Post by East Coast on Aug 27, 2012 19:25:55 GMT -5
Q--"just wanted to say that new Elite Lesnar looks amazing! what series is he due in, and will we get a 2002 Flashback Lesnar?"
A----"He's in Series 19. Our lips are sealed regarding other plans."
Q--"Junk Yard Dog
Big John Studd
Honky Tonk Man
Greg The Hammer Valentine
Jim The Anvil Niedhart
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
KoKo B.Ware
My question to you is, is there any chance of Mattel making a few or any of the wrestling legends that I have mentioned above? Or is that era of wrestling done with as far as you making any more figures for?"
A--"Short answer is we are definitely not moving away from classic WWF-era guys and we can confirm that we have at least one of the guys you mention slated for a Flashback in mid-2013."
Q--"I am looking forward to the big evil Undertaker in Elite 18 but will we see a flashback undertaker from his earlier days? I see there is a debut undertaker in basic form but I was hoping for an elite with his early 90's look in purple or grey gloves. That type of Undertaker look."
A--"We're excited to do more versions of Undertaker since he's one of the most iconic guys of all. Nothing to announce at the moment but you can be sure we will do more versions of him in the future."
Q--"Do you think if you started the legends line in basics like Jakks had done with the CS line and had everything in one form would it have fared better?"
A--"As for the the Legends What if?" scenario, your guess is as good as ours""
Q--"Warrior & Savage. I gotta ask, when will be the next time these guys get releases?"
A--"More are coming of both, but nothing to announce at the moment."
Q--"will the cole legs work on the RR BAF. Will there be a way to make sure everyone gets a Lesnar."
A--"Yes, the Cole legs will work with Ricardo Rodriguez. Elite Brock will not be shortpacked so hopefully he'll be as available as any other Elite fig"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q--"We saw so much awesomeness at SDCC. Figures I was surprised to see. What was also surprising is not seeing an Elite Masked Kane, Jericho or Daniel Bryan. I was sure I would see those long before a Brock Lesnar."
A----"Let's put it this way - we were SOOOO excited about Brock Lesnar that we showed it super early"
Q--"Appreciate the honest answer about Liz. With her being short-packed will this provide any decent sense for you all about the possible success of including 80s-/90s-era managers in as Flashbacks? Sucks about the Legends line. Think the separate on-sale date hurt?"
A----"Yes if Elizabeth does really well at retail that will bode well for classic-era managers. As for the separate onsale, we don't think it made a difference. Arn Anderson was sync'd to the normal Matty onsale and to be honest it didn't make a difference. Tully Blanchard will also be sold on the next regular sale date of Sept 17"
Q--"what about people who don't live in the USA, how will we get our COO HHH"
A----"Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about this one. It's a TRU exclusive and it's only a US program. We wish it was possible to make it available to all, but it's not our call.."
Q--"Is Tamina coming soon end of 2012 maybe or 2013 ?"
A----"Our lips are sealed..."
Q--"It would be great if the elite line had a build a flashback in each series"
A----"Short answer is if we do a build-a-figure then the retail price goes up. We think Elites are too expensive as it is so we'd rather not allow that to happen."
Q--"Just wondering if this could be a RSC exclusive or something someday? An Ultimate Maniacs 2 pack would make people happy"
A----"Great idea and if we were to do a Legends 2-pack again that's the kind of thing we would do."
Q--"the new Elite Dolph is amazing, but he no longer wares those boots, he wares ones similar to the basic 15 Brodus Clay action figure, Elite 8 Drew, elite 9 Ryder,is it to late to change it."
A----"It's possible that change has already been made but if not it's because it was too late. This happens all the time with our Elite figures because they have such long lead times. We'll update it for the next one."
Q--"the elite JERRY LAWLER looks very similar to elite 4 finlay, the head looks like him too, could you post high res pictures of Lawler so we can see him better"
A----"We'll post higher res pictures on Facebook, WWE.com, the microsite here, etc when we get them. But we can tell you it's a completely different sculpt. We actually went through a lot of revisions with WWE to get his likeness right. It was a tough one to crack"
Q--"What are the M.U.S.C.L.E styled figures?"
A----"It's an experiment at this point, but maybe it will turn into something in the future? Let us know what you think..."
