Author Topic: Late 2003/04 Figures  (Read 18628 times)

Offline Darby

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Re: Check Hasbro NOW
« Reply #45 on: August 9, 2003, 10:05 PM »
Jimmy... who are you talking to/about?  Seems there's been overwhelming praise in this thread.

Offline MetalJedi

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Re: Check Hasbro NOW
« Reply #46 on: August 9, 2003, 11:18 PM »
I think SW fatigue has finally settled in on me.  I looked at these and thought "Wow, those are great" and then didn't give them a second thought.  I found a slew of new figures at Target the other day and wasn't excited by my find at all.  I realized none of these characters were particularly compelling and the only reason I wanted them was because they're SW.

Between the distribution debacle (I finally did get a case from Newforce, only to have it be mispacked - no Hoth Han) and the fact I've been collecting these ALL MY LIFE I think I'm a little worn out.

That said, some of these pieces are fantastic.  Nightclub Obi Wan is probably the best Obi Wan ever, any scale, any trilogy.  All the Hoth figures are amazing, except for the Trooper, who betrays the fact he was sculpted pre-POTJ too well.  Like the Snowtrooper, he's not up to current standards.  And he's way too happy.  

I think Jimmy was referring to you Spuffy. Note above quote is very negative.
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Offline Jimmy

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Re: Check Hasbro NOW
« Reply #47 on: August 9, 2003, 11:26 PM »
Should I really go through and find all the nit picking about every little itsy bitsy bit?

Though MJ did a good job in showing you a little bit...
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Offline Jesse James

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More News...
« Reply #48 on: August 10, 2003, 12:41 AM »
I was over at rebelscum real quick, and they had images from the Slide Show/Q&A presentation Hasbro put on, and there's a nice image of Jedi Luke due out next year...

Soft goods robe, a blaster, a sabre, and a "belt" (I couldn't see the belt being spoke of personally).  It's shaping up to be a highlight figure for 2004 if you ask me though.

Also, check the "Jabba's Palace" wave...  Who's the person listed for the basic line?  Not a palace denizen's name that I'm familiar with...  Anyone know who it is (IE: Scott, do you know because you always seem to know and have a photo to boot!!!)

Only Dengar listed on that "Destroyer" wave...  I hope we get a new Piett though, or Needa, or the ever wished for Veers with removable armor, helmet, and hat.  THAT would rock...

A new Bossk wouldn't bother me though either (Because Trandoshan's get all da ladies), and I would take a bridge crewman (Technician) with the long-brim grey kepi hat as well...  

Yes, wishful thinking on ALL of that.  Dengar's at least on the way, and rightfully so.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval!  But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: Check Hasbro NOW
« Reply #49 on: August 10, 2003, 01:00 AM »
I'm going to step in here (though this isn't my mod section) and say that the ever-present "complaining about people complaining" shall cease here and now.  It's one of the things I was HAPPY to leave at Rebelscum, and it's something I do not wish to see carry over to here.  I don't think the mods of this section will mind me voicing this opinion because I think they're going to agree with me.

This is a Star Wars collecting forum, and as such people are going to complain...  EVERY figure may have some flaw to some person, and I personally do not like to see these people's opinions be trampled.  If you cannot handle this stance then feel free to PM me or discuss it with one of the other mods but I doubt you find much of a difference in opinion here.  We're here to talk Star Wars toys, and that includes the low opinions as much as the praise.

Nobody's voice is to be squelched simply because you disagree though.  So try to keep that in mind when you're here at our forums.  

If you like something, then great.  If you don't, that's fine as well, but keep your discussion back and forth civil and RESPECTFUL  (which is the key here).  

Try to remember it's the complaints that got GOOD changes to this line for us as collectors.

Now, as for the Hoth Rebel Soldier figure and my opinion that it's the weakest figure and an overall disappointment...

Basically, yes I DO think it's a big deal...  Is he a background character?  Yes...  Is he an army builder though, and thus should outsell a regular background character?  Yes...  And then should he be given a LITTLE better treatment with some articulation points so he can actually hold his rifle AND just stand around?  I don't think that's too much to ask.  Do background characters deserve second-hand treatment?  Nope because he's still gonna cost full retail so I want a full/good figure be it secondary, primary, EU, or anything else.

