Premium DNA Shows Off 6" Battletoads Figures - But Who Is Premium DNA?

by Jay Cochran
April 3, 2021
This past week, the company Premium DNA started showing off images for their new line of 6” Battletoads figures which actually were first announced back in July 2020.

As I report this, Premium DNA has shown three of the six figures coming in the first wave which includes Zitz, Rat Bones and Porka Pig (see images below).

Besides Battletoads, we have seen Premium DNA has been taking pre-orders for Madballs and Barnyard Commando’s. Beyond that, they’ve announced they have the licenses to do figures for other properties such as Earthworm Jim and Clay Fighter.

So who exactly is Premium DNA? Well, they are a fairly new company started a year or so ago by the guys behind Megalopolis Toys, Ben and Matt Westover.

When Premium DNA was first launched around June 2020, it seemed to be an extension of Megalopolis Toys. All the press releases for Premium DNA products were sent out from Megalopolis Toys. You can even see in their first press release that it was titled MEGALOPOLIS TOYS TO INTRODUCE MADBALLS™ AND BARNYARD COMMANDOS™ RETRO ACTION FIGURE LINE.



As I understand it, Ben and Matt had been selling toys through their retail business Megalopolis but wanted to get into the manufacturing side of things, so they started Premium DNA to do this. You can hear Ben Westover talk about this in an interview he did with Pixel-Dan last July.



Here is a second press release they put out in July, and note Ben Westover is listed as the Creative Director/Co-Founder of Megalopolis.



Now, it’s not much of a secret that 2020 was not a good year for Megalopolis Toys. All it takes is looking at the 208 complaints filed against them on the Better Business Bureau website or looking at the Community Section of their own Facebook page to get an idea of what’s been happening. There have even been indications and rumblings that Entertainment Earth, in their capacity as a distributor, is suing Megalopolis. I have no idea what the current status of that is. You can see the docket filing here.



If you are wondering, Toy Overlord, Inc. is another name used by Megalopolis.



Ben and Matt have made some attempts to publicly address some of the problems with fulfilling orders. They did an interview back in late September, again with Pixel-Dan about it.



In November, they announced new policy changes being made to their site via their Facebook page. How effective any of this has been, well I will let you make your own determination about that.

Getting back to Premium DNA. In recent days, there seem to be attempts to distance Premium DNA from Megalopolis Toys, a move I suppose you can understand from their perspective. On their various social media pages, they have been telling people simply the two are separate companies.



I suppose on paper that likely is true. But Ben Westover still lists himself on LinkedIn as being the Lead Creative at Premium DNA Toys. Matt Westover lists himself on LinkedIn as President/CEO at Megalopolis: City of Collectibles.

The Premium DNA website appears to still be run on the same site as Megalopolis Toys.



So while technically the two companies might be listed as separate entities on paper, they still seem very much intertwined with one another to me, and I’ve seen no kind of formal or even informal announcement that any significant changes with the management structure for Premium DNA has happened.

Does that mean you shouldn’t get any of these new action figures said to be coming from Premium DNA? That is a question only you can answer for yourselves. However, there are other options to secure these figures other than ordering directly from Premium DNA or Megalopolis if you decide you want to purchase them. Places like BigBadToyStore have been offering pre-orders for the Premium DNA products, and from what I understand they will be offering the Battletoads for pre-order sometime in May. Of course, if for whatever reason Premium DNA isn’t able to deliver on the final product for any of these figures, pre-orders would be canceled. If you go with a second-party vendor like BBTS however, your chances of easily getting a refund become much greater. I won’t personally 100% vouch for anyone outside my personal control, but I’ve never known BBTS to not refund someone their money when an order with them gets canceled.

Note for the sake of transparency: Megalopolis Toys has previously been a sponsor on TNI which simply means they purchased ad space to promote their business on our sites. They ceased being a sponsor in early September 2020. BBTS is a current sponsor on TNI.
Image 1 of 10
1 of 10
Image 2 of 10
2 of 10
Image 3 of 10
3 of 10
Image 4 of 10
4 of 10
Image 5 of 10
5 of 10
Image 6 of 10
6 of 10
Image 7 of 10
7 of 10
Image 8 of 10
8 of 10
Image 9 of 10
9 of 10
Image 10 of 10
10 of 10




Comments...