Q--"The Elite 19 Brock Lesnar is going to be current. Will there be a Brock Lesnar in Flashback packaging in a future series?"
A----"Very possibly, though we'd want to space out our Lesnars by a few months so as not to flood the market."
______________________________________________________
Updated for Thursday August 30th 2012
Q--"we have slimer & robin. We have Battle-Cat on the way. Im hoping to see Stay Puft, Riddler and/or Sinestro attires some day.
BUT..... Tonite @ MITB Kofi wore the sickest attire ever. SKELETOR.
please put this one in ur back pocket for a 2013 Kofi.
Did Mattel know Kofi was going to wear this?? Or even encouraged him to do so?"
A--"We have definitely encouraged both Kofi and Rey Mysterio to wear outfits based on Mattel properties like MOTU or Mattel licensees like DC since that makes it much easier for us to recreate them in product. But we don't see their specific choices until they debut."
Q--"You guys showed two great figures at SDCC. I want that Teddy Long and John Lauranitis figures!
What assortments will they be in exactly? I'm guessing they'll be available late this year or early 2013, but I really want to know what specific assortment?"
A--"Those are both Build-a-Figs that will be included in the TRU "Best of PPV" assortments in 2013. TL will be with the basic assortment and JL will be with the Elite assortment"
Q--"at sdcc bill the toy designer said if enough interest is generated its possible that magnum t.a might get made. now isnt it the collectors fan interest that got ddp and bundy (who sold poorly) into the top 5 and got magnum t.a the 6th vote?
does anyone really think that magnum t.a is gonna sell any better than wrestlers who got higher amounts of votes just because the same fans who voted flood the internet with requests to release his figure?"
A--"We wouldn't expect Magnum TA to do any better than DDP as an exclusive Legend on MattyCollector...and that's the reason we're not doing exclusive Legends on MattyCollector anymore. But we are doing Flashbacks in the mainline Elite Collection assortment so that's probably what Bill M was referring to"
Q--"It sucked that the Defining Moments were canceled. Who were the guys that mattel was planing to make in series 6? If anyone"
A--"Interestingly, Cena and Hart were actually wave 6. We cancelled wave 5, which was Randy Savage from WrestleMania 3 and Rey Mysterio from the Bash 2009. Now you know..."
Q--"Matty Legends. Would it be possible for you to put these figures on MattelShop to try to help clear them out or have a sale where you can buy Andre,DDP,Bundy and the Busters with free shipping or a discounted price?"
A--"No plans to do anything like that at this time."
Q--" YOU PROMISED US AN ANSWER AT SDCC FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLECTORS BUT NOTHING WAS MENTIONED...!"
A--"MattelShop now offers international shipping. Next up is we're trying to get some Elite figures (the rarer ones) available on MattyCollector. This way international collectors can get the figures they want without paying the higher Mattelshop shipping prices."
Q--"1- Are you going to make a kharma figure even though she is no longer with the wwe?
2- When will the John Laurinatis and Teddy Long figures be released? And what series will they be in? Build a Figure or Elite?
3- Are the Ryback and Damien Sandow figure going to be released this year or in 2013"
A--"1. Nope.
2. Both will be build-a-figures as part of the Toys "R" Us "Best of PPV" waves. TL will be in the Basic assortment and JL will be in the Elite assortment
3. 2013 - that's as fast as we can go.
By the way, here's a collecting tip: we released Ryback as Skip Sheffield in Basic Figs Series 11 back in 2011. Find it if you can!"
Q--"Flashbacks alternating one two one?"
A--"It's random. Depends on what current superstars we're looking to get into the marketplace as well."
Q--"I just received my elite sin cara, and I think that the body suits rey more than the one that is currently used, would you consider using the sin cara body mold for rey mysterio, also rey has a couple of new tattoos in his arms, will we see them on a figure"
A--"Definitely adding the new tattoos. For Rey's torso we're in the process of figuring out what we're going to do now that he's wearing a shirt."
Q--"Why did Mattel stop making 1 of 1000 figures?"
A--"That was a promotion for the launch of our line in 2010. We may do something like it again in the future but nothing to announce at the moment."
Q--"Will the new flashback HBK have all of the event specific accessories (chaps w/ entrance gear, etc.) and will this be the only flashback HBK or will there be more down the road?"
