MOTUC Q&A - Thread Archivio

ma che è???

he-man con le teste di ram-man? che razza di domande fanno?

It's a new month and the bi-weekly MOTUC Q&A's have returned for December 2012! Read on to see what Matty has to see regarding fan questions!

Infinite Hollywood

1. Obviously you can’t reveal too much, but between some quick sell outs for certain figures and the success of Castle Grayskull pre-orders, is the MOTUC line looking “healthy” again? Obviously the line isn’t perhaps as popular as it was a few years ago, but there seemed to be an awful lot of doom and gloom earlier in the year. Are things starting to look up and is MOTUC on track to be still considered successful enough for Mattel to keep it going?

As long as we get the min number of sub holders each year it is doing just fine. As of now, we are planning the Aug 2013 release(s) and are starting to look into what a 2014 line could look like. Our goal is to get two more years (2014 and 2015) to try and “wrap up” the essential figs. It doesn’t mean 2015 is “the end” but it gives us an achievable goal, using years beyond that to possibly fill any holes through convention or special offerings if we can’t continue the sub due to rising costs and other factors.

2. It’s too early to know for sure, but if Castle Grayskull proves to be a big success, would Mattel potentially consider add-on packs? Stuff like the weapons rack (which has already been produced) but things that might could help dress up the castle? Alternate rooms or gear, as an example.

Yes, we could potentially look at this but no plans right now.

3. Castle Grayskullman turned out to be a huge hit. Arguably one of the best selling MOTUC figures in recent years. His fast sellouts were something of a surprise to many fans. We know that no figures were supposed to be re-released, but could he potentially be an exception if fan demand was high enough?

Definitely not. As a 30th anniversary figure he is special for 2012 and won’t be re run.

4. The Temple of Darkness Sorceress was announced as going on sale in December. She showed up in November’s Black Friday sale. She sold out. Is there still stock for a December sale or is she not going to come up for grabs again?

No, she is completely sold out at this point. We moved her up to Nov due to both Granamyr and Procrustus slipping to Dec (Granamyr was supposed to be Sept). Shipping dates are always subject to change.



Preternia.com

Q: Now that Grayskull is a go and went above the minimum, is a yearly playset out of question? Snake Mountain for next year?

A: No, a yearly playset is not in the works. Right now we are just looking at the Castle.

Q: Is the extended order period something you are considerring for the subscription sales for 2014? Like possibly after we reach the minimum have a certain number of preorders still open a month or two later?

A: Yes, we are looking into whether we can offer this. We may open up the sub BEFORE SDCC knowing you won’t see the first few figures however until the show. You’ll just know the “slots” and price points to order early.

Q: Does the Grayskull project help tooling dollars towards other MOTUC ventures or is it strictly a self-contained project?

A: It is 100% self contained.

Q: Castle Grayskullman sold out really quickly this month, will we ever see him again?

A: Definitely not. He is special for the 30th and won’t be released again.

Q:Now that the 30th sub is over, I kinda miss it. Any chances of a new concept, filmation, or anything addon sub for 2013?

A: Nothing to announce right now!

Elkkthunderstoyroom.com

1- Does the success of Grayskull allow for other vehicles/playsets? When might we know?

No. Right now we are just concentrating on the Castle. We don't have plans for more vehicles or playsets right now.

2- When will leftover TOD Sorceress be available? Will it be in December on the regular sale day so we can combine shipping with Granamyr?

We moved TOD Sorceress from Dec to Black Friday due to both Granamyr and Procrustus slipping to Dec. She is 100% sold out at this point. On sale dates are always subject to change

3- Is it possible that a line like the mini-masters could be produced under the pre-order model like Grayskull?

Possible sure. Happening now, no.
Kastor’s Korner

Kastor’s Korner: Given how well Mattel did with Castle Grayskull preorders, are Snake Mountain or other playsets being considered now, or not until after Castle Grayskull is released and final orders and payments have been tallied?

Mattel: Not at this time. We are putting all our energy into the Castle right now.

