Updated: See bottom of the page.
ToyHypeUSA is proud to present an exclusive interview with Scott Neitlich, also known as Toyguru and the man responsible for bringing Masters of the Universe Classics to life.
Scott left Mattel back in October 2014 to begin a new job at Jakks Pacific, where he will help launch a new adult collector-aimed line. More details on that in our New York ToyFair 2015 Coverage. For now, here is our exclusive interview!
ToyHypeUSA would like to thank Scott for taking the time to answer these questions and we look forward to Jakks Pacific reveals at New York ToyFair.
1. First off, congratulations on your new job at Jakks Pacific. How does your new job as Director of Marketing for boys action figures and collectors differentiate than your previous position at Mattel?
SCOTT: The biggest change is that at JAKKS Pacific as Director of Boys Action Figures and Collector I will be overseeing a lot more business including all of the large scale JAKKS action figures in 20”, 31” and 48” scales for some amazing brands including DC Superheroes, Star Wars, TMNT, Power Rangers, Godzilla and more as well as other JAKKS action figures lines such as the World of Nintendo lines.
I couldn¹t be more excited to continue to develop fantastic toy product for both kids and hard core collectors too. You will definitely see me in a similar role at conventions like NYTF and Comic Con, but now as a Director I¹ll be overseeing a larger number of product and toy lines. I couldn¹t be more excited! I have been in the toy industry for over 10 years but feel like I am just getting started!
2. Sometime after your departure, rumors were flying around that you will be working with Hasbro to develop G.I. Joe 6″ scale action figures. Is this bogus or were you ever in talks with Hasbro? This was also featured in one of our Wishlist Wednesday articles
–https://toyhypeusa.com/2014/12/10/wishlist-wednesday-hasbro-g-i-joe-6action-figure-line/
SCOTT: While I definitely appreciate all of the kind words in the article, this was alas just a rumor. My move was always to JAKKS. Once I saw there amazing line of large scale figures in 20², 31² and 48² for brands like DC Super Heroes, TMNT, Star Wars, Godzilla, Nintendo and more, I just couldn’t say no. It was and is an amazing opportunity and I am so thrilled to jump into these brands and styles!
3. Jakks Pacific had a great Dragon Ball Z line about 10 years ago. With a new movie coming out, any possible plans to continuing a DBZ line?
SCOTT: At this time JAKKS does not have the Dragon Ball Z license but thrilled you loved our previous offerings. Now just imagine what you will see going forward with brands like Nintendo, Star Wars, DC Superheroes, TMNT and more in our action figure portfolio!
4. Any collector site planned like Mattycollector for a collector-aimed line for DC, TMNT or another property at Jakks?
JAKK actually already offers many products direct to consumers and collectors on JAKKS.com. There will definitely be an opportunity to look at creating more specific collector offerings in the future. The best is yet to come! Fan forums, news pages and collector reveals are definitely something we are looking into getting out there to help fans interact directly with our design and marketing team.
5. Were you just as disappointed that the Masters of the Universe Mini’s 2015 subscription did not hit the minimum? Do you think that a MOTUC 2016 subscription might still happen even without you helping to push things forward next summer?
SCOTT: It is no secret I am a huge MOTU fan, and while I will not be working on this brand at JAKKS, I wish the MOTU team the best of luck with all of the future product offerings. One of the unique things about the Toy Industry is that it works 1-2 years ahead, so the 2015 MOTUC line was still one I developed and produced, I just won¹t be there to actually do the “sell in”. I also worked extensively on predevelopment and character selection on the 2016 Matty lines before making the move to JAKKS. So beyond that, I¹ll leave it to the new Matty team to advise on future offerings.
6. At New York ToyFair 2015 coming this February, will you be presenting on behalf of Jakks Pacific?
SCOTT: Absolutely! We are looking forward to presenting our annual JAKKS Collector event at NYTF to show off the latest offerings from some of our amazing lines like DC Super Heroes, Star Wars, TMBNT, Frozen, Godzilla, Nintendo and more! I will be there in person! I can¹t wait to see everyone!
7. Jakks has a lot of product aimed at children right now. Now that you’re on board, what can collector’s expect to see in the coming years? An example would be 6″ scale action figures, collector-aimed lines from a variety of properties?
SCOTT: While I can¹t divulge any specifics right now, it is no secret I am a huge toy collector and if you liked my previous work I think you will love what I hope to bring to all of the great brands and scales JAKKS has to offer.
8. Will you be working with sculptors such as The Four Horsemen or another company such as Boss Fight Studio or October Toys? Or will the products be sculpted in-house?
SCOTT: We will definitely be revving up our fan outreach at JAKKS which will include introductions and interviews with the full gambit of designers and sculpts who work on the amazing JAKKS lines such as the large scale 20² and 31² lines and our World of Nintendo line. So much is coming! Just you wait!
9. Without giving too much away, what do you hope to accomplish by the end of 2015 at Jakks Pacific?
SCOTT: What excited me the most about the move to JAKKS was the unprecedented brand offerings. Between Star Wars, Nintendo, TMNT, DC Superheroes, Godzilla and more there are so many amazing brands and scales to get my feet wet on that 2015 will only be the start of more and more amazing product. I am also thrilled to really kick off JAKKS fan relations into high gear and seeing our fans at NYTF, SDCC and more reaching out to our consumers to find out what they want to see next and helping to deliver on all of their wish lists!
10. You’ve said many times over at Mattel that without enough fan support (JLU, Ghostbusters Classics, DC Infinite Earths), collector-aimed lines cannot continue without hitting the minimum. If Jakks Pacific has collector-aimed products coming, how do they plan on advertising these compared to the child aimed toys?
SCOTT: I have learned a lot over my almost 10 years at Mattel and will definitely be working on more collector aimed initiatives. The exact executions aren¹t really something I can comment on this early, but you can expect to see A LOT of online interaction, live events and fan outreach programs to help get collectors and kids excited about all of the amazing JAKKS product coming out. It is true that product lines depend on fan and consumer support to continue and we will do our best to ensure all of our customers from the smallest child to the dedicated adult collector are looped in on what is in the hopper and how they can help let us know what is demanded and what to look for next!
11. At New York ToyFair 2015, what can fans look forward too and how much will be revealed?
SCOTT: As noted above, you can look forward to our annual NYTF Collector event with a sneak peak at the next few months of amazing JAKKS product. This will also be followed up by additional live events such as fan panels This will be followed up by additional live events such as fan pane at the summer conventions and more. You can definitely look forward to a whole new level of direct fan engagement and amazing collector product on the way! I couldn’t be more thrilled!
Update: Scott clarified what licenses and products he works on for Jakks Pacific:
As Director of Boys Action Figures and Collector I will be overseeing all the “large scale” Jakks Giants in 20″, 31″ and 48″ which includes Star Wars, DC heroes, Power Rangers, Godzilla, and more to come. I also oversee the World of Nintendo in all scales including 1″, 2.5″, 4&6″ (true scale) and 20″.