6706
The Bullpen / Re: Captain America: The First Avenger: The Toys!
« on: August 1, 2011, 09:45 AM »
I honestly think they're following the model that lines like Power Rangers established. What else could their reasoning be?
Bringing Balance to the Force
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6707
The Bullpen / Re: Captain America: The First Avenger: The Toys!
« on: July 31, 2011, 05:01 PM »
I saw the same thing today. I got the more muted, movie version. The brighter green & yellow is definitely a nice homage to HYDRA in the comics though. But Jungle Mission Cap? Please Hasbro, don't make the same mistakes with this line that were made with the Iron Man and Thor lines.
6708
Well of the Souls / Re: 2011 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive LOST Raiders of the Lost Ark Wave!
« on: July 29, 2011, 03:07 PM »
I got a notification today from HTS that my Raiders wave has shipped.
6709
Shadows of the Dark Side / Re: 2011 TRU Force Unleashed Box Set
« on: July 28, 2011, 09:21 PM »Hasbro's lineup for this box set (and to a lesser extent the RC set) makes it much more transparent that they're trying to keep costs down by repainting existing sculpts. To that I give a loud and clear "BOOOOOOO!" Especially since they're re-offering the EVO and Jump troopers AGAIN. Why not reissue the Shadow Guard if you're going in that direction? That figure was easily one of the more scarce offerings of the past 5 years.
They are, however, clearly trying to appeal to the video game generation of Star Wars fans. I think that's an important direction for Hasbro to turn to in an effort to stay relavent. But the fact that Hasbro has effectively done NOTHING for TFU II shows that they haven't been able to work effectively with LucasArts to market a line of video game based figures. Is it Hasbro's reaction to getting burned by LucasArts because of the inordinate delays on the original Force Unleashed game, and the resulting delays for the figures they developed for that game? Possibly. Video games have been notorious for release delays. But you would think that with a multi-million dollar licensing deal such as Hasbro has with Lucasfilm that SOMEHOW they would be able to work out the kinks on a release schedule for video game figures.
Okay, I take most of this back!
I am pleasantly surprised with this pack. Thankfully the EVO Trooper is the only reissue here. The Imperial Naval Commando and Naval Commando Officer are pleasant and welcome surprises.
Looking at a shot like this of Galen Marek & Darth Phobos, I get the feeling that the plastic cloak pieces are going to limit their mobility. But pieces like that which are molded instead of softgoods are cheaper to do. Also, I'd like to see Galen Marek without the cloak just so I can see the likeness. Hasbro really hasn't been able to capture his likeness well thus far. I'd like to see if they improved it this time out.
6710
1:6 Scale Figures and Collectibles / Re: 12" IG-88? Oh my.
« on: July 28, 2011, 08:30 PM »Nobody will love you like IG loves you Nick.
My girlfriend would beg to differ.
6711
Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Captain America (Movie & Sequels)
« on: July 28, 2011, 05:14 PM »
I saw the movie the other night. First and foremost, I was impressed by how Chris Evans portrayed Steve Rogers. He really captured his decency and selflessness without making it hokey. And even in the parts where his role as Captain America is deliberately hokey, he manages to stay genuine about what he's doing. And his scenes with Stanley Tucci show him holding his own pretty well as an actor.
Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull? Awesome. He really nailed it. Although the whole concept of Red Skull and Cap being the flipside of each other as products of the super soldier serum seemed a little odd.
Some of the action scene montages in the third act seemed a bit rushed. At least that's how I took them. But the fight sequences where Cap has the full combat gear and shield were pretty awesome.
The Howard Stark scenes are pretty good. It was nice to get some more backstory on Howard after we had gotten in Iron Man 2. You begin to understand his role as a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he completely comes across as a Howard Hughes figure. Although his later recovery of "the gadget" does come across as a but convenient. And is "the gadget" what gives Howard the inspiration for the new element/power source in Iron Man 2? It definitely sounds like fodder for the Avengers movie.
And with that, I liked the Avengers teaser. But it was just cut SO fast that it was tough to really take it in and appreciate it all. But it achieved it's goal: It definitely left me wanting more.
Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull? Awesome. He really nailed it. Although the whole concept of Red Skull and Cap being the flipside of each other as products of the super soldier serum seemed a little odd.
Some of the action scene montages in the third act seemed a bit rushed. At least that's how I took them. But the fight sequences where Cap has the full combat gear and shield were pretty awesome.
