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Talking Playmates Toys with Their VPs of Marketing John Stelzner and Pat Linden
813 Plays3 years ago
It's taken us nearly 100 episodes, but were thrilled to sit down and chat with Playmates Toys VPs of Marketing John Stelzner and Pat Linden about their seasoned pasts w/ Playmates Toys as well as Star Trek, TMNT, Godzilla and more!
Follow Playmates Toys on Instagram @playmatestoys and keep up with the latest!
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Intro and other voices by Joe Azzari
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Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie Dandies
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Transcript
Introduction to Zencaster's offerings
00:00:00
Speaker
Dave, you know why I love using Zencaster? Is it because the recording quality is better than other methods of recording a podcast virtually? Nope. Is it because they offer a free version for hobbyists just getting started? No, not that. Is it because it's super easy to use for everyone and none of our guests have ever had an issue using it? That's not it. Is it because they offer automatic post-production and transcription services? Negative.
00:00:29
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Stop burying the lead. Why do you love Zencaster? It's because Zencaster is all of the things you just said, Dave. Well, and they sponsor this pod. That's right.
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Adventures in Collecting is powered by Zencaster. How about your pod? Get started now with Zencaster and use our code to start podcasting today. Visit zencaster.com slash pricing and use promo code AICpod to get 30% off your first three months of their professional plan or try it for free.
00:01:03
Speaker
That's
Toys for Tots toy drive initiative
00:01:04
Speaker
z-e-n-c-a-s-t-r dot com slash pricing and use promo code AICPOD. Are you ready, kids? Get your parents' permission, check your mailbox, and grab your shopping cart. It's time for the Adventures in Collecting podcast.
00:01:30
Speaker
I'm Eric. And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting, where we talk toy news, culture, and hauls. Along with our journeys as collectors. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting. Hello. Dave, we're back.
00:01:54
Speaker
Yeah, we are back with here. We're back with a new episode. Before we get started though, just a teeny tiny little bit of housekeeping, something that we don't normally do at the beginning of our episodes.
00:02:07
Speaker
Um, this episode, if you are listening to this today and the episode is brand new, um, there are still a few days left to, uh, donate toys to our, uh, our toy drive, our toys for Tots toy drive. Um, you can, uh, visit, uh, chubsy whoopsy.com that's C H U B Z Z Y W U B Z Z Y.com. Uh, and you can purchase any toy on the website.
00:02:35
Speaker
And in the cart, just make a note that it is for the Toys for Tots toy drive and select in-store pickup. And what we'll do is,
Introduction of John Stelsner and Pat Linden from Playmates Toys
00:02:45
Speaker
along with our friends and sponsors at Chubsy Websy, we will bring all of those toys directly to the Santa train when it makes its stop here in New Jersey. So we'll make the donation, make a fun video when we do that.
00:03:02
Speaker
If you're looking to donate a toy and you don't want to leave your house and find one of the Toys for Tots drop-off locations, you can just go to the website, order one, and we'll do the heavy lifting for you. So, yeah, you still got a couple days left to do that. And with that, Dave, it's our time-honored tradition. Yes, Eric. Yeah, we are not going to bury the lead, Eric. No, we're not going to bury it any further.
00:03:31
Speaker
So, uh, I'm, I'm excited about today. I'm excited about tonight. I'm excited about all the episodes, but I'm particularly excited about this because this is, this is something new, new, new for us, which is awesome. Uh, for nearly a 56 years, playmates toys has been producing plastic for iconic brands, including Star Trek, Godzilla, Billy Eilish, toxic crusaders, one of my favorite. And of course.
00:03:57
Speaker
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Joining us today on the pod are John Stelsner and Pat Linden, vice presidents of marketing at Playmates Toys. Guys, welcome to the show. Thank you. Great to be here. Yeah, thank you very much. It is a privilege to be here with you guys. So we've been, uh, you know, we, we like to, to look at our, our previous guests is like cards in our, in our binder as we collect guests and it is
00:04:24
Speaker
It's taken us three years, but Playmates, we finally got you guys on here. So really excited to chat with you. But as this show is a show about collecting, before we get started learning a little bit more about you and what you guys do at Playmates, tell us, John, Pat, what are you guys collecting? Well, I mean,
Iconic toy lines by Playmates Toys
00:04:46
Speaker
I think Pat and I both have been fortunate. Having worked at Playmates for so many years, we've had the opportunity, I think, to collect
00:04:54
Speaker
Um, a lot of playmates works on, you know, whether it's Ninja Turtles, uh, now star Trek or back in the nineties star Trek. Um, and, uh, you know, other, other things like the Simpsons too, which I still have many, many Simpsons figures, uh, sitting here with me at home, uh, as we're doing this call. So, you know, I think, you know, for me collecting sort of began when I was a kid with star Wars and it's never really quite left me. So I just like collecting a lot of the, uh, the great figures that are out there.
00:05:25
Speaker
Yeah, and for me, likewise with John, you know, being at Playmates for as long as I have, you know, I've always loved collecting the different products that I worked on. And, you know, obviously all those products hold a special place in my heart, I guess, because, you know, I had a say in how they came out and was able to influence the direction of the look and, and so on. But, you know, there's nothing greater than going to retail.
00:05:55
Speaker
and seeing some of the products that I had a chance to work on and seeing them on shelf and actually, you know, owning them as well. So was there a particular for, for either of you, you know, sticking with kind of the vein of, of collecting is there, was there a particular product that you worked on that like you were really excited to see in a store? Like, was there one that like you remembered like jumping out at you that, uh, that holds any kind of significance?