A--"We'll be debuting the product details later.
And we would never rule out the possibility of more Flashback HBKs down the line."
Q--"What are the chances of getting more Legends tag teams made in 2 pack form, or separately in Flashback form?
Any chance of seeing the Rock & Roll Express made by Mattel? Or the Midnight Express?"
A--"Legends 2-packs have done very poorly in the past so it'll be tough to justify. But we're looking at finding a way to do another one or two."
Q--"Will we get a special Raw 1000 line? It could have a BAF of Bryan or AJ. Also will could have a box set of DX. So will you do a Raw 1000 set like you do with Wrestlemania"
A--"The answer is no because, as big a deal RAW 1000 was at the time, it's already old news. If we were to have done a line it wouldn't come out until 2013 sometime at which point it would be even more obsolete."
Q--"I would like to know if you are going to make an Elite figure of Jinder Mahal with his entrance coat and turbant"
A--"Nothing to announce at the moment but that's definitely a possibility."
Q--"does Mattel have any plans in the works to release the Hardcore Title?"
A--"We intend to continue releasing figure-scale replicas of classic WWE championships.
There's your non-specific answer."
Q--"magnum T.A. its created a bit of a buzz in the online community, have you guys been following that? is that pushing you guys to have a clear view of releasing the figure to the masses
or to finally clear the dust and say you guys are.not releasing him"
A--"We follow it and it does influence our decisions. We would never officially decide *not* to release him. It would just be a matter of slotting him in a wave, which has not happened yet."
Q--"seriously any plans on signing xpac mr *** and the dogg?"
A--"Can't comment on any contract stuff"
Q--"so next year we will get 2 BAFs
is it one in the sping one in the fall?
will they both be exclusive to toys r us?"
A--"Actually there will be FOUR BAFs in 2013. Teddy and Johnny will both be in the Spring "Best of PPV" assortments at Toys "R" Us (TL in basics and JL in Elites).
In the Fall there are plans to do two more"
Q--"Is there any plans on a Rock Flashback figure"
A--"That would make a lot of sense"
Q--"You said a while ago these could be possible via a download service on matty.com, i see a download section in the awesome new wwe mini site does this mean name tags are coming soon...?"
A--"Our fingers are crossed that yes, they will be available there in the not-too-distant future."
Q--"will we get a Flashback Brock Lesnar from his debut, or 2002 title reign?"
A--"Your wish is our command.
Right now we're focusing on getting Brock out there in our regular lines including basics, Elites and yes, Rumblers. We'd definitely consider a Flashback a little further down the line."
Q--"I was wondering if there is anyway we could get more images for the Stage. They can either start coming with figures, or maybe be downloadable printouts from the WWE mini site here on Matty like the name tags are going to be."
A--"OK, this is the value of these forums.
We had discussed putting additional images for the Entrance Stage up on MattyCollector as downloadable content a few months ago, but it kind of fell by the wayside. We're busy people, and we basically forgot. Oops.
Based on this post, we've re-kicked off the project and are already pulling images from the WWE art bank. Let's see how quickly we can get them up on Matty (still lots of hoops to jump through both here and with WWE"
Q--"Please put the display stands back on sale Matty!"
A--"Agreed. They'll be back up soon."
Q--"Are you planning on making another jinder mahal figure. I was wondering because I want a mahal figure but the headscan for his series 19 figure doesnt even look like him"
A--"It'll probably be a while. He was a challenging guy to get the likeness correct"
Q--"Could we possibly get an old school or classic WWE or WCW or ECW, etc. rings?"
A--"No plans to do classic rings at the moment, but possibly in the future!"
Q--"Any chance we might see an LJN-style repaint of Miss Elizabeth? With or without a new skirt, seems pretty doable, maybe as an RSC exclusive?
(A Hasbro/LJN-stye mail-away repaint of Sgt. Slaughter would be most welcome, too"
A--"Definitely possible on both accounts down the line"
Q--"At SDCC, the MattelDesignTeam said they had a new ankle joint for future figures so as to avoid the so common loose ankle joints. From which series should we have these new joints?"
A--"The change has already been made. It's not a new ankle joint per se, it's just a new QC process to lessen the instances of loose joints. In other words, we're making sure the factory tightens them more.
