There’s a lot of work that goes into each Minimate before it reaches a collector’s hands.  Each one follows the same process to completion, but sometimes there are little extra ideas we try and throw in during the process.  It seems these little things can go unnoticed by most, or perhaps it is just us not noticing that you actually have noticed it!  Regardless, here are a few things that you may or may not know about your Minimates.

MARVEL WAVE 30 – INSULATED SPIDER-MAN

The double-mask came about from the specific issue that this Spider-Man costume came from.  Spidey’s armoured mask was destroyed and broke away to reveal his regular mask underneath.  What you may not know is that I chose the 2nd mask’s colouring specifically to match that of the Classic Spider-Man released in Marvel Wave 24.  So, if you’d rather have a standard Minimate head to complete your Classic Spider-Man rather than the Peter Parker reveal mask, you now have that choice.

MARVEL DARK AVENGERS II – ARES

Originally the peg on the back of Ares’ chest cap was designed just to hold either the sword, or the axe as he only came with the two accessories.  Further on in the design, it was decided to give him a knife and gun as well to match other reference of the character.  So, if he was wielding both gun and knife and had one weapon stowed, did he just have to leave the other large weapon at home?  Of coruse not!  DSTRobert came up with the simple solution that the peg on his back would be made long enough so that he could carry both weapons!



GHOSTBUSTERS – TERROR DOG

When designing the Terror Dog, I thought it would be best to have the front legs reversed so that the joint bent in the opposite direction.  This would help give the further appearance of a dog’s stance.  Unfortunately in the production of the figure, the legs were put on in the “proper” configuration of the left leg on the left side and vice versa.  With a little patience (and fun as well — who doesn’t like to take their Minimates apart?) you can reverse the legs to have your dog standing as originally intended.  While not a major revelation, it’s something I find adds a nice touch to make the figure look more dog-like.



MARVEL SECRET WARS – DR. DOOM

The bad doctor is looking spiffy in this suitably 80’s armour, but isn’t that undersuit oddly familiar?  Long-time collectors from the decade may recognize it’s homage to a certain previous plastic representation of Victor Von Doom!



MARVEL WAVE 30 – VAULT GUARD

Fans were quite happy to hear about a release of the Vault Guard, but some were confused to see him armoured up.  Upon removal of the armour you can find the Vault Guard you all know and love, but once again collecting fans might see the fully-parts-upped version as yet another homage to figures past…



BSG TRU WAVE 1 – AARON DORAL

We try to give each character wearing a suit a belt to complete the appearance of dress pants.  Something just seemed rather boring to me about the standard buckle for this Cylon in disguise.  I figured that perhaps a fancier belt buckle would be in order.  Perhaps next time you’re trying to weed out Cylons-in-disguise amongst your friends you should check to see if their belt buckle resembles a classic BSG Cylon visor.



STAR TREK WAVE 5 – GUL DUKAT

While all Cardassians generally look alike, there are still some distinctions that show through in their faces.  When designing Gul Dukat, the idea was thrown around of a possible second Cardassian figure — Damar.  Production went so far as to have art and tampo created for a second head, but the idea was dropped in the end.  Oddly enough, a factory error actually ended up getting the figure produced when Damar’s face was printed on the opposite side of Dukat’s.  Yet another error occurred when the Damar face became the prominent one that was packaged to face outwards.  So, in reality, the variant figure is truly Damar, with a possible alternate face of Gul Gukat hidden behind his hair.



MARVEL WAVE 24 – TRANSFORMATION VENOM

Able to be constructed in 3 main forms, this figure was designed to be Eddie Brock, Eddie transforming, and finally Venom all rolled into one.  Many people seem to be a bit confused as to the inclusion of the jacket though.  It’s actually a recycled piece from the unreleased Ghost Rider wave which was brought in to finish off Brock’s civilian appearance.  In his early appearances, the symbiote would transform into a leather jacket so he could more easily blend into a crowd.  (I suppose it worked for him early in his criminal career before people got to know the white logo better.)



GHOSTBUSTERS – SLIMER

Okay, so this one isn’t really about Slimer himself, but has anyone ever tried placing the base into the foot of a standard Minimate?  No?  You should.  It will bring your figure collection to new heights…

There’s literally hundreds of origin stories for Minimates, but I thought I’d just scratch the surface on some of the easter eggs for now.  To quote a famous radio personality:  “…and now you know the rest of the story!”