00:06:21
Speaker
I mean, I think I think they're all kind of our babies, right? So I don't know. I don't know if there's one that stands out above the rest. You know, I think, you know, part of what makes it work is that we are such huge fans of all these properties and we're so privileged to work on them. You know, I think I mentioned, you know, Simpsons is sort of surrounding me now. I've always been a Simpsons fan and, you know, back in the
00:06:44
Speaker
I guess it was early 2000s when we started working on Simpsons. I was so excited to be able to do that because it was the opportunity to really bring that wealth of characters to life.
00:06:59
Speaker
And, you know, we're kind of doing the same thing now with, well, we have been doing the same thing with, uh, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but even with Star Trek, you know, it's just these deep, deep library of characters that we can, uh, that we can create. And, you know, so excited about doing that. Yeah. And for me, it's, you know, likewise with John, uh, you know, the brands that we get to work on are awesome. The first brand that I worked on at Playmates was actually Star Trek.
00:07:28
Speaker
So I know John is working on Star Trek now and I am working on Ninja Turtles. Uh, but you know, like John, when I started at Playmates, uh, and being able to work on Star Trek, be honest, I didn't really know that much about Star Trek at the time, but obviously working on the brand, you want to learn as much as possible. So you start watching the episodes, you know, you start with the original series, then you start watching next generation.
00:07:55
Speaker
And then you start developing these
Role of marketing in toy development at Playmates
00:07:57
Speaker
toys that are associated with the TV shows. And at one point, um, my big thing was collecting the 12 inch figures that we did for Star Trek. And I think at one point I had between, I don't know, between 18 and 20 different figures that were, you know, on a ledge in my apartment in California. And, uh, you know, they just bring enjoyment and
00:08:22
Speaker
Uh, you know, John mentioned Simpsons too, and I was lucky enough to be able to work on that product line as well. So like John, I do have a number of different Simpsons figures, different play sets and environments that we've did over the years as well. And again, another great property with a wealth of different characters and even Ninja Turtles. I started working on Ninja Turtles really in 2003 and have been basically working on it ever since. So.
00:08:52
Speaker
I do have a fair share of Ninja Turtle toys as well. And unfortunately, I don't have a separate room in my house where I can display all these toys. So a lot of them are in storage, unfortunately. Now you mentioned some iconic lines that Playmates has put out over the years. The World of Springfield, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, of course, Star Trek. Collectively, you both have been with Playmates for over 20 years.
00:09:22
Speaker
Um, so a lot of iconic lines in that timeframe. Um, tell us a little bit about your journey to playmates and what you currently do there. Uh, sure. You want me to start? So, um, yeah, so I started, uh, with playmates, uh, Pat and you and I started the same year. I think it was 1998. I guess 1998. Yeah. So Pat and I started the same year.
00:09:49
Speaker
Um, and, um, uh, you know, I kind of came from a, you know, a little bit of a toy background before, before I came to playmates, uh, back in 98, I had worked for Walt Disney consumer products. So I got a chance to work on a lot of the great, uh, product, uh, characters from the, from the, uh, from the Disney line. And then this opportunity came up to work, uh, for playmates. And obviously I knew what they had done with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
00:10:19
Speaker
And so I was super excited about coming and joining the team. And, uh, you know, in the first six year, almost six years that I was there, cause, um, I got, you know, again, the opportunity to work on so many great lines. Then, um, this is actually, you know, now at playmates, this is actually my second time with playmates. So I kind of left playmates the first time and went and did some other, uh, worked with some other companies in the toy industry and, um,
00:10:48
Speaker
Then came back, you know, and playmates is really, you know, like a family, you know, and so when the opportunity came to come back to playmates, I knew I had to do it. And now this time around, I've been back almost 11 years with playmates. Um, and, uh, kind of never really left the toy industry, but, um, playmates is really home and it's where we get the opportunity to, um, really.
00:11:16
Speaker
get in deeply into development. It's not just marketing. I know Pat's and my title is marketing, but at Playmates, we have the opportunity to kind of really dive in and handle all of the development from concept through production and
00:11:33
Speaker
working with the studios and really creating the best product out there. We're very collaborative. We're very lean. We're not that giant
Relaunch of Star Trek and Godzilla toy lines
00:11:43
Speaker
company, but that's what gives us really the ability to really pay attention to the detail and really get involved in the detail that we're creating. So there's several of us at Playmates that have sort of worked at Playmates and come back. And Pat, I think you are the true trooper because Pat will tell you
00:12:03
Speaker
I've never left playmates. He's just been there for forever. So pat Yeah, so I started at playmates in 1998 And uh, you know this year celebrated my 24th anniversary at playmates Prior to starting at playmates. I worked at a company in uh, iowa actually diresville, iowa where the field of dreams is uh, called the ertl company. Oh wow And yeah started there in customer service and ertl is
00:12:34
Speaker
world-renowned for their farm toys, die-cast farm toys. So that's where I started. My roots in the toy business started in customer service and then moved over to marketing and have a nice collection of die-cast farm toys in my parents' house back in Iowa. They never made the trip to California yet, but they will someday. So yeah, started there, worked there for five years.
00:13:03
Speaker
And then came to playmates in 1998. Uh, as I mentioned previously, the first product line that I worked on at playmates was Star Trek. And then John, I think, uh, when you left playmates, we were still doing Simpsons at the time and, um, took over development of the Simpsons line as well. Um, but you know, over the years, uh, had the opportunity to work on a number of great lines, whether it's action figure related, uh, vehicles.
00:13:33
Speaker
Even worked on the Billy Eilish dolls as well. Uh, did a little bit of work on, um, miraculous ladybug too. So, you know, I feel like I have a pretty well-rounded background in toys, whether they're action figures, vehicles or dolls for that matter. But yeah, playmates has definitely, uh, been very, very good to me. And, you know, I just love the culture there from the standpoint, like John said, we run very lean.