Of course we can never completely eliminate factory errors but this was a good step and we've noticed the results on our end."
Q--"Is there any possibility of an Elite Hunico figure coming with his bicycle?"
A--"That would be a great accessory, but unfortunately probably too expensive."
Q--"There is a huge hole in my collection without having the Junkyard Dog. I wanted to know if there is some consideration for an appearance in the elite flashbacks in the year to come?"
A--"Anyone who could have been in Legends is eligible for a Flashback figure, so yes, he's in consideration."
Q--"Besides the obvious ones that everyone wants, the cool looking gimmick guys. If you had no constraints from the WWE, from a design point what guys would you like to do"
A--"You'll get different answers if you ask different people at Mattel but for us it'd be Doink and Mantaur"
Q--"There seems to be a lot of confusion about the Elite 18 Lawler. I just want to know if he will be in flashback packaging?"
A--"Yes he will!"
Q--"Is there any way the Legends will be put into the Legends packaging?"
A--"Unfortunately yes, we have retired the Legends packaging"
Q--"how come an Alberto Del Rio Elite Series 14 figure is selling for 29.99 on shopmattel.com, but John Cena Elite Series 14 is selling for 15.99? "
A--"That's a mistake. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. We let the MattelShop folks know and hopefully they'll rectify it ASAP."
Q--"Does the TRU exclusive shirtless Bane Movie Master use WWE parts?"
A--"Nope. We don't share parts with any other brand."
________________________________________________________
AUG 31st
Q--"With you retiring the packaging, with the exception of Bundy, Arn, and Tully. I will stop buying your figures. Maybe you guys should pull a Flair and unretire the packaging."
A--"You never know - maybe we will unretire the Legends packaging one day."
Q--"Is it feasible for you guys to make selected figs based on us pre-ordering? Like a smaller, maybe 4 figure flashback legends set on matty?"
A--"Glad you can see that we're trying. A pre-order is an interesting idea and we are looking at it. "
Q--"Your Legends from the Basics Series of Warrior, Hart and HBK seem to be popular. Any chance we could see a Jake Roberts (in tights from his mania 8 match with undertaker would be awesome) , Purple Undertaker or Doink the Clown, or maybe a barefoot Jimmy Snuka or Camo Sgt Slaughter or long haired Rude with IC Title in the basic line?.."
A--"There are more Legends basics in the works, but that's all we'll say for now."
Q--"How about if you take orders on a flashback figure and if you get enough orders you make the figure. "
A--"it's very tough for people to buy something they won't receive for a whole year, especially when it's as small a purchase as an action figure. The second is that we're not legally able to collect money so far in advance (again it would be about a year) and we can't force people to pay even though the promised to. So there is no guaranteed way for us collect preorders on items we haven't produced yet.
So essentially this would be a vote, and we've tried that already. "
Q--"Layla had mentioned something of having a new action figure in the works, clad with her infinity logo-ed gear, during her interview with RSC at Comic-Con this year. Is she getting the Elite treatment like Kelly Kelly or will she be one of the next Diva figures in the Basic line following behind Eve in Series 25?"
A--"Stay tuned..."
Q--"Antonio Cesaro and Aksana Battle Pack?"
A--"Not impossible, but not super likely either. You'll get an AC single fig way before something like this would happen."
Q--"Glow in the Dark figures?"
A--"We've actually been investigating this and are looking to include some glow-in-the-dark element in an upcoming 2013 Elite figure. It's not Undertaker, but can you guess which one?
We should note that it's still in the experimental phase for costing, performance, etc so it's not a guarantee yet."
Q--"Why no Cactus or Dude in Elite 17?"
A--"Saving those for later!"
Q--"Does anyone know when Toys R Us will begin selling the WWE Wrestlemania 28 action figure series, and what the roster will be?"
A--"We got right to work on those after WrestleMania and even though we use a compressed schedule it takes time. You should see them on shelf at TRU in September or October.
Here are the line-ups:
Basics
Cena
Rock
Sheamus
Triple H
(all of these include parts to build an announcer table)
Elite
Miz
Punk
Big Show
Shawn Michaels (in referee garb)
(all of these include parts to build Ricardo Rodriguez)
We are also doing an Elite Undertaker 20-0 Edition (with shaved head) as an exclusive figure that will appear later in the year as part of the annual "Big Toy Book" in the US."
