Here’s the story – our questions for December 15 missed the deadline, and then I misplaced them when we got the answers back for January 15. But we’ll be back on the Ask Matty circuit when it starts up again after Toy Fair – and I’m sure we’ll have lots of questions following their Toy Fair presentation on February 13.
In any case, thanks to the Mattel team, and forgive us for the holiday and end-of-year-oriented questions, plus being a day late on top of that!
1) The holidays are right around the corner. What Mattel collector items might last minute shoppers find on the shelf, and what are your recommendations for best gifts this season?
The GL five-pack at Wal-Mart and DCUC Wave 15 and 16 are great buys at retail!
Note: You can see AFP reviews for these items here:
If you’ve been having trouble getting your hands on Green Lantern Classics wave 1, they’ve just come in stock on ToysRUs.com – the listing is so new there’s still no product images available. Kyle Rayner, Black Hand and the Black Lantern Abin Sur have been the ones I’ve heard are hard to come by.
Mattel gave us a tease of Catra when they published the latest release schedule for Masters of the Universe Classics in 2011 earlier today. I haven’t yet been to my local comic book store, but I did get the lowdown from a subscriber who’s had his issue of Toy Fare 163 for a few days now.
The single page write-up covers both the Princess of Power Catra figure (part of the Club Eternia subscription in May) as well as the next DC Universe Classics vs. Masters of the Universe Classics 2-pack, featuring (yet another) Hal Jordan and Zodac.
Catra follows the Princess of Power style guide design very closely, with the red dress with Hordak’s symbol, red high-heeled boots, red collar, and purple cape. In the large photo, she appears without a mask, although the write-up mentions that she’ll come with two: a red one like the cartoon (and style guide), and a silver one from the vintage toy. A smaller picture shows the red mask, presumably the other side of the picture released by Mattel earlier today.
She is pictured with both a sword with cat-faced hilt and a silver cat-faced shield with red gem – the shield is also an homage to the vintage toy. It’s unclear how the masks will work. The unmasked head is pictured without any holes – I would disappointed but not surprised if she ends up with a hole in her forehead for the masks, since that’s how Mattel made the masks work for She-Ra.
The Hal Jordan from the DCUC vs. MOTUC 2-pack was described as having the metallic modern deco (no green trunks), looking identical to the recent All-Star Green Lantern that was also a Toys R Us exclusive. The Zodac redeco seems pretty simple. All that I heard was that he is pictured with white gloves. I imagine Mattel is counting on the Green Lantern movie to drive interest in this 2-pack. Zodac was one of the slower moving Masters figures on his original release date.
Toy Fare 163 is also supposed to feature the debut of some more Green Lantern movie figures. I forgot to ask my friend about those, so I’ll be checking it out when I pick up my copy of Toy Fare later this week.
I have been waiting for this height-corrected Sinestro for some time, and though I think TRU’s prices on their exclusive 2-packs are steep, and even though Hal Jordan has become the Wolverine of DC Universe Classics, I still picked one up.
Our Green Lantern Action Figure 2-Pack is a Toys’R’Us Exclusive! DC Universe Presents: Hal Jordan vs Thaal Sinestro! An all new 6 inch 2-pack featuring the classic match up from the world of Green Lantern!
The Green Lantern Action Figure 2-Pack features:
Hal and Sinestro Action Figures
Construct weapons (in Green and Yellow respectively!)
Exclusive classic “two-color” Power Battery
Complete your collection with this essential DC Universe Classics set. Only at Toys R Us.
Here’s a couple of quick pics of the first wave of Green Lantern Classics. I got this set from my local Toys ‘R’ Us, so they’re hitting stores right now.