The Howard Stark scenes are pretty good. It was nice to get some more backstory on Howard after we had gotten in Iron Man 2. You begin to understand his role as a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he completely comes across as a Howard Hughes figure. Although his later recovery of "the gadget" does come across as a but convenient. And is "the gadget" what gives Howard the inspiration for the new element/power source in Iron Man 2? It definitely sounds like fodder for the Avengers movie.
And with that, I liked the Avengers teaser. But it was just cut SO fast that it was tough to really take it in and appreciate it all. But it achieved it's goal: It definitely left me wanting more.
6712
The Clone Wars '08-'13 / Re: Republic Artillery? Hells Yeah!
« on: July 28, 2011, 12:51 PM »
Looks great Jayson! And what's cool about this is that it works for Clone Wars as well as the realistic figures. It sure looks like the cannon from ROTS
6713
The Vintage Collection / Re: Defender Wishlists 2011: The Phantom Menace
« on: July 28, 2011, 12:32 PM »I don't know if he was in the display case, so I guess the slideshow is the best pic we have so far... it doesn't show much. Someone with a keener eye than me can take a look to see what they spy under the hood/robes:
I checked the updated photos that Galactic Hunter ran, but the only TPM figures shown appear to be Quinlan Vos, the Naboo Royal Guard, post Senate Amidala, Padawan Anakin and Ben Quadinaros.
6714
The Vintage Collection / Re: SDCC "Revenge of the Jedi" Death Star Mega-Box Set
« on: July 27, 2011, 02:18 PM »
Pete & Jman - Having been to SDCC a couple of times, I can offer this: people can become generally interested in exclusive more easily than you think. I've stood on those lines for Hasbro, Gentle Giant and others. People will literally come up to you while you're on line and ask what you're on line for. It can happen several times while you're making your way through that line. And once I let them know what I'm on line for they may wind up on that line, too. I've seen that happen.
6715
The Vintage Collection / Re: TRU Vintage Collection Y-Wing
« on: July 27, 2011, 12:53 AM »
Scored one of these tonight. It definitely reminds me of when I picked up my own vintage Y-Wing about 10 years ago, boxed and all!
6716
The Vintage Collection / Re: SDCC "Revenge of the Jedi" Death Star Mega-Box Set
« on: July 27, 2011, 12:47 AM »I'm definitely in the camp of folks (with all due respect to Nick) who fail to see how having situations like this do anything to the line except frustrate the ever dwindling community of collectors you have.
I understand YOUR stance, Pete. Those of us who are in this are the ones who bear the brunt in this particular situation.
What I'm getting at is this: there has been a steady loss of the collector base from the Hasbro Star Wars line since 2006. Some of us have stuck with it, obviously. But there are others who have moved on for a variety of reasons. And there are some in the general realm of sci-fi/comic/movie fandom that haven't gotten into Star Wars to the point of collecting Star Wars Hasbro product on a regular basis. And truth be told, San Diego Comic Con is the single biggest gathering of that potential fanbase IN THE WORLD. Not everyone at SDCC is a Star Wars fan or collector, but they are part of that population that might get drawn into the fold. The news of a hot new Star Wars exclusive is meant to draw THEM in too! And yes, Hasbro runs the risk of alienating some of the existing collector base. But what if this kind of offering draws in at least an equal number of past collectors, or some of that other segment of the sci-fi/comic/movie fanbase that attends Comic Con? That potential growth in the customer base that a hot exclusive can generate might be worth testing the loyalty of some of the existing fanbase. And when you consider that there are some 200,000 people in attendance at SDCC, that potential audience that you might get some traction with is very tempting.
6717
Well of the Souls / Re: 2011 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive LOST Raiders of the Lost Ark Wave!
« on: July 26, 2011, 04:34 PM »
Thats definitely a frustrating state of affairs. I can only imagine the number of collectors who hit HTS's site that it was having such issues handling the volume. It easily had to be thousands of people at once.
Obviously, internet bandwidth is a finite commodity. And you would think that a company like Hasbro would have the resources to accomodate such a crush of customers. Sideshow Collectibles came up with a solution where they would minimize everything else on their website so that all of their processing power was focused on a major product offering. Should Hasbro have done that in this case? It's definitely something they should consider in the future. And better e-commerce software would probably be a worthwhile investment. Especially since so many more collectors are resorting to online retail in light of the distribution woes we're experiencing at this time.
Obviously, internet bandwidth is a finite commodity. And you would think that a company like Hasbro would have the resources to accomodate such a crush of customers. Sideshow Collectibles came up with a solution where they would minimize everything else on their website so that all of their processing power was focused on a major product offering. Should Hasbro have done that in this case? It's definitely something they should consider in the future. And better e-commerce software would probably be a worthwhile investment. Especially since so many more collectors are resorting to online retail in light of the distribution woes we're experiencing at this time.