A----"He's in Series 19. Our lips are sealed regarding other plans."
Q--"Junk Yard Dog
Big John Studd
Honky Tonk Man
Greg The Hammer Valentine
Jim The Anvil Niedhart
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake
KoKo B.Ware
My question to you is, is there any chance of Mattel making a few or any of the wrestling legends that I have mentioned above? Or is that era of wrestling done with as far as you making any more figures for?"
A--"Short answer is we are definitely not moving away from classic WWF-era guys and we can confirm that we have at least one of the guys you mention slated for a Flashback in mid-2013."
Q--"I am looking forward to the big evil Undertaker in Elite 18 but will we see a flashback undertaker from his earlier days? I see there is a debut undertaker in basic form but I was hoping for an elite with his early 90's look in purple or grey gloves. That type of Undertaker look."
A--"We're excited to do more versions of Undertaker since he's one of the most iconic guys of all. Nothing to announce at the moment but you can be sure we will do more versions of him in the future."
Q--"Do you think if you started the legends line in basics like Jakks had done with the CS line and had everything in one form would it have fared better?"
A--"As for the the Legends What if?" scenario, your guess is as good as ours""
Q--"Warrior & Savage. I gotta ask, when will be the next time these guys get releases?"
A--"More are coming of both, but nothing to announce at the moment."
Q--"will the cole legs work on the RR BAF. Will there be a way to make sure everyone gets a Lesnar."
A--"Yes, the Cole legs will work with Ricardo Rodriguez. Elite Brock will not be shortpacked so hopefully he'll be as available as any other Elite fig"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q--"We saw so much awesomeness at SDCC. Figures I was surprised to see. What was also surprising is not seeing an Elite Masked Kane, Jericho or Daniel Bryan. I was sure I would see those long before a Brock Lesnar."
A----"Let's put it this way - we were SOOOO excited about Brock Lesnar that we showed it super early"
Q--"Appreciate the honest answer about Liz. With her being short-packed will this provide any decent sense for you all about the possible success of including 80s-/90s-era managers in as Flashbacks? Sucks about the Legends line. Think the separate on-sale date hurt?"
A----"Yes if Elizabeth does really well at retail that will bode well for classic-era managers. As for the separate onsale, we don't think it made a difference. Arn Anderson was sync'd to the normal Matty onsale and to be honest it didn't make a difference. Tully Blanchard will also be sold on the next regular sale date of Sept 17"
Q--"what about people who don't live in the USA, how will we get our COO HHH"
A----"Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about this one. It's a TRU exclusive and it's only a US program. We wish it was possible to make it available to all, but it's not our call.."
Q--"Is Tamina coming soon end of 2012 maybe or 2013 ?"
A----"Our lips are sealed..."
Q--"It would be great if the elite line had a build a flashback in each series"
A----"Short answer is if we do a build-a-figure then the retail price goes up. We think Elites are too expensive as it is so we'd rather not allow that to happen."
Q--"Just wondering if this could be a RSC exclusive or something someday? An Ultimate Maniacs 2 pack would make people happy"
A----"Great idea and if we were to do a Legends 2-pack again that's the kind of thing we would do."
Q--"the new Elite Dolph is amazing, but he no longer wares those boots, he wares ones similar to the basic 15 Brodus Clay action figure, Elite 8 Drew, elite 9 Ryder,is it to late to change it."
A----"It's possible that change has already been made but if not it's because it was too late. This happens all the time with our Elite figures because they have such long lead times. We'll update it for the next one."
Q--"the elite JERRY LAWLER looks very similar to elite 4 finlay, the head looks like him too, could you post high res pictures of Lawler so we can see him better"
A----"We'll post higher res pictures on Facebook, WWE.com, the microsite here, etc when we get them. But we can tell you it's a completely different sculpt. We actually went through a lot of revisions with WWE to get his likeness right. It was a tough one to crack"
Q--"What are the M.U.S.C.L.E styled figures?"
A----"It's an experiment at this point, but maybe it will turn into something in the future? Let us know what you think..."
Q--"The Elite 19 Brock Lesnar is going to be current. Will there be a Brock Lesnar in Flashback packaging in a future series?"
