176 replies to this topic

[Scumdogg]

With the success of toy/game lines like bakugan, gormiti and pokemon in the recent market, it'd only make sense to restart the line under the same vein, given BB was one of the first toy lines to pioneer the battling concept. But no, we're stuck with the license going to some block company.

I love that there are still people who can put the words "success" and "Gormiti" in the same sentence. It's precious, really.

The reality of all this is that if you want the rerelease of a minifigure toyline right now you've got about three options. Urban Vinyl, Galactic Heroes Style (if Hasbro had retained the license), or block figures (minimates, kubricks, etc).

You cannot resurrect an 80's property that (let's be honest) without a cartoon is ONLY going to appeal to adult collectors, and chuck it out there with a trading card and a number on the foot. It would get absolutely murdered (as Gormiti did) by Pokemon and Bakugan. We'd be sitting here in a year wondering why series 2 didn't come out immediately on the heels of the buy one get one free sales.

I suggest that anyone skeptical about the level of care and detail that DST puts into their minimates toys check out the new Ghostbusters figures at TRU. It's not like we're talking about Lego figures here.

[jkaris]

I can't wait to see the rest of the line.

[Universal Ruler Supreme]

Alright, I've been swayed. Scumdogg uses some very good logic here. So I will not immediately dismiss the line based on this first example. (which may or may not be a battlebeast...as it appears there is still some confusion about it.)

We shall see what happens. But I swear if these things start popping up, and continue to look ridiculous like this thing I will be writing some angry letters....probably not mailing them, but I will write them so help me!!!

[JattaPake]

Sad. Really sad. For the guy on that thread who said wasn't it better to have some resurgance of battle beasts than none at all, I would respond no, it's not better. Not if they're going to be blocky pieces of crap.

Hello. I'm a Minimates collector for the past 5 years and I just found this forum from Minimate Multiverse. I am THRILLED to find this site. I love little rubber guys and have fond memories of MUSCLES and those McDonalds Happy Meal guys from the early eighties. In fact, does anyone know what those McDonald's guys are called? I had a bunch as a kid and I've always wondered what the complete line looks like.

To be honest, I never collected BattleBeasts as I was a bit too old for them when they came out. However, I seem to be old enough to find them very interesting now.

Anyways, thanks for the forum and detailed lists of the BattleBeasts. For those of you who hate Minimates, I suspect DST will win some of you over with this line. They are a fantastic company and have a talented art house with Art Asylum. I am eager to see how the new line shapes up as well. I agree that I hope they continue the Wood, Fire, Water element.

For those of you new to Minimates, they have 14 points of articulation and all pieces come apart like LEGOS. The croc figure above can have his outer chest thing removed (assuming he conforms to all regular Minimates designs). Perhaps the Fire/Wood/Water symbol will be tampoed under the outer chest piece.

Part of my enjoyment of Minimates is that they packed elements of LEGO, action figure articulation, and comic properties into a figure about the size of a MUSCLE. It was like having all my childhood favorites wrapped up into a perfect toy burrito!

Anyways, thanks for the forum. I'm going to go poke around now.

[TheOrgg]

This reminds me of the first few sightings of the Ultimate Muscle figures. "They're different sizes!" "They only come in one color per sculpt unless it's painted!" "There's no playsets!"

For those of you who dislike the new style (I think it looks like the head is about twice the size it needs to be and if the head is off-center like it looks like in the [admittedly not straight-on] photo, well, I'll probably pass) because of the minimates tie-in, have you ever actually held and tried out a minimate?

I thought they looked silly, myself, with their lego-looking design and $4/per pricetag. I picked up a pack on clearance at a local shop, and I was actually quite impressed. Not only do they ACTUALLY function with my little brother's legos, they have really good articulation and a design that lets you mix-and-match every bit of the figure you want with other figures. The play-value on these figures is through the roof!

And why the 'blocky' complaints? Arn't most classic battlebeasts a bit square-ish themself?

