Join us for our 14th installment of Ask DST as we discuss the future of the Minimates line, the new Star Trek movie and your suggestions for Minimate sets!

Matt Verburgt: Hello! Just wanted to ask, with the lack of any news for more movie mates or star trek mates…are the lines going to continue or are they done? i hope not, because these are 2 of the best lines you have out along with the BSG mates. Just starting to get a little worried…please calm my fears.

DSTChuck: We’re working on new ideas for Movie properties all the time and while I can’t announce anything here, I think you will be happy with 2009.

Agent 86: Dear Sir/Madam, Your current minimates lines/licenses seem to be very diverse and appeal to a wide variety of collectors/fans. Has DST given any consideration to some older properties which still have a dedicated fan-base, such as TV series like Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Farscape, Alias and even older shows like Quantum Leap and the V: The Visitors series? Thanks. Cheers.

DSTChuck: We’ve looked at some of those but we’re not looking to go forward with any of those properties yet.

Brandon Giles: Hi DST. Any chances we could see Minimates of the cast of “The Big Bang Theory” ?

DSTChuck: I don’t think so. I don’t think that property translates to Minimates very well and I’m not sure if the fans of the show would like Minimates. Great show though!

Brian Petersen: I like the idea of alternate heads with minimates. Will this be continued with future waves of minimates or is it exclusive at the moment to the Skrull set?

DSTChuck: For now figure it’s a one-time thing with the Skrulls… but you never know if the perfect occasion to do them again could come up, like it did with Secret Invasion.

Brian Petersen: Will future BSG Minimate waves be released in individual boxes like the Razor Cylons or continue to be packaged as two packs?

DSTChuck: BSG Minimates are going to be coming in two packs — for the most part.

Brian Petersen: Is there any reason behind the hair style change in the final product of the Pepper Potts minimate? As DST’s prototype picture shows, she seemed to have her hair tied back, but in the final release, she has a strawberry blonde variant of the Spider-man 3 MJ hair. No complaints– they look awesome! Just curious.

DSTChuck: That specific change was a request from the studio.

Minifiend UK: Will the upcoming Tarantula Minimate have pointy shoes? It is the primary part of his character so not having points is like having Vulture without wings.

DSTChuck: Sorry Tarantula will not have his pointy boots.

Darren Martin: I am certain this is not a new question, but one that I feel needs to be asked again. Would you consider a “bring on the bad guys” wave? You know a Red Skull, a Hydra Goon, Baron Zemo…etc. As a die hard fan, *ok fanboy geek…I spend some time on the net discussing your fine product, and it seems that there is a large number of people are clamoring for army builder figures… the hand ninja, hydra goon. This seems to be a no brainer…so any possibility?

DSTChuck: We’ve done a fair amount of “bad guys” already but we have no plans for a bad guy dedicated wave. If you like army builders then I hope you’re happy with the new waves we’ve just announced. Each wave will contain one army builder and the army builder is the one packed with the short pack.

Doug Wolford: Would you consider releasing a Cable & Deadpool wave? I think it would be very successful if you had pairings something like: Cable/Domino, Deadpool/Irene Merryweather, Shen Kuei/Black Box and for the variant: X-Men uniform Deadpool. I think it would be a great idea to rerelease Cable as I know that some people have lost his hairpiece, and the rerelease would insure that people would have a secure Cable. Will there be a wave of Minimates for the upcoming movie: X-Men Origins: Wolverine? I would love to see Gambit and Deadpool. Also, there is a typo in the confirm address field, it reads: “Cofirm Your Email Address *”

DSTChuck: We might do some of those characters but we have no plans for a wave dedicated to Cable.

Philip Mailloux:How do you decide weather to use colored plastic, or to just paint a white blank/part? Is it based on cost of paint vs. cost of plastic, or is this something that is decided at the factory based on available materials? Thanks PS. It’s always nice to see you guys posting over at the Multiverse, it shows that you really enjoy interacting with us collectors. blacksun1520

DSTChuck: We for the most part decide that and cost does play a part, the tampo’s for MM are very expensive, but the look of the figure is the # 1 factor when we make that decision.

Joe Casson: I was wondering if you were going to think of doing any army builder sets, such as Kree/Skrull sets or Shield/Hydra or Hand ninja. These would sell well with the fans, and would be good impulse buys if you sold them single for a good price. The skrulls would sell particularly well as they would coincide with Secret Invasion.

DSTChuck: No we have no plans for a set of army builders. The ones we’ve done in the past have not done all that well. However are mentioned in an earlier response, we do have plans for adding army builders to our regular lines.

Henry Woo:
1) With the reboot of the Star Trek franchise happening next summer, will you be releasing minimates version based on the movie?
2) Will you be continuing to plug the holes in the Star Trek minimate universe by releasing minimates from the other ST series besides the original series?
3) Does existing licenses issued to Lego or Medicom (kubricks) eliminate your chances of being able to release minimate versions of the same franchises?
4) Possibilities of minimates for a) Disney Characters b) Pirates of the Caribbean c) James Bond (okay, I know this has been asked but I thought I try again) thanks.

