JediDefender.com Forums
Collectibles => The Black Series 6" Figures => Topic started by: Dave on June 10, 2021, 08:15 AM
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So what do you think will be the rumored 6" HasLab project to be revealed later in the year?
They said its not a vehicle.
Some have speculated that it'll be the Rancor.
I'm trying to think what I would even be willing to pay much money for that isn't a vehicle. The big 6" items are just so big that I've passed on some of them as I don't want to dedicate the space to it.
What sort of environment would you be willing to plunk down $250 for? ANH cantina? Navarro cantina? Jabba's palace? We've got so few of the figures that would interact with any of those I'm not sure it makes sense.
Creature options? Rancor? Blurgg probably wouldn't be big and expensive enough. Not sure a bantha would be big enough either unless they have a bunch of pack ins with it.
I'm not sure anything I've named is something I'd be willing to spend $250 on. Thoughts?
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The Black Series, "Not a vehicle" and HasLab will lead the conversation in only a few directions.
Looking at HasLab history with comparable properties like Marvel and Transformers, it's usually something big and with near instant name recognition. With Marvel it was a giant Sentinel and the sweeteners were the added in figures. I didn't really follow the Transformers Unicron campaign. And with the two Star Wars campaign there were a number of campaign goals that were added which would augment the vehicles.
I have a few ideas so far:
CREATURE - The Rancor
Possible stretch goal figures - Luke (Rancor Pit), Gamorrean Guard, Oola, Malakili & Giran
PLAYSET - The Mos Eisley Cantina
This should probably include at least one figure to start - Wuher, the bartender seems like a natural start. If they went in this direction I would also hope for the as yet unreleased original Kenner cantina aliens as starters - Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead), Ponda Baba (Walrusman) and whichever Snivvian you would say is the vintage Snaggletooth.
Possible stretch goal figures - Dr Evazan, Cantina Band
PLAYSET - Imperial Throne Room (Return Of The Jedi)
Include a couple of Royal Guards
Possible stretch goals - Emporer's Wrath Luke, Imperial dignitaries
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I'm just not sure that I'd pay $250 for any of that.
Maybe if the cantina included a handful of figures I would go for it. You can't have a cantina without Hammerhead, Walrus Man, and Snaggletooth.
I'd still be a bit torn depending on how big this is. I'm just not looking for a massive 6" scale item.
I'd be a lot more interested if they made the cantina in a 3.75" scale.
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So does the Hasbro Pulse Con exclusive bar and 3 figures influence our thinking here?
Do you think that they would build out the bar much further with a HasLab project? Maybe a couple of alcoves and tables, plus 4-5 figures? I'm not sure that makes a lot of sense.
I'm thinking more and more it might be a Jabba's throne playset with dais, hookah, etc. Maybe a spot for Han in Carbonite and a few other alcoves, along with a handful of figures - maybe the Max Rebo band. This could do double duty for environments for The Book of Boba Fett.
I'm still not sure I'd pay $250 for that...
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The cat might be out of the bag. Check out today's Hasbro Star Wars Collector Media Q&A Session (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5vCLdC_FTs&t=407s). I was shocked to hear it revealed as an off-hand remark as it was. There was also what appeared to be some back peddling at the end of the session - I'm thinking that someone goofed in a big way!
And no, it's not a surprise for everyone who has been postulating just what this item might be.
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The cat might be out of the bag. Check out today's Hasbro Star Wars Collector Media Q&A Session (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5vCLdC_FTs&t=407s). I was shocked to hear it revealed as an off-hand remark as it was. There was also what appeared to be some back peddling at the end of the session - I'm thinking that someone goofed in a big way!
And no, it's not a surprise for everyone who has been postulating just what this item might be.
Ha! You can see the "oh ****" deer in the headlights look that Patrick has when he let it slip (about the 2 minute mark) that it'll be the Rancor.
I have no idea how they're going to pull this off in a way that makes any sense for the collectors out there unless they've got a Steve Sansweet Star Wars warehouse.
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Rancor..... No
Stretch runs Oola, Malakili, etc etc then ugh...... maybe?
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I don’t know what to think if this is true. I have been all in with anything from the OT, specifically with Black Series, but I can’t imagine the size/price of this behemoth. Plus, I personally collect too many things anyways, so space is always an issue. I’ve already gotten the barge, and backed the crest, and our house is only so big. Very cool that they are making it though.
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The leak from yesterday just got an additional confirmation in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/business/toys-exclusive-crowdfunding.html), which ran an article about crowd funding campaigns by toy manufacturers.
Next up: Hasbro is planning a crowdfunding project for the Rancor from “Return of the Jedi,” the first product from its premier Star Wars: The Black Series line to appear on HasLab. The company also teased an image of Galactus, a supervillain from Marvel Comics, as a toy that looks large enough to consume an actual planet.
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That was too funny…glad it was him and not one of the designers. To me this was the obvious choice here, it will have to be big enough to fit the Gammy in his mouth, so that’s pretty big. I can’t see them throwing in a newly tooled figure like Malakili but I could def see a battle damaged Luke and or Guard. Gonna need that skull accessory too, and I guess the leg bone or whatever that Luke jams in his mouth.
Can’t believe I gotta buy this AND Galactus! :'( ;)
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The leak from yesterday just got an additional confirmation in the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/business/toys-exclusive-crowdfunding.html), which ran an article about crowd funding campaigns by toy manufacturers.
It's up on StarWars.com (https://www.starwars.com/news/haslab-the-black-series-announce) as well now...
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If nothing else, this announcement-to-cover-their-butts-after the-slip makes Patrick look like even more of a lying POS. At the end of the QnA he said a certain "character" was not in fact the Black Series HasLab Project, he had some things confused in his mind, and disregard hearing that earlier because you will be disappointed when it turns out to not be the case. Except it turns out it was.
Oh what a fool.
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I'm pretty critical of Patrick for his overall lack of enthusiasm in livestreams as well as what seems like a lack of knowledge of the Star Wars IP, which could be misconstrued because of the aforementioned lack of enthusiasm, but I genuinely felt bad for him after the Rancor slip.
Since I'm not that big of a Black Series 6" collector, I most likely will not be backing this, but I am curious to see what the designers have come up with!
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The campaign goes live today!
9,000 Backers needed
1st stretch goal unlocked at 11,000 backers
2nd stretch goal unlocked at 13,500 backers
PRICE - $349.99
CAMPAIGN ENDS - December 6th
SHIPS - Spring 2023
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Linky: https://hasbropulse.com/collections/haslab/products/star-wars-the-black-series-rancor?fbclid=IwAR01lBqZYejIX6RbZrGM6riyQE04ifFYprh2xXagBUFbubPN6JRSUGXv3Lw
Up to almost 1k backers already, so I don't think they'll have a hard time hitting 9k. Still on the fence myself - I like it, but I don't love it.
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I’m passing this time. I backed the precious two but just dont know what I would do with something this big. If I’m going to drop this much cash on something this big I would probably my pick a premium statue or something.
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I'm going to back, but I'm going to hold off for a few weeks. Gotta plan where the hell I'm going to put this... and how to keep it hidden from the girlfriend. :-X
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The Rancor passed 3k backers already. I'm holding out to see the incentives. Curious to know how those work. I'm sure they've come up with them in advance, but do they lower the targets if they're getting less orders than forecasted? Or is the target even higher to force people to order multiples?
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I don’t know what to do here really. I’ve basically been all in on OT Black Series stuff, but I just have no idea where I’d put this. Plus that’s a big chunk of money to drop right before Christmas. I’m sure it will look amazing though. I’m having the same debate with myself over the Haslab Skystriker. I know I probably shouldn’t, but it is tough to resist. That is the main reason I passed on the Sentinel and Galactus from Legends. I’m basically all in on that line, but I just don’t have the space for all these big items, and I’ve already gone in on the barge and Razor Crest.
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I’m having the same debate with myself over the Haslab Skystriker. I know I probably shouldn’t, but it is tough to resist.
I am not backing the Rancor, but I am 50/50 on backing the Skystriker and I don''t even collect Joe stuff seriously. I can make room for my all-time favorite 3.75" Joe plane though more easily than the giant 6" scale Rancor.
Does anyone else think it's kind of odd that Hasbro is running these at the same time? An "army builder" vehicle like the Skystriker, at $100 cheaper than the Rancor, at about the same goal totals? And then the fact that they revealed the unlocks for GI Joe but are keeping the SW Rancor unlocks a big secret for some reason? Seems kind of an odd choice.
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It will only get more crowded and confusing when they reveal the third HasLab in a week on Wednesday. They must be banking on different nonoverlapping fandoms to push all these projects through.
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They must be banking on different nonoverlapping fandoms to push all these projects through.
Have we heard there are different demographics between 3.75" and 6", where 6" skews much younger? The Rancor is an OT creature but in a new format.
Does GI Joe skew older as well?
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I’m having the same debate with myself over the Haslab Skystriker. I know I probably shouldn’t, but it is tough to resist.
I am not backing the Rancor, but I am 50/50 on backing the Skystriker and I don''t even collect Joe stuff seriously. I can make room for my all-time favorite 3.75" Joe plane though more easily than the giant 6" scale Rancor.
Does anyone else think it's kind of odd that Hasbro is running these at the same time? An "army builder" vehicle like the Skystriker, at $100 cheaper than the Rancor, at about the same goal totals? And then the fact that they revealed the unlocks for GI Joe but are keeping the SW Rancor unlocks a big secret for some reason? Seems kind of an odd choice.
I don't know why Hasbro hides any of the unlocks for Haslab projects.
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I'm biding my time before backing. I'll probably do it, but I agree - I would like to see the stretch goals. It's actually a good motivating factor. You would have to expect that one of the goals will be a Malakili figure. Beyond that? Maybe Oola or Giran. I'm also trying to remember if any of the previously released Black Series Luke's had the bone he used while fighting the Rancor.
Interestingly enough on the Haslab front, Hasbro already announced what the stretch goals are on the G.I. Joe Skystriker.
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I'm also trying to remember if any of the previously released Black Series Luke's had the bone he used while fighting the Rancor.
Interestingly enough on the Haslab front, Hasbro already announced what the stretch goals are on the G.I. Joe Skystriker.
Yeah... I mean, can't Hasbro just throw us a bone? ;) :-*
I'll see myself out now.
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I don't know why Hasbro hides any of the unlocks for Haslab projects.
Control freaks. They're ridiculous about making sure they are the ones to release the news when where and how they want it released. I'm with you - I'd rather see it all up front. If I know there is a stretch goal I want, I might be talking friends into it, budgeting to afford it, or even just rolling the idea around in my head longer to convince myself its worth it. Instead, they keep it all hidden for a later surprise! The only advantage is spreading out the news/buzz to keep it top of mind, but I'd be surprised to find that you gain a lot more sales that way than with just showing all your cards right away. Heck, I'm sure some people would buy multiples if this was the only way to get a 6" Oola and Rancor Keeper or other exclusive items.
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Hasbro just announced a "Fan First Friday" for Star Wars on 11/5 (11am ET) to "talk all things HasLab" so maybe they heard the complaints and will reveal at least the first two unlock tiers finally?
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I don't buy TBS, but I'm considering backing this for use as a TVC item. It's not grossly out of proportion. If anything it's maybe 4-5 inches too tall for TVC but I could manage to see it as a bigger than average Rancor.
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Fan First Friday reveals....
- A look at the very first "work-in-progress" hardcopy/model
- Announced Unlock #1 - 6" Gamorrean Guard on POTF card w/appropriately scaled-coin
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Fan First Friday reveals....
- A look at the very first "work-in-progress" hardcopy/model
- Announced Unlock #1 - 6" Gamorrean Guard on POTF card w/appropriately scaled-coin
Wow. A repack on a new card with a coin. They're really going all out to pull us in. ::)
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Excellent first unlock. I'm no closer to caving.
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Fan First Friday reveals....
- A look at the very first "work-in-progress" hardcopy/model
- Announced Unlock #1 - 6" Gamorrean Guard on POTF card w/appropriately scaled-coin
Wow. A repack on a new card with a coin. They're really going all out to pull us in. ::)
It looks like an easy $100 sale to me. If I do buy this for my TVC collection it will make it an easier decision if I can unload a bunch of TBS extras.
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Wow. A repack on a new card with a coin. They're really going all out to pull us in. ::)
I mean, I guess it's fine for a first unlock. Nice for those backing that are new to 6" line and don't have one. Different presentation for those that do already have one. Frustrating for the packaging variant collectors... which will be nice for folks like Brian apparently willing to sell them. ;)
edit:
Hasbro PR photo for the carded Gamorrean -
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FDcNnI0XMAocJp6.jpg)
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After rewatching the video it's pretty clear this rancor would choke to death on a TBS gammorean.
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After rewatching the video it's pretty clear this rancor would choke to death on a TBS gammorean.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FDcNnI2XsAUZ9CS.jpg)
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Totally expected this and the second tier will almost certainly be a repackaged Jedi Luke. Oola and Malakili were always pipe dreams IMO. By comparison, we got two all new figures for both the Sentinel and Galactus. It’s pretty clear which line is getting all the love…
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Yeah I imagined we'd get a Gammorrean with this, but I grabbed a bunch on clearance a few years ago, so it's not too exciting. It is enticing because I could probably sell it for $100 and make some of the money back.
Makes me wonder if they're planning a POTF line in Black Series? Otherwise this feels out of place with the other vintage card figures.
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Unlock #2 Revealed (https://twitter.com/HasbroPulse/status/1460291010995621895) - 13.5k = movie-inspired bone accessories and a world-building backdrop
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FEP-5REXEAIesUL.jpg) (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FEP-5RFXEAosrh1.jpg)
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Only slightly more interesting than a repacked Gammorean Guard, but they're still not tempting me to throw my cash at this.
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I actually already have a nice Gammy skull from those archaeological sets they released a few years ago, but these are fine. I don’t see them as a big incentive to order though. They are still nowhere near the value of the stuff they bundled with the Sentinel or Galactus.
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Same thoughts here. I would expect this kind of stuff as like a Tier 4 “holy cow we didn’t expect to get this far” offering. Like, it’s a really nice set of accessories. But the Marvel crowdfunds both got new figures in their reveals, and I guess I’m let down because that was my expectation.
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They are still nowhere near the value of the stuff they bundled with the Sentinel or Galactus.
