Author Topic: The Future of Star Wars Collecting  (Read 60929 times)

Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #75 on: July 14, 2005, 12:28 AM »
Hey Nathan - believe me, I'm in this for the long haul all the way until 2018 if need be. So I don't want to see Hasbro run the line into the ground at all....

I'm just seeing too many parallels between how the final years of the Playmates Star Trek line and how the SW line is being handled.

If anyone recalls, the end of the Playmates Trek line was heralded by a series of exclusives - and where were these exclusives? At Target stores of course!

Thankfully, TRU still seems to be onboard with the Battlepacks and things like the second Obi-Wan Starfighter so hopefully things aren't down for the count just yet.

Also if the rumors of newly sculpted Bib Fortuna, Leia in Boushh disguise and Han Solo thawing from the carbonite are true - that's going to make for a GREAT wave - almost like a 2/3 year gap follow-on to the Saga Jabba Waves that were also really good (IMHO).
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Offline JesseVader08

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #76 on: July 14, 2005, 12:59 AM »
What a rollercoaster ride of emotions today.  Sheer frustration and anger at the repackapalooza of figures this morning in the Battle Packs and basic figures, and then some apparent promise in their choices of figures in the final 12 ROTS figures (many will disagree with me on the second half of my statement, I know  ;)).  All of it has led me to rethink my completist following of Hasbro's product.

I think this is even more frustrating because I really believed that the guys at Hasbro were interested in producing figures that we wanted after the Q & A at Celebration 3.  You could see that these were, for the most part, guys like us that just wanted to make cool figures that we'd like and understood some of the poor choices of the past.  I was really encouraged by what was to come from them.

Like I said, then today happened.  Repacks out the cornhole.  But at least some of the repacks appeared to be good choices.  I guess.

Like Spuffy mentioned earlier and KBZ mentioned in another thread, perhaps this is just what we're getting while Hasbro is actually focusing on in order to blow our minds with the next line.

I'm frustrated, but still cautiously optimistic.

 :-\
« Last Edit: July 14, 2005, 01:00 AM by JesseVader08 »

Offline dafoo

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #77 on: July 14, 2005, 10:37 PM »
only 12 more figures? Do all the paint variations count as 'another' figure?
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Offline Ben

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #78 on: July 15, 2005, 05:07 AM »
I'm just seeing too many parallels between how the final years of the Playmates Star Trek line and how the SW line is being handled.

If anyone recalls, the end of the Playmates Trek line was heralded by a series of exclusives - and where were these exclusives? At Target stores of course!


Target: Where Popular Sci-Fi Toylines Go To Die.  ;)

I look at all these repaints and I'm reminded of all the bull**** repaints in the GI Joe line. I think a guy named Daryl DePriest used to run that line, now he heads up Star Wars. I seriously wonder if he's the goon responsible for the repaint idea (which SW did fine without for 10 years).

Speculation, of course, but small Joes aren't at retail anymore if that means anything.
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Offline Darth Broem

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #79 on: July 15, 2005, 09:15 AM »
only 12 more figures? Do all the paint variations count as 'another' figure?

I think so Dafoo.  Except for the red shocktrooper, green clone commander, and black clone pilot.  Why they don't get the special "another" figure label is beyond most of us.

Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #80 on: July 15, 2005, 12:25 PM »
I look at all these repaints and I'm reminded of all the ******** repaints in the GI Joe line. I think a guy named Daryl DePriest used to run that line, now he heads up Star Wars. I seriously wonder if he's the goon responsible for the repaint idea (which SW did fine without for 10 years).

As I mentioned in some other threads, yes, this DePriest guy used to run the GI Joe line and was responsible for the concept of the small Joes two-packs where 90% of the time one of the two figures was merely a repaint.

So personally, I'm not surprised at all that the rest of the ROTS line will be repaints. I'm holding out hope that the TSC/SAGA2 line will have a mix of new and re-painted sculpts and lean heavily towards new sculpts. We'll have to wait and see what's presented at today's panel discussion.
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Offline Reid

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #81 on: July 15, 2005, 01:47 PM »
Just saw the exclusives at Comic-Con... the only one I'll probably get is the Target commtech stormie w/ cup exclusive. And to all you people who are complaining about the repaints, what is wrong with you? Most of the repaints are excellent, especially the Neimodian Commander. And most of you are saying "Wheres Cody? More clones! We want more clones!" Weve already got about 15 in 3 months. 3 months! Thats an incredibly short time! And we have gotten about 80 figures (including exclusives, battle arenas, vehicle pack-ins, etc;) in that time period. So all of you stop complaining and crying in your mom's basement and be grateful! Sheesh, you can't please collectors with anything...

Offline dafoo

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #82 on: July 15, 2005, 04:20 PM »
Hunter, the point is the did all the other clones and leave ONE out? that's just beggin' to get greif over it.
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Offline Ben

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #83 on: July 15, 2005, 06:07 PM »
Just saw the exclusives at Comic-Con... the only one I'll probably get is the Target commtech stormie w/ cup exclusive. And to all you people who are complaining about the repaints, what is wrong with you? Most of the repaints are excellent, especially the Neimodian Commander. And most of you are saying "Wheres Cody? More clones! We want more clones!" Weve already got about 15 in 3 months. 3 months! Thats an incredibly short time! And we have gotten about 80 figures (including exclusives, battle arenas, vehicle pack-ins, etc;) in that time period. So all of you stop complaining and crying in your mom's basement and be grateful! Sheesh, you can't please collectors with anything...

