One of the ideas we were kicking around for our 5th Anniversary week was some retrospectives on some of the biggest lines we’ve covered over the years. There is probably none bigger than MOTU Classics. For an “online only” line, it has chugged along for over six years, it’s filling MOTU displays to the brim, and dominates a big chunk of the toy blogosphere. It is easily our busiest checklist and covering it (We’ve reviewed all but three items from the line – can anyone tell me what three?) has easily been a big part of our own success. And not to mention it’s one of our favorite toy lines!
For our 5th Anniversary, Mattel Brand Manager Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich agreed to sit down with IAT and talk about the MOTU Classics line! And we’ve added in some of our favorite MOTUC captioned pics over the years!
ItsAllTrue.Net: When IAT started up in 2009, one of our very first reviews was Hordak. Despite some stiff competition, he’s remained one of our most favorite figures since. What figure are you most proud of from then until now?
Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich: I think Trap Jaw remains one of the best figures in the entire line. I remember when we were looking into putting the Kronis head and arm in with the figure; there was talk of holding those parts for a dedicated “Kronis” figure down the road because TJ already had a lot of accessories. But TJ had the potential to truly be one of the best figures ever done, and by including those parts too, it just put him over the top. Some other favorites include Modulok, Mantenna, Kobra Kahn and NA He-Man.
IAT: With Trap Jaw as one of the best figures, is there a figure that stands as one of the toughest to get right? Is there one you’d really like a “do-over” on?
TG: Leech was a figure I would have loved to have given unique legs and arms, but he still came out great. I would love to get another crack at King Hssss. He didn’t come out as perfect as we all wanted and as an A-list villain it would be great one day to revise him.
IAT: Alright, one more character question, and then I promise I’ll move on! Are there any of your personal favorites that have yet to be brought into the line?
TG: We’ve done most of my personal favorites at this point. Spikor was a long overdue favorite until he came out. I am definitely looking forward to the remaining Snake Men. The next one comes out in November!
IAT: Looking at the whole line, what do you think constitutes the “Classics” aesthetic? The line has varied heavily from figures like Clawful & Spikor to figures like Fisto & Jitsu. What do you think ties them all together?
TG: It’s the common parts and their origins in the vintage line. If a figure was not in the vintage line, we try to imagine what the figure would have looked like had he/she been released back then and then reverse-engineer the Classics version. Chief Carnivus and Icarius are great examples of this. For the females, the vintage POP girls were all dolls with rooted hair, so likewise we try to look at what they would have looked like had they been released as female MOTU figures (like Teela or Sorceress) in the vintage line and then update that into Classics.
IAT: Speaking of that process, are they any challenges you face by working with an outside design studio versus a totally in-house project?
TG: The Horsemen are fantastic to work with and we look forward to many more years of our partnership.
IAT: We look forward to it too. It’s a great partnership! What’s it like bringing the 4H’s work into the fold to turn it into a Mattel product? When changes or additions have to be made to the original designs, what sources are used to determine the best course of action? Do the designers work off their own intuition, do you call up the 4H, consult any web resources?
TG: Trying to capture as much of the Horsemen’s original design while keeping the figure current with safety and design regulations can be challenging and many times compromises need to be made. The 4H prototypes are not made of plastic and are not articulated (they are held together by pins, if you try and move an arm it will “fall off” – just watch any of my video walk throughs!) In the end, we always need to go with regulations first and foremost.
Beyond that, there isn’t one overarching rule. Every figure is approached differently. Essentially, we start with the Horsemen sculpt that is a “Classics” interpretation of the vintage figure (or hypothetical vintage figure). It is usually up to the Horsemen to make most design choices, but of course Mattel’s design staff has the final say making sure all toys meet safety and logistic regulations.
IAT: What are some of the challenges you run into in regards to those safety & logistic regulations? Does this being an adult-oriented line change that at all?
