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Post by Casimir on Sept 19, 2005 13:45:07 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up, IG! Always a pleasure to hear from you.
I'll throw a new question out to Boy Wonder. A little trial by fire:
I just got back from a Target, still on the hunt for the Target JLU exclusives. Instead of finding what I was looking for, I found three pegs worth of the three-pack containg Brainiac, a repainted Supes and Wonder Woman, and the comic. LoG member PJ found these at a drug store a few months ago, and at the time we were told (by IT?) that these would be limited to drug stores, grocery, stores, etc. So why is Target getting them, taking up valuable peg space that should be reserved for Black Canary, Bizarro and Orion?
Thanks, guys. And a hearty welcome to Boy Wonder.
C.
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Post by reideen1313 on Sept 19, 2005 13:47:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the news IG! I look forward to hearing from Boy Wonder!!
Good luck to IT in the future!!
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Post by TheJoker on Sept 19, 2005 14:12:57 GMT -5
Yes! Thank you! Im so glad that ill be able to get that collectors Batman from the begins line!
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TheNewbie
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 157
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Post by TheNewbie on Sept 19, 2005 14:41:14 GMT -5
no more IT? well, good luck to you IT! its been great interacting with you and you've been a tremendous help. but you'll always be "MNSGVOJ" to me! life moves on, as do more questions! just wondering, if a figure is a WW exclusive, how many cities that host the show will have the figure available? and does that mean another raffle, or does WW just straight up sell the figure? TheNewbie
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Post by /\/\att on Sept 19, 2005 14:54:49 GMT -5
Thanks for the updates IG! Fantastic news.
and a HUGE welcome to Boy Wonder and our TBD person on THe Batman! We can't wait to chat with you.
Good luck to IT. Thanks for all you did for us.
I think guys, and what IG can clarify, is that he means it will be a wizard magazine exclusive...ie: the mail away toy for a ToyFare issue?
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Post by MasterofFear on Sept 19, 2005 17:57:39 GMT -5
thanks a lot
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Itchy Greek
Legions Of Gothamite
Mattel Insider
Posts: 35
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Post by Itchy Greek on Sept 19, 2005 20:31:26 GMT -5
Hey guys, Couple of points of clarification:
The WW exclusive they will sell through their magazine, ToyFare, this fall. First come, first serve.
Also, I was originally right on the 35 basic figures in 2006. This is for the single card blisters. 22 of those figures are Batman, 13 are villains. Once you count the exclusive packs, etc. the villains go up to 16, and the total hits 38. At the end of the day, it's a ton of figures and it's twice as many as in 2005, especially the villains...
IG
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TheNewbie
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 157
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Post by TheNewbie on Sept 20, 2005 1:10:50 GMT -5
thanks for the batman begins collector figure clarification IG! helps out a lot.
and 13 villians huh? wowzahz! that is so awesome! and of those 22 batman varients, i'm sure there will be plenty worth picking up, espeically what i've seen in the current freeze/joker wave.
when u say 13 villians, are u kinda putting heroes like batgirl in there too?
TheNewbie
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talosman
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 134
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Post by talosman on Sept 20, 2005 9:48:49 GMT -5
btw, The Batman DVD volume 2 has the Campbell Soup and Spaghetti O coupon.
- talos
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Post by /\/\att on Sept 20, 2005 10:16:02 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up on that Talos! If anyone can scan that coupon, please email it to me.
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Itchy Greek
Legions Of Gothamite
Mattel Insider
Posts: 35
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Post by Itchy Greek on Sept 20, 2005 11:52:21 GMT -5
I am putting Batgirl in the 13 villlains group - perhaps a better name for that group is non-Batman action figures. We want to do as much as possible to get other figures on shelf. As a result, we will be increasing our amounts of villains per pack next year on a couple of mixes.
Take care, IG
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Batleaf93
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 234
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Post by Batleaf93 on Sept 20, 2005 12:09:33 GMT -5
I guess no Gordan or movie accurate scarcrow in a suit oh well.
