Mattel - New for 2023

[Gwangi]

So as I understand it the $250 will only get you everything listed if the stretch goals are made and if they aren't then you're paying $250 for just the gate and Explorer? Everything all together is probably worth that price but I would be pissed off if I paid that kind of money for just those two things. A risky investment if you ask me.

Doesn't matter to me anyway I guess. The only things of interest to me are the gate and Buck and I don't really NEED either of them. I'm content with the Explorer and kids that I already have and am seldom willing to buy the same thing twice. Although Buck is basically just a repaint he is more exciting than the gates, but he's also my favorite T. rex in the franchise. He also needs 8,000 backers which will probably happen but I still don't like it. I bet that the Buck will also get its own release eventually anyway, like so many of the other Mattel exclusives and whatnot.

I really think that the smart thing for Mattel to do would have been to just release the fence and gate as it's own thing, the Explorer under the HC line, HC versions of the kids, and an HC Buck. Then people can choose what they want. I would buy that gate if it was $50-70 and the Buck for another $50.

[Bread]

@Blade-of-the-Moon I am pretty sure it isn't ideal for a lot of us to have to resell the items we don't want. I guarantee that majority of the buyers for this set will be due to the inclusion of the Buck/Bull. So, if a majority of said buyers decide to resell the other items on Ebay, for example, wouldn't that just be a huge surplus of the unwanted items making it even harder to part with them to at least make some money back?

This is just assumptions though, but they're based on what others have said afterall.

This set looks great, there is no doubt about that. But the justification for the price and basically a paywall for the Tyrannosaurus is absolutely ludicrous. They should have included better items to begin with.

Roland with mud decald and with a dart gun. (yes I know we mostly have this already but should be present)

Peter Ludlow

The actual captured gear that we see when the buck was being loaded up to be taken to the mainland...

Then again, I forget that this is mainly for the 30th anniversary, but odd how we are getting the Buck in the first place isn't it?

Also, if I'm understanding this correctly, you pay 250 dollars (plus shipping) and best case scenario that gets you everything but if they only get around 5,000 backers you're out the same amount for just the fences and car? Seems a bit of a bum deal if they don't do as well as they hope on backers.

Usually I like supporting or backing ideas like this, but I legit hope this one doesn't succeed. The paywall is ridiculous.

I'll just do a comparison for the hell of it. Hasbro had a haslab showcasing the
Rancor, which was a complete fail. A large sum of money was needed but with an awful selection and justification for the price they wanted. Mostly reuses to just fill in the price point. Not only that, but when there were new pieces, they were least desirable. As a result, a failed haslab project. Which I could see possibly happening to this one...

[Faelrin]

This is absolutely not how crowdfunding should be done. Again this feels super out of touch. Why does a major corporation really need to do this? The fact the buck was thrown in here and not separately just dumps on all the people wanting a proper one (especially since they bothered to give it a new head sculpt, better glass eyes, and better feet from the looks of it). It also bothers me they got this one right, but messed up with the first HC Tyrannosaurus. At this point I may as well just shell out for Kenner's.

And the fact the SDCC exclusive is likely going to be coming up soon, this was also really poor timing. I hope people at least hold off this until that's a thing (unless they truly can afford both).

I definitely can see people also holding off, if they don't want to shell out just $250 for the gates, fences (which there only a few pics of too, and not even a good luck at them), and explorer only. Without the full packaged deal, feels like a rip off. Oh and the fact international people can't even chime in until there's over 5,000 US people, wow. My friend in Germany is not going to be happy about that.

[Shane]

This is absolutely not how crowdfunding should be done. Again this feels super out of touch. Why does a major corporation really need to do this? The fact the buck was thrown in here and not separately just dumps on all the people wanting a proper one (especially since they bothered to give it a new head sculpt, better glass eyes, and better feet from the looks of it). It also bothers me they got this one right, but messed up with the first HC Tyrannosaurus. At this point I may as well just shell out for Kenner's.

And the fact the SDCC exclusive is likely going to be coming up soon, this was also really poor timing. I hope people at least hold off this until that's a thing (unless they truly can afford both).

I definitely can see people also holding off, if they don't want to shell out just $250 for the gates, fences (which there only a few pics of too, and not even a good luck at them), and explorer only. Without the full packaged deal, feels like a rip off. Oh and the fact international people can't even chime in until there's over 5,000 US people, wow. My friend in Germany is not going to be happy about that.

This is more than I expected it to cost, and it's even more hampered by the very...optimistic stretch goals. The fact that the gate itself and Explorer are the only things included in the price at the base level seems absurd.

