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By Ron, on March 1st, 2010 Here’s the latest Ask Matty Q&A. Thanks to Toy Guru and Mattel!
1. Great reveal for the Wal-Mart exclusive Green Lantern 5-pack. Some quick questions: Is that Tomar Re or Tomar Tu? Is John Stewart’s Mosaic costume the one that matches Katma Tui’s from Wave 11? Will GL Sinestro have a mask, and if so, is it sculpted or just painted on?
   
It is Tomar Re. The other outfits and look of the remaining three characters will be revealed shortly.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 3/1/10
By Ron, on February 16th, 2010 Because we knew we’d get a lot of questions answered about our favorite Mattel toy lines at Toy Fair (click here for all our Mattel Toy Fair coverage), for this round of Q&A, we wanted to learn a little more about the person responsible for bringing them to all of us.
Scott “Toy Guru” Neitlich has stepped in to answer our questions this month! Scott is the Brand Manager working on Mattel’s DC, Ghostbusters and MOTU adult collector lines. Thanks to Toy Guru for this special edition of Ask Matty!
1. What was your favorite toy as a kid, and where is it now?
 
As a kid I was really into MOTU and Construx. Construx was a girder and bolt building system which until recently was still offered by Fisher-Price. I used to create whole worlds of military and space ships and still have the lead attack ship I built on my desk at home. My original He-Man is here at my office next to my Classics version!
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 2/16/10
By Ron, on January 29th, 2010 The guys are back with what might be the last Mattel Q&A before Toy Fair. Thanks to Toy Guru and Manic Mike!
1. We’ve heard of a lot of collectors getting the DC Universe Classics wave 11 Deadman variant in their shipments from online retailers, including MattyCollector.com (who had said that was the only figure not included in their sets). Were the production ratios off?
    
This was an error in fans’ favor. Going forward the chase version in each wave will be only at retail and not in the MattyCollector.com sets.
[Editor's note - for more pictures, check out Buzzy Fret's DC Universe Classics 11 review - part 1 | part 2]
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 1/29/10
By Ron, on January 15th, 2010 We’re back with the first round of Mattel Q&A for 2010. Thanks to Toy Guru and Manic Mike!
1. We asked about the purple-suited Catwoman from the Gotham City 5 a few months back, and you indicated that while Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe figures were possible, there were other video games you might look at first. Now that a sequel to Arkham Asylum has been announced, how do you think Arkham Asylum figures would fit into the Mattel DC line up? How do you think the Arkham Asylum character designs would translate into toys?
   
[Custom Arkham Asylum Batman by Doubledealer]
There’s no doubt the Arkham Asylum figures are incredible, but they are all 100% unique sculpts so there would be some slight issues getting them to toys. That does not mean it’s not out of the question, it’s just too early right now for us to comment on 2011 toys!
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 1/15/10
By Ron, on January 15th, 2010 The Hasbro JOE team is back with another round of Q&A. Thanks to Ray from the Fwoosh for these questions.
1. Hypothetical question… If the ROC movie hadn’t existed would you have pretty much stopped the 25th line anyway and rebranded into a new line, or would it have kept going untouched?
Hypothetically, we may have developed a new theme as we strive to continuously keep the brand fresh and relevant.
2. Have you ever considered doing modern updates of monster type Joes like the Bio-Viper, Monstro-Viper – because the customs you had on display of those were awesome.
 
[Pics courtesy of the Hasbro JoeCon 2009 coverage by ItsAllTrue.Net - thanks Noisy!]
Great question! This is something we find very exciting and are looking into it, although they may not look exactly like the customs – we may use cues from them as inspiration for future planning.
3. What was the reasoning behind the new Snowcat’s paintjob? As opposed to the original look.
We aim to keep the line fresh and offer cool new looks where possible.
By Ron, on January 9th, 2010 WWE.com has posted a two part interview with designers Derek Handy and Bill Miekina. They talk about their backgrounds and influences, the challenges and joys of working on WWE, and meeting the wrestlers. Great stuff!
Also be sure to check out our pre-launch interview with Derek and brand manager PJ Lewis.
 
