Author Topic: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures  (Read 49076 times)

Offline Jeff

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #60 on: June 11, 2018, 10:34 AM »
The waves for Solo are kind of crazy.

Hasbro isn't doing themselves any favors with the current character selection matrix (more Kylo! more Rey! more Poe! more Finn!) but Disney isn't helping them with the crazy release schedules.

Rogue One was planned to be a short line since TLJ was coming May 2018... then TLJ got bumped and Rogue One line felt incomplete.  Now SOLO is coming just 5 months after TLJ and it feels like both lines ended up short changed - TLJ stuff hasn't been on the pegs long enough to clearance and is kind of eating up space that could go to SOLO.

The whole thing is pretty diseased and hopefully with no new Star Wars movie until Dec 2019, there will be enough time to get some more figures from both TLJ and SOLO to the stores. The "final wave" for the TLJ/Solo stuff shouldn't happen until next spring at least...
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Offline Muftak

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #61 on: June 11, 2018, 12:43 PM »

Rogue One was planned to be a short line since TLJ was coming May 2018... then TLJ got bumped and Rogue One line felt incomplete.  Now SOLO is coming just 5 months after TLJ and it feels like both lines ended up short changed - TLJ stuff hasn't been on the pegs long enough to clearance and is kind of eating up space that could go to SOLO.

The whole thing is pretty diseased and hopefully with no new Star Wars movie until Dec 2019, there will be enough time to get some more figures from both TLJ and SOLO to the stores. The "final wave" for the TLJ/Solo stuff shouldn't happen until next spring at least...

Agreed with this assessment, and I hope they can sort themselves out in the "downtime" between movie releases.

I can't and won't let Hasbro off the hook for bungling stuff, though. The fact that Last Jedi got bumped back six months on the schedule, yet Hasbro still had to scrap the last wave of Rogue One toys they had planned and put into production tells me everything I need to know about it where fault sits.

Offline Darby

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #62 on: June 11, 2018, 02:26 PM »
I read through the guides and visual dictionaries for the new movies and I kind of just shake my head at the enormous fun and creative creatures, droids and aliens that we will never see. I know the schedule of the movies has limited Hasbro, but they aren't taking advantage of the opportunities they have. When you launch a movie line with four 3.75 figs from the film, none of which are the man himself, you have to question what in the world they're thinking. The 5 POA line seems to be slowing down, which is a shame because it's a great line that gets better all the time. I'd love to see Hasbro get back to making what made SW figures fun for so long - lots of new, weird and strange stuff.

Offline Jeff

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #63 on: June 11, 2018, 03:58 PM »
When you launch a movie line with four 3.75 figs from the film, none of which are the man himself, you have to question what in the world they're thinking.

Hasbro has a share of the blame, but Disney and their dumb "you can't show character X until [date]" rules aren't helping.  We saw L3-37 in the commercials and trailers, what is the harm in showing her 3.75" action figure?  Same for Val, Beckett, Rio, etc.  It's like Hasbro can't really do any promotion on these things until it's too late.  Stupid.

But yeah, character selection is so, so bad right now. That's mostly on Hasbro (though again, Disney isn't helping with all the dumb rules).  The character selection is fraught with so many odd, odd, odd choices:

-  Still no 3.75" TFA General Leia?  Huh?
-  TLJ Crait Luke not coming until maybe 2019 now?
-  Repacking the ROTJ Palps and Jedi Luke from the Target pack so quickly?
-  Just 5 SOLO characters in the first two waves of the toy line supporting the SOLO movie
-  You can't buy a 3.75" HAN SOLO figure in a toy line supporting the HAN SOLO movie for less than $30.
-  SOLO Wave 3 is rumored to be all repacks of not-SOLO figures

The 5POA 3.75" basic figure line seems so broken right now.  Doesn't help that things are fractured across 5POA, TVC, and 6" lines.  Ugh. 

