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

[Blue Frackle]

Lol I just asked jv most of these questions a few pages back.

@jvcarroll, do you know why they released Sam Arrow and Tuxedo Rowlf before their naked selves? It's kind of bad that they just barely squeezed in a naked Rowlf at the end of the line.

Did you work on the Sesame Street line, too? and wasn't there going to be Fraggle Rock as well? I think I can remember seeing a Gobo prototype.

I wanna say the Gobo figure was going to be a one-off to see how well a Fraggle figure would sell; I think they could at least have pulled off a 2-3 series Fraggle Rock line.

PS does anyone think Fonzie looks a tad short?

It seems like with wave 2 the figures just got generally bigger. I can't pinpoint it, but compare Animal to Scooter, and then Bunsen to Scooter. Is Scooter really that short? It looks like Animal would eat Scooter. Bunsen is nearly as tall as Fozzie, so that tells me something is wrong.

Ugh, the one thing killing me that no one mentioned yet is the height of 's glasses.

 

[MuppetSpot]

I wanna say the Gobo figure was going to be a one-off to see how well a Fraggle figure would sell; I think they could at least have pulled off a 2-3 series Fraggle Rock line.

Yes, Gobo was going to be special test figure but, due to Disney buyout he was nixed in Series 10.

 

[minor muppetz]

@jvcarroll, do you know why they released Sam Arrow and Tuxedo Rowlf before their naked selves? It's kind of bad that they just barely squeezed in a naked Rowlf at the end of the line.

It was common knowledge that the naked versions of those two were originally planned to come out first, but then it was decided to have variants of those two (as well as Stunt Gonzo and Frog Scout Robin) before the standard versions to help the line last longer, to prevent series of only variants and fan favorites from happening too soon in the lines run. I know that a naked Rowlf was sculpted before they decided to release the tuxedo variant first, and at the time it was also said that they were saving Rowlf for something special (which I've heard a few different things about... I've heard that they considered releasing a Mega Rowlf first, which would have gotten a mega version of a regular-sized figure before it came out, and I think Ken Lilly once said that they were looking into giving Rowlf extra articulation without putting cuts in the arms, which was scrapped due to the fact that toys with such articulation tend to wear out).

I don't know whether the regular Sam the Eagle was sculpted before they decided to release Sam Arrow first, but one of the reasons that variant came first was due to Palisades getting the rights to make variants and such from the movies. It was to get a movie figure out sooner.

 

[floydnjanicefan]

I don't know whether the regular Sam the Eagle was sculpted before they decided to release Sam Arrow first, but one of the reasons that variant came first was due to Palisades getting the rights to make variants and such from the movies. It was to get a movie figure out sooner.

I think I do remember that they made Samuel Arrow because they had just obtained the rights to movies at that point and wanted to utilize it. I can't remember if Rizzo was also branded as Muppets from Space that series, but his accessories were primarily from the film.

 

[floydnjanicefan]

Yes, Gobo was going to be special test figure but, due to Disney buyout he was nixed in Series 10.

I believe that he was originally going to be shipped along with series 10 without even being announced so he would have been a surprise to folks as they showed up to their local stores. Does this sound right, Jamie?

 

[rowlfy662]

Zach from DST was on this podcast today. Muppet talk begins round the 24.09 mark but it is pretty short no new news sadly but still a good listen

http://www.actionfeatures.net/2016/09/action-features-podcast-episode-102-one.html

 

[muppetlover123]

Nice shoutout to the forum

 

[Blue Frackle]

It was common knowledge that the naked versions of those two were originally planned to come out first

Lol give me a break. While I was young, I do actually remember seeing the "naked" concept art first.

It was a pretty daring move though, to save normal versions of two key characters for later in the line. It immediately bothered me when I originally bought Sam Arrow. I had to have my Sam the Eagle, but it was like why?

 

[minor muppetz]

I can't remember if Rizzo was also branded as Muppets from Space that series, but his accessories were primarily from the film.

He was.

When it comes to figures branded for a movie when the characters were already around, Lips was the only one to be branded from a movie whilethe figure itself didn't have anything related to that movie and could have been branded as from The Muppet Show. I often thought that Lips should have come with a bellhop rat. And in a non-GMC-related pack-in desire, I felt like a Snerf would have been a more appropriate pack-in than the Javas, since those characters had trumpets for noses.

I believe that he was originally going to be shipped along with series 10 without even being announced so he would have been a surprise to folks as they showed up to their local stores. Does this sound right, Jamie?

I wonder if they drew up plans for a few Fraggle series beyond the surprise. So series 10 of the Muppets line would have had a surprise Gobo figure, one in each case of figures. If it sold well enough for a Fraggle Rock action figure line, would the same Gobo figure have been included? Would a different Gobo figure have been made? Would a Fraggle Rock line have had to go without a standard Gobo (with the figure already being part of another line, and in such limited quantities)?

I wonder when we'll get more info on series 3 of the mini mates. I feel like those should be out soon, but I don't remember seeing any updates about the figures since the initial official announcement. No word on if there'll be more characters or who will be an exclusive where or what.

 

[jvcarroll]

Lol I just asked jv most of these questions a few pages back.

@jvcarroll, do you know why they released Sam Arrow and Tuxedo Rowlf before their naked selves? It's kind of bad that they just barely squeezed in a naked Rowlf at the end of the line.


I wanna say the Gobo figure was going to be a one-off to see how well a Fraggle figure would sell; I think they could at least have pulled off a 2-3 series Fraggle Rock line.

It seems like with wave 2 the figures just got generally bigger. I can't pinpoint it, but compare Animal to Scooter, and then Bunsen to Scooter. Is Scooter really that short? It looks like Animal would eat Scooter. Bunsen is nearly as tall as Fozzie, so that tells me something is wrong.

Ugh, the one thing killing me that no one mentioned yet is the height of 's glasses.

Lots of odd points that I haven't really heard voiced quite that way. Let me see.


They ended up making Sam and Rowlf, so the only kind of bad thing about the Palisades line is the lack of Sal to go with Johnny. I think the characters were spaced out nicely. Everyone wants it all at once. That's not how a line is sustained.


As I understand it, Gobo was an experiment. There were no rights to future figures and most stores don't like carrying merchandise without a somewhat current project to promote.


My Bunsen's glasses can be re-positioned a bit so I think they're fine. The new puppet has them angled much like that.

I finally got my balcony set and Statler & Waldorf appear to be a bit larger than they should be. It's not terribly noticeable, but I notice. They usually sit in the balcony so it's not a big deal to me. Their sculpts came out beautifully.


Animal is a tall fella. I have the poser. Scooter is about Kermit height. Bunsen's height always seems fungible. I always felt the Palisades was a bit too short. I'd prefer Fozzie to be larger. First Series' always seem to be the practice round. It certainly was that way with Palisades. Then things tend to improve. The likenesses, however, seem a lot stronger here for the most part.