Question Archive
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November 15, 2011
Kelly asks: When you get to Castaspella, will the wheel on her back be removable?
We simply have not gotten to this type of discussion yet. Stay tuned!
USRG ask: We're very excited to hear about the Fan Choice in 2013. You've said the choice will give fans the chance to vote on 'obscure' characters. What sort of characters do you consider 'obscure'?
From Toy Guru: "This one is a little wishy washy but as a guideline, I'd say anyone who did not have a figure in any previous line or a prominent appearance in an animated series would be a good candidate. Mini comic repaints, foreign releases or other vintage variants might be good choices too!"
Jake asks: Will the flight stands be released again in the near future? We now have Icarius and soon the Sorceress who could benefit!
At this point there are no plans to release these again but we are looking at a 2.0 execution perhaps for 2013.
USRG ask: When are we likely to see Shadow Weaver's bio? And is it possible it will mention the Eldritch Book of Spells that she comes packaged with and allude to her Filmation bio?
The bio is already written and will be shown when the package finished.
USRG ask: Will recently-acquired Great Rebellion heroes like Sea Hawk and Madame Razz be released with the standard Princess of Power sticker on their boxes, despite having no connection with the POP toyline? A new 'Great Rebellion' sticker in the same style would rock!
We have not gotten to these figures yet and therefore have not had these type of discussions. We know fans have asked for a Great Rebellion sticker, but for Mattel there is more brand equity in using the POP sticker, so that is likely the direction we will go, especially as other POP Rebels have already gotten the POP sticker and we want to keep things unified.
Rilee asks: Will the Create a Character contest winner feature the original artwork on the back of the packaging (next to the bio)?
Possible. We may also commission new artwork like we did for the Vintage Contest (that image of Fearless Photog you've seen for 20 years is actually by Bruce Timm!). It depends on who wins and what the submitted art looks like!
October 3, 2011
Mike asks: Have you been watching any (key) Filmation episodes to influence the writing of Filmation character bios? And now that the rights are available, are there any bios you?re planning to adjust?
Thanks to all the great fan lists over the years we have a very good idea of the top 20 or so Filmation characters. Going at a base of 1-3 Filmation character a year this is more then enough to last a few years. Once we zero'd in on the top 20 "Filmation" characters we worked with the writing staff at Mattel to create bios. They are now written and shuffled into the master bio document with all other bios written at the time of Stratos!
Chris asks: Why were the Star Sisters slotted for January, which is a busy month (what with Sorceress and Photog coming), when February is so quiet (with just Fisto)?
We are always trying out best to sprinkle out offerings so that we don't offer a new "beast/multipack" and an A-List variant in the same month. It just happened to work out that Feb was a lite month (especially since we wanted the 30th figs to start in Jan, not Feb allowing us to have both the Jan and March 30th fig to show at SDCC).
Judeh asks: We're still missing a lot of smaller characters. Would you guys consider speeding these releases up by including them with the bigger figures? (ie each upcoming POP figure could include one of the three main Twiggets)
You will just need to wait and see how and if these smaller figures get released. We are well aware of fan demand!
Steffi asks: You?ve mentioned that the 2012 sub-sales are the lowest yet. Have you considered releasing a customer questionnaire on Matty about customers? reasons/buying habits/favourite characters etc?
Although the 2012 sub was lower compared to 2011, it was still well above the min we needed so there is no need for a survey of this type. Fans on the forums have provided more then enough information and opinions on this subject!
Ealo asks: Now that Filmation rights are on the table, how would you imagine making Light Hope cartoon-accurate?
There are quite a few ways Light Hope could be executed from a clear figure to an actual tool'd up wall of light to even a pre-formless version. But as we do not have a Light Hope figure in development right now these conversations simply have not taken place beyond general speculation.
June 15, 2011
How do you plan to include POP characters like Perfuma, Peekablue and Flutterina, who casual fans are less familiar with, in MOTUC?
The same way we do Optikk, He-Ro and Battleground Teela. MOTUC fans have been numerous enough to support first runs of both major and minor characters.
Will there be another fan vote at this year's SDCC, like last year's Swift Wind poll? If so, can you give away any hints?!
Yes. It will involve a color choice again for a fall 2012 figure.
Would you consider Hordak's steed Mantisaur a beast or a vehicle?
A beast for sure!
Have Matty considered producing She-Ra's shield in silver to match her sword?
This would certainly be a great item for a weaons pak! But nothing to confirm now.
With the inclusion of more female figures in the line, do Mattel have any marketing approaches in mind to attract more female fans? (beyond the brilliant Polly Pocket set)
We are always looking into new marketing tactics, but until we reveal them, it is not something we share publically.
