Author Topic: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?  (Read 236405 times)

Offline Nicklab

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #15 on: April 2, 2012, 09:58 PM »
We've talked about a 6" Scale here before and I for one am more in favor of it than I ever was...I really think they could do some really cool stuff.  Just don't start with 6" TPM figures :P

Does anybody have a memory?  Do we need to relive the Mega Action Figures all over again?
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Offline Scott

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #16 on: April 2, 2012, 10:00 PM »
No...but I do think people would buy SA Marvel Legendsesque SW figures
« Last Edit: April 2, 2012, 10:09 PM by Scott »

Offline Nicklab

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #17 on: April 2, 2012, 10:08 PM »
Marvel Legends style figures could be awesome.  But with the way Hasbro has been scaling back on tooling recently, I think an all-new scale seems unlikely.

BTW, I think the Mega Action Destroyer Droid was actually really cool.
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Offline Scott

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #18 on: April 2, 2012, 10:13 PM »
Right, I don't see it happening either due the economy and the fact that retail SW is all but dead.  Every store I have been too in the last month is stuffed with Legends and Clone Wars, there are still ESB Vintage figures at my local Target from over two years ago.  None of the vehicles and battle packs are selling.

OTOH...Brian is pointing out that Pawlus is more or less speculating on a He-Man or DC style subscription type thing where 10-15 6" figures are made each year.  It works for Mattel, SW is much more popular than those two franchises so in theory it should work too...right?

Offline Jesse James

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #19 on: April 2, 2012, 11:38 PM »
Butttttttttttttttttttttttt...

Remember who's gonna be in charge of this. ;)
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #20 on: April 2, 2012, 11:55 PM »
I have a coupld of those destroyer droids somewhere.
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Offline Qui-Gon Jim

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #21 on: April 3, 2012, 08:29 AM »
I think I'd almost want to go in the opposite direction...  Smaller figures, sort of like the MASK figure scale, and more a focus on vehicles.  They are sort of doing this with the Jedi Force line (which are pretty darn cool toys), but I am think of a more realistic aesthetic.  Figures wouldn't need SA, just focus on making them work with the vehicles.

Offline MasterFisto

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #22 on: April 3, 2012, 09:42 AM »
I'm just not as into things as I was.  I like it, I'm here if it's here, but yeah, I just don't care.

I can relate to this, since I have been feeling something similar lately.  For the most part, I have been apathetic about The Vintage Collection, with its emphasis on resculpts, resculpts, and a few more resculpts.  Granted, I am pleased to get figures of those characters that have never been made before, and I am pleased to get definitive updates to some older figures, but my fire for collecting them has simmered quite a bit because of all of the resculpts.  It's like my collecting zeal has slipped into neutral.  I still go to the store to get each wave, but I'm not getting out of bed at 6:00AM anymore to look for them.  Know what I mean?  For the past year and a half, my passion for collecting Star Wars toys has been driven primarily by the The Clone Wars line.  But now that that line has been relegated to the basement of priorities, with very little to offer, and very little to get excited about in terms of articulation and sculpting, I am left with little to get pumped about.  The show keeps getting better and better, but the figures have all but disappeared.  Sigh.  I think it was Pawlus (?) who said it succintly: there is nothing currently hanging on the pegs which corresponds to what is going on with the show right now, and that is a problem.

So, would I like to see Star Wars go on hiatus?  Hell NO!  I want to go back to 60 figures a year for each line, with new characters galore.  But I know that that is not realistic, given the current situation.  So, I am just waiting (im)patiently for news about General Krell, and collecting Fighter Pods.  Wake me up when y'all hear something about that badass Besalisk.   :P

Offline Scockery

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #23 on: April 3, 2012, 03:12 PM »
I wouldn't buy a larger line or smaller one. Even buying better versions of old characters gets tiresome, a new scale...nah.

I only collect 3 3/4". And I'm pickier about that than ever.

Offline CHEWIE

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #24 on: April 3, 2012, 04:04 PM »
I'd like to see this approach to the line for 2013...

TVC - Keep it going, just be smarter about carry forwards, and for the love of GOD, fix the Phase 2 clone trooper helmets!  And limit each wave to 3-4 carry forward figures.

Movie Heroes - Keep it going, but sprinkle in more new stuff, and for repacks, pick ones that make sense.  Add some new deco/weathering to army builders here and there.

