Author Topic: Legacy Collection Comic Packs  (Read 214114 times)

Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #705 on: March 19, 2010, 11:18 AM »
I got my EE shipping notice yesterday for the final comic packs. I am really looking forward to Tholme!

You know what's totally cool about Tholme? He has this swell cane.  I had no idea, I didn't see it in the pictures.  It has this birdlike grip on it, it's really sharp.  I think you're going to dig it, he translated well to plastic.

T'ra Saa (mine anyway) had a sort of a loose head.  But the sculpt is nice.

Awesome, I am so glad to hear he turned out well. I did see his cane in the pic prior because I love the chaacter so much I would zoom in on him in photoshop.

FYI - I have two extra Traa heads as I ordered several from eBay. PM me if you want one to swap with your loose one. I can mail one to you, no strings.
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Offline Jeff

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #706 on: March 19, 2010, 06:29 PM »
Part of me is wondering if this "excuse" isn't just an excuse to not sell it.  What I mean is, from what I see locally for me, last time around the WM exclusive Rogue packs didn't sell well.  Maybe WM put its mighty foot down and said we aren't taking it on the chin again?  Afterall, to me atleast, this pack is less exciting than the two Rogues offered in the last pack.

Well, all Hasbro would say on the record is that the pack was dropped "because of the subject matter". 

I thought that maybe Wal-Mart didn't want more X-Wing pilots so that's what they're referring to as "subject matter"

Back on the topic of Plourr/Dllr...  I've received a few emails from folks saying they got their Plo/Dllr pack and there is a sticker on the bubble that says something like Note: Comic May Contain Material Not Appropriate for Young Children or something like that.

If Walmart did dump it simply because it was more Rebel Pilots like you guys were speculating, Hasbro sure is going out of their way to hide that fact...  ;)
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Offline shmashwitdaclub

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #707 on: March 19, 2010, 07:29 PM »
That was one the conspiracy theories I believed in - but after inspection - I am thinking it is the "kissing cousins" factor.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #708 on: March 20, 2010, 01:50 AM »
Yeah I read the story eons ago but guess I forgot about the cousins getting it on...  I could see someone throwing a fit over that at Wally.  I find it kind of funny they asked for these to the point they went through production and then bailed.  WM's a bunch of dicks.
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #709 on: March 20, 2010, 02:17 AM »
A retailer has a right to choose what the carry, no?  But regardless of the reasoning, this probably works out in Wal-Mart's favor... and will maybe help make more room for the non-exclusive comic packs hopefully.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #710 on: March 20, 2010, 02:29 AM »
A retailer has a right to choose what the carry, no?  But regardless of the reasoning, this probably works out in Wal-Mart's favor... and will maybe help make more room for the non-exclusive comic packs hopefully.

Yes, but once a manufacturer commits to making a product for the retailer, and they bail, they're dicks...  But such is the way of Wal-Mart, they control manufacturers like that, and I'm sure Hasbro was happy once stores like EE stepped up to the plate on the comic.  I've had the joy of seeing WM's ability to single-handedly screw a manufacturer from other angles.  It's really quite fascinating how the NEED to deal with them leaves a lot of companies at the mercy of their whims.

As far as it "making room" on the pegs...  that's assuming they'd have done poorly, or more to the point, as poorly as the other two sets are likely to do.  Like I said, your vision of Rebel Pilot sets is a regional thing because they were quick to go right behind the Ewok sets from the last assortment here.  And in other parts of the country the Ewok sets were available for clearance as per reports in the forums here as well.  What you see isn't always (or often) the reality for the country or the view for the "big picture" as it were.  What happens in Pittsburgh isn't what's happening everywhere, and according to Hasbro they're pleased with Rebel Pilot figures at retail, and plan to continue them.  Thus Wedge is on his way for the Vintage line, and Dak.

Also I'm not sure, but cases may have been adjusted to include just more of the other two packs that WM is putting out...  which if they're just filling the space of Plour/Dllr, then heaven help those last waves of comics showing up at Wal-Mart.  My nearest ones pegs were filled with Weir and Mohc sets Wednesday and nothing else but 3 Lea/Xixor sets.  Not much for variety, or replenishment hopes.  Not there anyway.
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #711 on: March 20, 2010, 01:20 PM »
I agree it can be regional - I just think Hasbro has gone overboard with Rebel pilots the past couple years and I've seen it when I travel for work and also keep hearing similar stories from other collectors.
  