But the Marvel crowdfunds both got new figures in their reveals, and I guess I’m let down because that was my expectation.
The fact that 6" Oola or 6" Malakili aren't the obvious Tier 1/2 unlocks is really weird. I think they might have just been over-thinking the whole thing when they tried to compare it to the Sail Barge, which had a carded POTF figure pack-in.
I guess 6" Oola might be "problematic" in this day and age if the 'no more jabba prisoner Leia' stuff is true. And maybe they think Malakili stands on his own for a 2023 basic release for the 40th of ROTJ. But including them here, getting the tooling done and then double-dipping them into the basic line releases in the future for those not into the Haslab seems like the way I would have gone.
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Some people on social media have observed that the number of backers since yesterday's announcement has actually gone down slightly. Theories about that include possible declined credit cards. But is it possible that some people might have actually canceled their order?
I have not backed the Rancor yet. More and more I am feeling like Hasbro needs to deliver the previous Star Wars Haslab item before I'm going to order the next one.
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I get the feeling that Patrick and crew wouldn't want to put an all new 6" figure as a pack-in, and that any all new figure would be released on its own. They seem too money focused and I think they think that they'd be giving away too much value that they could make through normal retail. Personally I'd find a general release Malakili figure a little boring with all the other options they've got, and this seems like the perfect place for an exclusive pack-in.
It'll be interesting to see how actively the Rancor gets backed and if they pull out a few stops at the end if its not looking good, or if they just let it fail.
Is Cookie Monster the only thing that hasn't been funded? I believe everything else has been funded by a pretty wide margin.
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What Nick said. My brain can't wrap itself around funding this Haslab when I haven't received the last one yet.
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What Nick said. My brain can't wrap itself around funding this Haslab when I haven't received the last one yet.
That really doesn't bother me too much, although it is a lot a cash to spend on stuff you don't have and won't have for a long time. I know COVID and all the manufacturing and shipping problems are tough for manufacturers/retailers to deal with, so I'm willing to be a little more patient to get the stuff I want.
If they had come out with something sweet in 3.75" - Death Star, ultimate cantina, U-Wing, etc., I don't think I would have had a problem plunking down another $350 for something to be delivered in late 2023 / early 2024.
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What Nick said. My brain can't wrap itself around funding this Haslab when I haven't received the last one yet.
Well, I also take issue with that fact that Hasbro is trying to get a piece of Muftak's action with this new reveal.
But seriously? I personally don't see Malakili, Oola or Giran as figures that would be wildly popular as mainline Black Series releases. They seem like good candidates for pack-in figures. I think that there are other aliens from Jabba's palace that would be more instantly recognizable and well received as mainline Black Series releases, like Tessek, Ree Yees, Saelt Marae (Yakface), Wooof, or the Max Rebo band, etc. Malakili is a significantly deeper cut than any of those.
Hasbro released a number of new Marvel Legends figures with the Sentinel. And they got to how many stretch goal figures with Galactus? Was it three at least? The Star Wars team needs to up their game.
All of this being said, I think there's going to be a surge in backers in the last week or two. It happened with both of the Star Wars Haslab campaigns as well as the ones for Marvel Legends.
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Hasbro Pulse just announced a Hasbro Star Wars Fan First Friday livestream (https://www.instagram.com/p/CWWDDcsNy2l/) for this coming Friday. They're set to reveal a painted model of the Rancor as well as the two final stretch goals of the campaign.
Here are the tiers as they stand:
CAMPAIGN BACKED AT 9,000 backers
TIER 1 - 11,000 backers - Gamorrean Guard 6" figure on POTF card
TIER 2 - 13,500 backers - Rancor pit background and Rancor victim bones / excrement
TIER 3 - number of backers TBD, stretch goal TBD
TIER 4 - number of backers TBD, stretch goal TBD
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Hasbro released a number of new Marvel Legends figures with the Sentinel. And they got to how many stretch goal figures with Galactus? Was it three at least? The Star Wars team needs to up their game.
The only reason I can think of to not get new figures with the Rancor is that Marvel Legends "cheats" by reusing multiple sculpts/molds. So it's likely more cost effective for Hasbro to include the figures they did with the Sentinel and Galactus, since all they have to do is sculpt a new head. Whereas with Black Series, every figure has a unique sculpt, which I assume would up the asking price of the Rancor by at least $50. So I get it, but it just kind of falls in with the rest of the lack of enthusiasm we've seen lately from the Hasbro Star Wars team.
I agree with the Muftak competition issue as well. Cardboard Galaxy is a fun Instagram follow! It would be extremely petty for Hasbro/Disney to start cutting into his business.
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Hasbro released a number of new Marvel Legends figures with the Sentinel. And they got to how many stretch goal figures with Galactus? Was it three at least? The Star Wars team needs to up their game.
The only reason I can think of to not get new figures with the Rancor is that Marvel Legends "cheats" by reusing multiple sculpts/molds. So it's likely more cost effective for Hasbro to include the figures they did with the Sentinel and Galactus, since all they have to do is sculpt a new head.
This is why they should do a 3.75" U-Wing or something like that and have a new kitbashed Blue Squadron figure available with each unlock.
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The tier 2 unlock is kind of interesting, but I do not see it moving the needle too much. UsualMike also noted that the number of backers may have gone down due to this one.
While I still think there will be a last minute surge that gets the Rancor backed, and possibly get all the tiers unlocked, I wonder if this slow performance will make Hasbro actually learn something and see the popularity of TVC and the 3.75" scale overall compared to TBS?
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I know it took The Khetanna quite a while to get backed since it was the first offering by HasLab, but if I recall correctly it took barely a day for The Razor Crest to get fully backed before hitting nearly 30,000 backers and five tiers of unlocks.
Hasbro should take notes on what works and what doesn't work.
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I agree with the Muftak competition issue as well. Cardboard Galaxy is a fun Instagram follow! It would be extremely petty for Hasbro/Disney to start cutting into his business.
I have no worries about them trying to really do cardboard stuff--the market is too small and they usually screw it up somehow. Like, the Emperor's Throne room fold-out box they did really should have had legs on the sides...mine collapsed under its own weight after 12 hours on display. Also, see their Solo Playsets. (I saw a bunch of Kessel Mines playsets at Ollie's the other day. I might buy some more to convert into !new! Mandalorian Covert Playsets like I did last year converting it into an Echo Base playset...)
Yesterday was a sobering day to read comments though. There are a lot of folk out there who really really hate cardboard.
They have got to do a Malkili figure as a stretch goal, it will be a poor seller at retail but would also be horribly missing from the line if the Rancor gets funded. Figure out a way to reuse the torso on an alien figure or somebody large who wears a coat or something, but get the Rancor Keeper in the Rancor box. Oola is not as big a deal, she would sell on the pegs and from the looks of the Boba Fett trailer, those parts will be reusable soon enough.
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I wouldn't compare what you do with Cardboard Galaxy to a cardboard backdrop as a stretch goal for a Haslab project.
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I agree with the Muftak competition issue as well. Cardboard Galaxy is a fun Instagram follow! It would be extremely petty for Hasbro/Disney to start cutting into his business.
Yesterday was a sobering day to read comments though. There are a lot of folk out there who really really hate cardboard.
They just hate everything in general. Hasbro could have announced free blowjobs with every rancor purchase, and they'd complain about teeth. Pardon the crassness, but I'm just over the collecting community lately. Just a joyless, joyless bunch.
Your stuff is stellar!
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Hasbro Pulse just announced a Hasbro Star Wars Fan First Friday livestream (https://www.instagram.com/p/CWWDDcsNy2l/) for this coming Friday. They're set to reveal a painted model of the Rancor as well as the two final stretch goals of the campaign.
Here are the tiers as they stand:
CAMPAIGN BACKED AT 9,000 backers
TIER 1 - 11,000 backers - Gamorrean Guard 6" figure on POTF card
TIER 2 - 13,500 backers - Rancor pit background and Rancor victim bones / excrement
TIER 3 - number of backers TBD, stretch goal TBD
TIER 4 - number of backers TBD, stretch goal TBD
Almost a month in and they're just past half way to having it even get made, forget 11,000 or 13,500.
Do you guys think there will be that kind of push at the end to the point where it starts getting into all these stretch goals?!
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After seeing what happened with Galactus....yes.
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I've only paid close attention to the Barge and Crest.
Huge push at the end?
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Yes...not only to get it backed, but get all the stretch goals!
I was surprised.
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I guess I'd be curious to know what drives an early or late backing thought process.
I backed both the barge and Razor Crest within the first day. The unlocks were all gravy and had no bearing on my interest to back the project.
I'm most likely going not to back the Rancor, but could maybe, maybe be convinced if the right extra tiers (multiple new 6" figures) are added and within reach (I wouldn't back the project unless the tiers were close to unlocking).
Was anybody here a late backer to the previous projects? I'd be curious what your motivation was and what drove you to finally support the projects at the end?
Do people just want to wait to charge their credit card? Procrastinating and forced to back by the deadline? FOMO? Were the unlocks the thing that pushed you over the top?
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There are 18 days left to fully fund the Rancor. The increase in the number of backers has been growing very slowly over the past few days. That slow pace has me thinking that the livestream tomorrow is going to be devoted to pushing the Rancor like crazy. And Hasbro might reveal the final two stretch goals in the hopes of getting this thing moving.
But I am left wondering about the differences between TVC collector and Black Series collectors. There’s definitely some overlap between the two. But I think that TVC collectors are more inclined to go in on a higher priced item based on previous big ticket items. Larger items in the Black Series seem to have struggled in comparison. I think TBS collectors are fine with $20 figures. But these items over $100 seem like they might be scaring them off.
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I collect both lines. I am just fine finding space for a barge and Crest that don't have representation otherwise. I'm not ok finding space for a rancor that I have what I consider a more than adequate representation of already. This is just a relatively easy pass for me. It would probably take 4 to 5 unlocked new to BS figures to make me cave.
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I'm a member of the MN Toy Posse on Facebook. And what it seems like to me is if you're a 3.75 collector then you're hard-core into Star Wars and have been for a long time. There's then people like me who collect both. Then there's a group that only collects 6" and they like SW but are far from all in on it. They've seen the movies. Like the Mandalorian. And collect Black Series figures because they collect toys in general, i.e. I just read someone say about a post showing a WM with the Koska Reeves figure "I need that blue Boba chick".
So long story short I don't ever see that part of the collecting community spending $350 on a SW toy. Whereas the 3.75 collector will shell out for everything.
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After all the shady BS they pulled to get Omicron over the line, I am certain they won’t let the Rancor fail. Especially with all the prior press coverage. They’ll find a way to finesse it in the end. Maybe not all the stretch goals, but it will get made.
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what it seems like to me is if you're a 3.75 collector then you're hard-core into Star Wars and have been for a long time. There's then people like me who collect both. Then there's a group that only collects 6" and they like SW but are far from all in on it. They've seen the movies. Like the Mandalorian. And collect Black Series figures because they collect toys in general, i.e. I just read someone say about a post showing a WM with the Koska Reeves figure "I need that blue Boba chick".
So long story short I don't ever see that part of the collecting community spending $350 on a SW toy. Whereas the 3.75 collector will shell out for everything.
I agree 100%.
Plus, like you said Nick, the fact that a lot of 3.75" collectors already have some version of the Rancor in their collections probably makes this a harder sell at $350 compared to an all-new vehicle like Razor Crest.
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I'm a member of the MN Toy Posse on Facebook. And what it seems like to me is if you're a 3.75 collector then you're hard-core into Star Wars and have been for a long time. There's then people like me who collect both. Then there's a group that only collects 6" and they like SW but are far from all in on it. They've seen the movies. Like the Mandalorian. And collect Black Series figures because they collect toys in general, i.e. I just read someone say about a post showing a WM with the Koska Reeves figure "I need that blue Boba chick".
So long story short I don't ever see that part of the collecting community spending $350 on a SW toy. Whereas the 3.75 collector will shell out for everything.
This feels spot-on.
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Well said, Nick. I’m a member of Star Wars Collecting and Action Figures on Reddit, and those groups skew younger, and they seem to buy multiple figures from multiple lines. Forums/communities like JD are “old people.”
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Agreed, Nick. That’s the sentiment I was trying to convey as well. I just get the feeling that a lot of the Black Series collectors have a more casual relationship with the franchise than a lot of collectors who have been at this for more than a decade.
And for a lot of the legacy collectors? I’m still amazed at the level of acrimony that exists regarding the 3.75” scale versus the 6” scale. It seems like there are even some diehard TVC fans who want this Haslab to fail. It’s disappointing to see that in the community.
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It would be nice to see a little passion from the Hasbro Star Wars team....I don't know why I get my hopes up with each livestream.
The last two unlocks are Salacious Crumb (carded) and Jedi Luke (Carded). They are saying the Luke is a new tooled figure, but this has to be the most tone deaf panel ever. Why no Rancor Keeper? Why no Oola? Hell, I think Giran would've been a good choice. They better announce they are coming down the road if they want people to back this thing!
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I just saw the Tier 3 and Tier 4 unlocks. And I'm really leaning towards passing.
Tier 3 - 16,000 backers - Salacious Crumb on a ROTJ card
Tier 4 - 19,000 backers - Luke Skywalker on a POTF card
Honestly? That's underwhelming. Salacious Crumb was offered once in the SDCC Jabba the Hutt exclusive set. And that figure is also going to be in the upcoming Disney Parks creature multipack.
And seriously, what's going to be new about this version of Jedi Luke? Because the Walmart exclusive figure in the black and red packaging was actually pretty good.
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Tier 3 - 16,000 backers - Salacious Crumb on a ROTJ card
Tier 4 - 19,000 backers - Luke Skywalker on a POTF card
So they wasted the "all-new sculpted figure" on yet another version of Jedi Luke? ???
I can't believe that Oola or Malakili are not one of the unlocks. Malakili would have been so easy to put in here and then double-dip the sculpt with a single box release in 2023 for ROTJ 40th anniversary for those who didn't back the rancor.
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I checked on the number of backers, and it has not climbed very much since the livestream began. They were around 5,100 the last time I checked. At one point during the livestream the count was at 5,142. But it dropped to 5,126. I wonder if that's people pulling out, or if that's because of credit cards being declined?
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I wonder if that's people pulling out, or if that's because of credit cards being declined?
Cards don't get charged until 12/7 so I doubt it is declines...
