Diamond Select Toys to Produce new Muppet figures and mini mates!

[antonydavanzo]

It's reckless for fans with no real knowledge on the situation to post uninformed musings as fact on the matter, people.


I swear, the amount of pessimism and thoughtlessness in nearly every area of MC these days has me about gone from this place. Geez!


I had the distinct privilege of working closely with Ken on the Palisades line and have continued legit product design work on other action figure lines and branded products since. Here is my informed opinion on the likelihood of what's happening and what's going to happen next.


Both Series' Three and Four are due to be released. They both have active preorders and my work in the legit industry of action figures informs me that a DST-quality company would not have Series Four up if Series Three wasn't active. Postponements are annoying, but they happen. Heck, the whole Palisades line was bumped a year later than planned and there were huge gaps between series sometimes.


Here are some possible reasons for such delays:

• Factory defects requiring correction.
• The slow boat from China.
• Adding some extra awesomeness.
• Packaging issues.
• Political issues at the factory.

The fate of Series Five, however, is the real mystery. While they've said there are ideas rolling around, DST has publicly stated that the determination will be made based on Series three and Four sales. That means this fall. It takes at least nine months to create, refine and release an action figure. Seeing that Series Four is due out in third-quarter 2017, they'd need to pull the trigger around that time in order to release a Series Five by second quarter 2018. That's not a far-fetched possibility, but right now - not even DST likely knows the answer to that - and preaching doom to fans is not only libelous, but counter-productive if any of you want to see Pepe or Walter sometime down the line.


While Series One had a few manufacturing defects (i.e. Kermit's eyes), I really like the DST line and what they've been trying to do. This stuff is not easy to do. It's a huge undertaking and the Muppets are still considered relatively niche in the toy market. Excitement about toys doesn't always translate into actual sales.


As for the Minimates, they already produced all of the important characters. Sure, Sweetums, Lew and Veterinarian's Hospital mates would be awesome, but would not likely reap an awesome enough profit. That's what eventually happens to almost every toy line after a few waves. Popularity and interest wanes. I think that sucks, but that's how it is. This doesn't mean the mates weren't successful. It merely means that everything has an ending point.


I think Hot Toys Muppets would be kick-butt too! But you know why that's not likely to happen? Because of all the fan whining and doomsday speculation of a niche product for an already niche license. Buzz does have an impact on decision-making. Previous sales do too!


I miss the DST PR rep coming around here too. The truth is that there tends to be a huge gap between the manufacturing of these units in China and when they reach warehouses in America. That's not rare at all, people! So the reason that he hasn't been here is probably because he has no new info to report yet - and who would willingly even want to enter this pessimistic thread anymore unless they absolutely had to? TRUTH!


My advice here: Cool your jets, people. Nobody's landed. The only thing jeopardizing this line is the reckless talk about it. Even so, Series Three and Four seem like a done deal. Could things be going better? Probably! But there's so much love for these - and if you ever want a Pepe, I'd try to keep spirits high.

Hey mate
I dont think its reckless for some of us to ponder the fate of this line. I know that some of us may not have any knowledge of the behind the scene goings on. I can only speak from my own work and experience and after 20 years in production and manufacturing I am only making assumptions from my own experience.
Some of the reasons you outlined for the delay are probable but I think if DST had a gem on their hands then these lines would release a lot quicker. Any company Ill agree that series 3 could be a done deal...once they show some proof. eries 4 is another question all together.
Hot Toys for me is were the licence needs to go! Or someone who can make a great 1/6 scale figure for the high end market.Id love to see this but I know its a fan boy dream.

 

[jvcarroll]

Hey mate
I dont think its reckless for some of us to ponder the fate of this line. I know that some of us may not have any knowledge of the behind the scene goings on. I can only speak from my own work and experience and after 20 years in production and manufacturing I am only making assumptions from my own experience.
Some of the reasons you outlined for the delay are probable but I think if DST had a gem on their hands then these lines would release a lot quicker. Any company Ill agree that series 3 could be a done deal...once they show some proof. eries 4 is another question all together.
Hot Toys for me is were the licence needs to go! Or someone who can make a great 1/6 scale figure for the high end market.Id love to see this but I know its a fan boy dream.

Sure, Hot Toys would rock! I want those more than anything. The rather blind pessimism in many of the posts here, much of it nearly stated as fact, does not inspire confidence for someone like them to pick up the license for an currently niche brand.


Do you remember the Sideshow busts? The sales of those were a little anemic until they hit the secondary market. People forget this, but they also had a lot of exciting polystone figurines planned that never happened. The busts, now much coveted items, received mixed reviews across the board and the fate of future projects was very likely sealed at that point. I've worked on product for a lot of brands and much of it doesn't pass the pitch phase for that very reason. That, I know for fact!


