Official BLADE thread

[MIDOR]

I got Blade today off of EBay. Didn't want Blade. Still Don't want Blade. But I couldn't resist to get him so I could take pictures of him with the proof card of the original Blade.

You are seeing the front, back and authenticity.

Also posted on the dot org.

[barrasco]

Mr L has an affinity for whips.

[Mechanizor]

Does TG think that all of us are idiots like him, the deco on Blade was a brush/press on technique which doesn't cost shit! You cannot convince me that the huge wings tooling on the back of Draego-Man cost less than or equel to a simple paint deco on Blade!

[barrasco]

... served as a PR driver for the site to help reach non 6" collectors.

Oh... but only the 6" collectors were able to purchase the figure since it was only available to them through early access. Great reasoning from the same brilliant mind who thought a Filmation head for Filmation Hordak was unnecessary. It's great to know we have such a huge fan running the brand! I can only imagine the reaction of all those people who came to the site and realized they couldn't purchase a figure which was put there specifically for them... pretty cool huh?

... this is one of the reasons we like non sub items as we can put more into the toy by raising the price if needed.

Yes, like you did with Filmation Hordak.

[JimPansen]

Again not mentioned the possibility of cutting the whip( we all know why).

[Captain Atkin]

Toyguru answered a question in the recent WTFWTK about why Blade's swords came unpainted.

3. Knowing Toyguru mentioned that slots and budget are limited, wouldn't it have been better to use the baby skeletor's slot for a long awaited vehicle (like Roton or same size vehicle) or a re-release with improved paint job on figures like Blade?


It doesn't quite work that way. The Baby Skeletor figure not only has a completely different budget from MOTUC 6???, but it is not comparable as a toy to your suggestion of a Roton in terms of available tooling, complexity and marketing goals (for the item). So the short answer is no, we can't use the resources that went into Baby Skeleor and have used them for something like a Roton. They are two completely different type of toys that are not swappable. Roton (or any vehicle for MOTUC) is a complex and complicated fully tool'd item, Baby Skeletor was a very low complex item that only needed a new head and rattle. Very low tooling in the end. Plus Baby Skeletor also served as a PR driver for the site to help reach non 6" collectors. The Roton would have appealed to the same existing audience as the 6" line, so strategically they are also not compatible or comparable form a business goal perspective.

Your second question about Blade, the answer is also no. We can't use one toy (any toy) to pay for any other toy. Each toy must come in on budget and deliver value to the customer for the price point. Blade has a ridiculous amount of deco on him (the armor). Every MOTUC toy delivers $26.00 worth of plastic and paint. We simply can't go over budget on any one figure or use another toy from another line to pay for more value on a separate toy. Every toy Mattel makes must deliver as much value as possible at the price point. We can't reduce deco or accessories on a non related toy to put above and beyond cost value into another item. It just doesn't work that way.

We have heard loud and clear that fans would prefer more deco on Blade's accessories, but that just was not possible without reducing deco on the armor or removing one of the accessories. This is why going forward we will raise prices every year starting in 2015 to try and get the price closer to the cost of the figures (in a world where production costs are rising faster than we can make figures! It is a factor we just can't control). All of 2014 is being sold at 2013 prices (per our promise to fans in 2012) which sometimes becomes a challenge. The only things you can reduce on a figure to get them on cost is paint or plastic and there just weren't many good options for a character like Blade who is defined by his accessories. We couldn't just cut one of the swords (which would have been easier than reducing deco to get him on cost). Blade needs his blades and a low deco version of his armor looked really bad. In the end, the best option to get Blade on cost was to reduce some deco on the swords. There wasn't any option available to release him over cost or to even change is SRP as he was already pre sold as part of the sub. (this is one of the reasons we like non sub items as we can put more into the toy by raising the price if needed).

[Captain Atkin]

Those look great. I will probably buy a pair.

[barrasco]

This figure turned out amaz...

...ingly awful.

Enjoy your bootlegish MOTUC folks!

[_RZ_]

...here's nice Shapeways substitutes if anyone is looking!
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/pmc

Thanks for the link on this. The sword handles being too wide is just ridiculously lazy.

[Vahn]

Got my second Blade in today (first one's with my quarterly Sub, so I don't have it yet), and he's pretty awesome. The bulky armor isn't as bad as it looks in some pictures (bad enough that I still want to fix it though), but the handle on the movie sword is literally twice as wide as the figure's grip, so I may not be displaying him with those hand-warpers. Time to spend more money/time on something Mattel screwed up.

[KOLOBOSREXX]

...Got my Blade a couple of days ago! GREAT figure. The swords look better in hand even with the missing paint, more of a flat silver than the grey they appered as in online pics. I don't really get the wider, flatter handle of the of the movie sword, but surprisingly he grips it quite tightly, and although it stetches the hand a bit, it goes back to normal after it's out in a minute! I painted the squares on bot swords' hilts metallic-blue, looks way better like that! Thought about painting the handles black, but was concerned about paint-rub. Now I just need to get one more of both swords somehow...

[Mechanizor]

Some good news for Anthony at least. He's such a cool act!

[KOLOBOSREXX]

...here's nice Shapeways substitutes if anyone is looking!

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/pmc

[KOLOBOSREXX]

I purchased two Blade figures today. No problems with signing in. Looking forward to getting the figure. I think I will probably end up giving him the sword that came with Fang Man.

...Any interest in parting with his swords, Good Sir?

[Captain Atkin]

Blade has SOLD OUT!!!

[Nemisythe]

Really sad that albeit the price issue the cheapening of these figures is getting worse and worse. Those swords look truly pathetic to such a beauty of a figure!

[RelicToys]

Love this figure, and love when Dan said "I've waited a long time for this!"

[Matthew L. Martin]

Still available 2 hours after launch.

And rereading his bio, I just noticed something odd, although I think someone at the Org may have picked up on this months ago ... He joined Skeletor as a mercenary for Second Ultimate Battleground, but he fought against He-Man in that same conflict? More and more I get convinced that the mini-comic doesn't reflect what Scott intended for 2nd Ultimate Battleground when he wrote the bios.

[Captain Atkin]

I purchased two Blade figures today. No problems with signing in. Looking forward to getting the figure. I think I will probably end up giving him the sword that came with Fang Man.

[Novelty]

My Blade are coming from by subscriptions, but I do hope the day-of sales would be good for those hoping to get him for whatever reasons... second blade, etc.

[Captain Atkin]

Anthony De Longis was very supportive about getting Blade made as an action figure in MOTUC, and helped during subscription time by making 2 videos for the fans to show his support. As Blade is going on sale today, it seems only fitting to share these videos again...

2012

2013

[Anti-Guru]

It's not just the lack of paint on the swords. The swords look like they are too big and out of scale with the figure. I just don't know what to think about his armor either... Not only is it way to big, but the plastic seems too thick. Look at the chain mail, it's supposed to be thin and more form fitting but it's not.

[Mechanizor]

Really frustrated with Blade. I don't understand why they'd cheap out on his swords...when his name is BLADE for God's sake!!!

With a hippie voice: It's the expensive deco man, look at it, it shines!

[Widukind]

I think this figure should be the figurehead of everything that is wrong with the Neitlich/ Martinez regime.

I think there's way worse, though... like The Unnamed One !

[Dark Horse]

I think this figure should be the figurehead of everything that is wrong with the Neitlich/ Martinez regime.