I definitely do not see the exhibit placards making the cut. I don't see this having a massive rush to fund, considering the bare-bones nature I'd imagine a lot of people are biding their time.

Also, regarding the fences, you DON'T get them at 5,000 backers. The fences only unlock with Tim, at 6,000 backers.

[MLMjp]

The way this crowdfunding is set up... you will pay 250 buck regardless of how many stretched goals are met? That's not how its should be....Like this set ain't worth 250 buck unless it has all the items.

Also, they say that they will allow international backers once they reach a certain number of US backers...

So that means you actually ship internationally now, you bastards?

Like I said, should have been a cheaper a set with just the gates, fences, goat and signs. Leave everything else for the Hammond collection.

[Stegotyranno420]

Looks like it is worth 25 USD

[Halichoeres]

There is probably some cynical element to the pricing scheme, but probably also some real reflection of the cost of production. The more people order something, the cheaper it becomes to produce. Making 6000 of something doesn't cost 6× as much as making 1000 of something, maybe it's more like 3×.

I think A @andrewsaurus rex is probably right that aftermarket prices will be high. I wonder whether the mix of backers will be more collectors or more speculators.

[Shane]

There is probably some cynical element to the pricing scheme, but probably also some real reflection of the cost of production. The more people order something, the cheaper it becomes to produce. Making 6000 of something doesn't cost 6× as much as making 1000 of something, maybe it's more like 3×.

You aren't wrong, but this is the kind of stuff that companies are supposed to factor into this crowdfunding situation.

Stretch goals are intended to be extra bonuses, not the actual meat and potatoes. But if you look at this thing without the stretch goals.....does anyone REALLY think this is $250 worth of product for a light-up gate and a Ford Explorer? No way is that a $250 product. They could release that on Target shelves for half that price, heck, for a third of that price.

The stretch goals are what people want, but Mattel is seriously mis-stepping here by placing EVERYTHING behind the stretch tiers. Even the fences!

The fact that they are including so many extras but the price is $250 regardless is showing this as a huge cash grab, to me. Even if you double the backers, the costs to Mattel are not going to decrease so substantially that ALL those bonuses would suddenly be cost effective.

At 5,000 or 10,000 backers, rest assured Mattel has done the number crunching to make this profitable. That's the whole point of doing it this way. But releasing such a bare-bones base tier is going to rub people the wrong way. This is a misuse of the stretch goal model if you ask me. You have to make the base tier exciting enough to entice backers, with the stretch goals  being the icing on the cake. This is why the Creative Beast Kickstarters do so well - people ALREADY want the basic products. This is why HasLab's Rancor failed - the base product just didn't justify the price (and in that case the stretch goals were unfathomably lackluster).

If everything shown had been available at a base tier, or if the stretch goals weren't so astoundingly high, I'd probably back this ASAP. But I'm not rolling the dice on potentially ONLY getting a gate and car.

And it feels pretty unlikely we'll see the paddock markers at all. It's gonna be a crawl to get this fully funded in 2 weeks with their current approach. Usually the bulk of funders happens shortly after the announcement with these things...this thing is going VERRRY slowly.

**EDIT** to also say - they could have done it more Creative Beast Kickstarter style and offered a base tier, with additional pricing for stretch goal items. Say, $100 for the gate and Explorer, and then when the bonuses are unlocked, they become add-ons, with an "all-in" at $250. That probably would have got them funded very quickly. But this approach, to put everything behind a stretch goal wall...very few folks want to risk ending up with a very expensive gate and nothing else.

[Faelrin]

S @Shane Yeah I noticed that after I posted that. Oops on my part. Knowing it is really just the gates and Explorer at this initial price point, maybe other stuff thrown in, only if it gets there, definitely makes it feel overpriced for what it all is.

They really should have had multiple pledge levels (like the signs at $10 or $20, Explorer at $30 or $40, buck T. rex at $60, etc), with the ability to mix and match (like on kickstarter). When most of the tooling is already done for the buck, I don't really get why they slapped that on as a stretch goal? It's really just the new head, glass eyes and feet.

I would have also preferred if they didn't charge right now, but when the campaign ends, like how kickstarter does it. This would give people time to save up for it, but allow them to pledge ahead of time to help push towards unlocking those goals. Their current way of doing it just feels so greedy and out of touch.

After seeing Haolonggood's thread, I'm also thinking they should re-release the original HC T. rex with the fixed feet, and eyes (would have been ideal to get it right from the start, but better late then not at all). This inconsistency between the two is going to be so annoying otherwise (assuming the buck even gets funded at this point, which if it doesn't are we just SOL altogether at the chance to get one?). The Triceratops too with an articulated jaw.

