[HunterKnight]

Not buying it. My childhood is gone and no amount of expensive toy buying is going to bring it back. Nostalgia is a dangerous drug and these companies know the power of it.

[deecee4]

Not the biggest retroblasting fan but his "six flags over eternia" remark made me lol.

[Kang]

I don't think this playset is really targeted at the "mostly earlier era" fan who may have grown up when Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain were the main playsets and then moved on, or maybe more casually discovered MOTU later on.

This was a latter classic era (1986 release) somewhat literally "larger than life" playset that became the stuff of legend, whether you were there at the time and heard of it (or even had the rather rare opportunity to see or even play with it in the wild), or later on discovered this "next level" offering. I mean, remember, a castle was just a location on Eternia. This promised to be somehow the bigger world, hence the name Eternia itself. How cool was that?

And if you've monitored eBay for years keeping tabs on the price, and daring to dream you might snag a complete one (big $$$) and not only be able to pay for it, but also find room to actually set it up, you may have just relegated it to a nice dream like many of us. If you don't fit this category and are more just wondering why this thing would be fun to play with for the cost, you have not been haunted by this legend for as long as some of us. Similarly, if you feel like this "preys on nostalgia", oh most certainly. Whether it's evil or wonderful (and perhaps a bit of both), I love it! Of course then I'm going to need a Slime Pit to go next to it...

Look at it this way, the money will be nothing next to a HasLab full scale G.I. Joe USS Flagg reissue.

[Sean C]

My gripe with Eternia as a play set (original and now), there's not much going on with Grayskull and Viper towers. One is a jail cell and the other is an empty cave with a rotating snake head. If they'd up-sized them more and made them like stand alone sets in their own right, that would've been impressive.

I will not be backing, too much money, too long a wait, no space to display it. I don't shame/blame anyone for backing it or not backing. It's very expensive. On the other hand, "boycotting" it won't ever get it made. Mattel's not going to say "Oh, it didn't fund. You got us! This is a $300 item now!" And there's probably less than 4,000 surviving vintage sets. According to one former Mattel employee, Mattel made less than 5000 originals. Who knows how many broke and ended up in landfills?

Anyone could buy two, one to keep and do a pay raffle for the other! Just gotta sell like $1400 in tickets to pay for both sets.

[HoovenIV]

I'm glad that some people are super happy for this. I was too until I saw the price. I know worth is subjective, but at that price, it honestly feels predatory.

[Comedian]

My childhood my be gone, but not forgotten.

A1F71CB5-2A49-4C8D-8B97-360F92A91DAB by Comedian Horseman, on Flickr
My main toy goal for the last decade has been to afford a perfect condition Eternia. That would cost around $5,000. Now that total is cut down to $550 plus shipping. For me, this is a money saver. A huge one.

[HoovenIV]

And I'm fairly certain Mattel is aware that many collectors are thinking of it in that way. Which is fine, but that shouldn't have any basis on what they actually charge for it.

[Comedian]

Wow. 25 percent funded in 30 minutes. I’m hopeful.

[firmpulse]

At least they understand how to approach an Early Bird offer. Take note Hasblo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comedian

My main toy goal for the last decade has been to afford a perfect condition Eternia. That would cost around $5,000. Now that total is cut down to $550 plus shipping. For me, this is a money saver. A huge one.

That awesome dude. This new version has the ability to have the monorail circle only the main tower and remain functional. That's an upgrade.

[deecee4]

Yeah, this is getting funded lol. And just think how many more would've been backing it if they accepted Paypal and/or offered a payment plan.

[Comedian]

1 hour in and 1,700 backers on board….or 34%.

I’m surprised they didn’t offer PayPal. The payment plan doesn’t shock me. Not many do those.

[Moose1]

I popped over to check out the project and was stunned by the cost. It is $550 US but for me here in Canada, they want $1070 CDN. WTF

[Kang]

At 40% and really no surprise at all, this kind of crowdfunding is a bit of a slam dunk. Take a Gen X kid's nostalgia for some legendary vintage item that's crazy $$$ in the after market, and make something pretty close but for a fraction of the price to acquire an original. Gen X folks are a bit further in their careers on average, tend to have a little more disposable income. Still a big purchase for many of us, but there's no second-guessing like "it's Revelation style, it's more modern, I guess it's better made, but I miss the old style, does that make me old?...this is no fun anymore."

This is more like..."yeah, I'm a kid again. I'm going to go waste me some money and love it."

[Comedian]

Yup, 2,030 and 40 percent.

I just called them due to the discover and American Express issue. They said it’s an issue with the creations site and are working on it.

They are really not helping anyone out by being so limited on payment.

[IceKill17]

somehow $550 USD converts to CAD 1,070.00 on their site. even with our terrible dollar it should only be 759.63

[an99]

Wow, I'm surprised by the immediate response. I mean don't get me wrong, I love it and will most likely get it, I just didn't expect this kind of response right out the gate.

Spent last weekend going through stuff to sell in order to fund this purchase ...

[Comedian]

I’m kind of shocked as well. I expected 1,000 today maybe up to 1,500. But with only 4 hours in it’s almost half funded.

This is one of those grail items. I would expect it to be fully funded by the 19th and then some at this point.

[Black Arbor]

I have no interest in it but I think it's awesome that Mattel tells you from the get-go what the unlockable tiers are!

[GizmoTron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comedian

1 hour in and 1,700 backers on board….or 34%.

I’m surprised they didn’t offer PayPal. The payment plan doesn’t shock me. Not many do those.

PayPal and preorders where you prepay don't really get along so it's not that surprising.

[JAG2045]

Just hit 50%

[Comedian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAG2045

Just hit 50%

I’m really amazed. In a good way. Times are tough and this is a lot to ask. The fact the motu team is taking a chance on this is beyond a dream.

The snake mountain showing yesterday definitely showed this is a line intent on giving us all the vintage releases possible. I’m sure that helped move the needle as well.

[T0ySick]

I want this one to be super successful. I have no interest in buying it myself but man is it a cool ass product. Well worth more than the asking. I think mattel should give more time to back. I hope they do.

[ShabbyBlue]

I'm sure the massive reveals yesterday, especially Snake Mountain, stirred up hype for MOTU in general and has helped motivate many collectors to back this. MOTU is clearly alive and well and isn't a dead line in 2023, despite the stupid claims from the bitter former Mattel employee ToyGuru (Scott Neitlich)

[Condiment King]

Not an origins collector so won’t be buying this, I just had a look though to see how many backers it has and saw what this costs in the U.K., at the current exchange rate, $550 is about £500, somehow this thing costs £800 in the U.K. , just under $900, there is a £9 shipping fee as opposed to the $50 for US customers, but it hardly makes up for that ridiculous price bump, if this has many backers in the U.K. I would be surprised, I mean fair play if you want to pay that, but there is no way I can justify that price difference.

[Moose1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Condiment King

Not an origins collector so won’t be buying this, I just had a look though to see how many backers it has and saw what this costs in the U.K., at the current exchange rate, $550 is about £500, somehow this thing costs £800 in the U.K. , just under $900, there is a £9 shipping fee as opposed to the $50 for US customers, but it hardly makes up for that ridiculous price bump, if this has many backers in the U.K. I would be surprised, I mean fair play if you want to pay that, but there is no way I can justify that price difference.

They seem to be screwing over all international buyers. Severe price gouging is not a good look.