Ask Ken at Palisades

[wong]

Hi ken,

do you know up to what series is TRU Canada carrying the line?
B/c for the simpsons they stopped at series 1 and never got them in again and I'm hoping that does not happen w/ this line.

oh and for the band repaint idea of the chase fig in each case, I guess it's a good compromise(i was hoping for either no repaint variants or just keep them as con exclusives, so I wouldn't be tempted then eventually buy them). But it is really good to know you atleast listen to the fans. keep up the good work.

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by ResidentLilly
Luke, what would you do if you were in charge of the line? I am interested in your opinion. You have always struck me as having a level head, even in our early debates, and you have always defended your peeps here and at ToughPigs well. If you had to make the call, how would you handle it? And why?

I guess it's a tough one seeing as you are so down to the line on release dates and things. Personally, and having had time to think about it, i think i would stick with current plans. While it’s totally right the media will be looking for things during the Sept 11th anniversary media frenzy, it’s also totally ‘uncool’ within the media right now to target anything that’s American, and if anything is an American institution it’s the Muppets. So all in all, i’d think you’ll probably avoid all this as long as it isn’t blatently fed to the press by anyone unscrupulous. Obviously i’d make sure the Henson Company were fully aware of the potential situation and were behind me - they have some great press guys and not so long ago were helping difuse the Bert/Bin Laden situation. You are right that this ‘Crazy Harry’ situation could blow up at anytime anyway, there are plenty of people going around blowing themselves up all the time nowdays so there’d probably be a risk whatever stance you took so i guess it’s just fingers crossed !

Reminds me, they changed the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ over here to ‘Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles’ years back just because the press were worried about kids pretending to be Ninjas. Of course the turtles still fought with weapons in the cartoon so the whole point was totally wasted but it kept the press quiet. Ho Hum ! ;-)

I agree with you about how difficult it is to change peoples minds about things once they are made up. The internet (in my opinion) is so one dimensional and you kinda have to form your own opinions blindfolded because in the ‘real world’ you would actually be able to see a person, and talk in ‘real time’ and have some kind of an instant dialogue and that’d help you come to the right conclusions. (Thats why it’d be great to hold some kind of special group chat with you at some point either here or at Toughpigs). Obviously people can be passionate, seriously stupid or just have a different outlook/opinion from you - basically all kinda fruitcakes, and somehow we are stuck in cyberspace together.

It’s kinda the same with you - firstly you came here and we’d never had any product research going on before so people didn’t really know what to expect, and as i guess you’ve found out by now, most of us members are very passionate about how the whole ‘Muppet’ thing is treated and also that the site wasn’t just
used as a research tool by some evil toy company so it was good that you got involved within the community in a more general sense. I think whatever you were accused of along the way, people have got to know you more now and sometimes have (myself included) forgotten that you’re not the P.R or Customer
Services guy, but the product developer, and answering questions isn’t your full time job. It’s all a learning curve, and at times i guess you may or may not have given out the answers that everyone wants to hear but you’ve been pretty straight with us in most cases and kudos to you for sticking it out here.

There are puppeteers and other Henson related people who haven’t been so brave when it’s come to the 75th page of questioning so i hope people can take a step back and give you a break sometimes, you are kinda like Britney Spears without the boobs to most Muppet figure fans who have been starved for 25 years but hey, whether intended or not, it’s good P.R, some great ideas have been conveyed and hopefully the figures continue to do well. I’m also so pleased to see some of the fans who helped you the most recieving their ‘rewards’ and also the idea of a collectors club. It’s great to see you giving something back to the fans be it prizes or help, and promotes a great atmosphere around the line in general which can only help the cause.

One thing though, wheras many disagree with your stance on exclusives, i actually agree totally, maybe even to extremes. I like the idea of people having to search out exclusives and going that extra mile. I do think that this new ‘chase card’ idea is way better than the idea of making people travel miles to shows but whatever happens i think there should always remain a challenge in obtaining the product. If theres a collectors club, thats cool but i hope it doesn’t take away the whole point of doing exclusives in the first place. I’m sure you guys know all this better than anyone so i’m sure you’ll get the right mix of helping people, and making them hungry for the product.

You mentioned quality control - if there was one thing i would really go all the way on in wave 2 is making doubly sure there aren’t too many instances of broken or scratched figure reports in the future. I know there will always be isolated incidents with something this intricate but what i’ve seen here really outgulfs any other figure forum i’ve been too - i’m not laying blame but it’s a shame to see such great work end up with the buyer in less than 100% condition. Maybe it’s that Muppet fans pay closer attention, or that they are less experienced handling this kind of merchandise but 30 somethings breaking figures suitable for 5 year olds kinda sucks.