Among a mere handful of individuals responsible for all WWE products are lead designer Derek Handy and fellow key design point man at Mattel, Bill Miekina. With a combined 17 years of experience in toy creative, design and execution, the pair juggles everything from sculpting and mechanical architecture (Handy’s handiwork) to paint deco and accuracy (Miekina’s expertise).
In an exclusive interview with WWE.com, Handy and Miekina detailed their crucial roles within the plastic-molding pantheon at Mattel – those responsible for the greatest WWE toys in the history of the squared circle.
via WWE: Inside WWE > WWE Mattel > News > Mattel Q&A Part 1.
By Ron, on December 22nd, 2009 The wait is nearly over.
It’s been over 22 long months since Mattel announced it had won the master toy license for the WWE from long-time holder JAKKS Pacific, and now we’re just ten days away from the official launch date. Even with the WWE team at Mattel completing their final prep for the launch, they were kind enough to answer our questions about the most anticipated toy line of 2010.
We spoke with PJ Lewis and Derek Handy from Mattel. PJ is the brand manager for the WWE toy lines, and Derek is on the design team.
Q: Hi – thanks for taking the time to speak with us today. PJ, to start, can you introduce yourself?
PJ Lewis: Hello. My name is PJ Lewis and I am a Senior Brand Manager at Mattel. I’ve been at the company 4 years and had the opportunity to work on Speed Racer, DC Universe, Cartoon Network Brands, and more.
Q: WWE is one of the most coveted licenses out there. How long has Mattel been targeting the license, and what were the key points that made acquiring the license possible?
PJ: There are so few brands in the action figure aisle that are true evergreen brands like WWE. Simply, when something like it comes available, you go after it. As for key points, we are a creative, passionate team with global reach unmatched in the industry. I’d like to think these all helped the license come our way.
Q: Let’s talk about the toys, due to hit shelves January 1, 2010. First, can you tell us a bit about each line and who they’re targeted at? We know Flex Force is aimed at kids, but who’s the primary target for the Basic figures, Elite Collection, and Entrance Greats?
Basic Series 1:
     
Basic Series 2:
     
PJ: Basic Figures are the day in and day out replicas of the WWE roster. They average 15 points of articulation and capture the changing decos and new talent additions. The Elite Collection are designed for collectors and fans that want to take it to the next level. These feature 25+ points of articulation, authentic ring attire, and what we hope to be the best deco you have ever seen on a WWE figure.
There’s more… click to continue reading Pre-Launch Interview with Mattel WWE Team – PJ Lewis and Derek Handy
By Ron, on December 17th, 2009 Toy Guru was kind enough to resend answers that were lost in the cloud – well, at least 4 out of 5 of them! 
1. We were glad to hear that sales of the DC Universe Classics Color of Fear 2-pack were strong. Were they strong enough for you to consider additional multi-packs via MattyCollector.com? If not, what are you thinking about for exclusive DCUC product on MattyCollector.com?
    
Unfortunately none of the DCUC 2 packs performed well enough to keep the assortment going in 2010. We are looking at other ways of bringing DCUC figures to Mattycollector.com, but there will not be any additional 2 packs at this time.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 12/16/9 – Redux
By Ron, on December 17th, 2009
By Ron, on December 16th, 2009 It looks as though the answers to our questions for this round may have been lost in the cloud, so if my colleagues will indulge me, I’ll pick five of the best questions and answers from around the internet toy community.
The first answer may not have been that informative, but it had Jitsu.
1. Figures.com – The Four Horsemen did a fantastic job with the Jitsu 200X staction. Is this character on tap for the near future or do fans have a long wait ahead of them?
 NECA Masters of the Universe Jitsu Staction We can’t comment on unannounced figures, sorry! Jitsu is a favorite around here too.
via Mattel: Ask Matty December 15th, 2009 – Figures.com Forums.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 12/16/9
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