TG: Every figure tends to be its own set of challenges. Roboto, for example; we really wanted to try and preserve the vintage action feature with turning internal gears, but that created three times the amount of work as each gear had to be run through the tool individually (if we painted them the gears, they would chip over time). New material has also not always worked out such as the case of Snout Spout. We wanted to go above and beyond and make the snout bendy and some of the figures had QC issues with this. One of the biggest challenges is really rising costs. Labor and material costs are not something we can control and these tend to go up every year. We know adult collectors have a very high standard and we are always working to meet their expectations at an affordable price point.
IAT: Has there ever been a time when you wished MOTUC wasn’t aimed at adult collectors? That it were more kid-oriented, with the ability to incorporate & improve the classic action features with modern toy technology?
TG: Not for a toy line like MOTUC. Mattel has plenty of product aimed at kids with action features and the like. It is actually nice to work on toys that are more for collectors and different from what is the usual day-to-day product.
IAT: As we’re getting late in the game it seems characters of more odd size & shape crop up and are requiring more tooling? Is it getting more difficult?
TG: There are definitely some challenges with figures that require a lot of tooling and finding creative solutions. The example above with Leech is a great example where we would have loved to give him new legs but it just was not possible.
IAT: Alright, I have one more question that I was asked to ask, but I think I know your answer. If budget weren’t a concern and now that Castle Grayskull is part of the line, what one item would you put into motion?
TG: Snake Mountain for sure. But that is definitely off the table for 2015. We needed to be mindful in both 2014 and 2015 to try and complete the vintage roadmap by the end of 2015 as promised.
IAT: Now, with SDCC just a few weeks away, we obviously don’t want to spoil anything, but I did want to ask about MOTU outside Classics. We’re seeing the brand start to spread out a little bit with things like the Mini-Masters and Baby Skeletor. Are there any other form factors or product types at Mattel that you think would be great for MOTU?
TG: We’re always exploring new ideas for the brand. In face, we’ll have something big to show off at SDCC!
IAT: And on that tease, we’ll wrap things up. I’d like to again thank Scott “Toyguru” Neitlich for sitting down with an interview with us and for contributing to our 5th Anniversary Week! Thank you, Scott!!
I’m betting that the “something big” is going to be the 12″ vintage sculpt Masters from Toy Fair.
That would be pretty cool! I’d love to get Faker or Scareglow that gigantic! lol
That would be pretty awesome! The other thing that came to mind was a replica power sword, but I doubt that would ever happen. =(
I think that’s one unlikely, but it would be cool.
hmm…I’ve got a feeling Mermista may be out, the way he keeps mentioning Leech’s legs. Wasn’t there some discussion she would get her mermaid tail?
Mermista is definitely still in and will be treated fairly. I’m confident on that. She’s one of the ones I’m really hoping we see at SDCC this month!
Perhaps they’ll design her legs to detach (a la King Hiss and Extendar) and include both legs and a tail! Of course that would be asking for too much, right?
I don’t think so. I think that’s exactly what they need to do with her. The only question is if she’ll need to be one of the handful of higher price-point items left or they can do that as a normal figure.
I’m hopeful the situations aren’t that similar – Leech is mentioned as an example of extensive new tooling; new limbs would have made him close to 100% new, and it sounds like TG’s saying with all the other new stuff they had to tool for him, something had to give. Mermista probably wouldn’t require much new tooling beyond her tail, so hopefully she’s more comparable to Hsss than Leech.
(Though that’s totally just baseless supposition in an attempt to keep myself optimistic!)
I think you’re spot on. I don’t know. I’m just not worried about Mermista… well, I am. How will her unitard look? Will she get boot swivels? How will the face sculpt look? What color hair? The tail, I’m not concerned. I’m betting on a swappable lower half and a nice sculpt.
Noisy, are you aware if TG has seen your Mighty Spector review? I feel like he’d be impressed at least with the photos.
Haha. Y’know, I don’t know? I did love that one though!
Mighty Spector Review
Just revisited that gem. Ain’t time travel great?!
It’s hard for me to remember them all, but I do love that one. It is just darn funny and it’s a great reminder about the imaginary lines fans draw around stuff!
An interesting read, for sure. Thanks!
Thanks, Beedo!
Great interview, i agree that the “big” item will probably be the large classic figures.