I also have experience with product design and toys spanning two decades - particularly the Muppets brand. Niche product like this needs good word of mouth to maintain momentum. That's not the only determining factor, of course, but it is vital! Totally writing off a line with literally no information at this point will not help, and could potentially harm, interest in this and future Muppet products. That's what I'm saying here.


I don't have much official info on this, but my very educated guess is that DST 3 & 4 are pretty much a done deal. Doomsday talk at this juncture would only serve to squash a fifth wave. Also, positive educated guesses are more productive. It's not just the "power of positive thinking" type garbage. There is definitely a correlation between buzz and output - particularly at a fragile time.

 

[antonydavanzo]

Sure, Hot Toys would rock! I want those more than anything. The rather blind pessimism in many of the posts here, much of it nearly stated as fact, does not inspire confidence for someone like them to pick up the license for an currently niche brand.


Do you remember the Sideshow busts? The sales of those were a little anemic until they hit the secondary market. People forget this, but they also had a lot of exciting polystone figurines planned that never happened. The busts, now much coveted items, received mixed reviews across the board and the fate of future projects was very likely sealed at that point.


I also have experience with product design and toys spanning two decades - particularly the Muppets brand. Niche product like this needs good word of mouth to maintain momentum. That's not the only determining factor, of course, but it is vital! Totally writing off a line with literally no information at this point will not help, and could potentially harm, interest in this and future Muppet products. That's what I'm saying here.


I don't have much official info on this, but my very educated guess is that DST 3 & 4 are pretty much a done deal. Doomsday talk at this juncture would only serve to squash a fifth wave. Also, positive educated guesses are more productive. It's not just the "power of positive thinking" type garbage. There is definitely a correlation between buzz and output - particularly at a fragile time.

Ahh the Sideshow busts! A line I did not go for but bitterly regret!! Did you get this line at all?
Anyhow, fingers crossed that impatient collectors like me will be proven wrong and the line continues. Speaking of HT..this is my collection I started last year! I so want a Muppet shelf!

 

[jvcarroll]

Ahh the Sideshow busts! A line I did not go for but bitterly regret!! Did you get this line at all?
Anyhow, fingers crossed that impatient collectors like me will be proven wrong and the line continues. Speaking of HT..this is my collection I started last year! I so want a Muppet shelf!

Those are gorgeous! If I had more money these days, I'd be collecting Hot Toys! Right now, I've begun the Sesame Funko Pops. I wasn't really excited by the Muppet branded ones, but have picked up a Kermit, a Mahna Manha & Snowths pack and just ordered a Sam. The only other one I'd get is Teeth, but he's too much now. The other designs aren't really that great. Sesame is notoriously strict with their likeness guidelines and that really shows in the Pops.

Yup,I have the whole Sideshow line. Some are a bit damaged with time and improper storage, but have been refurbished. I'd never sell them, so the bit of age on them is okay by me. I'm planning on constructing mounted shelving and plexiglass casing for my collection later this year. I'll snap some photos once that's done.

 

[antonydavanzo]

Those are gorgeous! If I had more money these days, I'd be collecting Hot Toys! Right now, I've begun the Sesame Funko Pops. I wasn't really excited by the Muppet branded ones, but have picked up a Kermit, a Mahna Manha & Snowths pack and just ordered a Sam. The only other one I'd get is Teeth, but he's too much now. The other designs aren't really that great. Sesame is notoriously strict with their likeness guidelines and that really shows in the Pops.

Yup,I have the whole Sideshow line. Some are a bit damaged with time and improper storage, but have been refurbished. I'd never sell them, so the bit of age on them is okay by me. I'm planning on constructing mounted shelving and plexiglass casing for my collection later this year. I'll snap some photos once that's done.

Love those Funko Pops! So SS...the whole bloody collection...lucky man! I'd love to see the collection of Sideshow! Make sure you post a pic when your self is done. Funnily enough I came across a Fozzie replica. It looked legit. It was in a shop in Nottingham in the UK. They wanted £15,000 for him. He looked great but that was far too much money

 

[Muppetboy09]

I apologize. I am totally not trying to talk down upon the line. I own both series, and will buy any remaining series because I absolutely love the figures. I just remember this happening with both Master Replicas and EFX. I know those were canned for a completely different reason, but for a while, it was just radio silence with the "due next year; due two years from now; we are unsure when these will be released". I just hate to see that pattern, knowing that it's a possibility these items would never hit the market. Again, I am hopeful, but just a tiny bit skeptical. If and when these series come out, I will support them wholeheartedly.

 

[antonydavanzo]

Any update with S3 yet?

 

[Blue Frackle]

Eh, what the heck; since Henson is under the Disney umbrella, Diamond is making Kingdom Hearts figures, and they look fantastic.

 

[muppetperson]

Any update with S3 yet?

There was no mention for their June releases on Twitter/Facebook, but not to worry, as they said "Summer 2017" release, so we have till the end of August.

 

[antonydavanzo]

So a couple more month