On a regular basis, the gang over at Art Asylum compile questions from their fans and present them to DSTChuck in a segment they call Ask DST.

In the 67th installment, the topic of conversation is, of course, Minimates. Below are the highlights:

• No current plans to make separate Marvel army builders (Editor’s note: Not sure how the recently leaked Iron Man 2 army builders fit into that lack of plans.)
• Expect to see more flight stands in the future, but probably not as a stand alone piece.
• Stargate Minimates are under consideration (still), but no current plans.
• Beverly Hills Cop is still very much on hold.
• Minimates now come with a code slapped on their backsides due to new government requirements.
• No current plans for Star Trek (2009), Transformers, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, Dark Knight, Avatar, Watchmen, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, or Harry Potter, though at least some of that list has been considered/proposed before.
• At least one more wave of mini-flyers (Editor’s note: It’s hard to tell if this means the vehicles themselves or the BSG variety specifically.)
• Battlestar Galactica is no longer in development (Editor’s note: This suggests that the “one more wave” mentioned previously isn’t specifically the BSG flyers.)
• The Toys R Us deal allowed DST to attempt to sell the exclusives overseas, but no one picked up the line.
• No current plans for a new Professor Xavier. Chuck isn’t sure if the hover chair would be allowed.
• No Phoenix base or rose for Black Queen Jean.
• More plans for Ghost Busters, which has been doing pretty well up to this point.
• No plans for all ghost sets though.
• X-Men Evolution? “You never know.”
• All the Chef Duff Minimates were sold to the Charm City Cakes folks. Contact their store or website to see if they have more.
• Chuck can’t recall what the little white rectangle accessory is from the Silence of the Lambs box set (Editor’s note: General consensus amongst collectors suggests that its the case file that Clarice has with her during her Hannibal visits.)
• The spare arm in the T-800/John Connor set is supposed to be the arm they steal from Cyberdyne.
• After Terminator Salvation’s box office performance, plans for the T-2 line had to be altered. No plans for anymore Terminator 2 products (Editor’s note: I guess the upcoming vehicles don’t count?)
• No plans for A-Team of Magnum PI currently.
• The problem with Minimate licenses is that they usually don’t bring in the numbers that licensors want to see, meaning the line has to be shared with other formats, such as figures, banks, etc. Producing vehicles for a license can be rather costly for development, so DST has to pick their licenses carefully.
• No plans for Minimates based on Valve games currently.
• DST is working on a video game deal, however, though they likely won’t have anything to announce until Toy Fair.
• Looking for older Minimate properties? Best bet is to check one of the online retailers that stocks them, or eBay.
• Always a chance for more modern X-Force figures, but no current plans to fill the complete roster right now.
• No conscious effort has been made to shorten the neck peg on Minimates. If you’re suffering from this, its likely a factory defect.