[Shane]

S @Shane Yeah I noticed that after I posted that. Oops on my part. Knowing it is really just the gates and Explorer at this initial price point, maybe other stuff thrown in, only if it gets there, definitely makes it feel overpriced for what it all is.

They really should have had multiple pledge levels (like the signs at $10 or $20, Explorer at $30 or $40, buck T. rex at $60, etc), with the ability to mix and match (like on kickstarter). When most of the tooling is already done for the buck, I don't really get why they slapped that on as a stretch goal? It's really just the new head, glass eyes and feet.

I would have also preferred if they didn't charge right now, but when the campaign ends, like how kickstarter does it. This would give people time to save up for it, but allow them to pledge ahead of time to help push towards unlocking those goals. Their current way of doing it just feels so greedy and out of touch.

After seeing Haolonggood's thread, I'm also thinking they should re-release the original HC T. rex with the fixed feet, and eyes (would have been ideal to get it right from the start, but better late then not at all). This inconsistency between the two is going to be so annoying otherwise (assuming the buck even gets funded at this point, which if it doesn't are we just SOL altogether at the chance to get one?). The Triceratops too with an articulated jaw.

Different pledge levels, or just starting with a higher backer requirement out of the gate would have gone over better than just offering very little at the top tier pricing.

I would say if this fails (which is likely), the HC Bull would still probably have a chance to see the light of day. Unless HC as a whole goes under as a collection.

[Ikessauro]

I would say if this fails (which is likely), the HC Bull would still probably have a chance to see the light of day. Unless HC as a whole goes under as a collection.

 I'm sooooo wishing for this to fail   

Cheap move on Mattel's part, most items are not new and totally disrespectful with international fans of the franchise  to not allow backers to pledge until 5000  US backers have backed.

[Shane]

I'm sooooo wishing for this to fail   

Cheap move on Mattel's part, most items are not new and totally disrespectful with international fans of the franchise  to not allow backers to pledge until 5000  US backers have backed.

It's a real shame because I actually want this. And would probably spend $250 if it meant I was guaranteed to get everything.

But this was just handled so poorly. It took all the worst aspects of every other crowdfunding project and magnified them absurdly.

[Flaffy]

The cynical side of me wants this to fail. The whole thing just leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. Screams of yet another lazy money grab from Mattel. Should've just stuck with selling the gates and fences at a friendlier price point, the rest could've and should've been optional bonus add-ons like literally any competently run crowdfunding campaign out there.

But another part of me wants to acquire those iconic gates for my collection. If I decide that I don't want them anymore in the future, I don't imagine having any issues selling them on, especially considering the crazy aftermarket prices of these crowdfunded exclusives.

[Dinoxels]

If the Rex doesn't get funded-which I highly suspect-I bet a year from now we get it as either an SDCC exclusive or just normal release.

[MLMjp]

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how cool the stuff this set is or how bad this is being managed.

The true reason as to why I most likely wont be supporting this is because I have other collecting expenses planned, and I can't add 250 bucks (Plus the shipping and taxes later on...) to those expenses so suddenly.

Just hope they re-release the Buck on its own later in the HC (maybe with a slightly different color scheme).

[Faelrin]

I didn't think to do the math earlier, but seeing someone mention the buck was unlocked at 2 million really made it hit worse for me. Man this is actually kind of nuts, especially when comparing this to all three of the BotM campaigns.

Initial goal: $1,250,000 (just the gate and explorer only). Only for US people until this goal is reached.
Stretch goal #1: $1,500,000 (Tim and fences)
Stretch goal #2: $2,000,000 (buck T. rex)
Stretch goal #3: $2,500,000 (Lex and goat)

Here's a breakdown of the most recent BotM kickstarter (Tyrannosaur series) for comparison:

Initial goal: $185,000 (the 2 T. rex sculpts in 2 colors, and unpainted)
Stretch goal #1: $200,000 (juvenile T. rex)
Stretch goal #2: $215,000 (Guanlong)
Stretch goal #3: $235,000 (Yutyrannus)
Stretch goal #4: $245,000  (1/6 Dilong)
Stretch goal #5: $265,000 (Bistahieversor)
Stretch goal #6: $280,000 (Teratophoneus)
Stretch goal #7: $300,000 (Dryptosaurus)
Stretch goal #8: $315,000 (Proceratosaurus)
Stretch goal #9: $330,000 (Qianzhousaurus)
Stretch goal #10: $350,000  (Lythronax)
Stretch goal #11: $365,000 (Suskityrannus)
Stretch goal #12: $395,000 (Gorgosaurus)
Stretch goal #13: $410,000 (Eotyrannus)
Stretch goal #14: $440,000 (Daspletosaurus)
Stretch goal #15: $455,000 (Alectrosaurus)
Stretch goal #16: $485,000 (Tarbosaurus)
Stretch goal #17: $500,000 (Moros)
Stretch goal #18: $530,000 (Albertosaurus)