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I guess they can put this nicely painted Rancor right next to that Cookie Monster that will never get made.
Unless they announce that Malakili and Oola are going to be mainline releases (similar to them announcing that every character that interacted with the Razor Crest was getting made), this thing has a serious chance of not being backed at all...let alone getting any of those tier unlocks without serious shenanigans from Hasbro.
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Patrick and crew are morons. Maybe they're ultimately going to fudge the numbers and it'll get made either way, but this is weak.
I'm more firmly passing than before.
I feel conflicted - I want this to work for those that want it, but I also really want it to fail so they'll stay focused on 3.75" HasLab offerings.
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5,109 now.
Edit: and dropping slowly.
Patrick and crew are morons. Maybe they're ultimately going to fudge the numbers and it'll get made either way, but this is weak.
I'm more firmly passing than before.
I feel conflicted - I want this to work for those that want it, but I also really want it to fail so they'll stay focused on 3.75" HasLab offerings.
Yeah, I feel the same about everything here. The tiers are pretty weak. They should have at least had Malakili as one of the tiers. How can you have a Rancor without a Rancor Keeper?
I've passed on every Haslab so far, mostly because I don't have the space for such large items. They are cool, though and I wish I did have room to display them. But I kind of feel like the big items work for TVC because of the scale. 6" rather limits what can be done for $500 or less.
I just wish that Hasbro would be open to making packs of obscure background characters in TVC, but it probably wouldn't happen due to costs.
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Patrick and crew are morons. Maybe they're ultimately going to fudge the numbers and it'll get made either way, but this is weak.
I'm more firmly passing than before.
I feel conflicted - I want this to work for those that want it, but I also really want it to fail so they'll stay focused on 3.75" HasLab offerings.
That echoes my feeling about this, too. I don't want it to fail. But I don't think this has been handled well.
-Bad launch spoiled by some loose lips during a Q&A session
-The previous Star Wars Haslab still hasn't been delivered
-A crazy funding goal as well as the stretch goal milestones. Did Hasbro get greedy after the success of the Razor Crest?
-Uninspiring sweeteners
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The difference is we all wanted the Razor Crest, extras be damned. It doesn't seem like Black Series Collectors really care either way if there's a rancor...or at least not many of them.
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It's now down to 5,076. Ughhh
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Currently 5,054 Backers.
I have to say they are all in love with the toy they produced, they seemed very proud of it in the livestream. And the Gammorean and rancor pictures were fun.
The Salacious reveal was very telling, they wanted to do that because they did the TVC version for SDCC years ago. They are either paying homage to themselves in some weird echo chamber, or have no idea what they are doing so they have to cheat off their neighbors' (or previous teams') test papers.
If Luke was going to be a stretch goal he should have been the first tier. It's not like he is going to be exclusive to this packaging. He'll be in Mandalorian packaging, he'll be in 40th ROTJ packaging, he'll be in Archive packaging someday.
Malakili should've been here. I finally realized what figure they could share his torso with--a Gammorean Gladiator from Mando! Too little, too late though...
And, as a cardboard conoisseur, I have to say that giant test print they showed for the backdrop was entirely too glossy to be of much use to action figure photographers. You can get away with the gloss on smaller pieces but stuff that big is just gonna be all reflected light. Boo.
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5047 5043.
I can't stop refreshing the page, watching it fall like some bizarre car wreck. :-[
This cannot be what they were expecting to happen after their "big last push" for the Rancor.
In other news, the Rancor's loss appears to be Skystriker's gain - as one goes down, the other is ticking up. Highlighting again the danger of trying to have three of these big ticket HasLabs all running at once?
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The Salacious reveal was very telling, they wanted to do that because they did the TVC version for SDCC years ago. They are either paying homage to themselves in some weird echo chamber, or have no idea what they are doing so they have to cheat off their neighbors' (or previous teams') test papers.
I think the Salacious Crumb illustrates a fundamental lack of understanding of the nuances of TVC collectors versus Black Series collectors. TVC collectors would probably gobble stuff like this Salacious Crumb up, because the packaging is just as important to them as the figure. I think Black Series fans are either looking beyond the packaging, or may not care about the packaging at all. It's about displaying and action figure photography.
I will freely admit that I did buy into the 40th Anniversary offerings for ANH and TESB on the Kenner style cards. A big part of that was the photo real deco. But with ROTJ 40th coming up in 2023? I don't know that I'm going to buy into it again. Just like the Kenner style cards isn't a draw for me for any of the 3 sweetener figures.
And, as a cardboard conoisseur, I have to say that giant test print they showed for the backdrop was entirely too glossy to be of much use to action figure photographers. You can get away with the gloss on smaller pieces but stuff that big is just gonna be all reflected light. Boo.
How did they not have a better sample to show that off? I get that it was a rendering to show off the size of the background. But you're totally right - it should have been a matte printing and it should have been on a gameboard quality backer. That's a serious fail on their part.
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I honestly kind of chuckled when they brought out that cardboard backdrop. Like everyone else, not because I want it to fail, it was just one of those “yeah, that seems about right”. When I heard they were planning this, let’s be honest, “emergency livestream” to try to change the narrative of this campaign…I thought they would pull out all the stops. Rancor Keeper, another new or new-ish figure, whatever it took. Today’s livestream was about what they whole ride has been….a sad trombone sound.
I’m one of those who does collect both lines. I’m primarily a 3 3/4” collector (which probably should be the HasLab focus because of scale, as mentioned), but I buy Black Series as well. Specifically,I think I have bought all of the OT characters made so far. That alone had me at least initially interested in this. Then I thought about it more, and I just couldn’t justify it. It is a lot of money (right before Christmas), and I honestly don’t have anywhere for it to go aside from the floor. Not to mention that I’m almost more interested in things like the Skystriker and Super 7’s Party Wagon (although that may have priced me out as well).
This whole Rancor thing just shows how the Star Wars team just seems a step behind lately. The figures and everything always look pretty great, but releases are few and far between, announcements in dribbles, and the fact that Funko, Hot Toys, etc can all seem to beat then to market with new or hot characters is kind of ridiculous. I mean, why is there no Mando season 2 Fett ready and on the shelves in time for Book of Boba? That aired a year ago!
To the HasLab side, I do wonder a little if collectors are reaching the breaking point for these huge items. They all look great, but they are pricey space hogs. Add to the fact that many of us follow multiple lines, and it is even worse. As much as I love the Barge…and think it is great…and I’m glad I have it, sometimes I look at that thing and think “as cool as this is, this is ridiculous”😂. I thought the Rancior would end up funding no matter what before today, but now I’m not so sure.
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To the HasLab side, I do wonder a little if collectors are reaching the breaking point for these huge items. They all look great, but they are pricey space hogs. Add to the fact that many of us follow multiple lines, and it is even worse. As much as I love the Barge…and think it is great…and I’m glad I have it, sometimes I look at that thing and think “as cool as this is, this is ridiculous”😂.
It would depend on the item, but I think at least for the next five years I would be willing to spend $300-ish on an all new kick ass 3.75" thing. Ultimate U-Wing? Death Star playset? Ultimate Mos Eisley Cantina? Yes, yes, and yes please.
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It would depend on the item, but I think at least for the next five years I would be willing to spend $300-ish on an all new kick ass 3.75" thing. Ultimate U-Wing? Death Star playset? Ultimate Mos Eisley Cantina? Yes, yes, and yes please.
Oh absolutely. For all the space issues, if they came out tomorrow and said “we’re doing a TVC Death Star!”, I’d figure it out 😉. I’ve got the Razor Crest on the way eventually as well. It is hard to say no when they dip into TVC.
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I checked on the number of backers, and it has not climbed very much since the livestream began. They were around 5,100 the last time I checked. At one point during the livestream the count was at 5,142. But it dropped to 5,126. I wonder if that's people pulling out, or if that's because of credit cards being declined?
5047 5043.
I can't stop refreshing the page, watching it fall like some bizarre car wreck. :-[
5003 as of 4:15pm CT.
I'm wondering now where it will bottom out before it starts rebounding? Or how low it gets before Hasbro reacts? Or do they have internal info/numbers that make them think they'll be OK (like are they sitting on X number of pre-arranged international orders for Japan/Australia/other non-US/UK Pulse markets that they will add in at the last minute)?
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Add me to the list of those wanting this to fail. Sorry to those who are interested, but if this moves forward, it's going to mean more of the same. I'd rather have it fail and send a message that collectors are not okay with ridiculous prices or lazy incentives on these big ticket items. I really like the Rancor and would love to have it my collection...for about $200 or less. At $350, this thing costs more than 15 brand new black series figures (15 * $23 = $345). Think about that for a minute. You could get a set of 15 new figures...or a Rancor. And honestly, given all the comments online, I think the numbers would easily get to the 9k if they had just included Oola or a Rancor Keeper. Limiting the incentives to re-packs probably has some people cancelling just to spite their lazy approach to getting more backers. I have to admit, I'd probably have a pre-order right now if this had those two figures attached to it. Or for this price, give it some battery power to move the mouth or make it growl or have some kind of walking feature.
I was just looking at the Haslab Galactus offering earlier this week and admiring the 30k+ backers. Yes, it was $400, but the offering included two brand new 6" figures and a repack of a fairly hard to find Silver Surfer figure. Galactus also has 70 points of articulation (vs 45 for the Rancor) and has alternate heads, light up LEDs, etc. This is also a character that has few previous iterations and is somewhat spendy on the secondary market, while I would guess most SW fans have a rancor or multiple rancors at this point. Pretty sure I have half a dozen of them in various forms. There's definitely a market for this big ticket stuff, but they either have to make the prices more reasonable or include more meaningful incentives to get backers fired up.
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I'm wondering now where it will bottom out before it starts rebounding? Or how low it gets before Hasbro reacts? Or do they have internal info/numbers that make them think they'll be OK (like are they sitting on X number of pre-arranged international orders for Japan/Australia/other non-US/UK Pulse markets that they will add in at the last minute)?
Asia will be waking up soon and it'll probably take a few days for everyone to get the news, so I wouldn't be surprised if this continues trending down for a few days yet. Although as you mention I'm not sure how directly/quickly the international orders can change.
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Add me to the list of those wanting this to fail. Sorry to those who are interested, but if this moves forward, it's going to mean more of the same. I'd rather have it fail and send a message that collectors are not okay with ridiculous prices or lazy incentives on these big ticket items.
Hopefully it also sends the message to Hasbro that they might need to shake up their team because there really hasn't been much in terms of new and creative in the past few years. Yeah, we're getting some new Mandalorian love because it's popular at the moment, but how many repainted Din Djarins do we need? A large percentage of new reveals aren't even new, but repacks and repaints. Even the 6" collectors are starting to see the recycling of figures in their line. So when they revealed the tiers, I wasn't surprised to see 2 repacks. Luke will be new, but that's dipping in the well that's already been dipped in, character-wise.
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Amen to that. Backers have dropped down to 4,991 as of 4:45 today. Yikes!
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Amen to that. Backers have dropped down to 4,991 as of 4:45 today. Yikes!
Now I wish I had tentatively backed the Rancor so I could cancel >:D
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What a colossal embarrassment. These rubes just can’t stop stepping on their own dick.
I don’t blame anyone for wanting this to fail. Although I think these dopes are too busy sniffing their own farts to get the message that people are fed up and the whole thing has been lazy and half assed from the get go.
Makes me feel even better about backing Galactus though.
I don’t know what I’m going to do about this thing now. Interest low is at an all time low now.
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Hmm, a "new" Luke announced on the same day that Bandai SH Figuarts announces their new Mandalorian Luke, which can also double as a Jabba's Palace Luke... did they even bring up differences between this Luke and the Walmart Exclusive Luke from 2019? (I was working all day and missed the presentation and am just now catching up).
Like everyone else is saying, this is a huge disappointment. I WANTED to buy this thing, and was even preparing to fight with my girlfriend over it. It really is an amazing piece of work. Individual articulated finger joints! Incredible.
But there is just no enthusiasm behind this from the Hasbro team. The choices somewhat make sense, but are mind boggling. I did expect Luke and a Gammorrean, those just make sense even if they're reissues. But Oola and Malakili were RIGHT THERE as Tier 3 and 4 choices, which likely would have had people backing this by the dozens. My personal wish was even for a pack in reissue of Black Series Jabba with the dias. But we're only getting Crumb, who is already being reissued in a $40 Disney set that's easily available online? There were dozens of ways Hasbro could have gone, and it feels like they made the worst possible decision nearly every step of the way.
Not mad, just disappointed. Hopefully people vote with their wallets and show Hasbro that you have to at least make an effort. TVC collectors seem to be VERY pleased with their Haslab offerings, and Hasbro seems/seemed to enjoy showing off the Sail Barge and the Razor Crest. It's a shame they can't show the same love for Black Series.
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Down to 4,900 now. I don't see this rebounding. Not in this form. I was on the fence about ordering it, but the final two stretch goals cinched it for me - I just can't.
Hasbro needs to understand the nuances that distinguish Black Series collectors from Vintage Collection collectors. My concerns at this point? Who on the Hasbro Star Wars team is going to be held accountable? Because someone is no doubt going to take the blame for this. Eric seems like a solid guy who loves the franchise and creatures, and was a driving force behind this. But I think this situation is attributable to the marketing people.
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4889 now...I have to say, I am surprised that the numbers keep going down. I figured less people would be interested after the lackluster news, but I didn't think we'd see negative numbers ongoing. Wow.
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Currently at 4,885. Patrick and crew have to be sweating right now.
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Maybe they're trying to figure out how they can amortize cost of the loss into the TVC line.
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Currently at 4,885. Patrick and crew have to be sweating right now.
4827.
This is kind of crazy. I can’t believe how much the unlocks have become the driver here. To me you either want the Rancor or you don’t. Looks like it’s just priced $50 or $100 too high.
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I feel like that's exactly what it proves. The rancor was worth $250. A lot of people assumed they'd get some combo of Oola, Malakili, Giran etc that would be worth the other $100. Oops. So they are bailing.
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I'm wondering now where it will bottom out before it starts rebounding?
Wow, did not expect to stop in tonight and see that this had pretty much been dropping all weekend.
I think you guys are on the money. Most people assumed $350 included some great unlocks and "new version of stuff we have" is obviously not enough to move the needle for those folks.