Once again, I point to BBi and 21st Century as 2 companies that do quite a bit more "perfect" than Hasbro does.  Sure, nobody's perfect (Neither are the aforementioned 2 companies), but Hasbro still has a ways to go before they're close across the entire Star Wars line.  I can appreciate the nice Riekean figure or Hoth Luke, but the Hoth Rebel was more important to me and came up as a flat/bland figure with little improvement beyond his sculpt.

Tack onto all of that, that the Hoth Rebel really DID need a new/better figure and is likely to not see a resculpt again for a long time, not for a while anyway,(Army builders tend to only get one shot here and there) and I'd have appreciated a MUCH better figure right now.

Is it better than POTF2's 2 versions?  Indeed, it's a better sculpt I think...  It's still not what an army builder figure SHOULD or COULD be in this day and age of Hasbro.  He could certainly have more articulation in the arms at least (Why no ball/socket shoulders and maybe bicep and wrist articulation so he could be posed any # of ways), and had some better features that would make you want to own an army of him.

As he stands now, an army of him will resemble the cookie-cutter syndrome that plagued POTF2.  Articulation would've alleviated that, but it's for not I guess.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval!  But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
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Offline roguestormtrooper

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Re: More News...
« Reply #50 on: August 10, 2003, 01:12 AM »
The Jedi Luke does look awesome,    can't wait until more detailed images pop   up...  The Star Destroyer wave does leave alot of possibilities for us to ponder.  A new Dengar is great...  I agree with you JJ,  a new Piett and Capt. Needa would be welcome additions.  (And I thought I was the only one who liked Bossk! ):o

Any thoughts on who will be included with the Battle of Yavin wave?

And I'll say it again,  based on what we have seen already...  2004 is going to be an outstanding year to be a collector! ;D

Offline dustrho

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Re: More News...
« Reply #51 on: August 10, 2003, 01:21 AM »
Well, I was at that press conference at the Wizard World Chicago, and the pictures of that ROTJ Luke Skywalker were quite awesome... something I can't wait to hit stores.

The figures that were listed on their slide for the Battle of Yavin are Captain Antilles (Fans' Choice #5 and General Dodonna (runner up to Antilles).
dustrho

Offline Jesse James

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Re: More News...
« Reply #52 on: August 10, 2003, 01:24 AM »
Indeed!  Trandoshans rock all, of course.

I know the Yavin wave included Dodonna and (Oddly enough) Antilles of the Fan Choice poll.

Hmmm, a new Rebel Fleet Trooper would be my ultimate pick! :)  Of course...

But I'd take a Rebel Petty Officer, a new Luke Ceremony, a Rebel Fleet Technician, a New Biggs, a Generic Rebel Pilot, a Pops, Yavin Honor Guard, etc., etc., etc...

Unfortunately, lots of my ideas probably won't come to fruition I believe.  :)  Especially that first one...  haha
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval!  But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
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Offline roguestormtrooper

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Re: Check Hasbro NOW
« Reply #53 on: August 10, 2003, 01:26 AM »
I'm hoping that they have some more Hoth Rebels in the working for the future...  I do agree that the new Hoth Trooper is lacking in some respects as stated above,  I 'm just wondering why they couldn't have made him like they made the saga Endor Trooper?

Offline Jimmy

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Re: Check Hasbro NOW
« Reply #54 on: August 10, 2003, 01:27 AM »
As I said here...

Quote
I respect peoples opinions... but when that opinion is constant negativity it gets pretty   ::) ::) ::)  

and I stick to it...

I'm not saying my opinion is the only... but at times I'll bow out gracefully and leave my opinion to myself.
I see people complain about it all... from distribution, to scalpers, to the most minute details being left off by terrible Hasbro.

After a while it makes you wonder why people continue to support a line and company that is sooo horrible.

If you truly think army builders outsell any main character you are truly mistaken... and I mean that in the nicest way possible. They may sell to certain types of collectors but beyond that your average collector buys one and the casual collector will easily pass on them for a new Jedi Luke. That is a fact.

I can tell you this from personal experience and the fact I do some work for an online retailer that has by far more red Battle Droids right now than Throne Room Luke's... beyond the cases of Endor Soliders and countless other "army builders". Don't believe me though? Ask Hasbro...