00:14:01
Speaker
So when we take on a brand, we literally take on a brand from soup to nuts. We're involved in every step of the process, whether it's marketing, product development, or even sales from that standpoint as well. But it has truly been a great experience overall. Yeah, that all the good girls go to hell, Billie Eilish, action figure, the one with the big wings, that's a permanent part of my display. I love that figure.
00:14:32
Speaker
Yeah, you know, obviously working on characters and people, I guess, in the music industry, you know, a little bit different than working on, whether it's movie properties or TV properties, but at the same time, still a lot of fun. And, you know, you put your heart and soul into it. Hey, and it's, it's, you know, her, her stuff is very toyetic, like,
00:15:00
Speaker
Her look her looks those music videos. They lend themselves very well the toy. So that was a that was a fun little Little I don't know if you want to say experiment but a fun little like mini line I mean that the products you guys put out for her were were excellent No, it was a figure Pardon me. Yeah, fantastic figure. Oh, thank you. No, you know what? It was a truly a lot of fun to work on challenging because
00:15:30
Speaker
you know, you're working with an actual person and everything is based on her and the fact that she was, you know, probably wasn't even 21 at the time, you know, made it all that much more interesting. But at the same time, a lot of fun to work on and obviously a very talented singer at the same time.
00:15:51
Speaker
So from the stage and music videos to the final frontier, Star Trek is arguably in kind of a new renaissance right now with all the new content that's being produced in that canon across mediums. So tell us about why Playmates decided to relaunch the toy line now. Well, I think just like you said, Star Trek's kind of in its renaissance now from Paramount.
00:16:21
Speaker
largely thanks to streaming, I think, you know, because now they are creating all these wonderful shows and, um, you know, playmates and Paramount, you know, have such a strong relationship, um, starting with turtles. Um, and then obviously have us having done star trek in the past as well, that, uh, we just started talking with them again about, um, relaunching star trek.
00:16:47
Speaker
And everybody loved that idea. We've gotten a lot of feedback from fans that they're really happy to see Playmates back in the Star Trek business. And we knew with all of the classic properties as well as all the new properties, we really had something here. And you'll see from our new line that's launched,
00:17:09
Speaker
You know, we're kind of mixing a little bit of the classic and mixing in some of the new as well with the some of the discovery figures and You know, we're really excited about what the future holds for or Star Trek We're working on other properties Within Star Trek again, so whether it's additional classic properties or some of the new properties You know any and even with
00:17:39
Speaker
Paramount launching their first, well, not even their first, but kind of launching a new kid's property for Star Trek, which is Prodigy. So we're working on some stuff with that as well. So, you know, whether you're a longtime Star Trek fan and collecting Star Trek, or whether you are a kid who's getting into Star Trek, you know, I think there's a lot of places we can go with it.
00:18:07
Speaker
So I am one of those kids, and my brother can attest to this, that the Playmates line, that next generation line, was what actually got me into Star Trek. And I still have a bunch of my figures from that time period, especially that movie with, was it Malcolm McDowell was in it? Generations, I think, was the film.
00:18:37
Speaker
Yeah. So like, especially that figure line, like that was associated with that film was really what, um, what kind of hooked me. Uh, so, you know, having, having a figure line that had, you know, uh, Picard and, and, and captain Kirk and, you know, and then new characters, um, was, was a really, you know, fun way to kind of get into the whole thing. And now seeing that again, you know, and, and, you know,
00:19:05
Speaker
having the figures again is just really, it brings me right back. It brings you right back to the moment I had those original figures. Yeah, and that's great. It's great to hear. And I think one of the things we knew right from the beginning was that
00:19:24
Speaker
Especially when we're talking classic figures that we wanted to bring some of those back We wanted to kind of give keep keep them in kind of a nostalgic retro feel but really kind of utilize some of the new sculpting technologies and painting technologies and things like that to really kind of Make them even more realistic than toys from the 90s look, you know so that you could really collect the true likeness of your favorite characters and
00:19:54
Speaker
You know we're we actually are using a lot of the same sculptors that we used in the nineties. Principle among them i don't know if you guys are familiar with steve arner but. Yeah he's kind of a legend in the toy sculpting figure sculpting arena and.
00:20:12
Speaker
He actually sculpted the figures back in the 90s. And we're using him again, of course, like I said, you know, they're using a lot more advanced digital sculpting technology now. And, you know, really not really not using any kind of scans of the actor, just kind of really using his talent like he always had to bring those likenesses to life.
00:20:39
Speaker
They were great back then and they're even better now. Thanks. It's awesome to see the classic figures get those modern touch-ups to really kind of make them feel nostalgic but also feel new at the same time. Yeah, absolutely.
00:20:59
Speaker
We tried to keep even the package kind of give it a kind of a retro look until we get into some of the new shows like discovery where we're kind of taking a star trek universe branding approach to that but. You know besides
The evolution and crossover of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys
00:21:13
Speaker
figures obviously we have our enterprise ship that's out there with lights and sounds and our original series phaser so you know i think you know with.