But look at it this way - how many Rebel pilots have come out the past two years versus other Rebel army builders?  I bet it's not even close.

By my count since Legacy launched, there's not much Rebel "trooper" offerings outside of main characters like Luke/Han and pilots...

Troops/Other
1 - Hoth Rebel Trooper (Legacy)
2 - Rebel Ground Crew (Yavin Pack In)
3 - Wedge Antilles (Comic Pack Ceremony)

I wouldn't doubt if I'm missing a figure or two in either list, but by contrast, Hasbro has swamped the market with pilots and this has left many TRU stores with a surplus of Rebel Pilot Evolution sets, and many Wal-Marts with excessive exclusive Comic Pack and Evolution Pilot sets of their own.

Pilots
1 - Luke Skywalker (Legends X-Wing Pilot, blue card)
2 - Luke Skywalker (Legends X-Wing Pilot, red card)
3 - Luke Skywalker (Legacy Snowspeeder Pilot)
4 - Dorovio Bold (Evolutions)
5 - Wes Janson (Evolutions)
6 - Ten Numb (Evolutions)
7 - Cesi Eirriss (Evolutions)
8 - Kesin Ommis (Evolutions)
9 - Keyan Farlander  (Evolutions)
10 - John Branon (Evolutions)
11 - Shira Brie (Evolutions)
12 - Jake Farrell (Evolutions)
13 - Ibtisam (Comic Pack)
14 - Nrin Vakil (Comic Pack)
15 - Plourr Ilo (Comic Pack)
16 - Dllr Nep (Comic Pack)
18 - Nien Nunb
17 - Arvel Crynyd (A-Wing Pack-In)
19 - Lieutenant Pollard (B-Wing Pack-In)
20 - Wedge Antilles (X-Wing Pack-In)
21 - Garven "Red Leader" Dreis (Yavin Battle-Pack)

To me, that's overkill and I've lost interest and passed on some of these.  Also note the ones in orange, those are all either X-Wing or Snowspeeder gear... that's a heck of a lot of similar looking pilots all coming out in such a short time span.  You would think there was a Star Wars movie that came out last year called "Attack of the Rebel Pilots" with all the pilots that came out.  I can see them putting out that many clones in this time frame - but Rebel pilots?  Really?

The point here isn't that Hasbro shouldn't be making them, it's that they over-saturated the market in such a short time span.  Mostly for cost saving measures I would bet, because they can keep using the same molds on many of these.  

Now say what you want, but when they're boring someone like me who spends thousands each year on this hobby, resulting in me cutting back significantly, they are doing something wrong.  And they'll blame it on collectors not supporting the line, but when there's over 20 Rebel pilots in just one line from them, screw them if they're going to blame me for not dipping into my wallet to buy every figure they make.

I'd also like to add that it's not just pilots - pretty much all the Comic Packs that are exclusive to Wal-Mart have sucked in the Legacy line.  The pilots are actually great figures, but the overkill of pilots hurts their sales.  And for that the blame goes squarely on Hasbro's shoulders.  Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer and if they're getting stuck with crap figures in their exclusives from Hasbro, they're not going to order the basic Comic Packs in sufficient numbers to support the Comic Pack concept at all.  They don't even have room to stock them on the shelves!

Hasbro probably banked on Wal-Mart putting last year's exclusive Comic Packs on clearance like they did with the last go-round that they couldn't sell, but this time Wal-Mart didn't go down that road.  These half ass attempts that Hasbro has provided Wal-Mart with could very well be what doomed the entire Comic Pack line altogether.  It's not Wal-Mart's fault and it's not the fault of collectors either.  It's certainly not Wal-Mart that's being the dicks in the overall Comic Pack scheme here or collectors.  This is Hasbro's doing.  And now we as collectors are suffering, therefore what really concerns me is the great sets they either canceled or made as hard as hell to get exclusives.  
« Last Edit: March 20, 2010, 02:13 PM by CHEWIE »

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #712 on: March 20, 2010, 04:29 PM »
Where in the world did the last 1/3 of that come from?   ???  It's undirected anger at Hasbro being taken out on the WM exclusive comic packs.

I had more written out but it's really a couple separate topics so this is confusing, but here's the jist of things...

