No mention of Retro Rayner in 7/15 Matty Press

[Fuzzysnail]

This was the only Lantern Figure that I was interested in. I have to chuckle at the Retro Rayner hate.

[Hulk]

Perhaps, just perhaps, Mattel is actually seeing and following the interest in saving the line. This may be their way of saying "We hear you, but until we see some more interest, we won't be knocking down the doors on our China factory". The reality is, Mattel has everything they need to push out a 5th wave, except for the possible sales to justify it in their minds. They don't need to be firm in their final decision, as I am sure the factory will be more than happy to accomodate their order now or in the future. Of course this oculd just be a play by an online sales schmuck at MattyCollector to sell out of a line they have already announced won't be coming back, but it's a crack of light under the door at the end of the tunnel.

[zeedox]

This just shows how disconnected this whole thing is

I mean Kyle Raynor? I have the unique ability to look back on how I thought when I was a kid, I would have had almost not interest in alternative Green Latern guys. Also, I would have been disturbed that John Stewart looked different than he did in the cartoon.

It really is a case of these people poking themselves with a pencil and saying someone else did it. I don't see any unpurchased Supermans, Batmans, etc. If they were so concerned about sales then wave one should have been Superman Batman, Robin and the Joker etc.

[The Bat]

This was the only Lantern Figure that I was interested in. I have to chuckle at the Retro Rayner hate.

Hal will always be my favorite GL...but I like Kyle and was(am)planning on buying the Figure.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Well, Kyle was missing a ring in the proto pics, but you would think they would have noticed that many months ago...like we did.

Maybe they should really rename him Kyle RAYNOR (since half of us here can't seem to spell it right) and slip him into the MOTU line. He's sure to sell like hot cakes then.

Chris

[jemboy2004]

I'm Hoping mattel is at least gonna give this line another chance as exclusives, since TRU says they are no longer carrying the line.

[rche]

Masters of the dc Universe

Maybe they should really rename him Kyle RAYNOR (since half of us here can't seem to spell it right) and slip him into the MOTU line. He's sure to sell like hot cakes then.

[stabilio]

Of course this could just be a play by an online sales schmuck at MattyCollector to sell out of a line they have already announced won't be coming back, but it's a crack of light under the door at the end of the tunnel.

^This would be my bet. They've got another figure left to sell and realized the leak of the end of the line may further hurt the sales of that figure, which they already probably know won't be a big seller.

Its a shame that things didnt go right for this line. But based on the statement that the line has done poorly in stores as well as online, its probably gone.

I think the failure of the line can be traced back to one particular decision - it was quite simply the even ratio packing of the first wave of 4 characters. There were just too many Luthors and Sinestros not selling and sitting on the shelves. And that clearly affected the amount of product (or really lack of) that Toys R Us was willing to take of the future waves. I truly believe that if those 2 figures had been 1 to a case each instead, this might not be as it is today. But I'm not sure who can really be blamed for that.

I think Toys R Us must have ordered very light on the subsequent waves because of the wave 1 peg warmers. And in turn, sales of those waves didn't even have a chance to make up for wave 1 or impress Mattel because of the resulting lack of availability. If your product is only available to one distributor and that distributor isn't stocking your product, well then they are not going to sell well. It was clear that waves 2, 3 and 4 were not available in any consistency across the country. I'm not sure Toys R Us can really be faulted. They don't look at which characters are sitting there, they just know, hey we still have Retro figures in stock and we can't order the next batch unless the ones we have are selling.

As for the online stuff, I'm not sure how Green Arrow did but I bet he did well enough in comparison to other Matty online products. You never can tell based on "SOLD OUT" because they just mark an item sold out when they feel like it, even if they have loads left. Then they decided that the Green Lanterns were going to be a "test" to gauge the continuation of the line. Well thats a horrible decision by whoever even suggested it. Starting out with a figure that was their biggest shelf warmer with a new outfit isn't going to help. And then more and more Green Lantern incarnations, some with a decidedly more modern (than Mego era) slant. I don't think it would take a genius to guess that those weren't going to do well. There's no chance those sold out, they just marked them as such shortly before the release of the next one. As for this Kyle sales to decide the future, I don't truly believe this figure can sell anywhere near what they'd want even with people ponying up and buying more than had planned. Would have been really interesting to see what would have happened if their "test" of 4 characters had been Robin, Joker, Hawkman and Supergirl.

Its truly a shame, but I really think it comes down to that initial assortment packing ratio combined with impossible to overcome obstacles afterwards.

[MIB41]

I LOVE the fact we're getting all of these Lantern figures. Combine those with the Lantern Corps play set Anthony has made and Jason's (AKA Blackknight) awesome heads of the other figures, you can have the ultimate Lantern universe in Mego scale! I'm in Lantern heaven right now.

[johnmiic]

I think Toys R Us must have ordered very light on the subsequent waves because of the wave 1 peg warmers. And in turn, sales of those waves didn't even have a chance to make up for wave 1 or impress Mattel because of the resulting lack of availability... I'm not sure Toys R Us can really be faulted. They don't look at which characters are sitting there, they just know, hey we still have Retro figures in stock and we can't order the next batch unless the ones we have are selling.

Y'know, I'd like to think if this line had been made by MEGO and not Mattel, they would have seen Luthor and Sinestro warming the pegs and turned to the retailer and said, "Luthor and Sinestro are not selling? We'll take them back and re-purpose them." Then they would have done costume changes, Luthor in a business suit or some other outfit he wore on Justice League. Sinestro in his new yellow corps outfit rather than making more Sinestros specifically as online exclusives. Or Mego would have just lopped the heads off the bodies and used them for new character releases. If that had happened I'd like to think the line would still be chuggin` along.

[GoldBlade6]

ToyGuru: "Retro is turning out to be a lot like JLU in the sense that the fan base is incredibly passionate and loud online but when it comes to actual sales they just are not there.

We do have one more Retro item to reveal at SDCC (and we ain't saying for what brand!) but after that it is in fans hands. We need to see a lot more support for the brand (from a sales/units sold perspective) to justify more figures. Yes I know a lot of fans point out that much like JLU there is limited tooling for this line but that is not the issue. It is much more all of the logistics involved from line production time, to approvals to head sculpts etc... Unless we are selling a mimium number of units it is hard to keep a line going for the small but very loud fans online.

Personally this was a line I pitched to management a few years back and I would love to see it contuinue. But to do so we need to see sales beyond the very small but loud fan base we currently have. Supporting the online figures (yes Kyle is still coming, he was just delayed so we can make sure his ring hand is correct) as well as the GB and DC items at Toys R Us is the best way to send a message that you want more!"

Action Figure Insider View topic - DC RETRO fans. there could be hope!

[MIB41]

Great news. The only thing is, the retro figures are seldom at TRU! I buy virtually everything from online vendors with few exceptions. How can we buy these figures to show support if their not there to buy? Me confused.

[ScottA]

Dear ToyGuru - How can we BUY the things if we can't FIND them?

[GoldBlade6]

You can read my response to Scott's (ToyGuru's) post in that same thread where I basically ask him the same thing.

[MIB41]

It will be interesting to hear what they say. I also don't know if anyone caught this. But it doesn't sound like there are any more Retro hero waves coming for 2011 based on his comments. Assuming that guy is actually with Mattel.