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

[MuppetsRule]

Perhaps I missed it and I'm too lazy to go back and look but when and where will these be available?

 

[muppetlover123]

Perhaps I missed it and I'm too lazy to go back and look but when and where will these be available?

They said springish for the figures and fall/winter for the mini mates.

 

[LaRanaRene]

Perhaps I missed it and I'm too lazy to go back and look but when and where will these be available?

Diamond Select Toys are usually available to purchase at Toys R Us.

 

[Blue Frackle]

These look great, though it's a shame Palisades already did it and did it in an unsurpassable fashion (it's not actually a shame, but you know what I mean). I was thinking the other day that this is kind of silly to do when Palisades already did it.

I'll be the first (and perhaps only) person to say it, but I'm out. Personally speaking, I don't see what these bring above and beyond what Palisades did, other than more articulation, and are in most other aspects inferior. I was genuinely hoping for something more. These will be good for those who missed out on Palisades and don't want to pay the inflated prices though. The one big positive I will say is the colour of Kermit is way better than Palisades - I really dislike their chosen green!

I can agree with you, though I was genuinely not hoping for something more. What could they have possibly done to top Palisades?

Guess I'd be in the camp of those who are looking to see which Muppets weren't made by Palisades to add just those to the overall cast. Not sure whether that will help or hurt the new DST franchise, and it kind of hurts a little personally because it says to the retailers people aren't interested because they aren't buying so future attempts at more Muppets or Sesame or Fraggles are hindered in the process.

Wow, that reminds me... they should've made this line a Sesame Street line.

 

[jvcarroll]

These look great, though it's a shame Palisades already did it and did it in an unsurpassable fashion (it's not actually a shame, but you know what I mean). I was thinking the other day that this is kind of silly to do when Palisades already did it.


I can agree with you, though I was genuinely not hoping for something more. What could they have possibly done to top Palisades?


Wow, that reminds me... they should've made this line a Sesame Street line.

The Palisades line was magnificent. It raised the bar of Muppet collectibles and all action figures in general. It was a magical time. As someone who worked on many of the figures back then, I am very proud and consider each character they released to be a mini work of art. Those figures will always have a place in toy history.

That being said, the Palisades line ended over 10 years ago!!! Why wouldn't another company want to take a bite at it? Are the Muppets to never have action figures again? That's like saying that the Muppet Show was so perfect that Kermit and the gang should just hang up their hats and never do another television program again. What sense would that make? Eeep!

Sony reboots Spider-Man every few years, why can't the Muppets have at least have an action figure line every decade? That would be awesome! I think this is a pretty brave move and they seem to be doing something a little different. It's clear that DST has a great love for these characters from the announcements they've made.

Those who are content with their collections should be happy that there will be new product in the stores. Those who missed out the first time around can start collecting these figures instead of paying a bazillion dollars on Ebay. And honestly, once they're all neatly boxed and branded on store shelves I suspect that even the doubters won't be able to resist at least a character or two.

I guess we'll see.

 

[Blue Frackle]

The Palisades line was magnificent. It raised the bar of Muppet collectibles and all action figures in general. It was a magical time. As someone who worked on many of the figures back then, I am very proud and consider each character they released to be a mini work of art. Those figures will always have a place in toy history.

That being said, the Palisades line ended over 10 years ago!!! Why wouldn't another company want to take a bite at it? Are the Muppets to never have action figures again? That's like saying that the Muppet Show was so perfect that Kermit and the gang should just hang up their hats and never do another television program again. What sense would that make? Eeep!

Sony reboots Spider-Man every few years, why can't the Muppets have at least have an action figure line every decade? That would be awesome! I think this is a pretty brave move and they seem to be doing something a little different. It's clear that DST has a great love for these characters from the announcements they've made.

Those who are content with their collections should be happy that there will be new product in the stores. Those who missed out the first time around can start collecting these figures instead of paying a bazillion dollars on Ebay. And honestly, once they're all neatly boxed and branded on store shelves I suspect that even the doubters won't be able to resist at least a character or two.

I guess we'll see.

Those are all goods points though I would rather see them blaze a new trail, á la Sesame Street or Fraggle Rock.

 

[jvcarroll]

Those are all goods points though I would rather see them blaze a new trail, á la Sesame Street or Fraggle Rock.

I've often wondered why Sesame hasn't had a full line of action figures in all these years. It leads me to believe (and this is total speculation) that there must be a different sort of profit margin. They're always a hot property that could get stocked anywhere. Maybe some company will pick it up if this does well.

The Fraggles have no active project so that wouldn't be a very good investment. Toys R Us wouldn't be likely to carry them. Without great retailer interest, I just don't see it. You'd have to find a company that would want to push niche items.

That all would be wonderful, but those are different properties owned by different companies and something entirely different. Muppets figures already have a known, built-in fanbase and very active and visible exposure from Disney and ABC. They're actually the safest bet. And there are a few things that haven't been done that could be made under DST. Those possibilities are exciting.

