Speculation is a
natural part of being a collector. Which licenses could possibly become
official Minimates some day? What if Diamond Select Toys could get any license?
Today I am going to tell you about the 5 properties I would like to see as
Minimates if licensing was not an issue. I think my first 4 choices are pretty
common, and the last one is definitely out-there.
1. Doctor Who Minimates
This is an easy
license to picture, since official concept art for this property has already
been made. Underground Toys had the license back in 2010, and had a full
line-up planned, but ended up passing on them due to production costs and other
commitments. I have been a Doctor Who fan for over 20 years, and this would
definitely be my top most wanted Minimate license. I have already made over
30 Doctor Who Minimate customs, but that isn't quite the same as the real thing. My
favorite custom set that I made is this Pyramids of Mars packaged set:
I think this
property would work very well as 2-packs for the modern series, and 4-packs for
the classic series. You could potentially mix classic and modern together in
the same series of 2-packs, but that didn't work out so well for DST on the
recent Star Trek Minimates. If you split them up, each 4-pack could focus on a
classic Doctor and his companions and/or adversaries. You could even make episode-specific
sets. The modern 2-packs could be released for each series, similar to how they
released the 5” action figures.
2. New Line Horror Minimates
My wife and I
started watching horror movies when we were teenagers and first dating. We
watched every single horror movie at our local Mr. Movies store, and some of
them multiple times. I will always have an affinity for Jason, Freddy, Pinhead,
and other slasher/horror villains. These characters have been featured in
various other toy lines, but I think their unique designs would really shine on
Minimates. I made a few custom horror Minimates several years ago, like this Jason Voorhees:
In the Universal
Monsters series of Minimates, the villains were typically packaged with
civilian heroes. I think that could work in certain situations, like packing
Dr. Loomis with Michael Myers, but in other packs I would prefer to get more
villains. Give me Pamela Voorhees with Jason Voorhees and another creepy
cenobite with Pinhead. You could even pack in a victim that includes some of
the gruesome accessories that the Walking Dead zombies come with. I think those
types of choices would make a line like this really stand out, and attract the
attention of a wider audience.
3. Indiana Jones Minimates
The Lucasfilm
(now Disney) property that most people ask for is Star Wars Minimates. But
personally, I would rather have Minimates from the Indiana Jones series. I know
that Diamond has tried to get this license before, but I believe that was
before the Disney acquisition. With a 5th movie coming out in a few
years, and with Diamond already making Minimates from other Disney properties,
maybe this is a possibility?
I think this
license would work really well as a wave of 2-packs from each movie, and if
those do well, make another wave or two to finish things up. There are some
great army builder possibilities as well. I don’t know if DST would be willing
to make Nazi soldiers, but they would work perfectly with the WW2 era Cap and
Invaders Minimates from a few years ago. If the line did really well, perhaps
we could even see vehicles, similar to what DST is currently planning for the
Aliens license.
4. The Beatles Minimates
There aren’t
a lot of Beatles toys out there. Due to a sculpting incident many years ago,
they will only allow toys to be made of their cartoon looks. Apparently one bad
sculpt of John Lennon was created, and due to that, no more
"realistic" Beatles toys are allowed. However, Minimates are stylized
toys to begin with, so perhaps a license agreement could be possible. I made a
set of customs from A Hard Day's Night that gives you an idea of what Beatles
Minimates could look like:
If their
position on toys ever changed, I would love to get a series of Minimate 4-packs
based on all of their different looks. Just off the top of my head you could
have sets from their first Ed Sullivan Show appearance, their Sgt. Peppers
outfits, and their Let it Be looks. And yes you could still do a Yellow
Submarine set. If all of those did well you could look at sets from A Hard Day's
Night, Help, and Magical Mystery Tour. An added bonus would be that we would
finally get Minimate instruments! And possibly the success of this line could
open the door for more music-based Minimates.
5. Groo the Wanderer Minimates
You might not have heard of Groo the Wanderer before, but his
comics have been published semi-regularly since the early 80's. It is a
comedy/fantasy series drawn by Mad Magazine's Sergio Aragonés. Groo is highly
skilled at fighting, but otherwise is incredibly stupid and accident prone. He has
extremely good intentions, but tends to cause chaos and mass destruction
wherever he goes. It is very funny and well written, and I have been reading Groo
comics for about 20 years.
The only
Groo toys to be produced were unarticulated PVC figures released around 2001
and some unpainted metal miniatures in 1986. Groo has a colorful, unique
universe that would translate very well to the Minimate style. I think the best
format for this license would be to start off with 2 different 4-packs, and
produce more 4-packs if sales were strong. I made a custom Groo Minimate
several years ago, but he really needs a sculpted nose to complete the look:
What are
your top 5 most wanted Minimate licenses?