...and for you perverts out there, now you'll be able to have nekkid battlebeasts. : inviso- mcmadd :


EDIT: And for the guy who posted at the same time as me: Welcome, and those are probably Dineer Monsters/Aliens. Fairly common, and some are actually bootlegs of a Japanese Ultraman Keshi line.

Edited by theorgg, 27 July 2009 - 11:47 AM.

[dabbuu]

I for one could not be happier that they are releasing Battle beasts and love the design of the new figure. I agree that in order to really be a true battle beast, a beast must minimally contain a fire/wood/water emblem so I really hope that they incorporate this into the line somehow. Frankly, I cannot fathom how someone could be unhappy about this and would suggest anyone who is worried or unhappy to please keep their opinions to themselves until we at least see a few other figures. Give the beasts a chance.


Also, welcome JattaPake to the boards hopefully battle beasts and minimates with have a long run together.

dabbuu

[phillinley]

Frankly, I cannot fathom how someone could be unhappy about this and would suggest anyone who is worried or unhappy to please keep their opinions to themselves until we at least see a few other figures. Give the beasts a chance.

Oh yeah, I'm just gonna shut my mouth and go away. Let's only let in those who sing praises about the potential new line. I've seen minimates for years, and I've always found them to be cheap. If everyone else in the world thinks different, that's their opinion and they're welcome to it, but I think they're less than junk. If you can't wrap your head around that, whoopty doo. I gave these things a chance when I saw them in person at SDCC. If they make them like that, they're making the same junk that I despise. If they release something akin to the original line with new stuff mixed in (ala MOTUC) I'll definitely be on board), but not this garbage. But I'm not gonna keep you from your opinion as you would mine. One man's garbage is another man's treasure.

What they really should do is contact Marty and hire him to sculpt the dang things.

[lord]

Frankly, I cannot fathom how someone could be unhappy about this and would suggest anyone who is worried or unhappy to please keep their opinions to themselves until we at least see a few other figures. Give the beasts a chance.

Oh yeah, I'm just gonna shut my mouth and go away. Let's only let in those who sing praises about the potential new line. I've seen minimates for years, and I've always found them to be cheap. If everyone else in the world thinks different, that's their opinion and they're welcome to it, but I think they're less than junk. If you can't wrap your head around that, whoopty doo. I gave these things a chance when I saw them in person at SDCC. If they make them like that, they're making the same junk that I despise. If they release something akin to the original line with new stuff mixed in (ala MOTUC) I'll definitely be on board), but not this garbage. But I'm not gonna keep you from your opinion as you would mine. One man's garbage is another man's treasure.

What they really should do is contact Marty and hire him to sculpt the dang things.

The Minimates BB are the same evolution than the MOTUC are for the MOTU line. In fact it seems that you don't want a new BB line but the same line than in the 80's. The customs from Matty are perfect for this purpose, adding new figure to the old line. DST just wants to re-launch BB with a totally new line and I guess they are doing well. If they had released same figure than the old line you would have seen a lot of criticisms saying that those are only plastic junk. If you read the TF boards around the net you will see plenty of collectors having no interest in the BB. At their eyes they are unarticulated and cheap plastic figures. You will never been able to have everyone happy. As a toys company your goal is to satisfy the most. I'm sure Minimates BB will be a hit even if some BB collectors don't like them.

It's your right to not like the BB Minimates but you're only saying they are junk. Please let us know why you have such an opinion. What disturbs you in the gator figure ?

[jkaris]

I think it comes down to hope and anticipation. Based on the kick ass concept art that TGB got from the guy at the toy company (Hasbro?), when they were kicking around a re-release, the new mini-mates style figures suck ass. Note, that is comparatively.

I think the mini-mates style beasts are a great idea, even though the gator head sculpt leaves a lot to be desired. But compared to the concept art we saw ( http://www.littlerub...showtopic=24043 ), the gator is a poor realization of those hopes and the anticipation of a new and improved BB/LB line.

