Scott “ToyGuru” Neitlich answers your Castle Grayskull questions

Friday, October 26th, 2012 by Pixel Dan

Scott “ToyGuru” Neitlich was nice enough to answer a selection of questions that were compiled here on Pixel-Dan.com and over at He-Man.org! Click through for his answers!

From Scott:

I’m so excited to see we have passed the 50% mark on the preorder! Don’t stop now. It will only HELP get the most amount of resources for the Castle if we can hit our min well before the deadline. If you are waiting for the last day (Nov 12) or anything like that, I would highly recommend placing your order as soon as possible. Holding off won’t help us, but if we can hit our minimum as soon as possible it always helps make the case for how demanded this item is! To all of our fans, please help spread the word. We all want this Castle to happen but we can’t do it without the minimum order. So if you are on the fence in anyway, now is the time to head on over to Mattycollector.com and preorder your very own Castle Grayskull!

1. When you announced Castle Grayskull you said it would be based on Mark Taylor’s prototype and mentioned the elongated mouth. The visuals on the B-sheet however are heavily inspired by the vintage boxart and the license guide. Is that the definitive look now or can we still expect to see the protruding snout and stalactite teeth from the prototype incorporated in the final design?

It is still a work in progress. Ideally we do want to lean more towards the prototype in the actual sculpt.

2. Since the castle is still in development and nothing has been set in stone yet, would you consider throwing in a few Filmation elements to convince some of the undecided Filmation fans to pre order such as snap on teeth to give it a more Filmation look?

That would be an awesome idea and I’m happy to pass it on. Right now we can’t commit to anything beyond what is shown on the blueprints but we are hoping the blueprints represent the minimum that will be in the castle, with as many surprises as possible that can be added in!

 3. Will the Power Sword unlock the Jawbridge and what is the exact dimension of the main doorway?

The doorway is about 8.4 inches tall and 5.3 inches wide. At this point we don’t know if the sword will physically will unlock the door but we hope at least it will fit into a slot next to the door to have fantasy play of using it as a “key”.

4. Will the color scheme be in line with the classic toy and Point Dread, or will it be more like the 2002 playset/current MOTUC Grayskull stands?

Our plan is to use the vintage toy and prototype as the basis for the deco.

5. Could we get a better idea/description of the Wind Raider stand/attachment? And could you make it so the Wind Raider attaches to the top of the castle as well?

We can’t guarantee a landing pad on top of the castle right now as that is not in the approved blueprint. The way it currently works is there is a triangle wedge piece (seen on the blueprints) that fints between the two sides when opened. There is a notch in this piece that the Windraider stand will plug into. So the WR is parked “inside” the Castle right now. We will certainly explore the possibility of a Point Dread landing zone, but that is not guaranteed to be part of the set (at this time).

6. Will this be sculpted to allow for a possible Point Dread attachment at a later date?

Yes, we are thinking ahead on this, but there is no guarantee we will get to a Point Dread.

7. Could you talk more about the secret passageway out tot he second floor ledge. Will it be accesses by both the little staircase and the secret passage?

The idea is to have a rotating brick wall (like a spooky haunted house bookcase if you will) that leads out onto the ledge that can be opened to enter the second floor. Hope that clarifies!

8. Will you be tooling the throne in a way that it can easily be repurposed later with minor modifications as Zodac’s chair? How about it being able to seat the Sorceress due to her wings?

We haven’t worked out these exact details but both are being taken into consideration!

9. How is the flag on top going to be produced? Cloth, plastic, or simply a sticker like the original?

Likely plastic but this is not 100% set yet.

10. Was the height of the levels in the cardboard version final?

They were approximate. The foam model is just for scale and does not represent final product.

11. Will the orb chamber be big enough for a figure or two to stand in? And will it have an orb stand included or will we need to use the one that came with TOD Sorceress?

No. The chamber is for the orb to be “hidden in” it is not large enough to be a “war room” if you will. Although I’m hoping you can maybe fit a figure meditating or something in a sitting position! (Note from Dan: Scott also mentioned on a recent recording of Roast Gooble Dinner [which has not gone live yet] that the Orb Holder is included, and is a bit shorter than the one that comes with TOD Sorceress.)

12. Could you add a chamber to house the Sword of Power and the Sword of Protection?

We are looking into some way to display these. Perhaps wall mounted but nothing locked in yet. Still too early.

13. What happened to the abyss diorama that was surrounding the castle in the vintage prototype? This was one of the arrows during the Power-Con presentation.

It is something we want to try and include but we’d first like to make sure we can get everything else. I suppose you can say this is last priority over things like the throne, the dungeon and the computer etc… We can’t guarantee the playmat right now.

14. One of the best things about the original MOTU playsets was that they also functioned as a storage unit for the MOTU action figures. Approximately how many MOTUC action figures will be able to be stored in the new MOTUC Castle Grayskull?

Honestly, I haven’t measured and it is hard to do so on the foam model. We’ll know more when and if we can move forward with sculpting.

15. Will the box art feature a new painting by Rudy Obrero or another artist? And could that painting also be a cool poster?

Yes, we are hoping Rudy will do the box art!

16. How about including a Check List poster like the vintage? It would be a great way to have a master visual list of everything released thus far and to hang on your wall!

Also a cool idea. Nothing set yet but this would be easier than including Point Dread if you will!

17. Will there be a bio for the castle?

Yes, and it was written at the time of all the other bios! (Snake Mountain too!)

18. Because some fans are afraid of billing and shipping issues that has plagued the line, will th e My Sub page go up soon? And will you offer a DHL shipping option for Grayskull?

DHL will not be available but the my sub page should be up in a matter of weeks at this point!

19. In relation to the My Sub page, if our credit cards expire next year, will there be a preorder page or something similar so we can change our credit card information for the Grayskull charge?

Yes, you should have no problem changing your order details if needed. (like your address if you move)

20. Will multiple Grayskull orders by one customer be combined to save on shipping?

Yes we can combine, but we don’t know how that will affect cost to ship.

21. The statement on Matty reads “One last thing… because this is a work-in-progress, features may be added or removed from the proposed design, but we can’t confirm anything now.” However, at NYCC you said that nothing would be cut only added. Is the statement on Matty a legal issue just to cover your bases? Or was your comment made prior to the Matty statement being drafted and we may actually face features being cut?

We want to put as much as we can into the Castle but legally we need to note details like this.

22. When you order a Grayskull and it says NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES, does this also mean there is no way to return a defective or shipping damaged item if you had used a trackable method? If there is a way, what will it entail in terms of cost to the customer?

If you have a defective product you can get it replaced, but you can’t exchange it for money or another different toy.  

Click HERE to Pre-Order Castle Grayskull! We have until November 12th, 2012 to meet the minimum!