[flaccideagle]

I had no problems with the infinite heroes articulation. I thought they were awesome and I'm trying to get 100% complete on every figure/variant released.

The big problem with IH was they were designed with *kids in mind* as said many times by Mattel, but *priced as collectibles*. Mattel saw that Marvel money and wanted in badly and rushed it.

In an old "action figure insider" interview one of the guys from that site mentioned that the first wave was all no-names because the cheepo factory they used messed up, and rather than hold stock until the big guns like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were ready to ship, they wanted to keep their "street dates" and not delay the line.

"street dates" are marketing & PRs best friends, it lets them put off their jobs until the last minute, get guarantees from press, and generally make it look like they're doing their job, even when they aren't. There's a huge culture of "success right away or nothing at all" in PR and this really has to do with these companies. It allows a lot of corruption and laziness, and generally a bunch of people getting paid a lot of money to do next to nothing. I feel they're hurting not just toys but the world we live in, in general.

Funny thing is IH was not the failure you'd think it was financially. They were a huge success at discount stores when sold in the $3-5 range, which is what would have been the right price point to begin with. The mattel folks obviously saw that they would jack up the DCUC prices and collectors would still buy em, so why not start that right out of the gate? *that's* what killed IH. Remember these were a good $1-2 more than MU or Star Wars were at the time. (and think about what they all cost now?!?! how many price increases can the hobby sustain before no one buys anymore? doubled in price in 6 years that's madness)

Mattel's got to figure out what they want to do, whether they want to collector's toys, or kid's action figures, or both. Because they only offer collector's figures across the board now. They're either too expensive or so popular with adults you can't find a regular batman or superman for kids, which is the "spark" that gets them to want the others. You want to sell it to kids make it affordable. If it means doing Infinite Heroes type articulation then so be it (i'm not convinced that the extra cost is true by any stretch... i think they know we are gullible after MOTUC and will overcharge us because they know we'll still buy, see MU as a prime example)

I would kill for a new IH line, I know many parents that would too:
- using the 4 horsemen DCUC maquette sculpts (or new ones from them!), some basic articulation, and solid QC.
- A good even size (no 10' tall wolverines )
- Do an even mix of DCnU and old school. Make 1st appearances! golden/silver age! earth 2! box sets of teams! Make movie figures!
- keep the b-listers like mr. terriffic where they belong, on the b-list.
- Your PR folks will need chase figures to talk to press about, make them cool packaging variants so kids can actually have a chance at the a-listers they love (it'll keep the graphic design people at Mattel happy.)
- Complete teams, save money by using the 4H sculpts from DCUC and make everyone happy.

I would pay $7.99+ for those. I'd pay $9.99 if they were really well made with *good QC.* 1:18 is always popular and they're letting money slip through their fingers... they just need to make toys that don't break!