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Post by J-Man on Sept 20, 2005 15:45:47 GMT -5
I am putting Batgirl in the 13 villlains group - perhaps a better name for that group is non-Batman action figures. We want to do as much as possible to get other figures on shelf. As a result, we will be increasing our amounts of villains per pack next year on a couple of mixes. Take care, IG [shadow=purple,left,300]If you are allowed to answer this, how many characters will be new sculpts (not including variants)?[/shadow]
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Post by Darthm on Sept 21, 2005 18:04:29 GMT -5
Thanks Itchy Greek and Matt for all the great news ! It's really nice to know that you guys at Mattel are listening so much to what the fans have to say. And it would be great to have another playset.
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TheNewbie
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 157
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Post by TheNewbie on Oct 4, 2005 3:28:01 GMT -5
Wow...slightly off-topic but I realized the Inside Traitor and Mattel's Not So Great Version Of Jesse are not the same insiders. I always thought they were! I found out that Mattels...Jesse is Texas Ranger on another board! Man, so confusing! But all in all, the insiders have been great to us no matter who is who. All deserve the same credit!
Hope this question falls within this category though:
Regarding Batgirl, I noticed at SDCC that she also seems to have pretty limited articulation like Catwoman/Seline Kyle figures. My question is why does the Catwoman 2up seem fine standing up without a base, and yet the produced 5 inch figure can not? I did not open the figure up yet, but seeing as how the recent Selina also has a base, I wonder why this figure was produced without the ability to stand up? Is Batgirl going to have this problem too? Was it a production error?
TheNewbie
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Itchy Greek
Legions Of Gothamite
Mattel Insider
Posts: 35
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Post by Itchy Greek on Oct 4, 2005 10:14:34 GMT -5
I wanted to let you all know of a recent development with the Arkham Asylum 6-pack. Unfortunately, we have been told not to do the Joker-in-a-Batsuit figure. I'm sorry - I thought it was going to be a great figure and a great exclusive. I understand where DC Comics is coming from - they want to preserve the Batman equity. But, we're disappointed. So, we are going back to the drawing board to come up with a newly tooled, exclusive villain. I'll let you all know as soon as we figure it out!!
IG
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Post by Casimir on Oct 4, 2005 12:25:27 GMT -5
Grrr. Oh well. Thanks for the update, IG.
Silly suits....
C.
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Post by reideen1313 on Oct 4, 2005 12:36:51 GMT -5
My question is why does the Catwoman 2up seem fine standing up without a base, and yet the produced 5 inch figure can not? I did not open the figure up yet, but seeing as how the recent Selina also has a base, I wonder why this figure was produced without the ability to stand up? Is Batgirl going to have this problem too? Was it a production error? TheNewbie Cornboy answered this question for you over at RTM:
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Post by J-Man on Oct 4, 2005 14:50:00 GMT -5
I wanted to let you all know of a recent development with the Arkham Asylum 6-pack. Unfortunately, we have been told not to do the Joker-in-a-Batsuit figure. I'm sorry - I thought it was going to be a great figure and a great exclusive. I understand where DC Comics is coming from - they want to preserve the Batman equity. But, we're disappointed. So, we are going back to the drawing board to come up with a newly tooled, exclusive villain. I'll let you all know as soon as we figure it out!! IG [shadow=purple,left,300]That definitely stinks, IG. But at least you guys wanted to do it.
As for the new villain... I'm sure you guys will come up with a great figure! I'd like to see a Scarface, Ragdoll or Gearhead figure. Just sayin'. [/shadow]
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TheNewbie
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 157
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Post by TheNewbie on Oct 4, 2005 18:19:22 GMT -5
thanks reideen, i saw it too! IG, no Joker as Batman?? Aww, that's too bad. What a great figure that would've been to have. Thanks for hearing us out and trying to get it! Can't wait to find out what figure will be in his place! TheNewbie
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gatubela
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 136
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Post by gatubela on Oct 4, 2005 19:35:37 GMT -5
maybe i'll buy this depending on the villain thats in it!! my personal choice is Gearhead, i havent seen him in action but his design looks great!!