A----"Very possibly, though we'd want to space out our Lesnars by a few months so as not to flood the market."
______________________________________________________
Updated for Thursday August 30th 2012
Q--"we have slimer & robin. We have Battle-Cat on the way. Im hoping to see Stay Puft, Riddler and/or Sinestro attires some day.
BUT..... Tonite @ MITB Kofi wore the sickest attire ever. SKELETOR.
please put this one in ur back pocket for a 2013 Kofi.
Did Mattel know Kofi was going to wear this?? Or even encouraged him to do so?"
A--"We have definitely encouraged both Kofi and Rey Mysterio to wear outfits based on Mattel properties like MOTU or Mattel licensees like DC since that makes it much easier for us to recreate them in product. But we don't see their specific choices until they debut."
Q--"You guys showed two great figures at SDCC. I want that Teddy Long and John Lauranitis figures!
What assortments will they be in exactly? I'm guessing they'll be available late this year or early 2013, but I really want to know what specific assortment?"
A--"Those are both Build-a-Figs that will be included in the TRU "Best of PPV" assortments in 2013. TL will be with the basic assortment and JL will be with the Elite assortment"
Q--"at sdcc bill the toy designer said if enough interest is generated its possible that magnum t.a might get made. now isnt it the collectors fan interest that got ddp and bundy (who sold poorly) into the top 5 and got magnum t.a the 6th vote?
does anyone really think that magnum t.a is gonna sell any better than wrestlers who got higher amounts of votes just because the same fans who voted flood the internet with requests to release his figure?"
A--"We wouldn't expect Magnum TA to do any better than DDP as an exclusive Legend on MattyCollector...and that's the reason we're not doing exclusive Legends on MattyCollector anymore. But we are doing Flashbacks in the mainline Elite Collection assortment so that's probably what Bill M was referring to"
Q--"It sucked that the Defining Moments were canceled. Who were the guys that mattel was planing to make in series 6? If anyone"
A--"Interestingly, Cena and Hart were actually wave 6. We cancelled wave 5, which was Randy Savage from WrestleMania 3 and Rey Mysterio from the Bash 2009. Now you know..."
Q--"Matty Legends. Would it be possible for you to put these figures on MattelShop to try to help clear them out or have a sale where you can buy Andre,DDP,Bundy and the Busters with free shipping or a discounted price?"
A--"No plans to do anything like that at this time."
Q--" YOU PROMISED US AN ANSWER AT SDCC FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLECTORS BUT NOTHING WAS MENTIONED...!"
A--"MattelShop now offers international shipping. Next up is we're trying to get some Elite figures (the rarer ones) available on MattyCollector. This way international collectors can get the figures they want without paying the higher Mattelshop shipping prices."
Q--"1- Are you going to make a kharma figure even though she is no longer with the wwe?
2- When will the John Laurinatis and Teddy Long figures be released? And what series will they be in? Build a Figure or Elite?
3- Are the Ryback and Damien Sandow figure going to be released this year or in 2013"
A--"1. Nope.
2. Both will be build-a-figures as part of the Toys "R" Us "Best of PPV" waves. TL will be in the Basic assortment and JL will be in the Elite assortment
3. 2013 - that's as fast as we can go.
By the way, here's a collecting tip: we released Ryback as Skip Sheffield in Basic Figs Series 11 back in 2011. Find it if you can!"
Q--"Flashbacks alternating one two one?"
A--"It's random. Depends on what current superstars we're looking to get into the marketplace as well."
Q--"I just received my elite sin cara, and I think that the body suits rey more than the one that is currently used, would you consider using the sin cara body mold for rey mysterio, also rey has a couple of new tattoos in his arms, will we see them on a figure"
A--"Definitely adding the new tattoos. For Rey's torso we're in the process of figuring out what we're going to do now that he's wearing a shirt."
Q--"Why did Mattel stop making 1 of 1000 figures?"
A--"That was a promotion for the launch of our line in 2010. We may do something like it again in the future but nothing to announce at the moment."
Q--"Will the new flashback HBK have all of the event specific accessories (chaps w/ entrance gear, etc.) and will this be the only flashback HBK or will there be more down the road?"
A--"We'll be debuting the product details later.
And we would never rule out the possibility of more Flashback HBKs down the line."