Hasbro would almost certainly put more into any main screen character than background one. Companies such as BBI, 21st Century, etc apply such detail into their figures because well that's all they create... "army builders" (that's literally).

You mention Riekean being a nice figure though the Hoth Rebel being much more important... though remember in this case you are the minority. Most will say "OH cool another Hoth Rebel trooper"... and next line might be but I have three of him as is...

They will oogle over the Riekean because he's a figure that has never seen light... It's basic facts man...

I'm not trying to sound like some cocky *** but it's the truth.

As I said it just gets tired very quickly to see the constant but...

But the trooper is missing his this... but the shoulder pads are on upside down... but... but... but...
The day this hobby becomes something that I have to tear into about every single detail is the day I might as well toss my chips in...

It's toys... nothing more... nothing less...
I worry far more about the fact it's 2003 and still we have disease that we can not cure....

Gotta love me or leave me alone....

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Offline roguestormtrooper

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Re: More News...
« Reply #55 on: August 10, 2003, 01:35 AM »
Oops!  I saw Capt. Antilles and Gen.  Dodonna,  I was just wondering who else would be included...   Sorry...:-[

I would like to see some more background Rebels.  Red Leader would be an awesome choice...   And while I'm at it,  Wasn't there supposed to be a Target accessory pack with the Rebel Technician?  Was it cancelled?

Offline JediMAC

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Re: More News...
« Reply #56 on: August 10, 2003, 01:47 AM »
Hello?!?  Hasn't anyone even noticed that included in the upcoming "Tatooine wave" aside from the previously announced Jedi Luke, will be R1-G4 and R2-D2 with Drink Tray?!  SWEET!!!   8)

Sure we've had a lot of R2's, but many of us have been hoping for really what is the last possible variation with him, with is as the "Bartender" R2 onboard Jabba's Sail Barge.  That's great!

Then, to get the R1-G4 too?!  Wow.  That's absolutely awesome, and a dream come true for the Purchase of the Droids diorama makers!  Very nice to see Hasbro looking into some of these more obscure Original Trilogy characters again, after the previous movie based year.  Looks like 2004 is going to be one of the best collecting years ever!

Bring it on!!!   :-*

Offline roguestormtrooper

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Re: More News...
« Reply #57 on: August 10, 2003, 01:50 AM »
I most definitely agree... :o

Offline JediMAC

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Re: Check Hasbro NOW
« Reply #58 on: August 10, 2003, 01:53 AM »
We respect and tolerate EVERYONE'S opinions on Hasbro's product here at JD, so let's please not be knocking the folks that might still like to point out some of the shortcomings in Hasbro's otherwise great looking 2004 product line.  Sure, a lot of it's beautiful, but there is always room for improvement, and it's the pros and cons discussion about the line that make it interesting for the majority of us.  Please try to keep that in mind.

We've got some of the absolutely most nitpicky, perfectionist collectors in the online community here at JD (myself most definitely included), so you better believe that no matter how great a job Hasbro does on it's line, we'll still be nitpicking at the areas or figures that they could've done better on, while also pointing out where Hasbro has very much excelled too...

We don't want to see the complaining about complainers thing popping up here at JD, as was so prevelant at RS.  It's a big part of the reason that a lot of us have moved over here.  So lets all just try to respect eachother's opinions here.  Thanks!   :-*
« Last Edit: August 10, 2003, 01:56 AM by JediMAC »

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Check Hasbro NOW
« Reply #59 on: August 10, 2003, 01:57 AM »
Quote
I'm not saying my opinion is the only... but at times I'll bow out gracefully and leave my opinion to myself.
I see people complain about it all... from distribution, to scalpers, to the most minute details being left off by terrible Hasbro.

After a while it makes you wonder why people continue to support a line and company that is sooo horrible.

And that is fine Jimmy, but when it comes to people's complaints it's not your duty to police the boards as to what is legitimate and what is not.  It's also not your duty to dictate whether you feel people would, could, or should start a new hobby simply because what they say irritates you on some level.

Sometimes the complaints about distribution and whatnot get to be a bit much to me as well, but if someone cannot find something I do not blame him/her for their feelings and they're allowed to voice that.

If someone finds something and thinks it should've had a working holster, or some extra articulation, it's the same thing...  They're entitled to that opinion, and nobody need be preaching to them anything to the contrary.  