Back in the old days, I'd be learning all the names of the aliens at the Vandor sabaac table (Therm Scissorpunch!) so I could put them on my JD wishlist and dream of figures for them.  These days, I don't even bother.  I'm just hoping the basic figure line lasts long enough to fill out the main characters (L3, Val, Beckett, Rio, etc) before we're moving on to more of the same Jedi Rey, Pilot Poe, Trooper Finn, Tech Rose, Sad Kylo figures from Episode 9.  :(
« Last Edit: June 11, 2018, 04:00 PM by Jeff »
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Offline Darby

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #64 on: June 11, 2018, 06:08 PM »
Quote
Back in the old days, I'd be learning all the names of the aliens at the Vandor sabaac table (Therm Scissorpunch!) so I could put them on my JD wishlist and dream of figures for them.  These days, I don't even bother. 

Nods vigorously. I was making wishlists up until now. Which is a shame, because this is by far the most 'toyetic' film of the Disney era. If this were 2005ish, we'd be complaining about there being too many figures (but not really).

Figs like Therm, Galacus, Weazel, any number of Qu'ra's, Mud Troopers, droids, I can go on... deep sigh.

Offline Dave

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #65 on: June 11, 2018, 06:11 PM »
Quote
Back in the old days, I'd be learning all the names of the aliens at the Vandor sabaac table (Therm Scissorpunch!) so I could put them on my JD wishlist and dream of figures for them.  These days, I don't even bother. 

Nods vigorously. I was making wishlists up until now. Which is a shame, because this is by far the most 'toyetic' film of the Disney era. If this were 2005ish, we'd be complaining about there being too many figures (but not really).

Figs like Therm, Galacus, Weazel, any number of Qu'ra's, Mud Troopers, droids, I can go on... deep sigh.

Yeah, we'd have received a different Battle Pack with 4-5 figures every three months.  Vandor Sabaac.  Enfys Nest's Swoop Gang.  Kessel Mine Prison Break.

Offline Rob

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #66 on: June 12, 2018, 11:19 AM »
When you launch a movie line with four 3.75 figs from the film, none of which are the man himself, you have to question what in the world they're thinking.

Hasbro has a share of the blame, but Disney and their dumb "you can't show character X until [date]" rules aren't helping.  We saw L3-37 in the commercials and trailers, what is the harm in showing her 3.75" action figure?  Same for Val, Beckett, Rio, etc.  It's like Hasbro can't really do any promotion on these things until it's too late.  Stupid.

But yeah, character selection is so, so bad right now. That's mostly on Hasbro (though again, Disney isn't helping with all the dumb rules).  The character selection is fraught with so many odd, odd, odd choices:

-  Still no 3.75" TFA General Leia?  Huh?
-  TLJ Crait Luke not coming until maybe 2019 now?
-  Repacking the ROTJ Palps and Jedi Luke from the Target pack so quickly?
-  Just 5 SOLO characters in the first two waves of the toy line supporting the SOLO movie
-  You can't buy a 3.75" HAN SOLO figure in a toy line supporting the HAN SOLO movie for less than $30.
-  SOLO Wave 3 is rumored to be all repacks of not-SOLO figures

The 5POA 3.75" basic figure line seems so broken right now.  Doesn't help that things are fractured across 5POA, TVC, and 6" lines.  Ugh. 

Back in the old days, I'd be learning all the names of the aliens at the Vandor sabaac table (Therm Scissorpunch!) so I could put them on my JD wishlist and dream of figures for them.  These days, I don't even bother.  I'm just hoping the basic figure line lasts long enough to fill out the main characters (L3, Val, Beckett, Rio, etc) before we're moving on to more of the same Jedi Rey, Pilot Poe, Trooper Finn, Tech Rose, Sad Kylo figures from Episode 9.  :(

Agreed 100%.  It used to be that a film launch had 20 or 30 figures easily, then there was a steady stream of waves from there on for a long time... there was a good mix of main and obscure characters... prices dropped a little bit.  I suppose it's-not-2005-anymore applies here too, but it's just a shame that they can't identify more interesting characters and get a good chunk of them out by the time the movie happens instead of later on when interest is fading.  Every figure we know about that is still upcoming would have made a great day-one release, and then they could have gotten into more interesting characters later - if it was allowed.  At least with Vintage coming back there's some hope for high-quality, interesting, and maybe even NEW characters coming in the future.  I hope they have a lot to show at Comic Con, I miss the days when there were lots of reveals at the conventions. 

