Masters of the Universe Classics

[dedguy]

Snake Face looks really cool. I had told myself I was going to give up on getting all the Snakemen stuff but I may reconsider. I'm already fairly invested.

 

[Zodach]

Snake Face is awesome

Also, Mattel does pretty well with Monster High, Batman, WWE, and Fisher Price. Retailers eat that up.

 

[dedguy]

I don't know how it compares to other stuff but Barbie is ridiculous in terms of popularity. They have pretty much had a complete monopoly in that market forever.

Interestingly though they're starting to have the same problem Microsoft began having in the early 00s. They're increasingly loosing market share since the rest of the toy world finally realized "hey there's this whole other gender we have been ignoring that can generate us money".

 

[DPrime]

Snake Face looks okay. I guess he's just not my favourite Snake Man.

Mattel is #1 because Barbie is a thing you cannot kill no matter how stupid you are about it. It's kinda like how Microsoft was until their various market shares began to erode. Mattel has had a captive market for decades and haven't had to adapt or change to maintain that. They haven't had to develop anything new that their survival depended on for a very long time.

I just don't think it's as simple as them sitting on their laurels, that's all. Or ignoring money-making opportunities.

But who knows? Perhaps you are right... Still, I don't think Hasbro's (Mattel's Apple?) in any position to take over...

I know that WE all think MOTUC at retail would sell like hot cakes, but let's face it - we're pretty biased on that.

 

[JonWes]

Snake Face looks amazing up top, but I wish they had used Whiplash legs and put a bit of color on his legs. It seems odd how detailed he is on top compared to how plain he is on the bottom. Still, I think he's a cool figure overall.

 

[DPrime]

I don't know how it compares to other stuff but Barbie is ridiculous in terms of popularity. They have pretty much had a complete monopoly in that market forever.

Interestingly though they're starting to have the same problem Microsoft began having in the early 00s. They're increasingly loosing market share since the rest of the toy world finally realized "hey there's this whole other gender we have been ignoring that can generate us money".

Are they?

I will admit I am unaware. I'm really just playing devil's advocate here.

 

[EndoSickness]

It should be noted that this set apparently has been found to have encoding errors on Season Two, Disc Three of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, resulting in significant playback problems on a lot of players.

Mill Creek have offered a replacement disc to those affected by this issue, however ONLY WITHIN THE US and CANADA, so any international fans and collectors who import this set, only to find themselves with a faulty disc are shout of luck.

I don't know how widespread the faulty disc issue is, but it has certainly been confirmed by a lot of buyers thus far, and seems to result in three episodes on the disc in question being all but unplayable, so just thought I'd throw out a heads up for those thinking of buying. Particularly my fellow international fans.

Just checked the disc, started every episode.
All worked, but I keep the warning in the back of my head for other discs.
Thx anyhow, man.

 

[Kuzeh]

I don't know how it compares to other stuff but Barbie is ridiculous in terms of popularity. They have pretty much had a complete monopoly in that market forever.

Interestingly though they're starting to have the same problem Microsoft began having in the early 00s. They're increasingly loosing market share since the rest of the toy world finally realized "hey there's this whole other gender we have been ignoring that can generate us money".

Are they?

I will admit I am unaware. I'm really just playing devil's advocate here.

Actually, Mattel has outperformed Hasbro for the past 5 years...
so, in short... no

https://seekingalpha.com/article/1030191-mattel-or-hasbro-which-is-the-better-dividend-play

which will be a better dividend play in the future? The past performance suggests that, despite Hasbro's higher dividend yield and exceptionally robust dividend growth over the past five years, Mattel has outperformed Hasbro in terms of total returns. Hence, over the past five years, while Hasbro grew its dividends at a higher average annual rate of 18%, it achieved a lower total return averaging 10.2% per year. Mattel, which grew its dividends at a 14% annual rate over the past half-decade, achieved a total return of 17.2% per year. It should be noted that Mattel outperformed Hasbro in terms of total returns despite the latter's faster EPS growth over the past five years, which averaged nearly 17% per year, compared to 7.3% for Mattel. Now, in terms of total return on equity (ROE), Mattel's ROE is higher at 31% than Hasbro's at 24%.

