Pixel Dan's experience with Bandai on Thundercats at Toyfair

[Dr Kain]

For those of you who do not know who Pixel Dan is, he is a guy that reviews every MOTUC figure and has started doing reviews for the new Thundercats line. He pretty much acts as our voice in the toy industry. Here are some things he posted on he-man.org and his own site about his experience with Bandai this past weekend from Toyfair:

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Originally Posted by Pixel Dan

I'm glad to hear new episodes are hopefully on the way. I really want this cartoon and toy line to do well.

I wanted to post this here. This is my write-up on Bandai's ThunderCats after my experience at Toy Fair:
http://popculturenetwork.com/article...20214204559858

It's kind of sad. And the general consensus among several folks I talked to there (other news sites, folks working for other toy companies, etc) is that the line is in trouble. I really hope that's not the case, but to be perfectly honest, Bandai didn't act like they cared at all. They seemed to brush all my questions off with annoyance. I even got a bit of an eye roll when I asked if they were aware of the complaints on the unpainted joints.

So, we'll see. I really do hope when new episodes start back up, Bandai just droips a ton of new toy images on us. I guess time will tell. Fingers crossed!

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The album above will take you to images of Bandai's ThunderCats display from Toy Fair 2012. But fair warning: you aren't going to see anything you haven't already seen. 90% of the items they showed off are already in stores and collectors' hands. This is a bit strange considering Toy Fair is the biggest toy event of the year, where toy companies come to basically show retailers and potential buyers what products they will have to offer for the year.

When we asked Bandai what their plans were after what they had on display, the only response was "we have nothing to comment on at this time." When asked if the Classics line will stay in 6" scale, and if there was a possibility of any more 8" Classics figures, the only response was again "we have nothing at this time."

Also, when asked about the unpainted joints on the 6" and 8" figures, the response from Bandai was that they are aware this is a common complaint, but it costs tooling dollars to make changes like this, and they do not have any changes planned at this time.

So, what does this mean for ThunderCats? Honestly, we're not sure. We don't want to jump to any conclusions, but we will tell you that the general consensus from everyone at the show is that there may be some troubles ahead for this line.

Now, it's of course possible that with the ThunderCats cartoon still on hiatus, maybe Bandai was holding back product as to not spoil any plot points. But then again, this show is mostly meant to sell retailers on picking up their product. So, time will tell. Let's all just keep out fingers crossed and hope for the best!

[Ravenxl7]

I'm going to remain hopeful for the time being. Maybe designing the next wave of stuff is taking longer than they had expected, and that's why they didn't have anything to show/talk about during toy fair. Only time will tell.

[IndyCat]

Cartoon netork is still promoting Thundercats....in all aspects on facebook.

ThunderCats | Facebook

Their latest entry a few days ago show a van with the entire backside wrapped with Thundercats.

I still believe in my points and Joes, that they released the spring wave to early and dont want to reveal to much in the toys that would spoil the show. up to this point the new Thundercats show has had rave reviews and good feedback. Toys have also received LOTS of attention.

aside from not mentioning when the series would resume, I dont really see a reason to panick.

[Tracer]

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They seemed to brush all my questions off with annoyance. I even got a bit of an eye roll when I asked if they were aware of the complaints on the unpainted joints.

This doesn't surprise me at all. Sometimes I think collectors are our own worst enemy when it comes to this stuff. It's gonna be a massive bummer if they just drop the license all together.

[eero]

Bandai really needs to communicate on this. I don't think they need to go to Matty-levels of interaction, but just a note or an update on the status would be helpful.

[dpcphoto]

To be completely honest, and this is all strictly my own opinion, but if the toy line fails, it would be due to extremely poor marketing. Because of such a massive global fan-base, this brand should sell itself even if it is not marketed to the highest degree. I mean we are talking about the ThunderCats here. What a property! I was excited about the launch of a new series, but am such a mega-fan of the classic, I wasn't sure I would like it. Man, I was wrong. It is awesome not only visually, but the music and voice acting are top notch. I really like the story line as well. Great stuff and I hope it continues for a long time. As far as the toy line (figures in my case), I have to say that I am quite pleased. Could they be better, of course - but they could also be a whole lot worse too. I guess what I really want to say here, is that I do hope the line has a chance. Bandai needs to do a much better job marketing this product. I saw the toy fair booth and watched the videos of the reps talking about the products. It was just sad. Nothing new to see but someone who hardly knew anything about the characters they were talking about. Bandai needs to fix this fast. Start by updating the website or at the very least facebook and twitter. Just let fans know what is going on. It's not hard at all, and I don't think it is too much to ask for either. Here’s to hoping a wave 3, with all new figures we actually want will be announced in the upcoming months! Anyways, that’s my rant.

[Pravus Prime]

It's really tough to say.

Not having any Classics news is a bummer, since that would be something if the line is doing well and they don't want to spoil anything would be an open option.

On the other hand, well, there's plenty of obvious stuff there.

I don't have much experience with Bandai like I do Hasbro and Mattel, so it's impossible for me to judge.