Also, I don't know where we'd get numbers, but I wonder how much of this is that 6" is cannibalizing 3.75" collecting and the volume of the product is down because new collectors are split up between scales.

Offline GrandMoffNick

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #67 on: June 12, 2018, 12:54 PM »
I want to make sure what I mean comes across here. I'm obnoxious about my dislike of the irrational fans who are boycotting Disney over TLJ, etc. I say that as I'll argue til the cows come home about this.

I am onboard with the confusion and anger at how Hasbro has handled character choice and assortments, etc. (ie I'm not here to argue this). Though I think Disney's release schedule and "black outs" have seriously handcuffed Hasbro.

But the negativity on Star Wars and collecting in general is wearing me down. I don't know if others feel that way. I'm far from done collecting. Only the grim reaper will get me to that point, but it's just really hard to mix the enjoyment I get in my collection with the bigger world of how people feel about it.

Anyway, as we were.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2018, 12:56 PM by GrandMoffNick »
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Offline Darby

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #68 on: June 12, 2018, 02:25 PM »
I am very worn down, too. Just in general, but I feel like this wonderful thing I used to escape to is now as messed up as what I'm trying to get away from. Specifically on the collecting, it hasn't been fun for awhile. It has peaks and valleys. I generally enjoy what we get from Hasbro, but as others have said, it's a far cry from what it could be or maybe should be. The past is the past and it will never be the good old days again, but at the same time, it can be more. I loved Solo, it's a great movie for toys and I appreciate what we've gotten. I see what Funko or Lego is doing with this same property, and I just think Hasbro isn't capitalizing on the same potential. I know there are a lot of factors (Infinity War is probably Hasbro's priority right at the moment) and on and on, but anyways. Maybe this fall going into the winter will bring a lot more goodness.

Offline Brian

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #69 on: June 12, 2018, 04:23 PM »
I'm glad that I am not the only one feeling this way. I have also been feeling a little run down by the state of things lately, both collecting and the general state of fandom. Like Darby mentioned, it has peaks and valleys, and generally I'm pretty happy with what we get from Hsbro, we just don't get enough.

We really had a golden run of things for a good while there. Tons of figures, sometimes ridiculous variety and obscurity, and in some cases lower prices. There are probably a number of factors these days, and I do sometimes wonder how much interest there is generally in the toys these days. I rarely see kids checking it out, and I even see some "collector" stuff sit a bit longer than it used to.

I think a (at least) partial factor, at least to me, is being in "the game" for almost 20 years. I know I've been selling a lot of stuff off over the past few years as I work on culling the herd and refocusing my personal collecting as well (and focusing on more vintage stuff). I'll always collect Star Wars, but I think I might aim for more focused collecting in general.

Offline Nicklab

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #70 on: June 12, 2018, 10:00 PM »
I've said this before, but it definitely bears repeating:  The pace at which the movies have been released has messed with the traditional Star Wars merchandising model.  Those three years between movies really gave Kenner, and later Hasbro, the space to let the toy line develop. 

And truth be told?  It seems to me as if there was a symbiotic relationship between the toy line and the movies.  Having these odd background characters in the toy line seemed to give the movies an additional degree of depth that drew in your interest about the characters in these settings.  It fleshed out this fantastic world.

But now with movies a year apart?  Or even 6 months?  There's no time to explore the depth of these worlds because the action figure line has to hit all of these notes and rattle off the mostly main characters.  And the interesting character (like that bounty hunter who turned up in both ROGUE ONE and SOLO) seems to be relegated as some guy in a mask who's a background player, rather than have a somewhat interesting backstory that people who don't read the Visual Dictionary will learn about.