Kastor’s Korner: Why was Cy-Chop’s studded belt fully painted underneath when it was completely covered with an orange belt? Couldn’t that paint application cost be applied to lost paint applications like Frosta, or is each figure individually costed out?

Mattel: Each figure is individually costed. Losing paint from one fig does not give it to another. Each figure has to hit their financial targets.
MOTULA.Org

About the sword of He: we know it was brought to Eternia by Ro, but then 2 questions arise: a) Was Ro the first bearer of the sword (no mention of who carried it before)? b) What power had the sword of He before Grayskull infused his power into it?

Ready for it: Keep reading the bios!

Now that we have Great Rebellion stickers, are there any chances to see a character from that group in 2013? (100% Filmation character not necessarily POP).

If you mean will you see members of the Great Rebellion in 2013? Yes. We already announced Netossa and their will be at least one more!

to scott ,MOTUC off-question what is your opinion on the motu DC comics so far?

From Scott:
I love what they are doing with the MOTU stories! So cool to see so many different interpretations and concepts being brought to life by the talented folks at DC!"

Does the box of castle Grayskull will be gigantic or you will do a maneuver like granamyr?

It will be pretty big.
Greatrebellion.org

Rock-Vivien asks: The Great Black Wizard introduced in the bio of Draego-Man is appearing in the 3rd Mini Comic. He looks awesome and I love new characters. Who has created the concept of him? Is it Scott Neitlich, Wellinton Alves, or somebody else?

Matty:We suppose you can say the concept was created by Scott but the visual was created by Wellinton. And incidentally, Draego Man's bio was written late in the game, he was not part of the 2009 master bios. How and when the Great Black Wizard would have shown up in the bios outside of Draego will be revealed in time!

Jason Zachery asks: If something as large as Castle Grayskull is a success, is it possible to see a pre order system for some figures out of sub using a pre order system, as a way to get to more characters. For instance two packs of NA, Son of He-man or POP? Or it might be a great way to get to the mini characters too.

Matty: It is always possible but we just don’t have plans right now.

Sean Chizmar asks: So far both of the "Traveling Exclusives" have been repaints of already existing figures and a diorama piece, is this slot going to be the way we get fan demanded repaint?

Matty:For 2012 and 2013 it is. What will happen in 2014 is too far off at this point. We don't even know if we will have a traveling figure that year. We are just too far off.

Telkan 2 asks: Can you tell us more about the Horde robot (who looks suspiciously like one of Hordak's transformed bodies from the Filmation series) that is fighting alongside the heroic factions in the third Ultimate Battleground comic?

Matty: Sure. His name is Spin Whiz and he is a Horde hunter robot that was captured and reprogrammed by the Masters.

Ealo Krill asks: A lot of european MOTU fans took the plunge and ordered a Castle Grayskull despite shipping and subsequent customs charges being so high. Is there any chance an EU distribution center may be up by the time CG ships?

Matty:No, we do not have plans for a EU distribution center. This is a very similar situation to when American fans want Japanese toys. Import fees are just part of the hobby. We wish we could make every item work for every customer and every buying habit but that just isn't always possible.
Mintconditioncustom.com

Nathan asks: Since Castle Grayskull far exceeded the pre-order minimum, are you already writing up your pitch for the Snake Mountain pre-order for management, or do you have to wait until next December after Castle Grayskull has already gone on sale?

Right now we are concentrating on the Castle.

Mattel has once again provided answers to your questions.
Thanks again to them for taking the time to answer these!
Check out their answers to your Round 92 questions!

This round of questions were selected by TheFallen.
Thanks to that fan for their help!

1. Bamf1980: Can you give us a ballpark estimate of when we might find out what the secret connection between Earth and Eternia that Marlena discovered will be revealed?

This is revealed in a bio. How and when we will get to this character has yet to be announced!

2. Machinitess: For some time Hasbro sold (and might be still selling) My Little Pony blanks to customizers. Will we get this option from Mattel outside the MOTUC line with MOTUC blanks? I could see a market for blank bucks and heads in the appropriate scale for MOTUC and they would also be of interest to the DC crowd. Unmarked, there'd be no reason everyone couldn't use them.

