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Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Discover the Force / Movie Heroes => Topic started by: Jeff on October 24, 2012, 10:00 AM

Title: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles - Yoda Boxes
Post by: Jeff on October 24, 2012, 10:00 AM
Sandtroopers.com have posted a few comparison photos of the new, smaller-scaled 2013 Class II ships (http://www.sandtroopers.com/sandwatch/hasbro/20121023/).

It will be interesting to see how well these sell... they will certainly be more affordable at $20 compared to this year's $30, but the smaller sizes on some of them (Slave I, I'm looking at you) is so ridiculous that most collectors are going to just laugh and ignore these.   :-\
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Jesse James on October 24, 2012, 02:06 PM
The tank was underscaled to begin with too, and I really don't see that doing well either...  I think going smaller isn't really going to help things much.  I know I personally will buy even less but I hadn't been buying much to begin with.

Actually the Cloud Car and Snowspeeder were my last 2 purchases of those kinds of ships...  The scale was right, and the detail off the charts.  The V-19 is the only thing I've been tempted on since and I've got a few anyway so I've passed.

It's a ship I'd like a few more of, cheap, but not even at $20.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Brian on October 24, 2012, 02:16 PM
I can appreciate getting those ships back into the $20 range, but yeah, I'm not sure if it is going to help or not.  If it gets them in kiddos hands and makes them happy, fine by me.  Like I said when they announced them, we already have the larger scale versions of these (and likely most others they would do), so these aren't for us anyways.  I just wonder how much kids care about SW at this point anyways, so we'll see if this helps or not.  It is nice for gift giving though, as I know we've gone to buy stuff like this for our nephews in the past and once you get a ship for $30, it is tough to justify much else.  At least this way you could get a ship and a figure (now if they could only get the figures more affordable, which is what the Movie Heroes line should be anyway I think).
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Scockery on October 24, 2012, 02:43 PM
Wondering what the later shrunken additions will be. ROTS Jedi Fighter? V-Wing? AAT? Vader's TIE? (that would hurt!).

Again, you could use the clone tank as a scout version, no stupider than that mini-Droid scout tank they made. Though, I never got the Clone tank because it never quite felt right, it's almost neat but there was something too EU about it. Also, most clones cannot sit for crap, that make vehicle interaction difficult. It's telling though, they chose it to scale down...pointing out a flaw with the prequels (and CLONE WARS) lack of a mid-sized Clone ground vehicle (ignoring the Swamp Speeder, which Hasbro also ignored for years), because everything was one-manned or ginormous sized to the point they'd sink into the ground. 

The mini-Slave 1, use as a Mando fighter...if anybody army buillt such things.  But there is an absurdity to scout/fighters being just tinier versions of bigger ships.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Greg on October 24, 2012, 04:43 PM
The tank was underscaled to begin with too, and I really don't see that doing well either...  I think going smaller isn't really going to help things much.  I know I personally will buy even less but I hadn't been buying much to begin with.

I never really thought of the previous fighter tank as under-scaled. It seems to fit perfectly with the figures as well as the large clone vehicles, but perhaps my extreme hatred of the huge Lego version clouded my view of the Hasbro tank. I'm sure the small tank will sell fine, as both "large" releases sold well in my area. Personally, I will happily skip the reduced scale vehicles, but they aren't meant for me anyway. I would love it if Hasbro uses the assortment to throw a few bones to collectors, like normal sized Landspeeders, airspeeders, A-Wings, or even creatures like Boga, but I won't be holding my breath.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Scockery on October 24, 2012, 05:13 PM
Hasbro has an aversion to making creatures. There's ample fauna they could've made from Clone Wars for the deluxe/class I series but instead chose to invent new vehicles.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Jesse James on October 24, 2012, 07:44 PM
I had hopes for the tank to be scaled right back when it came out but when it was released I realized it didn't jive with any schematics of it...  Trust me it was undersized from the get-go and will just be moreso now.  :-\  I wouldn't say it was grossly undersized like some ships are (Slave-I, X-Wings, etc.), but it wasn't quite right.  Kind of like the Tatooine Skiff...  Close but no cigar.

The one I'd cite as possibly being an improvement is Vader's TIE...  There's a little argument dependant upon what you believe, with that ship.  I'm ok with the one we have though.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Nicklab on December 20, 2012, 07:05 PM
VolkerC posted some images (http://forum.starwars-figuren.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=386) of the first wave of Class 2 vehicles both packaged and loose.  And OMG does that version of Jango's Slave I look just RIDICULOUSLY small!
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: JediJman on December 20, 2012, 09:59 PM
Wow.  I typically buy at least one of everything, but that Slave I is going to be a pass.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Jayson on December 20, 2012, 10:10 PM
Might be good for Kubricks  ;)
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Jesse James on December 20, 2012, 11:58 PM
They're all sad, really.  Look at that Jedi Fighter.  Comically bad when the original one was to-scale. 

I wasn't planning to buy anyway, no skin off my teeth, but yeah, those are horrible.  I mean, even the tank is dinky.  All the viewports are just like little holes for one guy to see out of.  Too funny.  And basically it's hollow underneath too?  I question Hasbro's "need" to do this, honestly.