More Clones = better. Would you rather buy repaints of Clones (or which there are hundreds of in the film) or repaints of the Nemoidian Warrior, of which there were two of in the film?

You'll be one of the few buying the Neimoidian Commander. I got two of the Warrior, and it was a really crappy figure, IMO. He had a great look and his action feature wasn't intrusive, but any figure that can't hold its own accessories is crap in my book.

And complaining-- it's what collectors do. And that will never stop until the end of time.
And I'm complaining from my nice rent-controlled apartment far from my parent's basement.
I'm not grateful for a bunch of repaints that take away case space for Padmes and Clones.

Hasbro's not doing me a favor by making SW toys, I'm doing them a favor by buying them, and buying a lot of them.
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Offline speedermike

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #84 on: July 15, 2005, 09:32 PM »
Y'know, when the first batch of pics form the ROTS line showed up, there was very little complaining at all.  We liked the sculpts. We liked the articulation.  We liked the character choices.  In general, we liked the whole line.

It;s not impossible to make us happy.  It just takes a little thought, and a little respect.
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Offline TheBlackDog

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #85 on: July 15, 2005, 09:50 PM »
I will say this as far as the future goes. I am glad that I am a non-completist collector and that I can pick and choose what figures I get. I don't mind the rehash of the clones, at least ReHashbro picked the right two clones to repaint, the clone commander and the SA Clone #41.  I will pick up IF I can find them, the green commander, the shock troop, the 501st clone, Commander B., and the other individual clone single packs. The rest is just a waste to me. The holographic stuff I can pass on cause they didn't do anything to the figures and I am just not interested in them.
Just so everyone knows, this is not in defense of ReHasbro. Bottom line that we have to remember is that ANY toy company is a business and they are going to do what makes sense to their bottom line. That is the only place loyalty lies from any company, to its shareholders or owner. I know many will say that if they made different figures more would buy, but I don't buy that. ReHashbro has made a killing and will continue to make a killing because people will buy, and they have the age range of teens to around 40 locked in, and most people those ages don't save money, they spend. Also, think like a businessman not a collector. By keeping my post-production costs down, and putting out paint variations on figures that the majority of consumers will buy (collectors, fans, and kids) I greatly increase my bottom line.  ReHasbro is locked in on this and won't change so why expect it? Guess what I am saying is that regardless of what ReHasbro employee's say, they are NEVER going to change the core of their business model.
I saw this same issue  in my other area of collecting which is LOTR by ToyBiz. How many Frodo's, Gollum's, Aragorn's, Legolas' and Gimili's did I see? Far too many that I bought being a completist with that line. How many were rehashes? Most of the figures were rehashes and even many of the new ones used parts from other figures.  Thankfully I have decided to stop that line after the Epic waves 1 and 2 come out.
So for the future,  I am looking for those figures that are new, or that are signifiantly redone enough that I want them in my collection. Those I'll buy. If the figure doesn't pass my standards, or if I make my own customization that is better, then I'll pass on ReHasbro's efforts. Don't take me wrong, ReHasbro will get enough of my $, just not as much as in the past. Also, I expaned more into the OC area and find that the busts, mini-lightsabers, etc are really nice to have (though much more expensive). In the OC area I don't have to worry about rehashes, those companies don't have time nor money to do that to their collectors.
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Offline Ben

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #86 on: July 15, 2005, 11:59 PM »
After seeing the Carkoon wave and hearing about the Astromech packs at GH, I'm not as fearful as I was earlier.

I just hope the retailers bite.
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Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #87 on: July 16, 2005, 02:46 AM »
I'm going to like getting back to some good old OT stuff. Beyond the anounced Hoth wave, I would imagine there will be a Tatooine wave based on the Sandtrooper with Black Paldrun, so we know we're going to get a little PT break.
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Offline Reid

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #88 on: July 17, 2005, 09:23 PM »
Just saw the exclusives at Comic-Con... the only one I'll probably get is the Target commtech stormie w/ cup exclusive. And to all you people who are complaining about the repaints, what is wrong with you? Most of the repaints are excellent, especially the Neimodian Commander. And most of you are saying "Wheres Cody? More clones! We want more clones!" Weve already got about 15 in 3 months. 3 months! Thats an incredibly short time! And we have gotten about 80 figures (including exclusives, battle arenas, vehicle pack-ins, etc;) in that time period. So all of you stop complaining and crying in your mom's basement and be grateful! Sheesh, you can't please collectors with anything...

More Clones = better. Would you rather buy repaints of Clones (or which there are hundreds of in the film) or repaints of the Nemoidian Warrior, of which there were two of in the film?

You'll be one of the few buying the Neimoidian Commander. I got two of the Warrior, and it was a really crappy figure, IMO. He had a great look and his action feature wasn't intrusive, but any figure that can't hold its own accessories is crap in my book.

And complaining-- it's what collectors do. And that will never stop until the end of time.
And I'm complaining from my nice rent-controlled apartment far from my parent's basement.
I'm not grateful for a bunch of repaints that take away case space for Padmes and Clones.

Hasbro's not doing me a favor by making SW toys, I'm doing them a favor by buying them, and buying a lot of them.

Sorry I got P'oed. I know clones are popular but frankly, I'm getting sick of them.

Offline Ben

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting
« Reply #89 on: July 18, 2005, 01:00 AM »
It's alright. I come off too strong at times, but I was really down then about the future of this line. My apologies.  :)
don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk