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By Ron, on February 15th, 2010 Scott Neitlich, Mattel’s Associate Brand Manager for its collector-oriented lines, was kind enough to sit down with Hagop (my tag team partner from the Fwoosh) and me for a catch-up session following the Mattel Collectors Preview.
This is the second part of the interview – I wanted to title the article “Toy Guru Announces Jitsu” but then common sense prevailed. Part one of the interview is here.
H: Let’s go over what’s in store this year for Masters of the Universe.
   
TG: The line is composed of 12 monthly figures, 4 quarterly figures (although there might only be 3 this year) but ideally 4 standard 6” quarterly figures, and then 4 over-sized figures which could range from $30-$60 depending on how big they are. So Battlecat was the first, Tytus will be the second, and then Gy-Gor will be the third.
There’s more… click to continue reading Toy Fair 2010 – Interview with Mattel’s Scott Neitlich (Toy Guru), Part 2
By Ron, on February 15th, 2010 Scott Neitlich, Mattel’s Associate Brand Manager for its collector-oriented lines, was kind enough to sit down with Hagop (my tag team partner from the Fwoosh) and me for a catch-up session following the Mattel Collectors Preview.
We were all a little tired from the sensory overload, so a big thanks to Scott for taking the time to sit down with us, and to Hagop for recording and transcribing the interview. What follows is the first part of our discussion.
H: In other comic lines, we always hear about how obscure characters are hard to do because the retailers don’t want them. How are you able to pull off so many obscure characters in DCUC? I’m thinking of Killer Moth, Gentleman Ghost, Forager-in an exclusive wave no less.
     
TG: With the refresher cases and “all stars” retailers are getting Batman or Superman or whoever, every time they open a box, even if they’re not “in” the wave. And I think it just helps when the toy is cool looking. I mean, someone may walk by a Gentleman Ghost and just think, “That’s cool, I want that!” I’ve got him displayed in my office getting captured by the Ghostbusters.
There’s more… click to continue reading Toy Fair 2010 – Interview with Mattel’s Scott Neitlich (Toy Guru), Part 1
By Ron, on December 17th, 2009 I’ve gotta hand it to Mattel – they know how to make dynamic packaging. I like the theme (congrats to many who guessed it would be DC’s 75th anniversary) and the new layout is clear and vibrant. Wave 12 is looking sweet. Mary Batson will be a 50/50 variant and the glow-in-the-dark Spectre will be a chase figure.
2010 is DC Comics 75th!
Hey DC toy fans!
As we get close to 2010 we wanted to reveal the all new look for DC Universe toys from Mattel! Every DC Universe Classic and Infinite Hero figure in 2010 will be in an all new package which will include a DC 75th collector button featuring vintage DC art!
    
