Fozzie Muppet Replica delayed

[Fozzie Bear]

I wish I knew how many sales they HAD to make for Fozzie to happen, because I would be one of those who would contractually agree to buy one in order to get one made. Maybe if they only need like 1500 or so they could get that many folks to contractually agree to buy it (or, include the number of pre-orders into that at least).

I'm losing my mind! I need Fozzie.

 

[frogboy4]

This is exactly the reason why Fraggle figures have taken so long to come to the marketplace. Retailers don't believe there's enough support for costly shelf space. I believe they are wrong, but these Muppet posers are a different story entirely. They are a very expensive hard sell. They really need to be seen in person to be desirable to anyone other than uber-fans.

I still have my issues with how Gonzo and Animal were photographed. Those unremarkable pictures definitely damaged sales – current and future. Compare these recent casual snapshots to the actual Gonzo and Animal images taken by MR's photographer that are being used to promoting the product. The very selling point is completely absent in these images and makes the marketing team's uphill battle much tougher.

They already have us fans, but a $500 Fozzie Bear isn't easy to unload even if he looks perfect. I am pulling for Fozzie. I feel my collection is incomplete without him. There's still time and MR must be antsy to get him selling in stores! What they really need is a few high profile storefronts to have the bear on display! My local comic store guy keeps asking me to bring in Gonzo and Animal, but I don't want to get the city grime all over them. We'll see.

I am thankful to MR, Travis and especially Terry for bringing us the sensational trio already on sale.

 

[MuppetCaper]

Here is the latest for all of you. Also, Travis is no longer with MR here is the post put up at MR for all of you to read.

http://masterreplicas.com/forum/showpost.php?p=42854&postcount=37

 

[muppetguy]

Oh my...

I read it and...I don't know what to say. Travis is no longer with MR. I wonder if he'd still come back to chat with us. Trav, if you're reading this, I hope all is well with you and your family.

As far as fozzie and other replicas.....I don't know what to make of their statement. They want Fozzie to be made but demand isn't needed and they hope the demand comes back....I am just very sad about all of this....I really am.

 

[Was Once Ernie]

I've known for a while now that Travis was gone, but it wasn't my place to say anything, although I desperately wanted to tell people.

As far as lackluster sales on Animal and Gonzo... I know many of you bought him and are happy, but I still insist that Gonzo is a sub-par product for a company that bills itself as "Master Replicas". I love the Muppets and I never bought Gonzo. In fact, my solution was to build my own. I'm getting pictures ready to share with everyone.

And Animal is about 95% there, which was good enough for me, but there are still major flaws. The jaw that won't close and the non-poseable eyelids are the two biggest, plus many people had to fix his pupils. These kind of things should not happen on high-end products like these. The people on this board are skilled enough to fix some of the flaws, but your average consumer isn't.

Whether the problem in sales was simply that the other characters just aren't as popular as Kermit, or whether the flaws stopped people from buying them, or a combination of both, I don't know. But with Travis gone, I seriously doubt we'll see any more Muppet replicas from Master Replicas, no matter what Customer Service says. There is no one left there to make sure Fozzie's done right, even if they were to find a factory to do him.

And there is more inside information I have that I am not at liberty to share, but let's just say, the chances of finding a factory are so remote, it would take a miracle at this point. (By the way, I never say "never". Anything is always possible... just not probable at this point.)

 

[muppetperson]

W.O.E. can you say anything more about other possible Companies taking over the line? I have noticed that sideshow toys are selling disney stuff now.

 

[Was Once Ernie]

W.O.E. can you say anything more about other possible Companies taking over the line? I have noticed that sideshow toys are selling disney stuff now.

All I can say right now is that it's possible, but lots of stars would need to align for it to happen.

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up this early, including mine.



P.S. The number has already changed, but the previous post was #777 for me, so maybe it'll turn out to be lucky!

 

[frogboy4]

A+ for effort and a solid B for execution, but grades don't count here.

First - I must state Travis has been the Muppets biggest supporter over at Master Replicas. It was always his desire to put out the best Muppet product they possibly could! I am very sad that he has left MR for whatever reason and wish him luck that will match his great efforts in the future. He's one of the good guys and very much deserves that.

About Fozzie - This is the first time that I have doubted the Bear's future. I always felt that mass producing a Muppet replica was an impossible task that would require too many sacrifices in quality. I believe that what MR produced was as close to the real thing that we could have gotten. An assembly line is a much different place than the Creature Shop. Even so, with a bit of customization my Muppet posers still have a special spark. I truly believe Fozzie could have been the best of them all.

The details in these things are everything and most of them were amazing. That makes the smaller errors stand out even more. Animal's mouth should close; he should have had a collar. Gonzo's nose should have just been molded in hollow plastic to allow for more true-to-life "looking" detail that the stocking-colored foam could not provide. It doesn't bug me anymore, but it is there. Too much time and expense went into the doomed foam research that made plastic impossible later. The pupils and eyelid shells on both of them should have been dyed. This was uncharted waters for a Muppet product. It was hard for a novice to make these posers look good right out of the box.

Lastly, the photographer has absolutely no place around Muppets! I don't blame retailers for not stocking and customers not buying these based upon the way they appeared in the dreadful images. It really doesn't take an artist to make these posers shine, but the official promotional material diminished these art pieces into cheap novelty snapshots.

Here's a snapshot of my posers missing their fuzzy pal.

 

[ElecMayhem]

Hey all,

I've been meaning to come here for a while to tell you that I am no longer with MR... Literally, three times I have written an explanation, and then closed my browser window, because somehow my explanation just seemed "off."

So here's the deal: I am only going to address this once, in this post, and then after this, I would prefer not to speak of it again. Master Replicas has made several staffing changes/cuts over the past few months, and a little over 4 weeks ago, my position was eliminated. There are no hard feelings, as I know that my departure was not pleasant or easy for ANYONE at the company. And I respect that difficult decisions have to be made in these tough economic times.

So, yeah, I am looking for a new gig, but of course I will still come by MC. I was here before I went to work for Palisades, and I will be around now.

What does any of this mean for Fozzie? No idea. I saw Tom's note, and I would take that at face value. Tom is a very nice, very honest guy -- and a good friend -- and I believe what he is saying. The company WANTS to make Fozzie... but you gotta admit, things are tough out there economically, so it might just be bad timing.

Anyway, like I said, I will be around. And if and when Fozzie comes out, I will be first in line to buy him.

Travis

 

[MuppetCaper]

So sorry to hear this Travis...all I can say is that I wish you and your family the best. Your very talented and I know that something will be coming up soon for you and even better!


Hang in there, and thanks for everything you have done for us.



MC~