But yeah. I feel ya. I'd love to see a full line of Sesame, Fraggles and Jim Henson's library of creatures in general. That would be a fan dream!

 

[DSTZach]

Zach,

The head sculpts on all of these looking amazing! Especially Scooter!

But i feel like Kermit and Fozzie are too articulated - it really hurts their appearance. For Scooter and Gonzo, it blends in much better because of the folds in their clothing. But Fozzie's arms and legs just look awkward to me. Very nice that Kermit can bend at the knees to sit on the stool (making him very different from the Palisades figure), but do he and Fozzie really need many of the extra points of articulation? 5 points of articulation is great with me. Would rather that they only be able to be posed in a few stances rather than have their look be diminished by all the joints.

With no points of articulation, Bean, Camilla and Robin look great! Cannot wait to get Bean!

Doesn't adding points of articulation increase the cost of a figure? Would much rather see cost being spent on an extra accessory or two. Do you have the license so that you could include accessories from the new Muppet show? (they would be accessories that Palisades never did). How about the bowl that Fozzie stole from Jay Leno's house? Or his cell phone that he can't work? For Yolanda, how about the 1/8 of an aspirin she asked for?

Will you be able to advertise during the Muppets broadcasts to reach more fans?

These are resin protoypes, so the articulation will likely be less noticeable in plastic. I personally crazy glued a few of Kermit's limbs on myself. Having a Kermit who can bend his knees to sit on a stool seems like reason enough to give him articulated knees. And I'm pretty sure Bean will have 4-5 points. Robin may have one in the neck, as well.

That said, if you want less articulated figures, they are already out there. I don't know how much it affects the overall cost, exactly, but some of the Palisades figures had more than five points, including knees, but they were cut into the sculpt, and as a result didn't do that much. If we're going to add them, we're going to make them useful.

And there will be more accessories revealed. Not sure how many new-show-specific accessories we will make, but I guess we'll see. Not 1/8 of an aspirin.

And I doubt we will be advertising during the actual show (we're a small company), but we'll be trying to promote them in parallel to the show as much as possible.

 

[DSTZach]

These action figures look amazing, but I am mixed about whether I want to buy them. On one hand, series 1 will include quite a few characters I didn't get the first time around. I never had Palisades' standard Fozzie figure or tuxedo Gonzo and Camilla (at the time, I had decided not to get multiples of the same character, already had daredevil Gonzo and had gotten Vacation Fozzie for Christmas, and it wasn't until I got variants of some characters I had for Christmas that I decided to get further variants, but by then it was too late to buy the standard Fozzie and Gonzo), also never had a naked Robin (didn't get The Rainbow Connection Kermit), and of course Palisades didn't rellease Bean Bunny at all. But on the other hand, I do have several Kermit toys, and also multipe Scooter's. I have the Fisher Price stick figures of Kermit and Scooter, the only ones in that collection I have, and I used to have the Fisher Price plush Scooter (making him among the few TMS characters I had a plush of who wasn't Kermit). But these do look great.

I feel more sure that I'll buy the mini mates, not sure about the action figures, but we'll see.

Considering there are four two-packs (plus variants), it seems odd that most of the mini mates will be exclusives. I could see the variants being exclusives, but it's odd that the standard versions will be exclusives as well. I thought there should be a wave with all of The Electric Mayhem, but if half will be exclusives, that means that fans might have trouble getting the whole band (I know, the exclusives could be available at major retailers).

Will there be exclusive action figures?

And I guess the inclusion of Bean means that the license does include more than just The Muppet Show.

Is this for the action figures or mini mates?

Remember, our action figures will be slightly smaller than Palisades', so if you're still looking for a basic Fozzie and Gonzo in that scale, you may need to look elsewhere.

As to the Minimates, Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie and Scooter will be everywhere, including every comic shop and online toy store that chooses to order them, and every Toys "R" Us that gets them in. Gonzo/Chef will only be at comic shops/specialty stores/online stores, but that's a lot of stores -- they will need to order the assortment, but LukesToyStore.com is a great Minimates resource that sells sets individually. Bunsen/Beaker will only be at Toys "R" Us, but also ToysRUs.com -- they should be pretty easy to find, as well, but sometimes it takes a while for them to work their way through the system.

 

[DSTZach]

These look great, though it's a shame Palisades already did it and did it in an unsurpassable fashion (it's not actually a shame, but you know what I mean). I was thinking the other day that this is kind of silly to do when Palisades already did it.


I can agree with you, though I was genuinely not hoping for something more. What could they have possibly done to top Palisades?


Wow, that reminds me... they should've made this line a Sesame Street line.

I'm sure if we weren't making these figures, there would be plenty of people saying, "The Muppets are on TV, why is no one making action figures?" Not everyone buys their toys online, and these will be in retail stores, for people to see and buy, including a large number of people who did not collect the old line. I can't remember the last time I saw a Palisades figure in a store.