Masters of the Universe Classics

[Kuwahara]

MOTUC AND Matty collector were his babies.

Without him, it's likely that Neither would have happened.

Hate all you like, but at the very least, credit where credit is due.

"Hate all you like"

Thanks, I'll be sure to do that.

"Without him, it's likely that Neither would have happened."
"at the very least, credit where credit is due."

Whatever you say.

 

[xequae]

I don't understand why some people are so negative regarding him. Scott and Digital River seem to get blamed for everything that is wrong with the line, but never credit for things that went right with the line. I'm not really looking to argue whether he was good or bad for the line, but this my take on him.

To me his biggest contributions were:

1. Laying out the complete line from the beginning and planning for it to last years. As someone who is generally happy with all but a couple of figures, I'm glad he did this, so that we could get this deep into the line. Handled differently I don't think the line would have lasted as long. If the early years were packed with all of the vintage A-listers, I think too much interest would have been lost once they were gone.

2. Bio & Mini-comic story line. I know a lot of people don't like his classics story line, but I think it is cool he worked to put a coherent story line that would encompass all eras of He-Man and it is easy to ignore if you don't like it.

3. Finishing off Vintage He-Man and She-Ra in the last two years. He saw the end coming and accelerated his time line to get the most wanted figures finished in the last two years.

4. His passion for He-Man. He was always very passionate about the line and seemed to be doing his best with the line.

Some of the issues people have with him.

1. Character selection. The line has over 150 figures and you can't please everyone. Son of He-Man doesn't bother me and if Dare is released SOH is only 3 of the over 150 figures. Some figures may not be my favorite, but I also have pretty much all of my most wanted characters. I'm willing to live with Nepthu (my least favorite figure) to get all of the other figures we have had. Of course if your interest are a lot more limited, then this would be a bigger issue for you.

2. His personality. It never bothered me and I was glad to get answers on the forum and enjoyed seeing his enthusiasm for the line.

3. He was deceptive. I don't think he was always the best at answering questions and issues, but to me he never came off as deceptive. Though the way he answered questions sometimes, I can sort of see why some people would get that feeling.

4. The constant push for subs. That really started when the line stopped quickly passing the numbers needed. If enough subs weren't sold the line would have been cancelled as other subs were and he was trying to be upfront. He could have handled the way he pushed the subs better, but he was trying to get the line to go through the best way he could.

5. Quality control. I wish quality control could have been better, but for me, I have had very few issues with figures and the reversed shoulders never really bothered me.

If someone else was running the line, could it have been better. Probably yes, but it also could have been a lot worse.

 

[Kuwahara]

Those who don't understand why Neitlich gets so much flak, never will. Plain and simple. I will say this though, the proof is out there if one is willing to search for it. It's more than just fan nerd rage against the guy. Those who have been paying attention for the past 8 years know the real deal.

 

[xequae]

If the line doesn't go through next year, then what we see at SDCC for the 2016 line may be the last figures we get. If that is the case then who is everyone hoping to see. I would like to see:

Sub Exclusive: Desparra
1st Quarter figure: Stridor
Lady Slither
Hawke
Tuskador

 

[teemu]

Those who don't understand why Neitlich gets so much flak, never will. Plain and simple. I will say this though, the proof is out there if one is willing to search for it. It's more than just fan nerd rage against the guy. Those who have been paying attention for the past 8 years know the real deal.

Neitlick was also known for his DOUBLE SPEAK and inconsistency,known for stealing inventions and ideas from others to make a buck and make himself look good.

The Four horsemen initiated MOTU Classics and Scott just so happened to be there working for Mattel to push it further (that's all the credit here gets)

 

[FatHotei]

The best sculpts might be Mer-Man and Beast Man. They are 80's card back art perfection.

They both look great. I've given up on beast man unless he's rereleased. Mer Man is definitely on my radar. The paint job is almost good enough to convince you that he and stinkor dont share the same head. Love the alternate head too.

 

[Kuzeh]

Oh man... Did you guys heard the news? Earl Norem passed away... Such a bummer... He did some of the best vintage MOTU illustrations...

 

[JonWes]

Oh man... Did you guys heard the news? Earl Norem passed away... Such a bummer... He did some of the best vintage MOTU illustrations...

Very sad news. He was such a nice, humble guy. A total inspiration for me as a kid.

 

[FatHotei]

What a loss. He was THE artist for MOTU. What a terrific vintage look. So great they brought him back to do the art for this new line.

Btw, JonWes, I checked out your kickstarter. I enjoyed your art. I'm putting together a graphic novel myself right now (I'm a writer). Sorry to see it didn't meet it's goal. Good luck on the next one.

