Now that the whirlwind of San Diego Comic-Con is behind us, Mattel is back at the never-ending task of answering our fan questions. If you’ve got something you’d like to ask Matty in a future installment, leave us a comment and we’ll try to incorporate it an upcoming batch.
Here’s the latest set of Q&A. Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!
1. Great showing at SDCC! Of the various new announcements that Mattel made at SDCC (or shortly thereafter), which one are you most excited about and why?
The World’s Greatest Superheroes and 12” Movie Masters of Superman and Zod are personal favorites. The first World’s Greatest figure, Green Arrow, will be on MattyCollector on 12/15/09 followed by a retail wave in late Spring 2010. These will be incredible!
2. Hope you had the chance to walk around the show – what was the most exciting toy product you saw that wasn’t being made by Mattel? Did you see anything that gave you ideas on how to make your own products better in any way?
We saw tons of exciting things and had the chance to meet some celebrities as well! Some of the companies making real costumes from movies are amazing.
3. There’s lots of excitement for all the lines, but we weren’t clear on the timing for some of the DC lines. Could you fill in the blanks / make corrections on the estimated shelf dates for what’s coming?
DC Universe Classics – write-up | album
Wave 9 – Late August
Wave 10 (Wal-Mart) – September / October
Wave 11 – November / December
Sinestro Corps 2-Pack (Mattycollector.com) – 10/15
Animal Instincts 2-Pack (Mattycollector.com) – 12/15
Gotham City 5 (Wal-Mart) – October
Superman / Batman: Public Enemies – all in September / October – write-up | album
[Editor’s note: we also asked about the Target JLU lineups but didn’t get info on those.]
4. I noticed that the new Collect and Connect figures, Brimstone and Kilowog, featured new hip articulation that’s a little different from the other big DC Universe Classics guys, like Grundy, Lobo, and Despero. Could you describe what kind of movement it will have? Will it be able to swivel at the thigh?
The articulation is actually quite similar to previous figures and the standard 6” figures. He will have a thigh swivel just like a 6” figure.
5. So, just what is the story on Zebra Bats? Did you come to any conclusions based on reactions from the booth or the DC Power Partnership Panel?
It looks like fans are interested in this repaint, we just need to find the right way to slot him in the line. Stay tuned!
6. You introduced the Club Eternia subscription for MOTU Classics at SDCC. The original end date for selling it was August 7, but you extended that by a week. Did the number of subscriptions meet expectations?
Yes. The subscription did very well.
7. One thing that’s been going around the various message boards since the Club Eternia announcement is that one of the selling points of the subscription is that you get everything with less hassle – but if you really do buy everything, including bonus figures and products from other lines, you end up paying more because of extra shipping and handling. For example, for the currently published Mattycollector.com schedule (Jan through March), in each month there’s a bonus figure (Battle Armor He-Man, Battle Cat) or something from another line (Walter Peck, Two-Face) that a lot of people would be going to Mattycollector for anyways. Do you think this can be addressed for future iterations of a subscription plan?
We haven’t been able to see how “bonus” figures or the large scale beast perform yet. Once we have a few go on sale we’ll have a better idea and will look at adding these to the 2011 subscription.
8. One of the new MOTUC figures you showed was Scareglow. Can you tell us a little more about the Grayskull accessory?
You’ll have to wait for his bio to find out!
9. You also introduced the much-anticipated Peter Venkman figure for Ghostbusters, but mentioned the sculpt was not final. Can you give us an idea of what’s changing and when you’ll be ready with the final sculpt? What are some of the funny hoops you had to go through to get Bill Murray’s approval?
The final sculpt will feature pants that go over his boot legs and gloves on his hands just like he had in the film. We also had to be patient while Bill Murray and Sony approved the sculpt before we could show it off!
10. What do you think of the new Brown Lantern Corps?
No comment… 😀
Here’s a round-up of the other Ask Matty sessions from around the web. (Links to be added as they come up.)
When does the Superman Movie Masters come out?
I don’t think it comes out until next year – but I’ll ask