June 1, 2011
You've just revealed Megator and Man-E-Faces' bios and boxes. SDCC seems so long away- what can we expect to see before then? (box-art, bios, reveals- anything!)
At this point our upcoming reveals are pretty much being held for SDCC. We might have an item or two from DCU and GL brands to reveal before the show, but otherwise we want to save our big reveals for San Diego.
Will the MOTUC Polly Pocket set include a Princess of Power logo as it includes three POP characters?
The set will include a MOTUC logo, but not a POP logo.
When you get to Dragstor, would you expect his wheel to sit where the ab-crunch feature is on other male figures or would he require new tooling instead of the standard torso?
We don’t have a Dragstor figure in the works at this time so these conversations simply have not taken place!
Catra comes with the sword that Shower-Power Catra was released with in the 80s. Does this reduce the likelihood of us seeing Catra released in this deco?
Not at all. That version of Catra could potentially be a nice quarterly A-list figure. But nothing is planned at this time.
In MOTUC, who knows Adora's secret?
That remains to be seen! Keep reading the bios!
May 17, 2011
Can you tell us a little more about the planning process of MOTUC's Polly Pockets (which are stunning by the way!)? How long have they been in development and how was Frosta selected to be the third character? Will they be available in stores as well as on Matty Collector?
It isn’t that complicated of a tale! After the success of last years SDCC Polly item as DC heroes, the Polly team was interested in doing a new one off set. They came to the MOTUC team with the idea of a POP set and we thought it was awesome. Toy Guru suggested Catra and Frosta as the second and third character since they are so fan demanded. This item won’t be in stores but it will be on Mattycollector.com after the show.
Vintage Mantenna had four legs as two pairs fused together. When you come to make him in MOTUC, would you expect this to be the same or will he have four individual legs?
Since we don’t have a Mantenna figure in the works right now, we simply can’t comment as these conversations just have not taken place.
Scott has said that Castaspella is his favourite Rebel. Who are other POP favourites in the Matty MOTUC team?
The team is really big on Frosta, Glimmer, Angella and Double Trouble. The Horsemen are also big fans of the Star Sisters.
Does a character's name HAVE to be trademarked before its reveal or just before its release? Sometimes, trademark reveals can lessen the 'surprise factor' despite some red herrings being trademarked.
If you guys want the figures to remain a surprise we suggest you stop trying to dig up info on unannounced figures. You can’t have it both ways folks!
Will all purchases from Matty be shipped in jiffy bags/padded envelopes from now on?
Some will. This is our attempt to keep shipping costs as low as possible.
May 1, 2011:
How was it decided that the DC pack for She-Ra should be vs Supergirl and why are there no changes to the paintwork (apart from the sword) unlike previous sets?
This set without “development” helps off set the cost of other sets that have more development. Not every sku can have new deco and parts. The sets without new parts help pay for the sets that do have new deco and parts.
Would you consider doing an unflocked Grizzlor, like Beast Man?
If there was overwhelming fan demand we could certainly look into this.
Matty seem to be offering a Cars Lightning McQueen Alive set for pre-order. Does this mean MOTUC products could be pre-ordered in the future?
Definitely not. This was a one time thing done for this item.
Leech looks amazing! He has one gold armour plate on his shoulder in the photos we've seen. Will he come with a second for the other shoulder or just the one? Is it detachable?
Leech only has one shoulder pad per the vintage figure design. It is not removable.
Will the She-Ra 2.0 release in November be counted as one of the 'at least four' females released in 2011?
We’ve answered this question multiple times. Check out our Ask Matty section on the Mattycollector.com forums!
April, 2011:
Is it possible to pre-promote figures in the line on the back of boxes? (eg. assuming the reveals have been made; promoting Man-E-Faces on the Faceless One's box or Clawful on Catra's, for example)
Usually we can't do this, as new figures are not ready in time for the box images.
The first sentence of Catra's bio reads like a summary of the character's landmark moments. If it is written (and read) lineally, it suggests that she was given her mask on Eternia at the time of He-Ro. Can you clarify this or did she receive it on Etheria after the Horde had occupied the planet (as per her vintage origin)?
She received the mask previous to coming to Eternia for the first time with Hordak.
When you reach the Rock People, would you imagine them to 'fold' into rocks as their vintage versions did?
That would truly be cool. But we will have to wait and see how the Horsemen tackle Stonedar and Rokon when and if they make it into the line.
Given that the Etheria map details the planet during the Horde occupation, does that mean a map pre-invasion would be possible?
Certainly. But nothing is planned right now.
Have you seen the She-Ra Robot Chicken sketch and if so what did you think?!
All of the Roboto Chicken MOTU sketches are great! We are big fans of the show (have you seen Mo-Larr the action figure???)!