 

[JonWes]

Btw, JonWes, I checked out your kickstarter. I enjoyed your art. I'm putting together a graphic novel myself right now (I'm a writer). Sorry to see it didn't meet it's goal. Good luck on the next one.

Thanks for checking it out! Thankfully it'll still be coming out digitally.

 

[Kuwahara]

Neitlick was also known for his DOUBLE SPEAK and inconsistency,known for stealing inventions and ideas from others to make a buck and make himself look good.

The Four horsemen initiated MOTU Classics and Scott just so happened to be there working for Mattel to push it further (that's all the credit here gets)

It's funny, A lot of people think that it was part of his job to be the so called, "face of the brand" and the line never would have been successful without his fan interaction and charisma, or if someone else was in charge. If it was really part of a brand managers job, and if Neitlich's antics were really that beneficial to mattycollector, whoever is running the line now would be doing what Neitlich used to do, right? If Neitlich was such a blessing to the property, why don't we see a NEW face of the brand, or more videos promoting upcoming figures, etc. ??? My guess is the powers that be over at Mattel thought it was causing more harm than good and realized that Neitlich was more about SELF promotion, than actual PRODUCT promotion.

At this time we only see monthly Q&As only because Neitlich set that precedence. Within those Q&As there are hints they want to go in a different direction with any possible continuation of a MOTU line. Some are speculating that the sub model will be dropped all together.

I think the only reason we are still going to get SOHM crap is because it was already made under Neitlich's reign. Otherwise I'm sure they'd be happy to pretend it never happened, but they can't since it's been literally embedded into MOTU forever through comic books and bios, not to mention waste money if it wasn't used.

Another theory as to why we haven't heard too much about 2016 yet, is probably because they've been spending the past year trying to salvage what they can from whatever plans Neitlich had. This is assuming the new team is totally against those plans and they have something else in mind, something that steers clear of the likes of Mighty Spector and SOHM. This is wishful thinking of course.

 

[FatHotei]

What exactly did this guy do to garner such a negative public opinion?

 

[chaosMonkeyPoo]

All he really did was have the audacity to show is face and interact with fans. Which backfired in some ways because it made him a target for any and everything that people didn't like with the lines he managed (regardless if he had anything to do with the issue). So if someone didn't like a character selection, or how paint apps were applied, or how a final sculpt came out slightly different at the factory from the prototype, or a slightly dissembled figure got out the door, or if the schedule got pushed back due to shipping issues it all became his fault. You know, stuff that happens with every line - but with this one since he was the "face" he got all the blame. Its all pretty absurd and stupid but rationality apparently goes out the door when your talking about toys I guess.

 

[Kuwahara]

What exactly did this guy do to garner such a negative public opinion?

His supporters like to downplay it to sheer fan rage and mindless hate, or twist it around as fans blaming him for things he had no control over. It goes beyond his quasi celebrity status, QC issues, and character selection. Like I said, if one were to spend the time and do some research, the question, "What exactly did this guy do to garner such a negative public opinion?" can be answered. The thing is, there's almost 10 years worth of factual information out there to back it up, I totally wouldn't expect anyone to care enough to do the sleuthing though. It's hard to know what is what because there are so many Scott Neitlich supporters who defend him and attack his detractors. Also, there's a lot of revisionist history created by such people, which makes sorting out the facts very complicated.

 

[FatHotei]

His supporters like to downplay it to sheer fan rage and mindless hate, or twist it around as fans blaming him for things he had no control over. It goes beyond his quasi celebrity status, QC issues, and character selection. Like I said, if one were to spend the time and do some research, the question, "What exactly did this guy do to garner such a negative public opinion?" can be answered. The thing is, there's almost 10 years worth of factual information out there to back it up, I totally wouldn't expect anyone to care enough to do the sleuthing though. It's hard to know what is what because there are so many Scott Neitlich supporters who defend him and attack his detractors. Also, there's a lot of revisionist history created by such people, which makes sorting out the facts very complicated.

I've found that to be the case. People either love him or hate him. It's hard to get a read on the guy. I've watched a few of his videos. It seems like people take the most issue with Mattel's subscription policy. I'm not one to subscribe to a toy line before I know what figures they're releasing, so I can understand why people didn't dig that.

Do any of you guys own the classics castle greyskull? How do you feel about the scale? Seems a few inches shorter than the prototype.

 

[Kuwahara]

I have Castle Grayskull and It's pretty amazing. It is indeed smaller than what we were promised during the pre-order sales drive for it, but it turned out pretty nice. I'd say the scale is acceptable for classics. Even though we were lead to believe CG would be bigger, I can honestly say that if it were any bigger it would be harder to find a place for it in my display. So, it makes a great display piece and an "ok" playset IMO.

