DST Spider-Man Limited Edition Collector Set

[DSTZach]

(I should add that I'm a fan, too, although I never felt I was such a fan that I felt qualified to post here. I mostly knew how hard they were to pose, who made the best customs and how to add neck articulation -- knowing something about Mego-like figures that people here don't is still kinda new to me. It's why I mostly left it to Doc until now.)

[DSTZach]

True, Doc's time would probably be better spent elsewhere. I could probably be doing other things, too (sleeping!), but part of my job is to talk to fans, and I want the community to be informed about why we do what we do.

I don't want people thinking that we are offering these sets as some kind of a cash grab, or that we don't know what fans want, or that we are doing this out of anything other than love for the Mego toy line and the Marvel brand. Obviously, the line needs to be profitable for it to work, but there are much easier deals we could have signed that would have turned a profit. I'm pretty sure this deal is in no way similar to any deal any other toy company has, and there were a lot of obstacles. But we wanted to do this one. Doc did AND DST did.

[hedrap]

I think Doc understands that getting the work done is more important than staying here and indulging endless questions from fanboys.

Doc's a mega fanboy. He keeps some distance from the Museum because he doesn't want to play verbal games with friends and aquatints, which he had to do with Retro Action. That's why I asked Zach to pop in when he can. He has a distance from the community that makes the relationship similar to what MattyCollector has with its fanbase. Unlike your boys at Figures, who couldn't be bothered.

[ThePlayerOnTheOtherSide]

I think it would be very helpful if you stayed around to post answers over time. This is usually what puts Doc in a tough spot, so your distance would help avoid any confusion.

I think Doc understands that getting the work done is more important than staying here and indulging endless questions from fanboys.

[DSTZach]

I think it would be very helpful if you stayed around to post answers over time. This is usually what puts Doc in a tough spot, so your distance would help avoid any confusion.

I know Doc doesn't want to say too much, so as long as people are okay with me occasionally being wrong, I'm happy to say more than I should and let Doc correct me later. I apologize for not being around more often, I will try to stop in regularly.

[DSTZach]

Thanks, DSTZach! Any chance the ENTIRE Mego Fantastic Four will be remade? New Fantastic 4 Movie in 2015!

I don't recall seeing them on the 2015 schedule, but perhaps down the road!

[enyawd72]

And we and EMCE have a lot of sets in the works. While a lot of people continue to compare what we're offering to Figures, retailers have responded positively, and we've actually ADDED to what we originally said we were going to do. We're just putting the finishing touches on the next couple of sets.

That's great news! I am very, very glad to have my fears put to rest. Can't wait to see what's coming!

[ovenmitt]

Thanks, DSTZach! Any chance the ENTIRE Mego Fantastic Four will be remade? New Fantastic 4 Movie in 2015!

[DSTZach]

Not sure every character Mego made is going to get remade, due to modern licensing restrictions and the number of alternate looks, etc., but hopefully the new characters will make up for it. Luckily, those characters are still out there for those who want them.

I do not recall a woman being on the list of new characters, but I need to re-familiarize myself with the new line plan.

I believe we may see more than four sets a year, but don't quote me on that.

Hopefully when they come out, more people understand the necessity of it all and are happy with what we put out when we put it out. Doc is obviously a master craftsman, and he's the one who found the way over this hurdle. His passion is what drives this project, I don't think we would have attempted hit without him.

[hedrap]

I don't know how many people really comment on stories at Marvel.com. The test would be to find the original post on their Facebook page and see who commented on that, and I don't remember how well it did there, to be honest.

Marvel is the licensor, we (DST) are the licensee, and Hasbro is the master toy licensee. Unless Hasbro decided to make them, whoever got the license for 8-inch dolls today was going to face the same restriction.

And we and EMCE have a lot of sets in the works. While a lot of people continue to compare what we're offering to Figures, retailers have responded positively, and we've actually ADDED to what we originally said we were going to do. We're just putting the finishing touches on the next couple of sets.

I think it would be very helpful if you stayed around to post answers over time. This is usually what puts Doc in a tough spot, so your distance would help avoid any confusion.

[pmwasson]

Thanks for the update. Hope we learn more at SDCC.

[ovenmitt]

DSTZach,

Thanks, for info! Glad to hear a LOT of sets are in the works! Are you increasing the # of sets per year? Will ALL ORIGINAL Mego Marvel figures be made? Can you at least hint if a NEW FEMALE is in the works? Spider-Woman and Jean Grey are popular around here!

[DSTZach]

I don't know how many people really comment on stories at Marvel.com. The test would be to find the original post on their Facebook page and see who commented on that, and I don't remember how well it did there, to be honest.

Marvel is the licensor, we (DST) are the licensee, and Hasbro is the master toy licensee. Unless Hasbro decided to make them, whoever got the license for 8-inch dolls today was going to face the same restriction.

And we and EMCE have a lot of sets in the works. While a lot of people continue to compare what we're offering to Figures, retailers have responded positively, and we've actually ADDED to what we originally said we were going to do. We're just putting the finishing touches on the next couple of sets.

[RobTMego]

^I thought Marvel was the license holder? Anyway...it doesn't really matter. Despite my criticism, I preordered two sets because I want these to succeed, and I hope they make lots of different ones. I also hope I'm wrong in feeling worried.
Fact is though...check out the original article over at Marvel.com. Not a single comment since the announcement was made two months ago. Seems people are just indifferent and THAT worries me...

You made a good point I went and made a login at marvel and made a comment!!

[The Bat]

If I'm remembering correctly, didn't Doc say that the only license restriction was one character, at an $80 price point? Adding in the secret identities and alternate versions was Doc's clever way of trying to add extra value to the set. It's trying to figure out how to add value in a way that makes sense for a given character that's the real sticking point for this line. A secret identity figure works for Spider-Man, but not for most other characters.

That's an excellent point! Doc found a clever way around the one character license restriction at an $80 price tag.