Matty and Toy Guru check back in during the midst of Fall Toy Fair to give us some great answers, and a couple of updates. Wanna know when DC Universe Classics series 8 will be revealed? Read on!
1. What is the most difficult aspect of brining a DCUC figure to market? That is to say, what point of the production process brings the most challenges? What is most enjoyable part? As there been a particular figure that brought some unique development challenge?
Keeping fresh product (new characters) on shelf has proven one of the more difficult areas of this toy line. Because we are constantly trying to improve product and work with our overseas vendor on small details we want to get right (like paint ops or articulation points) that came sometimes slow down product from getting to market when we want. (which is one reason we try not to announce new product until it is almost ready to ship).
The most enjoyable for the team is working with DC Comics, Warner Bros. and the Horsemen on character selection. We all have our favorites and it is sometimes a square off between a character we want and what makes sense for the line and for growth.
Wonder Woman has been the greatest challenge thus far. Everyone involved worked hard to create a perfect representation of the most iconic heroine in the DCU (and probably the world)- a terrific (and daunting!) challenge! Male characters are always easier than females because of the subtleties involved, but Wonder Woman took things to a new level. The Four Horsemen captured the perfect balance of beauty and strength in their sculpt, crafting one of the very best (if not THE best) female heads ever. Special attention was paid to get the hair just right. The face paint was revised multiple times to make sure that Diana’s face wasn’t overly made- up, but instead captures the subtlety of the paint master. The final result is a figure that we hope fans will look at and not think "that’s a great toy of Wonder Woman" but instead "that’s a great Wonder Woman"!
2. 2009 is right around the corner and at SDCC you announced that there would be 4 standard DCUC series and another Wal-Mart series at retail and quarterly Matty 2 packs. Can you give a rough estimate on how many figures/how much product we will see in ’09 as opposed to ’08. More? Lots more? Approximate number?
There will be 5 waves of DCUC figures with 7 figures each (including the Wal Mart Wave), about 7 “All Star” figure re-releases, 4 Matty.com 2 packs and a few other surprises. We’ll know a bit more after our fall Toy Fair in Oct when retailers place orders.
3. Will the DCUC Killer Moth have posable wings or will they be static? Also- will they be that cool translucent red like the 2-up at Comic Con?
Both! His wings will be movable and clear.
4. Can you tell us exactly how tall the MOTUC He-Man and Beastman will be? Greyskull size? Smaller?
All of the MOTUC figures will be 6” tall. Grayskull was just slightly larger.
5. So… DCUC series 8… any idea on when we might be seeing the reveal?
We will be revealing Wave 8 in November on MattyCollector.com.
*Thanks again to Toy Guru and Matty for taking time out of their busy schedules for us!
Additional Links