Toynami Figurama: The Repaint Edition

[Reply #640 on:]

Earthworm Jim is amazing, Mezco would be fine (and fast) at getting us new lines of Futurama figures to enjoy.

Thanks SculptBoy, we love you.

Oh, and Toynami - thanks for the figures, but.. bye bye!

[Reply #641 on:]

How much articulation does the MAC Moore Leela have? She's the one I bought because the Toynami version sucks.

[Reply #642 on:]

MAC Leela has a LOT of joint cuts. Neck goes 360, arms do a 360 at the shoulder. Then you have an elbow bend, rotation above the elbow and at the wrist area. Legs bend forward and back like Fry's from the Toynami line and feature knee bend and swivel around the thighs. The ponytail may also have a cut. Basically, any cut Toynami's Fry has, MAC Leela has.

[Reply #643 on:]

Mac Leela can't stand on her own though, apparently. Amirite? I heard she couldn't, tried, and yeah, I had trouble...not like I was gonna take her off her stand anyway.

[Reply #644 on:]

Actually I was surprized to find out how different Mac Fry is from Toynami Fry.. I always thought they were exactly the same... they are not.
Toynami clearly just copied the MAC figure once it got the rights.. but it's a entirely new mold.
I just found this out.... and yes, I bring this up b/c I've also just heard MAC Leela can't stand very well (on her own) either from a comic book store employee where I got my MAC Fry.

But a few Toynami figures I have fall over from  time to time as well... damn Amy, lol.

Is Toynami Leela really that bad?

I was thinking of getting her for around $40.00. But if she sucks, maybe I'll wait.

[Reply #645 on:]

I didn't have an issue with my MAC Leela standing.  I did with Toynami Leela, but I have her on a figure stand and she doesn't tumble over.  I like the Toynami Leela a bit better because the paint is better and the sculpt is just a tad better, I think.  But the issue of her not standing is unfortunate.  The nice thing was that MAC Leela came with a back drop/stand which was a big help, but I didn't always display her with it and she didn't fall over...I might have just lucked out with her not tumbling over though.
 Both Leela have holes in the feet so a figure stand will help with standing issues.

[Reply #646 on:]

i always put a small amount of poster tack under all my figures feet. it really helps to prevent the figures from falling over, even if you accidentally bump into the shelf.

[Reply #647 on:]

i always put a small amount of poster tack under all my figures feet. it really helps to prevent the figures from falling over, even if you accidentally bump into the shelf.

smart.

[Reply #648 on:]

Good idea apexxx - especially for those who live ine arthquake country, like me. I've already had my Kif and Amy hit a few others the last time we had one haha.

[Reply #649 on:]

I do that as well.  I also bluetack their accessories into their hands.  Amy keep's dropping her gun (which was originally Fry's, but I hate Amy's little futuristic blowdrier thing.)

[Reply #650 on:]

So, this is really starting to annoy me. The Fry that I bought said "pre-order ships july" but it still hasn't shipped yet. What's going on?

[Reply #651 on:]

So, this is really starting to annoy me. The Fry that I bought said "pre-order ships july" but it still hasn't shipped yet. What's going on?

It comes out in September... not July.. whatever site you ordered from... made a mistake.

[Reply #652 on:]

AW SHIZ.

[Reply #653 on:]

don't get your hopes up..toynami hasn't released a figure on time for years and years. another reason they're worthless as a company.

[Reply #654 on:]

How can there possibly be a delay with Encore figures?

All Toynami have to do is to make more of the figures which they have already released so there are no excuses for production problems causing delays.

And it is not like there are a dozen or so figures we are waiting for, its 2. TWO!!!

So there is gonna be a delay in them releasing figures which hit the shelves a long, long time ago.

If they are not confident they can make the release date they should at least make a later assumption which would leave us waiting a week or two instead of what will turn out to be 6 months.

Although i already have these figures so would not buy them i yet again feel like the other collectors including you lot reading this have been let down. Hopefully for the last time though. Because they can't put back the release date of the Robot Mafia, Lrrr of Morbo. Or even Flexo. If they are so skint then how come they managed to prototype then produce them? Then just decide they won't release them.

No wonder they are going down the pan. They must spend a fortune on making things, saying to people "you can buy these soon" and then not making them available to the public therefor they can't make any profit from them.

Anyway rant over goodnight!

[Reply #655 on:]

Again, a great instance for "Just shut up and take my money!"

[Reply #656 on:]

Alright! My Leela cleared customs already! She'll be here in no time!

[Reply #657 on:]

Leela is awesome, enjoy!

[Reply #658 on:]

Is Toynami Leela really that bad?

I was thinking of getting her for around $40.00. But if she sucks, maybe I'll wait.