Some Merchandiser at WM (not Hasbro) has bought those.  WM (and all retailers) negotiate exclusives with Hasbro, they don't get these things just shoved down their throats by the manufacturer, especially Wal-Mart who like to dictate to manufacturers on specifics (including costs/pricing per unit).  These sets may have even cost less than the basic comic pack line's wholesale pricing, they're exclusives so they're not the same SKU...  That's also not uncommon for (some) exclusives, and with this last batch and their clear "cheapness" it may have been demanded that another round of exclusive sets come in a cheap price, by Wal-Mart.

I'm the last guy to EVER let Hasbro off the hook.  They do a lot of dumb things I believe, but these packs are hardly a sign of Hasbro doing something wrong.  The retailer wanted them.  There's more of a gripe there about the basic line of comic packs and their choices in THAT line (especially with a lot of those Marvel sets).

And on a different (sort of) topic, WM are the "dicks" for ordering something and backing out on it because it broke some perceived "Political Correctness" issue.  They ordered them, they should have stuck with them and only sold them online or adjusted in some similar capacity.  But because WM's a well-known bully in the world of retailing, they I'm sure told Hasbro "We don't want those now", leaving Hasbro to shop them and hope someone picked them up because THEY already paid to have them made in China.  Last I looked, not paying and accepting something you already agreed to get off a manufacturer was a real "dick move" on the part of the person who agreed to buy it.  It's something few people can get away with, but Hasbro has to maintain that relationship.  What a fun place to be in for them.

As far as Rebel Pilot overload, another completely separate topic...

I think comparing OTHER Rebel army builders is apples and oranges.  I was practically the only person vocally asking for new Rebel Soldiers for many years, even when some people bitched that what we had was good enough and I was wasting a slot, asking too much, and so on.

I want new Rebels too, but new Rebel Troopers are more costly, and the line's a balancing act.  Some old tools fill spots, some new tools fill spots, and so goes the circle of life with the line.  You're going to get a re-used Han Solo to fill that need, and that rehashed Clone and other similar figures are going to pay for the costs of the new Cantina alien, or Leia...  It's why Legends exists.  It's partially why Clone Wars recycles figures in every case, and then some wave you get Whorm Loathsome.

The Rebel Pilot bodies are now pretty well perfected, and Hasbro feels they do well enough at retail to keep going.  They seemed last year to go full tilt to get Rebel Pilots "done" in the sense that now they've got the tooling to make head/helmet variants.  So with that in mind, they're moving forward and making alien pilots from EU, human pilots from film and EU, and so on.  While you're burned out on them CHEWIE, I'm not, nor are many others.  To me, each head variant's a new character I'm stoked to pick up, like Dak...  I've wanted a good Dak for literally a decade!  They're not Clones, and they even came from specific EU and film sources to boot (unlike some Clone repaints).  And Hasbro seems content to keep putting some out...  I doubt we get a year like we did the last year+ with Evolution sets, comic packs (Since those are on hiatus), but we are getting Dak...  We are getting a carded Wedge which I'd like a couple of.  I can see a pack-in pilot or two happening in the next year or two as well.

That, to me, is good.

But Hasbro sunk a lot into tooling up a new B-Wing Pilot, new X-Winger, new Snowspeeder Pilot, and so on...  So if they can slip out a head variant or four in a year to recoup that investment and put more into other figures, I'm for it and I'm sure they are too.  Plus, like I said, they seem to feel they sell well which bodes well for other Rebel army builders I believe.

According to what I have heard, we're getting one of the new Rebel Troopers in 2011 too, and our Q&A boded well for a 3rd to get redone.  Hopefully we see the Hoth one back at retail too.  I know I'd buy more.

Does Hasbro do dumb ****?  Yes, at times for sure, but this topic isn't one of them...  I feel you can't take anything less than 50% of these last WM exclusives blame away from Wal-Mart, and honestly I feel they probably deserve a lot more than that.

The basic comic pack line has mistakes from Hasbro, IMO, and that one I'm with you on...  Like I said, the Marvel sets, doubling up on Leia sets at about the same time...  Bad ideas (for the most part).  But that's a whole other topic to me.
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #713 on: March 20, 2010, 09:44 PM »
Where in the world did the last 1/3 of that come from?   ???  It's undirected anger at Hasbro being taken out on the WM exclusive comic packs.

Since this is the Comic Packs thread, and I feel that one of the biggest problems with the Comic Pack lines was the Wal-Mart ones - which had a Rebel Pilot set that sat in a lot of areas; I feel there's a link that can be made with Hasbro going cheap by using the same mold too many times in a short time frame.


