Dear Readers,

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard or even seen the question (from our Q & A) what’s with this horrible figure and is it really going to look like that.  The answer is always no, followed by: that is an early production piece and it has to go through tons of revisions before it gets to the store or is shipped to your house.  Sometimes I feel like we shouldn’t show anyone early pieces, because it seems that everyone is always afraid of the toys after seeing a prototype.  I think I have said in posts past that you have to look past prototypes and see the potential that each piece will have after sculpt changes, tooling, paint etc…

That all being said I started to take pictures of the Star Wars production pieces.  That means that the pictures are of the actual piece, straight from the factory and removed from the box.  Ahh, smell the fresh plastic!  They normally replace any older pictures so that all the product you see on the web site is as up to date as possible.  I think that way you’ll be asking us less questions like “is it really going to look like that” and dropping more praise into the Q & A’s.  I think I got some great shots of Obi Wan and Hoth Han Solo and they should be hitting the blog gallery soon.  Check them out and let me know how you think my posing abilities are (said in my best comic book guy voice).

DST-Jen

DSTChuck takes your Minimates questions to heart in this latest installment of Ask DST! Find out what’s happening with Battlestar Galactica Minimates, Toys R Us exclusive Minimates, possible upcoming box sets and the final word on Ghost Rider Minimates plus more of your tough questions! (more…)

Dear Readers,

It is rare I snag a Marvel Item these days, but as all my new Transformers projects got put on hold this month I was tossed a bone! I had the pleasure of shooting and designing the Ads for Marvel Select Kree Mar-vell. You gotta love the punny name. I don’t have to go in to the back story, but you guys all know that he is a variant of Captain Marvel and that he’s super awesome (I am the queen of adjectives). I shot a ton of pictures and you’ll be seeing those on the blog or the internets soon enough. I really like his base, it is the same as the regular Captain Marvel but I had since forgotten what it looked like. The articulation is great, but it’s a select figure so we all knew that already. He is going to be in this months previews as a Previews exclusive, so try to get to him ASAP.

Signing off,

DST-Jen

To those who are eagerly awaiting the Star Trek Classic Tricorder we are anxious to show off our final tool shot in a die-cut mock up packaging.

The die-cut mock up use the actual packaging die-cut on the same card stock the final product will be place in. A preliminary blister tray is created showing how the product will be displayed. Now our final product however will have the medical or science scanner placed will switch places with the coiled shoulder strap in the package. Also the second compartment will be displayed open in the final product.

Now a final tool shot is what the final product should look and feel like prior to paint. The production process goes from a first shot to this final generation where all final modifications and tolerance fittings should be completed from reviewing previous generations. One of the things to take note of is that this is the first time we are revealing the contents of the mysterious lower tricorder compartment.

Many Trek experts disagree as to what could be found in the lower compartments from Leonard Nimoy’s tootsie rolls to a wired microphone. Many rumors indicated that this lower compartment housed a communicator or a phaser 1, however this is definitely not the case and a phaser 1 could not fit in the lower compartment a natural or accessible position. Early in the design stages of the tricorder we both wanted to incorporate features that has not been showcased in any previous Tricorder product and yet still be faithful to the established technology in the Trek Universe.

In addition to from reviewing various TOS episodes featuring the tricorder, we enlisted the help of CBS Paramount’s resident Trek historian and HMS Creative know for their prop work on Star Trek The next Generation and Deep Space Nine. After numerous discussions and lengthy deliberations the answer was obvious and clear that the lower compartment would just contain Tricorder disc storage as well as a slot for a medical scanner or Science scanner. Though the discs are not removable on the tricorder the design allowed us to also hide the battery compartment in the tricorder.

Stay tuned for our next update that will feature a tube video demonstrating the various electronic features of the Star Trek Classic Tricorder.

View the Star Trek Tricorder Preproduction Gallery

Dear Readers,

I am about to make you an offer you can not refuse! It’s Godfather Minimates and they are awesome. Lots of you write in each week asking about the licenses we can get to make Minimates, and movie licenses come up very often. Don’t ask me how we scored this one but all I know is I need a Don Corleone Minimate for my desk, and I need it now! The four pack I just shot consists of: Don Vito corleon, Fredo Corleone, Michael Corleone, and Sonny Corleone. Now I know what your going to ask and to answer your question… Yes they have guns. The gun accessories will be little hand guns, Minimate glocks I think. I bet you can’t wait to get all your custom mates strapped like the Corleone family. I only wish we could make a cat Minimate for the Godfather to stroke while putting hits out on all your Marvel Minimates (Am I the only one who sets up their Minimates in intricate posed scenes with story lines?). Look for the Godfather minimates ad in next months previews and ask your comic book retailer to get you these, I have a feeling they will be selling out faster than a fresh cannoli!

Bonasera… Bonasera…

DST Jen

Prepare for a monster of a Q&A with this extra-long Star Trek edition! Find out what ships might be flying into stores near you soon, which classic Star Trek figures might be re-released, the fate of Star Trek Minimates and more as DSTChuck answers more of your pressing Star Trek questions. Some questions are nice, some are naughty, but all of them get answered. (more…)

What could keep your money safer than the physical manifestation of the Sumerian God Gozer? Nothing, that’s what! That’s why you are going to want to trust all of your loosed change to the new Mr. Stay Puft bank. Sure, it may not be as tall as a skyscraper, but you will have a surprising amount of coin saved up by the time he’s full. Maybe enough to go see the new movie that is rumored to be in the works. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed and hope it’s better than Ghostbusters 2. If they make Ecto-1 into an Escalade I will toss my cookies.

Well he might not be everybody’s favorite Canadian (Alanis Morrisette or Bob and Doug McKensie are also popular) but he is a popular character from the Great White North. People just can’t get enough of Wolverine. Coming hot on the heels of our Wolverine Movie Minimates is this Wolverine Through The Ages 4 pack. You get young James Howlett, Weapon X, Logan, and old man Logan. These are great if your collection is missing any holes in the Wolverine saga. It’s like having the history or dare I say “Origin” of Wolverine at your fingertips.

Wow! This past Friday’s “Someone to Watch Over Me” hit all the right notes, didn’t it?! It just goes to show you how everything can start coming together once the end is in sight, as evidenced by Starbuck and Slick’s stunning piano performance in the closing moments of the episode. I get the same feeling when our action figure assortments finally receive all their relevant accessories and start feeling like their really part of the Battlestar Galactica universe. So enjoy these updated shots of President Laura Roslin and Admiral Bill Adama as we prepare to ride out the remaining episodes, loving every minute of it!

Laura features new glasses, which REALLY nail the likeness down and deliver the quintessential President Roslin look. Those tiny frames actually have extremely thin layers of clear plastic to replicate the lenses, which should go a long way toward cementing Jean St. Jean as one of the premiere sculptors of our day. It’s definitively NOT easy to replicate glasses at this scale, but these removable gems are perfect! Also shown here are the alternate glasses for Admiral Adama and the debut of the free case-topper we’re including with every sealed case - a mustache-sporting Commander Adama! Look for these on store shelves this spring and cross your fingers that our intrepid crew will survive the coming episodes!