In short, the concept art set the bar extraordinarily high, and the mini-mates line (as kewl as it may be), based on the gator, doesn't reach it.

[dankingery]

Sad. Really sad. For the guy on that thread who said wasn't it better to have some resurgance of battle beasts than none at all, I would respond no, it's not better. Not if they're going to be blocky pieces of crap.

Hello. I'm a Minimates collector for the past 5 years and I just found this forum from Minimate Multiverse. I am THRILLED to find this site. I love little rubber guys and have fond memories of MUSCLES and those McDonalds Happy Meal guys from the early eighties. In fact, does anyone know what those McDonald's guys are called? I had a bunch as a kid and I've always wondered what the complete line looks like.

To be honest, I never collected BattleBeasts as I was a bit too old for them when they came out. However, I seem to be old enough to find them very interesting now.

Anyways, thanks for the forum and detailed lists of the BattleBeasts. For those of you who hate Minimates, I suspect DST will win some of you over with this line. They are a fantastic company and have a talented art house with Art Asylum. I am eager to see how the new line shapes up as well. I agree that I hope they continue the Wood, Fire, Water element.

For those of you new to Minimates, they have 14 points of articulation and all pieces come apart like LEGOS. The croc figure above can have his outer chest thing removed (assuming he conforms to all regular Minimates designs). Perhaps the Fire/Wood/Water symbol will be tampoed under the outer chest piece.

Part of my enjoyment of Minimates is that they packed elements of LEGO, action figure articulation, and comic properties into a figure about the size of a MUSCLE. It was like having all my childhood favorites wrapped up into a perfect toy burrito!

Anyways, thanks for the forum. I'm going to go poke around now.

i wonder if the mcdonalds figures you're talking about are diener space creatures.

btw, welcome to the board. great to have new people and new ideas added to our collective, if somewhat diseased, mind.

Edited by dankingery, 27 July 2009 - 04:09 PM.

[Lee]

Hey, I'm just saying I like old Battle Beasts but not above just picking them up at yard sales and such, but I love that gator figure and the concept, though I am a huge minimate collector and have about 700 figures so yeah. So I think this line is going to take off, at least I’ll buy them.

[Donkeykid77]

It's not like we're talking about Lego figures here.

Actually... THAT just might have been cool!

What they really should do is contact Marty and hire him to sculpt the dang things - Phillinley.

Dangstraight, that's what they should've done!

And why the 'blocky' complaints?
Arn't most classic battlebeasts a bit square-ish themself? - Theorgg

Square-ish battlebeasts???
Maybe those paperfolded cube battlebeastcustoms by -whatshisname-,
but otherwise... NOOOOOO they ain't!


*************************************

You wanna know what's wrong with the pictured gator,
LET ME TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT:

1) His head isn't centered on his shoulders, what kind of beast has such deformation??
2) His arms look like they're threads with hands... I mean come on..., really...
3) As far as we can tell from this picture: he has no (rub-)sign (water/wood/fire/...)
4) The legs are SOOOO close together, he'll never have the ability to have kids... ever!
5) As far as we can tell from this picture: he doesn't come with a cool weapon...
6) The shape of his hands is like they couldn't even hold a weapon if they wanted to...

Point 4 may be forgivable, but the rest IMO are BLUNDERS PERIOD

*********************************************************

Give the beasts a chance. - Dabbuu

Only if the other 'block-beasts' look way better, keeping the above in mind!


DK77 Original Battlebeast Defender

Edited by Donkeykid77, 19 August 2009 - 01:46 AM.

[lord]

*************************************

You wanna know what's wrong with the pictured gator,
LET ME TELL YOU WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT:

1) His head isn't centered on his shoulders, what kind of beast has such deformation??
2) His arms look like they're threads with hands... I mean common, really...
3) As far as we can tell from this picture: he has no (rub-)sign (water/wood/fire/...)
4) His legs are SOOOO close together, he'll never have the ability to have kids... ever!
5) As far as we can tell from this picture: he doesn't come with a cool weapon...
6) The shape of his hands is like they couldn't even hold a weapon if they wanted to...