I had more written out but it's really a couple separate topics so this is confusing, but here's the jist of things...

Some Merchandiser at WM (not Hasbro) has bought those.  WM (and all retailers) negotiate exclusives with Hasbro, they don't get these things just shoved down their throats by the manufacturer, especially Wal-Mart who like to dictate to manufacturers on specifics (including costs/pricing per unit).  These sets may have even cost less than the basic comic pack line's wholesale pricing, they're exclusives so they're not the same SKU...  That's also not uncommon for (some) exclusives, and with this last batch and their clear "cheapness" it may have been demanded that another round of exclusive sets come in a cheap price, by Wal-Mart.

I'm the last guy to EVER let Hasbro off the hook.  They do a lot of dumb things I believe, but these packs are hardly a sign of Hasbro doing something wrong.  The retailer wanted them.  There's more of a gripe there about the basic line of comic packs and their choices in THAT line (especially with a lot of those Marvel sets).

When product made by a company is less than satisfactory, that's the fault of the company that makes the figures.  Is it not?  Look back at the exclusives that Wal-Mart carried before, there's almost always some sort of "crap" packed in there too.  For example, remember the Anakin/Dooku?  That Anakin was a complete waste of plastic. 


And on a different (sort of) topic, WM are the "dicks" for ordering something and backing out on it because it broke some perceived "Political Correctness" issue.  They ordered them, they should have stuck with them and only sold them online or adjusted in some similar capacity.  But because WM's a well-known bully in the world of retailing, they I'm sure told Hasbro "We don't want those now", leaving Hasbro to shop them and hope someone picked them up because THEY already paid to have them made in China.  Last I looked, not paying and accepting something you already agreed to get off a manufacturer was a real "dick move" on the part of the person who agreed to buy it.  It's something few people can get away with, but Hasbro has to maintain that relationship.  What a fun place to be in for them.

Not that I'm trying to back up Wal-Mart, but if a company believes that they were going to be carrying a product that could come back and become some sort of problem with their image, more power to them.  That's how the free market works.  And I'm pretty sure that Hasbro can absorb such a small drop in the bucket to maintain the relationship with any of their retail partners. 


As far as Rebel Pilot overload, another completely separate topic...

I think comparing OTHER Rebel army builders is apples and oranges.  I was practically the only person vocally asking for new Rebel Soldiers for many years, even when some people bitched that what we had was good enough and I was wasting a slot, asking too much, and so on.

I want new Rebels too, but new Rebel Troopers are more costly, and the line's a balancing act.  Some old tools fill spots, some new tools fill spots, and so goes the circle of life with the line.  You're going to get a re-used Han Solo to fill that need, and that rehashed Clone and other similar figures are going to pay for the costs of the new Cantina alien, or Leia...  It's why Legends exists.  It's partially why Clone Wars recycles figures in every case, and then some wave you get Whorm Loathsome.

The Rebel Pilot bodies are now pretty well perfected, and Hasbro feels they do well enough at retail to keep going.  They seemed last year to go full tilt to get Rebel Pilots "done" in the sense that now they've got the tooling to make head/helmet variants.  So with that in mind, they're moving forward and making alien pilots from EU, human pilots from film and EU, and so on.  While you're burned out on them CHEWIE, I'm not, nor are many others.  To me, each head variant's a new character I'm stoked to pick up, like Dak...  I've wanted a good Dak for literally a decade!  They're not Clones, and they even came from specific EU and film sources to boot (unlike some Clone repaints).  And Hasbro seems content to keep putting some out...  I doubt we get a year like we did the last year+ with Evolution sets, comic packs (Since those are on hiatus), but we are getting Dak...  We are getting a carded Wedge which I'd like a couple of.  I can see a pack-in pilot or two happening in the next year or two as well.

That, to me, is good.

Hey now, I don't think by any stretch of the imagination you were the only collector in the Star Wars community asking for more Rebel troops.  You just were the only one with it in your signature.

As for the head swapping, I think it's a great thing and Hasbro would be foolish not to take advantage of it.  But by that token, they can do the same thing with other army builders just the same (and have, to a lesser degree).