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Post by wayneson on Oct 4, 2005 20:07:33 GMT -5
Hey, if the figure wasn't appoved by DC, then it never should have been announced, even as a teaser. Sorry for the sour grapes, but Mattel isn't exactly running on a great track record lately.
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Post by TheJoker on Oct 4, 2005 21:10:31 GMT -5
Yes......Ventriliquest or Cluemaster please.........I wanted that Batjoker so much too....
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Post by /\/\att on Oct 4, 2005 21:14:15 GMT -5
Hey, if the figure wasn't appoved by DC, then it never should have been announced, even as a teaser. Sorry for the sour grapes, but Mattel isn't exactly running on a great track record lately. We're all disappointed Wayneson, but there's no need to be rude. We really appreciate IG keeping us up to date on whats going on with the line, even in the development stages. DC doesn't feel that this is something the fans really want obviously. I think we need to tell them that we do. How badly do you guys want that figure to happen?
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Post by TheJoker on Oct 4, 2005 22:03:25 GMT -5
Very badly........if they dont allow us to get this fig out, how do you expect them to give an ok on obscure characters for other lines?
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TheNewbie
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Posts: 157
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Post by TheNewbie on Oct 4, 2005 23:39:08 GMT -5
BADLY! VERY BADLY! I'd almost say I'd pick Joker as Batman over Poison Ivy, hard as female figures are to get!! I mean, maybe not literally...but I'm using it to show my degree of WANT for this figure!
I mean, its just a figure. If they can do it on the The Batman cartoon, why not a figure?
TheNewbie
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Post by Archangel on Oct 5, 2005 22:25:35 GMT -5
Yeah, Joker in the Batsuit...I guess it's too much to expect them to do something that cool. But for the record, I would definately buy that fig!
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Post by wayneson on Oct 6, 2005 0:10:07 GMT -5
Hey, if the figure wasn't appoved by DC, then it never should have been announced, even as a teaser. Sorry for the sour grapes, but Mattel isn't exactly running on a great track record lately. We're all disappointed Wayneson, but there's no need to be rude. We really appreciate IG keeping us up to date on whats going on with the line, even in the development stages. On the contrary, Matt - no rudeness intended. IG states quite clearly in his post that his department really wanted the figure to happen. I believe him, too. My frustrations are aimed at those parties that killed the concept after giving it (apparently) a tacit approval. IG took the time to PM me to find out more about the sources of our frustration, and I responded at length in a message back. I believe the guy really does care about what the "real" Batman collectors think - otherwise, why even bother with any of this? I just think he has a tough hill to climb. Hopefully he will comment back on my message to him. I will let you all know what he says.
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Post by wayneson on Oct 6, 2005 0:18:10 GMT -5
Here is IG's PM to me this evening, followed by my reply:
Wayneson, Tell me more - why do you think we don't have a great track record lately?