This is a really tough thing. Even a blank figure takes development since we don't have one "done" and would take a sku away from an all new figure. So it isn't in the cards right now as we work on maximizing out skus to get out original characters.

3. Kinghsss456: Can you (or anyone) tell us when and the reason why King Hsss went from the Staff of Ka to his current Snake Staff.

The Staff of Ka was stolen by Sir Laserlot's replacement (after he mysteriously "died"/was taken forward in time) to prove his worth to King Grayskull. How it wound up with Teela is a story yet to be told!

4. facet: Can you confirm that Red Shadow is the guy with the red stripe going down his back at Hero's funeral scene in the second mini comic and the green robotic guy is Bandwidth. The names were given to us yet no visual refences or descriptions were given to us, so these 2 characters being the only 2 we have never seen before, it makes logical sense these are them. And if so, will we see more of these guys?

Yes. Red Shadow is the guy with the red stripe in his fur and Bandwidth is the guy with the blue helmet and the radio dial in his chest.

5. Rioblast: In regards to future figures using bendy parts: you guys keep bringing up Snout Spout's trunk as a reason why you guys don't want to use any bendy parts. Why can't you guys just use the SAME material that you used for King Hiss for any future figures? Just use the rubber/plastic bendy material (King Hiss) and NOT the foam/rubber bendy materal (Snout Spout).

It is certainly something looked into, but in the end it is the choice of the design team what to do or whether to use bendy at all.

Check out what fans have to say about the answers to the WTFWTK 2.92, as well as find links to all the previous WTFWTK sessions!

1. bigsexy_j: When there is a QC issue, TG/Scott starts a thread requesting pictures of the problem. He has stated that if there are not hundreds of pictures then its just a vocal minority being louder then the others. What exactly do these pictures accomplish? Snout Spout and Goddess had a lot of pictures showing their problems, but nothing happened. You guys are selling Snout Spout again in January and I do not believe the cheap foam has been addressed, yet the price was raised. Even though the bendy parts worked with King Hsss after all the pics of SS all that accomplished was no more bendy parts in MOTUC. If 100's of pictures do appear in the Granamyr QC issue thread, are we going to get a new Granamyr to replace ours?, or are we just going to have to contact DR over and over and over until we get a good one?

Pictures speak a thousand words and a visual of any QC issues is way more effective vs. a written post to help review with our manufacturing partners any room for improvement. We did not sell Snout Spout in January and as you may notice, the particular QC issues with Snout Spout or Goddess has not repeated itself. We solved both of those issues. Every MOTUC figure is painted and assembled by hand and their will ALWAYS be some QC. That is why it is out policy to replace any defective figure. It may take a little more time, but all customers should ideally get a fully functional toy if any QC issues occur.

2. Scorpia: Stonedar and Rokkon are an obvious pairing for a two-pack but how do you feel about Granita? Many fans can't wait to add Stonedar's daughter to their collections and as a highly-demanded Filmation character, a female and POP, she seems to tick a lot of boxes!

Granita is an awesome characters as are Rokkon and Stonedar. But no news to announce on any of the Rock people (man or woman) for now!

3. Arvulis: Can we hope an update (even a tiny one) on the Masters of the Universe movie at NY Toyfare or do you think we have to wait SDCC?

That is up to Sony Pictures, not Mattel to make this announcement.

4. snakeeyes0217: You said previously that you might be doing something with the unused Create-A-Character Contest entries. Is anything in the works yet? I'm dying to show off my custom figure based on my entry but I don't want to disqualify it from what you have planned. Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated by both myself and the customizing community.

Actually yes. We do have something in the works but nothing to reveal quite yet.

5. Niki: With King He-Man coming up soon, the question came to my mind - How will Queen Teela look?

Very regal we assume.

a questo giro ci sono alcune cose davvero interessanti...leggete i miei commenti in grassetto e ditemi che ne pensate...