Point 4 may be forgivable, but the rest IMO are BLUNDERS PERIOD

*********************************************************

Now we can start a discussion on those points.

1) the head is centered for sure. Maybe the angle of the pic and the fact that there is a weapon up its left shoulder give you the wrong idea that it isn't but I'm sure that the head is centered.

2) I'm agree with this one but can live with it. In fact, and reading comments from MM collectors, it seems that the armor would be removable. So that can explain this point.

3) I wount be sure about the lack of symbol. Remember that in the old line the symbol was hidden (rub sensitive or orb). Maybe it will be the case here too but in another way. Why not including it under the armor (if removable) ? Wait&See so.

4) Close but articulated. This is for me a good point to have articulated legs.

5) There is a gun on the pic so who know. Maybe the new beast will come with gun or weapon. We just can't say at this day that they won't come with a weapon.

6) Look closely at your BB figures. Does it seems to have a big difference beetween them and this one talking about the hands ?

[phillinley]

The Minimates BB are the same evolution than the MOTUC are for the MOTU line. In fact it seems that you don't want a new BB line but the same line than in the 80's. The customs from Matty are perfect for this purpose, adding new figure to the old line. DST just wants to re-launch BB with a totally new line and I guess they are doing well. If they had released same figure than the old line you would have seen a lot of criticisms saying that those are only plastic junk. If you read the TF boards around the net you will see plenty of collectors having no interest in the BB. At their eyes they are unarticulated and cheap plastic figures. You will never been able to have everyone happy. As a toys company your goal is to satisfy the most. I'm sure Minimates BB will be a hit even if some BB collectors don't like them.

It's your right to not like the BB Minimates but you're only saying they are junk. Please let us know why you have such an opinion. What disturbs you in the gator figure ?
[/quote]

The minimates BB are absolutely not the same evolution as MOTUC to the MOTU line. MOTUC went away from the newer style sculpts of the 200x line to give a much more vintage look to the figures. These minimates do not do that at all.
I realize that not everyone is going to be unhappy. I'm just in that group this time. Not always in the hate group, but this time I most definitely am. You want more detail? For one, I look at action figures in an aesthetic vein, and that being as it is, a lot of it just comes down to taste. I do not like the minimates style of figures at all. I consider them super legos on crack sculpt wise which puts them just below the worst designed regularly sculpted action figures on the market in my opinion. The whole line is just a succubus on other main lines. They have no original line of their own, they just draw off of other content like marvel, dc, movie properties, etc. They're a gimmick style just like Mighty Muggs, another line I have absolutely no use for.

Now as far as Marty's customs go, his Godbeast's are truly an evolution in the style. They are so highly detailed, and truly raise the bar from the vintage line. Figures like that would definately be a breath of fresh air to the old line.

I'm just some guy sitting in the corner saying "BOO! HISS!" It's no big deal, you don't have to argue for your blocks over my comments, you're not going to change anyone's mind about it, nor will I. I'm not mad that someone is re-releasing the BB line, I'm mad that that company got it compared to any other because I don't think anyone could have made a worse looking product based on the line. I fundamentally dislike the style of product they produce on an aesthetic level, you don't. There's not much else to be said when it comes to a matter of taste. There is no right or wrong side.

[Bermuda Mohawk]

Here's my question. Did DST get the brands names as a license? Or the the names and likenesses. One only requires Hasbro, the other needs both Hasbro and Takara. And Takara isn't very keen on letting that kinda thing go.

This could be a much bigger re-make then we may know depending on the answer.

[lord]

Here's my question. Did DST get the brands names as a license? Or the the names and likenesses. One only requires Hasbro, the other needs both Hasbro and Takara. And Takara isn't very keen on letting that kinda thing go.

This could be a much bigger re-make then we may know depending on the answer.