I know of a toy company that makes knock-offs similarly...  hollow on one side, etc.  They do a lot more with a lot less it seems.  I know, I know, licenses, but that only goes so far at this stage.  Really those are pathetic.

In one way I'm glad there's nothing I wanted anyway, but on the other hand, it's such a sad way to see the line go.  The multi-figure w/vehicle sets are better looking by far.  Trying to make the actual movie ships only smaller though, bad idea.  Your line looks like a dollar store knock-off now but for what's ultimately not a fair price for what you're delivering.

I think they saw sales of a toy line stagnating and they're trying anything to fix it, and I think the product taking a turn for the worse to justify a lower price isn't going to "fix" anything.  Just my opinion.  Like I said, I'm just glad none of it was of any interest to me anyway.

Those Deluxe ship w/2 figures though, definitely looking forward to a couple of 'em.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Greg on December 21, 2012, 12:24 AM
The more I look at these the more I dislike them. Initially I thought the Jedi Starfighter and Tank were okay, in a charming "hey, it's a toy!" kind of way. Now I think all three look ridiculously small as well as cheap and poorly made. I'll definitely be passing on them. It's a shame that the TVC box vehicles didn't do well this year, as having a "premium" line of vehicles alongside these miniature offerings might have been a great move.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: McMetal on December 21, 2012, 09:12 AM
I agree, these look rather silly.

I also think it was stupid of them to stop differentiating between Clone Wars vehicles and Star Wars vehicles. I liked it a lot better when I knew which ships went with which line.

Slap a CW identifier on these things and I would buy all of them. Short of that, I couldn't care less.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Scockery on December 21, 2012, 09:39 AM
True Mini-Rigs...in a bad way.

Yeah, $20 for one of these vs. $20 for two figures and a mini-vehicles?

I can only hope that post-Disney buy-out,  Hasbro will  be less pressured by Lucasfilm demands and go back to larger offerings.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Nicklab on December 21, 2012, 10:35 AM
The only good thing I'd consider doing with that Slave I is painting it in some sort of Death Watch colors and having it stand in as some sort of a Mandalorian starfighter.  Otherwise, I find this whole assortment completely useless.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: shmashwitdaclub on December 21, 2012, 10:54 AM
"Turrible"--  Charles Barkely
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Diddly on December 21, 2012, 01:25 PM
Initially I thought the Jedi Starfighter and Tank were okay, in a charming "hey, it's a toy!" kind of way.
Same here... I figured those were the two they could actually pass off as smaller, but when you see the regular R2-D2 figure next to the comically undersized R4 dome in the starfighter, it puts things into perspective. Same with the clone in the tank. And the less said about Slave I the better.

It's a shame that the TVC box vehicles didn't do well this year, as having a "premium" line of vehicles alongside these miniature offerings might have been a great move.

They really botched all of the Class II vehicles this year. The Vintage vehicles were just the same rehashed vehicles we've been seeing for years. How many times can you put Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter out there? And while I understand the choices made for the main line, they should have changed those assortments entirely. Put the Naboo Starfighter in Wave 1 with the Infiltrator and the AAT. Ditch the WM exclusive Dewback and Hyena Bomber and make the Anakin/Sebulba Podracers the exclusives there (since they had the battle pack with Anakin and Sebulba). No use putting those out en masse when you could only buy the pilots in a multipack available at one store.

But enough ranting. :) The Class I vehicles look like a better value every day.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Jesse James on December 21, 2012, 04:19 PM
The thing about scale is that, the smaller things get next to each other the more noticeable the difference becomes.  People often thought mixing scales between 1:18 and 1:16 in military toy lines is no big deal till they see two tanks side by side.  With figures it can work but vehicles often look silly. 

I would bet the Jedi Fighters are actually close in terms of scale but as you can see the difference when they're for figures this size becomes huge.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Jayson on December 22, 2012, 12:30 PM
According to JTA, these have hit Canada at TRU.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Nicklab on December 22, 2012, 04:55 PM
According to JTA, these have hit Canada at TRU.

Canadia can keep them.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: JediJman on December 24, 2012, 11:19 AM
What's Canada?  Is that a local store?
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: GrandMoffNick on January 1, 2013, 06:48 PM
What's Canada?  Is that a local store?

They keep Greenland from invading the U.S.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: R5Don4 on January 2, 2013, 08:39 AM
So that's why we need to spend 40 Billion on F-35 stealth fighters.  Now that makes sense. Those Danes.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Jeff on January 3, 2013, 03:05 PM
Here's the DPCI should anyone out there actually want to buy any of these...

•STAR WARS CLASS II VEHICLES
•087-06-1387 $19.99
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Pete_Fett on January 3, 2013, 07:07 PM
Here's the DPCI should anyone out there actually want to buy any of these...

