Hmm, okay so I didn't go into the details about what each room would include. Fair enough, I thought that would be assumed.
No, I knew exactly what you were looking for Sal and I'll be honest, I'd never buy a single piece of this.
So these are not, nor were they ever intended to just be set dressing or displays for figures.
And they're not, nor were they ever intended to be affordable.
You have great ideas, Sal, but honestly, they're not realistic from a toy company that sells through Walmart. As much as the ideas you have might be fun, even I wouldn't buy a box that really didn't have the full playset in it. I've looked at some of the sets from Dwarven Forge, for example, and, although they're geared more for minis or MicroMachines, I never liked the concept of having to pick and choose what I was going to buy. I really would prefer to buy one box and have everything that I need for the playset be in it.
I'm not counting out some ideas such as Hasbro doing the Saga Deluxe sets or the Droid Factory Padme where the accessory pieces could be joined together and added to the Geonosis Arena playset. Those things enhance a playset. But if I don't buy any of them, and just buy the Geo set, I get a relatively complete playset all in one box for an affordable price.
Even the concept that Playmates is using right now for Star Trek, while sounding good on paper, isn't sucking me in in reality. I liked the idea when I first heard about it and saw photos, but when I look at it in stores I feel like I'm being forced into spending money I don't want to spend by having to buy a bunch of figures to get all the pieces I want. I'd rather have paid another $10 for the playset, all in one box, and been done with it.
Same thing with a Death Star. The cardboard piece we are looking at would be great if it were all in one big box. If I had to buy two or three boxes and assemble it, I'd be less inclined to buy it. And honestly, even though I'm not a parent, I'm betting a lot of parents feel the same way. If they see a box with a toy in it that their son or daughter wants, but they find out that they'll also have to buy two or three other boxes to "complete" it, my guess is they'd walk away. Not all parents, but enough that it probably gives Hasbro pause.
Some of your ideas, when put together, sound great, but how hard would it be for a 10 year old kid to talk his parents into spending $15 or $20 for a hallway? "But mom! I need this hallway to connect my trash compactor to my docking bay! But it also comes with this disembodied R2 unit!"
I hate singling you out, Sal, because I do love the ideas you have, but you've put a face, so to speak, to the anonymous "forum members" I mentioned in my earlier post. You aren't alone in wanting this type of thing. I know Chewie is a big fan of this type of set as is Jesse and a lot of others. But the hard core collectors on these forums aren't always the target audience for Hasbro. Their target are toy buyers. I'm still a toy buyer even though I'm collecting them. I like the stuff I buy because at their heart, they're toys meant to be played with. I've never been into prop replicas and have now cut off Sideshow because they aren't toys and don't have play value to them (exception for the FX lightsabers). I do buy GG still because that does fit the desire I have to own a few higher end display pieces. In general, though, I want my toys. The playsets you talk about do have a certain amount of "toy" play value in them, but they still feel like high end display pieces, now with light and sound.
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