Author Topic: Antique Finish Detail  (Read 15393 times)

Offline efranks

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« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2010, 09:14 PM »
Yeah, I'm generally not in favor of chase figures.  The UGH figs were the closest we got, the FDOI were kind of a joke, but they were always just basic figures with some difference in the pack-in.  If these are actually different figures with unique packaging, well, I'm going to be kind of pissed if they're really shortpacked.

The SW line isn't necessarily on its last legs but now is really not the time to introduce chase figures when you have retail stores skipping entire waves of figures because their stock is so stagnant or their distribution centers are shorting them because they're in softer markets.

Ordering cases works when the entire wave is new but as soon as you get into carry forward figures in cases that game goes out the window.  It's even further out the window if, in true chase form, you aren't guaranteed a figure in each case or not the same figure in all cases.  And I'm not going to suddenly start ordering figures by the case so I can guarantee one chase figure that I may want.  That takes away the opportunity to shop for discounts, use coupons, store credit and the like, which makes collecting more expensive in a time when it doesn't need to be artificially inflated.

I'm sure some people like the idea of chase figs, and maybe at another time I wouldn't mind them, but right now I think with all the delays and sketchy retail support, putting in chase figures is not the best move on Hasbro's part if they really want collectors to come back to this line. 

I'm interested to find out exactly what this new listing is all about, but I'm hoping it's not a set of chase figures.

   E...
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Offline Darby

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« Reply #16 on: March 30, 2010, 09:37 PM »
I really like the idea of this, but worry a little about distribution.  UGH figs were a little hard to come by around here.  These are potentially going to be very popular, as I imagine most of us will want doubles to open, and in some cases more (Jawas, DS Commanders, officers...)

Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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« Reply #17 on: March 30, 2010, 10:28 PM »
I have to respectfully disagree with those who think the chase stuff will hurt the line and turn off regular collectors. In fact, I strongly believe it's quite the opposite. I do agree it will attract the undesirable Bearded Hot Wheel scalpers for sure. (They all have beards for some reason....)

If they have a chase program done right (something actually worth hunting for with a physical difference) it will create more foot traffic, requests and interest at retail. That's a good thing and is really needed right now to strengthen the waning base. Random dudes will look to sell it for profit, collectors will want to complete their collections and will not be able to resist the urge not to look for these even if they do not truly want them. I hate to say this but I truly believe the line needs this - bad. Does it suck to hunt for this, sure it does, but think of scalpers as bugs in nature. They are annoying at times, get in your way and can sometimes sting you. But they help the life cycle of plant life. Scalpers in moderation actually help the cycle of the line in my opinion. I personally would rather deal with their crap and have a line that I am passionate about to hunt for than none at all. You let them win by giving up before the challenge begins.

Think about TAC and Saga2....compare that to Legacy. While economic factors & distribution surely hurt the most, a good collector oriented program was very absent. (FDOI does into count as it was a lame sticker.) This may have had a small factor in some disinterest in the line overall. Legacy was much better than Saga2 figure wise, even Hasbro was surprised at the decline citing how good the stuff was.

I was planning on ordering double cases of these anyway to have package ones to display so this is icing for me. there are many figures on that list I really wanted for some time. (I am not sure how I feel about a Han Hoth with tan legs if that is the case, it might get to "Marvelly" for my tastes. I will leave him carded)

For those who fear getting stuck with some extras when the cases changes you can always return them to stores with receipts of ones that you bought at the various box stores. You can always trade/sell them on the forums. I can guarantee your enthusiasm will be higher than it is now towards the line as you take out a very nice chunk of "chore" stress.
« Last Edit: March 30, 2010, 10:29 PM by JACKOFTRADZE »
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Offline Pete_Fett

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« Reply #18 on: March 30, 2010, 11:04 PM »
I have to say that I'm not really happy with this news...

The TSC UGH figures were a real pain and I was just barely able to get one of each of them - and in terms of having a set of them to open, I never found a second Grievous to open.

For the TAC UGH figures, they were much easier to find as I was able to score a complete set of gold coin figures both in package and to have a complete set of gold coins to add to my coin album.

The First Day of Issue figures were ridiculous from an "exclusivity" point of view since they were really easy to come by, but on the other hand, the ease at getting them in the first few days of the Blue/White Legacy and Clone Wars lines made acquiring them very stress free.

The important thing about all three of these situations was that the figures weren't any different, so missing out on the UGH Grievous w/Silver base wasn't that big of a deal to me.

With this "Antique Force Decoration" - I will be pretty upset if the only way I can get a modern version of the Death Squad Commander is to track down a chase figure that comes randomly inserted one-per-case in the first wave.

I hope that these paint op variants will be spread out over the entire run of the line and with each wave, there is ONE designated figure, so if you order by the case, you're guaranteed the figure, if that's how it works, then I'll be okay with that, at least then there's a chance that I'll be able to score two of each chase figure pretty easily.