It seems that takara let the brands go some years ago. I'm not sure of this as I don't read japanese but I have contact that told me so.
The only thing I'm sure is that Hasbro has no longer any right about the Battle Beast brand. It is now property of DST.

[Articulationnut]

I think it comes down to hope and anticipation. Based on the kick ass concept art that TGB got from the guy at the toy company (Hasbro?), when they were kicking around a re-release, the new mini-mates style figures suck ass. Note, that is comparatively.

I think the mini-mates style beasts are a great idea, even though the gator head sculpt leaves a lot to be desired. But compared to the concept art we saw ( http://www.littlerub...showtopic=24043 ), the gator is a poor realization of those hopes and the anticipation of a new and improved BB/LB line.

In short, the concept art set the bar extraordinarily high, and the mini-mates line (as kewl as it may be), based on the gator, doesn't reach it.

This post is DEAD ON. Thats exactly what has happened here IMO.
Battle Beast Minimates are a good idea. They are close if not exact in size and offer a level of playability via enhanced articulation that the original figures didnt boast. Hell ive made several myself that i didnt finish :





As fond as i was of the IDEA of articulated Battle Beast though the art that was shown in the link Jkaris posted above was more in line with what i wanted to see in a modern Battle Beast. As it stands the current minimate offering is something i have and can make at home myself. I expect more from an actual toy company with a large (er) budget. Again..something like this with articulation and 2'' in height:
 beast.jpg   97.37K   9 downloads
Or sculpting like this but with added armor (or at least a chained necklace with identifying clan symbols):
 demon_concept.jpg   92.06K   20 downloads  elephant_warrior.jpg   21.14K   26 downloads[atta
chment=21488:noarmor_gorilla.jpg]

With that said though...something is better than nothing. Perhaps if the response is positive enough they'll make running changes to the line (like rounding body parts to start with) so that they appease both new fans and old fans.

Attached Files

•  noarmor_gorilla.jpg   207.19K   27 downloads

Edited by Articulationnut, 28 July 2009 - 02:32 AM.

[Ghost Lion]

So when do these boys hit the shelves?

[lord]

The minimates BB are absolutely not the same evolution as MOTUC to the MOTU line. MOTUC went away from the newer style sculpts of the 200x line to give a much more vintage look to the figures. These minimates do not do that at all.
I realize that not everyone is going to be unhappy. I'm just in that group this time. Not always in the hate group, but this time I most definitely am. You want more detail? For one, I look at action figures in an aesthetic vein, and that being as it is, a lot of it just comes down to taste. I do not like the minimates style of figures at all. I consider them super legos on crack sculpt wise which puts them just below the worst designed regularly sculpted action figures on the market in my opinion. The whole line is just a succubus on other main lines. They have no original line of their own, they just draw off of other content like marvel, dc, movie properties, etc. They're a gimmick style just like Mighty Muggs, another line I have absolutely no use for.

Now as far as Marty's customs go, his Godbeast's are truly an evolution in the style. They are so highly detailed, and truly raise the bar from the vintage line. Figures like that would definately be a breath of fresh air to the old line.

I'm just some guy sitting in the corner saying "BOO! HISS!" It's no big deal, you don't have to argue for your blocks over my comments, you're not going to change anyone's mind about it, nor will I. I'm not mad that someone is re-releasing the BB line, I'm mad that that company got it compared to any other because I don't think anyone could have made a worse looking product based on the line. I fundamentally dislike the style of product they produce on an aesthetic level, you don't. There's not much else to be said when it comes to a matter of taste. There is no right or wrong side.

The Minimates BB keep the vintage look of the old line. We just jump over the BB 200X line which can be represented by the Hyena sketch from last year SDCC skecthbook.

I understand that your really dislike Minimates and DST but please look again at the pic.

1/ has it a Lego head ?
2/ has it block armor ?
3/ has it block feet ?

In fact it has more similar points with the old BB line than with the Minimates one.

