DSTChuck has released a new Diamond Select Toys Q&A over on their
Art Asylum website for your viewing pleasure.
In this weeks edition focuses on Minimates questions. Check out the entire Q&A below:
David Cooper
Hey can I put Godzilla on the table of new Minimate Ideas after all a new movie is coming out soon. and there enough monster to last a couple waves and I know you could do a great job if Toho would agree. I know he’s not on the table yet, but next time your at a meeting can you bring him up?
DSTChuck: David, I think Godzilla is a great franchise. I have no idea if Toho would agree but it’s something to consider.
Matthew Mosher
Dear DST, I just wanted to ask you guys another question about Minimates. Since your Universal Minimates are so awesome, I wanted to know if you would consider doing the 1939 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, considering its grotesque title character and its Gothic horror atmosphere. You could do one set that has Quasimodo, Frollo, Clopin, and Esmeralda; and a second set that has Gringoire, Phoebus, Archdeacon, and (possibly) King Louis XI! Please consider this, guys. My collection will not be complete until I have Minimates of Charles Laughton, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Maureen O’Hara on my mantle! Thanks for reading.
DSTChuck: Matthew, I do not think we have settled on which monster franchises we will be working on for 2013 but that time is getting close and I think Hunchback is one that will get serious consideration.
Brian Kettler
Next year, 2012, is the 25th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Any chance of seeing STTNG Minimates return? Also, with the mixed waves of Minimates vehicles, any chance of seeing the TOS Shuttlecraft getting released? That shuttle you’ve shown in the past is a work of art and I’d love to buy several!
DSTChuck: I have to be honest there has been no talks here or from the sales staff about bringing Trek back to Minimates – I think we’re all kind of counting on the excitement from the upcoming movie to get interest going again.
Kyle Giovanni
Hi, I’m a huge fan of your Minimates! I know there was a lot of talk of Firefly/Serenity Minimates in the past, but they never really caught on. Is there any progress on those? Do those have any future? That would be a great set of Minimates that a lot of people would be sure to buy, myself included! Thanks.
DSTChuck: No I am sorry we have no plans to go forward with those and I do not think anything is happening with the property right now that would change that – great show and movie though.
Robert Beavis
I am in awe at what you have achieved with the Minimate line & I’m very proud of the fact that I own at least one pack of every single one that you have ever produced. In the last year or so we have seen some of the best Minimates I have ever seen but I must also say I have seen some of the worst . This ‘best’ & ‘worst’ scenario revolves around the quality of the Minimates which almost seems to indicate that there are now in fact two types of Minimate being produced by two different factories. I appreciate that you have had an explosion of new releases but that is no reason to descend below a reasonable quality level. Mis-matched colours of plastics & paint is perhaps the biggest problem although missing & ill-fitting parts are on the increase as well. In a nutshell,there is a problem & it needs to be rectified & recent denials aren’t helping.
DSTChuck: WOW Robert that’s GREAT; that must be a heck of a collection! Stop by and say “hi” next time you’re at a show we are set up at. We’re concerned about the QC as well. We’re taking steps to prevent that from happening and I think part of it seems to be we always have a bottle neck of production time at the worst times. We do not use more than one factory though; the process is very exact so we’ve always kept it to one factory. I am not sure what you mean about “denials” though but if you get a product we make that you’re not happy with please contact customer service for a replacement.
Drake Monogram
The Munsters Select figures look terrific, Herman might be one of the nicest ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ figures ever made. But I have to ask: Any chance we’ll see some Minimates from the license? They seem like they could be done with parts reuse from the Universal Monsters line (with some BttF parts for Marilyn) and would make a real nice companion set to them.
DSTChuck: Drake I think its possible but we do not have them planned at this time. If the line does well I think it would be natural to do some Minimates.
S. P.
Is Killzone covered in the sony minimates license? I’d kill from some mini Helghasts!
DSTChuck: No sorry, no plans for any Kill Zone Minaimtes.
Justin B
You probably hate seeing my name by now. What can I say, I’m a curious person. Anyways, just a couple questions: 1. Will the proton streams coming with the RGB mates be exactly the same as all the other proton streams we’ve received with the movie mates or will they be changed in some way, shape or form? 2. Have you ever considered Buffy the Vampire Slayer Minimates? And if so what happened to cause it to not go into production. 3. Will we see “Office Attire” clothes for the RGB guys, I’ve seen Janine & Louis have both office attire and GB Uniform mates, was curious if the main guys will come with an office attire type look. That’s all for now, thanks as always for answering my questions :)
DSTChuck: Justin, Justin hmm name does not ring a bell…sorry! Pretty sure they are the same streams. Yes we have of course considered them but no we’ve never gotten past talking about them. I don’t think we have plans to do the office look for the team, sorry.
Garrett Beatty
I’m a huge fan of the Marvel minimates, but there are a few characters that, I believe, could use an update, specifically modern versions of Storm, Colossus and Rogue. I’m also curious to know if there are any plans to make minimate versions of more of the cosmic characters, I’d love a Quasar, Starlord, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, Ronan, and the rest of the Inhumans. Thanks for your time and keep up the great work!
DSTChuck: We do address updates from time to time but I do not think we’re looking at any of those cosmic characters.