Mattel Launches Collectors Site July 28, 2008

Mattel's New collectors site, MattyCollector.com goes Live at 11:00am P.S.T. on July 28, 2008! I don't know what to tell you folks! I interviewed one of the people who deals with MattyCollector.com and he told me 8:00am E.S.T. I went to him yesterday before leaving Comic-Con and he then tells me it is Noon E.S.T. Now, I go to the site and it states 11:00am P.S.T.

Matty has grown-up and is now your source for News updates, Collectibles and Vintage Toy Galleries! Membership is something we all like...FREE! Visit the link above and register to be part of a New age of Mattel collecting.

On July 28, 2008 you'll be able to purchase the four Comic-Con Exclusives...

1. Disney/Pixar's Cars Lightning Storm McQueen















2. DC Universe Classics Lobo



















3. DC Universe Justice League Giganta



















4. Masters of the Universe Classics King Grayskull



















Something I've been a strong advocate for will be implemented on MattyCollector.com, Purchase Limits. Members will be able to purchase a maximum of 2 of each item. This will be great for collectors, and help keep dealers from buying up massive quantities.

After this initial release, expect New items in October. There will be NO New Cars items UNTIL February of 2009. The four main lines that will be featured on MattyCollector.com will be...

1. Disney Pixar's Cars
   
2. Masters of the Universe Classics
   
3. Justice League Unlimited
   
4. and DC Universe

News Updates will be posted by Matty every 2 weeks after the initial launch.

Some other things you may like to know are...

• Items will not necessarily be "Limited Editions."
  
• Items released on MattyCollector.com will not appear in stores.
  
• Say you miss an item that had a run of 1000, Mattel may run another 1000 with a slight variation in packaging to give you a chance to get the item, but help hold collector value of the original with the variant.
• There may be a Membership for ongoing releases such as Masters of the Universe due to a monthly release.

Digest all this great News and take a look at MattyCollector.com on July 28, 2008!

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Comic-Con El Dia Dos!

San Diego is warm, inviting and all abuzz with Comic-Con! The morning news had extensive coverage today. The local coverage spoke a lot about fearing the convention would be moved to L.A. or Vegas due to it getting so big. I believe I heard the head man of Comic-Con say they had a contract through 2010 to stay in San Diego. I've also heard talk about a move in the crowds. Time will tell.

I can tell you that most of the people working on the event, don't know what's going on and how to direct you. The organization has been average at best. The food vendors are pathetic for such a large and well-known convention. All I've seen is pretzels, cookies and crappy overpriced sandwiches for $8.00! I'm dumbfounded by a lack of more and high quality food! It is the worst part of what I've encountered.

Ok, let's get on with some cool stuff! Today I spent the morning at the Mattel booth. I interviewed Martin Arriola, Senior Manager of Product Design, who heads up Mattel's design team for Disney/Pixar's Cars die cast toy line! I'm going to write an entry all about Martin and his great insight later. I also spoke to Ryan Mansour who is the Brand Manager of the Cars line. I talked about things, you the fan, are hungry for...A great Display Case, Miniature Scenery to complement your play sets, and setting limits on their new MattyCollector.com site which debuts on Monday, July 28, 2008! I'll discuss more about MattyCollector.com later as well!

I'll tell you what is exciting about the future of the Cars line for us as collectors...John Lasseter! Martin told me that John has been developing this line like the fan of great toys he is! John wants to create EACH AND EVERY character in scale and quality! This way we as collectors can recreate Radiator Springs to Pit Row in die cast toys and play sets! That's been my hope as a collector! I've been envisioning the day I will setup the entire town and the race track as my first venture into a "Railroad" set type display! Something I've been inspired by Walt Disney's passion of Trains and model Railroads to do!

There's a lot to come, and I guarantee, that you'll be beyond excited!

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Comic-Con Day One on Day Two

A Short entry to report my lack of a report yesterday. I hadn't slept in 24 hours, my plane was delayed from Orlando to L.A. by 2 hours. That delay in turn made miss my connecting flight to San Diego. The second chance to catch a connecting flight was missed by 1 minute. Finally, I caught a flight and my 6-1/2 hour journey to San Diego turned out to be a 10 hour journey! I had just enough time to check in to my hotel, get a super delicious In and Out burger and get to the Comic-con around 3:10pm. I was stunned at how many people were there and the event didn't open until 6pm! It took an hour and a half to get my Press Credentials, the useless "Elite" staff hired to direct and manage the crowd was useless and didn't know anything. The crowd didn't know anything.

Finally, I got aggressive and called my PR contact for Mattel so I didn't have to stand in a line with thousands of other people. Yippee! That was the first thing to go well for the day! I ended up being fifth in line to buy "Lightning Storm McQueen!" Since, I can't figure out how to put a caption under the picture, it depicts, "The calm before the Lightning Storm!" I got 20 cases and, just messing with you, I got a number of cases and got that important mission over with! While making my purchase, I met my counterpart who writes and publishes Take5aDay! He will remain anonymous because that's how he chooses to publish, and we became fast friends.

The lines and crowd were insane as to be expected and I was utterly exhausted by the end of the night. Oh, I was also one of those people you laugh at because they fall. On the way back to my car, I was in a crowd (go figure), waiting for the light to change and stepped into a small hole and took a nice spill on the sidewalk. I jumped up and acted ok, but was banged up pretty good. What a day! Went back to the hotel and couldn't do a thing but take out my contacts and go to sleep. So, that was Day One on Day Two!

http://CarsDieCastToys.Blogspot.com

Publisher's Comic-Con 2008 Adventure!

