Ask KidRobot for The Muppets 3" Mini Figures

Luke

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Guys, as you may know Kidrobot make the brilliant 3" Simpsons mini figures (2 series so far) and are really into the whole idea of creating a "world" with accessories and stuff. The figures are great, really good detailed likeness with accessories. Here's an example :-

So i'd love them to do The Muppets in a similiar way to how Palisades did (but at 3") and yes there is Disney Vinylmation but they have mouse ears and aren't at retail. I heard from the guys at Kidrobot and they do actually collaborate with Disney and are interested in hearing some feedback on whether you would like a KidRobot Muppet line. So if you'd like to send your support or even have any opinions/suggestions everything will get passed on .. so please drop them an email at -​

 

matleo

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meh. This line doesn't do much for me. I think I would pass on Muppets done in this way. might be pick up the band, but probably not. I'd rather see something L ittle closer to what Palisades did.
 

Drtooth

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I do not want to see something Palisades style, Palisades like, or even stuff FROM former Palisades employees ever again. Here's why.

Those figures were amazing. I mean, other than the fact there were so many characters that deserve to get made that didn't (Sal, Clueless Morgan, Vet's Hospital variants to name a few) there are just so many that DID! And if we even got another line, even if it lasted 2 series (in this climate, it's almost impossible) we'd be grateful to even see heavy hitting secondaries like Swedish Chef and Beaker, let alone the entire Electric Mayhem band, Scooter, Pepe, and even Rowlf. Marvin Suggs and Lips would be completely out of the question now. I'm shocked Disney has 2 Link Hogthrob toys.

A line like the Palisades one couldn't last in this market. When you think that even the dinky G.I. Joe sized Star Wars and Marvel comics figures cost upward of 10 bucks (at least until the next fake oil shortage price increase), a Kermit exactly the same as the Series one Palisades one would cost almost 20 bucks! With the exception of toy collectors with a lot of disposable income, no one's gonna pick enough of that up long enough to further the line. Heck, we were lucky we got 9 lines and 4 Playsets when we did!

And over all, I don't want very huge Muppet figures again. Something slightly larger than FP scale, just not that much bigger... I mean, even if you had the money to collect these things, where would we put them.

KR's Simpsons/Family Guy/Futurama line size and scale (maybe without the SD stylization) wouldn't be terrible. I mean, I still poopoo the fake Japanese blind box releases (TRUE Japanese blind boxes come with candy half the time, and they have some nice highly detailed build-a-statues), and that would hurt a good collection (especially with fake rarities). Something similar with a window box would be great.

To get back to a prior topic, these things alone cost 10 bucks each. Imagine what they'd cost if they were much larger.
 

minor muppetz

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I am a little mixed on the idea. On one hand, if they are blindboxed, then they could put in as many obscure characters as possible, since the average buyer wouldn't know who they'd be getting until after purchasing. But on the other hand, I don't want to buy several without knowing who I'd be getting (and without knowing if I'm getting a double-dip or higher of a toy).

Still, perhaps they could have themed series of toys. Here's what I think could be done for three series of figures, with let's say 30 figures per series (I don't know what's normal for these kinds of things):

Series 1: Main characters and then some
  • Kermit the Frog
  • Fozzie Bear
  • Miss Piggy
  • Gonzo
  • Rowlf
  • Walter
  • Scooter
  • Bunsen Honeydew
  • Beaker
  • Lew Zealand
  • Pepe
  • Rizzo
  • Robin
  • Johnny Fiama
  • Sal
  • Bobo
  • Uncle Dealdey
  • Dr. Teeth
  • Floyd Pepper
  • Animal
  • Janice
  • Zoot
  • Lips
  • Miss Poogy
  • Kermit's "Moopets" counterpart
  • Rowlf's "Moopets" counterpart
  • Janice's "Moopets" counterpart
  • Fozzie Bear as Foozie
  • Statler
  • Waldorf

Series 2: More major characters, variants, and minor characters
  • Sam the Eagle
  • Sweetums
  • Thog
  • Timmy Monster
  • Digit
  • Leon
  • Clifford
  • Bean Bunny
  • Seymour (elevador attire)
  • Pepe (elevador attire)
  • Penguin
  • Camilla
  • Rat
  • First Mate Miss Piggy
  • Captain Link Hogthrob
  • Dr. Strangepork
  • J.P. Grosse
  • Nigel (the director)
  • The Swedish Chef
  • Angus McGonacle
  • Mahna Mahna
  • Snowth
  • Pops
  • Dr. Bob
  • Nurse Piggy
  • Nurse Janice
  • Kermit (in tuxedo)
  • Scooter (in shiney outfit from "Six String Orchestra" number)
  • Annie Sue Pig
  • Bobo (in suit)

Series 3: Muppet Treasure Island
  • Captain Smollet
  • Benjamina Gunn
  • Squire Twelany
  • Dr. Livesey
  • Beaker
  • Sweetums
  • Cabin Boy Gonzo
  • Cabin Boy Rizzo
  • Spa'am
  • Polly Lobster
  • Mad Monty
  • Clueless Morgan
  • Old Tom
  • Real Old Tom
  • Dead Tom
  • Wall-Eyed Pike
  • Tribal Pig
  • Tribal Link
  • Tourist Rat #1
  • Tourist Rat #2
  • Sam Arrow
  • Ghost of Sam Arrow
  • Blind Pew
  • Black Dog
  • Dr. Teeth
  • Floyd
  • Animal
  • Zoot
  • Janice
  • The Swedish Chef (with pig nose)

That third one lists almost every important Muppet from MTI, except for Statler and Waldorf as figureheads, and except for some pirates reused from Fraggle Rock (and Jaques Roach, as I don't know if he'd be owned by Henson or Disney, considering he had a major role on Animal Show under a different name), and includes many smaller parts. I'm not going to list how many of each toy should be available in each case or who the "chase figures" should be (I've seen those Simpsons and Family Guy blind-boxed figures at my local Books-a-Million, and have noticed the boxes include shadowy images with "??/???" written underneath, making it a mystery as to how many of those mystery figures there are). But if I were in charge I'd double the number of Snowths based on how many Mahna Mahna's there are.
 

j3h

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I like the idea and sent kidrobot an email stating the same.
 

beaker

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Unfortunately I just can't too thrilled about Disney Vinylmation, as they're all the same Mickey Mouse body. Waldo, Bean, etc...yes very crazy rare they even made those. But they are all essentially Mickey Mouse variants when it comes to it.