Shame the Grayskull didn’t do as well as they thought (I cant find the quote but scott said that there were more cancellations than they expected, hurting future playset chances) but its great to know he would want to get to a snake mountain. Snake Man in November?! Sweet… I mean, we all knew one was coming, but still nice to be aware of! Im betting Tung Lashor.
if castle grayskull couldn’t get draw committed dollars, i wonder what the odds are for the longevity of the giant classic figures? i for one would not even be slightly tempted by that enticement.
i’m kind of hoping that the big announcement is the re-branding effort, but i suspect that makes more sense for next year’s comic con… in which case the giant figs would match his “cryptic” statement.
oh well, cancel it right now then! 😉
i think the 12″ Vintage figures might tap into a new market for collectors who weren’t into Classics. the oversize vintage star wars figures have. i don’t know that i’d want more than maybe he-man and skeletor myself, but the original 8 back card pack would be cool.
I’m conflicted on this. I mean, MOTUC has already taken up enough space! But I’d be in for Stratos probably. I’m still trying to figure out which one (or two or three or … Christ, forget it!) of the Gentle Giants to pick up. I wish we could just get carded reissues in the original scale.
I feel the same way! The good news is that if they do this, He-Man is a lock and that means all but a disastrous launch would ensure I get a Faker. Scareglow would rock if they’d do him. Anyone else I would want though is so far down the list as to be unlikely.
I would love to see them do MOTU in another anything and have it work out, so I’m for this. Like you though I couldn’t buy ’em all. If I could just get to Faker, I’d be happy though. And a bunch of others… lol
I think you have to look at it differently. I don’t think those big jumbo figures are for the typical demographic. They’re for the tops of DVD racks or computer desks. For you, what is your hands down all-time favorite vintage figure? Even if it weren’t your cup of tea to actually pay for, would it be cool to see it in a big scaled-up version?
Hell, I’m all for He-Man, Skeletor, and if they wanted to go ahead and re-make the entire vintage line in the 12″ scale, go for it! Doesn’t mean I’m going to buy ’em though — but don’t let *ME* stop them from making them and someone else from enjoying them!
I’m feeling Tung Lashor over Sssqueeze too, but what about Blast Attak!? 😉
So, let me get this straight. Oversized blow molded vinyl figures with limited articulation and no accessories, way way overpriced as well, is the ‘exciting’ future of the line?
I suppose having all those boxes lined up would be neat, in a way.
I thought I noted a touch of disdain from Scott regarding MOTUC as an actual toy line, the kind kids would play with. Pity, that, coming from someone working for a toy company.
I wonder if he’s put in an app with Stan Lee’s company yet. He’s sure not going to get work at DC.
The more successful SKUs MOTU can get as a brand the better. It doesn’t really matter what they are and collectors seem receptive to Jumbo Vintage so more power to Mattel should they do it (though it should be noted that Toyguru never once said anything of the sort).
As for the upscaled vintage figures themselves, those do indeed rock. If Mattel goes that route, I can only only hope they replicate the quality and success GG has on Jumbo Star Wars. They are expensive though, I’ve only deemed one character worth picking up: http://www.itsalltrue.net/?p=24449&page=2
While it wasn’t spoken, Mattel already has a retail channel for ‘Jumbo Vinyl’ toys, cf. Batman (last movie) and Superman (last movie). Hasbro is fairly well dominating the concept currently, I mean, there’s a freakin’ giant John Cena out there next to Darth Vader!
I can see the combo of ‘high pricepoint at low logistical cost’ and ‘house brand’ and ‘item denies space to competing product’ meeting in that Venn diagram.
but I speculate. 🙂
Ah…my heart sunk when you didn’t bring up poor Calix.
*sobs*
We stayed away from character selection questions mostly. I have a good, probably misplaced, feeling about Calix still. Better odds than Red Beast anyway.
Great interview. I thought Scott came across better than usual.
The Horsemen would disagree with Scott’s statement about figure articulation, however.
Happy 5th anniversary.
You get Faker if they do He-Man. I get Mer-Man if they do Skeletor.
Win/Win.
He actually answered some questions. Good Grodd!
Nice article.