Also check this article:

https://investorplace.com/2012/10/toy-maker-throwdown-hasbro-vs-mattel/

Mattel reported Q3 profits of $365.9 million, or $1.04 per share — a 22% jump from the year-ago period, and markedly better than the 99 cents per share that analysts expected. Revenues also grew a solid 4% to $2.08 billion even after factoring in a negative currency exchange.

Hasbro, on the other hand, was unable to break its recent downward trend. HAS reported a third-quarter profit of $164.9 million ($1.24 per share), down 3.5% from the year-ago period. Revenues also declined again — this time by 2.2% to $1.35 billion, which was $3 million less than expected.

 

[DPrime]

There you go, Hasbro sucks.

IF ONLY the 25th Anniversary line had been as good as MOTUC. IF ONLY...

At least we've got Takara for MP Transformers.

Despite some faults, Mattel has given us a darn fine product with MOTUC. I ain't complaining. Seems like their business model works, too.

 

[Ex-Parrot]

Just checked the disc, started every episode.
All worked, but I keep the warning in the back of my head for other discs.
Thx anyhow, man.

Glad yours is okay, pal.

Hopefully it doesn't affect too many people, but it sucks pretty hard that they won't ship replacement discs to customers that have been affected outside the US/Canada.

 

[EndoSickness]

Yeah, totally.

I remember the Superman DVD Anthology had a faulty, or wrong Superman III Disc, but there Warner was cool and provided my dealer with the new one, which I got.
Well, maybe it's not THAT of a widespread fault...

 

[The_Batmobile]

that set shall be mine. I never even knew it existed. I'm a dummy.

 

[koolkollectibleskhai]

You're off to a good start there, I think.

It's too bad that the four figures you've mentioned are pretty much the rest of the "key" characters. I suppose one could get away with not owning a Sorceress but the other three would definitely be holes in your collection.

Hey, you're not helping!!! Yeah, I know they'll be pretty obvious holes that I'll need to fill. Definitely on the hunt

 

[DPrime]

Hey, you're not helping!!! Yeah, I know they'll be pretty obvious holes that I'll need to fill. Definitely on the hunt

lol, sorry man, but it's true!

I'm likely to be in the same boat this year unless I'm really on the ball with trades and what not. But yeah, I am glad I jumped on the MOTUC early - right from the start!

 

[Kuzeh]

So TG just posted this:

Hey He Fans and She Ravers,

With a lot going on right now (Filmation, Castle, end of the Mayan Calendar etc...) I wanted to try and reach out and clear the air. Their are a lot of posts floating around and some concern that I hope I can clear up.

First off. Loud and clear. I know some fans/customers want the Castle to be larger or at the least as large as the initial B-sheet and foam model and dimensions given on the Castle's pre sale page. Now to bring this to the "legal base level" we did make it clear on the pre sale page that all size dimnesions were estimates and subject to change. The Castle from day one has been an unpresedented project. I mean come on, selling in a 6" playset from a drawing B sheet? Who does that? And having a fan base strong enough to make this a reality? Only He-Fans are that strong!

I wish we could make the Castle bigger, I really do. And I totally understand some fans/customers want this as well. Bottom line, is that based on the price of $250.00, the current sculpt is 100% the biggest we can get. Yes. It is an inch or two smaller than the dimensions given at presale. And 100% we still expect some changes to happen (not neccessarily to the size but possibly to some of the accessories). We are committed to making sure to update everyone as the process continues to be as upfront as possible on any changes coming through.

In no way is anyone trying to hoodwink or scam anyone. As I said. This entire process is very unprecendented. Change is inevitable. The Castle will continue to evolve but everyone working on it from me, to the Horsemen to Ruben and Mario from design and so forth are completely committed to devliering the best playset we possibly can. In no way do we expect to please 100% of the fans. With fans as passionate as MOTU fans, no one expects to do that. We are not secretly trying to bring down the brand. (never seem to understand where that comes from to tell you the truth!) Why would I do anything to prevent more cool MOTU collector product from being made? After all, I am a collector too you know!

