Horde Prime Figure Review
Pixel Dan got an early look at the new Masters of the Universe Classics figure of the Emperor of the Evil Horde. Horde Prime will be available on MattyCollector.com on June 15th, 2012.

Sounds like the price of a Masters of the Universe Classics figure is going to go up in 2013. When Scott “ToyGuru” Neitlich answered a question on the discussion boards about the diminished paint applications on the Horde Prime production figure compared to the prototype, he wrote:
The Horsemen tend to “overdeco” figures. Every figure in 2012 is delivering $22.00 worth of paint apps. In 2013 we are dramatically raising prices so we can afford more paint and accessories. If we wanted to deliver all the figures exactly as the 4HM painted the protos we would need to charge more and we already sold in the sub for 2012, so that is not an option. Legally we can’t raise prices on the sub after it is sold in. This is why we will start 2013 at higher prices.
Check out Poe Ghostal’s thoughts on the potential rise in toy prices along with more quotes from Mattel here.
It sounds like Mattel is having a tough time with its DC action figure license. It has officially announced the cancellation of the Young Justice 4-inch and 6-inch line. That doesn’t bother me too much. I have never really liked the smaller Young Justice figures. The DC Universe Classics line on the other hand was great. Unfortunately its second coming in the form of the troubled DC Universe All-Star line will die as well. Confirmation of its demise is supported by this reply posted by Matty in its forums:
“DC Universe is going away after 2012 and there’ll be one more wave of 4. In 2013, we’ll be relaunching our 6″ with complimentary offerings on Matty and at Mass. You guys will be able to complete your collection and I hope you’ll like what we are doing. We’ve taken lessons from DC Universe and Legacy. Overall, we need to adjust to retailers, consumers and what’s selling in volumes that can be supported.
As far as the character that we showed but haven’t released, most of them have been tooled so we’ll be looking for a way to release them in one form or another. However, I can’t 100% guarantee that.”
Poe Ghostal, a toy blogger who has written about toys for IGN.com and ToyFare magazine gives an excellent analysis of why Mattel has had trouble with the DC license recently. He quotes NoisyDvl5 of ItsAllTrue as saying the following:
“I am frustrated with Mattel, but I’m really frustrated with DC Comics. DC’s inability to market itself is what has brought about the Relaunch in the comics. DC’s inability to market itself is why Mattel has been reduced to selling figures online, directly to consumers while Hasbro is pumping out two scales of comic-based merchandise for Marvel.”
You can read the rest of his article here. I guess we’ll have to wait until 2013 to see a decently priced 6-inch DC action figure from Mattel sitting on the pegs of our local retail outlets.