The campaign ended with a total of $598,648 with all stretch goals unlocked. The BotM figures typically go for more then a similarly sized Mattel figure (such as the $39.99 Guanlong when compared to the $14.99 HC Velociraptor), but also feature more paint apps, and aside from some QC issues here and there, they are typically worth it (David also has good customer service too that helps). Once a stretch goal was unlocked it was available to pledge for (as long as the addon shipping tier was selected as the pledge level), or addon to an existing pledge. There were pledge tiers from as cheap as $12 (post cards) and up. It's no wonder his campaign was successfully funded (and all goals, plus some), never mind all his previous ones (only the ceratopsian series had issues reaching all stretch goals in the initial funding period, but it was still successfully funded with some goals reached). David has also been able to make enough profit to sustain himself and go full time working on these things (he formerly worked at Neca), and despite that I think his figures are priced pretty reasonably for what they are. Backers and pre-orders tend to get things discounted too.

If this doesn't show the level of corporate greed going on with this Mattel Creations crowdfunding thing, and how poorly handled this was, then I don't know what will.

[Carnoking]

Also makes you wonder how many backers are going to see it through to the end. I imagine there will be a good number who get cold feet towards the end, especially if the stretch goals they want aren't unlocking as quickly as they need to. Not to mention the "all or nothing" crowd might back out and further hurt chances.
On the other hand, if they do hit the 5,000 mark, I'm sure there will be a healthy surge from international collectors who have been cut out of these exclusives before.

[EmperorDinobot]

@Faelrin can you explain that to the folks on social media? They might find this information interesting.
I personally like it, might take me a while to "get there" as I have resumed work this week, but I'm not completely impressed. I'm afraid that they might do collector playsets like this from now on.

[Faelrin]

So Collect Jurassic just posted a picture of Dr. Wu, and no caption. Might be safe to say that's who will be the SDCC exclusive this year? Hopefully whatever he's included in will be priced more reasonable then this $250 stuff. Last character other then like Dr. Harding, and a few other minor characters, and this is the one that makes the most sense to do after Hammond of course, since he was the geneticist behind bringing the dinosaurs back in the first place. It makes perfect sense to make a figure of him on the 30th anniversary.

[Faelrin]

@EmperorDinobot I forgot to mention earlier, but if you or anyone wants to copy and paste my earlier post (or the shortened version I did on Andy's recent news video), then feel free to. I think more people should absolutely be made aware of what they are getting into with this crowdfund thing (assuming people read, most don't).

Here's the shortened version:

David Silva's BotM Tyrannosaur series kickstarter's initial goal was $185,000 (for 1/35 and 1/18 scale T. rex figures, in 4 colorations, and unpainted as well), Mattel's is $1,250,000 (the Gate and Explorer ONLY initially, unless all stretch goals get unlocked). David had 18 stretch goals total, with the highest priced at $530,000. Mattel only has 3 stretch goals total, with the third priced at $2,500,000. Mattel's campaign is locked to international users unless the initial funding goal of $1,250,000 (or 5,000 backers w/ $250 per person) is reached. I think more people need to be paying attention and drawing attention to this.

David's campaign also featured numerous pledge levels from as cheap as like $12 (post cards) and higher (such as figures), allowing folks from all income levels to participate, and was also opened to international backers from the start. One could mix and match addons (including unlocked stretch goals as they pleased). Mattel has it set to $250 or nothing. No choice for what one wants, it's either all or nothing, and again that assumes anything beyond the initial Gates and Explorer goal is unlocked. Only want the buck T. rex, or the signs, or the Gate? Well too bad, you get other stuff you might not want, or have the space for either.

The fact the buck T. rex is also paywalled behind $2,000,000 when most of the tooling has already been done does not sit well with me, and it shouldn't sit well with others either. The only thing done different here is arguably the glass eyes being improved, the smaller proportionate feet, and the new head sculpt (maybe neck too). People have been asking for a higher detailed buck T. rex for years now, and this is what they do for fans.

If all of this doesn't show the level of corporate greed, and how out of touch the folks behind the Mattel Creations crowdfunding thing is, then I don't know what will.