I just really want the roosevelts, I can think of many others I would like to see but not so many that honestly fit the purpose of the line.

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Hi Everyone -

Thanks for starting this discussion thread. I really appreciate the comments and questions. I am hoping, if people like what we are trying to do, that they will back us:

(I recently posted a long reply on The Fighting 118th forum, and I am going to lift some text there. It's plagiarizing from myself, so no one should be offended.)

A little bit on me - I grew up in Rhode Island, and my aunt was a designer at Hasbro. She used to take me in there all the time; I was a real toy nut as a kid. I used to see the guys making GI Joe, and their long standing promise was to put my face on a Joe when I was old enough.

At least that was what was reported to me by my aunt. What do you know when you are a kid? When I went into the Marine Corps after college, that almost happened --- but that was literally as the line ended.

I have a deep love of toys in general and GI Joe in particular. After getting out of the Marine Corps, I was lucky enough to work in the industry, but on the other side of the country, at Mattel. I worked on a lot of collector stuff there, launching Matty Collector, relaunching MOTU, managing DCU Classics and so on. I even pushed for the DC line that was supposed to be four inches, but came out out at about mushy 3.5 inches, because I was a four inch fan. That was an epic corporate squabble - fighting over the right scale with my boss!

What Is This All About?

I was lucky enough to take a shot at my own company this year, and I wanted to do something that combined my passion for history, my love of toys, and my understanding of the boys' crisis in the United States.

(If you have not heard about the boys' crisis, I recommend reading about it. Boys are falling way behind in academic achievement and literacy in the United States.)

I think of what we are doing as a way of trying to be of service, through the free market. I do not have the temperament to be a classroom teacher, so this is what I came up with.

We are using Kickstarter, in the hope of replicating the Goldieblox experience. We are tracking well at the moment, but we need to continue to get the word out.

Answers To Specific Questions

1. This brand will definitely be multi-ethnic, to represent where American society is today.

2. Scientists will definitely be a part of this. We have not decided which ones yet. That being said, if I learned one thing from working on collectible toys, it's to let the fans drive decisions. We will probably do a lot of polling and we will ask for a lot of feedback.

3. We will do a mix of living and past leaders.

4. I can see us doing all the Roosevelts - inlcuding TR Jr! He was truly amazing.

I hope this is helpful, and please send me any comments or questions. I really appreciate the interest, and I hope that you like what we are doing enough to support us.

Thanks again,

Jim

Most interesting indeed to hear from one of 'our guys' at Mattel, thanks for the info. What kind of shipping schedule are you aiming for with this line; one figure a year, three figure waves every six months?

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Actually 12-16 figures a year, so 6-8 for next fall. Depends on the success level of the Kickstarter. We plan to ship for next fall onshelf.

Thing of this is, almost anybody historically prominent, living or dead, is going to be controversial to someone. Personally, I wouldn't have the slightest problem with Columbus, but we've got a couple of comments in opposition to him already. What about General Ulysses S. Grant? But then, what about General Robert E. Lee?

My recommendation is, if this line really takes off -- buy the figures you want, and don't worry about the rest that you don't like for whatever reason. And don't given anyone else a hard time if they do.

Obviously, but that wasn't my point. I'm just saying that if Mr Jim wants the line to be successful, *he* shouldn't pick controversial individuals to do. That's an entirely different question from what item a customer should choose to buy or why. I'd *love* to have a Hitler figure, but we all know there's zero chance of it happening at retail since simply manufacturing such a fig is seen as an endorsement of Nazi ideals.

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If we are offering suggestions, here are some of mine:

John Levitow
Roy Benavidez
Audie Murphy

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Lol, I read that first name as John Lovitz at first. I was all, 'WTF did he ever lead except himself into obscurity?'

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I just support this (and shared it on Facebook). Please support this and spread the news. With only five (5) days left, they will need all the support they can get!

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Thanks for the reminder, just put my pledge in. Hope it rallies and succeeds.

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Cancelled

Damn, I was literally the last guy to throw in. Sorry to jinx it, y'all. :-[

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So what's the story, Jim? This a true cancelation or just a pause/reset and you'll relist soon?

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He said that it was just a pause/reset and it will be back later.

Yah, I finally got around to checking my email to see he'd answered me nearly last week, lol. I'm wondering what he's changing, and why it didn't look like it was gonna pull through.

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