00:21:22
Speaker
The figures and with ships and role play. Um, I think we can really capture a lot of What's available in the star trek universe? So now you've mentioned discovery there's also um star trek to the wrath of con um represented and the next generation So far in the line. Yeah, um, are the plans to continue with just these three properties or will we see other aspects? Of the star trek cannon, uh worked into the line
00:21:50
Speaker
Yeah, you'll definitely see other aspects. We're working on some stuff now from other shows. I mentioned Prodigy, which hopefully will be out by Easter of this next year of 23. So you'll see some of the Prodigy figures come out. There's actually some images that we've put out there already. Maybe you've seen them, but
00:22:10
Speaker
But those products should become available. We will continue to do more next gen figures and maybe more original series figures or movie figures. But because there's so many great shows out there, whether it's Discovery that we're doing now or whether it's Strange New Worlds, which is a great series or
00:22:33
Speaker
Um, you know, maybe even eventually down the road looking at doing some yes doing some lower decks eventually As well. So all of that's uh, all of that's currently in various stages of development And um, yeah, you'll see a lot of new stuff coming out in 2023
00:22:51
Speaker
Well, because those original lines were very deep and as far as like next generation and and the Star Trek classic, I think he got like most of the if not the most of the characters in general, but a lot of the like core.
00:23:07
Speaker
Characters that were around the series both series for a long time now big question when it comes to something like a lower decks is it going to be that animated look or is there going to be an opportunity to to kind of almost make the figures work together in a sense
00:23:27
Speaker
I would say it's going to retain its animated look, because that's sort of at the heart of what Lower Decks is. We kind of did the same thing with Prodigy, which is animated. They are the same scale. They'll feel like they could exist in the same world. But they'll definitely kind of maintain more of their animated look. We're not trying to take an animated look and create a real human-looking person character out of it.
00:23:57
Speaker
Um, we want to keep them true to what they are. So, um, so yeah, we would, we would look to kind of develop them as animated styling, but, but again, to the same scale and whatnot so that they can all fit in the same universe. So, uh, moving on from, from Star Trek to, uh, something else that, that we're both, uh, very big fans of, uh, Godzilla and monster verse. Um, so playmates continues to produce toys from the world of Godzilla.
00:24:27
Speaker
But with no new American film coming out, uh, at least until 2024, uh, what's the plan for the product line moving into 2023? So for 2023, I mean, we're just going to continue. Um, you know, we kind of have our line kind of divided into two segments. We have the monster verse line, which is sort of focused around all of the legendary entertainment, legendary movies.
00:24:53
Speaker
And then we have our Toho classic series. And so that kind of captures all of the Kaiju monsters from throughout the history of Toho. So there'll be a few new classic figures coming out, which will also include actually Toho is, you know, currently has a anime show on Netflix called Singular Point. And so we are doing a couple
00:25:22
Speaker
figures on that. We actually have a figure out now and launching another figure. And then on the legendary side, the monsterverse side, we're kind of bringing in some of the monsters that go earlier from Godzilla versus Kong. Godzilla versus Kong is sort of where we came in with Legendary and we did that movie line. But now we're going back and we're kind of exploring monsters like Ghidorah from King of Monsters
00:25:52
Speaker
and Kong from Skull Island. And I guess the biggest thing that we're doing now as an exclusive with Target is we're doing what we're calling the Titan Tech Monsters. So these are transforming Godzilla and transforming Kong. They transform from their original form to kind of a monarch technology armored form so that they can do battle with each other in this armor.
00:26:23
Speaker
Um, so yeah, so we're going to be expanding that line. We have Godzilla and Kong out there now, and we're going to be expanding that line for target and have our new figure out, uh, which will be a completely different Kaiju than, than Godzilla and Kong, uh, at target this summer or summer of 23. So, um, yeah. So, and that's, that's been very successful for us. You know, I don't think a Godzilla.
00:26:48
Speaker
work on monster line that transforms as ever been out there and. We're seeing a lot of success with that right now and all of that's just going to build to what we're going to be doing in 2024 for the for the new movie so.
00:27:05
Speaker
Very cool. It's it's that's another one of those things like, you know, I actually just went to our local Alamo draft house was doing a on Godzilla Day was doing a screening of a of a 4k restored 1954 cut of the film and I've never seen it in a theater before and it was the original, you know, Japanese subtitled. Yeah, it was so cool to see, you know, like a redone, you know, remastered, I should say.
00:27:36
Speaker
cut of it, you know, and, and, you know, to kind of get to experience that. So I love kind of the dichotomy of seeing those, those Toho monsters. I think the other day I bumped into like a jet Jaguar at Target. So, you know, it's just, it's cool to see that along with the monster verse stuff. Yeah. Yeah. And I think especially on the classic side with the Toho side of our business, you know, there, because there's so many monsters and we're actually, we actually work with Toho.
00:28:06
Speaker
um to kind of uh understand you know not not only throughout history what has been most popular but what fans are looking for now um and so between toho and playmates we've kind of put together a list of you know what monsters we should be releasing what comes out next um you know we have like you mentioned jet jaguar which is very popular and um we're actually uh
00:28:33
Speaker
won't be out for this holiday, but it'll be out in early spring. We're actually launching a baragon as our as our next monster. No way. So, yes. Very cool. So, so yeah, it's, you know, it's not only about Godzilla, it's about all these great monsters that Toe has created. And, you know, we're thrilled to be able to work on all of them. So
00:28:59
Speaker
Now you mentioned all of these different, you know, Kaiju from Touhou or from Legendary, but, um, what, where do you guys get the ideas for what monsters to use? Like, do you consider fan polls or is it just something internal? Is it something studio related? Like what, what causes the direction?
00:29:22
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, really on the Toho side, you know, it's just kind of working with Toho. I mean, they have this immense history of all of the monsters that have kind of risen to the top as the ones that fans just fall in love with and keep asking for. And so we kind of put together that list and
00:29:43
Speaker
You know, we always try to mix in a, there's so many different versions of Godzilla as well. So we always try to mix in, uh, you know, a new Godzilla from a different film, but, um, but then we kind of have the, the other than Godzilla monster list that, uh, that we worked with Toho on and, uh, we kind of pull from that, um, as we're going and, um, kind of working our way through the list. So, I mean,
00:30:09
Speaker
You know, um, you know, Gigan and, and destroy, uh, and Jack Jaguar, and they could mention Paragon now. So, um, you know, those are the ones that sort of have risen to the top of the list. And those are the ones where we're trying to release, you know, as soon as we can, we try to come out with new monsters. Um, usually it's about two or three different, uh, monsters twice a year, uh, for the Toho side.