I feel bad for those who were really wanting this. I guess there is still time for Hasbro to fix this somehow and make it more attractive, but no idea if they will be willing to change it up or if they are willing to let it go on and fail?
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Hasbro's in the unenviable position (of their own making) where if they drop the price—or offer all new unlockables—they'll forever be held hostage by their fanbases demanding more than what they can budget for...even to unrealistic degrees. They should have had a more compelling package for that pricepoint to begin with, so the concept was flawed from the start...and definitely botched in many ways. But if they just take it all back and give fans all the stuff they've been demanding, the Haslab backing community will be a ******* entitled nightmare going forward.
Like I said, they should have had a more compelling package from the beginning, but they didn't. I don't know that it would be a smart move for them to suddenly pivot, unless they want to do this dance every time.
But yeah, when I backed the Sail Barge and the Razor Crest, I had no interest in the unlocks. I mean, yeah I'm happy to be getting them, but I wanted the core item. It seems like this just isn't a core item that Black Series fans give a big enough **** about.
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I agree with everything said so far. Hasbro set the price point too high, fans expected to get some really good stretch goals and Hasbro did not deliver. They've also painted themselves into a corner because if they lower the price or change the stretch goas, they'll never be able to get out from under it.
I backed the Razor Crest on day one and never worried about the stretch goals. To me, the $350 price point for a huge, well detailed vehicle was worth it. I'm willing to bet that those of you who put $500 down on the sail barge feel the same way. The stretch goals should be nothing more than gravy.
Down to 4,808 right now.
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4777 as of this posting…what a supreme fail.
They did end up extending the time frame for Unicron, so I would guess they would at least try that. Beyond that I still think they need to do something to stop the bleeding.
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Transformers are a house brand though, so I think they kind of needed to make sure that didn't fail. And wasn't Unicron still adding to the backer count each day, but just not fast enough? This ****** is losing backers daily.
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They did end up extending the time frame for Unicron, so I would guess they would at least try that.
Transformers are a house brand though, so I think they kind of needed to make sure that didn't fail. And wasn't Unicron still adding to the backer count each day, but just not fast enough? This ****** is losing backers daily.
A couple things about Unicron. After it was revealed, Hasbro got a lot of feedback that people wanted to back it but needed more time to come up with the almost $600 to buy one. Hasbro extended the deadline 5 weeks so that it would run through NYCC. That gave people an extra 5 weeks to save up the $575 AND it gave Hasbro a chance to actively promote Unicron at NYCC (https://news.tfw2005.com/2019/10/03/new-york-comic-con-2019-coverage-haslab-unicron-on-display-397450). Fans got a chance to see it in person, take pictures and build hype/buzz online. I don't recall if they threw in any last minute sweeteners as part of the extension.
The Rancor just feels different. People aren't really saying "I need more time to save" they seem to be saying "this is too much for what we're getting". There also isn't any NYCC/SDCC type show coming up where they can promote it. An extension doesn't really make sense to me because they are just driving it deeper into the Christmas/Black Friday shopping season where people are going to have less money anyway.
I do still hope it makes it to at least 9k for all the folks who really want it. Given how these things go, a last minute push of FOMO by Hasbro and maybe all those cancelling their orders come back? Not impossible, I guess.
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They said during the livestream on Friday that they had to meet the 9,000 backer goal, and that it had to be done by December 7th. Changing that could damage the integrity of Haslab. If people know that a project is going to end up being funded no matter what? Then where is the incentive for people to back a campaign? Aside from the Cookie Monster campaign failure, you had to expect that one of the major franchises would have a failure at some point.
The Skystriker campaign has a deadline the same day as the Rancor. It's got a 10,000 unit goal, and they're only at 5600 backers right now. GI Joe might be a house brand, but is Hasbro willing to eat over 4000 Skystrikers in order for the campaign to move forward? I'm curious to see how things proceed over the next week or so with both campaigns.
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They said during the livestream on Friday that they had to meet the 9,000 backer goal, and that it had to be done by December 7th. Changing that could damage the integrity of Haslab. If people know that a project is going to end up being funded no matter what? Then where is the incentive for people to back a campaign?
I think this is why we won't see any extra sweeteners for the unlocks too. I'm sure they don't want to condition people to hold out for a better deal every time they roll one of these out.
This item may turn out to just be a bad choice by Hasbro.
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Looking around the collecting community on YouTube, a lot of people are calling Hasbro out on their lack of general knowledge of the Franchise (mainly Ling and Patrick). Hell, Ling actually said in the previous livestream that the moment the Rancor ate the Stormtrooper as an iconic moment in the movie. Return of the Jedi has been around for 38 years, you would think she might have found some time to watch it.
A lot of the channels that focus on Black Series figures who have dropped their orders are thinking of still backing it...mainly for FOMO reasons. I still think this will get some Galactus level amount of backers and at least get funded...Hasbro does not want the embarrassment of a Star Wars Haslab not getting backed, especially after the success of the Razor Crest.
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Looking around the collecting community on YouTube, a lot of people are calling Hasbro out on their lack of general knowledge of the Franchise (mainly Ling and Patrick). Hell, Ling actually said in the previous livestream that the moment the Rancor ate the Stormtrooper as an iconic moment in the movie. Return of the Jedi has been around for 38 years, you would think she might have found some time to watch it.
To be fair to Ling, the early concepts of the Rancor had a Stormtrooper beside it to show the scale so being in the moment of the livestream and seeing the Stormtrooper it might have just been in the back of her head when she said that instead of Piggy Guard, which she may have meant.
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I can't give her the benefit of the doubt. She didn't even try to correct herself.
There's a good clip of her in this video and the guy makes some great points about the Rancor and stretch goals. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZ6ua1ZgEM)
Like Nick, I'm also surprised the Skystryker isn't doing so well. That seems to be priced well and has some really cool stretch goals. I'm not a GI Joe collector and I even thought about backing it!
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A lot of the channels that focus on Black Series figures who have dropped their orders are thinking of still backing it...mainly for FOMO reasons. I still think this will get some Galactus level amount of backers and at least get funded...Hasbro does not want the embarrassment of a Star Wars Haslab not getting backed, especially after the success of the Razor Crest.
The Galactus situation seemed touch and go for a while. But in that last week it started surging in a big way. I actually had an exchange with Steve Evans of Hasbro about it on Instagram, and he said that the projections and trends indicated there would probably be a strong, late push. And Galactus wound up surging in a big way, to the point of hitting at least 4 stretch goals.
Could FOMO drive the Rancor in that final week? Maybe. But we seem to be knee deep in action figure collecting Schadenfreude as people speculate about what this means, along with the TVC cultists yelling "SEE! SEE! WE TOLD YOU STAR WARS IS A 3.75" FIGURE SCALE!!!"
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Good points Nick. I'm curious if something similar happen with the Rancor. I checked this morning and it dropped to 4,769 backers and just checked again a few minutes ago and saw it's 4,770. Did it hit bottom? I don't know, but I do expect a surge towards the end, because that always seems to happen.
As someone who primarily collects the 3.75 scale, of course I'm biased that I want Hasbro to focus more on that scale. Looking at the Razor Crest, it would seem that scale is more popular, but I have a feeling that has more to do with the vehicles being so popular and the 6" scale just is not conducive to vehicles. (Although a 6" scale Falcon would be absolutely glorious!)
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I'd be interested to know how many units of 6" TIE Fighters and Snowspeeders sold at full retail, and how that compares to their Rancor target.
If they didn't sell 10x at normal retail for each of these (around 100,000), then I'm not sure there is a market for large 6" items, regardless of price. I think each of those were $130ish at full retail.
The TIEs seemed to sit even at hefty discounts (did they get as low as $40??), and I'm not sure I ever saw a 6" Snowspeeder at retail - they seemed to be online only.
I'm just not sure how many people want a 6" item that large (that's what she said).
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It gained a backer since lunch!
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I thought the TIE was $180 at retail…
I bought one on Amazon for $60 and hung it at work. Now that I work from home I don’t know what to do with it and will probably chuck it up on Craigslist pretty soon.
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It gained a backer since lunch!
And it went back down one. I wonder if someone was playing a cruel joke.
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I thought the TIE was $180 at retail…
I bought one on Amazon for $60 and hung it at work. Now that I work from home I don’t know what to do with it and will probably chuck it up on Craigslist pretty soon.
I bought a Snowspeeder on sale, but mostly for the Dak. I should probably list the Snowspeeder on Craigslist too as I have never displayed it and don't have any plans to.
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This makes it official. Kill the 6” line, double investment in 3.75”. This stuff is just too space consuming.
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The 6" line does seem to have become a little stale. They worked their way through the OT and the Sequel Trilogy like crazy. It's almost like the philosophy behind the line - offering definitive versions of that character ONCE - has burned it out to a degree. And it's very dependent on new entertainment.
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You both lost me there.
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You both lost me there.
I think Black Series has gotten a little stale because of the increasing number of repaints and reissues. Between the Black Series Archive, Carbonized collection, the Credit Collection, Gaming Greats (has a lot of repaints / kitbashes) and all of the trooper repaints, I feel like the line has taken a step backwards in terms of newness and innnovation.
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You both lost me there.
I think Black Series has gotten a little stale because of the increasing number of repaints and reissues. Between the Black Series Archive, Carbonized collection, the Credit Collection, Gaming Greats (has a lot of repaints / kitbashes) and all of the trooper repaints, I feel like the line has taken a step backwards in terms of newness and innnovation.
I think its just a cash grab by Hasbro - they're milking as much profit out of the franchise. I agree its gotten stale, but so has 3.75". You get some new figures each year, but you get even more repacks/repaints/kitbashes.
The sad thing is there is still so much good stuff to be made from the last five films and The Mandalorian. I hope they don't let this drag on too long and alienate the fan base to the point where they whole thing just collapses.
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I think both lines still have some good stuff on the horizon. TVC Deathwatch Mando along with Bo Katan, Kuiil even the Lobot and Bib Fortuna look excellent.
Black series, even though it's not a line I really collect, have a lot of great figures coming soon as well.
BTW, Rancor has dropped to 4749.
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The last bunch of waves of BS and upcoming waves are amazing. The repaints mixed in between don't change that. I wish 3.75 would get some of the figs BS has.
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I think both lines still have some good stuff on the horizon. TVC Deathwatch Mando along with Bo Katan, Kuiil even the Lobot and Bib Fortuna look excellent.
Yeah, but it used to be 50 interesting and new things in a year. Now it’s that pile, plus 8 photo reals, plus a bunch of repainted and kit-bashed troops… repainted Clone Wars figures… clever but not new Gaming Greats…
It also used to be that it slowed down because there wasn’t a movie in theaters, now with TROS they didn’t even care.
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BTW, Rancor has dropped to 4749.
Two days later, 4748. Ouch.
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Yeah it's been fluctuating around 4750 for the past couple of days. I think it's hit its floor. I just wonder if the end surge will be big enough to bring it back over the line.
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Yeah it's been fluctuating around 4750 for the past couple of days. I think it's hit its floor. I just wonder if the end surge will be big enough to bring it back over the line.
Back up to 4758 today. Where are all these guys posting online that they're going to buy up extra of these to make the non-supporters pay triple once this comes out and people are consumed with regret over not getting one?
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Yeah it's been fluctuating around 4750 for the past couple of days. I think it's hit its floor. I just wonder if the end surge will be big enough to bring it back over the line.
Back up to 4758 today. Where are all these guys posting online that they're going to buy up extra of these to make the non-supporters pay triple once this comes out and people are consumed with regret over not getting one?
All 2 of them, I guess. ::) Plus there's a 5 max limit per customer (although there are ways around it, I suppose).
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The number of backers is creeping upwards. It was at 4,755 and it's up to 47,64 now. With less than a week to go, I expect a surge at the end that will ultimately back the Rancor but I doubt any of the stretch goals are reached.
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Only 250 or so to get to where it was a week and a half ago!
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Hasbro has readjusted the campaign and is adding Malakili to the base product! He comes with it if it funds now! (They will design him and show him off when it funds, but they obviously had no plans for this.)
My hat is off to them for jumping on the grenade!
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I’m curious to see how much the needle will move in the next 24 hours. This is a positive development, and I’m glad to see them paying attention to the feedback. But has the damage already been done?
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I backed it just now to show my appreciation for their change in direction. I’m back to hoping it gets made now, fingers crossed this will be enough.
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I’m curious to see how much the needle will move in the next 24 hours. This is a positive development, and I’m glad to see them paying attention to the feedback. But has the damage already been done?
My thoughts exactly. Imagine the momentum they would have had from the beginning if this was always part of the deal. Now some people have probably soured on this, spent their money elsewhere, and don't want to change the viewpoint on this.
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Here’s the question… Malakili won’t be on a card or in a box.
So will they just release him on a card or in a box later?
If he’s truly exclusive to this set, he’ll be expensive as hell. If not…
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So will they just release him on a card or in a box later?
Of course they will. Maybe it'll be a slightly tweaked version (like the TVC from Razor Crest were) but the main figure sculpt will 100% be in the basic figure line at some point if they are making the tooling for this. You know they can't resist double dipping - especially with ROTJ 40th Anniversary in 2023.
Now some people have probably soured on this, spent their money elsewhere, and don't want to change the viewpoint on this.
Those that dropped out have already had Black Friday and Cyber Monday to re-allocate/spend the $350 on something else. Some will sit tight and stay out just on principle.
I wonder about the message/precedent this sets for future HasLab projects - Don't think it's got enough value? Then just sit on it until the last week and see if you can force them to add an extra unplanned sweetener again!
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Yep, so if he’ll be available later, I don’t see how this is that big of an incentive. It’s not like Malakili had different outfits or armor or could be repainted in any meaningful way… I mean, it saves you $25 later to not have to buy one if you’re an opener I guess.
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It's jumped up to 4,886 backers at roughly 9 pm MST. This will get backed.
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I wonder about the message/precedent this sets for future HasLab projects - Don't think it's got enough value? Then just sit on it until the last week and see if you can force them to add an extra unplanned sweetener again!
Yeah, I think this will end up biting Hasbro in the long-run.
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Maybe if they paid attention to the fans and if Patrick and Ling actually watched Star Wars, this wouldn't have happened.
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Maybe if they paid attention to the fans and if Patrick and Ling actually watched Star Wars, this wouldn't have happened.