DSTChuck:
1) We do not have any rights to the new Trek movie.
2) If sales are there, yes that is the idea.
3) Not 100% it does not, we’ve all shared Mavel to a degree, and from our POV it’s worked out fine.
4) We’ve discussed some of those properties with the license holders already.

Brian Felgar: The movie-themed Minimates from this year have been, in my opinion, one of the high points of the line. Do you have plans to move forward with more classic or fan-favorite movies (e.g., Ghostbusters, The Princess Bride), or are you going to be focusing on current-release movies like Sin City and Punisher? Also, is there a chance the shelved 24 wave will be re-solicited when the show comes back, or is that franchise gone for good? Thanks for all you do.

DSTChuck: We’re going to hopefully mix it up with older movies/TV as well as current. We make that decision property by property. We’d love nothing more then for 24 to come back and come back strong!

Sam Ford: Hey, guys. TM2 Dinobot from the MMMV here. I know yall don’t have the rights to DC, just as I’m equally sure you must tire of the constant DC questions that yall have no right two. As I understand it, the DC license ran one way. That’s how Joker was about to use Punisher’s coat, but yall couldn’t use Green Arrow’s, uh, arrows. My question is, once DC’s contract with AA expires, will those parts then be on the table? Or are they off limits forever? Also, which question do yall tire of more? DC Mates, SFII mates, or 2.5″ Marvel?

DSTChuck: It’s a good question but not one I can really answer. The DC contact with DC in effect, will never end…So as of now we can’t use those parts but you never know it could change.

Christopher Franey: Hey guys very happy with all and upcoming Marvel Minimates. I am also looking forward to the Movie Spirit minimates, but even more importantly how are the comic book Spirit minimates coming? Would this be in the same vein as a box set or possibly a wave? Also out of interest, how did you get the license? Lionsgate, DC, or Will Eisner Estate? Thank you and keep making these little guys! -think DC too!

DSTChuck: We’ve loving how the movie is looking too but I have to be honest with you, the comic stuff has been a real privilege to work on. We’ve got all the 2D done and approved for the first box set so you should be something pretty soon.

Brian Petersen: THANK YOU! These two newly announced Marvel minimate waves sound AWESOME!!! I have some questions, though:
1) Will Deadpool be packed with the appropriate amount of Accessories? (Two machine guns, two katana, two sai, a pistol, etc.)
2) Will Psylocke come with a clear purple katana or psiblades that slide over her hands?
3) Will the skrulls just be regular Skrull grunts or upgrades of the Superskrull minimates?
4) The image of Captain America shown in the blog is the more modern Bucky version. Will we be seeing this Bucky version or another Steve?
5) Will Wolverine include a mask?
6) Will Deadpool’s mask be removable to reveal his beautiful moldy face?
7) Is there any reason behind the Sabretooth being included with the Skrull, rather than Wolverine?
If the Cap will be the Bucky version, will he come with a pistol too?

DSTChuck: Brian — I think your trying to kill me here…man if your ever going to be at a show PLEASE warn me.
1)He’ll get a fair share but I’m not sure about a FULL arsenal.
2)I think we were thinking Katana
3)Skrull grunts, we already did a super Skrull.
4)We’ve got lots of Cap stuff planned but the one your referring to is Bucky in the new outfit.
5)Yes
6)I don’t think so. Not right now.
7)We thought the Sabertooth variant would be stronger.
8)Yes

Steve Creger: Have you guys considered making Street Fighter IV minimates? With the game coming sometime this winter, and the recent surge of popularity in Japan, it might be a crafty way to get the rest of those street fighter II characters out there ;).

DSTChuck: I think for now we’re pretty done with the SF franchise — but we never say never.

Dan Nash: I love the upcoming Spirit stuff and the two new BSG waves. I was wondering what chance there was of seeing some Watchmen mates based of the graphic novel or the upcoming movie. I know that it is DC, but isn’t the Spirit DC too? Watchmen mates would be great. And thanks for the upcoming Marvel waves. They’ll be great!

DSTChuck: We have no plans for any Watchmen products, sorry.

JP: Hi there. Is there any chance you guys might release the main cast of each Star Trek series in box set form? A Bridge Crew set consisting of all the main cast members from the series would be awesome. Your current distribution method of 2-packs and the occasional multipack is great for army building, but without the main crew I don’t like building extras. This way we could get all the major characters, but still leave plenty of room for costume variants, aliens, episode-specific packs and the like, but have a base set to build onto. I know I only bought the TOS Minimates once series 2 was out, and I’m holding off on buying any of the later series because I don’t just want a Picard, or a Sisko. However, I am planning on purchasing the Rand/Chapel sets to complete my Original series cast. The appeal of Minimates is in the huge depth of characters we can see, and with such a large universe to play in, sets like these would definitely implore me to buy more Minimates. I don’t want to still be trying to complete the main crews three years from now.

DSTChuck: We’ve actually thought about some sort of bride play-set or box set but we’re just not sure how well it would do and the MSRP would be a little high.