•STAR WARS CLASS II VEHICLES
•087-06-1387 $19.99

Sadly, that includes me.... *sigh*

Thanks for the number!
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Jeff on January 4, 2013, 02:58 PM
Looks like Wave 1 is finally up for Pre-Order at EE (http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HSA0877A&id=JE-405087801) with a January ship date.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Scockery on January 4, 2013, 03:28 PM
"Fight the separatists with this awesome group of starfighters. "

Jango Fett likes to fight Separatists, when he's, you know, not working for them.  :P
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles
Post by: Captain Piet on January 28, 2013, 09:23 PM
So the cancellation of the rest of the prequel trilogy in 3D is the ultimate FU to these things. I love it!
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles - Yoda Boxes
Post by: DoctorPadawan on February 12, 2013, 07:28 PM
As I said in the "Big Lots Won't Sell 'Em for a Buck" 12 inch thread, I actually bought the Slave I at Target this past Sunday. Had it not been for my Boba Fett/Mandalorian character focus, I would not have gone near this with a ten foot pole. It might be the absolute worst Hasbro toy I have ever intentionally purchased and is an insult to not only collectors, but also the kids and parents at whom it is focused.

Remember the Cruise Missile Trooper?  IT IS WORSE THAN THAT. At least the CMT, with all its flaws, shortcomings, and horrid concept, was made out of quality plastic and had decent deco/paint, and you felt like you were getting your 14 dollars' worth, even if it was a horrible idea. You could see how a kid might enjoy it on some level, even if we were all rolling our eyes at its very existence. Despite its stupidity, it was obvious that someone at Kenner/Hasbro put an effort into the CMT and, fail though it did, Kenner/Hasbro learned a lesson and moved on.

This Slave I, however, is a collection of failure on a level that can't be accurately conveyed in text or pictures. Yes, it is ridiculously out of scale (it's about the size of the first Lego Boba Fett Slave I) and no thought seems to have gone into it. It weighs next to nothing, the paint is horrible, and the plastic is, quite simply, the same level of quality you'd see on a plastic Easter egg. I've compared it to every Slave I I have in my collection from multiple companies, and NOTHING feels as cheap as this. It's flimsy, it's weak, and it is just a disaster. Any kid who is still playing with Star Wars toys would break this within 2 days through no fault of their own, and the quicker these disappear from retail, the better because this is just sad and insulting. Michael Crawford's level of disgust with the 12" Anakin is hitting the nail on the head here, too, and Hasbro should be ashamed for even going this route. No kid is going to like this and if I were a kid, I'd rather get socks for my birthday than get this monstrosity.

Despite my general Hasbro pessimism, I do tend to be a bit forgiving when it comes to the quality of the toys themselves. This...thing, however, is just horrible and there's no excuse for it. It sucks as a collectible, it sucks as a toy, and I would say they deserve to rot in a landfill except that the ground would spit them out because they're that damn bad.

End overreactive hyperbole. In all seriousness, it's an awful toy on every level and a waste of time and resources.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles - Yoda Boxes
Post by: Jesse James on February 12, 2013, 07:33 PM
I think Hasbro, and the collecting world at large, grossly overestimates how gullible both kids and parents are, when it comes to levels of quality they expect in toys...  I think there's a lot of dismissive views.  I always just go back to my own childhood and how quickly I dropped Star Wars for G.I. Joe...  It wasn't even a debate in my 5-7 year old brain during those years.  G.I. Joe was simply better.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles - Yoda Boxes
Post by: Scockery on February 12, 2013, 08:22 PM
I saw them at stores last weekend. I picked up the box and it was light as a feather.

Hasbro needs to relocate their production facilities. Jedi Temple Archives said Hasbro said production costs have gone up 20% a year. How many more corners can they cut in the face of that?
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles - Yoda Boxes
Post by: McMetal on February 12, 2013, 09:09 PM
Yeah, they really need to look at moving their factory operations out of China and into a burgeoning industrial hub like Vietnam. There's no reason to keep getting jacked up every year like it is an extortion racket.

Dr P, I applaud your excellent rant. You sold me. I haven't seen these yet but I feel relieved now.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles - Yoda Boxes
Post by: Jesse James on February 12, 2013, 09:53 PM
Not every country's good at what china does, especially plastic injection molding...  Europe is but costs even more obviously.  Vietnam's growing in that sector and away from clothing manufacturing, but it's not to where a company like Hasbro would need.

India's good with plastics but they're like China...  growing middle class and all.  Problem just recreates itself.

It's ironic that Mexico could be a very real manufacturing location at some point soon.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles - Yoda Boxes
Post by: iFett on February 13, 2013, 10:03 AM
Vietnam's growing in that sector and away from clothing manufacturing, but it's not to where a company like Hasbro would need.

My Masterpiece Optimus Prime from last year was made in Vietnam.
Title: Re: 2013 Movie Heroes Class II Vehicles - Yoda Boxes
Post by: Jesse James on February 13, 2013, 03:06 PM
That's a good sign...  I don't think they have the manufacturing output Hasbro will need all the time though.  MP Optimus is a collector thing right?

I don't know if their factories could handle what Hasbro's demand would be for anything "big" they throw their way.  That's definitely a good sign though as they're still making things cheap...  good sign depending on your point of view, I guess.  :-\