I for one have taken issue with the personal attacks on the members of the Hasbro Star Wars team. I disagree very strongly with their choices and decision making processes, but dragging them in personally is not how I want to exercise my fandom. There are some people on social media making memes of them and I think that is completely out of line.
What I hope the Star Wars teams takes from this situation is that Star Wars, as a Hasbro brand, does not exist in a vacuum. And that Star Wars collectors are not stupid - we are tapped into what's happening in the action figure segment of the toy industry. So when Hasbro's Marvel team offered up so many new Marvel Legends figures with both the Sentinel and Galactus Haslab campaigns, we had the temerity to actually notice that. Furthermore, we expect at least as much creativity and innovation in the Star Wars line as any other Hasbro property - not just a bunch of repackaged ****. Because that's what the original stretch goals amounted to.
Someone at Hasbro really has to have a long discussion with the Star Wars team about whether or not they think it's alright to treat their customer base like we're a bunch of dummies who will buy anything with the Star Wars logo slapped onto it. That's what I think this episode really boils down to. But has the Haslab concept already been damaged by this nonsense? The campaign has rebounded a little bit, and it's now over 4900 backers.
Another thing struck me recently when I was discussing another toy line with a friend. A while back we had been discussing a legendary toy - the GI Joe USS Flagg. I had just seen one go up for sale on the secondary market, and I remarked how I remember seeing it at retail in person and was stupefied by just how large that box was. That got into another issue from the time - how GI Joe began to take up peg and shef space from Star Wars around 1983 - 1985. Which in turn got into how kids who had been avid Star Wars fans picked up on the GI Joe line at that time and transitioned over to that as their primary focus. Did Hasbro talk to ANYBODY who was around in the mid 80's to ask them if running a GI Joe and Star Wars Haslab at the same time might potentially lead to splitting their customer base?
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I think the bigger problem is who actually wanted this item? There are enough Star Wars collectors out there who purchase everything Hasbro. Is that number about 5,000 people? Who really knows. I live in a small state and I haven't collected Hasbro for a while, but I always check the toy section at Target and Walmart if I happen to be there just to see what is out. The vast majority of the time I see nothing on the shelves or maybe one beat up figure sitting there. So either people are still buying in droves or distribution is just as poor as it was ten years ago.
First problem with this item is that it is pretty niche. The 6" scale overall seems pretty popular, but I never got on board due mainly to space, but not wanted to collect yet another figure scale. Previous large items in this line haven't sold all that well. This item takes up a lot of space. The Barge takes up a lot of space, the Razor Crest takes up a lot of space and it is yet to ship, so people are justifiably hesitant on this item. The bonus tiers are lackluster. Just look at them compared to what you get with either the GI Joe or Ghostbusters offerings. I had a bunch of GI Joe toys in my youth, including the Skystriker. If I collected from all three fandoms and could only afford one of these items, GI Joe would win. If I could back only two, I would probably lean towards Ghostbusters second.
Overall, this is just a bad choice in my opinion. They really should have stuck with 3 3/4". The fanbase has wanted a Death Star playset forever. They should have maybe done a poll just to see where interest lies.
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I think the bigger problem is who actually wanted this item?
All the people who asked for it after a different version was on display at 2019 Hasbro Comic-Con booth (https://www.jedidefender.com/gallery/imageFolio.cgi?action=view&link=Conventions/San_Diego_Comic_Con_2019/Hasbro/Star_Wars&image=Photo%20Jul%2017,%207%2047%2033%20PM.jpg&img=96&tt=)? In 2019, they said that 6" scale Rancor was just a custom for the display. Based on the positive feedback from fans at and after the show, it probably sent them off on the track of trying to figure out if it was feasible for an official product.
I know this was pre-pandemic and not trying to pick on you Ed since you've said yourself you haven't kept up on all things Hasbro lately, but I keep getting surprised how many people on social media forget that this Rancor project springs from that 2019 diorama they had. It's not like it came out of the blue and was totally unrequested by fans.
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Maybe if they paid attention to the fans and if Patrick and Ling actually watched Star Wars, this wouldn't have happened.
I for one have taken issue with the personal attacks on the members of the Hasbro Star Wars team. I disagree very strongly with their choices and decision making processes, but dragging them in personally is not how I want to exercise my fandom. There are some people on social media making memes of them and I think that is completely out of line.
I am not attacking them personally. I am critiquing their professional decisions. There are a lot of people out there that car calling for Patrick and Ling to be fired. I do not want that. I want them to learn from their mistakes and do better. It is clear from the livestreams that their scripted comments are not their own words and there is a serious lack of passion from them as well as a lack of knowledge of the product they have been hired to sell. That lack of knowledge and passion is hurting the brand.
Case in point. Look at the livestream where they revealed the Rey Skywalker lightsaber. Chris was excited to show off the features on how it ignited and the movie accuracy of the ignition color sequence. It was the prime reason I pre-ordered the Hasbro saber that very day and why I didn't try to get the Rey Skywalker legacy saber on our trip to Galaxy's Edge back in October.
I'm not saying Patrick and Ling need to be steeped in the lore of Star Wars as much as we are, but they constantly get basic information of the franchise wrong and it hurts their credibility with the fans. I want them to succeed, because then the line succeeds.
BTW, the Rancor is up to 4,922. I bet if they announced an Oola in the mainline to support this, it would be fully backed and possibly hit some of the stretch goals. Honestly, the Gammorean Guard and the Luke are nice stretch goals.
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I bet if they announced an Oola in the mainline
I wish they would just give us a straight answer on Oola or similar figures. Are they off-limits now or not? There are so many rumors that Disney has said characters like Jabba Prisoner "Huttslayer" Leia or Oola are off limits but then the Marvel Legends team can sell Tigra (https://hasbropulse.com/products/marvel-legends-series-marvel-s-tigra), She-Hulk (https://hasbropulse.com/products/marvel-legends-series-she-hulk), or Hercules (https://hasbropulse.com/products/marvel-legends-series-marvel-s-hercules).
I guess bikini/speedo wearing characters are OK for figures if they are based on heroes but not OK if they are based on people held against their will by intergalactic crime lords? ???
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Maybe if they paid attention to the fans and if Patrick and Ling actually watched Star Wars, this wouldn't have happened.
I for one have taken issue with the personal attacks on the members of the Hasbro Star Wars team. I disagree very strongly with their choices and decision making processes, but dragging them in personally is not how I want to exercise my fandom. There are some people on social media making memes of them and I think that is completely out of line.
I am not attacking them personally. I am critiquing their professional decisions. There are a lot of people out there that car calling for Patrick and Ling to be fired. I do not want that. I want them to learn from their mistakes and do better. It is clear from the livestreams that their scripted comments are not their own words and there is a serious lack of passion from them as well as a lack of knowledge of the product they have been hired to sell. That lack of knowledge and passion is hurting the brand.
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I don't know, Matt. I read this particular bit...
Maybe if they paid attention to the fans and if Patrick and Ling actually watched Star Wars, this wouldn't have happened.
...and how can you not see that as something bordering on a personal attack? It doesn't go to the extent of the memes, but it's incredibly dismissive.
That being said, I also question the decision making process. But for me it's from the standpoint of what does this Haslab offer relative to recent, similar campaigns like the Sentinel and Galactus? Those were very different from the Vintage Collection Haslabs because the 3.75" and 6" scales are very different animals. And it seemed like a Vintage Collection mindset was being applied to a Black Series project like the Rancor, which was inherently a mistake, when it should have been treated more like the Marvel Legends campaigns.
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Nick,
Trying not to derail the thread more than it already has, do you honestly think that Patrick and Ling have more than an extremely casual knowledge of Star Wars? Remember, Ling actually thought that the time when the Rancor ate a Stormtrooper was an iconic moment in the original trilogy! There was no hint of joke or sarcasm in her comment!
I was lucky to be part of the Universal Shabby Reviews livestream last week, and we discussed the Haslab Rancor. I brought up the same comments that I've said in here and on other threads about the marketing people's lack of passion and knowledge of the franchise they are supposed to be selling to us...and when someone made a comment about firing Patrick, I specifically called it out that I do not want them fired, I just want them to do better.
I can't help how you take my comments, but calling out the marketing team for an obvious lack of knowledge of the franchise they are supposed to be selling, is not a personal attack but a professional one.
BTW, they're now at 4,963 backers and climbing...looks like adding the Rancor Keeper was a good move on their part.
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Tone doesn’t always translate to text.
As for Ling and the Stormtrooper comment? I know they said were using a Stormtrooper figure for the purpose of showing off the size of the Rancor. My guess is they didn’t want to show it next to a previously released figure of a character who interacted with the Rancor on account of the uninspired stretch goals #1 and 4. And I think Ling’s remark might have also been a case of sarcasm that just didn’t land well.
The team has suffered because the person who was the face of the brand got moved elsewhere. He set the bar high, and from a communications standpoint the current team is lacking in comparison. And there have been periods in the history of the line that were lackluster. But then new leadership came and it was really good. Does anyone remember the guy in charge of the brand before Derryl DePriest? I have a hard time remembering, and I’m pretty sure I spoke with the guy on more than one occasion. But then Derryl led the line through OTC, VOTC, ROTS, TSC, 30AC, TLC, CW and TVC. It was a great run! Steve Evans distinguished himself much in the same way as Derryl. There are going to be people in that position who don’t measure up to their standards. We might be in that period now.
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As for Ling and the Stormtrooper comment? I know they said were using a Stormtrooper figure for the purpose of showing off the size of the Rancor. My guess is they didn’t want to show it next to a previously released figure of a character who interacted with the Rancor on account of the uninspired stretch goals #1 and 4. And I think Ling’s remark might have also been a case of sarcasm that just didn’t land well.
I get why they were using the Stormtrooper in that particular livestream, because they were announcing the first stretch goal not five minute later. Going by her tone, Ling's comment was not sarcasm. Hell, the last livestream they did looked more like a hostage video. Every spoken word was scripted and there is zero passion from them. I get why a lot of collectors are angry with them.
We're up to 4,970 backers. Looks like they word is spreading and people are reacting well to the Rancor Keeper announcement. The usual suspects are out there telling collectors to hold out for more...with less than a week left I don't know how good a strategy that would be.
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I'll throw my hat in the ring if they're ever looking for a new Star Wars brand/product manager. ;D
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I'll throw my hat in the ring if they're ever looking for a new Star Wars brand/product manager. ;D
Ditto!
Frankly, I don't think the rancor is such a bad item to offer. Sure, I have a number of them from various previous lines, but the figure itself looks pretty cool to me. I even like most of the incentives they've offered. But it just comes down to price. I can't reconcile spending the same price on this as I would for 15 brand new Black Series figures. Including even one or two additional figures still makes it incredibly overpriced. Now, had they offered it at $200 or even $250 plus incentives, that might be a bit more tempting. And I would be hard pressed to turn this down if they decided to include Oola instead of the rancor keeper. But even this additional offering feels like it's not enough for the price. Between that and the lazy approach to the incentives, I sort of just wanted to fail on principle.
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I bet if they announced an Oola in the mainline
I wish they would just give us a straight answer on Oola or similar figures. Are they off-limits now or not? There are so many rumors that Disney has said characters like Jabba Prisoner "Huttslayer" Leia or Oola are off limits but then the Marvel Legends team can sell Tigra (https://hasbropulse.com/products/marvel-legends-series-marvel-s-tigra), She-Hulk (https://hasbropulse.com/products/marvel-legends-series-she-hulk), or Hercules (https://hasbropulse.com/products/marvel-legends-series-marvel-s-hercules).
I guess bikini/speedo wearing characters are OK for figures if they are based on heroes but not OK if they are based on people held against their will by intergalactic crime lords? ???
I'm trying to figure out where they draw the line, too. Is it because the comic characters are based on illustrations, and the Star Wars character likenesses are based on the appearance of the individual actors? I feel like we're dealing with some nebulous territory.
The funny thing is, if the first release of the Black Series slave Leia hadn't been such a pegwarmer (like Han Solo and Greedo from the same wave), this might not have blown up into such a big deal. I think the incident that kicked this all off was a news report from 2015 (https://www.fox29.com/news/star-wars-action-figure-has-parents-furious). I'm pretty sure the figure came out either in late 2013 or early 2014. But because some Philly area father was embarrassed and had to explain this to his kid, we're dealing with the repercussions to this day.
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Someone at Hasbro really has to have a long discussion with the Star Wars team about whether or not they think it's alright to treat their customer base like we're a bunch of dummies who will buy anything with the Star Wars logo slapped onto it. That's what I think this episode really boils down to.
To be fair, this is what Disney thinks of Star Wars fans, so perhaps they're just following orders?
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Someone at Hasbro really has to have a long discussion with the Star Wars team about whether or not they think it's alright to treat their customer base like we're a bunch of dummies who will buy anything with the Star Wars logo slapped onto it. That's what I think this episode really boils down to.
To be fair, this is what Disney thinks of Star Wars fans, so perhaps they're just following orders?
The number of Grogu items has just exploded. While I love the character and the idea behind him, this seems almost tailor made for what was likely one of the main reasons that Disney bought the franchise - CRAZY LEVELS OF MERCHANDISING. I think we all just need to be discerning customers.
As for the Rancor? We're at 5163 with a little under 4 days to go. Adding Malakili gave this thing a boost. But I don't know if it's going to make it.
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I'm pretty confident this will get backed. There will be a last day surge to get it at least to 9,000. It would be interesting if they got the Gamorrean Guard unlocked.
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The Rancor actually shed some backers since this morning. It's currently at 5.147.
It also looks like the Sky Stryker Haslab is struggling. That's only got 6,000 backers, with a goal of 10,000. Hasbro rolled out some more incentives for that campaign this morning. And did they actually lower the price, too? I thought it had been listed for $249, and it's now $229.
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I'm surprised the Skystriker hasn't funded yet. I think it's always been $230, but I'm not 100% sure.
I'm not a GI Joe collector so, similar to the Rancor, it was not on the table for me....but I am curious to see how it does.
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I'm surprised the Skystriker hasn't funded yet. I think it's always been $230, but I'm not 100% sure.
Yes, Skystriker was always $230. I think it's suffering from the "I've already got one" type syndrome.
I personally think a 3.75" Star Wars Y-Wing HasLab would be very similar. Lots of folks clamoring for an all-new, modern re-do but plenty of folks who will say "for $230, I am fine with what I have". I think there is some of that here. This version of the Skystriker is awesome, but plenty of folks are sitting on multiple versions of this thing already.
