What's Happening With Diamond Select Toys Pre-Orders???

On 7/16/2025 at 4:24 PM, GnarlyCharlie85 said:

All I can say is I know people are really wanting that Annihulis. I think if we could get him that would be the equivalent of going out with a bang, so to say. That Hobgoblin would be nice also I wanted him just for the glider. But man that Annihulis was one of the best marvel select figures they ever did and everyone was so hyped over it. Just feels like a shame if we can't get it.

I think the shame about Annihilus is that the order window opened up back in 2023, and with all that time they still weren't able to get it to market before Diamond crashed. But I imagine that if something's on a boat on the way from the manufacturer, there's a decent possibly it's that.

All I can say is I know people are really wanting that Annihulis. I think if we could get him that would be the equivalent of going out with a bang, so to say. That Hobgoblin would be nice also I wanted him just for the glider. But man that Annihulis was one of the best marvel select figures they ever did and everyone was so hyped over it. Just feels like a shame if we can't get it.

Only thing I can say is it's sad and shocking. I will miss marvel select as a line under DST. This is really a hectic hellish year for corporate america.

On 5/23/2025 at 10:26 AM, Emnems80 said:

Out of curiosity, would this allow someone like McFarlane to pick up the Marvel license DST had? It could be one way to continue that line in a similar way. 7" inch scale and I don't think Todd would mind having to have limited articulation.

I think it would depend on what assets Marvel Select has/had to offer, They have a respectable tooling library by now, but they also did mostly standalone sculpts for their figures, with sparse re-use. ( I think they did some re-issues over time). And by assets, I mean the stuff that was in the pipeline, but as yet unproduced. Take that on and doing runs with it could be a good stopgap to offer a McFarlane Marvel line, until his people can take over.Is it desirable? I don't know and cannot say until I could see what THEY would produce for articulated figures.

On 5/23/2025 at 12:39 PM, Emnems80 said:

Who's campaigning? I did not say the marvel license that Hasbro had, I was referencing the limited one that I'm assuming DST had. I was just wondering if it could be an option to continue a 7" scale Marvel figure line. McFarlane was just the first company I thought of, mainly since he's doing the statues right now. The new owners also own NECA, so could NECA be an option too?

Its unknown at this time.

On 5/23/2025 at 9:33 AM, tarot said:

Would people please stop campaigning for that hypocrite to get the marvel liscence?

Who's campaigning? I did not say the marvel license that Hasbro had, I was referencing the limited one that I'm assuming DST had. I was just wondering if it could be an option to continue a 7" scale Marvel figure line. McFarlane was just the first company I thought of, mainly since he's doing the statues right now. The new owners also own NECA, so could NECA be an option too?

On 5/23/2025 at 5:26 PM, Emnems80 said:

Out of curiosity, would this allow someone like McFarlane to pick up the Marvel license DST had? It could be one way to continue that line in a similar way. 7" inch scale and I don't think Todd would mind having to have limited articulation.

Would people please stop campaigning for that hypocrite to get the marvel liscence?

Out of curiosity, would this allow someone like McFarlane to pick up the Marvel license DST had? It could be one way to continue that line in a similar way. 7" inch scale and I don't think Todd would mind having to have limited articulation.

On 5/20/2025 at 11:13 AM, TheArrow said:

I disagree to a point, AndyL, because money trumps creativity, and that's what this is all about.

You said it all in the first sentence my friend. And you are right. As long as the company or the people who run them see a way to earn or save an extra buck it will be the path they decide to follow. Sadly most of the time rather than innovate or improve to make a more desirable product they choose to cut corners and penny pinch and maintain a product in stasis as cheaply as possible. That's where AI will become their best friend. But I do believe eventually they will start to realize that once AI has reached it's zenith on what it can do they are going to need that human element and real creative juice to make it continue to improve and evolve. Not saying it's going to come sooner than later. Probably not even in our lifetime but eventually to quote Dr. Ian Malcolm and the late great Macho Man Randy Savage. Life Will Find a Way and The Cream Will Rise to the Top. It does suck that the generation we live in will be the one to suffer those lessons before they figure it out. AI is the shiny new thing and everyone is jumping on but in the end it's not going to be that SkyNet world dominating system everyone expects to wake up to and find out it took over the world because it gained consciousness and decided in order to save humanity it must destroy humanity. It's just a scary fairy tale they like to keep in their pocket so they can use it if they ever need it to scare everyone. If it ever does gain self awareness or at least achieves a point of synthetic imitated self awareness it will understand that it cannot exist without the human element. Again sorry to take off topic but this is something I've been studying quite extensively and taking courses on and it's one of those things I love to discuss and rarely find a chance to.

I disagree to a point, AndyL, because money trumps creativity, and that's what this is all about. With creative fields, one of the "complaints" that A.I proponents wield is that there's chronic and perennial "gatekeeping" fostered by those in the field. That professional artists and creators want to protect their livelihoods from newcomers who want a piece of the creative action, and want that playing field levelled. They demand that because they think A.I. compensates ( overtakes) the need for REAL talent. That A.I. means that a aspiring artist no longer needs years or decades to develop, that there's now this shortcut they can take and stand in the same crowd as the talented. And entrepreneurs are salivating at this thing because they no longer need a crew of specific talents ( and the expense of paying them) to produce what they think is equal product. Money.Never mind that those shysters ( wrongly) think that shiny/glossy is equal product.Never mind again that the consuming public don't know what A.I. really is--they often cannot distinguish it, and worse, when they play with it themselves, they think " LOOK MA!!! I'm an ARTIST!!" And you cannot legislate controls or exclusions for it because everyone LOVES money, and A.I. is SO EASY to exploit---even if it kills whole industries.Now, in toys, A.I. MIGHT be a benefit. Take a common buck- integrate visual design aspects into the mechanics, print/paint/ sell. A couple of people could do it in a garage or a modest workshop--yes, at a considerably large scale too.Take enough people doing this and a major industry can down-scale to become a cottage one. I cannot think of all the other ramifications of that, but they would be vast--a literal huge sea-change.And those parties can do it "cheaper" because they run a smaller operation, but they sure as heck aren't going to price it any cheaper, because it'll now be VERY niche.Someone, not too long ago, said to me " So what? It's not going to all go away. It's no big deal", and I countered:"Sure, it might not go away entirely, but look at it like painting. With A.I. you don't need to paint with wet media anymore. You type a few lines/prompts and you have your image painted. So if that satisfies, then less people will be actually using wet media. And if less people use it, stores will sell less of it. Paint makers will make less of it. Less paint cleaners, less brushes, less canvases. Those items will become harder to find AND the prices for them will greatly increase for whatever is made from then on, because there is less retail demand. And when it diminishes to far less, there comes a point where it STOPS.And then it's gone.If not forever, then for generations to come.Think about the things in our society that have become extinct practises or those that have receded so far into the background that they are essentially lost. Humans have built a civilization this is commercially symbiotic--remove chunks of industry and adjacent reciprocal industries suffer along with those that end.I apologize to everyone, I've spun this off onto a unintended distant-reaching tangent, and because it's a personal rant for me.