{"id":28572,"date":"2014-07-02T00:39:02","date_gmt":"2014-07-02T05:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=28572"},"modified":"2014-07-02T02:15:25","modified_gmt":"2014-07-02T07:15:25","slug":"interview-with-mattel-brand-manager-scott-toyguru-neitlich","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=28572","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Mattel Brand Manager, Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nOne of the ideas we were kicking around for our 5th Anniversary week was some retrospectives on some of the biggest lines we’ve covered over the years. There is probably none bigger than MOTU Classics. For an “online only” line, it has chugged along for over six years, it’s filling MOTU displays to the brim, and dominates a big chunk of the toy blogosphere. It is easily our busiest checklist and covering it (We’ve reviewed all but three items from the line – can anyone tell me what three?) has easily been a big part of our own success. And not to mention it’s one of our favorite toy lines!
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\nFor our 5th Anniversary, Mattel Brand Manager Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich agreed to sit down with IAT and talk about the MOTU Classics line! And we’ve added in some of our favorite MOTUC captioned pics over the years!
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\nItsAllTrue.Net:<\/span> When IAT started up in 2009, one of our very first reviews was Hordak. Despite some stiff competition, he\u2019s remained one of our most favorite figures since. What figure are you most proud of from then until now?<\/strong>
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\nScott “Toyguru” Neitlich:<\/span><\/strong> I think Trap Jaw<\/a> remains one of the best figures in the entire line. I remember when we were looking into putting the Kronis head and arm in with the figure; there was talk of holding those parts for a dedicated \u201cKronis\u201d figure down the road because TJ already had a lot of accessories. But TJ had the potential to truly be one of the best figures ever done, and by including those parts too, it just put him over the top. Some other favorites include Modulok, Mantenna, Kobra Kahn and NA He-Man.
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\nIAT:<\/span> With Trap Jaw as one of the best figures, is there a figure that stands as one of the toughest to get right? Is there one you’d really like a “do-over” on? <\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> Leech<\/a> was a figure I would have loved to have given unique legs and arms, but he still came out great. I would love to get another crack at King Hssss<\/a>. He didn’t come out as perfect as we all wanted and as an A-list villain it would be great one day to revise him.
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\nIAT:<\/span> Alright, one more character question, and then I promise I’ll move on! Are there any of your personal favorites that have yet to be brought into the line? <\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> We’ve done most of my personal favorites at this point. Spikor was a long overdue favorite until he came out. I am definitely looking forward to the remaining Snake Men. The next one comes out in November!<\/em>
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\nIAT:<\/span> Looking at the whole line, what do you think constitutes the “Classics” aesthetic? The line has varied heavily from figures like Clawful & Spikor to figures like Fisto & Jitsu. What do you think ties them all together?<\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> It’s the common parts and their origins in the vintage line. If a figure was not in the vintage line, we try to imagine what the figure would have looked like had he\/she been released back then and then reverse-engineer the Classics version. Chief Carnivus<\/a> and Icarius<\/a> are great examples of this. For the females, the vintage POP girls were all dolls with rooted hair, so likewise we try to look at what they would have looked like had they been released as female MOTU figures (like Teela<\/a> or Sorceress<\/a>) in the vintage line and then update that into Classics.
\n
\nIAT:<\/span> Speaking of that process, are they any challenges you face by working with an outside design studio versus a totally in-house project? <\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> The Horsemen are fantastic to work with and we look forward to many more years of our partnership.
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\n<\/a>IAT:<\/span> We look forward to it too. It’s a great partnership! What’s it like bringing the 4H’s work into the fold to turn it into a Mattel product? When changes or additions have to be made to the original designs, what sources are used to determine the best course of action? Do the designers work off their own intuition, do you call up the 4H, consult any web resources? <\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> Trying to capture as much of the Horsemen’s original design while keeping the figure current with safety and design regulations can be challenging and many times compromises need to be made. The 4H prototypes are not made of plastic and are not articulated (they are held together by pins, if you try and move an arm it will “fall off” – just watch any of my video walk throughs!) In the end, we always need to go with regulations first and foremost.
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\nBeyond that, there isn’t one overarching rule. Every figure is approached differently. Essentially, we start with the Horsemen sculpt that is a “Classics” interpretation of the vintage figure (or hypothetical vintage figure). It is usually up to the Horsemen to make most design choices, but of course Mattel’s design staff has the final say making sure all toys meet safety and logistic regulations.
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\nIAT:<\/span> What are some of the challenges you run into in regards to those safety & logistic regulations? Does this being an adult-oriented line change that at all? <\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> Every figure tends to be its own set of challenges. Roboto<\/a>, for example; we really wanted to try and preserve the vintage action feature with turning internal gears, but that created three times the amount of work as each gear had to be run through the tool individually (if we painted them the gears, they would chip over time). New material has also not always worked out such as the case of Snout Spout. We wanted to go above and beyond and make the snout bendy and some of the figures had QC issues with this. One of the biggest challenges is really rising costs. Labor and material costs are not something we can control and these tend to go up every year. We know adult collectors have a very high standard and we are always working to meet their expectations at an affordable price point.
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\nIAT:<\/span> Has there ever been a time when you wished MOTUC wasn’t aimed at adult collectors? That it were more kid-oriented, with the ability to incorporate & improve the classic action features with modern toy technology?<\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> Not for a toy line like MOTUC. Mattel has plenty of product aimed at kids with action features and the like. It is actually nice to work on toys that are more for collectors and different from what is the usual day-to-day product.
\n
\nIAT:<\/span> As we’re getting late in the game it seems characters of more odd size & shape crop up and are requiring more tooling? Is it getting more difficult?<\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> There are definitely some challenges with figures that require a lot of tooling and finding creative solutions. The example above with Leech is a great example where we would have loved to give him new legs but it just was not possible.
\n
\nIAT:<\/span> Alright, I have one more question that I was asked to ask, but I think I know your answer. If budget weren’t a concern and now that Castle Grayskull is part of the line, what one item would you put into motion? <\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> Snake Mountain for sure. But that is definitely off the table for 2015. We needed to be mindful in both 2014 and 2015 to try and complete the vintage roadmap by the end of 2015 as promised.
\n
\nIAT:<\/span> Now, with SDCC just a few weeks away, we obviously don’t want to spoil anything, but I did want to ask about MOTU outside Classics. We’re seeing the brand start to spread out a little bit with things like the Mini-Masters and Baby Skeletor. Are there any other form factors or product types at Mattel that you think would be great for MOTU? \t<\/strong>
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\nTG:<\/span><\/strong> We’re always exploring new ideas for the brand. In face, we’ll have something big to show off at SDCC!
\n
\nIAT:<\/span> And on that tease, we’ll wrap things up. I’d like to again thank Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich for sitting down with an interview with us and for contributing to our 5th Anniversary Week! Thank you, Scott!! <\/strong>
\n
\n

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