Matty took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions.
1. As you very well know, MOTU and DCUC fans love the amazing 4H sculpting work! How and when did the Mattel/4H relationship started and which one figure started it all?
From the Horsemen:
The four of us (Jim Preziosi, Eric Treadaway, Chris Dahlberg & H. Eric “Cornboy” Mayse) had been working together at a different toy company for a few years, and decided it was time for a change. We had a friend in the industry that introduced us to Mattel, and we set up a meeting.
At the initial meeting with Mattel, we were all amazed to find out that even without any prior discussion, we were all on the same page as to how this relationship between our two companies should work and what one of our main objectives should be – to bring back “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”. We signed an agreement with Mattel the very day we left the other toy company as a group, and the rest is history.
A funny thing about our first meeting with Mattel – We went to the meeting at Mattel’s design headquarters, and we were all decked out in black suits & ties and carrying briefcases. Just super-slick looking. Real professional-like… But when we got to Mattel, we felt SO overdressed. Everyone there was dressed nice and casual, and the atmosphere was so friendly and laid back. We must’ve looked like the Jersey mafia coming into the building that day.
The very first work that we did for Mattel was not Masters of the Universe or DC Superheroes related, believe it or not! The first thing we did was a troll as a pitch piece to Warner Brothers so Mattel could acquire the Harry Potter license. That figure was only for the presentation and was never made into an action figure, although we did do some action figures for the Harry Potter line (including another troll) a year or so later. The very first figure that we did for Mattel that actually went into production and was released was the villain The Bio-Constrictor for Mattel’s Max Steel line. We’ve done quite a few bad guys for that line since then as well, but most of them have only been released outside the United States, so we’ve never actually seen the finished product in person.
2. What prompted the decision regarding GL Classics Mongul. Why the re-use and not a CnC route? Having Arkillo & Mongul seemed like they would have made good sense for the CnCs.
The simple answer is that we already had a Mongul figure that was quite larger then a basic figure and only needed new arms for this release. We were pretty happy with his sculpt and, unlike Darkseid or Bane, we did not feel he needed to be redone as a Collect and Connect. The Horsemen really nailed him the first time, size and all.
3. Will the new Mer man in the DC 2 pack be re-release in his own pack? Also how much of change will the figures have when they are released as variants? Just color?
There are no plans right now to release the redeco’d figures from the MOTU vs DCU packs as singles. This is what makes the 2-packs special. It is only the color that is changed, the sculpt is the same.
4. Are the rock people going to be released sometime next year and will we see more characters from that family besides the to original one? Also will they be able to form into rocks?
Sorry, we can’t comment on any MOTUC characters past King Hssss at this time. The Rock Warriors would be fun to do in time!
5. Why tell us you’re going to announce how we’ll be able to get “Animal skin” Cheetah right before Comic Con, and then post that she’s in limbo the next week? What happened?
Our plans fell through. This type of thing happens ALL THE TIME in toy land due to all the logistics involved, which is why we wait to announce anything until it is 100% going forward. We still have this sculpt and deco and do plan to get her out in time. She is just in limbo a bit longer then we originally expected.
Just thanks to Mattel and the Horsemen for the figures.