Now, if they did Muppet figures in the individually sculpted style of Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy vinyl figures like those sold at Urban Outfitters...that'd be the bees knees.

I saw the Jim Henson City Critters for $5 each at a local vinyl store incidentally
 

Drtooth

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Unfortunately I just can't too thrilled about Disney Vinylmation, as they're all the same Mickey Mouse body. Waldo, Bean, etc...yes very crazy rare they even made those. But they are all essentially Mickey Mouse variants when it comes to it.

Like I've said, I've never been too thrilled with the whole painted figure with a single body sculpt bit. What draws me to collecting toys is 3-D sculpts. Who wouldn't want individual sculpts of all the characters? I remember everyone raising a stink if they used the same Kermit head on a Palisades figure.
 

Sgt Floyd

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They actually made a Funzo figure? Thats pulling one out of left field :confused:

I wouldnt mind seeing muppet figures like this. My disney store only sells an assortment of vinylmation figures out of one box, so they dont always have all the current series. I would love to be able to go to a store and buy something muppety with my favorite characters and not having to pay an arm and a leg to get something out of production.
 

Frogpuppeteer

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i woild love f they made muppets like these mostly because i like the look better than the vynilmation
 

fuzzydice82

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As someone who tried collecting the Kidrobot Simpsons, Futurama, and Family Guy figures, I say DO NOT make a Kidrobot Muppets line for the following reasons.

1) Too Expensive - The Simpsons Series 1 retailed for $7.99. I happily paid that because I was caught up in "The Chase" (discussed below). Then Series 2, and everything after as been $10.99 or more. That price is ridiculous. Heck, the $7.99 price was ridiculous. These are 3 inch vinyl figures with 3 points of articulation, a useless sticker, and (sometimes) a useless accessory. I understand that Kidrobot is a small(ish) company who already charges inflated prices by selling to a niche urban vinyl crowd, but selling licensed properties, which inherently carry a mark-up, paired with their already high-price business model is not worth it.

2) Blind Box Assortment - This is a horrible way to buy toys as a consumer or collector. All this does is incite you to buy more and more based on their fake rarity (mentioned by prior poster, discussed further below) and get caught up in "The Chase." I'll provide an example. Series 2 of the Simpsons had Zombie chase figures of the 5 main Simpsons. Very cool concept and figures, but I probably dropped $150 (or more) buying blind boxes trying to find one. At one time I got 3 Carl's in a row. What am I going to do with 3 of the same figure at $11 a pop. (I did end up with a Zombie Lisa though.) Yes, there is a "Chase" when there a variants on viewable carded figures, but at least you can know what you're getting before you buy. For those of you that follow card games, pretty much every Collectible Card Game besides the established Magic, Pokemon, and YuGiOh has gone under because people don't like to shell out more and more money chasing rare cards. Heck even Magic has been pushing their online game, and Xbox and PS3 versions as a way to counter the backlash from "blind box" cash-grabbing. In the meantime "Living Card Games" like A Game of Thrones, Dominion, Lord of the Rings, and Munchkin are gaining traction in the market using a model where everyone gets the same cards when you buy a box or pack.

3) Fake Rarity - While the rarity is listed on the side of Kidrobot boxes as 1/25, 2/25, or 1/50, there are two problems with the rarity of these figures. In all of their lines, at least one of the chase figures is listed as ?/?? as it's rarity. Who knows how rare it is? It could be 1/100, or it could be more rare...or less, but it makes you chase it. The even bigger problem is the fact that the people selling the supposed blind boxes are stealing all the rare figures. Kidrobot toys in the US are sold at Comic Shops, Urban Outfitters, and some bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders, and the boxes are sealed with a hot glue gun by Kidrobot. It only takes a quick internet search to find instances where employees at Comic Shops and even the teenagers working at Urban Outfitters are opening all the figures and simply resealing them with a hot glue gun. This is how a poor sap like me comes along and pulls 3 Carls in a row. I would only assume that an online retailer is doing the same thing, only with more professional equipment, not some teenagers at Urban Outfitters. Also, you can find numerous posts online where people will provide the layout of what order the figures came in in their case of boxes. It's not as shady, but it does provide people with the ability to figure out where in a case the rare figures usually get placed so they can keep those fore themselves, and fille the rest of the case with commons, seal it up and sell it to you. At any rate, if you're trying to buy random boxes to get a rare Statler and Waldorf, you're going to come up with a lot of Kermits and Miss Piggies.

I hate to be Mr. Negative on the subject, but Urban Vinyl collecting is not the road you want to go down. As mentioned before, Kidrobot's business model is to sell to a niche audience who expects to pay an inflated price and that audience already has had a few years of learning the tricks to buying Urban Vinyl and leaving regular toy collectors like you and me wondering why we spent over $100 for multiple copies of characters that we probably didn't really want one copy of.
 
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