I will say that the chase mentality has always seemed to me as an abuse of the collector community. There really is very little "thrill" if you have to go to three-to-four stores a day, every day, and 95% of the time, you find nothing you need.

In 1997, Playmates, after having a pretty successful run of Star Trek figures decided that they were going to only issue 1,701 of a figure. This pissed off A LOT of collectors and really pushed a lot of collectors away. In the recent years with Hasbro whining like bitches that the collector community has decreased in size, I find it odd that they would take on a tactic like this which is only bound to turn even more collectors away.
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Offline P-Siddy

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« Reply #19 on: March 31, 2010, 01:13 AM »
Cool idea about this, but hope these are easy to find.

Offline efranks

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« Reply #20 on: March 31, 2010, 01:31 AM »
Well, one thing about this, we don't exactly know what these are yet.  Unless someone has the inside scoop?

   E...
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Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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« Reply #21 on: March 31, 2010, 10:44 AM »
For those who are worried about the 1 per case ratio with these keep in mind that every figure since the end of TAC has been 1 per case. So this is on the same playing field as every other figure in the line, they will just not be carried forward in future cases which will make them "rare".
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Offline GrandMoffNick

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« Reply #22 on: March 31, 2010, 11:03 AM »
I still think when you add "one per case" + "chase" + "collector interest/back in the day feel" that these won't last past the first person who sees them and has any idea what they are.

And as far as the UGH stuff, I'm sure depending on where you shop and how often, the availability of these was different, but I never saw them that often.
« Last Edit: March 31, 2010, 11:07 AM by GrandMoffNick »
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Offline Jeff

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« Reply #23 on: March 31, 2010, 11:06 AM »
For those who are worried about the 1 per case ratio with these keep in mind that every figure since the end of TAC has been 1 per case.

I agree.  If these figures do materialize, then I'm sure they will end up like the one-per-wave McQuarrie figures - some were easy to find, some were harder to find (but still findable), and in the end it didn't matter because they put out box sets to make it easy to get them all after the fact.  :P
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Offline efranks

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« Reply #24 on: March 31, 2010, 11:40 AM »
The key on these is if they are a true chase figure or not.  If they're just one per case, and in every release of a particular case revision, it's not a big deal even if they aren't carried forward to future revisions or waves.

But if there's a possibility of them being the type of figure that doesn't ship in every case, like the FDOI figures, then there could be an issue. 

As I said, I don't really care for true chase type figures in the SW line.  But I'm going to wait to pass judgement until we know exactly if these are coming and what they are.

   E...
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Offline CHEWIE

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« Reply #25 on: March 31, 2010, 12:11 PM »
The Saga UGH silver figures were a bitch to find...  To the point I didn't even bother trying for a set of those (I dig having complete pack-in collections loose for some reason).  TAC's stuff was easy enough to find but some were easier than others for certain.

Don't get me wrong, I dig the idea Hasbro's got here, but I don't like things becoming difficult to track down that I may want.  For instance, Death Squad COmmander...  I'd like more than one of him since he's an army builder.  Same with some of the other items.  Some I have almost no interest in (Hoth Leia, Hoth Han, etc.).  I hope they're relatively easy to find.

I like ordering by the case too, but for extras/army building that's not a practical strategy...  I can swing one case per wave, but not more than that.  :-\

My other point was that UGH tends to attract the scalper crowd too...  Legacy I didn't notice them that much, but I recall seeing many more of them in the toy aisles during Saga, 30AC, and so on.  Chase stuff tends to have that unfortunate by-product.

Agreed, agreed, agreed.

Also, something tells me that variant FIGURES are going to be more sought after than variant CARDS or COINS.

Offline GrandMoffNick

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« Reply #26 on: March 31, 2010, 12:18 PM »
I pretty much bought the UGH I saw because I felt I should, but these sound like something I actually want.
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Offline P-Siddy

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« Reply #27 on: March 31, 2010, 12:58 PM »
I pretty much bought the UGH I saw because I felt I should, but these sound like something I actually want.

I feel the same way. I want these. I never bought into the UGH gimmick, though I did have a collector give me a lot of his gold coins to where I ended up getting a set.

Offline Jayson

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« Reply #28 on: March 31, 2010, 01:48 PM »
The more I think about this, I hope this isn't some elaborate (and mean) April Fool's joke.  :-\
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Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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« Reply #29 on: March 31, 2010, 01:50 PM »
Agreed, agreed, agreed.

Also, something tells me that variant FIGURES are going to be more sought after than variant CARDS or COINS.

That is exactly why I think this will help the line in the big picture view. Despite being a pain to track down and competing with scalpers this will help the line regenerating interest. I am all for it and these really do sound like they can be very desirable to collect. Looking forward to Boba in old school colors!
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