Now, you may think the more Rebel Pilots the better regardless of the time frame, but when supply exceeds demand, that philosphy creates a problem for the retailers - and eventually Hasbro.  Just for example today - yes, today, I went about an hour from my house to see relatives - swung by a Wal-Mart that I rarely shop at.  And what did I see in the clearance section?  Four of their exclusive Rebel Pilots sets for $7.00 each.  Then in the regular section, they had five comic packs - all of the Mon Cal/Quarren exclusive set.  That's it - no other comic packs.  Not making that up either out of convenience, as soon as I saw this I was wishing I had my camera just for this thread.

And again, I don't think it's regional.  This is a national trend.  I was in Portland on March 8, went by a Wal-Mart and saw many of those same Comic Packs, along with one Amanin one... I think there were seven of the pilot sets.  Same thing in Kansas City, where was in February for work and also in Springfield, Illinois last month as well.  What you find there is almost a snap shot of all half dozen Wal-Marts that are in the STL area that I hit on a semi regular basis.  Evolution Rebel Pilots and Rebel Comic Packs still, as well as more Evolution Pilots at TRU (the non-exclusive ones of course).

Maybe a few pockets like your area are a hotspot for Rebel Pilots (like you once said about Star Trek figures selling through there while everywhere else around the country people were saying they were collecting dust).  There are exceptions and I believe you when you say your area is different than mine.

And I'm not saying that some Rebel Pilots mixed in here and there is bad - it's great.  But too much of a good thing can become a bad thing.


But Hasbro sunk a lot into tooling up a new B-Wing Pilot, new X-Winger, new Snowspeeder Pilot, and so on...  So if they can slip out a head variant or four in a year to recoup that investment and put more into other figures, I'm for it and I'm sure they are too.  Plus, like I said, they seem to feel they sell well which bodes well for other Rebel army builders I believe.

According to what I have heard, we're getting one of the new Rebel Troopers in 2011 too, and our Q&A boded well for a 3rd to get redone.  Hopefully we see the Hoth one back at retail too.  I know I'd buy more.

And that's fine - a few here and there are a good thing.  It's over twenty being put out in 2 years that is the problem. 


Does Hasbro do dumb ****?  Yes, at times for sure, but this topic isn't one of them...  I feel you can't take anything less than 50% of these last WM exclusives blame away from Wal-Mart, and honestly I feel they probably deserve a lot more than that.

The basic comic pack line has mistakes from Hasbro, IMO, and that one I'm with you on...  Like I said, the Marvel sets, doubling up on Leia sets at about the same time...  Bad ideas (for the most part).  But that's a whole other topic to me.

I feel this topic is a prime example of Hasbro doing dumb ****.  I think the difference is you are a huge fan of pilots, while I see them as just okay.  If we were talking KOTOR characters or something where I have the same bias in favor of them as you do for pilots, I may even be presenting a similar argument as you are right now.

But what this really comes down to again is I think when Hasbro decides to use the same mold over and over in order to try and save a buck, it can end up coming back to bite the retailers (and of course them eventually).  They're getting worse and worse about it over time.  And it's not just with Star Wars either - look at the GI JOE line too and you can see the same trend. 

Anyways, I can't believe either of us spent this much time back and forth on this one... ha ha.  You have good points, I just don't see it the same way because I'm tired of seeing these on the pegs for so long (just like some Legends figures).  I'm going to have a few cold ones tonight and think about anything but Star Wars toys. 

Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #714 on: March 20, 2010, 10:17 PM »
Hey Chewie - not to pour salt into the wound, but you forgot three more Rebel Pilot figures from the Legacy line...

22 - WalMart Droid Factory Wave 1 Luke Skywalker
23 - WalMart Droid Factory Wave 2 Corran Horn
24 - Convention Exclusive "Smiley" Luke Skywalker w/X-Wing Ladder

 >:D
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Offline Jabba the Slug

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #715 on: March 21, 2010, 02:30 AM »
I really like Exar Kun's split-apart lightsaber. I wasn't expecting this at all, and I don't recall his lightsaber being damaged through any of the stories.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #716 on: March 21, 2010, 03:35 AM »
Since this is the Comic Packs thread, and I feel that one of the biggest problems with the Comic Pack lines was the Wal-Mart ones - which had a Rebel Pilot set that sat in a lot of areas; I feel there's a link that can be made with Hasbro going cheap by using the same mold too many times in a short time frame.

Hasbro using the same mold to make up costs is part of the reality of collecting today.  It's not going to go away.  If it's this grossly upsetting ot people, I highly suggest abandoning the hobby, and NEVER buying a repack from them, because it's not going to change.