00:30:40
Speaker
And then similar on the legendary side. But of course we're also building already started developing what the line is going to look like for the 2024 movie as well. So. Well, in case you guys are not, not like fully in tune with it, which I'm sure you are, but Hadora and Bialante are having like a moment right now. No, they are. They are. It's like weird for those two in 2022.
00:31:10
Speaker
like all of a sudden be like granted Godzilla vs. Bialante is probably one of the best ones but like yeah you know those two monsters are just they're they're like surging the popularity it's crazy yeah no no you're right and those are at the top of our list and those are ones that were you know they're in the hopper for development for sure awesome I'm sure people will be thrilled to hear that and to your point too with all the different versions of Godzilla that's that's part of the fun of it right is like you know pairing up
00:31:38
Speaker
You know, for, for the purists out there pairing up the, you know, the appropriate Godzilla with, with the other, you know, that's right. No, it's absolutely right. Yeah. For sure.
00:31:50
Speaker
And it's all ages Godzilla. Godzilla will always be new to somebody. But I was in Target one time with my girlfriend and we were, I was kind of bruised by the toils, of course. And there was a kid who was just like, couldn't decide which Godzilla to get. It was like, oh, but I want both.
00:32:20
Speaker
Yeah, it was one of those things where I was like, that's cool. Yeah, that's very cool. I can totally understand that. I mean, what's not to love about giant monsters knocking stuff over, you know? It's every kid's fantasy play, to be sure. And now, a word from our sponsors.
00:32:49
Speaker
This segment is brought to you by our friends at Chubsy Wubsy Toys. A traditional mom and pop toy store in Little Falls, New Jersey, Chubsy Wubsy Toys brings you the best new toys from the brands you love without the hassle of pounding the pavement searching for them at larger retail stores.
00:33:05
Speaker
Visit them in person at 106 Main Street in Little Falls, New Jersey, or online at ChubsyWubsy.com. That's C-H-U-B-Z-Z-Y-W-U-B-Z-Z-Y.com. And tell them Adventures in Collecting sent you.
00:33:24
Speaker
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00:33:55
Speaker
So Eric, I ran to the store today and I was doing that power walking thing to the toy aisle. The guy next to me was too, and guess what happened? You were both headed for the same figure, weren't you? Yup, but I got there first. Now that's a close shave. You know what else is? A nice trim thanks to this show's sponsor, Manscaped.
00:34:18
Speaker
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00:35:29
Speaker
That's 20% off with free shipping at manscaped.com with code AIC. Unlock your confidence and always use the right tools for the job with Manscaped. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. As collectors, we've all faced tough builds. Whether it's a challenging toy transformation, a complicated model kit or playset, we have always had an instruction manual to help us get to the finish line.
00:36:00
Speaker
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00:36:50
Speaker
So we've talked about Star Trek. We've talked about, uh, monster verse and Godzilla. But when, when people think playmates, they think toxic crusader. No, they think the new, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, right? So, um, what's it like getting to work on a brand that, that really kind of reshaped the toy world like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did? No, look at this. It's really a privilege. I mean, um,
00:37:19
Speaker
We say in playmates, you know what, if you can't have fun walking or working on Ninja Turtles, then you shouldn't be in the business. And like you said, Ninja Turtles is one of those brands that, uh, you know, never goes away and we'll always have a following. I think, um, the way that it's been reinvented over the years and the fact that it's still as relevant today as it was back in
00:37:49
Speaker
You know, the late eighties and early nineties during that original series when it was very popular then. So it's, I think a lot of people have a very special place in our heart for Ninja Turtles that, uh, played with it back in the eighties and nineties. And to think that those kids back then are now adults today that have kids and probably are influencing their kids to play with Ninja Turtles to this day as well. So it's just one of those great properties.
00:38:19
Speaker
It's it's wild. It's it's never we've said this on the show several times But like it's never been a better time to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collector It is never has never been a better time because there is you know
00:38:34
Speaker
an ocean of Ninja Turtles products out there to, you know, to enjoy. And it's crazy too, cause there's really no new media right now. Like it's been, we're in between, you know, I guess there's been a couple of new video games, but like, you know, and comics, but, um, there's, there hasn't been a new movie and new TV show and in a few years now. No, you're right. You're right. And that I think speaks to the popularity of Ninja Turtles and the fact that
00:39:04
Speaker
You know, back in the eighties and nineties, Ninja Turtles were so popular and there's millions of kids that played with it at the time. And the fact that those kids are now adults that have their own kids, I think, uh, to a lot of these people is again, it's still, uh, is relevant to them. It has a special place in their heart that, uh, they get to play with them today, collect them, but again, influence.
00:39:32
Speaker
the kids that they have today to, uh, play with the same turtles that they played with back in the day. Yeah. I mean, Eric, you could speak to this personally, right? Like you had that cross generational situation. Yeah. I cut my teeth on hand me down turtles. And then, and then like, you know, by the time I was into them,
00:39:58
Speaker
that kind of original run was starting to, I don't want to say scraping the bottom of the barrel, but like, you know, all of the new releases that were coming out were the kind of origins of those crossover ones. So like, I remember, you know, basketball Donatello and, you know, the, the universal monsters, you know, mashups and like all of those like weird, super toy addict, super fun, you know, as a kid, like I, you know, looking back at them now,
00:40:27
Speaker
So when I was a kid, I loved them. Looking back at them now, it's just like, I can't believe that they existed. Like that's where, that's where the toy line went, like logistically. But, uh, you know, it's just, yeah, turtles are multi-generational. My, my daughter, my seven year old daughter plays with them now, you know, like it's just, and those figures from those, those figures from the eighties and nineties, they, they hold up, man. They, they're still kicking.
