Author Topic: Death Star, Sail Barge & Sandcrawler Wishful Updates  (Read 7637 times)

Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: Death Star, Sail Barge & Sandcrawler Wishful Updates
« Reply #15 on: February 11, 2011, 10:58 AM »
What about for the EP2 "big item" they come out with the Forward Command Center base seen during the battle/invasion of Geonosis?

Not that I would mind seeing them release a "movie version" of the AT-TE, I would prefer that for each of the movies we get something new, like this:

EP1: Bongo Sub
EP2: Forward Command Center
EP3: Tantive IV ship/playset
EP4: Death Star
EP5: Star Destroyer bridge playset/ship
EP6: Ewok Village or Jabba's Sail Barge

For EP5 I would also love to finally see an update of the Dagobah playset, but I think that's asking for too much.

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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Death Star, Sail Barge & Sandcrawler Wishful Updates
« Reply #16 on: February 11, 2011, 11:22 AM »
Regarding the Turbo Tank, my guess if Hasbro said it didn't do as well would be mostly due to retailer orders.  I recall that thing being a good seller in my area, and then only saw a handful of them at various Wal-Marts on clearance right after Christmas.  But I saw a lot more AT-TEs and AT-ATs marked down than I ever did Turbo Tanks... plus that sucker hauls in a lot of cash on ebay these days... a lot more than the other two.

Ok, I misunderstood some on the desire for a vintage-esque Death Star.  Still though, rather than look at the vintage 3-3/4" one for inspiration, I'd actually be a lot more interested in something more along these lines in the 3-3/4" scale:



If it were modular though, I don't see any reason why they couldn't incorporate whatever play features they want (just make them hidden enough so they don't detract from the appearance).

Also one other point, price really is something that I don't get on Hasbro's end.  I know a lot of toys these days are outrageously priced, but take a look at the Imaginext playsets... in particular, the Batman one... I wonder why Hasbro can't even do a Death Star for the Galactic Hero stuff, which would be the same scale as the Imaginext stuff...

Look at the Batman set... my son has this, and it's awesome... even better in person...





So, what does that thing retail for?  $40-$45 depending on where you shop.  But if that were a Hasbro item of comparable quality, there is no way in hell it would be that cheap, even it was GI JOE, which Hasbro owns the rights to.  We'd have to shell out at least $75.00 probably... and for something that same size suited for 3-3/4" scale figures?  I'm sure it would be at least $100.00.  

Anyways, I do think there's more potential now than a few years ago because they made the business decision to price the AT-AT in the $100.00 range, but still... for a company with so many assets, and that makes so much money off this license, they really have wasted numerous golden opportunities.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2011, 11:23 AM by CHEWIE »

Offline Greg

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Re: Death Star, Sail Barge & Sandcrawler Wishful Updates
« Reply #17 on: February 11, 2011, 11:46 AM »
Regarding the Turbo Tank, my guess if Hasbro said it didn't do as well would be mostly due to retailer orders.  I recall that thing being a good seller in my area, and then only saw a handful of them at various Wal-Marts on clearance right after Christmas.  But I saw a lot more AT-TEs and AT-ATs marked down than I ever did Turbo Tanks... plus that sucker hauls in a lot of cash on ebay these days... a lot more than the other two.

I had never read that the Turbo Tank did poorly before seeing it in this thread. I'm with you Chewie, in that I think it did alright. They weren't exactly easy to find in my area, and the Turbo Tank didn't seem to enjoy as many sales as the AT-TE and AT-AT. However, I did see a lot more AT-TEs at regular retail and eventually discount stores, so maybe Hasbro didn't get to sell as many Turbo Tanks to retailers. Judging by the fact that they go for $200ish on eBay, I'd say that a re-release in a few years would do alright.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Death Star, Sail Barge & Sandcrawler Wishful Updates
« Reply #18 on: February 11, 2011, 06:10 PM »
Actually if you go through some threads at different sites, the TT was pretty widely put on sale actually in November, and saw clearance the day after Christmas at Wal-Mart.  I wasn't sure if it was just my area but after just looking at the old threads I noticed it was pretty widespread that they hit $50 right around December 24th-27th at Wal-Mart, Target and Meijer followed suit...

I actually kept passing on it because of space issues and not digging the vehicle as much, but when they dropped down even lower at K-Mart around March or so, I wound up caving and picked one up because they'd gotten so cheap.  I've yet to see an AT-AT clearance locally unless you count the KM drop that happened long before Christmas.  :-\  I think it's likely that Hasbro just mentioned it in regards to what Retail bought off them though.  The AT-TE did basically the same thing the TT did here, and they said it sold well, so I'd assume it means how willing retail was to commit to it.

As far as why playsets can't be done cheaper, I am not sure.  Materials used, complexity of the molds (I've seen the super hero sets you've mentioned, and they're not as complex as most Hasbro Star Wars stuff tends to be, so maybe that's an issue).  Power Team Elite puts out decent stuff for incredibly low prices...  Maybe it's where they're manufacturing?
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Offline Phrubruh

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Re: Death Star, Sail Barge & Sandcrawler Wishful Updates
« Reply #19 on: February 11, 2011, 07:31 PM »
I could totally see them doing a Galatic Heros scale Echo base like the above Batcave. We have that Batcave too. My son uses it as a combination batcave and imperial outpost for his GHs.
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Offline darth broem 2

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Re: Death Star, Sail Barge & Sandcrawler Wishful Updates
« Reply #20 on: February 11, 2011, 07:42 PM »
I can understand if they never make the SailBarge and Sandcrawler.  Although I would LOVE them to do so.  Those 2 items are nowhere near the icon that is the Death Star.  The Death Star should be an absolute no-brainer, automatic when the re-release comes out.  C'mon Hasbro, you are a TOY manufacturer.  The Death Star SCREAMS to be made into some sort of playset.  I know every other toy company out there would be dying to make a damn Death Star playset of some sort if they had this license.  LOL!  I still can't believe this hasn't gotten the green light at some point.  Yeah, if they made it there will be some that go to clearance just like the Falcon, Turbo Tank, and AT-AT.  It is inevitable but there would also be a ton that get sold if they make it cool enough. 

Offline Darby

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Re: Death Star, Sail Barge & Sandcrawler Wishful Updates
« Reply #21 on: February 12, 2011, 10:45 AM »
I would do cartwheels over the Sandcrawler, but I know it's a pipe dream.  I think the Sail Barge is too, but you never know.  Enough clamor from us could change that.  Given the fact that Hasbro will probably milk existing tooling, here's what I think we'll probably see if we get BIG ships:

EP1: Naboo Royal Cruiser
EP2: AT-TE
EP3: Gunship?
EP4: Death Star
EP5: AT-AT / Slave 1
EP6: Falcon

Here's what I'd like to see myself:

EP1: MTT
EP2: Republic Dropship
EP3: Tantive IV ship/playset
EP4: Sandcrawler
EP5: Echo Base Playset
EP6: Jabba's Sail Barge