I’ve been a fan of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe toy line since I was three years old. The minute I first saw He-Man, and most importantly, Skeletor on my parent’s 24 inch TV I was mesmerized. Some kids outgrew their passion for all things Eternian, but I never did. In 2008, Mattel revealed plans for a new Masters of the Universe line. Dubbing it Masters of the Universe Classics, they advertised a line of action figures that would marry the vintage feel of the figures with modern day sculpts and scale, and would draw on all Masters of the Universe media for their character choice. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement.

     Later that year, Mattel made the decision to offer a subscription service for these toys. To entice potential subscribers, Mattel promoted the subscription as the perfect way for fans to guarantee that they get every figure produced for the line. I signed up right there for more subscriptions than I care to admit to, as did many fellow collectors.  Over the next five years, Mattel pushed the subscription model more and more, always reminding fans that this was the best way to get all the Masters of the Universe Classics offerings. As they added items into the line, or made convention exclusive figures, Mattel was always kind enough to put these items up on their website, and to give subscribers first crack at them. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was greatly appreciated.

     This year Mattel revealed that three of their highly demanded characters would be made into action figures. The only down side, they would only be available to attendees of the Power-Con comic convention, and in “very limited” quantities, even there.

     While I appreciate everything Mattel has done to get these figures made, and the myriad of changes they have made very recently to listen to their customers demands, I can’t help but feel this is a slap in the face to myself and many other completist collectors who have supported this line since its infancy.

     Collecting toys is first and foremost supposed to be fun. Taking something everyone wants and only allowing people who have the time and money to go to a specific convention at a specific time excludes the majority of your customer base. Yes, if we want it badly enough, we know that eBay will have them for our buying pleasure, but with the exorbitant prices exclusives comment on the secondary marker (often times four times their retail value and up) that option too is simply not available for many collectors. This tends to take the fun right out of collecting these toys.

     What I am asking for is for Mattel to cease the practice of offering exclusive toys to attendees of conventions without making them available to the general public (or at the very least subscription holders) as well. It would allow them to sell more toys, allow collectors to get the toys they want, and most importantly, make collecting toys fun again.