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Post by /\/\att on Jul 8, 2006 21:46:26 GMT -5
Danny from Hot Wheels was kind enough to take questions from the fans and collectors to answer here exclusively on Legions of Gotham! Thanks Danny and all at Hot Wheels! Its gonna be a great next couple of years! As already confirmed here on LoG, Hot Wheel is making some various Batmobiles, including the classic 1966 tv show Batmobile! They will also be including mini-figures in the 2 packs next year! See more below... ******************** Does Hot Wheels have the license to make more movie-themed vehicles, such as the 1989 Batmobile or a Joker Van, etc.? We have the license to make all of the movie-themed vehicles as well as the vehicles from the comic books and animated series. The 1989 Batmobile (Keaton Batmobile) has actually already been tooled in both a 1/64th scale and 1/18th scale. These items were for sale in 2004 and may be available in the secondary market if you want to look at ebay. There are no specific plans to bring these back, but don’t be surprised if you see a collectors series in the near future with many Batmobiles old and new.
As for the other vehicles, such as a Joker Van, Riddler’s Car, etc., because the tooling is so expensive and the demand for these items relative to a Batmobile is so low, it has not made financial sense for us to develop such an item. However, we constantly do villain themed decos on our exisiting tools in such items as the entertainment packs (those 2packs - matt), so be on the lookout for more of those and the end of 2006 and into 2007.Are there any more HotWheels original/inhouse designs on the drawing board?We have some original playsets and tracksets that are in development for both Batman and Superman. These will not be introduced until the beginning of 2007, so keep your eyes out for these items. Additionally, we are developing some newly tooled Thundercycles – these are die cast motorcycles that work on track with both the Batman and Superman themes.Can we expect anymore playets or diaramas in the near future? Are there plans to make product based on the Kids WB! cartoon "the Batman", such as the Batmobile(s), Riddler's Car, Joker's Van etc?Yes – we are developing a complete line of Playsets and Tracksets utilizing WB’s “The Batman”. These items are in development for the beginning of 2007.
There are two different price points for the playsets:
The first are the action packs at $5 retail which will include a car, a launcher, a mini figure and a stunt accessory. The sets will include both Batman and Superman themes.
The next price point are the Flip ‘n Go playsets at $10. These require no assembly and include a car, a figure and an interactive environment for kids to utilize their hero to defeat a villain. As for the Track sets, we are developing two different sets:
The first, at about a $15 retail, will give kids a chance to race Batman and Superman against each other.
The second is a Batman themed set that has the Batmobile racing around Gotham and trying to prevent the villains from escaping Arkham Asylum. This will retail for about $20. Have we seen the end of the Batmobile Vs. Villain inspired vehicles two-packs? If the "themed" / paint job vehicles (such as the previous villain 2packs) continue, what about including sidekick / extended "Bat-Family" vehicles like Robin, Batgirl, Etc. I wished to see those for the longest time!You will be seeing some new themes for the Batman two-packs that will be launched in 2007. Great idea about including the “Bat-Family” decos and we will certainly consider doing this.Please tell us there is hope for further "micro"/mini scaled assortments and playsets like The Batman's Haunted Highway and even better... The HotWheels BATCAVE (one of the coolest and my favorite toys EVER!). If so, againm how expansive is HotWheels license? Would such sets be limited to only The Batman animated? Might I suggest a similar companion piece be an Arkham Asylum set?At this point, we are not continuing any micro scaled Batman sets. Unfortunately, the micro scale just hasn’t been selling very well in the marketplace in the last few years.Is it safe to assume some track sets will be forthcoming? As fun and classic as those are, I would like to suggest more elaborate pieces. Something that can double as display / diorama type pieces. More than just cardboard back drops... as an example, something along the lines of The new Superman Returns Metropolis set from Matchbox. Looks fabulous just sitting on a shelf.Yes – as mentioned previously we are developing two different track sets for 2007. The first is the Thundercycle Duel Set that pits Batman vs Superman. The other is the Arkham Asylum Escape that has the newly tooled “The Batman” Animated Batmobile that races around Gotham trying to destroy Arkham Asylum before the villains escape. Although these will not have the backdrops that you are speaking about, we are developing 2 playsets (one for Batman, one for Superman) that will look great sitting on a shelf. Will we be seeing another three pack with bonus booklet and STICKERS! The original booklet cross promoted the new (at the time) Batman line. The same can be done with the DC SuperHeroes line. BTW, I'm not normally an MOC type person but I did buy a second set to keep unopened because I really liked the way it looked.At this point, we don’t have plans to do this…but you never know. We really appreciate the suggestion and your interest.