Q--"What are the chances of getting more Legends tag teams made in 2 pack form, or separately in Flashback form?
Any chance of seeing the Rock & Roll Express made by Mattel? Or the Midnight Express?"
A--"Legends 2-packs have done very poorly in the past so it'll be tough to justify. But we're looking at finding a way to do another one or two."
Q--"Will we get a special Raw 1000 line? It could have a BAF of Bryan or AJ. Also will could have a box set of DX. So will you do a Raw 1000 set like you do with Wrestlemania"
A--"The answer is no because, as big a deal RAW 1000 was at the time, it's already old news. If we were to have done a line it wouldn't come out until 2013 sometime at which point it would be even more obsolete."
Q--"I would like to know if you are going to make an Elite figure of Jinder Mahal with his entrance coat and turbant"
A--"Nothing to announce at the moment but that's definitely a possibility."
Q--"does Mattel have any plans in the works to release the Hardcore Title?"
A--"We intend to continue releasing figure-scale replicas of classic WWE championships.
There's your non-specific answer."
Q--"magnum T.A. its created a bit of a buzz in the online community, have you guys been following that? is that pushing you guys to have a clear view of releasing the figure to the masses
or to finally clear the dust and say you guys are.not releasing him"
A--"We follow it and it does influence our decisions. We would never officially decide *not* to release him. It would just be a matter of slotting him in a wave, which has not happened yet."
Q--"seriously any plans on signing xpac mr *** and the dogg?"
A--"Can't comment on any contract stuff"
Q--"so next year we will get 2 BAFs
is it one in the sping one in the fall?
will they both be exclusive to toys r us?"
A--"Actually there will be FOUR BAFs in 2013. Teddy and Johnny will both be in the Spring "Best of PPV" assortments at Toys "R" Us (TL in basics and JL in Elites).
In the Fall there are plans to do two more"
Q--"Is there any plans on a Rock Flashback figure"
A--"That would make a lot of sense"
Q--"You said a while ago these could be possible via a download service on matty.com, i see a download section in the awesome new wwe mini site does this mean name tags are coming soon...?"
A--"Our fingers are crossed that yes, they will be available there in the not-too-distant future."
Q--"will we get a Flashback Brock Lesnar from his debut, or 2002 title reign?"
A--"Your wish is our command.
Right now we're focusing on getting Brock out there in our regular lines including basics, Elites and yes, Rumblers. We'd definitely consider a Flashback a little further down the line."
Q--"I was wondering if there is anyway we could get more images for the Stage. They can either start coming with figures, or maybe be downloadable printouts from the WWE mini site here on Matty like the name tags are going to be."
A--"OK, this is the value of these forums.
We had discussed putting additional images for the Entrance Stage up on MattyCollector as downloadable content a few months ago, but it kind of fell by the wayside. We're busy people, and we basically forgot. Oops.
Based on this post, we've re-kicked off the project and are already pulling images from the WWE art bank. Let's see how quickly we can get them up on Matty (still lots of hoops to jump through both here and with WWE"
Q--"Please put the display stands back on sale Matty!"
A--"Agreed. They'll be back up soon."
Q--"Are you planning on making another jinder mahal figure. I was wondering because I want a mahal figure but the headscan for his series 19 figure doesnt even look like him"
A--"It'll probably be a while. He was a challenging guy to get the likeness correct"
Q--"Could we possibly get an old school or classic WWE or WCW or ECW, etc. rings?"
A--"No plans to do classic rings at the moment, but possibly in the future!"
Q--"Any chance we might see an LJN-style repaint of Miss Elizabeth? With or without a new skirt, seems pretty doable, maybe as an RSC exclusive?
(A Hasbro/LJN-stye mail-away repaint of Sgt. Slaughter would be most welcome, too"
A--"Definitely possible on both accounts down the line"
Q--"At SDCC, the MattelDesignTeam said they had a new ankle joint for future figures so as to avoid the so common loose ankle joints. From which series should we have these new joints?"
A--"The change has already been made. It's not a new ankle joint per se, it's just a new QC process to lessen the instances of loose joints. In other words, we're making sure the factory tightens them more.
Of course we can never completely eliminate factory errors but this was a good step and we've noticed the results on our end."