    
You’ll be able to start your 75th collection with Wave 12 of Classics, on sale in early Spring 2010. Enjoy the pictures below and happy holidays!
Matty
via Facebook | Mattycollector.com: 2010 is DC Comics 75th!
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 26th, 2009 
The DC Universe promotion at MattyCollector.com covers DC Universe Classics, DC Infinite Heroes, and Justice League Unlimited. As of this writing, here’s what’s still available:
| DC Universe Classics |
DC Infinite Heroes |
Justice League Unlimited |
- The Color of Fear: Romat-Ru and Karu-Sil Figures
- Alexander Luthor and Ultraman Figures
- Adam Strange and Starfire Figures
- DC Universe Classics Figure Stands
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- Infinite Heroes Crisis 4-Pack
- DC Universe Infinite Heroes Anti-Monitor Figure
- Infinite Heroes Figure Stands
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- Doom Patrol 4-Pack
- JLU “Shazam!” Family 4-Pack
- Justice League Unlimited Green Lantern Origins 3-Pack
- JLU Legion of Super Heroes Figure 4-Pack
- JLU Gotham City Criminals Figure 4-Pack
- Justice League Unlimited Figure Stands
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Save up to 25% on All DCU Products 11/26 thru 12/7
DCU Fans,
Just in time for holiday gift giving, we’re running a “buy more, get more” promotion. Basically, buy two or three DC Universe products and get 15% off your order; buy four or more products and get 25% off! Here are the details:
- Buy any two or three products from any DCU line and get 15% off those products.
- Buy four or more DCU products and you’ll get 25% off!
- Promotion starts 12:00 Noon ET/9:00am PT on Thursday 11/26 (Thanksgiving Day) and expires Monday, 12/7 11:59pm ET/8:59pm PT.
- Offer applies only to products in the DCU shop at MattyCollector.com.
- No code needed — discount automatically applied at checkout!
- Discount applies to product purchase price only and does not apply to shipping costs or taxes/fees.
- Sorry, this promotion can’t combined with other offers and isn’t valid on previous purchases.
We’re talking every set and every figure from the entire DC Universe lineup — DCU Classics, Justice League Unlimited, and DCU Infinite Heroes! So what are you waiting for? Get yourself over to the DCU shop before this limited-time promotion ends on Monday 12/7!
—Matty
via MattyCollector.com Online Store.
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 7th, 2009
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DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5 – Catwoman, Two-Face, Batman, Superman, and Lex Luthor
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DC Universe Infinite Heroes Teen Titans Figures – carded
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DC Universe Infinite Heroes Teen Titans Figures – loose
Wal-Mart has made available online the DC Universe Classics Gotham City 5, the exclusive 5-pack that includes Batman, Superman, Catwoman, Two-Face, and all-new classic jump-suited Lex Luthor. This set was very difficult to find a few weeks back, and I’ve heard lots of reports of folks finding sets that had been tampered with, so this may be the best option for you to track this down.
They also have the DC Infinite Heroes Teen Titans 6-pack, containing Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Arsenal, Monsieur Mallah, and the Brain. There’s only a couple of guys I know that are collecting these, but I know of a few more that are looking to pick this set up just for the Brain, as it’s large enough to work in the DCUC scale.
They have the Site to Store option on both items, if you want to save on shipping costs.
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 9th, 2009 You’ve been waiting for it, and VeeBee (it’s not my fault!) has kept you in suspense. Here’s the final installment of our San Diego Comic-Con chat with Mattel Associate Brand Manager, Scott Neitlich. He’s the man that brings us our DC, Masters of the Universe and Ghost Busters figures! Contained within is an all out shootout of questions and answers from all of the lines that Scott oversees. And yeah, he drops some gems!
This article is reprinted from TheFwoosh.com, and there’s a discussion thread here: Fwoosh Interview with Toy Guru!
You can read the rest of the interview here:
Fwoosh: Since it looks like we still have a few minutes, let’s circle back real quick and discuss rights as they pertain to DCUC. A lot of fans are saying that DC Classics is the second coming of the Super Powers line and many fans of the original line are wondering if you have the rights to the characters that were created purely for that line.
Scott Neitlich: Oh, you mean like Cyclotron and Golden Pharaoh?
F: Yes.
SN: Oh, wait until 2010! We have some great stuff coming down for fans of Super Powers next year. It’s no secret that we are big fans of Super Powers with the variants of Steppenwolf and the Parademon, so hopefully people are picking up on some of the hints that are being made for 2010- just want and see what we have in store. Same with some of the characters that we are doing in JLU with Samurai.
 DC Infinite Heroes Hal Jordan First Flight Promo F: Infinite Heroes – it looks like you guys are making a major push to up the articulation on these guys with the Public Enemies assortment. Is that where the whole line is going?
SN: Yeah, you will see new stuff getting integrated all the time. In fact, we just sculpted up a new villain figure that is just unbelievable, it is probably one of the best 3 3/4 figures I have ever seen.
One of the first things that Bill and I did when we came on with it was go back to the drawing board and revamp it with a lot of things that we as toy fans would like to see in it. So, we are getting all new bucks and starting a bit from scratch and infusing some new blood into it to make it stronger than it has ever been.
There’s more… click to continue reading Interview with Mattel Associate Brand Manager Scott Neitlich – Part 3
By Ron, on September 7th, 2009 This Labor Day, we’ve got the second part of the interview with Mattel Associate Brand Manager Scott Neitlich that I got to sit in on with the Fwoosh’s VeeBee. So, whether you are enjoying the extra day off of work or are chained to your desk because your boss is a jerk, read on to get the scoop on what Mattel is working hard on for their collector lines, including Masters of the Universe Classics, DC brands and Ghostbusters!
This article is reprinted from TheFwoosh.com, and there’s a discussion thread here: Fwoosh Interview with Toy Guru!
You can read part one of the interview here: Interview with Mattel Associate Brand Manager Scott Neitlich – Part 1
Fwoosh: Okay, we will circle back to DCUC, but what about Infinite Heroes – what has been the reaction to the Anti-Monitor raffle?
Scott Neitlich: It has been phenomenal, we filled half of an arrowhead water jar with little proof of purchase points so there are a ton in there.
F (VeeBee): 25 of them are mine!
SN: Yeah, we had a gentleman win one the other day that had like, 2000 points.
F: He is a Fwoosher.
 DC Infinite Heroes - 30-inch Anti-Monitor Raffle SN: Yeah, so am I -really glad he won one, a lot of people were really dedicated to it, so it has been fun.
There’s more… click to continue reading Interview with Mattel Associate Brand Manager Scott Neitlich – Part 2
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