Modern Masters of the Universe

[drewlam]

I was a huge MOTU fan as a kid, and when the line re-launched (in 2002?) I was really excited to collect it.  Even though distribution was spotty I managed to get all the retail figures from the first few waves.  Starting with the buzz-off wave I missed a bunch, but wasn't too upset because I was getting burnt out from hunting.

Now that the DVD sets have been coming out, I've been watching with my 4 year old.  We've dug up all my figures and he's been playing with them.  It's reminded me how well done these figures were, and how sad it is that the line died prematurely.

With this announcement I'm really curious to see what Mattel does with this website.  It could be awesome, or just another source of increasing frustration with Mattel.

[evenflow]

If it is exclusive online i hope you just have to sign up once and just get the monthly figure.

I would prefer if the basic waves were sold in stores and the monthly figure was an exclusive / variant like Wonder Bread He-Man or Green Goddess.

[Brian]

Yeah, that would be quite a different experience if it was just a "sign up" type of subscription service.  I wonder how that would go over with a collecting community?  With Mattel's history of distribution problems, it might be welcome - but I suppose there are drawbacks as well.  I guess we don't know pricing info and all of that yet, but with all the nice stuff out there to get this year - I'd be ok with only one figure a month with this line.  Twelve figures a year (plus maybe an exclusive here and there I'm guessing) wouldn't be too terribly difficult to keep up with.  If the figures look good, I'm likely in for some of them at least.  Unless we're looking at $30 "collector" figures, then I couldn't afford that most likely.

[Brian]

Just as a heads up, but Mattel's Online Site/Store is up now...sort of.  Its just a countdown page right now (with some graphics/etc.), but it might be a place to bookmark as the store is supposed to go live on Monday from what I understand.  You can also sign up for their newsletter.

[evenflow]

Beastman looks pretty cool!

Beast Man and He-Man

[ruiner]

$20 a fig?

[Brian]

Those figures look pretty spiffy.  It does look like $20 a figure, which was sort of the cut off point for me.  I figured, up to $20, I might be interested still - so we'll see.  The fact that its only one a month helps a lot, and I have a feeling since this is a "collector line", they'll be spiffin up the packaging pretty nice too.  I look forward to seeing more from this line, and hopefully learning more about it at the MOTU panel (Friday?).  So far, looks pretty good though, as long as you can get them through their website without any problems.

[Ben]

Damn, $20 a fig is why I didn't buy the stactions. But these are action figures that come once a month, so bring 'em on. 

[Brian]

I see someone at the He-Man.org forums has some details on the upcoming MOTU Classics line.  It sounds like it starts in October (31st) with He-Man, then on the 15th every month after that.  After He-Man, it goes like this:

Beast Man (November)
Skeletor (December)
Stratos (January)
Merman (February)
Zodac (2009)

There's also a few pics up at TNI.

[evenflow]

The panel was cool. The room, myself included cheered at the idea of a subscription and were against random variants. We voted for 2 figures that month if a variant was planned.

It took my buying Grayskull 5 times but i finally got the Statue variant. I would have loved to have won the spirit figure but sadly i didn't.

I will post some pics when i get back home on saturday.

[Brian]

So, after getting a look at this line and some details on how it will be handled this weekend, is anyone buying in?  After seeing the pics of He-Man, Beastman, Merman, and Zodac online, they look pretty good to me.  The fact that they are $20 each kind of stinks, but at one per month, I think I can handle that.  I'll be picking up a few at least, or if the budget tightens up, at least He-Man and Skeletor.  Looks like a nice line, as long as the supply is there through their new website.

[ruiner]

Any word on when King Greyskull will show up for sale online?

Edit:  He's available now.

Link

[spiderpumpkin]

I just ordered 2 of the King Greyskull figures.  I hope I get 1 of each version.  Apparently they are sent in a sealed box and you may get the statue version.

[Ben]

I guess in a strange way, I'm glad King Grayskull is sold out already. I really don't need a $20-a-piece line to collect, even if it only is once a month.

I was hoping for a TRU-exclusive line, but if it's going to take months to build a decent line, I'm not all that interested in it.

[drewlam]

I'm somewhat interested.  My main concern is obviously cost.  $20 a fig once a month doesn't seem too bad - until you add shipping into the mix.  Then I think you're looking at closer to $30 a month for a single figure.