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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 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
By Ron, on November 2nd, 2009 Here are the latest questions and answers from Mattel. Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!
Masters of the Universe Classics
1. Zodak (pics and review) was the first “bonus” figure for the Masters of the Universe Classics line. Based on how he sold, what changes are you considering for bonus figures, if any? Do you have any update on combining bonus orders with Club Eternia subs so subscribers aren’t penalized with double shipping?
    
If the first few bonus figure do well, we will continue them into 2010. If they do not, figures that were bonus figures will just become standard monthly figures. You won’t be able to combine shipping on subscriptions and standard purchases, but once we gauge how bonus figures do, we will be able to include them in the 2011 subscription.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 11/2/9
By Ron, on October 15th, 2009 Here are the latest questions and answers from Mattel. Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!
World Wrestling Entertainment
1. Nice to see some info and pics of the upcoming WWE lines. Can you highlight the differences between the Basic and Elite Collections? Are the main differences in the amount of articulation? Are the scales compatible between both lines?
   
The WWE basic and Elite figures are approximately seven-inch figures are created in “Superstar scale,” assuring accuracy in body-type differential across the “Monday Night Raw,” “Friday Night SmackDown” and “ECW” rosters. Pay-Per-View themed basic figures will also be available throughout the year. The Elite Figures feature 26 points of articulation and authentic ring attire such as masks, armbands and costumes. For the first time ever, each figure in both lines come with a figure stand and name placard.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 10/15
By Ron, on October 1st, 2009 Here are the latest questions and answers from Mattel. We were able to get a super-sized set in for this last session – moving forward Mattel has asked participating websites to limit the number of questions to five.
Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!
DC Universe Classics
1. Thanks for sending the DC Universe Classics Wave 12 pics. Before we dive into questions about those figures, when are you going to send us pics of Wave 11?
    
   
These images are available on our MattyCollector Facebook page. You are free to download them from there.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP’s Ask Matty Round-Up for 10/1/9
By Ron, on September 16th, 2009 I was traveling yesterday so wasn’t able to get these posted right away. Here are the latest questions and answers from Mattel. Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!
DC Comics
1. You’ve been saying for a while that the fate of the JLU line is in collectors’ hands. At the time of this writing, all three 4-packs and the San Diego Comic-Con Green Lantern Origins 3-pack are still available on Mattycollector.com. How are the fans doing with respect to keeping the line alive? How are the new products doing at Target?
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JLU Gotham City Criminals Figure 4-Pack
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JLU “Shazam!” Family 4-Pack
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JLU Legion of Super Heroes Action Figure 4-Pack
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Justice League Unlimited Green Lantern Origins 3-Pack
New JLU packs are currently available at Target and Mattycollector.com. We are reviewing whether the Mattycollector.com packs, with fan demand playing an important role.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP’s Ask Matty Round-Up for 9/15/9
By Ron, on September 1st, 2009 Here is the latest set of questions and answers from Mattel. Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!
DC Universe Classics
1. Now that you have a paint mask set up for the Romat Ru, what are the chances for a larger Sinestro? Any chance that Sinestro could be redone using the slim buck you created for Deadman?
  
We are looking at ways of re-doing Sinestro in the future.
2. You’ve described in the past how the team makes character pics for DC Universe Classics waves. How is the process different for retailer exclusive waves? How are the buyers from the retailers involved for those?
The process is the same for all waves: we discuss all waves or box sets with our retail partners, and we work with Mattel design and marketing, as well as our license partners, to choose the figures.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP’s Ask Matty Round-Up for 9/1/9
By Ron, on August 16th, 2009 Two updates from Mattel – first, they’ve posted a reminder for me to remind you that the Masters of the Universe Classics Tri-Klops is on sale on Mattycollector.com at Noon EST. I’m looking forward to seeing if he can dethrone Man-At-Arms as the baddest badass on my MOTU shelf.
Tri-Klops may be the big item for me, but there’s a whole mess of stuff going up tomorrow, so be ready for some red screens of death.
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Tri-Klops® Action Figure
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Infinite Heroes Crisis 4-Pack
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JLU Shazam! Family 4-Pack
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Batman vs. Gorilla Grodd
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Transforming Batmobile
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Batman New Batsuit Figure
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Batman The Joker Figure
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Stealth Signal Batman Figure
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Die-Cast Lightning McQueen
Big sale on Monday! MOTUC Tri-Klops, Infinite Heroes Crisis 4 pack, JLU Shazam pack, plus a few retail Batman Brave and the Bold and Dark Knight items! Check out MattyCollector.com at 12 noon eastern Aug 17th!
I’m not exactly sure which Brave and the Bold and Dark Knight products are going up tomorrow, but posted pics of all that’s currently up there. Matty will also have a 1:24 die cast Lightning McQueen, so it could get a little crazy, with both action figure and Hot Wheels collectors converging on the site.
Mattel also posted a round-up of sorts of the latest Ask Matty sessions (AFP’s latest Ask Matty Round-Up was posted yesterday). They touch on a lot of sore spots, for example, $20 Dark Knight Movie Masters, bonus figures not in Club Eternia, and Gleek. Not sure if the explanations will soothe the folks who are raging over them, but at least Mattel understands that some people are upset. And a new hurt for folks on the east coast – Mattel won’t be at New York Comic-Con next year. That’s not surprising, since it’s in October, during the prime selling season for big box retailers.
There’s more… click to continue reading MOTU Classics Tri-Klops and More On Sale August 17
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