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

[floydnjanicefan]

I really don't know what happened to the pupils. They're okay, but they do look a little too large and puffy. These are the specs they likely have. It's probably a factory issue. Such issues happened with Palisades too.

Remember Tux Fozzie's pupils? Eugh. I worked very hard on that Fozzie as every sculptor at Palisades and the factory dropped the ball. I did some of my best work on that Fozzie and he turned out as one of the weaker figures. It happens.

Good thing that the issues here seem to be minor. I can't wait to get these in my hands to look them over. From what I've seen, some subtlety was truncated between the samples and the final pieces, but that's to be expected. I'm generally very pleased.

As an added note that's directed toward fans in general (and not necessarily here), there are a lot of folk who have been unduly harsh pertaining to this particular product. They'll sing the praises of many substandard Muppet products, but turn into absolute monsters (not the fuzzy muppet kind) when the figure talk starts. There's either some chip on the shoulder of these joyless, disaffected folk or some unattainable arbitrary standard. I don't know what to say other than to point it out. People were generally terrible about Palisades back in the day. People forget that, but I worked very hard on that product and took things pretty personally. It's been over a decade since that line ended and I've matured a lot as a professional so that doesn't happen quite as much anymore. However, I am not above pointing out this phenomenon. I just won't name names.

I will say this. Most everyone who works on these sorts of projects do so out of great passion for the Muppets. They're not quite as big business as we'd like to believe. I'm a huge fan of Tough Pigs' ugly toy pageant and I certainly don't think anyone should rave about something they don't appreciate, but unless something is truly awful - the hyper-critical folk are actually doing more harm to the Muppet brand than any particular product. Just a thought from someone who's done legit work for the Muppet brand on and off for the past 15 years.

Just had to get that off my chest.
Peace

A lot of great points. Had to reread my comments to make sure I wasn't being too harsh, and I think I'm ok. I really am quite happy with them!

 

[jvcarroll]

A lot of great points. Had to reread my comments to make sure I wasn't being too harsh, and I think I'm ok. I really am quite happy with them!

Aw, I certainly wasn't referring to you. No worries. I'm probably the harshest critic of this sort of thing, particularly if I've contributed to them.

For example, some folk have been critical of Camilla in saying the Palisades was better when the DST figure is much more accurate. There was another fan who thought Bean looked like the cheap themepark toy when he actually has over a dozen paint apps on him and is extraordinarily puppet accurate compared to any previous Bean merchandise. And there's also the really harsh reviews of Palisades from over a decade ago that were insane.

I still don't get what happened to Kermit's pupils. There was also some really nice airbrushing on Gonzo's beak and his bottom lip had a stroke of pink on the prototypes. The inside of Camilla's mouth was incredibly complex, but I expected that would be simplified in production. It doesn't appear that they've painted it at all. But those things happen. It's the pupils that deserve the singular criticism in series one. I'll probably repaint mine.

 

[Zack the Dog]

Oh yeah I remember Palisades were picked apart back when on certain things.
I would loved to see a side by side to see the comparison for size purposes of Dimond select and Palisades. Bean Bunny looks great and I can't see why someone would complain about him. I feel it was nice of Select with using both ( Poseable ) Robin and Bean Bunny in The first series bc Palisades weren't able to do that before the line stopped.

I feel Robin and (maybe not Bean) would still fit in with Palisades as long as not next to Rizzo/Pepe Ect. But a small Poseable Robin in big Sweetums Hands will never look odd! ;-)

Also if this Bean Bunny does look too small if displaying with Palisades there was a Bean Bunny Star Wars Ewok figure that one could take the clothing off and somehow make Bean's sweater and scarf.

 

[muppetperson]

- Not sure if figure Series 3 has been pinned down yet.

Now that Series 1 Muppets MiniMates and Action figures have shipped,
how is the line doing? Will we see Series 3 of both? If so, when will we get
news of who will be in them?

 

[jvcarroll]

Now that Series 1 Muppets MiniMates and Action figures have shipped,
how is the line doing? Will we see Series 3 of both? If so, when will we get
news of who will be in them?

The Minimates appear to be doing well so I'd count on that.

 

[floydnjanicefan]

I really hope Minimates series 3 completes the Electric Mayhem. I remember when the Palisades came out, the wait between series 3 and 5 to complete the band drove me crazy. I was so terrified the line would be cancelled without a Janice.

(This is of course before I even considered that Lips would even be a possibility)

 

[beaker]

People probably remember my posts on MC forum from 1998 saying how badly I wished for a Muppet figure line closer to the 4" range, and how I had hoped the Palisades line was to be 4"(instead of 6") I knew Diamond Select was being coy with not revealing the true scale of the new Muppet figures, but now reading they are closer to the 4" scale I love makes me so overjoyed!

And these definitely look different than the Palisades line! Almost wish they'd release that Muppet Show illustrated book from 1978 to go with it. These truly look beautiful from the pix, both series 1 and 2. I hope buzz for the figures goes super nova. I don't get the nitpicker/naysaing either. My only one is wondering why Bunsens arms look so skinny, but thats about it. That Statler/Waldorf balcony seat mini playset is amazing looking and a dream come true.

Hoping ABC renews the Muppets and we get an expanded wave 3!
Im guessing Ms Piggy, Rowlf, Swedish Chef and Dr Teeth will be wave 3?(educated guess?) But man Id love to see a figure weve never seen before.

 

[christianpyro]

The Minimates appear to be doing well so I'd count on that.

I'm glad the minimates are doing well, but you omitted the action figures. Is this not doing as well hoped?

I sure hope we get more than just series 1 and 2. I have pre-ordered both with the hopes that more are to follow.

 

[jvcarroll]

I'm glad the minimates are doing well, but you omitted the action figures. Is this not doing as well hoped?

I sure hope we get more than just series 1 and 2. I have pre-ordered both with the hopes that more are to follow.

Considering that they're barely out at this point, there's likely very little data on that. They reportedly have 4 planned waves so I'd expect they'd at least stick to that. I you guys want these to go beyond that, make sure to buy them all!

 

[christianpyro]

Considering that they're barely out at this point, there's likely very little data on that. They reportedly have 4 planned waves so I'd expect they'd at least stick to that. I you guys want these to go beyond that, make sure to buy them all!

I understand that firm sales data may not be available at this point, but the solicit for these figures have been out for a while, and I would assume that Diamond could judge interest in the line so far based on the number of orders they've received.

Yes it's too early to tell if the line will peg warm or if the line will sell like crazy and more orders are placed, but I would think Diamond would have some idea on how successful or not it is so far based on Order Quantity. They must have met their MOQ, but if there was a lot of interest from retailers, or just a nibble, tells a lot about how successful a line will be.

I'm hoping this line sells like hot cakes myself, and that this line reall digs deep into character selection.