2013 Club Eternia discussion

[Lay Ze-Man]

I'm kinda bummed by this whole mess.
I wish it were as simple as subscribing and being done with it.
But a) I can't afford it, and b) I don't like nearly enough of the releases to subscribe even if I could.

And yes, I've been saying for a while that the "roadmap" didn't seem to be that realistic to get to 2016.
But that's just ONE of the problems.

If MOTUC had returned to a more reasonably-sized yearly investment, I would be much more sympathetic to the pleas, and probably would subscribe in the end.

But no, we HAD to have so many releases per year that not only did they foolishly burn through the A-listers just like they said they wouldn't do (all the while thumbing their noses at the superior-in-most-ways Staction line) they created buyer fatigue from a lot of diehards and priced the casual collector out of the game. I mean seriously, shouldn't $700+ for toys be pushing ANYONE's yearly budget for toys, let alone blowing that all on ONE line?

But ignoring the actual dollar amount, are we just supposed to take Toyguru at his word that without a sub quota, MOTUC can't continue? Then why was this very line's success built around the initial day-of model? And we're supposed to take Toyguru at his word that tiered subs aren't possible, even though he was able to make a special tiered sub for the 30th figures, which coincidentally included HIS figure? Isn't that enough right there to not really believe the doomed picture of the line? But is it really that doomed anyway? Not getting each and every PoP character doesn't sound like the end of the world to me.

As DR points out, and brings me to my next point of contention that has been ignored by Mattel, is the lack of cohesion and general attempt to ass-kiss before making the figure cool and streamlined into the collection. Kissing the asses of the creators, Filmation fans, vintage toy fans, whoever fans, at the expense of making a true adult collector line that can be displayed well together. On that front, DCUC has MOTUC absolutely murdered. Even characters created decades apart, that have never been seen on the page at the same time, look just fine together on the shelf.

In the end, we're always left with inadequate responses and explanations, and the standing directive to "Buy or the line dies."

It's all just not that fun anymore, is it?

[Lay Ze-Man]

while some surprises are nice, some are that weird asian kid throwing firecrackers while listening to sister christian in alfred molina's drug palace in "boogie nights"... soul damaging surprises that ruin a great classic rock track for you for the rest of your life.

One of my favorite scenes from that, or really any, movie.

[Lay Ze-Man]

This was posted on the .org, from Pixel Dan's Twitter:

Talking with ToyGuru for RGD right now. Good info: 2014 will NOT have a price increase. So 2013 increase will hold for a few years.

ToyGuru has 2013 mapped out. Legal wont let him announce all of the figures. He would if he could.

2014 promises to complete the vintage MOTU figures and core PoP and NA. Its already figured out. Does NOT mean 2014 is def the end though.

It all depends on how sales are.

2013 subscription sales are about 60 - 70 percent less than last year st this time. That's the reason for his posts.

However, ToyGuru is sure that they will hit the minimum, and 2013 will be fine. But subscribers are needed. So that's the best way to help.

ToyGuru: "Best way to say it, if you invest for 2 more years, you'll have pretty much everyone." He three out names like Scorpia.

After 2014 they can go down to 6 figures a year to get out the more obscure or fan demanded figures.

ToyGuru: "When Classics does finish, MOTU as a brand won't go away. It will continue, possibly with new toy lines."

Mattel realizes MOTU is an important brand. It'll be like Transformers, Star Wars, etc...ToyGuru promises MOTU wont go away.

Note my bolding. Once again Toyguru displaying his PR ineptitude.

If he's really so sure they'll hit the minimum, then why the "chopping block" reference at all?

[Bigbot84]

Mattel using fear mongering to increase subscriptions is why I think Neitlich posted what he did. It almost worked on me, but I'd rather try my chances on day-of or the secondary market than buy figures like Fang Man, Netossa, and the 3-pack.

[dayraven]

you know the thing that keeps running in my head? i've read a lot of "bleh" reactions to king he-man and i keep looking over at fisto and thinking "had they let djordje sculpt that head/face, and the face reflected a life as hard and sad as the power sword implies, that figure would be the hit of the reveals."

i also keep flip flopping on granamyr. sure, he's huge. sure, he's pretty much exactly how a granamyr figure should look (if you're doing the red version)... sure he's posable from the hump-to-dump position, so he and the malebolgia can forever sit across from each other on their imaginary toilets and read the tiny newspapers i intend to craft for them... but he's 100 bucks for a piece that will, eventually, be only shelf dressing. at some point, we three toy people in my home will have played w/ him, and exhausted our stories, and off he will go, to sit and laugh at me for dumping that much scratch on essentially a mega-chotchki. i could buy a very nice male sex toy for that scratch, something that would get hours and hours of use that would make your hair turn white, or i could buy a nice piece of plastic that takes up a huge chunk of one of my toy bins.

