LJN Employee questions poll

8 REPLIES · 45 VIEWS · STARTED DEC 9, 2010
#1
[FONT=Verdana]Ok guys I have gathered all the questions below. There are just too many questions and we should bring them down to 15. Please pick the 15 that you would like to get answered and we'll go with those. We dont want to swamp HH client[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Here you go[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]1.It has been rumored by several fans that they had seen the Mad Bubbler in toy shelves for a brief period of time. Did the Mad Bubbler ever reach retail stores and if so for how long would you estimate it was in store shelves?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]2. Laser Saber figures of Lion-O, Mumm-Ra, and Bengali have surfaced under Rainbow Toys. Can you confirm if LJN ever produced these as well? While this is a Rainboy Toys questions, do you have any information on if the Captain Shiner laser saber figure was ever produced? (There were 4 laser sabet figures pictured in the last series Rainbow Toys mini catalog: Lion-O, Mumm-Ra, Bengali, and Capt. Shiner). To avoid any confusion, I'm referring to the 4 figures on the right in this link for both of these questions:

http://www.thundercatslair.org/toys/graphics/catalogues/seriesRcatB.jpg"" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[COLOR=#990000]http://www.thundercatslair.org/toys/...eriesRcatB.jpg


3. Were there any figures planned beyond the produced and unproduced figures shown in the last LJN catalog in 1987 or another way of phrasing it: was there a "Series 4" planned at all? If so can you shed any light on characters/vehicles/playsets being considered and if any early prototypes were ever made?

4. As Bandai owns the master toy license now, I'm interested as to any legality involved as to if they could reproduce the LJN figures for a commemorative re-release down the road. Can you shed any light on the legal aspect as to the scope of the copyrights LJN owned at the time the line was produced? Did they only own their contributions to Thundercats (ex: Battle-Matic action mechanism, any unique weapons or harnasses, etc) or did they own, as it is termed the rights to the 'derivative'? Meaning the actual figure likenesses themselves as well?

5. There are variations of several figures out there (Jaga with yellow vs caucasian skin, Rataro with eye daggers vs with daggers that don't have eyes, S-s-slithe with pink eyes vs white eyes, Lion-O with orange hair vs with red hair, several others). Can you give any insight as to why these variations exist and if they were planned or were manufacturing errors?

6. Seems like LJN was starting to explore more than just the standard 'Battle-Matic' action in the main line towards the end of the line with Thunderwings Lion-O, Luna-Lasher Mumm-Ra, Driller, etc(by main line I mean the Thundercats, Mutants, Mumm-Ra, etc. Not the Berzerkers which all had unique actions of their own). Can you shed any light as to any other proposed action features that were in the pipelines prior to the end? As a side question, why was Hachiman given a uniquely different Battle-Matic action feature from the rest of the figures in the main line?

7. While most of the figure line makes complete sense, one figure sticks out in my mind as a curious choice to produce: Mongor. Can you give any details as to why some reoccuring show favorites didn't make it to production (there aren't many, but Mandora comes to mind), yet Mongor who only appears in a single episode that I recall was chosen to be produced? Along that line, why was Mongor chosen over some other 1 or 2 episode characters like Char-Nin, the Demolisher, or a Crab Man?

8. While all of the figures look amazing and its impossible not to be able to identify which character they are, there seems to be a variations as to figures matching up to the likeness of their show counterparts (in other words, some figures more resemble the Rankin Bass versions than others). What were some of the more challenging figures to sculpt to show likeness, and what made them challenging?[/FONT][/COLOR]
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[FONT=Verdana]9. Was Quickpic, Plutar and the Inflamer ever considered for production?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]10. Can you describe the production process. I am curious the steps taken to consider a character or scrap a character for production.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]11. What was the reason the Stinger was produced when he is the only character never to have been in the cartoon and why the flimsy quality of the wings.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]12. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Can you describe the molds used create the characters (this is for my piece of mind as I have a set and want to make sure it is legit)

13. Was there ever a possibility of having a Snowmeow produced that the Snowman could ride?

14. How come the proportions on the companions figures are off so much compared to the rest of the figures, and was it ever considered to have the Cat's lair be able to hold the Thundertank?

15. How many different weapons ideas/designs per figure were there I'm basing this question on the final released accessories and the accessories featured in the catalogs?

16. What do the numbers on the bottoms of already known prototype pieces mean (ex. my Lynx-o in the prototype section)?

17. Do you happen to know why Playful was able to stray away so much from the LJN figures in regards to there final products (Ie. shuttle guns, Lynx-o) and what actual figures were produced by Glasslite, Playful and the company in Venezula?

18. This isn't a Thundercats question but its close. Did you work on the Tigersharks line and if so was there ever a second wave of figures considered for production, and do you have any prototype pieces or pictures of unreleased figures (ie. Dragonstein, Octavia)[/FONT]

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[FONT=Verdana]19. With the second release of Tygra, which in my opinion was better than the first, was any thought ever given to making a second Cheetara figure?

20. Why didn't LJN ever produce a young Lion-O or Claudus figure?

21. Why was the Lion-O figure orange as opposed to the skin tone used in the series?

22. Why wasn't a Snarfer figure ever released alongside the Bengali, Pumyra and Lynx-O?[/FONT]

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[FONT=Verdana]23. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]In the early days of planning the line, was a 3 3/4" scale figure (similar to GI Joe or Star Wars) ever considered for the Thundercats line? What factors lead the decision to go with the size that was released?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]24. How were characters, vehicles, and locations picked to be made into figures, vehicles, and playsets? Specifically:

A. Why were Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Ben-Gali made, but none of the Luna Taks or Snarfer?

B. Why was the Mutant Fistpounder made, but not the Rat Star or Vultureman's Flying Machine?

C. What were the origins of the following, which were not in the original cartoon:
Quick-Jaws & Cannon-Blaster (Berzerkers)
ThunderWings, Stilt Runner, & Luna Lasher (Transporters)
The Stinger (Rampagers)
Blue, Orange, Red, & Black Laser Sabers Energy Packs

D. Why were figures made of characters that only made 1-2 appearances, but characters that made multiple appearances not made?