Q--"Is there any possibility of an Elite Hunico figure coming with his bicycle?"
A--"That would be a great accessory, but unfortunately probably too expensive."
Q--"There is a huge hole in my collection without having the Junkyard Dog. I wanted to know if there is some consideration for an appearance in the elite flashbacks in the year to come?"
A--"Anyone who could have been in Legends is eligible for a Flashback figure, so yes, he's in consideration."
Q--"Besides the obvious ones that everyone wants, the cool looking gimmick guys. If you had no constraints from the WWE, from a design point what guys would you like to do"
A--"You'll get different answers if you ask different people at Mattel but for us it'd be Doink and Mantaur"
Q--"There seems to be a lot of confusion about the Elite 18 Lawler. I just want to know if he will be in flashback packaging?"
A--"Yes he will!"
Q--"Is there any way the Legends will be put into the Legends packaging?"
A--"Unfortunately yes, we have retired the Legends packaging"
Q--"how come an Alberto Del Rio Elite Series 14 figure is selling for 29.99 on shopmattel.com, but John Cena Elite Series 14 is selling for 15.99? "
A--"That's a mistake. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. We let the MattelShop folks know and hopefully they'll rectify it ASAP."
Q--"Does the TRU exclusive shirtless Bane Movie Master use WWE parts?"
A--"Nope. We don't share parts with any other brand."
________________________________________________________
AUG 31st
Q--"With you retiring the packaging, with the exception of Bundy, Arn, and Tully. I will stop buying your figures. Maybe you guys should pull a Flair and unretire the packaging."
A--"You never know - maybe we will unretire the Legends packaging one day."
Q--"Is it feasible for you guys to make selected figs based on us pre-ordering? Like a smaller, maybe 4 figure flashback legends set on matty?"
A--"Glad you can see that we're trying. A pre-order is an interesting idea and we are looking at it. "
Q--"Your Legends from the Basics Series of Warrior, Hart and HBK seem to be popular. Any chance we could see a Jake Roberts (in tights from his mania 8 match with undertaker would be awesome) , Purple Undertaker or Doink the Clown, or maybe a barefoot Jimmy Snuka or Camo Sgt Slaughter or long haired Rude with IC Title in the basic line?.."
A--"There are more Legends basics in the works, but that's all we'll say for now."
Q--"How about if you take orders on a flashback figure and if you get enough orders you make the figure. "
A--"it's very tough for people to buy something they won't receive for a whole year, especially when it's as small a purchase as an action figure. The second is that we're not legally able to collect money so far in advance (again it would be about a year) and we can't force people to pay even though the promised to. So there is no guaranteed way for us collect preorders on items we haven't produced yet.
So essentially this would be a vote, and we've tried that already. "
Q--"Layla had mentioned something of having a new action figure in the works, clad with her infinity logo-ed gear, during her interview with RSC at Comic-Con this year. Is she getting the Elite treatment like Kelly Kelly or will she be one of the next Diva figures in the Basic line following behind Eve in Series 25?"
A--"Stay tuned..."
Q--"Antonio Cesaro and Aksana Battle Pack?"
A--"Not impossible, but not super likely either. You'll get an AC single fig way before something like this would happen."
Q--"Glow in the Dark figures?"
A--"We've actually been investigating this and are looking to include some glow-in-the-dark element in an upcoming 2013 Elite figure. It's not Undertaker, but can you guess which one?
We should note that it's still in the experimental phase for costing, performance, etc so it's not a guarantee yet."
Q--"Why no Cactus or Dude in Elite 17?"
A--"Saving those for later!"
Q--"Does anyone know when Toys R Us will begin selling the WWE Wrestlemania 28 action figure series, and what the roster will be?"
A--"We got right to work on those after WrestleMania and even though we use a compressed schedule it takes time. You should see them on shelf at TRU in September or October.
Here are the line-ups:
Basics
Cena
Rock
Sheamus
Triple H
(all of these include parts to build an announcer table)
Elite
Miz
Punk
Big Show
Shawn Michaels (in referee garb)
(all of these include parts to build Ricardo Rodriguez)
We are also doing an Elite Undertaker 20-0 Edition (with shaved head) as an exclusive figure that will appear later in the year as part of the annual "Big Toy Book" in the US."