 

[ResidentLilly]

Luke thanks for taking the time to write such a thought provoking post. Appreciate it.

I agree on the QC and have already talked to my factory contact. I am going over there in three weeks. This does happen, although I have found that most people have had a good experience with these figs. The occassional paint glops are only controllable to a degree in mass production, and the occasional joint stick resulting in a force break is inevitable, even the Bunsen glasses is a thing that you have to make a judgement call on. Make the area really big and bulky, detracting from the figures beauty or making it more fragile but more character correct. Hard to make those decisions, and there always are some bad calls made by me. That one was not a bad call in my opinion. Although I am keeping my fingers crossed that incidents will be kept to a minimum on that. I thought it looked obvious that you can't move that piece, but I could be wrong on that.

But the rabbit having no feet? The wrong sticker? The wrong UPC on the back? These are inexcusable. I could blame the factory but I won't. It's our name on the product and it's our responsibility. This factory has done an overall good job in my opinion, and they will be doing more for us, but they do need a "reminder" that this isn't a line you can let crap like that slip through. This is not close-out open market doo-doo, 3 fer a dollar.

I've seen much worse reports of defects than this on other lines, and so far retailers are reporting few incidents, so that's a good sign. There is also a bit of a learning curve in mass production, which is why you often find less flaws in the ones that shipped the latest. But overall I am getting about 98% good reports compared to about 2% bad, and I keep track of that and report stuff to the factory. That 2% is actually about a standard number in mass produced goods, so I am very pleased overall.

I encourage ANYONE who has a problem to contact us though. Return your figure if there is a defect or you aren't COMPLETELY stoked. You should not get stuck with something you are not satisfied with. If you can't return it to the store you bought it from contact is and we can figure out a solution.

On the other points...It's good to hear someone weigh in on the "hunt" and fun aspects of exclusives, and I appreciate your take on the growth period we all went through on this whole communication thing. It was good for all of us I think to work through the unusualness of this kind of dialogue.

Later,
Ken

 

[Gorgon Heap]

Some random stuff for Ken

Hey Ken,

I was thinking about the bios on the back of the blister cards (did I use the right word? Would "packages" also be correct) and started thinking about some words for likes/dislikes on a few of the upcoming ones. Here's what I thought up for Floyd (though it's probably already been written):

Likes: rock music, Janice, making wisecracks

Those three are a must. Music, his woman, and his jokes (he's always making smart-aleck remarks; we all know this.) Payday is probably a close runner-up.

Dislikes: Miss Piggy and her dog Foo-Foo; anything "square"

Animal:
Likes: Drums, food, women

I'm stating the obvious with that, I can feel it.

Got a few items for Zoot:

Special talents: soulful sax playing; ability to forget anything at any given time
Likes: getting into his music
Dislikes: talking (or too much talk)

Some random notes:

What are Lew Zealand's fish going to look like? Just like fish or like recognized Muppet fish?

On Beauregard: he did have two outfits he wore throughout the show. First was a light grey/whitish janitor's uniform, second was a blue plaid shirt with suspenders. Also, had you intended to include his harmonica as an accessory?

Kitchen: now you had said this was a deluxe playset given it's 40-some removable pieces. Is it also larger than the first two playsets?

This was an idea that may or may not be any good, but I was thinking that if/when Marvin Suggs comes into play (insert disclaimer here) that perhaps the Muppaphones could be magnetized so they'll stay on the table (this could also make them harder to lose). Going a step further, the Muppaphones are pink and orange; perhaps one color could have one magnet and the other one the opposite, and the magnets on the table could alternate so you alternate them. This is probably going too far though, as not everyone would demand they be made only to alternate on the table and others might want to scramble them up & might be disappointed if they can't. This was just something that popped into MY head. Still, there's the magnet idea at the beginning which doesn't sound all that bad. Whaddya think?

Thought today about an orchestra pit playset with Nigel the conductor that could attach to the stage playset (though it might not be worth it without it). It could have seats for all the musicians, music stands with little sheet music on them, a stand for Nigel, etc. Of course the real question is how much play value there would be and would it make people want to buy it?

Stuff I'd love to see:

Vendaface. Think of how much you could do with this guy, esp. if you had a Whatnot or two. Give him moveable hands and eyes and a chest full of body parts- oo, the possibilities.