It's all a matter of opinion. She's beautifully sculpted and has a smooth look because she has no joint cuts in her arms and legs but if you're looking for super posability, you're gonna have a bad time. Oh god, I've been reduced to referencing memes now.

[Reply #659 on:]

Thank you, I'll be buying her soon enough (eventually) either way.

[Reply #660 on:]

I don't think you'll regret it. She looks nice on the shelf in-box, out of box alongside other figures, and so forth. Besides, she comes with accessories, and can hold on to them well enough, and there is some articulation. Head goes 360, ponytail moves a little bit, 360 at the shoulder, and if I'm not going nuts so late at night, she's also got a waist 360 (though I personally hate waist cuts 9 times outta 10 because when you swivel the upper body, it looks so terrible and suspends reality to a degree I cannot stand).

[Reply #661 on:]

Any news on the Crushinator?

Oh damn, checked out previous posts.  If Morbo and co are canned, then I take it the Crushinator will be remaining a prototype on the writer's desk, and nothing more.

[Reply #662 on:]

Im so sad to hear that there will never be another bender Im so glad I got my destructor though, let's hope a company picks up the licence and does just as good a job at making the figures as toynami

[Reply #663 on:]

They put barely any time into their Futurama merch now. Now they don't even answer fan questions on their facebook page, like one time they answered mine about a year ago. And I remember them answering almost every question asked by fans......

I'm guessing that they are working on some Futurama figures and haven't said anything yet

Or they just haven't been around to working on the figures yet.

I'll just stick with DVDs and other merch that I already have.

[Reply #664 on:]

Any news on the Crushinator?

Never heard of it.

Wait... I posted the pictures.

Meh, it's not real.. just a dream.

Actually it was probably just a fan custom.

[Reply #665 on:]

Otto - I have a question, we have all seen the pictures of the robo mafia morbo lurr gender bender and flexo so in theory haven't these moulds already been made? And if so the cost of the moulds already paid sooo my question is why don't toynami release these figures to hardest core of fans and recoup their losses? Or am I being stupid?

[Reply #666 on:]

EvilPDA - Yeah, your being stupid. It is normal practice for a company to spend thousands on making molds just for the sake of it and never actually release the figures.

The whole point of running a business is to invest, produce and make available to the public producing sales therfor making a profit.

Not Toynami though, they just want to spend a fortune to tease us with what we could of had. They won't be releasing them because no-one will buy them so they have cut their losses.

For sure i would'nt buy any of them and i am sure no other fan would want any of these great figures either. Even though they are by far the best figures they have produced in the Futurama line they are simply not good enough to be released to the public.

Its alright though cos i've got two versions of Fry, my 3 Benders and Nudar. Brilliant.

[Reply #667 on:]

Whoa.  Not sure why that question was met with such a negative reaction.
 EvilPDA, The molds are one aspect of producing the figures.  my guess would be that the cost of the plastic and production and such (in their eyes) would not result in a profit for Toynami.  Someone, like Otto, may have a better answer but that's my initial thought as to why they stopped on those products.

[Reply #668 on:]

My understanding is that Morbo, Lrrr and the Mafia never made it to the factory tooling stage, but that we have seen are just handsculpted prototypes.

From Otto's comments, Toynami appears to have lost confidence in its Futurama line, as well as other older licences it has. These things have lifecycles and I guess they figure this one's jumped the shark.

It seems mind-boggling that the line could die with such obvious hot sellers left on the prototype floor. But it's not that uncommon actually that lines die with great figures in the pipeline.

Mezco's been mentioned here as a company to take over the line. Well I can tell you all the negativity people are feeling towards Toynami here, I felt exactly the same with Mezco after it did exactly the same thing with its Family Guy and South Park lines.

Great figures were in the pipeline, not yet at the prototype stage but hinted at by the company. Then suddenly nothing, no communication, just a long period of waiting for nothing. Then they also went down the encore route, billed as "classics", teasing us for nothing with no new figures planned.

What I don't understand in all this is how these companies think this makes for good long-term brand-building. Since when is it okay to just ignore your customers? What makes these companies they can totally burn the bridges and then expect customers to come back on future lines?

I don't get it. If an automaker decided to wind down a model of cars, they'd announce it wouldn't they? And then they'd spend all kinds of resources trying to shift their loyal customers to the replacement model. I just find these toy companies have their heads completely up their asses when it comes to communications and marketing.

[Reply #669 on:]

It could've been worse... what if Shocker Toys had the Futurama License.. four years would go by and yet they'd keep showing you more and more prototypes but release nothing.
Not nine sets of two figures and exclusives and various other lines like Toynami... maybe just one Fry figure... and then they keep telling people they were coming.. to hold on.