[Bermuda Mohawk]

Here's my question. Did DST get the brands names as a license? Or the the names and likenesses. One only requires Hasbro, the other needs both Hasbro and Takara. And Takara isn't very keen on letting that kinda thing go.

This could be a much bigger re-make then we may know depending on the answer.

It seems that takara let the brands go some years ago. I'm not sure of this as I don't read japanese but I have contact that told me so.
The only thing I'm sure is that Hasbro has no longer any right about the Battle Beast brand. It is now property of DST.

They may no longer have the trademarks, but the actual designs may still be in their hands. Think of it in the way that Hasbro was able to pick up Gobots when they took over Kenner, but they can't make the same old Gobots that were in the 80's cause they don't have any rights to the likenesses. That was still owned by Bandai even though they were unused in the market and all trademarks had been been unseen in years.

Still interested in seeing the concept as a whole. One figure tells me very little at this point.

Edited by Bermuda Mohawk, 27 July 2009 - 09:35 PM.

[phillinley]

The Minimates BB keep the vintage look of the old line. We just jump over the BB 200X line which can be represented by the Hyena sketch from last year SDCC skecthbook.

I understand that your really dislike Minimates and DST but please look again at the pic.

1/ has it a Lego head ?
2/ has it block armor ?
3/ has it block feet ?

In fact it has more similar points with the old BB line than with the Minimates one.

I don't need to look at the freakin pic I was at San Diego and saw it from all sides. All that thing did was made me take a second glance because it had skull grotess colors and when I took a good look at it, I sighed and walked away, cause all I saw was another horrible minimate. I don't like the dang thing at all. Hate the sculpt, despise the figure next to it, and your continued insistence at looking at something again that I've seen in greater detail than the picture in question is not going to change my opinion of it. You might see a close resemblence to the old BB line, but I do not at all. But you can keep trying to convince me, and I'll keep shaking my head and laughing at the brick wall you're running into repeatedly.

Oh and I said nothing about hating DST. I'm very fond of quite a few of their marvel select toys. Two of the Marvel figures in their display case this year blew me away. Abomination and Thing are freakin HUGE! Just look at that thing in comparison to a regular ML size Daredevil
http://i.marvelousne...d...600&start=0

Anyhoo, I'm off topic....BACK TO THE BOO! HISS!

[lord]

They may no longer have the trademarks, but the actual designs may still be in their hands. Think of it in the way that Hasbro was able to pick up Gobots when they took over Kenner, but they can't make the same old Gobots that were in the 80's cause they don't have any rights to the likenesses. That was still owned by Bandai even though they were unused in the market and all trademarks had been been unseen in years.

Still interested in seeing the concept as a whole. One figure tells me very little at this point.

I think that I understood what you mean. Owning the trademark is just owning a name. What we have to check is if DST has been able to get all the rights on the old design from Hasbro and Takara. Now I don't know how this works. Can this rights been lost or are they property of the company during all its life ? I will try to get more informations about those but can't promise anything.

[imperfecz]

I think you missed the point entirely.
Everyone has the right to their own opinion. Yours is just wrong.




Awwwww crap too slow to post.... that was at you phil

Edited by l.designs, 27 July 2009 - 10:18 PM.

[lord]

phillinley I will never try to convince you as I don't care if you like it or not. I just want you to be honnest. That was the reason I asked you those 3 questions. You don't like this new line of BB, it's your right. It reminds me of the MOTU 200X line. Some fans were totally found of it when others dislike it. It's the way every re-launch go.

[Universal Ruler Supreme]

Okay, Battle Beasts weren't called Battle Beasts in Japan were they? Does the Japanese name on the packaging literally mean or translate Battle Beast? I don't really know myself, as I'm not a big Japanese Battle Beast enthusiast.

If not than Hasbro only had the rights to the English name Battle Beasts, and Takara probably still owns the likenesses.

So it's possible that as Bermuda brought out that these could be nothing more than Battle Beasts in name alone.