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Post by ??The Riddler?? on Jul 8, 2006 23:38:51 GMT -5
Danny from Hot Wheels was kind enough to take questions from the fans and collectors to answer here exclusively on Legions of Gotham! Thanks Danny and all at Hot Wheels! Its gonna be a great next couple of years! As already confirmed here on LoG, Hot Wheel is making some various Batmobiles, including the classic 1966 tv show Batmobile! They will also be including mini-figures in the 2 packs next year! See more below... ******************** Does Hot Wheels have the license to make more movie-themed vehicles, such as the 1989 Batmobile or a Joker Van, etc.? We have the license to make all of the movie-themed vehicles as well as the vehicles from the comic books and animated series. The 1989 Batmobile (Keaton Batmobile) has actually already been tooled in both a 1/64th scale and 1/18th scale. These items were for sale in 2004 and may be available in the secondary market if you want to look at ebay. There are no specific plans to bring these back, but don’t be surprised if you see a collectors series in the near future with many Batmobiles old and new.
As for the other vehicles, such as a Joker Van, Riddler’s Car, etc., because the tooling is so expensive and the demand for these items relative to a Batmobile is so low, it has not made financial sense for us to develop such an item. However, we constantly do villain themed decos on our exisiting tools in such items as the entertainment packs (those 2packs - matt), so be on the lookout for more of those and the end of 2006 and into 2007.Are there any more HotWheels original/inhouse designs on the drawing board?We have some original playsets and tracksets that are in development for both Batman and Superman. These will not be introduced until the beginning of 2007, so keep your eyes out for these items. Additionally, we are developing some newly tooled Thundercycles – these are die cast motorcycles that work on track with both the Batman and Superman themes.Can we expect anymore playets or diaramas in the near future? Are there plans to make product based on the Kids WB! cartoon "the Batman", such as the Batmobile(s), Riddler's Car, Joker's Van etc?Yes – we are developing a complete line of Playsets and Tracksets utilizing WB’s “The Batman”. These items are in development for the beginning of 2007.
There are two different price points for the playsets:
The first are the action packs at $5 retail which will include a car, a launcher, a mini figure and a stunt accessory. The sets will include both Batman and Superman themes.
The next price point are the Flip ‘n Go playsets at $10. These require no assembly and include a car, a figure and an interactive environment for kids to utilize their hero to defeat a villain. As for the Track sets, we are developing two different sets:
The first, at about a $15 retail, will give kids a chance to race Batman and Superman against each other.