And I know my answers can many times come across as "corporate". A lot of that is just circumstantial. Many of my answers have to go thorugh the "PR machine" and get approved. I try to joke it up when I can (like mentioning that the Flag can be placed in your fridge) but if my tone offends anyone, please just know that I don't have 100% control over messaging even I put out. If we are saying "no" to fan suggestions, it doesn't mean we disagree with the suggestion, it often just means it is just not something possible.

I often wish I had a magic wand and could just make the perfect toy happen. As is; we are fighting day in and day out to make the entire MOTUC line (including the Castle) the best it can be. I think when folks see the final model in San Diego, fears that the size is not up to snuff will be dilutted. Those who were in person at NYTF (i.e. Val, Dan) have been pretty vocal that the castle is huge. Yes, it is slightly smaller vs the foam model, but that is just part of the toy making process.

And to reassure everoyne that we are not trying to "pull a fast one" note that you can 100% cancel your order all the way through Aug 30 if in any way the ev er evolving playset does not meet your needs. (but note when you cancel, you can not then go back and reinstate, so do think carefully).

In the end, this is going to be an amazing peice and I hope will please the majority of fans. We are actively working on the following changes from what was shown at NYTF:

1: Adding a slot in the throne for the Sorceress' tail feathers.
2: Adding a slot/crack by the Jaw Bridge for the Power Sword (like in the mini comics)
3: Adding a key hole in the back door that fits Scareglow's key
4: Lowering the Jaw Bridge door into the base for a taller opening

Beyond that, their just is not time or resources to make changes. We 100% hear fans on many suggestions, but when we say "no we can't make that change" it is not meant as an insult, it is just letting fans/customers know that factually that change can't be made. If I gave the impression that the model shown in NY was going to change, then bad on me. But to be clear now, their won't be changes beyond what was shown and noted above. We hope everything shown in NY will be in the final toy, but their is always a chance things may change/get cut. If that does happen, we will be sure to let everyone know.

Looking ahead, boy do we have amazing things coming down! Club Filmation, SDCC exclusives (to be revealed in late Spring) and the 2014 line is shapping up well. I have worked with the team to create a new roadmap that if we get a 2014 and 2015 line should wrap up the vintage lines and most of the major fan requested animated figs. It doesn't mean we won't get to more in 2016 and beyond, but with rising costs we wanted to do all we can to get to the vintage line in the next two years.

A lot more is still to come in 2013. We won't know more about 2014 until after the sub sell in at SDCC this summer. I'll try to get on the boards this weekend and jump in on RGD if I can. We've got so much good stuff to look forward to, I am nothing but grinning ear to ear.

See you all on the boards!


Scott

As much as I'd like the Castle to be bigger, I'm cool with it to be honest... it's going to be awesome I'm sure!! !

 

[JonWes]

I thought that was a great post. And MOST of the people seem to be responding to it positively.

 

[Niceman]

I thought that was a great post. And MOST of the people seem to be responding to it positively.

The tone was better, but there wasn't any good news in it.

I'm just waiting until the final reveal to make any decisions.

 

[dedguy]

There's a lot in that which bums me out I could go through and explain all the things that bother me but… well… I won't for a few reasons. I just needed to express still being confused and bothered by the way they have handled this whole thing.

 

[teemu]

The tone was better, but there wasn't any good news in it.

I'm just waiting until the final reveal to make any decisions.

Same here

I'd imagine it if it doesn't change for the better,there may be ALOT of Cancellations.

Making the Door bigger is a good thing for sure.Hopefully they don't strip away too many accessories,though Toyguru also posted on Matty that the throne will NOT activate the trap door because it would cost too much to tool.

 

[JonWes]

Same here

I'd imagine it if it doesn't change for the better,there may be ALOT of Cancellations.

Making the Door bigger is a good thing for sure.Hopefully they don't strip away too many accessories,though Toyguru also posted on Matty that the throne will NOT activate the trap door because it would cost too much to tool.

But even the b-sheet didn't show it being activated by the throne. It was going to be activated by a candle holder. Guess now we'll probably just have a lever or something.