Ask Travis: A Master Replicas Photo Puppet Q&A Thread

[ElecMayhem]

Fozzie (Spring 2008)
Rizzo (Summer 2008)
Rowlf (Fall 2008)
Bunsen & Beaker (Spring 2009)
Statler & Waldorf (Fall 2009)
Sam the Eagle (Spring 2010)
Swedish Chef (Summer 2010)
Miss Piggy (Fall 2010)

REMEMBER, THIS WAS JUST MY DREAM LIST. THIS IS IN NO WAY WHAT WE'RE DOING, AS I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED.

 

[ElecMayhem]

Thanks for the answers, this is all very appreciated.

- There was a lot of debate over whether Animal was supposed to come with collar and whether he should have had a mouth that closed (as it just looks technically wrong on the product - he has a mouth hinge but the tongues too big), and the sales info really seems to infer this was the case. So it may be a given, but just to confirm - Fozzie definitely comes with the neckerchief and the hat?

The whole Animal mouth thing was... well, before I was involved in the project in any official capacity. So I really cannot speak to it. The mouth WOULD close, if the tongue were more spongey or foamy. It was the replacement materials that the team chose that prevent the mouth from cloing, moreso than the size of the tongue, which is accurate, I think.

Animal, in the early stages, was intended to come with the chain. And drumsticks, too. Those had to be dropped. Tooling on those kinds of items could have easily run upwards of $25-30,000... and that doesn't even take into account the cost of the materials. It's a common problem with limited edition collectibles -- the math simply did not work.

If we were making 20,000 Animals, the amortized cost of the chain (with tooling and materials) may have been only $2-3 per unit. Then it would have been justifiable. But since only, 1500 were made, the chain (with tooling and materials) may have cost anywhere from $15-20 apiece. (These by the way, are made up #s, but you get the gist) And then we have to mark that up. So, for Animal's chain... add $50 to $100 to the price tag of the product. In the end, we felt we were pushing the limits -- in terms of price -- of what a mass produced Photo Puppet could yield.

But yes, Fozzie has the bowtie and hat.

 

[antonydavanzo]

Fozzie (Spring 2008)
Rizzo (Summer 2008)
Rowlf (Fall 2008)
Bunsen & Beaker (Spring 2009)
Statler & Waldorf (Fall 2009)
Sam the Eagle (Spring 2010)
Swedish Chef (Summer 2010)
Miss Piggy (Fall 2010)



REMEMBER, THIS WAS JUST MY DREAM LIST. THIS IS IN NO WAY WHAT WE'RE DOING, AS I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED.

And a nightmare for my wallet .

 

[MuppetCaper]

Two more questions:



We all hope that Fozzie's mouth will close all the way please, can you give us some insite on that. Will his mouth close fully?


And how will you defeat the foam issue when it comes up with puppets that are made out of mostly foam heads, such as Piggy, Waldorf, Statler etc?

 

[doc hopper]

Travis -

thanks for answering our questions. I think we've been dying for a little communication around here.

 

[antonydavanzo]

Q Travis, would you consider Scooter to be made?
Cheeers

 

[Kevin Knight]

Notice (a) that Miss Piggy was originally slated to be LAST, and (b) that Scooter is not on the list at all. Why? Well originally, I had wanted to space out the heavy hitters a bit more. And Scooter... well, given his nearly 15 year absence, I wasn't sure if he was popular enough. I see that Scooter is VERY popular in the polls here, but remember -- we have to appeal to die-hard Muppet fans, as well as more casual collectors.

Company needs vs. personal desire!

 

[KermieBaby47]

Travis! Congrats on Xander! I feel a Buffyverse influence in your name decision. Awesome. Does it feel wierd to be a Dad?

Onto the Muppets questions: Did you ever see this photo alteration that I posted on the MR Forum? Just curious, was hoping to affect his outcome a little, but it is very encouraging that your opinion of the one in your office is so high. The anticipation of Gonzo's delivery is killing me.

Next question: Even though Rowlf only appears on your wishlist, how likely is it that we'll see his addition to the fantastic MR Muppet line? I ask because he is my absolute favorite Muppet (due to his unique, loveable, & sometimes sad character representation/connection with/of Jim... imo), and having him posed with the rest of my MR Muppets would be a dream come true.

It's great to see your support here again, thanks for that!

Anthony

 

[muppetguy]

Hey Travis

Just to add in my oppinion, for Miss Piggy. I would love her to look like she did in Muppet Caper, but modern looks are great too. But instead of the purple dress, the one she wears in muppet caper (the pink one wth the feathers) would be my choice of dress for the piggy poser! She just looks amazing in that dress. Just my oppinion passing it along. About peices as you mentioned more of a cost for animals chains and whatnot, would that be the same for Piggy (pearl necklace, ring, etc?) Just curious. Thanks again Travis.

 

[doc hopper]

You gotta have the pearls. Part of the whole piggy thing (and it was used to hide the head/body separation).