Toy Fans,

 

Hey everyone! We’re deep into prep on SDCC, among many other great projects, but I wanted to pop in and give a quick update on many of the requests and suggestions we’ve had online and at recent cons.

 

We’ve always said we are committed to putting out the best product possible and as many customers know, we are often challenged by things like rising materials and labor costs, as well as standardized safety and logistical regulations that govern the toy industry and all Mattel products. That being said, wanted to provide the most up-to-date info on a few ongoing challenges that design has really stepped up to, in order to continue improving and evolving our offerings. One thing to keep in mind is that changes in the toy industry are not as overnight as other mediums like TV or comics. It can take 12-24 months to go from “suggestion” to product. So please, as always, bear with us. We are committed to continuing to improve our toys, but we must do so within the framework of the toy industry and the logistics and regulations that come with that. All of this means change does take some time.

 

1: We’ve looked into some of the regulations and safety issues regarding pop joints used on figures like Modulok and Extendar and it looks like hopefully when and if we get to the next figure to use this feature (like Multi-bot, for example) that we’ll be able to add in a mid-waist pop joint to separate the torso from the crotch section. Nothing in stone yet and we are not actively working on this figure yet, but we have been investigating what can be done once we get to him to try and get this feature included.

 

2: We are constantly looking into way of improving the female lower torso/crotch piece to get closer to a trim fit on the tunic (like Marlena had), as well as ensure the legs are positioned well using parts like Octavia had. The update is we have come up with some new ideas to get closer to this look fans are asking for (while still following safety and logistic guidelines that regulate this stuff!) and you will start to see this on figures in Q2 of 2015 (assuming we get to a 2015 line, which of course we hope we can!). We know this is still awhile off, but it takes times to develop new parts and procedures within the regulations and logistics of the toy industry. Hopefully updates are coming, but the soonest you will see this type of update to females is Q2 of next year.

 

3: We have also extensively looked into the bulky nature of some of the armor and do have a few ideas on how to get this to snap on tighter as well. But in the same vein as the previous two points, this does take time and the earliest you will see changes to the way armor snaps on is also early 2015.

 

4: Many fans have asked about a more robotic/animated looking head for Etheria Invasion Hordak (available first at SDCC this year!). We are of course open to something like this, but as noted above, it takes 12-24 months to go from “request” to seeing something potentially happen. So to manage expectations, the earliest you might see something like this is Q1 2016.

 

 

I know these aren’t overnight fixes, but I do want fans to know we are committed to continuing to explore all options that are available to us. We couldn’t be more excited for the rest of 2014 and if you like 2014, you will just love our 2015 line. More info about 2015 sub sign-ups will be posted in the next few weeks as we start the road to SDCC and Mattypalooza. We can’t wait to show you our latest offerings. We couldn’t be more proud and always thank you, the loyal fan and MOTU customer, for supporting this line. We could not make it happen without you!

 

And finally, check out the upcoming Wall mounted display stands from Mattycollector.com! These will be out in July and are reconfigurable for 3 ¾”, 6” and 12” figures. You get two in a pack with a total of 6 reconfigurable bases and two background graphics (yellow burst and green brick). They go on sale in July! Price is $25.00 for the set. Yet another cool way to display your toys as we all slowly run out of desk space!

 

Scott “Toy Guru” Neitlich

 

 

 

All new reconfigurable wall mounted figure stand. On sale for $25.00 in July, only on Mattycollector.com