At least Toynami yanked everything from the conventions and doesn't show us Scurffy and other new prototypes each and every year.. and do nothing with it.
(Yes, Toynami did do this with Morbo and the alike... but to a much more minor degree when compared with Shocker and other toy companies.)

Anyway I still want my indie comic figures dammit... that Barry Hubris figure looks insane!


Here are examples of why Toynami ain't the worst by looking at what Shocker Toys did that wil lead to my overall point with all this:
 
1. The Mr. Gone mail away figure, an incentive for customers who bought all of the first series of Indie figures was to be released in 2009, it has yet to be released.

2. A second series of several Indie Spotlight figures were announced at Toy Fair in February 2009 and then displayed at San Diego Comic Con in July 2009.
As of August 2012, customers are still waiting for the figures to ship.

3. And a third series of Indie Spotlight figures were announced at Toy Fair in February 2010.
As of August 2012, customers are still waiting for these figures.

4. Then Shocker Toys sold four convention exclusive Indie Spotlight figures during the 2010 Summer Convention season: Barry Hubris, The Blank, the Blue Beetle and Hunter Rose. However, the actual figures were unavailable at the conventions, and have not shipped as of August 2012.

5. Not to mention the two-packs and Arthur mail away figures.

So... what am I saying; to summarize.. I'm glad we got what we did, as no other company may EVER make as many Futurama figures as Toynami did.

Plus don't forget all the companies that make cheap toys that break and have terrible paint apps like Jazewares shit.

[Reply #670 on:]

The ones you've seen are hand painted resin castings out of a silicone mold that I made here.  The actual production molds in China are tooled out of metal and are about 1000 times more expensive to make.  So no the metal molds were not made for these and the ones you've seen are the only ones in existence.  It would cost around 15 to 20 thousand just to tool Joey Mousepad.  So we're not blowing money and teasing everyone. We wanted to produce all of them but there is just not enough interest and money in the line at the end of the day.  I hope this can put some of your guy's questions to rest.

-Otto

[Reply #671 on:]

Thanks Sculptboy, we   you buddy.. b/c you are an honest source of info. and a great sculptor.

To bad your art will never be massed produced. But it sadly makes perfect sense to me.

This is why all these toy companies struggle except for the big boys... even cheap molds cost $10,000 to produce.

Thanks for the information, hopefully this will put the insanity to rest.
_____________________________

I guess the Robot Devil appears to be the final "REAL" figure.

Seriously.. THANK YOU for the toys Toynami; but... wow, you suck.

My little cousin just got into these toys b/c he had no idea they existed until this summer..
Toynami, your marketing team has failed you.

Kickstarter or bust!

[Reply #672 on:]

Sculptboy~

Have you guys ever thought of trying a Kickstarter drive for the unproduced figures?

Reaper miniatures is running one for D&D minis and to date have raised over 1.6 million towards the creation of new miniatures and the production molds to make them.

For example: Toynami could set up a drive to produce the three robot mafia figures with a goal of say $100,000 with various pledge levels (one of them at a pricepoint which gets the person pledging all three figures) and stretch goals which could go towards funding characters like L'rrrr, Morbo, etc.

At the end of the day, if the drive fails to reach the goal then you are right that there is not enough support for the line and no money is lost.

But if the drive succeeds then Toynami is essentially being paid upfront to produce the figures and would already have all of the pre-production costs for the line covered making it more viable to more forward to offer "encore" editions of these figures into the retail channels.

[Reply #673 on:]

Sculptboy~

Have you guys ever thought of trying a Kickstarter drive for the unproduced figures?

Reaper miniatures is running one for D&D minis and to date have raised over 1.6 million towards the creation of new miniatures and the production molds to make them.

For example: Toynami could set up a drive to produce the three robot mafia figures with a goal of say $100,000 with various pledge levels (one of them at a pricepoint which gets the person pledging all three figures) and stretch goals which could go towards funding characters like L'rrrr, Morbo, etc.

At the end of the day, if the drive fails to reach the goal then you are right that there is not enough support for the line and no money is lost.

But if the drive succeeds then Toynami is essentially being paid upfront to produce the figures and would already have all of the pre-production costs for the line covered making it more viable to more forward to offer "encore" editions of these figures into the retail channels.

That's a great idea, but I have a bad feeling Toynami has moved on and would never go for it.

I wrote to Shocker Toys (now GBJR Toys) stating the same thing and I was told by them that they would only pursue other financial avenues (big money investors) at this time.

Kickstarter is a great idea for most toy companies in general.

Shit what have they got to lose, nothing, but everything to gain.

[Reply #674 on:]

Otto or anyone else have any idea what the production runs are on your average Futurama figure?  Just curious what kind of volume we're talking about to make a figure worth producing.