This is the second part of the March 2013 Q&A's! Read on to find out what Mattel has to say about characters, places or things from the MOTU world, figure concerns or canon inquiries!

kastorskorner.com

Kastor’s Korner: At Toy Fair, it was said that the Four Horsemen had a team crank out the castle in less than two weeks. I am not trying to spin anything, but as a buyer, seeing as how I spend $500 on two castles sight unseen and taking a leap of faith in a company that has given us what can be labeled questionable QC, I would much prefer not to hear that the castle was a “rush job”. Given the outcry on the height, drawbridge, and Wind Raider stand, etc, couldn’t have the castle and its unique situation been a more collaborative effort between the maker and the buyers? I prefer the castle being done RIGHT before it being done quickly.

Mattel: The Horsemen did not change the height of the Castle nor did the sculpting time have anything to do with how big or small it was. Mattel design and engineering determined the specs based on ever changing costs factors and provided them to the Horsemen based on the cost of the Castle at a retail price of 250.00. If in any way you are unhappy with the product (which 100% will continue to evolve and change ) you may cancel anytime through Aug 30th. Ideally a close to final product will be shown at SDCC.

Kastor’s Korner: Instead of saving tooling dollars because we need 12 monthly $25 SKUs of MOTUC characters with shared tooling that might not be well-received (like Trap Jaw’s legs used ad nauseum for New Adventures characters), why can’t we get, say, 6 $25 MOTUC characters with shared tooling (example: Ninjor) and say, 6 $30 figures that need all-new tooling (example: Extendar, Blast-Attak)? That 100% tooled Mantenna we saw is worth paying $30 and I would hate to see Mantenna’s legs on Modulok just for the sake of “budget”. I would gladly pay more if the unique tooling was there.

Mattel: Keep the price flat across all 12 figures is something we need to do right now. A cool suggestion but not something we can activate on.

Kastor’s Korner: Could Design change Castaspella’s orange color to shiny gold? On the Filmation series, her collar and belt matches Bow’s armor and She-Ra’s tiara, so it would translate to those pieces being gold, just like the vintage toy. If design could make the orange on her belt, color, and spell wheel to gold instead, I would be very happy. While it’s personal preference, it’s also accurate to the source material

Mattel: At this time we won’t be able to make this change. The figure is too far along in production.

Kastor’s Korner: Regarding the revealed package protectors, wouldn’t fans would then have to dump their white boxes, which are in fact easier to store their collection. I genuinely like the idea of them, but then what about the protectors for beasts, giants, and irregular packaging like the Con Exclusives?

Mattel: The protectors just offer yet another option for display. No plans for protectors for larger items yet, we need to see how these do first.

Kastor’s Korner: Flying and floating characters NEED flight stands. It’s essential for Shokoti’s darkling, as well as characters like Kowl, Imp, Dre-Elle, and Uncle Montork when they are produced. If it can’t be budgeted, would Design be able to at least add the hole or port to the Darkling so we have the option to use Orko’s and the Doomseeker’s flight stand instead, until flight stands are added to a future weapons pack?

Mattel: I’ll pass this suggestion along, but usually these things have to be done at the sculpt stage with the Horsemen. By the time we get the sculpts, these choices have already been made.



toyhypeusa.com

Q: Many collectors were disappointed to see such low head height clearances in the Castle – particularly at the main doorway and ground floor at the back. Is anything going to be done to improve this issue, such as sinking down the jawbridge into the rocks or dropping down the entire ground floor?

A: Yes, we are actively working to see if we can sink the Jaw Bridge down a bit. Once we have an update we will let fans know!

BENE! QUINDI AGGIUSTERANNO UN PO' IL CASTELLO!

Q: Will the final Castle feature unique-sculpted interior wall textures (i.e. NOT just the reverse of the exterior)?

A: No. It will be the reverse of the exterior.

CHE NE PENSATE DI QUESTA COSA? IO NON SONO MOLTO FELICE SINCERAMENTE... POTEVA ESSERE UNA BELLA OCCASIONE PER FARE UN PLAYSET COMPLETO... INVECE AVERE L'INTERNO SENZA DEI VERI MURI... MI DELUDE UN PO', SONO SINCERO...

Q: You recently stated that sales of the Filmation subscription are “significantly down.” Could you give us a 4th reveal? Perhaps similar in the way that Poison Ivy was mentioned for DC Infinite Earths?