Oh, and let me add a quick ranking:
10/10 Releasing a "Cobra Commander hacks the Skystriker Haslab" campaign to get buzz
5/10 The tiniest bit of effort in marking your HasLab Project
1/10 The mimimum basic marketing effort
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-100/10 "sorry we ****** up the Rancor project, here's a Malakili"
>:D
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Did anyone here ever get an email from Hasbro about the change in the Rancor offering (bundled Malakili)? How did you learn about it?
I don't think I ever got an email from Hasbro, or got an alert on my HasbroPulse app about the change. I think it was a Yakface tweet where I first saw the information and then had to dig for it on the HasLab page.
My only reason for bringing this up was that I think the GI Joe team has done a much better job communicating changes to their offering and making fun promo tweets, etc.
If the Hasbro Star Wars team has done this and I didn't get the message, then WTF. If I'm not their target audience or they can't find me, then double WTF.
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They put an announcement on their facebook page Dave...that's how I found out about it.
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I saw the news on Instagram. As soon as Hasbro Pulse put it out a lot of the accounts I follow shared it, too.
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Seems odd they wouldn't email us old fogies - those that have purchased previous HasLab items, those that have spent hundreds/thousands of dollars on HasbroPulse purchases, and those of us on their emailing list.
I don't spend much time on social media so I was surprised when I saw the news on Yakface without having the Hasbro team tell me directly.
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Seems odd they wouldn't email us old fogies - those that have purchased previous HasLab items, those that have spent hundreds/thousands of dollars on HasbroPulse purchases, and those of us on their emailing list.
I don't spend much time on social media so I was surprised when I saw the news on Yakface about having the Hasbro team tell me directly.
I am not surprised by this. The level of marketing and updates by the SW team for the Rancor and the Razor Crest has been nowhere as abundant as for the Skystriker, Unicron or the Marvel offerings. And none of those were as abundant as the Sail Barge.
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Rancor is currently at 5,313 Skystriker is 6,709.
I'm still confident these will be backed.
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Rancor Update:
~5460 backers as of 11am CT today
~3540 backers needed to fund the project
~13540 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 1 day, 12 hours (36 hours):
~3540 / 36 = ~98 backers/hr to fund
~13540 / 36 = ~376 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
All numbers above subject to any Hasbro shenanigans, of course... ;)
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~5460 backers as of 11am CT today
~3540 backers needed to fund the project
~13540 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 1 day, 12 hours (36 hours):
~3540 / 36 = ~98 backers/hr to fund
~13540 / 36 = ~376 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
~5525 backers as of 5pm CT today
~3475 backers needed to fund the project
~13475 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 1 days, 6 hours (30 hours):
~3475 / 30 = ~116 backers/hr to fund
~13475 / 30 = ~449 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
All numbers above subject to any Hasbro shenanigans, of course... ;)
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Yes, Skystriker was always $230. I think it's suffering from the "I've already got one" type syndrome.
I personally think a 3.75" Star Wars Y-Wing HasLab would be very similar. Lots of folks clamoring for an all-new, modern re-do but plenty of folks who will say "for $230, I am fine with what I have". I think there is some of that here. This version of the Skystriker is awesome, but plenty of folks are sitting on multiple versions of this thing already.
To be fair, I think I was the only one really banging that drum.
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Entering the final day!
~5625 backers as of 11pm CT 12/5
~3375 backers needed to fund the project
~13375 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 24 hours:
~3375 / 24 = ~140.6 backers/hr to fund
~13375 / 24 = ~557.3 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
All numbers above subject to any Hasbro shenanigans, of course... ;). Plenty of folks on social media seem to think Hasbro's gonna drop 4-5k "international retail" orders in at the last minute to push it across the line.
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Plenty of folks on social media seem to think Hasbro's gonna drop 4-5k "international retail" orders in at the last minute to push it across the line.
They better drop those "international orders" soon as they're only at 5,722 with 15 hours to go.
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~5720 backers as of 8am CT today
~3280 backers needed to fund the project
~13280 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 15 hours:
~3280 / 15 = ~218.7 backers/hr to fund
~13280 / 15 = ~885.3 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
They better drop those "international orders" soon as they're only at 5,722 with 15 hours to go.
Over the last 64 hours, they have averaged 8 backers an hour... all collectors have to do is back this thing at a ~2750% increased pace for the last 15 hours and it's gonna happen! (https://jedidefender.com/jsmentek/lol.gif)
But again, Hasbro shenanigans (which I am fully expecting) can change everything...
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I wonder just how hard they're working the phones with the major fan channel outlets and international partners? Outlets like Zavvi might be their out in order to avoid the embarrassment of this campaign failing.
I haven't backed it. And I don't see anything swaying my decision in the next 14+ hours.
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Not trending in the right direction. They have 5,779 backers as of 10AM CT. 3,221 needed in 13 hours, so 248 per hour to make it happen.
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If Hasbro wanted to use shenanigans to get this thing over the top, they'd be smart to get on it already.
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This is going to be interesting to watch.
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In the background of the Livestream, which X-Wing and U-Wing are those on top of the shelf? (http://"https://youtu.be/ZsFbeTWJ_Gw?t=701") They look larger than the cheap ones that were released, but I could be wrong.
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Not trending in the right direction. They have 5,779 backers as of 10AM CT. 3,221 needed in 13 hours, so 248 per hour to make it happen.
~5820 backers as of 11am CT today
~3180 backers needed to fund the project
~13180 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 12 hours:
~3180 / 12 = ~265 backers/hr to fund
~13180 / 12 = ~1098 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
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I swear there is an auto ticker hooked up to the count. Just clocked it a few times over the last ten minutes:
11:21 - 5834
11:26 - 5839
11:27 - 5840
11:29 - 5842
Its going to have to increase exponentially to make it, but interesting that the count moves up by one every minute or so.
*EDIT* Not even getting 60 over the course of an hour, but its close...
Time Count
11:21 5834
11:26 5839 +5
11:27 5840 +1
11:29 5842 +2
11:33 5848 +6
11:34 5849 +1
12:09 5876 +27
12:21 5886 +10
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*EDIT* Not even getting 60 over the course of an hour, but its close...
Too bad they need ~5 backers a minute at this point to fund the base-level Rancor. (or ~22 backers a minute to unlock all the tiers).
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Closing in on 6,000. This is getting interesting to watch.
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~6040 backers as of 2pm CT today
~2960 backers needed to fund the project
~12960 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 9 hours:
~2960 / 9 = ~329.9 backers/hr to fund (or 5.5 backers every minute!)
~12960 / 9 = ~1140 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
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13 minutes later and it's over 6,100. Looks like the rate of backers is accelerating. There's people speculating that Hasbro has the number it needs to get it backed with international orders and they just haven't included them in the numbers yet.
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Shenanigans. The smart thing to do here would be to order 2, then sell one of your orders minutes after it hits the threshold for a 50% upcharge. Voila - half priced Rancor!
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There's people speculating that Hasbro has the number it needs to get it backed with international orders and they just haven't included them in the numbers yet.
That has been the rumor... but at the same time, the Hasbro team has said on a couple of the different live-streams that global numbers are already included - here's an example (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vphnk1ovkOE&t=2089s). Not sure what to believe on that anymore.
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The pace is picking up a bit. I wonder if some of that is panic buying? It’s around 6150 right now. I’ll be interested to see where it is around 8 or 9 pm.
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~6230 backers as of 3pm CT today
~2770 backers needed to fund the project
~12770 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 8 hours:
~2770 / 8 = ~346.25 backers/hr to fund
~12770 / 8 = ~1596.25 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
The pace is picking up... just not fast enough yet.
8am CT - 11am CT = 0.6 backers/min
11am CT - noon CT = 0.8 backers/min
noon CT - 2pm CT = 1.5 backers/min
2pm CT - 3pm CT = 3.2 backers/min
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The pace is picking up a bit. I wonder if some of that is panic buying? It’s around 6150 right now. I’ll be interested to see where it is around 8 or 9 pm.
It'll be wherever Hasbro wants it to be.
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| Time | Minutes | Count | New | Rate |
| 11:21 | - | 5834 | - | - |
| 11:26 | 5 | 5839 | 5 | 1.0 |
| 11:27 | 1 | 5840 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 11:29 | 2 | 5842 | 2 | 1.0 |
| 11:33 | 4 | 5848 | 6 | 1.5 |
| 11:34 | 1 | 5849 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 12:09 | 35 | 5876 | 27 | 0.8 |
| 12:21 | 11 | 5886 | 10 | 0.9 |
| 12:23 | 2 | 5887 | 1 | 0.5 |
| 2:17 | 114 | 6118 | 231 | 2.0 |
| 2:30 | 13 | 6144 | 26 | 2.0 |
| 2:37 | 7 | 6159 | 15 | 2.1 |
| 3:12 | 35 | 6256 | 97 | 2.8 |
| 4:00 | 48 | 6349 | 93 | 1.9 |
| 4:05 | 5 | 6362 | 13 | 2.6 |
| 4:11 | 6 | 6381 | 19 | 3.2 |
Increased rate of acceleration. Don't worry, they'll start get to the dozens needed per minute by the end of the day. ::)
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All that negativity.... no reaction to the Rancor Keeper bandaid, and suddenly it's ramping up enough that it's probably going to get made.
I'm glad for anyone who wants it, but this all feels extremely fake to me.
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I'm glad for anyone who wants it, but this all feels extremely fake to me.
Agree 1000%. Bet there is some intern plugging away at the numbers all night to get us past 9k.
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I agree, Rob. I didn't like the negativity from the perpetually outraged crowd, but there was a lot of fan backlash when the last two stretch goals were announced, and I have never seen a Haslab lose so many backers like the Rancor did.
So did Hasbro's scramble in adding the Rancor Keeper satiate the fans? Are there some behind the scenes shenanigans going on at Hasbro right now? It's most likely both.
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I forsee 9523
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I'm really surprised they don't just drop an extra 1500. If they get within 1000 with a good chunk of time left I think you'll start to see the panic button go off for a lot of people that don't want to miss out or people who think they can make some money buying a few extra of these.
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~6464 backers as of 5pm CT today
~2536 backers needed to fund the project
~12536 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 6 hours:
~2536 / 6 = ~422.7 backers/hr to fund
~12536 / 6 = ~2089.3 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
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~6705 backers as of 7pm CT today (241 the past 2 hours)
~2295 backers needed to fund the project
~12295 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 4 hours:
~2295 / 4 = ~573.75 backers/hr to fund
~12295 / 4 = ~3073.75 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
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So, a guy on Facebook from the UK just posted a screenshot that shows the Rancor is already listed as fully funded. Shenanigans? A-yep.
Funded. Unreal.
https://uk.hasbropulse.com/collections/haslab (https://uk.hasbropulse.com/collections/haslab)
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Yeah...nothing shady about that at all.
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So, a guy on Facebook from the UK just posted a screenshot that shows the Rancor is already listed as fully funded. Shenanigans? A-yep.
Funded. Unreal.
https://uk.hasbropulse.com/collections/haslab (https://uk.hasbropulse.com/collections/haslab)
Weird. When you click on the rancor itself, it shows the total is still less than 9k. I wonder if it got moved simply because it is already closed for orders in the UK (ended midnight their time) and is sort of in limbo for them, not yet funded but also not yet unfunded?
Definitely not a good look though...
In other news, we're at 6957, which leaves 2043 left to go... or about $715,000 in real dollars needed in the next 3 hours.
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Yeah, it's probably more a case of bad UX, but still feels shady.
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Here come more shenanigans. Orders per minute has raced up to 5 over the last 30 minutes.
| Time | Minutes | Count | New | Rate |
| 11:21 | - | 5834 | - | - |
| 11:26 | 5 | 5839 | 5 | 1.0 |
| 11:27 | 1 | 5840 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 11:29 | 2 | 5842 | 2 | 1.0 |
| 11:33 | 4 | 5848 | 6 | 1.5 |
| 11:34 | 1 | 5849 | 1 | 1.0 |
| 12:09 | 35 | 5876 | 27 | 0.8 |
| 12:21 | 11 | 5886 | 10 | 0.9 |
| 12:23 | 2 | 5887 | 1 | 0.5 |
| 2:17 | 114 | 6118 | 231 | 2.0 |
| 2:30 | 13 | 6144 | 26 | 2.0 |
| 2:37 | 7 | 6159 | 15 | 2.1 |
| 3:12 | 35 | 6256 | 97 | 2.8 |
| 4:00 | 48 | 6349 | 93 | 1.9 |
| 4:05 | 5 | 6362 | 13 | 2.6 |
| 4:11 | 6 | 6381 | 19 | 3.2 |
| 4:51 | 40 | 6445 | 64 | 1.6 |
| 5:03 | 12 | 6468 | 23 | 1.9 |
| 5:11 | 8 | 6483 | 15 | 1.9 |
| 5:25 | 14 | 6506 | 23 | 1.6 |
| 6:00 | 35 | 6599 | 93 | 2.7 |
| 6:43 | 43 | 6666 | 67 | 1.6 |
| 7:08 | 25 | 6722 | 56 | 2.2 |
| 7:17 | 9 | 6745 | 23 | 2.6 |
| 7:25 | 8 | 6761 | 16 | 2.0 |
| 7:45 | 20 | 6825 | 64 | 3.2 |
| 8:15 | 30 | 6974 | 149 | 5.0 |
| 8:20 | 5 | 7001 | 27 | 5.4 |
That intern better start punching the orders received button a little faster. They still need 12 per minute to get there in the next 2 hours 45 minutes.
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That UK screen grab doesn’t actually seem to say it was funded, only that is has moved to production. Which I think is probably the default status if the deadline hits overseas first.
Over 7100 now, so getting more interesting for sure.
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That UK screen grab doesn’t actually seem to say it was funded, only that is has moved to production. Which I think is probably the default status if the deadline hits overseas first.
Over 7100 now, so getting more interesting for sure.
I don't know - why would you have a default that something moves to production if it hasn't crossed the threshold? Wouldn't you set your default for unfunded until its actually funded? ???
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~7168 backers as of 9pm CT today
~1832 backers needed to fund the project
~11832 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Ending in 2 hours:
~1832 / 2 = ~916 backers/hr to fund
~11832 / 2 = ~5916 backers/hr to unlock all tiers
I really hope their shenanigans are super-obvious - I know there is a late funding rush on these things but over $640k in funding showing up in the last 120 minutes will seem really suspect given the pace we've seen all day.