[platypusrex82]

The fun of collecting is 90% absent from MOTUC. Most of the fun lies in the hunt. I've been going from Wal*Mart to Target to Toys R Us to K-Mart and everywhere in between to complete a working bat signal. Catwoman eludes me, but I know the thrill of finally finding her will be worth it. Out of the 2013 Club Eternia, I really only want Ram Man and Strobo, and even if I buy a sub I'm still not entitled to Strobo. How is that rewarding loyal customers? I work 60 hours a week for USPS and I live in Buffalo, NY, no toy conventions come here and I don't get time off for anything fun. Either way I'm at the mercy of ebay but somehow I'm still a dick if I don't "support" MOTUC. You don't support a toy line, you support cancer research, and 500.00 + outrageously priced and very slow shipping is a lot to ask in this economy. The worst part is, I will probably cave and buy a sub because I want the line to continue so they release all the characters I had as a kid. First world problems.

[dayraven]

The fun of collecting is 90% absent from MOTUC. Most of the fun lies in the hunt. I've been going from Wal*Mart to Target to Toys R Us to K-Mart and everywhere in between to complete a working bat signal. Catwoman eludes me, but I know the thrill of finally finding her will be worth it. Out of the 2013 Club Eternia, I really only want Ram Man and Strobo, and even if I buy a sub I'm still not entitled to Strobo. How is that rewarding loyal customers? I work 60 hours a week for USPS and I live in Buffalo, NY, no toy conventions come here and I don't get time off for anything fun. Either way I'm at the mercy of ebay but somehow I'm still a dick if I don't "support" MOTUC. You don't support a toy line, you support cancer research, and 500.00 + outrageously priced and very slow shipping is a lot to ask in this economy. The worst part is, I will probably cave and buy a sub because I want the line to continue so they release all the characters I had as a kid. First world problems.

as a USPS employee, i'm amazed your union hasn't advocated laying spike strips out every time a newgistics truck comes anywhere near your building. these 3rd party couriers are like paying pirates to ferry freight.

[PrfktTear]

I'm kind of surprised about everyone's reactions to King He-Man. I would have thought everyone would be excited for him.

but he's 100 bucks for a piece that will, eventually, be only shelf dressing.

Agreed --- Poe made a similar point. To spend all this money for what will be taken out, reviewed, displayed for a few months and then end up in a ziplock baggie in his Rubbermaid bin inside the closet.

This morning I was thinking "do fans really need them all"? I don't own all the vintage MOTU figures, for instance I never owned Scareglow or Snake Face, nor did I own Multi-Bot or Modulok. How come I have never sought those out? Why don't I display my vintage collection?

[dayraven]

I'm kind of surprised about everyone's reactions to King He-Man. I would have thought everyone would be excited for him.

but he's 100 bucks for a piece that will, eventually, be only shelf dressing.

Agreed --- Poe made a similar point. To spend all this money for what will be taken out, reviewed, displayed for a few months and then end up in a ziplock baggie in his Rubbermaid bin inside the closet.

This morning I was thinking "do fans really need them all"? I don't own all the vintage MOTU figures, for instance I never owned Scareglow or Snake Face, nor did I own Multi-Bot or Modulok. How come I have never sought those out? Why don't I display my vintage collection?

therein lies the problem my man... you have an attachment to the characters you owned, and for an apparently huge chunk of the fanbase, that's the entire extent of their attachment to the property. now, for a smaller percentage of us, we want new stuff, so vikor comes along and we think "COOL!" and we get draego-man and think "he was so obvious it almost hurts that it took this long to get a dragon dude in a fantasy line... and a flying guy for the evil faction!"... but that first contingent, all they know, and all they're interested in is the toys they had growing up, able to be posed in pretty much the same vanilla pose that the original figures were posed in on one's shelf (seriously, has anybody else observed this? despite all that new articulation, when you look over at your motuc shelf, pretty much everyone is standing in a pose that is virtually identical to the pose your vintage figs are pre-posed in?) at more than triple their original cost... blows my mind.

as for why you don't go back and track down the vintage guys you lack PT... that's a good question. why don't you? are you kind of waiting to see if they get offered in motuc, or are you just not interested in those characters? some of them can be very pricey now, almost as much as a new motuc ( ) i will say this, for anyone who owns or owned an anywhere near complete vintage he-man collection, the lack of additional bucks in motuc is inexcusable. sure, the brand manager said it was a nice homage to the original line (and a cost saver) but the original line was available all over the place, at a reasonable price, and was gobbled up in huge qtys that allowed for a TON of unique sculpts to show up in the line. the choices mattel has made w/ this line have made that prospect tricky, but i'm 100 figures into a collection built on 4 male bucks and 2 female bucks w? some swapped parts for both... that's an awful lot of rebought parts over and over again for more than twice the US minimal wage per hour... think about that for a minute... the average fly flipper at mickey dees work for nearly 3 hours to buy one he-man... that's just not right michael.

[jackstatic]

To quote King Theodan, "If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end, as to be worthy of rememberance"


That, simply put, is why I will be buying granamyr, and will be here til the bitter end, no matter what we recieve, its been one hell of a ride, over 4 years, a starfruit ton of figures, big, small, old and new. Did we get them all? No, but we got not just some, but a lot. 200x was displayed until MoTUC, MoTUC will be displayed until the next line, I dont think Scott did a bad job like many do, but I do feel he mishandled some things at times. I hope the sub goes trough, for me, for this collection to feel complete Id like to add two bad, squeezzee, tun lasher, and mantenna to the list. But I wont die if they dont come