2019 Kenner Retro Collection - Star Wars

[GrandMoffNick]

And lastly, I get I set a low bar, but why do we always set out expectations so high and then complain when we don't have them met? I thought for sure this is what we were getting. Maybe slightly different sculpts. What has Hasbro shown us that made Hem Dazon, Tarkin, Wedge, etc. an expectation and not wishful thinking

Ok I'll stop being an ass

[Nicklab]

And lastly, I get I set a low bar, but why do we always set out expectations so high and then complain when we don't have them met? I thought for sure this is what we were getting. Maybe slightly different sculpts. What has Hasbro shown us that made Hem Dazon, Tarkin, Wedge, etc. an expectation and not wishful thinking

Ok I'll stop being an ass

I get that some people are into these.  For me?  No.  I lived through the vintage era.  And I liked my vintage stuff when I was a kid.  But when the GI Joe ARAH line came out in the early 80's?  The articulation those figures had made my Star Wars figures seem a little antiquated.  And the fact that GI Joe had a comic book and an animated TV series didn't hurt them either.  But when the modern line kicked off in the 90's, I thought the new figures were a remarkable step forward from the vintage line.

My stance is rooted in the fact that the standards of sculpting and articulation that collectors asked for were delivered by Hasbro over the course of 20+ years.  Even a 1995 Han Solo figure looks pretty lame compared to the 2011 TVC Han Solo.  When standards get raised like that by the manufacturer, they also rise with the customer base.  Especially when that nostalgic looking packaging has been the vehicle for offering up super-articulated versions of those original characters.

When Gentle Giant offered up their take on the Kenner vintage figures they at least did something different:  they made them REALLY BIG.  And that made them different enough that you could celebrate the nostalgia factor, but it was something new and different from the original releases.

[GrandMoffNick]

Good points. I am admittedly not an articulation guy. I need them to stand in a row for the most part. And I am very much a nostalgic look fan. And not just the cardback

[Rob]

If they’d shown Tarkin and Hem Dazon and Mon Mothma, I’d be really into this.  As it stands, these six are total garbage and it’s going to make a mess of eBay listings and the secondary market for vintage collecting.

Hyperbole. To me this is the I have the originals and don't want others to have fake originals argument. Somewhat similar to the 6" Archives haters argument. Sorry if I'm wrong. I have real deal loose. Not carded. Cool opportunity

Six inch reissues are from figures that are 3 or 4 years old... apples and oranges to remaking 42 year old classics that have a robust and long-standing collectors market.

[GrandMoffNick]

Didn't say it was apples to apples (believe somewhat similar would be they're both fruit), but it still goes to the "my toys will suffer" and "therefore I don't want others to have this opportunity for the sake of my toys" argument.

Which is fair by the way. Easy for me to say when the only "Star Wars" carded figure I have is an ok condition 21 Back Boba Fett. But calling them garbage and acting like it serves no one any purpose is a bit strong. And I still don't see a 12 back Luke plummeting in value over this. Maybe eBay will prove you right.

I can disagree but respect Nick and Darby's opinions on these. But they're not garbage because they don't fit your wants for toy collecting. Just like they're not awesome because they do fit mine. I've gotten into my Yakface disqus section mode. I need to shut up

[Rob]

I’m not worried about my toys at all.  I just think it’s tacky, cheap, lazy, and uninteresting for them to just take classics and release them 40 years later. 

If they’d shown a Luke, Leia, and Vader with a Tarkin, Mothma, and a ceremonial Leia or something like that it would be a different story.

[GrandMoffNick]

I'd agree that would be cool. But again think you're way over selling the "lazy" and assuming a lot of others hate the idea. So far JD is on your side. The sold out Target pre-orders may tell us otherwise. Guess we'll see.

I only sorta played with/collect MOTU and remember thinking those remakes on remake cardback were so great 15 or whatever years ago.

[Pete_Fett]

I'd like to hear about more Resistance toys.  Said no one. Ever.

 


I am less than thrilled about these "Retro" figures on printed-weathered cardbacks. I get that that they did that to make it obvious, but I think the "retro collection" emblem (which could have been part of the printing, not a sticker) would have sufficed.

Would have much rather seen them want to re-do the original 12 to modern/current standards and then announce that they have plans on modernizing another 12 Kenner figures that have either never been released on modern Vintage cardbacks or even released in the modern line (like Sim Aloo)

[Rob]

I'd agree that would be cool. But again think you're way over selling the "lazy" and assuming a lot of others hate the idea. So far JD is on your side. The sold out Target pre-orders may tell us otherwise. Guess we'll see.

I only sorta played with/collect MOTU and remember thinking those remakes on remake cardback were so great 15 or whatever years ago.

I’m not assuming that at all.  In fact what I would assume is that younger collectors or those without the income to collect vintage will love this idea. 

But since I’ve been around since the early days and collect vintage for the nostalgia and rarity of it, and I collect modern for the newness of the product, this checks
zero boxes for me.

[GrandMoffNick]

All right I guess I took too much offense to "garbage". Seems more like placing your opinion on everyone else more than just stating your opinion. And yes the pot is calling the kettle black. And sorry to hijack a topic

[Rob]

Not sure what the confusion is but it’s certainly nothing more than my opinion that repacks of 42 year old figures is garbage.

[GrandMoffNick]

Fair enough. Couldn't disagree more.

[Darth_Anton]

Well, the pre-orders at Target.com are already pre-sold out, so there's definite interest.

[Diddly]

Maybe it's because I'm sick of this whole nostalgia cash grab deal with TV and movies, but vintage style figures don't excite me at all. Probably because I wasn't alive during the initial Kenner run and started out with POTF2. Honestly I've been debating selling off a majority of my collection, and nothing coming out of Toy Fair is really exciting to me, so perhaps is the time to get on that.

[Rob]

Well, the pre-orders at Target.com are already pre-sold out, so there's definite interest.

Or they went with the oldest trick in the book and made the number available for preorder small to create the illusion of more interest than there otherwise would be, which then generates interest.