6718
The Vintage Collection / Re: SDCC "Revenge of the Jedi" Death Star Mega-Box Set
« on: July 26, 2011, 03:40 PM »
I feel genuinely bad for some who missed out on the Death Star exclusives. Reiterating some comments I made elsewhere:
I suspect a great deal of the collector animosity is because this years exclusives are being offered in more limited quantities than they had been in recent years. Over the past couple of years there had been an expectation that if a collector could not make it to a summer convention that there would be PLENTY more to go around at HTS afterward. Hasbro seems to have responded to what they may have regarded as an overstock of past summer convention exclusives by limiting their production numbers this year. In the case of last year's SDCC & C5 exclusives, those were readily available for months following the summer convention season.
Here's where I'm going to get in trouble. With some of you guys, and not anyone else: This kind of thing in the long run is GOOD FOR THE LINE. Lots of people get upset, yes. Lots of people wind up disappointed, yes. But this kind of "buzz" serves to stir up interest in Hasbro's Star Wars line. This limited number of exclusives may be an effort do just that. So in effect this may be something of a marketing ploy on Hasbro's part to make the line hot again in the eyes of collectors. Will the ammount of interest it stirs up outweigh the damage it can do? That is very much a calculated risk.
Now, on the matter of the mechanics of the HTS site? I have seen legitimate concerns and complaints about that site here, at JD. And I applaud a number of you for your restraint, patience and level-headedness on the subject. It's frustrating. But elsewhere, I see histrionics and hysteria that are so over the top that you would think that Hasbro was asking these people for a pound of flesh and a pint of blood. I understand that a lot of people have invested a lot of their time, effort and money into their collections. But each one of us has a choice about just how much we are willing to give of ourselves and our hard earned dollars to Hasbro. And in this case with the Death Star? I passed and I am not disappointed.
I suspect a great deal of the collector animosity is because this years exclusives are being offered in more limited quantities than they had been in recent years. Over the past couple of years there had been an expectation that if a collector could not make it to a summer convention that there would be PLENTY more to go around at HTS afterward. Hasbro seems to have responded to what they may have regarded as an overstock of past summer convention exclusives by limiting their production numbers this year. In the case of last year's SDCC & C5 exclusives, those were readily available for months following the summer convention season.
Here's where I'm going to get in trouble. With some of you guys, and not anyone else: This kind of thing in the long run is GOOD FOR THE LINE. Lots of people get upset, yes. Lots of people wind up disappointed, yes. But this kind of "buzz" serves to stir up interest in Hasbro's Star Wars line. This limited number of exclusives may be an effort do just that. So in effect this may be something of a marketing ploy on Hasbro's part to make the line hot again in the eyes of collectors. Will the ammount of interest it stirs up outweigh the damage it can do? That is very much a calculated risk.
Now, on the matter of the mechanics of the HTS site? I have seen legitimate concerns and complaints about that site here, at JD. And I applaud a number of you for your restraint, patience and level-headedness on the subject. It's frustrating. But elsewhere, I see histrionics and hysteria that are so over the top that you would think that Hasbro was asking these people for a pound of flesh and a pint of blood. I understand that a lot of people have invested a lot of their time, effort and money into their collections. But each one of us has a choice about just how much we are willing to give of ourselves and our hard earned dollars to Hasbro. And in this case with the Death Star? I passed and I am not disappointed.
6719
Well of the Souls / Re: 2011 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive LOST Raiders of the Lost Ark Wave!
« on: July 26, 2011, 02:01 PM »
A number of items kept being deleted from my billing / shipping info. Finally got it through, and finally checked out. I think the news that the Death Star sold out may have spread enough that the traffic on the site diminished enough that I was able to get my order through.
As infuriating as it's been, I think Gentle Giant used to be worse when they were offering their exclusive mini-busts on their own site.
I have a meeting at 1pm, so I guess I have to give up for now.
I can't believe I have been refreshing for over 2 hours now... I don't know who I am more mad at - HTS for the crappy website or me for wasting my whole lunch on this... ridiculous.
As infuriating as it's been, I think Gentle Giant used to be worse when they were offering their exclusive mini-busts on their own site.
6720
Well of the Souls / Re: 2011 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive LOST Raiders of the Lost Ark Wave!
« on: July 26, 2011, 01:58 PM »
AH! Step 3. This should only be what, another half hour?