was going to look into getting us an "in progress" view of the voting. Did I just imagine that?

If we got the actual vote count for each and all, we could divide by ten to figure out how many subs there are (assuming everyone voted). Mattel seems very protective about their sub numbers, I don't see that happening. Hopefully Mattel at least does a percentage breakdown for each character so we can see how each fared in the voting.

[Calderon]

It would be cool to see the full results list!

Yes and how many people were unable to vote because never got a code....

[WDWFreak53]

If we got the actual vote count for each and all, we could divide by ten to figure out how many subs there are (assuming everyone voted). Mattel seems very protective about their sub numbers, I don't see that happening. Hopefully Mattel at least does a percentage breakdown for each character so we can see how each fared in the voting.

Without giving away numbers...they could just list the names in order from highest to lowest.

[JonWes]

Without giving away numbers...they could just list the names in order from highest to lowest.

That's kind of all I wanted to see. They could also put percentages of the total vote next to each without giving anything away.

[Rhanen]

I have posted the following question in Matty forum cause I'm getting mad this month at this collection:

This is a response from BRITICUS

quote:
Sorry that you didn't get one.

There were a limited amount of Strobos made available for Early Access, and as always, it was first come first serve.

Strobo is The 2013 Traveling Convention Exclusive, so he will be available at both Power-Con and New York Comic Con, so if you missed-out, you still have a chance to get him!


Did you realize that the fellow poster was from Portugal? Just like me, an international buyer who is most likely impossible to be at a convention in the US.
This past month, international subscribers were overcharged in shipping, now most of subscribers were rule out at early access for a 1 minute sale of Strobo, and again, for international fans it would be almost impossible to get unless we pay ridiculous over prices at second market, which I personally strongly refuse when I have the chance to purchase straight from you guys, if you allow me, something that seems you are not taking correct care in.

My faith in the collection is getting thin, and I shall be very offended next July if any PR campaign may focus in saving the line by subscribing.
Please, tell me why I should do so committing again when I have to suffer the random issue of the month and I even don't get all the figures
?
BTW, I still did not receive Ram Man & Jitsu from Feb sub with the beautiful snail speed international mail that your company handles

I do re-post it here since I did get angry at the 1 minute sold out of Strobo and the response given to MOTU_Portugal, fellow orger, at those forums, and the ordeal and exclusion international fans are suffering even by subscribing.
I hope a response shall be given

[MegaGearMax]

I've put up a bunch of new answers.