The third part of the Q & A!…

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by hierosis on Jun 18, 2011, 11:09pm


Jun 18, 2011, 10:44pm, jdl375 wrote:

Let me help you. As they've said previously, and should be obviousy, THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT PART OF THE BUSINESS. And often, neither does Mattel. If you want to know why TRU is experiencing the nationwide epidemic you speak of, ASK TRU!

Now... on to questions the DESIGN TEAM can answer...

Thanks Hierosis, to all, see the last post. Boss Bill

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by wwecoltez on Jun 18, 2011, 11:34pm

I just want to say thank you very much for anwesering these questions.

1. Have you thought of making a different sculpt for the divas?

As we think we need them we will.

2. Sorry if asked a lot but will we see the divas championship by the end of the year?

Not by end of year, but it is coming.

3. Any chances for Alicia, Gail, and Layla by the end of this year?

Again, not by end of year, but we are getting back on the Diva train. Of course their influence on the show will affect their figure development.

4. Any chances for divas to have accessories since they won't be in elite series' ?

Who said they would not be in Elite?

5. Why are divas "hard to sell" if there ALWAYS the first ones to go on RSC and the hardest to find in stores?

We make them in smaller quantities due to the fact that they appeal exclusively to collectors. The last Diva we made in the same amount as a male figure was Mickie James and we had trouble selling them all as a result. 

The vast majority of our figures are sold to young boys. They do not appreciate the finer qualities of the Divas. Primarily they want the guys they see on Raw and Smackdown that they cheer for.

Again I thank you for your time to read these questions:)

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by iwf on Jun 18, 2011, 11:40pm

1: QUESTION: Will Current Superstars brighter, more colourful attires ever get chosen for the Elite lines first over their Basic counter parts? END OF QUESTION:

It seems as though the brighter, colourful attires are given to Basic or Flex Force first, i.e.

The Miz (Basic Survivor Series 2009 PPV - Purple, Basic 6 - Blue & Flex Force - Red) 3 of my favourite attires for him which I was hoping for his Elite 9 fig & we got him in generic Black.

Interesting. That is not something we are making a conscious choice on. We tend to pick costumes based on importance or complexity.

2: QUESTION: What are the chances of future Elite figures of a current character being released in an attire from a Previous Basics series release?

Say, for example, you have most of the current roster done in the Elite line and are only waiting on either releaseing a few people who get little TV Time or New characters into the Elite wave, when choosing on a character for a Re-Paint or maybes it has a New Scan, etc to fill out the line, would you maybes considering looking back through characters Basic releases & going, right, lets have Miz in this colour (Purple, Blue or Red) or Dolph Ziggler in Silver (2-Packs 7 attire) or Kofi Kingston in Yellow (Survivor Series 2009 PPV).

I know the likes of Cena, Triple H & Undertaker are the main sellers to the kids, but I would much prefer Re-Paints or more figures released of people like Kofi, Miz, Rey, Punk, etc who have a lot more different attires & deco to cover than the likes of Cena, Triple H & Undertaker who don't really change their attire much.

When a Superstar changes their attire frequently, we make a point of trying to make the Elites and basics different. We want to offer diversity in the line.  Yes, some inherently will appear in the same deco because they don’t change their attire. We do have to regulate varied deco with the demand for the Superstar in general.

When you started your Legends line, you stated you were trying to go for Superstars that didn't get a release from Jakks or, when you released Superstars they had already covered you would go for a different look or attire that they hadn't done, 3: QUESTION: What's the chances you could maybe check out or look through Jakks Classic lines & think, we could do that better or release a Superstar in an attire that Jakks already did because it is liked / popular with fans & is a deco or outfit Mattel could probably do even better? END OF QUESTIon
There are a few characters I look at in Jakks lines & think, this was good, but would love to see Mattel release the exact same character in the same deco / attire as I think you would do a finer, smoother & over all better job / finish to the look of the figure & you guys have superior detailing compared to Jakks.

Few examples I'd love Mattel to release in their Legends line basically being 'Copies' but 'Better' versions of Jakks previous Classics releases (Exact same Accessories to be 'Re-produced' / Made by Mattel that came with the Jakks releases would be...........

We have done this in a few cases. It is not done just to one-up the previous company. We want to offer our take on the costumes and Superstars we feel are important regardless of if another company has made them.