Clone Wars - Keep it going, but just sprinkle in more new stuff and don't be afraid to make some new aliens and try and get some figures out there that line up with what's on TV at the time.

Battle Packs - Throw in some cool accessories/small environment pieces that we otherwise would not get - seriously... this will draw in more people than Hasbro realizes.

Vehicles/Deluxes - Enough with launching new lines with REPACKS - when a line launches, it should be fresh and new, not stale before the stuff even makes it to the sales floor.

Big One - Make it OT.  We're due for OT anyway.  Sail Barge would fit the bill.

Playsets - For the love of everything holy, outsource to a company like Sideshow if you aren't willing to roll up your sleeves and make a kick-ass product.

As for a 6-inch line... pass.  I can't see myself having any interest, and they'd be priced close to $20... no way am I going down that road.  I'm sure the figures would be very cool, but they're just not my thing.  The only larger scale stuff I ever cared for was He-Man when I was a toddler. 

Offline Dan

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #25 on: April 3, 2012, 07:00 PM »
Well, I think it would be better received a year or two after the 3 3/4 line goes away for a bit. You have to create some hunger if you are trying to sell plastic food- Look how excited some of us were when bend-ems and little metal action masters showed up, because we hadn't seen anything Star Wars at retail in years. Those were painted bird-poop compared to what we get now, but the lack of anything else made them look like gold.

If I had known in 1995 how many figures would be produced, and how many versions of them, I would have said "I guess in 2020 I'll go back and pick up the ones I like." If a new line showed up now, I would simply say "I guess in 2025 I'll go back and pick up the ones I like." Not to mention that 80% or more of these things are worth less a year after their release, not more. Patience and passion seem like strange partners, but I get a lot more bang for my buck on the aftermarket than I do at retail.

Clone wars was the main line drawing my interest the last couple of years. I like the stylized look, because they are toys, and it fits with the cartoon. I would actually like to see them re-do the entire movie series in animation at some point, with a toy line to support it. Some of gentle giants animated statues are fantastic, and a toy line like that might draw me back in. 

With that being said, my own kids are growing up, and the window of time I intend to spend gathering too much more stuff is closing. Even if they came up with something completely different, it is really going to be aimed at a different demographic than the one I am headed toward-
« Last Edit: April 4, 2012, 05:34 PM by Dan »

Offline Brian

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #26 on: April 4, 2012, 11:51 AM »
It seems like a lot of us here are feeling a little less excitement for the line at this point (not everyone, mind you).  I guess that will happen when we've seen 17 years of figures at this point, and multiple versions of many characters.  I guess I'm in the minority a bit where I still get pretty excited about resculpts (the "ultimate" kind at least).  I think one of the figures I'm looking forward to the most this year is the new Hoth Luke, even though we've seen him a few times before.  I've always said, I'd be in it in some capacity until the end, but honestly if they did slow things down or hang it up for a bit in a few years, I think I'd be ok with that too.  They've covered more than I ever thought they would, and just looking at the wishlists, you can see we're really getting to the bottom of things.

Scott brings up an interesting point with the death of Star Wars at retail.  I do wonder if we are really heading towards the end.  A lot I suppose depends on the 3D releases (and any future live action show/movie), but I think - at this point - their plan for TPM 3D's rollout was sort of a failure.  Hopefully they'll make adjustments for future releases.  I've said it before, but I really don't think collectors would mind repacks so much if they were of ultimate sculpts and supplemented by some all new characters (I wouldn't at least).  Hasbro saves money on the line that way (and a price drop would be great too), and they could dedicate tooling to more collector-centric areas.

As far as the Legends-scale idea, I may be down for that if it was the only game in town.  And, if they kept it in check (the 15-20 a year thing would be ideal).  I don't know if we'll see that, unless the 3 3/4" stuff really does go on hiatus or end at some point - and maybe then it would be online only like MOTU and DCU.  It really seems like a time of change for action figures in general.  Kids don't stay interested, and stores don't seem as interested if it isn't tied to a current movie (Avengers, etc.) or a tv show with sustained popularity (Ben 10, etc.)  Aside from SW (and to a lesser extent Joe/TF/Marvel), that is all that gets peg space at our stores aside from TRU having places for more obscure things.

Offline warinthefloor

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #27 on: April 4, 2012, 11:56 AM »
The future of Star Wars collecting damn well better include a totally scrapped and reinvented distrobution Paradigm from Hasbro and their distributors or there will be no future and we promise you that.