And like I said, Hasbro's saying Rebel Pilots sell.  From their lips to our ears, I've heard this first-hand.  They're not doing well in your area, and apparantly anywhere you travel CHEWIE, and I saw clearanced Evo sets too so I didn't miss clearanced pilots in my area, but retailers don't always necessarilly consider clearance automatically equalling "bad sell-through".  If they met their goals for the prices they paid, they're happy.  

And guess what?  Yup, you're going to see more stuff like them if they're at all happy with what they saw.

Quote
When product made by a company is less than satisfactory, that's the fault of the company that makes the figures.  Is it not?  Look back at the exclusives that Wal-Mart carried before, there's almost always some sort of "crap" packed in there too.  For example, remember the Anakin/Dooku?  That Anakin was a complete waste of plastic.
 

And this is what I keep trying to drive home, and you keep ignoring CHEWIE.  Someone at Wal-Mart, called a Merchandiser, bought that.  There may (and probably even was) direct conversations about the product.  What you see, is often request, especially in the case of exclusive toys like the Droid Factory packs, or the Comic Packs...  Do I think that Anakin sucks?  Hell yeah, of course I do.  But Hasbro has to meet certain standards the retailer expects.  Plus he has to do this at the factory that has the molds he needs to make the assortment.  If that Anakin is all they have to meet that criteria, that's what you get.  It's cheap, it's there to make the new parts less expensive, and to probably make the sets affordable to Wal-Mart who have demanded they meet a specific price-margin.

It's not like Hasbro can pull out any mold, or whip up all-new figures and meet the margins.  

People said, "well look at the Targets Geonosis sets", and yes they're superior I think.  But I don't know what those cost Target, or what Target's merchandiser requested on them.  Perhaps they were more flexible?  Perhaps they have a more knowledgeable buyer?  

Hasbro did NOT shove these toys down Wal-Marts throat though.  Denying that is just ignoring the truth.

Quote
Not that I'm trying to back up Wal-Mart, but if a company believes that they were going to be carrying a product that could come back and become some sort of problem with their image, more power to them.  That's how the free market works.  And I'm pretty sure that Hasbro can absorb such a small drop in the bucket to maintain the relationship with any of their retail partners.  


Acutally, no that's not how the free-market works.  Actually it works under contracts that say if you make this for me, I'll pay you.  But Wal-Mart seems to have decided that something in the material they agreed to purchase wasnt' acceptable after production began.  

You sell your customs online...  If someone ordered something from you, and you said, "Here it is", and it was nice and what was being offered to the person from the start, but they said, "Well I think that aliens boobs are too large, so I'm going to have to say no because it might offend my kids and wife", would you still expect to be paid?  You put in the work, the time, and to the specifications of whatever nudnick ordered it, but once he saw it, some small thing raised his ire, and so you're stuck shopping it around to someone else... possibly at a loss.

I never realized the free-market was so "free".  :)  My economics prof is rolling in his grave...  if he's dead anyway.

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Hey now, I don't think by any stretch of the imagination you were the only collector in the Star Wars community asking for more Rebel troops.  You just were the only one with it in your signature.

Really?  Because I remember lots of arguments against me wanting something that had "already been done good enough" to a number of people, and not many people coming in and saying this or that needed an upgrade along with me.   ???
  
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As for the head swapping, I think it's a great thing and Hasbro would be foolish not to take advantage of it.  But by that token, they can do the same thing with other army builders just the same (and have, to a lesser degree).

Is it fair to compare Rebel Pilots to Death Star Troopers, or Fleet Troopers though?  Rebel Pilots have, afterall, a variety of uniforms, for a variety of molds.  Not to mention different headgear for each.  Then they all have somewhat more memorable sequences with lines and things, compared to other similar army builders...  And then they have EU based on them, which is isn't the same for other similar figures.

I mean it's not like the Fleet Troopers or Endor Rebels really have that.  So will Hasbro get us 4th Yavin Tech from the right at the Ceremony scene?  I hope so, but hey, I'm not counting on it either. :)  But the body is done, and it's a cool figure, so I'm hoping that Hasbro will at least get us more Yavin Techs to buy, even if they're the exact same figure from the battlepack.

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Now, you may think the more Rebel Pilots the better regardless of the time frame, but when supply exceeds demand, that philosphy creates a problem for the retailers - and eventually Hasbro.  


Nope, you're completely wrong.  