Last 10 comments - ( Read All Posts )
JayC - 2022-04-02 @ 1:42 pm
On 3/31/2022 at 11:49 PM, Satam said:

BINGO

My guess is your right, as in to protect themselves legally as much as possible, but at the same time how likely any kind of law suit would or will happen IMO also seems fairly unlikely to me when you consider the cost it would require to hire lawyers and such to sue, and that most people likely at most lost $100 or less. I could be wrong because IDK how many people in the end didn't get their stuff and didnt get their money refunded. I know some people did but again no idea how many.

As for going through EE. Well Megalopolis as a etailer is not longer a thing. So Again complete speculation on my part but being both parties had gone to court over this "miscommunication" my guess is this is part of whatever settlement came about from that between the two parties. Whether its something the court ordered or whether its something the two parities decided to settle out of court on IDK.

It also would seem to suggest to me anyway that EE perhaps wasn't completely blameless in the issues Megalopolis had.

Satam - 2022-04-01 @ 3:49 am
5 hours ago, JimmyTime said:

I would go as far as guessing the reason you need to individually sign up and opt in for the coupon is to opt out of a possible class action lawsuit by taking a form of compensation from them.

BINGO

Wade_the_Great - 2022-03-31 @ 10:55 pm

It would have been nice to get a refund for the over a hundred dollars I spent.

The Mad Bubbler - 2022-03-31 @ 10:55 pm

I'm really curious as to what happened. Megalopolis ripped off hundreds of customers (at least), and even if there were some issues with EE involved, they still lied, communicated poorly, or not at all, and ultimately stole from a bunch of people. As far as I know, they have not settled with any of those customers since ceasing operations under the "Megalopolis" name, and shifting their focus to the Premium DNA company. I know they also owed EE a bunch of money. This just seems like a weird turn of events.

51 minutes ago, JimmyTime said:

20% of $400 is nowhere near close to the$231.95 these people stole from me. Nor does it fix the personal embarrassment of having gone from 4 gifts for a family member for christmas to zero gifts.

This doesn't even address the lack of in-stock figures for both online and in-person stores right now. I hope there's something in-stock that you want before June 15th.

I would go as far as guessing the reason you need to individually sign up and opt in for the coupon is to opt out of a possible class action lawsuit by taking a form of compensation from them.

Yeah... I wonder if there is some kind of legal protection involved in them doing this... it's weird that it's through EE.

JimmyTime - 2022-03-31 @ 10:02 pm

20% of $400 is nowhere near close to the$231.95 these people stole from me. Nor does it fix the personal embarrassment of having gone from 4 gifts for a family member for christmas to zero gifts.

This doesn't even address the lack of in-stock figures for both online and in-person stores right now. I hope there's something in-stock that you want before June 15th.

I would go as far as guessing the reason you need to individually sign up and opt in for the coupon is to opt out of a possible class action lawsuit by taking a form of compensation from them.

JayC - 2022-03-31 @ 7:41 pm

Today I received this email from Toy Overlord Inc. who with their etailer site Megaloplis was at one time a sponsor on this website. The email stated the following:"Entertainment Earth and Megalopolis were separately founded out of a love for collectibles and a passion for serving the collector community. Beginning in early 2020, Toy Overlord INC/Megalopolis expanded its buying relationship with Entertainment Earth Distribution to better serve the collector community. As numerous factors began to impact the global supply chain due to COVID-19, challenges arose. During this period, miscommunications occurred between EE and TO as both navigated the new challenges. Though completely unintentional, the miscommunications led to TOs customers having an ultimately poor experience. Both parties regret that this occurred and working together, the parties have identified the cause of the issues and reached a confidential resolution. The lessons learned have helped improve operations so that the collector community will be better served."

That email was then followed up by a second one that stated the following:"In follow up to the notice that Entertainment Earth and Toy Overlord have resolved their dispute, both companies are excited to inform you about a coupon code offer for Entertainment Earth products that is being extended solely to those certain customers such as yourself.Here are the terms and steps to opt-in for a coupon code:1. The coupon code is good for 20% off any in-stock product up to $400.00 (US Dollars)when purchased online at entertainmentearth.com2. Reply to this email within fifteen (15) days to confirm that you consent to opt-in for thecoupon code, and thus, for Toy Overlord to send your name and email address toEntertainment Earth for the creation of your unique code.3. Toy Overlord will send a list of opted in customers to Entertainment Earth, andEntertainment Earth will verify and send to Toy Overlord the unique code for each optedin and qualified customer.4. Toy Overlord will send you the coupon code.5. The Coupon Code will expire on a date approximately sixty (60) days from the date thecode is delivered to you.6. You may not share the code with anyone. The code will only be good for one redemption.Thus, once the code is used, it will no longer be valid.NOTE: Toy Overlord and its affiliates shall not be responsible for any claims, losses, damages or other liability of any kind in connection with the redemption of the coupon code or the delivery or use of any products obtained therewith. Thus, for the avoidance of doubt, Toy Overlord makes no representations or warranties of any kind, and any terms and conditions in connection with the redemption of the coupon code and purchase of any products from Entertainment Earth shall be strictly in accordance with Entertainment Earths terms and conditions."

It should be noted Entertainment Earth is a current sponsor of the site. I reached out to both parties to see if I could obtain any additional details. As I post this I haven't heard back from Toy Overlord Inc. and all Entertainment Earth was willing to say is that the emails are legit.The coupon code appears to be a way to help compensate those Megalopolis customers who had problems with their orders during the time of the stated above "miscommunications" took place.In the email about the discount code it says it was only sent to certain customers, but I never had any order issues with them so it's unclear to me why I was sent the offer. It may be they are just sending it to anyone who purchased something from them during the period the "miscommunications" took place. If you are someone who had a problem with Megalopolis but didn't get an email from them and want to take advantage of their offer, then I would recommend contacting them.

EvilHayato - 2021-04-21 @ 1:57 am
2 hours ago, Roadpigmaster said:

Thank you man... I personally like the Toads figures... I may get only the two toads and not the bad guys.??

no problem, happy to help. I was only ever going to be getting the toads but those prices and lack of assurance on anything makes it a dead deal for me. Im so surprised they dont even display them in any kind of posing which is super odd. Its also weird about the bicep swivel and if there even is any since the figs pictured look to be painted over those joints. What really sucks is that they are made to order only and basically you either pay them and get something that could be crap or wait it out and see others get it and see how they are andnot be able to get them.

chickenfeetrfun2eat - 2021-04-20 @ 11:58 pm

Those prices...ouch. Good luck to the people pre-ordering this line. No sarcasm here.

Belmont13 - 2021-04-20 @ 11:50 pm

The figures don't look bad but I'm not a big enough fan of the franchise to pay that much for these plus the whole trust issue.

Roadpigmaster - 2021-04-20 @ 11:47 pm
4 hours ago, EvilHayato said:

here ya gohttps://premiumdna.toys/

Thank you man... I personally like the Toads figures... I may get only the two toads and not the bad guys.??

Post Your Comment Now! (membership required)


FIGURES SHOPPING ONLINE


Search Online Stores for Battletoads

Shopping links on this site may generate revenue when a purchase is made.
Toys Shopping Oniine


More




REVIEWS

Toy Photography

Entertainment

Customs

DC Comics

This site uses cookies for site configuration, advertising, and analysis. By using this site you accept our policies - Read Full Site Policy OK
Sign Up For The TNI Newsletter And Have The News Delivered To You!
SOCIAL NETWORKS

ToyNewsI MarvelousNews Tformers JediInsider
Entertainment News International (ENI) is the oldest, largest, and most popular news source for adult toy collectors (kidults) all around the world.

Get the scoop every day on all the popular culture action figures, comics, games, movies, toys, and more!

Contact and Support
Advertising | Submit News | Contact ENI | Privacy Policy


All images, trademarks, logos, video, brands and images used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies and owners. All Rights Reserved. Data has been shared for news reporting purposes only. All content sourced by fans, online websites, and or other fan community sources. Entertainment News International is not responsible for reporting errors, inaccuracies, omissions, and or other liablities related to news shared here. We do our best to keep tabs on infringements. If some of your content was shared by accident. Please Contact us about any infringements right away - CLICK HERE