Thundertank from Super7

"Cheetoro, post: 131565, member: 26134" said:

Hasbro is also much, much larger and TransFormers is also much, much larger. TF has only had a 2 year hiatus ever in the US. It's just not the same numbers of production at all.

This is not to say I think S7 has good prices, they clearly don't. That's why their product must be exceptional. If you are charging more, you have to be up to the task of making exceptional product.

Diamond Select, McFarlane and NECA are not as large as Hasbro and Mattel and make products on quite lesser known properties yet can still get figure like this out for around £30.

"Booshman, post: 131558, member: 25641" said:

Has Brian ever been asked why these new waves are so much more expensive than the Matty figures were and offerings from other companies are?

From what I read or saw it was explained that the Ultimates! plan was basically born from the idea to have a figure come with as much extras as possible and make it as loaded as possible to get the most extreme version. Each wave I understand has a set budget and the selection of figures is worked out based on this and accessories etc chosen for each figure with that in mind. Another factor is also the new option of buying any figure without being forced to buy all of them. So there are several reasons why the figures cost what they do.

"Sebastiaan, post: 131567, member: 25673" said:

From what I read or saw it was explained that the Ultimates! plan was basically born from the idea to have a figure come with as much extras as possible and make it as loaded as possible to get the most extreme version. Each wave I understand has a set budget and the selection of figures is worked out based on this and accessories etc chosen for each figure with that in mind. Another factor is also the new option of buying any figure without being forced to buy all of them. So there are several reasons why the figures cost what they do.

Don't you find it a little disheartening to be paying 45% more than the Mattel per figure for the extra stuff and the option of not buying complete waves? I'm feeling buyers remorse already and I haven't even paid past the deposit stage for 3 of the waves yet.

"Booshman, post: 131571, member: 25641" said:

Don't you find it a little disheartening to be paying 45% more than the Mattel per figure for the extra stuff and the option of not buying complete waves? I'm feeling buyers remorse already and I haven't even paid past the deposit stage for 3 of the waves yet.

I would love to know how Super 7's pricing works because I would truly love to know how Brian and his company can charge the same price for these two different figures. Ren is smaller with a lot less articulation and accessories. :00

"Booshman, post: 131533, member: 25641" said:

The tank is massive in the show compared to the LJN toy. Look at these pic from the show:



If S7 make one it would be along the lines of this fan creation, and this even looks a bit small to be show scale. Definitely something they'll charge a mint for：

That massive cartoon tank with the seats in the back is exactly what I'm hoping for. I know it'll be a wallet eater but would be amazing!

"Booshman, post: 131571, member: 25641" said:

Don't you find it a little disheartening to be paying 45% more than the Mattel per figure for the extra stuff and the option of not buying complete waves? I'm feeling buyers remorse already and I haven't even paid past the deposit stage for 3 of the waves yet.

Not at all

"Mark M, post: 131572, member: 5058" said:

I would love to know how Super 7's pricing works because I would truly love to know how Brian and his company can charge the same price for these two different figures. Ren is smaller with a lot less articulation and accessories. :00

Its probably the same argument as to why Slithe and Cheetara costs the same as they’re very different. Slithe has a more demanding sculpt. I guess with TMNT parts reuse is far less than with TC but from one turtle sculpt they pulled out 4 figures with minor changes (heads and accessories). I bet licensing fees etc is also part of the figure’s final cost.
With that said, I’m not too concerned about that side of the coin. I’m aware that this is what it costs and it comes down to whether I will pay for it or not. If collectors don’t want it, they won’t buy it; whether its price is the deciding factor or the style of the figure doesn’t suit them (articulation etc). It’s a personal choice in the end. And you know where I stand when it comes to the line

"Sebastiaan, post: 131578, member: 25673" said:

