Travicity
02-17-2011, 05:14 PM
Slam Wrestling has an interview with Bill Kerner, Director of Design for Mattel, talking about the WWE action figure line at this link. Some highlights:
Challenges faced with getting new characters out quickly on shelves: "It's important to get the young guys. The ideal thing would be to have on Tuesday morning the hottest thing from Monday night. That's the Holy Grail. The Nexus for example, and we will do most of the Nexus guys in their original outfits with their bands and stuff, the shame is that it will be after the fact. They'll be doing different things. The challenge for us is to be able to react to that quickly and be able to get them in a reasonable amount of time. We're always trying to institute new characters quicker. We're working on getting things into the system in maybe 90 to a 100 days. And I know that may sound like a lot of time, but it isn't for a toy company. It normally takes 60 to 70 weeks."
Any future legends figures: "We've done a deal with Bret Hart so we're going to be doing Bret. We're trying to go back even further; we've been talking to Gorgeous George's estate. Andre (the Giant) is on the list, he's coming. You may see him in September of 2011."
Working with Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior: "Macho Man and Warrior ... you have to nurture those guys. But, we've really established good relationships with them, they like working with us. Macho Man has been terrific. We were so worried about him because he was kind of jaded when he came out of the business. He was a little afraid to get back into it. And, he's been great. I think he's going to be doing more stuff. I think you might even see him more out there in the WWE world. I'm not going to speak for him, but he seems to be getting back into it a little bit. "
Possibility of a Bruno Sammartino action figure: "I want to do Bruno. Him and Mr. McMahon haven't always been on the best of terms. We'll bring him up and he'll say, "No, no, not yet. Come back to me in a couple of months." But we are talking to him (Bruno) and I think we will see him sometime in 2012. Cause you've got to do Bruno."
The article also features a blurb with JAKKS Pacific's National Sales Manager Andrew Kovall talking about TNA's action figure line. He mentions they will be coming out with Matt Hardy and Dixie Carter action figures by the end of the year, and that they will do another 'bloody' action figure, like they did for Hulk Hogan last year, but only if it makes sense to do so.
PWI
Challenges faced with getting new characters out quickly on shelves: "It's important to get the young guys. The ideal thing would be to have on Tuesday morning the hottest thing from Monday night. That's the Holy Grail. The Nexus for example, and we will do most of the Nexus guys in their original outfits with their bands and stuff, the shame is that it will be after the fact. They'll be doing different things. The challenge for us is to be able to react to that quickly and be able to get them in a reasonable amount of time. We're always trying to institute new characters quicker. We're working on getting things into the system in maybe 90 to a 100 days. And I know that may sound like a lot of time, but it isn't for a toy company. It normally takes 60 to 70 weeks."
Any future legends figures: "We've done a deal with Bret Hart so we're going to be doing Bret. We're trying to go back even further; we've been talking to Gorgeous George's estate. Andre (the Giant) is on the list, he's coming. You may see him in September of 2011."
Working with Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior: "Macho Man and Warrior ... you have to nurture those guys. But, we've really established good relationships with them, they like working with us. Macho Man has been terrific. We were so worried about him because he was kind of jaded when he came out of the business. He was a little afraid to get back into it. And, he's been great. I think he's going to be doing more stuff. I think you might even see him more out there in the WWE world. I'm not going to speak for him, but he seems to be getting back into it a little bit. "
Possibility of a Bruno Sammartino action figure: "I want to do Bruno. Him and Mr. McMahon haven't always been on the best of terms. We'll bring him up and he'll say, "No, no, not yet. Come back to me in a couple of months." But we are talking to him (Bruno) and I think we will see him sometime in 2012. Cause you've got to do Bruno."
The article also features a blurb with JAKKS Pacific's National Sales Manager Andrew Kovall talking about TNA's action figure line. He mentions they will be coming out with Matt Hardy and Dixie Carter action figures by the end of the year, and that they will do another 'bloody' action figure, like they did for Hulk Hogan last year, but only if it makes sense to do so.
PWI