You stated in the previous Q & A you won't produce accessories for the Elite Scale Ring & only release 12" versions of Rings with said like accessories people are asking for for the ESR, i.e. Elimination Chamber, Steel Cage, Hell in a Cell, etc. Why is this?

We have not sold enough ESRs to justify the investment in accessories or cages.



Jakks may have over produced Tables, Ladders & Chairs when they had the line, but I'd much rather have them over produced than not get them at all & I don't want to buy 1 / 1000 figures to get a folding Chair or a Flex Force figure (as I absolutely HATE & DESPISE the Flex Force line with a passion & see it as a wasted line from Mattel) to get a Break Away Table.

Reality check: Flex Force is far from a waste and is one of our most successful line segments. (It’s ok if you hate it though)

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by superwwefigures on Jun 18, 2011, 11:46pm

any chance on yokozuna, doink the clown, earthquake and typhoon, powers of pain or booker T in the legends or defning moments?

Two of these are being worked on.  

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by biptonipto on Jun 19, 2011, 1:26am

Greetings MDT,

Are there any plans to sell any exclusive figures at the SDCC this year? If so, when will this information be released? I would make the almost 8 hour journey if Mattel had some sort of incentive for making an appearance. I am not a comic book fan, nor a fan of any of the other venders, thus I'd be paying & traveling to see Mattel's booth only.

Best regards,

Joe

We will be giving away a SDCC exclusive Rey Mysterio Rumbler figure to celebrate the fact that Rey will be there.

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by shyste on Jun 19, 2011, 6:38am

Since I've taken part in every Q&A and/or chat you've done (thanks for all of it, by the way)....and still yet to get a question response-

B. Have you ever considered making superstar specific hand molds? So that people who display their figures could put some guys in accurate looking poses (a good example would be Edge's hands in the rock star pose or Evan Bourne's hands in his two finger pose)

We have this planned for one of the WWE Superstars.

3. It seems like there have been an abundance of John Cena figures lately. What goes into the decision making process on who is in each series?

John Cena is one of our top selling figures and the one that sells out the fastest at retail. We sell every Cena we make, and we make a LOT, so we will continue to offer Cena a LOT.

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by rob7274 on Jun 19, 2011, 6:54am

Wacky idea I know but still would like to hear a response.
And yes the idea is similar to the custom parts question but not the same as I'm talking pants, boots and tattoo's added.

No. The customizer market is too small to support any exclusive product.


Also you have restored my faith in you with your answer to my quote last time. Sorry but I did miss understand you with the answers before thinking alot of current superstars were going to be missed from the elite line without even trying and re-release & re-paints were on the menu.
I collect for variety and I'm happy to know you will be giving me that!
Thank you for re-installing confidence!

That’s our goal

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by ramses on Jun 19, 2011, 7:34am

Hi, Is there any chance of making a Juan Cena? The mask would be a cool pack-in for an Elite Cena!

He never officially appeared on camera so no.

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by liamdunn73 on Jun 19, 2011, 7:42am

Will we ever see the US Spinner that John Cena held?

Very likely

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by ctln4rko on Jun 19, 2011, 10:04am

Can/Will we see an elite Skip Sheffield? Michael Tarver is unlikely and i'm sure it will be no sicne he was injured AND just got fired, but what about Skip? Yes he has been injured for 10 months, but Vince thinks highly of him, so can we please see him? He is the only original nexus member besides barrett and gabriel that I really want an elite of.

At this point considering how long he has been out it is not likely

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by machoking on Jun 19, 2011, 11:07am

Wanna give me a job? Ill have my degree in business in about 16 months. Im always looking for work!!
Give Vince a call!!!!!

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by ckrzewina on Jun 19, 2011, 11:47am

How do you choose what head scans to use and about how many on average do you take for one figure/superstar?

We choose expressions based on what the Superstar is doing on TV at the moment we design their figure. When Big Show was promoting Knucklehead we chose happy expressions for the figures. Now that he is angry at being run over by a car we would choose an angrier expression.

Re: New ASK Mattel Thread 6/18 - Post Questions He
Post by aimmotion on Jun 19, 2011, 11:59am

How long is the WWE/mattel contract, and would you guys like to continue the relatioship for along time?
Why are your figures better than jakks?

We have the license through 2014. We want to continue the license forever. Not better, just different.
Are you ever going to make a steve 'mongo' mcmichael figure?

No

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