Its probably the same argument as to why Slithe and Cheetara costs the same as they’re very different. Slithe has a more demanding sculpt. I guess with TMNT parts reuse is far less than with TC but from one turtle sculpt they pulled out 4 figures with minor changes (heads and accessories). I bet licensing fees etc is also part of the figure’s final cost.
With that said, I’m not too concerned about that side of the coin. I’m aware that this is what it costs and it comes down to whether I will pay for it or not. If collectors don’t want it, they won’t buy it; whether its price is the deciding factor or the style of the figure doesn’t suit them (articulation etc). It’s a personal choice in the end. And you know where I stand when it comes to the line

I knew where you stood with the line even when Mattel were making them. ;):laugh
It's interesting you mentioned the size difference in Cheetara and Slithe yet they are the same price. However S7 were able to charge more for Mumm-Ra TEL compared to all the other figures. By that logic surely they should either make them all the same price or price them accordingly for size and accessories.
Although when it comes to their pricing people really can't keep make excuses of them being a smaller company. They are a company with enough capital to purchase numerous licences from various companies like Disney, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, Mattel, Nickelodeon, Troma, World Event Productions, New Japan Pro Wrestling etc.
I would agree licencing and sculpting/parts re-use must come into it in some ways. But as it is some of these "Ultimates" are far from being Ultimate editions and figures like Ren and Stimpy and various others are not worth anywhere the prices being charged.
If S7 make the dream Thundertank all the fans of the line want I honestly don't think they will be able to produce it for less than Snake Mountain.

[USER=25673]@Sebastiaan[/USER] the new interview with Brain was quite interesting. Since talk of other Ultimates lines always comes up in the interviews, have you ever though about doing a more expanded interview covering all the various Ultimates line? I know a lot o fans on here are interested in more than just Thundercats and might enjoy getting some info on TMNT, Conan and NJPW etc.

"Mark M, post: 131582, member: 5058" said:

I knew where you stood with the line even when Mattel were making them. ;):laugh
It's interesting you mentioned the size difference in Cheetara and Slithe yet they are the same price. However S7 were able to charge more for Mumm-Ra TEL compared to all the other figures. By that logic surely they should either make them all the same price or price them accordingly for size and accessories.

[USER=25673]@Sebastiaan[/USER] the new interview with Brain was quite interesting. Since talk of other Ultimates lines always comes up in the interviews, have you ever though about doing a more expanded interview covering all the various Ultimates line? I know a lot o fans on here are interested in more than just Thundercats and might enjoy getting some info on TMNT, Conan and NJPW etc.

Lol, yea I make no secret of it
He is a probably more expensive because of him being much taller, but you can counter Slithe is thicker. I don’t know why else apart from his sheer scale and the addition of Ma-Mutt maybe?
We have touched on TMNT a few times for reference but I don’t think that this is the place to discuss other brands except TC, and by that logic SH and TS. TheFwoosh does really great interviews covering all the lines, and Pixel Dan did one too. It’s a good idea but I don’t think this is the place for it. But again, if there is something to reference like I did with TMNT in the other lines, it is certainly valid to ask if it relates to this line in some way.

Keep in mind that Super 7 is still newer than NECA, etc and still penetrating the market. They only started doing Ultimates very recently. Without avenues like Toys R Us, they have to find other avenues. Target recently began carrying some stuff, hopefully we will see more along those lines in the future. As they can increase production, we can at least expect prices to freeze.

You see NECA stuff everywhere, definitely not the same for S7. Also things like Predator, horror figures, etc have much more broad pop culture appeal than TCats - that's just the way it goes.

Again, I'm not justifying the price to the level we see - but there is not zero basis for it either. S7 will need to find a happy balance to be as successful as possible. They also need to really be able to deliver. That's the key. If they can deliver exceptional product, then people will clearly pay the current prices.

I did this little comparison some time ago, I hope it has similar dimensions.

"Baedal, post: 131587, member: 27563" said:

I did this little comparison some time ago, I hope it has similar dimensions.

Nice mockup!!!

There is no question that Super 7 makes awesome toys, anf these will be the best Thundercats figure we will ever see. Yes I will buy these figures even if I think they are priced way to high (it's almost $100 per figure for us Canadians after shipping).
However if Super 7 dropped the figure price by $10 I can guarantee you that more people would buy their figures, and even duplicates.

It is basically the underlying concept for the free market system, supply and demand.

Mark M has given some great examples of other toy company figures that sell for a fraction of the price with the same quality. And honestly I think we all underestimate the size of the Thundercats fan base. It is definitely comparable to MOTU and Transformers so the excuse of higher price due to lower sales is not justified.

:tygra:

Looks like next week will be the big reveal!!!! Check out S7’s posts on Social Media. Silverhawks, Power Rangers and more seems to be in the lineup!

"Mad Bubbler, post: 131593, member: 512" said:

...other toy company figures that sell for a fraction of the price with the same quality....

[USER=512]@Mad Bubbler[/USER] and [USER=2593]@SwordofOmens83[/USER] when it comes to quality all of those other companies (with the slight exception of NECA) are actually producing vastly superior quality figures. None of those other mass produced retail lines have anywhere near the amount of quality control issues like Super 7's products are famour for. A premium priced made to order collectors line should not have anywhere near that amount of quality control issues.
I am amazed the amount of apologist behaviour though when it comes to the quality control issues. As bad as S7 prices are if they at least addressed and vastly improved the quality control the priced could be slightly more excused.
[USER=25673]@Sebastiaan[/USER] in your next interview will you be asking Brian if they will be improving the quality control issues that all their lines have had?
Much like the Thundercats, the Conan Ultimates line is off to a bad start with Arnold's head sculpt being terrible looking with waxy plastic and poor paint applications. The prototype which was pretty awful from the start, but the production figure is even worse.

"Sebastiaan, post: 131594, member: 25673" said:

Looks like next week will be the big reveal!!!! Check out S7’s posts on Social Media. Silverhawks, Power Rangers and more seems to be in the lineup!

Can you post a link once the interview is uploaded please?

"Sebastiaan, post: 131594, member: 25673" said:

Looks like next week will be the big reveal!!!! Check out S7’s posts on Social Media. Silverhawks, Power Rangers and more seems to be in the lineup!

I cannot believe we might actually be getting a Thundertank as well as Silverhawks figures. I know the figures we have gotten so far are not perfect, but I still think they are awesome. I could use less accessories and more quality control, but I am grateful we even have the option to buy these figures. I had given up hope on getting a Thundercats line after the whole Matty collector cancellation. I look forward to the reveals this week.

"Mad Bubbler, post: 131596, member: 512" said:

Can you post a link once the interview is uploaded please?

There may not be an interview on our end, but then again there may be.
@MarkM in all honesty I believe the QC question has been discussed at length before and past issues addressed. I will happily ask about issues that come up in all future product in this line. So far it seems for this line the concerns have been addressed.

"Sebastiaan, post: 131598, member: 25673" said:

There may not be an interview on our end, but then again there may be.
@MarkM in all honesty I believe the QC question has been discussed at length before and past issues addressed. I will happily ask about issues that come up in all future product in this line. So far it seems for this line the concerns have been addressed.

Here are a few questions:
- what classic figures do you look back on with a deeper appreciation for the level of design involved?
- Do you anticipate or have plans for vehicles for any of the reaction lines?
- what obscure license would be your dream to have the opportunity to make figures for?

I understand these aren’t Thundercats specific, but if that isn’t a restriction, those are questions i have.


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"tone, post: 131599, member: 27040" said:

Here are a few questions:
- what classic figures do you look back on with a deeper appreciation for the level of design involved?
- Do you anticipate or have plans for vehicles for any of the reaction lines?
- what obscure license would be your dream to have the opportunity to make figures for?

I understand these aren’t Thundercats specific, but if that isn’t a restriction, those are questions i have.


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Those are good questions! Brian already answered the ReAction vehicle question in one of the earlier interviews. There aren’t any planned right now (back then) but nothing was off the cards so to say. He was also pretty excited about the E-L Mumm-Ra; its scale and design impressed him but that relates only to TC. I will ask it though as a general question.