And as much as I want to make up Want Lists from the new movies?  It does seem like something of a wasted effort, since we're getting so few characters from any of the movies now.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2018, 10:13 PM by Nicklab »
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Offline CHEWIE

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #71 on: June 12, 2018, 11:04 PM »
I agree with feeling worn down... I'm not worn down by collectors and fans who want to purchase awesome product though; I'm worn down by how Disney and Hasbro manage the brand these days.  It's pretty obvious the line is really falling flat.  All one has to do is compare how things are to where they used to be.  Yeah, there were some bad times before but it's gotten pretty ridiculous.  Why would anyone new to the hobby even want to collect this stuff now?  It's too damn difficult. 

And really, kids don't care that much any more. Why should they given the awful selection of figures and general downgrade in quality as compared to what kids 10 years ago were getting as Star Wars toys?  And I know now more and more kids by age 10 are not even asking for toys.  It's all about Fortnite or whatever the flavor of the month video game is.  Well, unless you look at Jurassic World toys... which is another topic I guess.  It's nice to see Mattel didn't cheap out like Hasbro did on their Jurassic line - and retail thanks Mattel for their good stewardship of the license.

Hopefully, the return of TVC straightens a lot of this out.  Let them always be behind some on figures from new media - that's fine.  Just get back to a steady flow of 25-30 new TVC figures per year and I think people will be satisified.  And I don't think Hasbro would have brought the TVC line back if they weren't aware of just how bad it was these days.  Retailers need a line of Star Wars that isn't such a high risk of going on clearance... something they actually want to order and stock on their pegs.

Offline ThePhantomEmperor

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #72 on: July 1, 2018, 04:13 PM »
Could these be the upcoming figures in future waves for the Force Link II or 2.0 Collection?

Could we possibly find out at San Diego Comic Con this year?

3.75" Figures

Star Wars: Solo Toy Collection (Force Link II Collection) (2018-2019)

Star Wars (Solo)

Chewbacca (Heist on the Conveyex or Vandor)
Elthree (L3-37 - Lando Calrissian’s Custom Piloting Droid)
Han Solo (Heist on the Conveyex or Vandor)
Han Solo (Imperial Mudtrooper or Swamp Trooper’s Armor)
Imperial Mudtrooper‘s or Swamp Trooper (Galactic Empire)
Imperial Patrol Driver, Stormtrooper or Trooper (Galactic Empire)
Imperial Stormtrooper (Officer) (Galactic Empire)
Qi’Ra (Kessel Run Gear or Outfit)
Quay Tolsite (Pyke Syndicate’s Capo) (Kessel Run)
Rio Durant (Ardennian Pilot, Heist on the Conveyex or Vandor)
Tobias Beckett (Imperial Officer‘s Disguise)
Val (Vandor Gear or Outfit)
Weazel (Armored) (Cloud-Rider Pirate Gang’s Lieutenant)

Star Wars V (The Empire Strikes)

Darth Vader (Battle of Hoth)

Star Wars VI (Return of the Jedi)

Emperor’s or Imperial Royal Guard
Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight Outfit)

Star Wars VIII (The Last Jedi)

Rey (Jedi Training)
Stormtrooper (First Order)

Offline Darby

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #73 on: July 1, 2018, 04:20 PM »
I think Yakface has pretty conclusively established they are - great reporting as always by the way. And I'm thrilled, because there's a lot of figure joy here. Very happy the Kessel Qi'ra and Weazel are coming, which are two of my big wants. Four of these will be in the Home Entertainment pack, which I'm guessing are Vandor Han, Vandor Chewie, Kessel Qi'ra and either the Mudtrooper or Patrol Trooper. Bring on more. Glad to see more aliens and weirdness in the line.


Offline Muftak

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Re: Solo 3.75" Basic Figures
« Reply #74 on: July 1, 2018, 05:25 PM »
If those are all the figures we're working with, my guess for the 4-pack would be the 4 Vandor figures--Han, Chewie, Val, and Rio. And that's okay with me if they are all unique enough.