00:40:55
Speaker
missing a few accessories, but you lose those ninja stars. They've ended up in vacuums over the years, but the figures hold up really well. Yeah, to the point where we've seen a roll out of the box sets featuring reproductions of the 80s and 90s figures, those classic re-releases. So what was the thought behind going that route with the turtles and then the villains and the movie star turtles?
00:41:24
Speaker
Yeah, well, obviously, you know, the pandemic, I think, you know, like we discussed earlier, during the pandemic, I think there were a lot of people out there that were looking for things to do. And, you know, obviously, a lot of those kids back then are adults today. And the Ninja Turtle product that is out there, they took a liking to and started collecting. And we had a customer that actually
00:41:53
Speaker
Put a request in for it. You know what? Can we get the original four turtles shredder and splinter? And can we not only get those original figures, but then put those in a package, um, that is reminiscent of something that existed, you know, back in the eighties and nineties. And it was the original party van that we came up with to pack those figures out in. And it did very, very well with them.
00:42:22
Speaker
And so we started doing additional sets for other retailers as well. You know, you'd mentioned the movie star turtles. Uh, we, you know, we did a number of different enemy combatant figures and almost all those figures were based on those original tools from back in the eighties that were sitting in a warehouse in China that luckily, uh, didn't get disposed of. And we were able to pull them out of storage and, uh,
00:42:51
Speaker
check them to make sure that they were workable, and that could still produce toys, and they could. So we've, I think, done a really good job of managing those original figures and original tools and come up with some pretty good sets. So wait a second. And that was going to be my follow-up question, but I just want to make sure I heard that right. Yeah, I was going to ask that too. So I was under the, I have that first set, the one that you were talking about, that first one that came out.
00:43:21
Speaker
I couldn't bear to actually open them off of the card. Once I actually opened the party wagon, I was like, oh, I don't know if I can actually open these. And I'm an opener. I open and play with everything. But I have that one packed away nice right now. But I was under the impression just kind of we've been doing this for three years. We've had this conversation with numerous toy makers and designers.
00:43:47
Speaker
Like those molds have a, have a finite life. Like eventually they can't produce any more, any more figures off of them. But these are the original tools from like from their, the original production runs of these figures. Yeah. Some of them are, some of them are, um, we've had to retool some accessories and other parts, but a lot of those are based on the original tools from the eighties and nineties. Unbelievable.
00:44:16
Speaker
That's amazing. Because those things must have produced like at the height of like, you know, turtle fever, like a ridiculous amount of, of action figures and they're still viable. Yeah. Uh, you know, a lot of times they require some refurbishing and such, but, uh, still workable today.
00:44:40
Speaker
Bananas that is that is super cool. That is that is literally that makes that makes me want to actually open them more just to like Have like a fresh 1986 turtle in my hand Yeah, that's really cool and and like did and was playmates aware that those tools were were being stored or like was it like Hey, do you still have them?
00:45:09
Speaker
you know we had a listing of of the tools that were available but again you don't really know until you go to the warehouse somewhere in China pull them out of that warehouse and you know check the condition of them see if they are workable um in some cases they are not or there are parts of the tool that are not and you have to create new parts or refurbish but um but yeah i mean those tools are
00:45:39
Speaker
obviously made of steel, so they last a long, long time. Very cool. Yeah, and just on like a history standpoint too, that's just amazing. Yeah. I have chills. Awesome. So in a world where seemingly every major toy brand is making some kind of Ninja Turtle product, Playmates is continuing the long tradition of crossing the turtles over into other worlds.
00:46:09
Speaker
Um, how did you guys land on, on Cobra Kai, stranger things and, and street fighter in these, uh, these recent, uh, mashups? Yeah. Well, like, you know, like you said, um, back in the eighties and nineties, whether it was a mashup or collaboration, you know, the turtles are very malleable in regards to, you know, you can apply almost any theme to them. And, uh, you know, it appeals to kids and, you know, back in the nineties, what'd we do? We did.
00:46:39
Speaker
a Star Trek mashup. We did troll turtles, uh, universal monster turtles. So we always knew that basically, you know, you can try a lot of different themes and a lot of different themes cross with turtles would work. And if you look at some of the hot properties of today, such as Cobra Kai that, uh, you know, involved similarities with turtles, where it was about karate or mixed martial arts ninjas.
00:47:09
Speaker
Um, and, you know, doing the collaboration with that and teaming up the popular Cobra Kai characters with the turtles, you know, like, why not? Let's, let's give it a shot. And, um, luckily we had a couple work colleagues, uh, that work at Sony and pitch the idea to them. And, you know, they went with it, um, was stranger things a little bit different. Well, that was actually a request from a customer and, um,
00:47:39
Speaker
You know, again, Stranger Things is very, very popular. And yeah, there are some similarities there as well. I mean, season three of Stranger Things took place in Hawkins, Indiana in 1984. Well, guess what else happened in 1984 was the first year of the original Ninja Turtle comic book that was produced by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. So there are similarities there as well.
00:48:04
Speaker
You know, that's why we chose the original comic book turtles to team up with Stranger Things characters, both from that same 1984 era. And then when it comes to Street Fighter, you know, again, a very, very popular video game that had its roots in the 1980s, similar to Ninja Turtles. So doing a collaboration and this year too, is the 35th anniversary of Street Fighter. So to help celebrate that anniversary.
00:48:34
Speaker
You know, we did a versus pack between Ninja Turtles and Street Fighter. Yeah.
Upcoming TMNT projects and innovations
00:48:41
Speaker
I, the, out of the three collaborations, they're, they're all great, but those Street Fighter figures that are Ryu and Chun-Li are gorgeous. Like they're like, they are two of like sleeper. And then, you know, I just, I would have never.
00:49:00
Speaker
I would have never imagined that that was the figure that, you know, we'd be getting out of that, you know, with, with just kind of thinking like the style of the turtles and everything. Like they're probably the two best versions of those characters in at least a decade, you know, in, in that scale there, they are unbelievably good. Thank you. No, look at it. It's been a lot of fun to work on and, you know, um, the colleagues are, we're colleagues at, uh,
00:49:30
Speaker
Capcom as well as at Nickelodeon obviously have been very cooperative and, you know, we collaborated continually on doing it. And, um, you know, I think we came up with some pretty good sets and, you know, another thing that I think really sets them off is the packaging as well. Um, whether it's Cobra Kai versus turtles or, or stranger things in street fighter, you know, the theme of the package, I think
00:49:57
Speaker
uh, does a very good job of displaying the figures that are contained within that package. Yeah. And the other thing too, is if you're, you know, a fan of any of the properties, it's, you know, it's a way to get that property, but it also is like, well, all right, now I need, now I need more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So it's kind of like, it's bringing you into potentially into something that you didn't collect before. Yeah, definitely.
00:50:27
Speaker
or even somebody who, you know, like, you know, had a touch point. Yeah. I was going to say had a previous touch point with the turtles at some point in their youth, but it's like super into Cobra Kai right now and really wants a John crease action figure. And then all of a sudden you're like, Oh, sweet. This is a Ninja turtle and a gee. Now I want the other three. Yeah. And you know, that's one of the great things like I said earlier is, um,
00:50:55
Speaker
you know the turtles are very malleable and you can tie those to a lot of different properties and you know people find it appealing and I think you know the fans find this appealing as well.
00:51:09
Speaker
So we saw the new sculpt for the last Ronin figure in two colorways this year and the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mayhem film is scheduled to be released sometime in 2023 Can we expect new toys around? these properties Yeah, definitely for last Ronin obviously We did the last Ronin like you said in two different ways that was a diamond exclusive and
00:51:38
Speaker
We're looking to do the other three last Ronin turtles as well, sometime in 23, as late as 2024. And in regards to the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mutant mayhem film, yeah, we'll have a complete toy line centered around that movie that we've been working on now, gosh, probably for the last about nine months, and we're very, very excited about.
00:52:07
Speaker
You know, it's been a lot of fun to work on that as well. It's being produced by Seth Rogan and his team at Point Grace Studios in collaboration with Paramount Pictures and a lot of fun to work on. So, I mean, is there, is there any rough timeline on that yet? Cause I know like, you know, especially in today's, you know, in today's climate, you know, a lot of times things are,
00:52:34
Speaker
you know, kind of nebulous when it comes to reveals and shipping and availability and all those things. But like, is there any sort of rough timeline as to when, you know, we might see some, some toy reveals or anything to do with that film? Yeah. I mean, the toy line is definitely under development now. And we are in discussions with, uh, with Paramount on when we want to unveil the toy line probably happen sometime in spring of 23. And then the toys will hit shelves.
00:53:05
Speaker
Uh, late June of 23 leading up to the movie release date, which is slated for August 4th of 2023. Awesome. Awesome. So before we head into our last question, um, this conversation that we just had with you guys, um, made me think of a question that I didn't think of prior to this interview. And I'm just curious.
00:53:29
Speaker
So Playmates has had so many really cool brands and we talked about kind of like these relaunches of Star Trek and this kind of renaissance in the turtles. If you guys could take each, take one previous Playmates toy line and kind of revive it and bring it back, which would it be?
00:53:58
Speaker
I think for me, it would be Simpsons. You can tell I'm a Simpsons fan. I know that Simpsons has obviously been going strong for all these years and there's a lot of characters that maybe we didn't get to do the first time around and maybe we could find a new and inventive way
00:54:24
Speaker
kind of make them a little bit different this time around. But I would probably say Simpsons. And yeah, I'd probably say Simpsons. From my standpoint, you know, I guess I guess I'm living it from the standpoint of Ninja Turtles, because, you know, we are producing toys for this next movie and just seeing how, you know, whether it's the TV show, the comic book,
00:54:53
Speaker
or the movies have evolved over the years has been something amazing. And just the fact that we are doing another version of Ninja Turtles is unbelievable. And the fact that the fan base is still as passionate about it today as they were back in the 80s and 90s just speaks to
00:55:22
Speaker
the brand itself and, you know, who would have thought a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle from back in the eighties would be as popular today as it was back then. So I, you know, I guess I'm privileged enough to say that I'm kind of, my wishes come through come true, I guess, because I'm working on it. I'm doing it.
Personal reflections on favorite toy lines
00:55:43
Speaker
So, um, that to me is very, very special and cool. Dave, do you have one? Cause I certainly do. I mean,
00:55:53
Speaker
Toxic Crusaders is an easy answer, but that world of Springfield line was just... I mean, I'd be hard-pressed to say that at that time that anybody was missed. I think every... I'm just trying to go down the alphabet.
00:56:17
Speaker
Every character through letter J level character was included. Including the celebrities. I remember the Bret Hart figure and the Weird Al one. Hank Scorpio. Hank Scorpio. Yeah, there were some good ones.
00:56:33
Speaker
Um, but, um, I think the only thing that would deal it would be like kind of in the same vein as Star Trek in that, that regard of like, okay, here's what's been new since these figures came out, you know, in what, like 2005, 2006, but like even the play sets, like it was, it was deep. It's a line.
00:56:56
Speaker
It's a line that I wish I had dipped my toe into, but would never have been able to like safely dip my toe into. And with all the playsets, you need like, oh, you almost need like a floor of a house to get those. So I was hoping, so obviously I've kind of hinted at it before. I have, I have a penchant for that, that toxic crusaders line. I absolutely love it.
00:57:26
Speaker
So I was kind of hoping though, Dave, that you were going to say it. So that way I didn't have to like cop out and do like a this line or this line, but it would be two lines for me. Um, two of my favorite toy lines of all time, which were like, I don't want to say like weird obscure lines. Cause I don't think they are, but, um, toxic crusaders is one of them, but I love the Dick Tracy line. Those, those, those cars.
00:57:53
Speaker
The figures, the accessories, such a cool one. And I still have both of the cars. And I have a handful of the figures left. I don't have too many of them. They didn't make the childhood transition. But I definitely have Dick Tracy. I have Flat Top. And then I think I have Prune Face. But yeah, those are super cool figures. That was a good line. That was a good line.
00:58:23
Speaker
That movie doesn't get enough love. All right. So guys with that, we're going to head into our final question here. Uh, before we let you go, Dave, would you like to fulfill your role as this podcasts, James Lipton and ask our final question. Why? Yes, I would. So the final question that we asked to all of our guests.
00:58:49
Speaker
What is your favorite and or strangest piece in your collection? It can be one of each or it can be both. Well, I think for me, there's probably a couple actually. It's the things that maybe you were a little embarrassed that you worked on. One is
00:59:15
Speaker
One is a particular item from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I'm talking about the Jim Carrey movie. All right. Yeah, there was a particular doll that made sounds and yeah, it was just a weird, it was a weird toy. And then the other one that I worked on was Chicken Run from Hardman Studios.
00:59:39
Speaker
So I still have, uh, I still have all those figures as well. And, uh, I would definitely say those were probably the strangest ones that I worked on. And, um, but, uh, you know, like everything else, they were fun in their own ways to work on, but in the end they were probably the strangest chicken run. Dave, you took me to see that in the theaters. Yeah.
01:00:04
Speaker
It was a good movie. The toy line was good, but you know, I don't know if kids just didn't want to play chickens, I guess, but it's a weird animal. Like, you know, it's a weird animal to be, you know, the movie was great. I love the clay nation and everything, but like, yeah, of course. Right. Yeah. Like, yeah, let's play chickens. It's not, it's not aspirational to be a chicken or a rooster.
01:00:27
Speaker
There's the title of this episode. It's not aspirational. There you go. That's great. Great.
Unique items in personal collections by John and Pat
01:00:39
Speaker
Pat, do you have one? For me, there's two lines that I worked on that was fun to work on them, but never quite performed as well as what I had hoped in. One wasn't so much
01:00:57
Speaker
our fault. One was called a Dr. Red. And I don't know if you guys remember Dr. Dreadful, where you mix the different components to produce different flavored candies. The food. Yes. Yeah. I remember the food lab, the, the skeleton, the banana. Yeah. Yeah. So we were working on, um, toy called Dr. Red and, uh, we,
01:01:28
Speaker
had gone out, reached out to the different food companies, and was working with this food company that promised top quality powders that would taste good, taste great, and wouldn't have any issues. Well, we have an issue where the pouches that the food powders were contained in were breaking open.
01:01:57
Speaker
in transit to from the orient to the US. And, um, obviously because of that, the product line never made it to market. And I just remember going, you know, back and forth, dealing with, uh, the food company, trying to figure out what was wrong. And I think that was one product line. I think it made it to market, but, um,
01:02:25
Speaker
But, you know, never really had a chance after going through that. And then there was another product line I worked on called Revs, which was similar to Transformers. But instead of having all the parts, transforming parts connected, they were separate pieces that you could basically customize and build your own unique looking robots. And, you know, a lot of fun to work on, but unfortunately,
01:02:54
Speaker
Didn't quite do as well as what I had hoped it would do, but still a lot of fun to work on. To this day, I guess. Awesome. Well, Pat, John, thank you guys so much for taking the time to be on the show. It's been absolutely amazing talking to all things Playmates with you guys.
01:03:16
Speaker
I'll remind us where can we find, uh, I don't know if you guys are on social media, if you're on Instagram or Twitter, but where can we, where can we find you? Where can we find out more about playmates? Uh, where, where can we, where can we get all of the, uh, the information from? Well, probably our website, uh, playmates toys.com. And from there, um, you can link out to our social media. Um, and then.
01:03:40
Speaker
Specific to Star Trek, we did create its own website, and that is PlayMateStarTrekToys.com. And you'll get a full Star Trek experience when you go on that one as well. And again, from there, you can link out to our social media from there as well. Yeah, I mean, we are on Facebook. We're on Instagram. We have a YouTube channel as well.
01:04:11
Speaker
And yeah, check out all our toys on those different platforms. Awesome. Thank you guys again so much for joining us. Dave, send us home. Bye, everyone.
01:04:26
Speaker
Thank you, dear listener, for hanging out with us today. Subscribe, rate, and review us wherever you listen, and then tell your friends to do it. Thanks also to Joe Azari, the golden voice behind our intro. Our music is Game Boy Horror by the Zombie Dandies. Find more about them both on our show notes.
01:04:42
Speaker
Follow us on social media at AIC underscore podcast on Instagram and Twitter. Stop by and say hi. Show us your toy hauls and share your toy stories. Maybe we'll talk about it in a future episode.
01:05:06
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive producer, Franca Blaui. This program and many others like it on the non-productive network is distributed under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial no derivatives license. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.