Make sure you’re not standing in line, buying exclusives, talking to friends, standing in line, taking pictures of costumed heroes, standing in line or passed out your hotel room during these three DST panels!

Thursday - July 23
11:00-12:00 AFTimes.com Toymaker Q&A— Ever wanted to know why one character was chosen for production over another? Why your favorite character was limited or just what toy companies are thinking? Here’s your chance to ask the manufacturers about their favorite figures and statues. Panelists include David Scroggy (Dark Horse), Chuck Terceira (Diamond Select Toys), Eric “Cornboy” Mayes (4 Horsemen), Kevin Winnick (president of Toy2R USA), Joe Petrollese (Tonner Doll), Clayborne Moore (CS Moore), Corrine Robinson (McFarlane Toys), and Scott Neitlich (Mattel). Room 32AB

Friday - July 24
5:30-6:30 Like WOW! Action Figures Return to the ’80s!— The ’80s are back in a BIG way in the world of toy’s and Action Figures. This year alone has seen the return of Masters of the Universe, Ghostbusters, Marvel’s Secret Wars, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero’s 25th Anniversary, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 25th Anniversary, Transformers, Flash Gordon, and more! What is it about the properties of the ’80s that still draw collectors? Panelists include Scott Neitlich (Mattel), Dave Vonner (Hasbro), Jason Lenzi (BifBangPow!), Chuck Terceira (Diamond Select Toys), and The Four Horsemen (The Four Horsemen Studios). Moderated by Daniel “JuliusMarx” Pickett of ActionFigureInsider.com. Room 30AB

Saturday - July 25
12:00-1:00 Diamond Select: Minimates 2010 — Learn the latest about this popular and highly collectible action figure line direct from the source: Diamond Select Toys!  DST’s Chuck Terceira will be on hand to answer your pressing Minimates questions, discuss new Minimate licenses and even debut an all-new Marvel Minimates box set sure to please comic book fans of all ages.  Plus, free gifts!  Room 2

While enjoying New York Comic Con, also be sure to attend our special 2009: The Year of the Minimate Panel and Q&A! This special panel will be held on Friday in Room 1A17 from 1:00-2:00 PM. DSTChuck, Project Manager Robert Yee and special Minimate artists will be on hand to answer your questions, listen to your requests and showcase future Minimate licenses and designs!

Not sure what to do February 6th-8th? How about booking your trip to one of the hottest conventions on the east coast, the New York Comic Con! This year is sure to be even better than last years show. I know you’re thinking it can’t be possible, but just check out the guest list for yourself…

Guest List

And remember to stop by our booth (#1133) everyday at noon for our FREE Minimate giveaway, and check out the exciting new products we have in store for 2009!

We look forward to seeing everyone in February!

The best part of preparing for any big show is the gambling that we do on whether or not an item will make it there to show off for the first time. For instance, the Ultimate Quarter Scale Trek figures did not make Toy Fair… So now the current gamble is whether we will have some BSG Series 4 figures to show off in San Diego. My guess is yup. Stay tuned!

Now I’m a huge Battlestar Galactica fan, but even I had to go back to the DVD’s for this one… Before I get ahead of myself, take a look at the hottest promo figure to come out of this year’s San Diego Comic Con – the Downloaded Cylon Centurion. We’re giving these beauties away at our Battlestar Galactica-themed invite-only party, making these pretty rare as far as action figures go. Hopefully we’ll be able to post some pictures that show off the fantastic decorations created by our very own DSTEsti (with a special shout out to our friends at Quantum Mechanix for some of their awesome BSG retro posters!)

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Preparation for the upcoming SDCC is almost done. I had to work on the large banners that will hang above the snack bar. They are huge. Working on files that big can be a little difficult since opening and saving the files take up a lot of time even if the changes are very small. Fortunately there were not too many big changes. We should be in good shape with the graphics for SDCC this year. The party stuff is mostly done as well. It seems like there was not as much as in previous years and we got it in a more timely fashion.

Man, packing all of these prototypes for San Diego has been a joy! I’ll need to remember to bring a little extra glue this year for the prototypes…can’t have anyone losing their head!

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Trade Shows and Cons are a fun part of the job here at DST. While I don’t get to attend many, the ones I do go to are always a blast. Don’t get me wrong it’s a lot of work, but getting to met fans of the company is nice and watching the excitement people have towards the products you are involved in is very rewarding.

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Lots of positive feedback at Wizard World Chicago on the Star Wars Quarter Scale figures! My magic 8 Ball told me that these are going to be a hit for Diamond Select! Mouse Guard has also been a huge success at these conventions. If someone would have told me a year ago that Mouse Guard would be one of the hottest DST products right now, I’d tell them to kick bricks. Well now I’m telling you that Mouse Guard is off the charts!

I just got back from Wizard World Chicago and had a fan ask me what was included with the Ori Daniel and Season 10 Teal’c from our upcoming Stargate Season 10 Two-Pack. Most of our Stargate releases include extra pieces of something, so I thought that was a really good point. We originally decided to include some character-related accessories and call it a day, but then we remembered just how quickly our Stargate Transport Rings sold out a couple of months ago.

We’re working on getting some more of those rings to fans, so think of this as an emergency refresh for those die-hard Stargate fans out there.