regular figures...mega sized...what about minis?

[uncleduke]

Originally posted by ZootandDingo
Okay, I'm going to throw caution to the wind, I guess.

Am I the only one not really crazy about an idea for mini figures?

No, I am not all that wild about it. It has the potential to be cool, but I think that the Muppet collector can only split his toy budget so far. If they make minis, all it will do is depleate the money we would have spent on the regular figures.
Personally, I plan on buying all of the regular sized figures.
I will only by certain characters for the Mega-sized and Busts.
Minis would just either get lost, or sucked into the vacuum cleaner.
I may change my mind if they did episode specific sets, like Star Wars, Alice in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz. But I would have zero interest in them if they were just smaller versions of toys we already had.

 

[SuperGrover]

Another here who's a little less than enthused with the idea of Mini Muppet PVCs. That's why I haven't commented on them until now. Not that I hope they don't get made for the people here that obviously want them for whatever reason. Maybe if Palisades decides to make them too, they could think about changing their slogan to "Something For Everybody To Play With!"

I just don't collect PVCs. (Aside from putting them on birthday cakes and fun things like that, I don't especially like the permanently action-posed PVCs either). Plus I already have the Muppet chess set, which includes a lovely assortment of mini Muppet PVC characters as it is. Give me a Mega Muppet any day over a Mini PVC.

I really like the idea of the Mega Muppets. And even the busts. Both of these are fun new ideas we don't already have.

And of course I LOVE the regular-sized 6" lineup, that has my main interest and attention right now.

So if Minis came out, I'd probably put them off for last, unless they were something really magnifique, unique and completely out of this world.
Or glowed in the dark. Two for the price of one. Mix & Match. Water soluble. Or came packaged inside of hollow little chocolate eggs. You know, that kind of thing.

 

[MuppetQuilter]

I am very enthusiastic about the Minis. However, I do NOT want them to be miniature versions of the regular figures. That's fine for the Mega figs, as there will not be that many and making them bigger allows for more detail and more articulation. But Minis would have less articualtion (if any) and less detail and what's the point of that?

What I like and want is something a little different added to the Muppet figures. I see the Minis as a sort of spice-- something that adds flavor and zest to the mix. There are so many possiblities here-- the Alice in Wonderland figures are one possibility, but there are tons more! This could also be a chance for Palisades to get real creative and do something new with the Muppets. I know, I know, it is a horrible offense to suggest veering away from classic TMS, but as I have said (and said and said) I would love to see what the inventive minds at Palisades come up with when allowed to run wild with the Muppets. The Mini line allows for tons of figures which means they can do different stuff and more characters.

I'm not concerned about the spreading things too thin argument. In the 70s and early 80s there was TONS of Muppet merchandise out there. Few of us were able to buy all of it. Sure, we wish we had (I will one day own the coveted Sigma Gonzo mug!) but the stuff sold despite the fact that we didn't buy one of each. Now, I know the Muppets aren't as popular as they once were. But if Strawberry Shortcake stuff can sell today, well, I have to believe there is space in the market for three Muppet figure lines. Also, I'm willing to bet Palisades has considered this and perhaps even done a bit of market research. They are professionals, after all.

I'm finding the Simpsons Muppet comparison increasingly problematic. Simpsons is a current show, true its popularity isn't what it once was. TMS has been off the air for about 20 years. The Muppets are nostalgia. They are icons. Bart may get there someday, but he just hasn't been around long enough to truly reach icon status. (Sorry, that's how I feel) I think the lines appeal to some of the same people, but I also think there are a lot of differences. I can tell you my mother would NEVER purchase a Simpson figure and she is excited about the Muppet line. She teaches elementary school and she does not allow her students to bring any Simpson merchandise to school but she plans to keep some Muppet figures on her desk. She won't let her kids wear Simpsons t-shirts, but she shows TMS episodes to her class as a reward for good behavior. I think the Muppet line has a lot of possiblities that the Simpsons do not have (and I'm sure Simpsons have some that aren't open to the Muppets). Just think we're comparing apples and comquats here and it ain't apt.

 

[beaker]

Well, I think some may be saying they wouldnt buy the minis because 1) It wasnt officially announced, and since megas were officially announced, well then thats ok to say your fully behind them ...and 2) some may be getting confused with the old paradigm of 'PVC'...Playmates has set the standard with the simpsons minis, and I can just imagine what Palisades would do to raise the bar on those.

Its too bad some collectors wouldnt be interested in TMS minis...to me they are a million times more interesting than a few megas, and even more interesting to me than the 6" line as far as who could be released and other possibilities.

So I think a lot of people have the old 'PVC' thing in mind when they say they would buy them or be interested. Of course these same people probably havent seen the Simpsons minis in eprson at stores...if they did, they could just begin to imagine how cool TMS ones would be.

As for the Simpsons Muppets debate. Simpsons to me doesnt hold a candle to the Muppets. From the late 80's(yes, I said late 80's) til much of the 90's I was a huge Simpsons fan. But with a combination of an ever decreasing since of wit and idea(why do you think theres the injoke of comic guy saying 'worst episode ever?') and other stuff my interest has waned quite a bit. I mean we dont even have a Simpsons movie a decade and a half later.