What I do believe though, is Hasbro created several new molds between the B-Wing and A-Wing pilot, and all the X-Wing molds, and they are wanting to recoop costs, which they have done well with that, according ot Hasbro saying that Reb Pilots have done well at retail.

They wanted to recoop the costs, they put stuff out to do it, and retailers wanted it.  I know your claim is that you travel, and you see this and that, but if there's one thing in this hobby I've learned, it's that what one guy sees another guy doesn't.  To be perfectly honest, I don't know that you're seeing everything you say, and I just know in my experience it's different, and Hasbro says it's different too.  

Now again, what the retailers and Hasbro consider good sell-through may mean that 25% of something got clearanced.  I don't know that though.  All I have is Hasbro saying they did well, and will slip more into the line-up, and I'm happy about that.  I mean, sorry if I take that as the gospel, and your business trips as the not-so-concrete sales data.

I'm really trying not to sound like a dick, but I just don't know how to say it any other way at this point.  Hasbro overrules what people claim to see at the stores.  If they say Vader sell,s you have to sorta believe that.  If they say Jedi Fighter repaints sell, you sort of have to believe that.


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I feel this topic is a prime example of Hasbro doing dumb ****.  I think the difference is you are a huge fan of pilots, while I see them as just okay.  If we were talking KOTOR characters or something where I have the same bias in favor of them as you do for pilots, I may even be presenting a similar argument as you are right now.

Except I'm backing up my argument by Hasbro saying that what I'm telling you is the truth, and that they do sell well, or at least well enough that Hasbro and retailers have been ahppy with them, and more will be coming.

Seriously, that's the jist of this argument, to me, start to finish.

Hasbro says something does well, and people say, "No way, and you are lying", and that's that.  Or Hasbro says, "We have to put out ++++ because it helps financially support other aspects of the line", and someone replies, "No way, and you are lying".

I'm far from a Hasbro guy, never have been, and I've never been one to let them off the hook with stupid stuff.  I bitch pretty much non-stop about the line, just varying aspects of it.  But no matter what, I can't get behind the, "Hasbro's a bunch of lying jerks" camp tha tfeel like Hasbro is somehow less in the know than they are based on what they see out at stores, or what they see on forums, or what they think they perceive as a "guaranteed sell".

Maybe I've just become a happier collector in my old age where I realize Hasbro's going to put out some stuff that isn't my cup of tea, but which is health for the line's longevity for reasons I maybe can't see, or which aren't immediately tangible in my mind.

As far as blaming Hasbro though, especially on these exclusive comic-packs...  Well I just know too much about the process of exclusive product, and dealing with Wal-Mart to blame Hasbro.  WM's the culprit there.

Maybe someone really angry about it should bring it up with Hasbro then?  Complain about the WM exclusive packs, and whatnot.  I just know it's not all Hasbro there, so I'm not bothering because I think I already am aware what the response would likely be.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval!  But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
Jedi Defender.com Contributing Editor, Twitter @JediDefender & @Jesse_James77

Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #717 on: March 21, 2010, 02:15 PM »
Like I said Jesse, I can't believe either of us spent this much time back and forth on this discussion.  Each time someone disagrees with something you say, it becomes a very long winded back and forth discussion, and to be honest I don't even care that much who is wrong or right - I just know what I see at retail and what I hear a lot of other collectors say.  So, I'm not actually going to read what you wrote because I don't want to feel compelled to respond with another long winded response that's going to take away from something else I feel is more worthwhile of my time right now, so you can have the last word. 

Offline shmashwitdaclub

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #718 on: March 22, 2010, 06:20 PM »
I got the final 5 comic sets today at Target in Mishawaka Indiana.

I just wanted to note something I saw the Kashyyk comic pack. The head sculpt on mine is not the one pictured on the back of the card for the clone with the removable helmet - the head on mine is the head sculpt from the TAC Galactic Marine. He looks fat and has no neck...    :-\

Offline Adam_Pawlus

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Re: Legacy Collection Comic Packs
« Reply #719 on: March 22, 2010, 07:13 PM »
Re: Plourr/Dllr

Got mine today, it's interesting-- you can just barely make out where the residue is from where the Wal-Mart sticker used to be, just above Dllr.  Plus there are three stickers added to this thing-- product number, "Inappropriate material," and the one covering up the co-sells on the back.  I wonder how long it took them to reconfigure these things after Wal-Mart dumped them...
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