This isn't 100% directed at you alone, but EVERYONE here at JediDefender.  Like I said, that's an attitude I hoped to leave at Rebelscum, and it's an attitude I will gladly nip in the bud here at JediDefender.

Quote
If you truly think army builders outsell any main character you are truly mistaken... and I mean that in the nicest way possible. They may sell to certain types of collectors but beyond that your average collector buys one and the casual collector will easily pass on them for a new Jedi Luke. That is a fact.

I can tell you this from personal experience and the fact I do some work for an online retailer that has by far more red Battle Droids right now than Throne Room Luke's... beyond the cases of Endor Soliders and countless other "army builders". Don't believe me though? Ask Hasbro...

And I would also like to take this moment to cease all "This is fact" talk, because unless you're putting in time with Hasbro and scouring their sales sheets, you do not know these to be "Fact" like you stress.

While I am sure you feel your work for an online retailer gives you some idea that you're an expert on toys, I think I've got an equal ammount of expertise from my research and studies on the toy industry overall.

Hasbro themselves have even said in the past that army builders do tend to sell fairly well, and see higher production runs, so what good would asking Hasbro be to your argument?  The Jedi Luke just shipped...  It's a figure I've yet to even see in a store.  Of course it's going to sell out first right now.

It won't forever though...  Not that I ever said that Army Builders even outsell main characters though.  But they do sell more consistently to the core collectors...  That's something where Main character (and secondary) lose steam eventually.  Some army builders don't sell though, but if army builders truly were such poor sales, why would Hasbro make 4-packs of them, or 3-packs for the Clone Wars line?  Your ideas of "facts" seem flawed, by Hasbro's own actions.

Quote
Hasbro would almost certainly put more into any main screen character than background one. Companies such as BBI, 21st Century, etc apply such detail into their figures because well that's all they create... "army builders" (that's literally).

So Hasbro should put MORE $/effort into a main character, but still charge you the same for a background character or army builder...  Yet when other companies, who "just do army builders" as you put it, put the SAME effort into ALL their figures, they're somehow getting away with less work or effort?

I'm sorry, but that makes no real sense from a business standpoint, nor does it make sense from the consumers standpoint to say "Well I'm willing to accept less but pay the same price for this guy because he's a background character".  

Quote
You mention Riekean being a nice figure though the Hoth Rebel being much more important... though remember in this case you are the minority. Most will say "OH cool another Hoth Rebel trooper"... and next line might be but I have three of him as is...

They will oogle over the Riekean because he's a figure that has never seen light... It's basic facts man...

Once again, these are NOT facts...  Maybe in your mind and how you collect they are, but they're nothing more than your opinion on collecting Jimmy.

This is where the tolerance issue is being breached I think.  You feel so strongly that you're right...  To the point you speak as if you had sales sheets in front of you to back this up that Gen. Riekean is the figure EVERYONE wanted and the Hoth Rebel wasn't what anyone wanted.  

That's fine, I understand you think differently on a collecting level than I do, but it's also where I (and others) say we wanted a NICE new Hoth Rebel Soldier, and we got something less than that...  

Sure I'm excited about Riekean, but I would've loved a better Rebel Soldier first personally.  You say I'm in the minority, I say army builders are a large part of the equation...  You disagree with that, that's fine, but you're not an expert so please remember that your opinion is your own, and that you need to NOT trample other collector's thoughts around these boards.

I'm not doing this to be mean, but I was brought on here because of how I feel about collecting, and how I will not stand by while opinions are being trashed.

I would suggest people feeling this angry over complaints to heed some of their own advice.  If you are upset by the words of others about toys to the point that you feel it necessary to vent about it, maybe it is YOU who needs to rethink collecting, and it's "worth" to you.

Like you said yourself Jimmy, they're just toys...  Don't let what others think or say bother you.  This is a site where we accept everyone's point of view on the toys, whether they agree or disagree, like or dislike...  As such, talking down to people because you feel they "complain too much" will NOT be tolerated.

And like I said, feel free to take this up with me privately if you disagree, or to discuss it with one of the other administrators who I'm sure will respond to you as promptly as they can.
2011 Rebel Fleet Trooper Gets My Seal Of Approval!  But Where's The Friggin' Holster On Him!?
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