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Hour nd 35 minutes left and we're at 7,302. It's going to be close.
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Entering the final hour!
~7467 backers as of 10pm CT today
~1533 backers needed to fund the project
~11533 backers needed to unlock all tiers
Best hour we've seen all day was the last one, which brought in about 300 backers - but we need 5x that this final hour. (Unless, of course, shenanigans. :-X)
edit:
10:15pm CT = 7572
10:30pm CT = 7749
10:45pm CT = 7931
10:50pm CT = 8037
10:55pm CT = 8189
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1200 1000 in 23 10 minutes?
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1200 in 23 minutes?
Now less than a thousand in 11 minutes! ;D
I can’t wait to see how this turns out when all is said and done.
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Needs 900 with 6 minutes…
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850…. 4 minutes.
Who are all these people who order with 5 minutes left?!
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850…. 4 minutes.
Who are all these people who order with 5 minutes left?!
Noted collector H.A. Sbro?
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I wonder how many hard-core nerds are ordering a second or third trying to push it over the line...
8421 with 1 minute to go.
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I bet they fluff the numbers enough to justify an extension or save face.
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So it’s moved into the “in production” tab… 597 short… any chance the numbers keep going up?
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So it’s moved into the “in production” tab… 597 short… any chance the numbers keep going up?
It has failed with 8454 backers. I foresee som fudging about to go down
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I wouldn't be surprised if Hasbro got committed sales from resellers outside of the countries this project covers.
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The numbers are still going up. 8500, 8515...
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I show it up to 8515 now, so maybe there’s hope?
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Now at 8530, the fudging has begun. Of course they will claim slow processing...
Just saw it hit 857, then drop to 8536 and then again to 8535. Me thinks someone hit the minus key accidentally ;D
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Hmm. Now it's declared it's not funded and numbers are dropping.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FF-wDCkXsAEzqyq.jpg)
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Check it again, now at 7529.
Now at 5272, wondering if this is them processing all the credit card hold removals.
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Well damn, didn’t see that coming.
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I was sure they were going to fudge it. Now Rancor and cookie monster can live together in haslab purgatory.
Long live the 3 & 3/4" scale!
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Long live the 3.75 as expensive Haslab projects. I laugh that it means anything else in relation to 6". Long live basic line BS figures too!
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Well, oopsies!
I wonder if Patrick is getting his resume ready or at least updated.
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The counter stopped at 832, they must have overloaded the system handling the CC hold removals. ;D
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I’m surprised. I thought this was going to make it.
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Well, I for one am glad it failed. Sorry to those that were looking forward to it, but hopefully this sends a message about the pricing/value/marketing. I don't pretend to know Hasbro's cost structure, but I simply can't believe that this thing costs that much to make. It should have been $200ish or may $250 with some figures added in and I think it would have cleared without any problems. Or if they had simply made Oola and Rancor Keeper incentives from the start, it would have more than cleared the initial backers. Look how close they got despite so many of us BS collectors refusing to buy.
I just hope that the message is interpreted as "Hey, this was cool, but we need better pricing and incentives to make it work" versus what I read above and in other forums with people saying "Haslab should only be for TVC, not Black Series." I don't think this was remotely a TVC vs BS problem, it was just an overall value proposition problem combined with a rough time of year to be shelling out big bucks AND two other Haslab projects potentially stealing away interested buyers. While they clearly could have done better, I do appreciate Hasbro's willingness to make really cool stuff like this through a backer program and hope we'll see more cool BS stuff in the future.
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The counter stopped at 832, they must have overloaded the system handling the CC hold removals. ;D
Or those 832 were the fake ones they added to the total along the way? :-X. ;D
I wonder if Patrick is getting his resume ready or at least updated.
I wonder when the Star Wars team will comment on it? Gotta get that script all prepped up -
"We're really disappointed that this great expression of The Rancor from the entertainment just didn't resonate with the buyers fans."
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It’d be much funnier if the 832 were the only actual orders and all the rest were the fudged ones.
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It’d be much funnier if the 832 were the only actual orders and all the rest were the fudged ones.
Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
JMan made some great points. I think it boils down to Hasbro’s hubris. This was going to be a tough hill to climb and they just piled on the hurdles.
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The late rally was interesting to see. But the FOMO backers weren't enough to get this across the goal line. I'm not surprised. Am I disappointed? Sure. But that disappointment is more about the Star Wars brand team and how they bungled this. There were SO MANY failures along the way here.
1 - THE LEAK Leaking the campaign during the July 15 webcast
2 -DAMAGE CONTROL - PART 1 Playing catch-up with that leak with some lame graphic
3 - SHIPPING DELAYS / BRAND IS STRETCHED Launching this Star Wars Haslab before the previous Star Wars Haslab was delivered
4 - THE PRICE $349 for a Black Series item would be the single most expensive Black Series item ever. Black Series collectors have had sticker shock with $150 vehicles
5 - UNINSPIRING STRETCH GOALS Reissue figures (Gamorrean Guard, Salacious Crumb) as stretch goals instead of new figures like in other 6" scale Haslab campaigns in other IP's (looking at you Sentinel and Galactus)
6 - BASIC MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE FANBASE Does Hasbro think that Black Series collectors want the same kinds of things as Vintage Collection fans - IE special packaging? (TVC fans have fervently wanted POTF carded figures)
7 - GREEDY STRETCH GOALS Possibly influenced by the success of the Razor crest. Did Hasbro think that a creature from a 40 year old movie would be as popular as the ship/home of one of the most popular characters in Star Wars today?
8 - POOR MARKETING Hasbro had plenty of opportunities to promote this campaign, but their efforts fell flat. They seemed uninspired and that no doubt affected fans
9 - DAMAGE CONTROL - PART 2 Malakili being offered was damage control - people could smell blood in the water. Why could almost all Hasbro Star Wars collectors see this as such an obvious figure to package with the Rancor and the Hasbro team could not?
10 - UNFORTUNATE TRUTHS Basic admission from a former Star Wars team manager that Oola is pretty much off the table now
I was never rooting against this. Hasbro did all they could to make this campaign fail, and not succeed. This is embarrassing for Hasbro as well as for Star Wars. It diminishes the perception of the brand. I suspect that there might be a shakeup in the Star Wars team after this, possible at the behest of Lucasfilm / Disney.
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8 - POOR MARKETING Hasbro had plenty of opportunities to promote this campaign, but their efforts fell flat. They seemed uninspired and that no doubt affected fans
I was really surprised to see NOTHING from the Hasbro social channels yesterday. Like at least toss out a couple tweets or instagram posts reminding people its ending? I guess they sent out a mid-afternoon email, but email is not where your Black Series buyer are (which is why all the Black Series fan poll stuff happens on Instagram).
It's like the Black Series team's whole plan was: 1. Announce Rancor, 2. Sit back and watch it sell itself, 3. Collect the money.
Ghostbusters got Adam Savage to review the pack and put out lots of videos on it. It had a major motion picture to support it. Skystriker got multiple developer videos, different looks at the features/figures, they paid the guy who does the current voice-over for Transformer's Starscream to help them shoot the "Cobra Hack" of the HasLab. And Rancor got, "look how big it is! and all the paint apps!"
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That's that I guess.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FGA2MENWUAA56fw?format=jpg&name=medium)
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Nick, you nailed it! Jeff, you also have some great points.
I also think the Hasbro Star Wars team had a lot of hubris after the surprising success of the Razor Crest. That had a basic goal of 6,000 at the same price point of the Rancor and they ended up selling nearly 5 times that amount! They marketing team (which knows little to nothing about the Star Wars IP) think they can make any big item from Star Wars and it would sell. If we're being honest, this would have sold if they were paying attention to what fans want....stretch goals 2 and 3 made absolutely no sense and were just lazy. Now, I've said it before but it bears repeating, the stretch goals should not be a consideration if you are going to back a Haslab project, they are not guarantees. That being said, Hasbro should look at stretch goals as something that will entice fans into backing the project. Oola and the Rancor Keeper should have been no-brainers to the team as stretch goals. I can understand not making Oola in a mainline release, she just wouldn't sell in high enough number to justify it. However, Oola makes perfect sense for a Haslab project because of the collector focus of this item.
If there's some PC bull**** reason they aren't making Oola or Slave Leia, they need to be upfront about that with the fans. It's time to put all the cards on the table on these issues.
I really hope that Hasbro does address the failure of the Rancor and are honest with the collecting community who are willing to fork over hard earned money to fund these projects. Unfortunately, it looks like they are just trying to memory-hole this entire fiasco.
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The counter stopped at 832, they must have overloaded the system handling the CC hold removals. ;D
The Rancor is now listed as "Not Funded" in the past projects section. The counter has been reset to 8533.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FGA5ec9XsAo-EP2.jpg)
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If there's some PC bull**** reason they aren't making Oola or Slave Leia, they need to be upfront about that with the fans. It's time to put all the cards on the table on these issues.
I think we might have gotten the most public comment ever yesterday when former Star Wars team member Steve Evans said "at this point I don't think Oola can be made" in response to someone saying "No Oola, no Moolah" on Instagram.
Hasbro, Lucasfilm and Disney will NEVER publicly state their reasons why they won't produce Oola, Leia in the slave outfit or the Tonnika sisters. They're already a point of concern because of said "pc considerations". Star Wars is supposed to be for everybody, and the marketing of the past decade for Star Wars as a whole has attempted to draw in a lot more female fans - witness Forces of Destiny. But in the era when the OT was produced these considerations weren't so much at the forefront. Publicly stating the reasons for not offering Oola, slave Leia or the Tonnikas just brings the unwanted attention that Hasbro, Lucasfilm and Disney were trying to avoid. Not engaging in the discussion is the only way to manage this without it turning into a bigger issue that transcends action figure collectors.
I have seen so many collector media people trying to get to the bottom of the whole Tonnika sisters issue. I've seen efforts to confront Hasbro about the likeness rights with one of the actors (who has since passed on), and grand exposes about the likeness rights with the other Tonnika sister. In the first case I saw a Hasbro rep trying to bite his lip, and in the other situation I just had to roll my eyes over the confirmation bias in the interview. None of these ever mentioned that the crew on the original Star Wars film referred to the Tonnika sisters as "Star Whores" on set, and the fact that this information was published in a now archived article on the official Star Wars website.
These topics are just too toxic for anyone to engage from an official capacity, because the risk/reward balance is not in the favor of the brand or the licensees. Selling 10,000 or 30,000 or 100,000 action figures doesn't compare to the potential damage that could befall the Star Wars IP if fans are driven away by a scandal that could be easily avoided.
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None of these ever mentioned that the crew on the original Star Wars film referred to the Tonnika sisters as "Star Whores" on set, and the fact that this information was published in a now archived article on the official Star Wars website.
I loved that cantina article - so many great mug shots in there...
(https://jedidefender.com/jsmentek/cantina_aliens/tonnika_sisters_mugshot.jpg)
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Can't really add to what all has been said. Just a giant mishandled opportunity.
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I think we might have gotten the most public comment ever yesterday when former Star Wars team member Steve Evans said "at this point I don't think Oola can be made" in response to someone saying "No Oola, no Moolah" on Instagram.
Hasbro, Lucasfilm and Disney will NEVER publicly state their reasons why they won't produce Oola, Leia in the slave outfit or the Tonnika sisters. They're already a point of concern because of said "pc considerations". Star Wars is supposed to be for everybody, and the marketing of the past decade for Star Wars as a whole has attempted to draw in a lot more female fans - witness Forces of Destiny. But in the era when the OT was produced these considerations weren't so much at the forefront. Publicly stating the reasons for not offering Oola, slave Leia or the Tonnikas just brings the unwanted attention that Hasbro, Lucasfilm and Disney were trying to avoid. Not engaging in the discussion is the only way to manage this without it turning into a bigger issue that transcends action figure collectors.
I have seen so many collector media people trying to get to the bottom of the whole Tonnika sisters issue. I've seen efforts to confront Hasbro about the likeness rights with one of the actors (who has since passed on), and grand exposes about the likeness rights with the other Tonnika sister. In the first case I saw a Hasbro rep trying to bite his lip, and in the other situation I just had to roll my eyes over the confirmation bias in the interview. None of these ever mentioned that the crew on the original Star Wars film referred to the Tonnika sisters as "Star Whores" on set, and the fact that this information was published in a now archived article on the official Star Wars website.
These topics are just too toxic for anyone to engage from an official capacity, because the risk/reward balance is not in the favor of the brand or the licensees. Selling 10,000 or 30,000 or 100,000 action figures doesn't compare to the potential damage that could befall the Star Wars IP if fans are driven away by a scandal that could be easily avoided.
Just put Bounty Hunters or Space Traders or Arms Dealers or whatever on the packaging and that would be that.
Fans would be excited as hell. No one would care.
The idea that they can't make a toy of something because some doofuses made a joke in 1976 is as absurd now as it has been for the last 25 years.
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HasbroPulse Tweet: (https://twitter.com/HasbroPulse/status/1468258255650623489)
"The STAR WARS The Black Series Rancor HasLab didn't reach its minimum backing goal. We thank the fans who showed their support & backed this project, and those who shared their passion throughout the campaign. We look forward to bringing you more dream concepts in the future."
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None of these ever mentioned that the crew on the original Star Wars film referred to the Tonnika sisters as "Star Whores" on set, and the fact that this information was published in a now archived article on the official Star Wars website.
I loved that cantina article - so many great mug shots in there...
(https://jedidefender.com/jsmentek/cantina_aliens/tonnika_sisters_mugshot.jpg)
Same here! Some of the backstory was fantastic. But the way the Official Site got scrubbed of so many articles and reference info was such a head scratcher. I guess it might have happened around the time of the sale to Disney.
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Looks like the Skystriker is picking up pace, though. 8,796/10,000 at the moment.
Perhaps now that the Rancor is dead, people are moving to that?
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I've been wondering how former Rancor backers might impact the remining projects. In the 12 hours since the Rancor was crushed the Skystriker picked up 1000 backers and the Proton Pack picked up around 150.
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1,200 backers in 12 hours seems more attainable than the uphill battle the Rancor was facing. And the lower pricepoint helps, too.