IG
Sure - First of all, the original release in 2003 of the animated-style (TNBA) two-packs was to have included a Batgirl two-pack, which, if it was released at all, turned out to be basically unavailable. This disappointed collectors, who were looking forward to a Batgirl done correctly in the Timm style. When the figure was later released in a video game (or with a strange paint job in two different 4-packs - w/ no other exclusive figures), it left a sour taste in a lot of our mouths - if we could get it at all. As far as "The Batman" line, there have also been some disappointments. The Penguin figure, for example, is wildly out of scale with the rest of the line. He's way too big; you could fit two of Batman's heads into that huge noggin. Most of us were also very disappointed that Catwoman would only be available as a convention exclusive - that's a classic, original character that everyone should have been able to have. Don't get me wrong - I really liked the other villians, and most of the Batman variants were cool - but sometimes it seems as though there aren't enough "real" Batman fans involved in the process. The latest cancellation of the Joker-in-a-Batsuit is just another bummer - not your fault, we understand - but it adds to the overall disappointment. The 6" comic-style line has been a mixed bag - successes, and disappointing failures. The initial 2003 wave (with Zipline Batman, Robin, and several pretty cool Batman variants) featured a Joker figure that was reduced in size from the Four Horsemen's sculpt; this was verified on their website, showing a Joker prototype that was taller than Zipline Batman. When the scale was reduced, the Joker figure looked much smaller than the Batman figure - it wasn't just a question of heighth, but a smaller head, hands, etc. - Serious Batman fans know that (in the comics) Joker is taller than Batman - the Four Horsemen knew this, too - but changes were made by the company (packaging issues, who knows) that disregarded their scale. Again, where were the "real" Batfans that would have caught that? Later, the "Freeze" wave was released, but Mr. Freeze was largely unavailable (one per case?). The "Killer Croc" wave had the same issue. In 2004 we found out that several new figures were released overseas, but not in the US. Why? I'm sure you are aware of the Bane / Scarecrow / Diamond controversy that still has a lot of people fuming. Now we know that the DC Superheroes line may make up for that fiasco - let's hope so. For the record, I don't have a lot of issues with the Begins line - for the most part, they are cool toys that stick close to what collectors want, as well as having that all-important "kid" appeal. But, we collectors want the side characters - Gordon, Alfred, Rachel, Lucious - so why couldn't there be a few less of the "goofier" Batman variants? In addition, the Tumbler Batmobile comes out PURPLE - of course, the loyal fans bought these immediately - only to find out that the color may have been an error at the manufacturer! Now the correct black version is clogging the shelves - too late, because we all bought the purple one already. I just want you to know that I appreciate your interest; the fact that you want to know more about my (and other's) concerns means that you care. I have bought EVERY single Batman figure / doll / vehicle / playset (including re-paints, exclusives, Hot Wheels, etc.) that has been released since 1985; Toybiz, Hasbro/Kenner, DC Direct, Mattel, everything. That's a LOT of product, so I think I know what I am talking about. There are a lot of other guys like me out there, too - many of them, as you know, contribute to this forum. In my opinion, we are a great bunch of articulate, thoughtful (for the most part) people. I will continue to support these products as well, because it's really a fun hobby - and it's kind of too late to stop now. It's kind of like a post that I wrote a while back on LoG; when I buy pizza, I always want it with the stuff I like on it, but if they mess it up, I'll still eat it - because I really like pizza. I guess I just wish Mattel would make more pizza the way I like it.
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Post by /\/\att on Oct 6, 2005 1:09:07 GMT -5
We're all disappointed Wayneson, but there's no need to be rude. We really appreciate IG keeping us up to date on whats going on with the line, even in the development stages. On the contrary, Matt - no rudeness intended. IG states quite clearly in his post that his department really wanted the figure to happen. I believe him, too. My frustrations are aimed at those parties that killed the concept after giving it (apparently) a tacit approval. IG took the time to PM me to find out more about the sources of our frustration, and I responded at length in a message back. I believe the guy really does care about what the "real" Batman collectors think - otherwise, why even bother with any of this? I just think he has a tough hill to climb. Hopefully he will comment back on my message to him. I will let you all know what he says. Fair enough Wayneson. I want to thank you for that great PM to IG. You've articulated how many of us long-time collectors feel in a mature, respectful and constructive manner. I really appreciate it. Lets be sure that we note who we're frustrated with. I understand now what Wayneson is saying. DC is the one holding this process up. Its not even a Mattel issue. I'm glad that Mattel let us know what they were trying to get done for us. I'm glad they're here on LoG interacting with us and really showing interest. Sure, Mattel had a rough start..and lets face it, Hasbro never really did get it off the ground...but they're trying NOW. And thats what matters to me. Its not too late to correct the past errors. I, for one, commend Mattel for recognizing the adult collectors. but again, great PM Wayneson.
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