Fun-4-All may produce Sesame Street Action Figures

[Fozzie Bear]

My Rant For The Day...

First of, the Kubricks thing stinks. I wouldn't buy them for $1.00 a piece.

The reason I decided to show you the earliest versions of the sculpts is because NOW is the time where we can make changes (they are still just clay).

Which is exactly why I said:

Besides that, by us debating what we like and don't like might get us the figures we really DO want. And, with time to spare and our discussion we have a chance to get more out of the work they produce. I just don't see us settling for less if they can do better.

So, I hope others will get on the band wagon and help out with suggestions--good or bad feedback--and help us get figures we can all be proud to display.
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pdiresta, did you see the link a few pages back that showed some of the cartoon versions of the SS gang? What'd you think of that, and how close to anything else that Sesame Workshop shows you is that art?

Great cartoon design of the cast:
http://www.toughpigs.com/bookclubc800.htm

I just hope you realize that while we seem like a harsh bunch of folks and that we're seemingly coming down on F4A hard about the designs so far, we do love these characters with all our heart and there is a certain look and expectation we have in regards to the figures. You've read already that for too long we've had to deal with the likes of Sesame Babies and other badly produced merchandise, and we are ready for somthing beneficial to the fan community to be produced. It's not that we're disgusted that there is finally some SS figures coming out--we're proud of it. We just think ultimately they can--and will--look better than the current protos, and by offering the feedback to you we know we'll likely get something more along the lines of what we want and expect.

Otherwise, where there is some harsh talk in prior threads it was everyone trying to argue and reinforce their own ideas about what they like and didn't like with one another.
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So, to my MC Family, I hope now that we all quit comparing different lines of figures with these, and start focusing on what can be done to make this line better. There's no more need to defend the production of the figures, and there is no need to reinforce your own suggestions that you are willing to accept them as they currently are--this is the time where we are able to work alongside a good company and get our Muppet friends produced with good integrity to match the characters we all know and love.

I expect that we can put the nagging at each other behind us here on out and start being productive and making suggestions.

******************
Just to keep things local while reading, here's the link to the MC article which shows the pictures of the current proto's:
http://www.muppetcentral.com/news/2003/102703.shtml

 

[Drtooth]

Kubricks are a Japanese thing. It's like... well... okay... it's hard to compare to anything we've had here. It's became a phenominon over there, and so far they have hundreds of them. I only like the ones with sculpted heads, and I got like 3 of the Kelloggs ones for 2 bucks each...

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Sorry, I can't resist!

phenominon ...

do doo do do doo

I've seen the Kurbicks and was unimpressed by them.

 

[Stryder Wolfe]

very interesting....chalk me up as another who'd much prefer stronger puppet licenses. So far, out of those prototypes, if we see a lot of improvement, I might get oscar and cookie. This is if I can easily find them...I won't go to the trouble of hunting them down like I do some stuff.

Of course, I'm probably the pickiest person here...I have NEVER seen muppet/ss merchandise that was good enough for me to actually buy EXCEPT of course for the palisades figures. Other than those, I have a few sesame street things people boiught for me, knowing what a huge fan I am, but I've never shelled out for anything myself.

SO just getting me to admit to possibly thinking about buying the two mentioned above is a nice start.

hmmm..speaking of pleasing everyone all the time, ever consider doing two seperate SS lines? One stylized cartoony like your prototypes, and the other fully puppet based? Might work....

 

[beaker]

Agree 100%. I mean, a lot of people here (and especially on the palisdaes board) are like the guy in the desert (or is that dessert... I'm a bad speller) who's dying of thirst and complains his warters too warm..

heh, and ya wonder why I and a lot more dont go on there Im more of a news guy, I am usually too sift through threads, so Im a MC/TP/daily bit index sifter.
I like the desert analogy.

I didnt catch the fun4all guy's name, but he's like our new Ken...the Sesame Ken! Someone should start a "Ask so in so at Fun4All".

There are now 3 major respected names in Muppet stuff:
Palisades
Sababa
and Fun4all

I believe Fun4all's first Muppet stuff was the Piggy/Kermit/Fozzie/Kermit/Gonzo/Animal mini plush keychains...so its neat to see em grab this licence.

For people who insist on some kind of seperation of felt and state when it comes to Muppet Show and Sesame Street, foooie! If Sababa can make Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock stuff, Nanco can make Muppet Show, Sesame, and BEar in the Big Blue house stuff, and Fun4All can make Muppet Show and Sesame Stuff...There IS NO seperation...they all is Muppets.

Anyways to the Fun4All guy, thanks for being so involved with these, as weve been waiting for Sesame figures(and heck, non baby Sesame products) for eons!

