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Ask Matty – 2/2/8

New York Comic Con starts this week and Toy Guru and Matty have one last dish before the big show!mattel.gif

1. Here is a question about scale: since some of the more recent DCUC figures have had some scale issues (Sinestro, Big Barda and possibly Atom Smasher, in particular) what is being done to help with the scale discrepencies? We know that the Four Horsemen usually sculpt at the "2-up" size, but would it be feasible to have them sculpt at a 1:1 ratio? It seems like that would help cut back on some of the pantographing errors that have been occuring.

Sculpting at 2 up is what allows the Horsemen to create such amazing detail in the figures. Sinestro was not designed to be a little short but was the result of a production error. Big Barda needed to use some of Wonder Woman’s internal tooling to keep her on cost and Atom Smasher is a growing character and should be “in scale”. All of the marketing and design members working on DCU are huge fans of the comic property and we work every day to ensure the figures are as accurate as possible. Deep down we are all collectors (especially Toy Guru and Matty) so you do have folks on “your side” working very hard to ensure accuracy and perfection.

2. For MOTUC, Since you are going for a "retro" feel to this line will you be adding the "stink" to Stinkor and the "pine fresh scent" to Mossman when you get to these guys like their 80’s predecessors had?? In the same vein, will you use "flocking" on Mossman or just sculpting details to look like foliage in this case. I know that action features are not a part of the line, but do "flocked" and "smelly" fall outside of that?

It is likely we would not add a smell to Stinkor and Moss Man, but we are exploring a few options. As for Moss Man’s flocking, you’ll have to wait and see…

3. My question is about the JSA and DCUC. Some of the most important parts of the Society is the "legacy" aspect and the old guard training the new. Is Matty mindful of this, specifically with character selection? There are characters like Jay Garrick who has been around since the 1940s and also some great, younger lagacy characters like Liberty Belle, Stargirl and Cyclone all on the team right now. Can we expect to have a diverse team in figure form in DCUC? I really want an awesome JSA!

Absolutely. Matty is a huge fan of all aspects of the DC Universe and JSA has a special sweet spot for him. (he loved the recent World According to Gog story that wrapped up in December, how cool was that!) But we are also fans of the classic vintage issues and will definitely keep both old school and new Society characters in the line.

4. Has there been any consideration to doing some one-shot spinoff DCUC series now that the line is a bonafide success? To use the Marvel Legends Hulk series as an example, would something like a Green Lantern, Batman or Superman series outside of the normal diverse assortments be possible? A "World’s Finest" line for Superman and Batman characters would work great.

While we would love to do something like that, but the Horsemen can only produce so many figures in one year. Between DCUC, Movie Masters, MOTUC and now a new mystery line, we keep them very busy.

5. We know that Mattel and the Four Horsemen are diligently working on a secret new property that will be revealed at NYCC, can you give us a little preview since we are so close now? Is this a line for retail or Matty? When can we expect a full launch to the line?

We will reveal all of this the week before NYCC and more details at the show.

*Thanks to Matty and Toy Guru, see you guys in a couple of days!

 


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