A: Sorry, our lips are sealed for now.
motua.org

What exactly happens to the Snake Men after their defeat caused by the Spell of Separation during the Second Ultimete Battleground?Do they die, do they disintegrate, do they return to the vortex?And what implications does this have over the peaceful species with snake DNA?

Like the Snake Men descendants (Reptons in Filmation), species which Kobra Khan belongs to. The spell separated their DNA and disintegrated them as well as their descendants.

When Hordak uses the Spell of Separation in the P.o.G. minicomic, is not the moment when the two hemispheres are created, back then at that time the spell is used to defeat the Snake Men and then is used later again, is that the way the Dark Hemisphere was created?

From Toy Guru: "To quote Prof. Farnsworth: "it can do other things!". The Spell was originally used by Hordak to attempt to break apart Eternia and steal the Star Seed. The same spell was later used by Orko to separate the Snake Men's DNA. The same magic to separate can do different things. It is not a one use spell!"To quota Skeletor: “Such are the bizarre workings of magic!”

This question is about the little strange origin of Teela, with the current bio is like Teela's no longer Teela'Na's daughter, because she's a clone, not her child and it's a little bit weird to think of Teela'Na as the mother of a clone.Or if she's a magical clone is there any possibility that Teela'Na gave birth to Teela or due to an egg as seen in the Filmation series?

We tend to look a Filmation as a more child friendly version of He-Man's tales, maybe as Songster would tell to kids in the royal court. Some elements that are kid friendly are age'd up for the bios cannon.

CHE BELLO, SONGSTER CITATO ANCORA UNA VOLTA... DI QUESTO PASSO, DOPO CHE è APPARSO NEL MINICOMIS, LO FARANNO DI SICURO... NON VEDO L'ORA!!!

Is there any particular reason why King He-Man's figure is called like that and not "King Adam"?

Yes, Keep reading the bios.

The other half of the Power Sword that comes with Skeletor's figure, is it just a common sword? Or it is really the other half of the Power Sword?

This is a tricky one as the original reason the swords split was dropped from storytelling pretty early on but remained with the toys throughout the vintage line. Some fans like "everything" explained away in the bios and justified, other are content with accessories as homages to the vintage line.

For the sake of the bios cannon, this could either be a separate sword from the Sword of He, or perhaps it is the Sword of He during one adventure where Skeletor captured it like in the early mini comics and it color changed for its owner as it always does. In Skeletor's hands it would change to purple.
hordak.de

1. You told us that by the end of 2015 you are now planning to have out every vintage figure from MotU and Pop as well as almost all NA figures except some Galactic Protectors. But no matter how fans calculate, considering multipacks and quarterly items as well as con exclusives- not everyone will fit into these to years even if you do at least 2 figures each month. Do you have any additional plans (without telling us the new roadmap, just if you have something in mind)?

We may also miss out on some of the more obscure Space Mutants as well as some POP and NA variants, but yes, the plan is to get to all the major vintage figures and animated characters by the end of 2015.

ECCO RIGUARDO QUESTO, ORA APRO UN NUOVO THREAD E NE PARLIAMO INSIEME... VORREI CAPIRE SE è FATTIBILE LA COSA...

2. If you'd continue with the filmation subline in 2014- would it get a similar tooling budget as the main line (a whole year of figures to warrant one or two fully tooled figures)?

Possible but it is way to early to comment on 2014 at this point.

3. You told us that you will focus on new characters in 2014 and 2015 rather than doing variants of existing characters. But what about NA Skeletor? Now that NA He-Man is coming this has become the most important variant as it is his nemesis.

Major variants of characters like these two would be ones we want to keep in focus for the near future. Variants we are less likely to hit by 2015 are characters like Shower Power Catra and Too Tall Hoove (at least before 2015!)

ECCO ANCHE QUESTO CHIARIMENTO è INTERESSANTE... NE PARLO SEMPRE NEL NUOVO THREAD.