Offline CHEWIE

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #28 on: April 4, 2012, 01:39 PM »
I've said it before, but I really don't think collectors would mind repacks so much if they were of ultimate sculpts and supplemented by some all new characters (I wouldn't at least).  Hasbro saves money on the line that way (and a price drop would be great too), and they could dedicate tooling to more collector-centric areas.

Agreed, Hasbro really needs to be smarter about repack selections. 

They need to try and appeal to both kids and collectors with that stuff... the characters can make be driven by the kid market, but the actual choice figure of said characters should also appeal to collectors... for example, when they want to throw a Han Solo in the mix, that's fine - but they should use a great mold, like the VOTC Han Solo rather than the weaker POTF2 Commtech mold.  I'm sure retailers would appreciate that as well!

Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #29 on: April 4, 2012, 08:23 PM »
I'd like to see this approach to the line for 2013...

TVC - Keep it going, just be smarter about carry forwards, and for the love of GOD, fix the Phase 2 clone trooper helmets!  And limit each wave to 3-4 carry forward figures.

Movie Heroes - Keep it going, but sprinkle in more new stuff, and for repacks, pick ones that make sense.  Add some new deco/weathering to army builders here and there.

Clone Wars - Keep it going, but just sprinkle in more new stuff and don't be afraid to make some new aliens and try and get some figures out there that line up with what's on TV at the time.

Battle Packs - Throw in some cool accessories/small environment pieces that we otherwise would not get - seriously... this will draw in more people than Hasbro realizes.

Vehicles/Deluxes - Enough with launching new lines with REPACKS - when a line launches, it should be fresh and new, not stale before the stuff even makes it to the sales floor.

Big One - Make it OT.  We're due for OT anyway.  Sail Barge would fit the bill.

Playsets - For the love of everything holy, outsource to a company like Sideshow if you aren't willing to roll up your sleeves and make a kick-ass product.

As for a 6-inch line... pass.  I can't see myself having any interest, and they'd be priced close to $20... no way am I going down that road.  I'm sure the figures would be very cool, but they're just not my thing.  The only larger scale stuff I ever cared for was He-Man when I was a toddler.

I agree with everything Chewie has said here.

I think the loss of the Vintage Collection in 2013 will be a huge blow to the line.

I still don't understand the carry-forwards mentality. It just doesn't jive with the paradigm of "keeping the costs per wave down".

Wouldn't it make more sense AND result in cost savings if you had the following schedule:

Wave 1: 12 "new" figures - unlike a lot of folks, I'm okay with good/near-ultimate versions being just put onto Vintage cardbacks for the sake of us getting the character/figure packaged that way - Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are a great example of this.

Wave 2: 6 "new" figures, 6 carry-forward figures from the previous wave.

Wave 3: 6 "new" figures, the 6 "new" figures from Wave 2

Wave 4: 6 "new" figures, the 6 "new" figures from Wave 3

etc...

In my mind, this accomplishes the following:

1) you're going to end up with doubling your order for many of your figures which should bring costs per unit down from China

2) you're giving collectors a chance to start alternating case pre-orders - for example, if Wave 3 had been the Blu-Ray wave and the Malgus wave completely, I would have just pre-ordered two of those cases and just waited for them to come, I'd be done with both waves in one purchase.

3) if you have one or two Vintage packaged "greatest hits" figures, or slightly re-tooled figure in each wave, that should cut down on costs-per-wave as well - figures like FX-7, Hood-up Hoth Han, Ugnaught (BD#43 w/Gray Jumpsuit), Hoth Rebel Trooper (BD #42), AT-AT Driver, Chief Chirpa, Emperor (ROTJ), AT-ST Driver, Endor Poncho Luke (Kit Bash of VC23 w/parts from the Battle for Endor BP), Romba, Luke in Stormtrooper Armor, Warok and A-Wing Pilot (Arvel Crynyd) could all be peppered into the Vintage line to both (a) keep the cost of the wave down since the figure has long been tooled; and (b) fill much needed holes in getting a modern version of the Vintage figure on a modern Vintage Cardback.

There is something definitely to be said for consistency, and if starting with the BluRay wave (or maybe even the TPM wave) if they can have chains like Target and WalMart change the overall assortment SKU for a line to clearance out the pegwarmers from the previous year that's all they need to keep the line "fresh" and "current", what all-powerful moron in the sky keeps saying the packaging changes are what's needed?

« Last Edit: April 4, 2012, 08:25 PM by Pete_Fett »
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