thomas and friends mini series

Also in Canada I have finally seen the octopus Percy 7 pack at toys r us locations.

So has anyone heard if there's going to be a SDCC 2017 Exclusive MINIS set this year? I know Matty Collector has shut down but the line still seems popular enough. With the previous two years being DC focused, I'm wondering what we would see this year if anything? Maybe the start of a new crossover line?

in a way, im hoping not. last year was hard enough and i lost enough sleep as it was.

in a way, im hoping not. last year was hard enough and i lost enough sleep as it was.

Hoping there's no SDCC set or hoping for no new crossovers?

Now that I'm caught up with the DC trains, I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of there being more. It's real expensive, especially the sdcc sets and exclusive trains in playset and wheels. Just those 8 particular trains in those 4 sets cost me around $180. There's a ton and it sure seemed like they were stretching the line thin. How many different batman trains do we need? I'm ok with a new idea, I suppose. In a way, I'm not going to be hurt if the line dies down a bit. It's 300+ deep now. I'm definitely curious to know how long they will make them and how profitable they actually are.

no more SDCC. i do think with matty shut down, it might slow the CC exclusives, or even stop them. i know collectors of the thundercats line were angry when matty transferred that to a different company, as they had had issues with receiving items on time and there were complaints about the lack of quality and packaging.

i dont mind new crossovers, but i never want to go as deep as the DC line again. they really are scraping the barrel with this. how many DC characters do they expect their target audience to know?

no more SDCC. i do think with matty shut down, it might slow the CC exclusives, or even stop them. i know collectors of the thundercats line were angry when matty transferred that to a different company, as they had had issues with receiving items on time and there were complaints about the lack of quality and packaging.

i dont mind new crossovers, but i never want to go as deep as the DC line again. they really are scraping the barrel with this. how many DC characters do they expect their target audience to know?

Maybe I'm just in a small minority then. I liked the SDCC sets. I do agree that the DC line was really stretching it when it came to characters. Really only the first 20 or so would be recognizable to kids. The rest were geared towards the adult collector for sure but even then I question how many people actually had heard of some of the characters. So I guess Mattel/Fisher-Price hasn't quite decided on who their target audience is then. I'm personally leaning more towards the adult collector. I guess then one thing is that do you really need to have all the characters/trains you don't like or is more of a need to have them all no matter what? I hope this line continues for some time even though I am disappointed with the diminished quality of the newer ones. They really need to have the weights put back in them. I do hope they have another huge crossover line and not just one-offs like spongebob and Power Rangers. I like the TMNT ones but hoping that line grows a bit bigger. Would be cool to see something big like Star Wars, Disney or even using an existing Mattel toy line like Masters or the Universe (as I mentioned above. This line is more geared towards adults than kids). Anyways I'm all up to date with what has been released so far. Just need to get the Thomas from the Steelworks set. Here's hoping that we see more product added for 2017

I like the sdcc sets. They are really nice quality products and I'm happy to have them. It's just that they're still not something I want to be spending that kind of money on. Or, at least, continue to spend that kind of money on.

At least the money spent on them feels like I'm getting something interesting and unique, while buying something like the batcave playset just to get the clayface bill is much less satisfying for me.

I'm excited for the TMNT trains. Can't deny it. Just proves to your point, Mike, that they're mostly catering to the parents and adult collectors here. Might morphin Power rangers, 80s/90s turtles, every DC comic character ever. They know what they're doing.

dont get me wrong, i like the SDCC sets immensely. it was just getting them that was annoying. would have preferred them even being a store exlusive rather than event exclusive.

one thing i would like is something more gender neutral and small-kid friendly crossovers. with the exception of spongebob, all the crossovers have been with shows that revolve around fighting, with good guys and bad guys. thats one thing i like about thomas is the lack of violence, especially for the toddler/pre-schooler crowd. im not a prude, but i dont see the need for young kids to focus on that.
thats why disney would be good, or characters from other companies that wouldnt demand such high license fees. a series on world flags and capital cities would be awesome. not sure if this is even possible, but scented ones, or color changing. theres still loads they can do.

dont get me wrong, i like the SDCC sets immensely. it was just getting them that was annoying. would have preferred them even being a store exlusive rather than event exclusive.

one thing i would like is something more gender neutral and small-kid friendly crossovers. with the exception of spongebob, all the crossovers have been with shows that revolve around fighting, with good guys and bad guys. thats one thing i like about thomas is the lack of violence, especially for the toddler/pre-schooler crowd. im not a prude, but i dont see the need for young kids to focus on that.
thats why disney would be good, or characters from other companies that wouldnt demand such high license fees. a series on world flags and capital cities would be awesome. not sure if this is even possible, but scented ones, or color changing. theres still loads they can do.

Great ideas for new trains. Totally agree with you on more kid friendly/less violent themed. Love the ideas you have for other trains. Considering how many themes hot wheels have, there are like a million ideas still available. This may seem crazy but I even like the idea of regional exclusive trains. The tootsies are fun but if there were trains only avail in the UK, Japan, Australia ETC that would be cool. It's a good excuse to connect with fellow collectors for help tracking them down without paying brutal EBay prices.

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I like the sdcc sets. They are really nice quality products and I'm happy to have them. It's just that they're still not something I want to be spending that kind of money on. Or, at least, continue to spend that kind of money on.

At least the money spent on them feels like I'm getting something interesting and unique, while buying something like the batcave playset just to get the clayface bill is much less satisfying for me.

I'm excited for the TMNT trains. Can't deny it. Just proves to your point, Mike, that they're mostly catering to the parents and adult collectors here. Might morphin Power rangers, 80s/90s turtles, every DC comic character ever. They know what they're doing.

Totally agree with you about the playset exclusives. Specifically Clayface. Probably the most boring MINI they've made yet and made no sense as a villain in a playset. There are so many better characters they could have had. Also I'm really not super excited that they've made the same playset with the Steelworks theme now just to get another 'exclusive' MINI. Just think about that playset they announced at Toy Fair (the multi platform one) that's a lot of money to pay, if you just want the MINI. Looks fun but really only if you have several different Thomas brands of trains.