I had concerns that maybe Hasbro was splitting some of the potential audience between the Rancor and the Skystriker. I remember those last couple of years of the Kenner Star Wars line when GI Joe gradually took over space in the action figure aisle that Star Wars used to dominate. A lot of Star Wars fans migrated over to GI Joe in those early days, and the Skystriker was one of the first big items in the ARAH line.
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The cynical side of me wonders what the true numbers were for The Rancor and if some of the numbers were artificially pumped up to save face.
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8 - POOR MARKETING Hasbro had plenty of opportunities to promote this campaign, but their efforts fell flat. They seemed uninspired and that no doubt affected fans
Hasbro GI Joe team really driving this point home... Final HasLab Campaign day:
- The Rancor/Star Wars team = nothing
- Skystriker/GI Joe team - first they drop a fun new video on social channels featuring the Skystriker ejection seat parachutes, then they announce an instagram live event with Emily and Lenny at 2pm ET.
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8 - POOR MARKETING Hasbro had plenty of opportunities to promote this campaign, but their efforts fell flat. They seemed uninspired and that no doubt affected fans
Hasbro GI Joe team really driving this point home... Final HasLab Campaign day:
- The Rancor/Star Wars team = nothing
- Skystriker/GI Joe team - first they drop a fun new video on social channels featuring the Skystriker ejection seat parachutes, then they announce an instagram live event with Emily and Lenny at 2pm ET.
Yeah, they probably knew the Rancor was doomed though.
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Well then they were wrong. Despite the **** show, it finished like 500 short!
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The Skystriker is over the line and will be going into production.
Is the Rancor's loss the Skystriker's gain?
Does 3.75" scale work better for Haslab items?
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Does 3.75" scale work better for Haslab items?
Marvel Legends HasLab Sentinel - 21.8k backers / 6k goal
Marvel Legends HasLab Galactus - 31.5k backers /14k goal
I don't think it's 6" scale's fault... People saw value in the $350 Sentinel offering and the $400 Galactus offering but just didn't see it in the $350 Rancor.
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Good point Jeff. You might be right, but can we really compare Marvel to Star Wars?
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The Skystriker is over the line and will be going into production.
Is the Rancor's loss the Skystriker's gain?
Does 3.75" scale work better for Haslab items?
I don't think it is the scale at all and frankly find comments about it a little ignorant. Not directed at you, but I'm so over this argument. I have seen lots of comments about scale the past few weeks because the TVC guys feel like Black Series is somehow hurting the potential for more/better TVC product. I don't think the failure had anything to do with this being Black Series and everything to do with marketing and perceived value.
Think about the Skystriker offering compared to the Rancor for a minute:
- Vehicle with tons of accessories at the base level vs. Rancor Bones as a backer limit incentive
- initially offered 2 carded figures in the base offering, none for the Rancor
- "Whoopsie Plus up" of 3 additional carded Cobra figures include a rare fan favorite of Cobra Commander compared to a hastily added, uncarded Rancor Keeper
- Incentives for 4 more carded Joe figures (so a total of up to 9 figures!?) vs. 2.5 carded repack figures for the Rancor
- Sticker sheets for a Joe version or Hijacked Cobra version or a standard F-14 version and a potential army builder vehicle anyway to incent multiple purchases. Who needs more than one Rancor?
- Fun marketing blitz with a Cobra Commander Video and other communications vs. lame last minute email "Last chance to get your Rancor"
- And then there's the price: $229 for all that versus $350 for the Rancor.
That's not a scale issue, that's a value proposition issue. I'm tempted to get a Skystriker just to make money off it. If it gets to 9 exclusive figures, you could easily sell those for $25 a pop and getting $225 back is basically a free plane. If the Rancor somehow fully funded all incentives, you could sell the figs for maybe $50 each? So at best you get $200 and still pay $150 for the Rancor. The value on these just isn't even close.
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I can only speak for myself but scale absolutely was a huge factor and why I didn't ever plan to back the Rancor and I love the BS line. So ignorant to say that's everyone's belief may be true but it at least cost then my SW money. I think it's a fair part of the argument
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The Skystriker is over the line and will be going into production.
Is the Rancor's loss the Skystriker's gain?
Does 3.75" scale work better for Haslab items?
I don't think it is the scale at all and frankly find comments about it a little ignorant. Not directed at you, but I'm so over this argument.
Don't worry, I'm not offended at all. I'm just asking the question. I also do not like the TVC purists that are upset that the Haslab project was for a Black Series item. Hell, I don't even want Hasbro to do a Star Wars Haslab project every year....I'd prefer a little space in between them...at least let me get one in my collection before offering another!
Obviously 6" scaled items will sell. Galactus and the Sentinel proved that, but Marvel is only in the 6" scale and is very popular with a huge fanbase (well deserved IMO).
Star Wars is a different animal because there are two distinct lines with 3.75" and 6" scales. Star Wars has a large and passionate fan base as well, but not everyone collects both lines. Personally, I have some 6" figures in my collection, but a vast majority of my collection is the 3.75" scale figures and vehicles which is the heritage line of Star Wars.
I wonder if that's why the Skystriker didn't cross the line until the last day. GI Joe started at the 3.75" scale but has been primarily 6" scaled figures until recently. I am curious to see if the GI Joe line will have similar issues down the road because they are making product for two different scales. One thing they have going for them is a passionate marketing and creative team....something Star Wars needs desperately.
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Hell, I don't even want Hasbro to do a Star Wars Haslab project every year....I'd prefer a little space in between them...at least let me get one in my collection before offering another!
This, I feel is another reason for the set-up-for-failure and I wouldn't even limit it to just Star Wars. There were 3 Haslab projects dropped at the same time (at the con) and as some have mentioned, some SW fans are also Ghostbusters and Joe fans. If you are a fan of all 3 and backed them (with Rancor also successful) that's almost $1,000 at one time. I get the excitement of revealing the new large projects, but perhaps it would have been better to spread them out over the year. I think it'd be easier to get customers to spend a Grand if it's spaced out over the year/year and a half than to ask for it straight away. Plus, as some have mentioned, it might be easier to buy into another Haslab project if you have already received the one you're previously waiting on.
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I can only speak for myself but scale absolutely was a huge factor and why I didn't ever plan to back the Rancor and I love the BS line. So ignorant to say that's everyone's belief may be true but it at least cost then my SW money. I think it's a fair part of the argument
I'm not saying every SW collector would buy it regardless of scale, I'm saying it would have funded if the promotion and costs and incentives were all in line with the 3.75" projects that have succeeded. Some people buy both scales, some buy only one of the other, so obviously it impacts sales from that perspective. I'm not sure what the count is on number of collectors who purchase each line, but the BS market is clearly big enough to support a Haslab project if its done right.
Also not sure that I buy the argument that if they didn't offer a 6" Rancor, we would have had a different offer in the 3.75" scale for Star Wars. Myabe it would have just been the Striker and Ghostbusters Pack and that's it. I work for a manufacturer and our releases of Product Line A have no real bearing on releases of Product Line B. If we could launch a new product in each that would be great, but we don't fund one line at the expense of another.
Steve - I do think having multiple projects at once is a factor, as is not having delivered the Crest before you start asking for money for another big backer project. I'm sure the Rancor's failure has some people shifting funds to back the Skystriker now. I know I'm considering it...
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I would wager this is a display scene issue over a scale issue. Plus the pricing issues...
The barge, Unicron, the Razorcrest, the Sentinel, Galactus, and the Sky Striker all lend themselves to big display scenes with a lot of dynamic visuals. I will always love rancors in star wars, and even though they exist outside of Jabba's palace the story of a rancor is limited to the interaction with Oola, Luke, a Gammorrean and Mallakilli. I don't really have a desire to display a rancor with tons of characters around it the way I might with the Barge, Unicron, Galactus or a Sentinel. Those items all feel like a centerpiece to me in the way a rancor does not.
Plus I have had a rancor since 1984. I love my old school rancor, but the beast itself as a concept isn't a grail item in the way these other haslab projects are.
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Totally agree. The Sail Barge and Razor Crest are as much display environments as they are vehicles. I guess the Sentinel and Galactus would qualify for that too, since they're usually involved in a big team battle.
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The more I think about it, the more I'm coming to the conclusion that Hasbro really shot themselves in the foot over this one. They made so many mistakes in this campaign and it still almost made it into production.
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The more I think about it, the more I'm coming to the conclusion that Hasbro really shot themselves in the foot over this one. They made so many mistakes in this campaign and it still almost made it into production.
I saw an interesting post on Facebook today about the backer numbers for various Haslab projects. Of note, the Razorcrest had the same $350 price point as the Rancor, but the minimum backer limit was set to just 6,000. Any theories on why the Rancor had a 50% increase despite seemingly being further along than the Crest? I would assume similar or better profit margins given all the extras the Crest comes with in comparison.
???
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I saw an interesting post on Facebook today about the backer numbers for various Haslab projects. Of note, the Razorcrest had the same $350 price point as the Rancor, but the minimum backer limit was set to just 6,000. Any theories on why the Rancor had a 50% increase despite seemingly being further along than the Crest? I would assume similar or better profit margins given all the extras the Crest comes with in comparison.
???
I think they misinterpreted the overwhelming success of the Razor Crest (something that caught them completely by surprise) and thought that a Black Series Rancor would do just as well if not better. Then they made two of the four stretch goals make no sense to the product and there was a fan backlash that was not overcome in the end.
Just my opinion, but I think TVC world building items and/or large extremely detailed ships are better haslab projects that Giant creatures with little screen time. It also helps if they've been blown up. :D
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I saw an interesting post on Facebook today about the backer numbers for various Haslab projects. Of note, the Razorcrest had the same $350 price point as the Rancor, but the minimum backer limit was set to just 6,000. Any theories on why the Rancor had a 50% increase despite seemingly being further along than the Crest? I would assume similar or better profit margins given all the extras the Crest comes with in comparison.
???
What was the theory on Facebook?
I'm assuming the development costs were higher for the Rancor and that they needed a bigger investment to get their return. It would be sad if they just got greedy and created a higher threshold just to drive higher profits. They could have created more momentum and FOMO if the threshold was lower (and it had better unlocks to drive it higher).
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Any theories on why the Rancor had a 50% increase despite seemingly being further along than the Crest? I would assume similar or better profit margins given all the extras the Crest comes with in comparison.
???
What was the theory on Facebook?
I'm assuming the development costs were higher for the Rancor and that they needed a bigger investment to get their return. It would be sad if they just got greedy and created a higher threshold just to drive higher profits. They could have created more momentum and FOMO if the threshold was lower (and it had better unlocks to drive it higher).
I wonder how much can be attributed to shipping cost. The shipping cost is/was factored into the pricing since it has "free" shipping. I have heard that the shipping for Razor Crest is coming in WAY higher than they originally projected/charged because they have had to air freight some into the US and then others have been rerouted from Long Beach, CA to Savannah, GA port of entry to get them off the boats. I wonder if that played a role?
It also helps if they've been blown up. :D
Hmmm.... let's look at the data for Star Wars:
Does it get blown up?
YES - HasLab success :)
NO - HasLab fail :(
Is it 3.75" scale?
YES - HasLab success :)
NO - HasLab fail :(
So... 3.75" Death Star playset is an obvious choice for the next HasLab then... ;D
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Hmmm.... let's look at the data for Star Wars:
Does it get blown up?
YES - HasLab success :)
NO - HasLab fail :(
Is it 3.75" scale?
YES - HasLab success :)
NO - HasLab fail :(
So... 3.75" Death Star playset is an obvious choice for the next HasLab then... ;D
I like the logic!
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Death Star... Ewok Village... Mos Eisley... Jabba's Palace... Echo Base...
I do think it's time to try a massive, robust play set and see how it goes. If they hit a home run with one of those the others will be easy to get made over time.
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I’m disappointed for those that wanted/backed this, but the team really bungled this one too. I have been all in on OT Black Series up to this point, but I was passing as well. For me it was the timing (right before Christmas, plus personally we just had to replace our water heater and pay for our daughter’s club bball), plus it seemed too pricey for what it is.
I know it is not remotely the same articulation and detail wise, but I picked up one of those “Super Colossal” T-Rex back when they hit around $36 a couple Christmases ago, which is huge and fun. I think their regular price was about $50. I’d rather see the Rancor land somewhere in between those two even if it sacrifices some articulation or detail. Bottom line is, I don’t know where I would put it anyways.
Having three at the same time was dumb too. Honestly I was interested in all three, but had to pass on all unfortunately. I’m really regretting not figuring out a way to back the Skystriker, but I thought with all the expenses it was the responsible thing to do.
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Any theories on why the Rancor had a 50% increase despite seemingly being further along than the Crest? I would assume similar or better profit margins given all the extras the Crest comes with in comparison.
???
What was the theory on Facebook?
I'm assuming the development costs were higher for the Rancor and that they needed a bigger investment to get their return. It would be sad if they just got greedy and created a higher threshold just to drive higher profits. They could have created more momentum and FOMO if the threshold was lower (and it had better unlocks to drive it higher).
I wonder how much can be attributed to shipping cost. The shipping cost is/was factored into the pricing since it has "free" shipping. I have heard that the shipping for Razor Crest is coming in WAY higher than they originally projected/charged because they have had to air freight some into the US and then others have been rerouted from Long Beach, CA to Savannah, GA port of entry to get them off the boats. I wonder if that played a role?
It's a fair point and I do think shipping costs have probably increased significantly with the backlog of distribution in the U.S. right now. That said, the Crest is probably shipping out at an all time shipping high, while there's reason to assume shipping costs would come back down by the time the Rancor would ship. I think the Rancor also has a smaller profile and could fit in a smaller box. Were they trying to get more money out of it to offset higher shipping costs on the Crest? Maybe, but then that's added reason to keep the minimum low and at least get some profit out of this versus nothing. It also looked to me like the Rancor was much further along in its development versus the Crest, but I don't know how much of the cost goes into design/overhead if any.
I didn't see any theories on FB - someone just pointed out the 50% increase in backers and thought it was odd. People were already shocked at the Rancor's $350 price point (myself included), so requiring an added 3,000 backers over the Crest to get it made feels like they were just being greedy. There's probably some other rationale, but I haven't come up with a good one yet. If you can make the Crest happen at $2.1 MM, I'm bewildered as to why you can't make the Rancor for less than $3.15 MM. Maybe they were planning to ship each box individually with a private jet.