 

[The Count]

OK, Im just gonna post as often as Mr. pdiresta does cause this thread's gotten far too convaluted for my tastes.
Improvements:
1 Sculpts.
Make them look more like the actual puppets than cartoon images, as most others have stated before. Can't comment on this for real cause my blindness has inhibited me from seeing the pics, but if you're gonna promise anything on at least a sub-level as Palisades it would do you good to strive for puppet likenesses for your figures rather than cartoon images.
2 Make Oscar a separate figure on his own, separate him from the trashcan and make that as a separate accessory. And I'd hope that Slimey the Worm would become a pack-in figure all to himself like the ones from Palisades, though not sure if that'll happen.
3 Super Grover, make his helmet magnetically removable. You'll save yourselves a lot of hassle this way, what with the removing of the helmet and cape.
4 Articulation.
Every figure in the series should at least have the same basic articulation points whatever they may be. Don't leave out any figure from articulation consideratin like some have stated regarding Oscar.
5 Accessories.
The Muppet letters will be a nice touch, but will you mix in numbers as well? Hoping that'll be the case should the figure of my namesake be released in a future series. Also, try to plan for a more overall scheme when planning the accessories. For example, I think that Super Grover could benefit from not only coming with a removable helmet and cape, but an old-fashioned safe as well. It would be a nice touch if the safe's door could open and close, but maybe that's too much to ask for fright now.
6 Paints.
Can't comment on this subject either, but I'd hope that the paints are applied more faithfully to the puppet likenesses than to the cartoon images. This comes to mind especially with Bert. Many of the PVC figurines in my collection never have his shirt completely correct, so make sure his shirt has vertical bands of green and blue and orange.
7 Packaging.
Still curious about this one point, and though I'd like to know what sort or style the packaging will be modeled after, my bigger concern is that the blisters have a sort of bio-info filecard on the back like the figures from Palisades.
That's all I've got for now, maybe more at a later date.
Hope this helps and have a haunted day.

 

[matleo]

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I wasn't in the office yesterday.
I just want to let all you guys know: We definitely appreciate all your comments, negative and positive! The reason I decided to show you the earliest versions of the sculpts is because NOW is the time where we can make changes (they are still just clay). There have been no revision on these sculpts as of now. Nothing is perfect from the start...but we're working on it. I am personally very close to this line here at Fun-4-All, and believe me...I am way more critical on the line that you all could ever be. I have a list of revisions, and so does Sesame Work Shop a mile long. And now we have all your suggestions to take into account (that's why you guys are so important, and play a huge role in the evolution of the development of the toys). I promise you (the true collectors/fans-which I am a part of), I take your comments seriously. I really want the collector fans to be happy, yes you guys are a tough crowd to win over, but we're going to do our best to find a happy medium where we can please the collectors, parents, children, and the buyers (without them-the toys don't make it onto the shelves). Thanks for the comments!

Thank you for your post regarding this subject. your candor here is appreciated and it puts my mind at ease a little regarding these figures. Still, I do wish oyu had been a bit more upfrotn about how early these prototypes were but....water under the bridge. 20/20 hindsight, right? Anyway, I lok forward ot seeing the improvements and I look forward to seeing characters liek Count telly, and so forth. you knw between S1 and S2, you have a LOT of my favorite guys already. so that's good. I also have a friend who keeps askign me about if there will ever be a Guy Smiley figure. when I told her about you guys her face lit up!!

Don't know if you can answer this, but what are YOUR reactions to these figures? What kind of changes do YOU think need to be made? I think that answer would put a lot of people here at ease.

I hope the line is a success for you and I hope the revisions go well. I look forward to seeing the final product and I hope that in 6 months a lot of us are sitting here eatign our words and apologizing. no seriously, I mean that!! I mean that for me too!! there are a lot of time, I've told Palisades 'I don't think that will be cool' and I'm glad I've been wrong each time, because Palisades had one an amazing job. I really hope you guys can do the same. Cheers!

--Matt

 

[matleo]

I didnt catch the fun4all guy's name, but he's like our new Ken...the Sesame Ken!

The FaA guy's name is Phil....which I think could get a little confusing if we call him that cause of Chapman. And I don't think Phil (F4A Phil) or Ken would appreciate us calling him Sesame Ken. hmmm..this is a quandry.

He, Mr. Diresta, is it all right if we just call you "F4A" or "Diresta" or "sesame guy". I think it would be a lot easier around here and cut down on confusion. See we already have a Phil. that's the guy with the pic of Kermit under his name where it says "Moderator". Anyway, we'd really appreciate it. thanks.

--matt

 

[frogboy4]

pdiresta

Thanks for your comments, but could you answer some of our questions? It's been asked numorous times if Oscar will be sculpted inside his can, but there has been no reply. Is this because you don't know? A simple response even if you don't know would be greatly appreciated. I'm glad you appreciate the input. We'd like to hear some too.

 

[Drtooth]

I didnt catch the fun4all guy's name, but he's like our new Ken...the Sesame Ken! Someone should start a "Ask so in so at Fun4All".

Don't call him Sesame Ken or Bizzarro Ken or anything like that. I can tell there is a F4A/ Palisades Rivalry between the two, since they have the SS licence Palisades wanted.

IMO, I do think these figures have potential. And not to step on any toes, but I have to admit, these have much better quality than the Palisades S1 Piggy... I skipped her until i saw her on sale. i kept her in the package until I found that PIS Piggy wAs delayed. So we can only tell that this line will not only improve after the protos, but in each and every series as well.

I mean, we need characters like Guy, 2 head, Forgetful Jones, etc. that haven't been made into many 3D representations yet... that I know of...

Not to mention Telly monster, who had a few things that were very hard to find (my fave piece so far in my SS collection would have to be my Telly Monster Die cast vehicle).

So as Beaker said, Palisades, Sabba, and now F4A are the "holy trinity" of Muppet Merch so far. and may there be many more.