I leave for San Diego in less than 2 days! I'm as excited as can be, as both a fan, and a fan site publisher! I'm still checking to be sure I know where to go, and what I need to do, as I attend my First Comic-con. My professional goals are clearly in my head, but the fun and impromptu items are dizzying. I can attend this party, go to that screening, setup interviews with these stars, and so much more! Once I get my bearings with the logistics of parking and where things are, I'm sure I'll settle into a nice flow and enjoy things beyond my expectations. I'm trying to be certain I have my laptop ready technically. I want to be able to write and update all of you while I'm at the convention. I'm still trying to figure out parking and making purchases. I just know it will be a lot of fun! My focus will be on Mattel and Hot Wheels concerning interviews and product info, but will add other items of interest if it makes sense to publish it. For now, I'm off to pack!

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

You'll Find 'Em, When You Aren't Looking!

New releases have been slow to come. Driving around to multiple stores doesn't make sense due to gas prices and the unlikelihood of finding the Cars you want. But, today I went into Walmart not expecting anything, and there was Van and Luke Pettlework staring me in the face! I got that excited rush we collectors get when we find something tough to get! I even saw the new three packs with Tow, Race Official Tom and Al-Oft. Plenty of Gold Mia and Tias as well. At least there's more and more showing up on the racks. Comic-con is in a week and after that we will see plenty of New Releases!

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Mater & Lightning Take Shop with Doc

For those of you who also collect Disney Pins...here's a rare Cars release as part of the Annual Epcot Event running from September 5-7, 2008! The theme this year is "Pin Trading University!" I previewed the pins at the Animal Kingdom event in April and they are some of the best in years. Just as in high school, Mater and Lightning take shop class as one of their electives being taught by Doc. It is a Limited Edition of 750, and is a pin on pin design that is supposed to have sculpted elements. That means Free-D rubber typically. So, their tires my have a 3-D effect. It will be an average sized pin measuring approximately 1.5 inches tall by 1.85 inches wide. It will retail for $12.95, and can ONLY be obtained if you are a paid attendee, and have been awarded it through an RSP (Random Selection Process). There's still time to register if you're interested at this link Pin Trading University Event with admission costing $115/person. Theme park admission is required and not included.

I've personally attended every Pin Celebration at Epcot since the start. The event has been everything from a mess to great! Beyond Disney's organization of the event, you will make the event an ultimate success based on how you look at things. If you go there and are sociable, take in the event activities, experience all that Epcot has to offer, eat good food and relax, then you'll go away happy! If you just go there and sit on your butt, and take little to no initiative, then you'll likely go home unhappy. I've been amazed at how little people enjoy the things Epcot has to offer. Many just sit at a table all day and try to trade pins. But, as the saying goes, "To each, his own."

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Mattel Collectors Club - Rumor or Reality

I've read rumors on a number of sites claiming Mattel is going to launch a FREE Collectors Club. I've searched and searched and can't find anything to support this assertion. I've been contacted by the PR firm that handles Mattel due to my covering the Comic-con, and the Press Release I received didn't mention the launch of a Collectors Club. I will certainly explore this further on Monday, and inform readers about any verified news as I get it. I will have a definitive answer by July 23, 2008.

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Disney Pixar Cars Movie Trivia

I watched Cars yesterday for about my 10th time, and made some notes so I could test just how much of a fan you really are! So, let's have some fun and see how well you know the answers without watching the movie. Post them to this thread and I'll reveal the answers in a few days!

1. What's the "Kings" real name? Answer: Strip Weathers
   
2. What's the name of the track the Dinoco 400 is run at? Answer: Motor Speedway of the South
   
3. How many laps are completed when Lightning blows his first tire? Answer: 399
   
4. What does RSN stand for? Answer: Racing Sports Network
   
5. What does Lightning Storm McQueen fire his missels at in his daydream? Answer: Spark Plug Creatures
   
6. What does the license plate say on the rusted car in Lightning's Rust-eze ad? Answer: Eville
   
7. What style of music is the Rust-eze jingle styled after? Answer: Polka
   
8. What kind of truck does Mack make faces in while driving to California? Answer: An Oil Truck
   
9. How many tickets did Harv tell Lightning he was alloted for friends for the tie-breaking race in California? Answer: 20
   
10. Finally, What was the name of the song and artist that DJ played to put Mack to sleep? Answer: Songbird by Kenny G
    

I personally was surprised about the King question. Never even noticed it after watching the movie a number of times. So, how well do you know the answers?

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/

Subscribe & What's This Blog Called

New Features are added all the time, and finally a simple button was added by Blogger to allow readers to Subscribe to New Posts and New Comments! You'll see the Subcribe to Alternator Valley Buttons on the left just below our Welcome Statement. You can choose what you want and you'll be notified when New items are posted!

While I'm at it, let me ask you a few important questions...What do you feel this blog is called? From the start, I named it, "Alternator Valley." The URL however, is www.CarsDiecastToys.Blogspot.com. How do you refer to it? Do feel it should be one or the other?

http://carsdiecasttoys.blogspot.com/