The slinky guys- don't know if they have names, they were referred to as hunks of vacuum cleaner hose by Kermit & Fozzie in Muppet Moments. You know what I'm talking about Ken? Have you seen the episode with Ethel Merman? Even if you haven't you may have seen this sketch- it's with two slinky-like creatures dancing, a big orange one with sort of droopy eyes and purple eyelids and 'feet' (tufts of hair on ends), and a small pink/purple one with wide eyes, and orange hair and 'feet'. The big one dances to the beat, the little one interrupts and dances too fast, the big one stomps on the little one and shoves him out of the way. This happens again, then the third time the little one gets the beat... and then blasts the big one out of there (sort of 'shoots' him an explosion from his 'foot') and the little one finishes the number. I would love to see these guys as pack-ins made of softer, bendier PVC. Maybe if you need something to fill the package of another character down the line?

The Snerfs: thin, stretchy little dark blue feathery creatures with green hair, yellow eyes, pink trumpet noses and green powderpuff feet. Opening # on Bruce Forsyth episode.

The Bossmen: it's probably impossible but I'd love it just the same.

The Carrot: from the Gilda Radner episode. It'd be too, too awesome. Too bad he's too big to be one of those fan 'Easter eggs'.

I was thinking about the Easter eggs and started a tally in fact:

Robot Rabbit (#26 Zero Mostel)
Gorilla Detector (#16 Avery Schreiber)
Bust of Beethoven (#60 James Coco, #61 Helen Reddy, #72 Cheryl Ladd, #77 Victor Borge)
Lobster Banditos (#33 Madeline Kahn; actually they never changed the bandito look on the lobsters- perhaps too small to remove the stuff without creating some damage?- but they only acted like banditos the one time)
Chef's tennis racket (#2 Connie Stevens)
MAMMA (#79 Dudley Moore)
Vaudeville Statler & Waldorf (#32 Steve Martin, #81 Beverly Sills; this is probably too big to consider an 'Easter egg' though, being figures in their own right).
Superhero Scooter (#91 Lynda Carter; same as Vaudeville S & W)

A dozen episodes, 1/10th of the series. Woo-hoo! I can only imagine and eagerly await what little fan nugget you terrific people are gonna hide in there next.

Thanks for reading all this garbage of mine. This is sort of a 'catch-up' week for me (which isn't going to go any smoother now that I've just caught a cold.) Later.

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[MaxGoof]

Originally posted by ResidentLilly
FER SURE Is the case pack for series 2 going to be even or heavy? If it is heavy packed Gonzo and Fozzie then that would mean 1 of each Floyd per case, right?

Nope. 3 Fozzie, 3 Gonzo, 3 Harry, 2 Floyd, 1 Floyd repaint (has a blue jacket, green pants...really funky look).

Eep.

Are you sure that that many people will buy Crazy Harry? Fozzie and Gonzo will undoubtedly have a high demand, whereas Harry is... well... totally obscure... At 3 per case for a character with a tiny part on "The Muppet Show" that's almost non-existent in the movies and has poor recognizability, he might be the line's first MAJOR peg-warmer...

 

[ResidentLilly]

MaxGoof
Are you sure that that many people will buy Crazy Harry? Fozzie and Gonzo will undoubtedly have a high demand, whereas Harry is... well... totally obscure... At 3 per case for a character with a tiny part on "The Muppet Show" that's almost non-existent in the movies and has poor recognizability, he might be the line's first MAJOR peg-warmer...

You mean other than hair up Piggy? Look, there is no easy answer. Yeah you could short pack the guy, but it looks like the majority of people are buying sets of the figs. It makes sense to go to an even case pack. Could I be wrong? Yes, but I have to take the risk.

Gorgon...the coffee has not kicked in yet so I can't answer or respond to your stuff...but it was all good (the FLoyd stuff is written already) and I liked the recap of the Easter Eggs. I had not realized there were that many. Don't forget the talking cake!

Ken

 

[MikeHornPalisad]

I have only one comment on Luke's essay:

"Britney Spears without the boobs."

Oh, man, you have just opened the door for mass hysteria in our office!


MH

 

[FER SURE]

Mass hysteria brought on by the mention of boobs. Nothing new there. Or is that hysteria about Britney?
Hmmm....Britney Well every Industry must have it's flaws.

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by MikeHornPalisad
I have only one comment on Luke's essay:

"Britney Spears without the boobs."

Oh, man, you have just opened the door for mass hysteria in our office!

MH

Yeah anybody else get the feeling i constructed that whole post just to get in a paragraph about boobs ?

Y-see this is the real answer - if i ran Palisades, boob jokes aplenty, and girls messengers wearing the new line of Muppet bikinis !

 

[BlueFrackle]

Ken,

Hey man,
Remember when i said about making the Dr Teeth repaint a formal dressed one ?
It was when you were thinking about making a repaint on the old board.

Well i think it should be the one which is all monotone, Its basically just black and white with some grey.

You can see it in The Muppets a Celebration of 30 Years'.

ill try and get a pic to you !

See ya