The second is a Batman themed set that has the Batmobile racing around Gotham and trying to prevent the villains from escaping Arkham Asylum. This will retail for about $20. Have we seen the end of the Batmobile Vs. Villain inspired vehicles two-packs? If the "themed" / paint job vehicles (such as the previous villain 2packs) continue, what about including sidekick / extended "Bat-Family" vehicles like Robin, Batgirl, Etc. I wished to see those for the longest time!You will be seeing some new themes for the Batman two-packs that will be launched in 2007. Great idea about including the “Bat-Family” decos and we will certainly consider doing this.Please tell us there is hope for further "micro"/mini scaled assortments and playsets like The Batman's Haunted Highway and even better... The HotWheels BATCAVE (one of the coolest and my favorite toys EVER!). If so, againm how expansive is HotWheels license? Would such sets be limited to only The Batman animated? Might I suggest a similar companion piece be an Arkham Asylum set?At this point, we are not continuing any micro scaled Batman sets. Unfortunately, the micro scale just hasn’t been selling very well in the marketplace in the last few years.Is it safe to assume some track sets will be forthcoming? As fun and classic as those are, I would like to suggest more elaborate pieces. Something that can double as display / diorama type pieces. More than just cardboard back drops... as an example, something along the lines of The new Superman Returns Metropolis set from Matchbox. Looks fabulous just sitting on a shelf.Yes – as mentioned previously we are developing two different track sets for 2007. The first is the Thundercycle Duel Set that pits Batman vs Superman. The other is the Arkham Asylum Escape that has the newly tooled “The Batman” Animated Batmobile that races around Gotham trying to destroy Arkham Asylum before the villains escape. Although these will not have the backdrops that you are speaking about, we are developing 2 playsets (one for Batman, one for Superman) that will look great sitting on a shelf. Will we be seeing another three pack with bonus booklet and STICKERS! The original booklet cross promoted the new (at the time) Batman line. The same can be done with the DC SuperHeroes line. BTW, I'm not normally an MOC type person but I did buy a second set to keep unopened because I really liked the way it looked.At this point, we don’t have plans to do this…but you never know. We really appreciate the suggestion and your interest. [shadow=green,left,300] Awesome Matt! Thanks for asking about Riddler lol, sorry I couldn't have been there I wish I could have but this is excellent news. I am very happy [/shadow]
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Post by ThatBlockoGuy on Jul 9, 2006 6:14:30 GMT -5
Matt, all I can say is that you are the GREATEST! Thank you. That was a REAL interview with actual information. Many thanks to Danny for his time. Every product reported sounds incredible. Re: the Thundercycles, these all have riders molded on them, will we be seeing Batman and Superman figs on themor will it just be themed decos?
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Post by Batrez on Jul 9, 2006 16:41:58 GMT -5
my question is that did he hinted what old batmbiles will we see like the 50s, 60, 70, 80s??? Are they goin to be comic related?
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Mumbo
Gotham Tourist
Posts: 10
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Post by Mumbo on Jul 10, 2006 11:34:16 GMT -5
[shadow=green,left,300] Awesome Matt! Thanks for asking about Riddler lol, sorry I couldn't have been there I wish I could have but this is excellent news. I am very happy [/shadow] Yeah, Thanks Matt! We need more Riddler cars bad over here!
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Post by ??The Riddler?? on Jul 10, 2006 12:14:13 GMT -5
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Post by Batlaw on Jul 10, 2006 12:53:49 GMT -5
Holy Cow the posabilities are endless! sure sounds like HW now has cart blanche unrestricted license! TV, Movie, Cartoon, AND Comic styles!? And seemingly scales too? Man, I sure hope the DCAU variations dont get neglected / overlooked!? I would be one seriously happy boy to see some collected sets of the existing BTAS/TNBA stuff as well as some expansions!... like a true Batman Beyond die cast batmobile and a TNBA styl Batwing! (does the license include other vehicles such as boats and planes?). I hope! Please HW re-consider the micro scale! I understand the vehicles alone may not sell as when the concept was new, but the oportunity the scale offers for playsets and such is just too fantastic! Oh, and please... can we NOW get a 1:64th 90's comic style Batmobile!? lol
I do have to wonder though how this effects Corgi's previous "comic based" batmobile design license? Has their license expired and HW now holds the rights? or is Corgi still in the game at all? I wanna say I remember Corgi's license was up in / arround 2007?
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Post by 73black on Jul 11, 2006 5:04:42 GMT -5
Hmm... was hoping to get more info into witch batmobiles from the comics they are going to do. But guess I'm going to be surprised. I'm very happy that they finally are doing the animated series, have been waiting for those.
Thanks for the interview, it's awesome
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batman1961
Legions of Gotham Police Officer
Batteries to power,turbines to speed!
Posts: 213
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Post by batman1961 on Jul 13, 2006 18:56:43 GMT -5
I cannot wait til the 1960's bat mobile comes out .. Looks like I'll have to save my money??
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Post by RJ on Aug 20, 2006 14:42:17 GMT -5
This makes me very excited to hear. It feels like such a long time since Hot Wheels has had any Batman merchandise, but it seems the wait will be well worth it! Great news, thanks for sharing!!!
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Post by batman1973 on Aug 22, 2006 23:39:47 GMT -5
Cool! More Bat vehicles for my collection! I'm gonna be a busy feller lookin for all of it. Thanks for the post Matt!
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