4. Scott: Which one is your favorite Fighting Foe Man and why?

From Toy Guru: "I personally love Dittstroyer the Roton Driver. I love the cape and hood and that the staff fits into his back!"

5. The preorder for Castle Grayskull worked fine. Now there are some people constantly screaming for some rereleases. Could you imagine doing a preorder for a second run of Teela and Fisto figures? If you don't hit the minimum- leave it, no risk for Mattel!

Highly unlikely. While there is some very loud demand from fans online, we have found from over 2 years of sales data that reissue just don't sell at the min quota we need to go back into production.
elkkthunderstoyroom.com

When will the Grayskull box art be shown?

Likely at SDCC
infinitehollywood.com

1. 2013 started off as a relatively cheap year for MOTUC fans, with the sub decreasing in it’s overall figure number. However shortly after Castel Grayskull was added and now the Filmation sub. Is overloading the fan’s wallets a concern for Mattel? It seems like this would likely account for some dropoff with subscriptions.

We are conscious of this, but also keep in mind that the Castle is a one time thing. We don’t expect to repeat it every year. Without the Castle, 2012 and 2013 are about the same with the Filmation series taking the spot of the 30th anniversary skus.
mintconditioncustom.com

Illumina is a huge fan favorite – though she did not win the fan choice vote, is there a chance Mattel will go with ‘majority fan opinion’ and ‘cast’ Illumina as the mother of Skeletor in the bios? (Both are indeed Gar)..

Definitely a character that is on the possible list for consideration in 2016 and beyond. But not a character we want to dedicate a slot to until after the vintage line and key animated figures are done due to rising costs.

A lot of us love the all inclusive nature of the MOTUC bios – is there any chance the main writer of the bios (Scott Neitlich) would be allowed to do/would consider doing a novelization of part(s) of the grand-narrative in the bios? A MOTU novel would be amazing.

From Toyguru:“I would love to do that one day. For now, you’ll need to enjoy the bios and the mini comics which also fill in a lot of bios lore!”

Sasuke Kid, 28/03/2013 12:29:

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CHE NE PENSATE DI QUESTA COSA? IO NON SONO MOLTO FELICE SINCERAMENTE... POTEVA ESSERE UNA BELLA OCCASIONE PER FARE UN PLAYSET COMPLETO... INVECE AVERE L'INTERNO SENZA DEI VERI MURI... MI DELUDE UN PO', SONO SINCERO...

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Anche a me sarebbe piaciuto con muri interni scolpiti, e devo dire che questa cosa mi sta facendo pensare a disdire il pre-ordine...

Già così come lo hanno presentato era ottimo, bastava mettere una trama di mattoncini alle pareti ed il gioco era fatto ed invece avremo un guscio di noce da 250$ + spese di spedizione :(

Attendo il prodotto finale per vedere come apparirà il castello definitivo ;)

paolocas83, 04/04/2013 13:20:

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Anche a me sarebbe piaciuto con muri interni scolpiti, e devo dire che questa cosa mi sta facendo pensare a disdire il pre-ordine...

Già così come lo hanno presentato era ottimo, bastava mettere una trama di mattoncini alle pareti ed il gioco era fatto ed invece avremo un guscio di noce da 250$ + spese di spedizione :(

Attendo il prodotto finale per vedere come apparirà il castello definitivo ;)

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io lo prenderò comunque, però sono un po' triste... fare 31 non costava nulla. avrei pagato volentieri anche 100 dollari in più per avere un castello come dio comanda...

Del resto l'impressione è che ai prodotti della Mattel debba mancare sempre qualcosa...

Più che l'assenza dei muri interni (comprensibile, ma per me non essenziale), è il modo ostinato in cui risponde di no! Questo castello poteva essere un interessante work-in-progress con i fan, ascoltarli e tenerli contenti il più possibile. Così invece li sta indisponendo alla grande (vedi il pessimo rabbocco per lo stand del Wind Rider che NESSUNO, a parte lui, vuole) e col cacchio che al prossimo pre-ordine li fregherà di nuovo.
Certe volte Toyguru non ci sa fare per niente, ma proprio per niente (e lo dico da persona che cerca sempre di difenderlo).