The prototype didn't have the taller jaw bridge entrance. If they hadn't fixed that issue, I probably never would have bought it.

 

[lerath666]

What exactly did this guy do to garner such a negative public opinion?

once a month he breaks into Kuwahara's house and takes a dump on his breakfast.

Kidding aside, the way he handled the brand, as well as putting his own personal favorite characters into figure form ( as well as Not-deadpool) ahead of some fan's personal favorite characters rubbed some folks the wrong way.

Additionally, he may or may not have been intentionally less than honest in many moments where he was dealing with the public.


Or, more simply, he was a businessman, and acted like a businessman, and some people like to be bitter.

YES, he did take the used car salesman approach and likely exaggerated and used scar tactics to move the line.

and yes, he might have taken a different approach and gotten similar, or better results. but that's a different discussion.

 

[Kuwahara]

That's right. It's a business, and the name of the game is maximizing profits. But that doesn't mean do it at the cost of product quality or manipulating fans into buying multiple subs to support a line that was never in any danger to begin with. Part of a business is customer satisfaction, but that doesn't apply to Neitlich OR Mattel.

So let's see, off the top of my head:

Customers have every right to be BITTER towards a man who is in the business of deceiving and manipulating fans, so the big company can maximize their profits.

Customers have a right to be BITTER when prices go up and quality goes down, after being told by the "Businessman" that price increases were to make sure the quality of the product wasn't reduced.

Customers have a right to be BITTER when they are told by the "Businessman" that a $250 plastic Castle is going to have this and that, then pulls the old bait and switch after he get's all their money. Then raises the price to $300.

Customers have a right to be BITTER when the "Businessman" interacts with them, and spouts nothing but lies every time a fan has a question or issue. (Oo-Larr vs. Mo-Larr just for an example)

So yeah, If Neitlich would have just kept his mouth closed and didn't make himself the celebrity of Mattel, he wouldn't be getting so much flak. The guy doesn't even work for Mattel anymore and he's still stirring up controversy over at everyones favorite MOTU site. Why? because he loves the attention and notoriety, and he's simply not getting that at Jakks.

Truth is, I can point out dozens of factual reasons why Neitlich is despised, but the revisionist historians and "Businessmen" are all going to twist it around as delusions of grandeur.

Aside from MOTU being completely tainted by a self centered egomaniac, I stand back once in a while to look at my awesome collection of figures, I say to myself, "Yeah, I had to paint a lot of these to make them look right, I even had to modify some so their puffy armor doesn't look so puffy, but all in all I have a great collection of figures." I'm waiting for the big day when this line is finally done so I can get the satisfaction of calling it "DONE". Only when it's "DONE" is when I will be able to fully enjoy what I have. When all the drama and BS is finally over with, all that will be left is the toys.

 

[teemu]

That's right. It's a business, and the name of the game is maximizing profits. But that doesn't mean do it at the cost of product quality or manipulating fans into buying multiple subs to support a line that was never in any danger to begin with. Part of a business is customer satisfaction, but that doesn't apply to Neitlich OR Mattel.

So let's see, off the top of my head:

Customers have every right to be BITTER towards a man who is in the business of deceiving and manipulating fans, so the big company can maximize their profits.

Customers have a right to be BITTER when prices go up and quality goes down, after being told by the "Businessman" that price increases were to make sure the quality of the product wasn't reduced.

Customers have a right to be BITTER when they are told by the "Businessman" that a $250 plastic Castle is going to have this and that, then pulls the old bait and switch after he get's all their money. Then raises the price to $300.

Customers have a right to be BITTER when the "Businessman" interacts with them, and spouts nothing but lies every time a fan has a question or issue. (Oo-Larr vs. Mo-Larr just for an example)

So yeah, If Neitlich would have just kept his mouth closed and didn't make himself the celebrity of Mattel, he wouldn't be getting so much flak. The guy doesn't even work for Mattel anymore and he's still stirring up controversy over at everyones favorite MOTU site. Why? because he loves the attention and notoriety, and he's simply not getting that at Jakks.

Truth is, I can point out dozens of factual reasons why Neitlich is despised, but the revisionist historians and "Businessmen" are all going to twist it around as delusions of grandeur.

Aside from MOTU being completely tainted by a self centered egomaniac, I stand back once in a while to look at my awesome collection of figures, I say to myself, "Yeah, I had to paint a lot of these to make them look right, I even had to modify some so their puffy armor doesn't look so puffy, but all in all I have a great collection of figures." I'm waiting for the big day when this line is finally done so I can get the satisfaction of calling it "DONE". Only when it's "DONE" is when I will be able to fully enjoy what I have. When all the drama and BS is finally over with, all that will be left is the toys.

truth!

 

[FatHotei]

Well, that's cleared up. Thanks, guys