What I'm really getting at though is wondering if Toynami could release these guys as SDCC exclusives? I'd pay a convention price premium to get my hands on these, and I'd think Toynami would have no trouble selling out on exclusives of Morbo and Lrrr (individually or as a set) and say a Robot Mafia box set.

Destructor sold out at online retailers within days of it shipping and has since been selling on eBay at 2-3 times its convention price. Personally, at this point, I'd pay 2-3 times the retail price of these guys if that meant getting them made as convention exclusives.

[Reply #675 on:]

How the hell can there be any interest in the line when they delay all the figures for years before they release them.

[Reply #676 on:]

Jabalong - I believe the minimum run to make it worth while would be at least 5000. But selling 10,000 would be ideal to actually make money on them.  Which would in turn finance the next series.  To my knowledge we've only sold out of two or three of the series.  Which were I think 5000 pieces.  So with 9 series being produced, there is a lot of inventory left.  Its just really hard to put that much money into something new when you have so much older stuff that nobody (retailers) wants. 

And I originally wanted to do a Mafia 3-pack two comicons ago.  I cant remember what the final reason for not going for it was.  But I do remember we would have had to sell quite a few to break even.  And where does the money come from up front? You're lookin g at 40,000 at least to get the ball rolling on something like that and then cross your fingers that they're a hit.  I don't know I guess there's just not a lot of hope in a gamble like that.  But hey, I'm with you guys on this one.  Toynami is a very small company.  So it's unfair to compare to Hasbro or Mattel or NECA or other bigger guys like that.  But we're trying! I promise!!

[Reply #677 on:]

I dAnd where does the money come from up front? You're lookin g at 40,000 at least to get the ball rolling on something like that and then cross your fingers that they're a hit.  

That is how Kickstarter works.

You set up a drive, people pledge the money and if the goal is met, you get that money UP FRONT to pay for the costs involved in producing the item(s) which you then send to the the people who pledged.

Read up more about it here:

www.kickstarter.com

It is a perfect way for smaller companies to both fund new product lines as well as to help determine the demand for those items.

Again, Reaper Miniatures, a small (10 employee) company in Denton Texas has just raised over $1,850,000.00 using Kickstarter to fund a new line of plastic, unpainted miniature figures for use in D&D games.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1513061270/reaper-miniatures-bones-an-evolution-of-gaming-min

[Reply #678 on:]

Wow! Ok you guys got the monkeys in my head going crazy! haha!

So what happens with the extra 1.5 million they raised past their 30,000 goal? I see they have pledge levels and different incentives for those.  But they only needed 30,000 right? So do they only collect on the 30,000 and stop? or do they keep going?

This is very interesting!

[Reply #679 on:]

Wow! Ok you guys got the monkeys in my head going crazy! haha!

So what happens with the extra 1.5 million they raised past their 30,000 goal? I see they have pledge levels and different incentives for those.  But they only needed 30,000 right? So do they only collect on the 30,000 and stop? or do they keep going?

This is very interesting!

Each goal goes towards supporting the production of the models which were shown in the stretch goal. That includes the costs for the metal production molds, in some cases paying the sculptor for the prototype and the first run of the actual product.

Example: the extra $20,000 raised once they hit the $50,000 stretch goal goes towards funding the production of these figures:



...and so on with each additional goal that has been hit. This is why there are now so many figures which will be created from this drive and released next March.

As to applying this to the Futurama line, Toynami could go in with a goal of say $80,000 to produce the three mafia bots with various awards being given to differing pledge levels. Logically one pledge level would include sending all three figures to the participant.

Something like this:

$1 gets a "thank you"

Three $30 levels ("Clamps" "Joey" "Don bot") which would get the appropriate named figure.

One $80 pledge level "Robot Mafia" that gets all three of them.

And an assortment of other levels above and below these which offer various items that Toynami can price out as appropriate for the level while adding in enough padding to help support the overall goal.

Like $40 gets a "Kickstarter Edition" Bender which has a "Kickstarter edition" sticker and a different assortment of accessories than any previous run.

and so on..


If they do not hit that goal, then no one is charged for their pledges, no money is spent/lost at all and we know that there just isn't enough interest in the line to continue.

However, if the goal is met, then the people who pledged the support are charged at the end of the drive and the funds (minus Kickstarter's fee) are transferred to Toynami to fund the production costs of the molds and the first (limited) run of figures which go out to the people who pledged at the appropriate levels.

That leaves Toynami with completed molds and thus enables them to offer the line as "encore" figures into the retail channel with basically no pre-production costs to weigh down the bottom line.

You can also offer Stretch goals at higher dollar amounts past the initial one that could potentially fund additional figures such as Gender Bender, Lrrrr, Morbo, (reissued) Destructor, etc.