25. Why were so few figures and vehicles made when there were so many possibilities from the cartoon, and other cartoon/toy lines had so many (He-Man, G I Joe, Transformers, etc)?

26. Were there any plans to make a Tower of Omens and/or Sky Tomb playset(s) had the toyline continued?[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana]27. How did you come to own these items? Did you work for LJN and if so what was your role?

28. (if yes to above) Do you have any interesting memories about your time at LJN and when Thundercats toys were in stores?

29. Many prototypes appeared in the small catalogues packed in with the toys, does this mean the prototype toys were close to a potential release?

30. Do you know how many of each prototype were made? (if possible please state amount sculpted/painted/working (if applicable) If unsure what would be your best guess?

31. Were there any characters never released or prototype never sculpted, that you would like to have seen?

32. Which of the prototypes never released is your favourite and why?

33. Is there any reason why 2 different Tygra figures were sculpted and released?

34. Were there ever any plans or even discussion about a Castle Plundarr playset?

35. So far we have seen the Mad Bubbler and promised more to come....however is there any particular reason why this collection has been kept under wraps this long?

36. Bandai are to release new toys in 2011 based off the original classic 80's Thundercats cartoon. After experience of working on the original line for LJN, what single piece of advice would you give Bandai for their take on the original Th[/FONT]

Merged Post:
Guys just to reiterate that I need votes on what you would like to be answered no later than tomorrow. I realize there wont be many votes per question to get a good consensus but it will give me an idea on what to send. I will be sending the questions tomorrow to Jordan
#2
Guys, I have already interviewed the owner of the Mad Bubbler and just need to have the interview transcribed. I came across him while purchasing the prototype collection I mentioned but I couldn't get him to sell to me direct.

I have his phone number and e-mail and have been in touch recently to sendhim a thank you gift for doing the interview. I coveredsome but not all of these questions and I'm sure he'd be happy to answer them for us.

I've not had time to read all of the forums posts recently but Manny... can you e-mail me with a quick summary of where you're at with this so we don't look disorganized? The owner knows me and the site already and I don't want to trip over each other here.

Thanks,
Mark
#3

"grizzlor, post: 30724" said:

Guys, I have already interviewed the owner of the Mad Bubbler and just need to have the interview transcribed. I came across him while purchasing the prototype collection I mentioned but I couldn't get him to sell to me direct.

I have his phone number and e-mail and have been in touch recently to sendhim a thank you gift for doing the interview. I coveredsome but not all of these questions and I'm sure he'd be happy to answer them for us.

I've not had time to read all of the forums posts recently but Manny... can you e-mail me with a quick summary of where you're at with this so we don't look disorganized? The owner knows me and the site already and I don't want to trip over each other here.

Thanks,
Mark


I think if you have his contact info that this speeds things up a bit. Basically i was going to send the questions over to Jordan and he was going to forward them. That was as far as i have gone...

If the guy doesnt mind perhaps he could cover the questions that our forum members have posted, a list of which i have posted at the beginning of this post.

Can you copy the questions and send them over to get answered I would feel bad that even though you interviewed him our forum members may be feel left out if they notice that their questions didnt quite get answered. See what questions you can get answered. I would like it if you can post the info you got so far with your interview so that we know where youre at and meet at the middle
#4
Id wait to make a decision on this and see mark's interview then go from there. Cause there are a lot of good questions the members came up with and if some we already have answers to that lets more of the members questions be answered. I'd wait to compile the final list to send off after seeing the interview. Just my two cents
#5

"matt, post: 30729" said:

Id wait to make a decision on this and see mark's interview then go from there. Cause there are a lot of good questions the members came up with and if some we already have answers to that lets more of the members questions be answered. I'd wait to compile the final list to send off after seeing the interview. Just my two cents

Thats the intent, to first see the interview and then compile the list of questions according to what has or has not been covered. I told Jordan I'd submit the questions to him in a week but now Im stuck in the middle between sending him the questions or going through mark who already established direct contact. I think we should try to speed this up a little bit and go the direct route.

Mark: When you get a chance we need to communicate on this to get this out as soon as possible.
#6
Let's go direct for sure, should I use the question list in this thread? I have an audio recording of the interview but the quality was very poor so I'm trying to find a service to have it transcribed. It'll take me a day or two but I can get this question list over to the Jose (the owner of the prototypes)

Cheers,
Mark
#7

"grizzlor, post: 30792" said:

Let's go direct for sure, should I use the question list in this thread? I have an audio recording of the interview but the quality was very poor so I'm trying to find a service to have it transcribed. It'll take me a day or two but I can get this question list over to the Jose (the owner of the prototypes)

Cheers,
Mark


Yeah..those are the questions. If we can get them all answered great but if not then however many he can respond to. By the way is the owner of the prototypes a designer of the line
#8
Can you also sneak in a question of how The Stinger came to be released as a figure, even though he never appeared in the cartoon? ;)
#9

"blackiecats, post: 30797" said:

Can you also sneak in a question of how The Stinger came to be released as a figure, even though he never appeared in the cartoon? ;)



Neil this is already covered in the questions I asked so if there all asked well be set

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