Everyone knows the Simpsons hey day was 1990 as far as hype...and the gap left by the muppets in the early 90's til now has been filled by the Simpsons. But now...
i mean muppets is a global thing, its hard to see simpsons being appreciated by non ultra western pop culure countries...so I think that the Muppets shoul dbe poised to rise again.

Theres shouldnt be a Simpsons Muppet comparrison, as The Simpsons cannot compare to the greatness of the Muppets in any stretch of th eimagination. Comparing merchandise is fine, as yes...WOS did raise the bar as far as figure line longeivty and sales. I just cant wait to see what Palisades does to raise that bar even further!

 

[ZootandDingo]

Originally posted by frogboy4
I was waiting to hear someone make the spread-to-thin argument, but I see all of this as a good strategy by a company who is trying to get the best out of their contract and make the fans happy.

Good strategy by a company? Did I miss something, or has Palisades actually announced these things (not that it matters to me)? I thought Ken's post was merely hypothetical.

I can't apologize for pointing out an (as you call it) "argument" that you were expecting. I'm not a mindreader, yet. I think it's a realistic concern even if you don't....and my concern is for Palisades, not the Muppets (as said already, there have been tons of Muppet products...BUT, not all from the same company!).

There have been some cool toy lines that have turned to crud because the companies decided to expand them into too many scales, "companion" lines, side projects, etc. I would hate to see the normal 6" Muppet line drop in quality because Palisades was busy focusing on five other sizes of figures.

I agree with the sentiment that after 25+ years, we can do without smaller figurines for a while.

 

[beaker]

>>>I agree with the sentiment that after 25+ years, we can do without smaller figurines for a while<<<

It's too bad that in the late 90's, the Todd Mcfarlane standard wiped out the consumer thirst for 3-4" figures. sad.
I liken it to kids weened on phantom menace and attack of the clones...then seeing the original star wars trilogy and thinking its obsolete garbage.

 

[MuppetQuilter]

Originally posted by ZootandDingo

I can't apologize for pointing out an (as you call it) "argument" that you were expecting. I'm not a mindreader, yet. I think it's a realistic concern even if you don't....

Umm, I know this was not posted to me, but I'm gunna jump in here. Maybe I'm misreading, tone does get lost in typed text, but it sounds like you're upset, ZootandDingo. I don't think anyone expects an apology for bringing up a valid concern. Just because some of us aren't worried about Palisades spreading itself too thin doesn't mean others of us can't or shouldn't be. Heck, we can bring up absurd concerns around here if we want to. Everyone isn't gunna agree, but this place would be pretty dull if we did.

Personally, I'm not concerned about quality slipping on the regular line. From what I know of Palisades and Ken and Mike--well, they simply wouldn't allow it. They'd delay the new line or do whatever is necessary to maintain their reputation for top notch toys. Delaying the Labs playset is a case in point. They didn't allow the Lab to leave the factory until they were satisfied with Beaker.

Sure three lines would take more work than one. But isn't their Resident Evil line winding up? I think there may be room for more Muppets without increasing the amount of product Palisades is producing. Besides, maybe Palisades would like to grow-- stretch those spiffy new offices and all.

Anyway, as Z&D pointed out, this is all specualtion-- Palisades will do what they will do and it will be up tp each of us to buy or not buy as we see fit.

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by frogboy4
I was waiting to hear someone make the spread-to-thin argument, but I see all of this as a good strategy by a company who is trying to get the best out of their contract and make the fans happy.

Actually, i raised that argument as soon as we started talking about mini's but you must have missed it. While i am totally for the minis, i do tend to agree with the 'spread-to-thin' argument - even if it isn't true - i wouldn't like people in the magazines and industry to start saying that Palisades are getting as much out of their muppet license as quick as they can because they don't think it will last much longer and i'm pretty sure they would comment like that because it's 'The Muppets' and most people expect them to fail nowdays.

As with the exclusives and variants, i think there needs to be cleverly worked out gaps between new products being put out, rather than there being something new to get every single month. I would have preferred the Mini's to the Mega's but seeing as the larger figures ARE coming first, i myself would prefer Palisades to wait until say Wave 3 until they start making mini's because it would show they had already made the Muppets line a success and were catering to demand by producing other stuff, rather than anything else.

 

[beaker]

>>>Everyone isn't gunna agree, but this place would be pretty dull if we did<<<

This place dull, naw!

>>> Delaying the Labs playset is a case in point. They didn't allow the Lab to leave the factory until they were satisfied with Beaker<<<

Yeah, thats a clear case where Ken and company in the interest of quality...while we might have balked because of the delay, in the end ensured a much better product.

As for what Luke said, I much would have rather seen minis first, but like Ken stated...these have to be new sculpts rather than just scaled down series 1&2 lines.

We'll kno wby year's end or so just what other goodies Palisades has coming our way muppet wise.

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by MuppetQuilter
Sure three lines would take more work than one.

It's not really about how much work it would take to produce three lines. It's more about how it looks for Palisades to be rushing out three seperate toy lines based around the Muppets in a short space of time. To someone in the media or licensing biz that would scream desperation and a panic that the license wasn't going to last - that kinda vibe could hurt sales badly because buyers wouldn't touch them. Playmates waited over a year to produce another Simpsons product even though the toys were popular, they spent time building the original regular line up and focusing on that.