Author Topic: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?  (Read 236570 times)

Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #630 on: July 27, 2019, 07:05 PM »
I'm so confused.

This past year we have been getting arguably the best product ever out of Hasbro in terms of quality. However, I have yet to miss Hasbro's SDCC Comic-con panel in more than 10 years and with respect to all the lovely people with Hasbro I had conversations with, this was hands-down the most lack luster panel ever. I suppose we were due, but still. Makes me wonder what's down the road.
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Offline Rob

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #631 on: July 27, 2019, 07:27 PM »
I'm so confused.

This past year we have been getting arguably the best product ever out of Hasbro in terms of quality. However, I have yet to miss Hasbro's SDCC Comic-con panel in more than 10 years and with respect to all the lovely people with Hasbro I had conversations with, this was hands-down the most lack luster panel ever. I suppose we were due, but still. Makes me wonder what's down the road.

This is where my confusion comes from too... I thought they were on a total roll.  Maybe the brakes are on now for E9 and this amazing TVC run was just because they finally had a breather between films, but I was really hoping Hasbro had rediscovered the OT and was going to be rolling forward with more like we've gotten this year.

Offline Muftak

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #632 on: July 27, 2019, 10:48 PM »
I have a little bit of hope that come next April, the Sequel Trilogy and its marketing strategy will be behind us (not that I have minded the films, but the marketing has been crappy) and Hasbro will be rolling into what they teased with the SDCC Boba Fett--an ESB 40th anniversary collection.

With no big movie push coming later next year, maybe it will be more than just a "rereleased Black Series figures on retro cards" and "titanium figures no one wanted" that the original got in '17. I hope we get something in the Vintage Collection next year on par with the Jabba's Palace Playset and Skiff Vehicle to show some love to ESB.

Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #633 on: September 2, 2019, 01:18 PM »
Do we have any information on how the Vintage collection basic figure sales are doing overall? Brick and Mortar retail is just awful, we all know. But, have online dealers sales offset this? It seems to me that online retailer wave/case allotments sell out.
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Offline Mister Skeezler

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #634 on: September 22, 2019, 09:02 AM »
I keep seeing people say that Hasbro isn't doing 3.75 this year, and I'm a bit confused, since I'm looking at a ROTS wave coming, Poe's X-Wing and Luke's X-Wing rumored. Has there been some official confirmation that the 3.75 line is done and it's only 5" from here on out, or are collectors just freaking out again? There's just people stating it like a fact, but I'm not sure where they got the info.
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Offline Muftak

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #635 on: September 22, 2019, 09:26 AM »
I think the death of 3 3/4" is just a statement on the lack of the 5POA line and their accompanying vehicles.

It is the equivalent of if, in 2016, Rogue One had only had the WalMart Black Series lineup and the AT ST. There would have been stuff, sure, but the bulk of the line would've been "missing."

Offline Mister Skeezler

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #636 on: September 22, 2019, 09:36 AM »
Ah that makes sense, thanks.
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #637 on: September 23, 2019, 04:35 AM »
Yeah the people who pitched a conniption over 5poa are just now pitching another conniption that 5poa is more or less dead and there will only be TVC for fans of the scale.

I guess they look at it as one more nail in the 3.75” coffin.  It kinda sucks but I’m fine having less to look for that I might want, in a way.  It’s gonna make TFF fairly simple.  I think I’m 2002 all I got was the TIE Bomber and skipped the rest due to disappointment.  Now I can just nab the TVC and wait for the next wave.
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Offline Jeff

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #638 on: September 23, 2019, 12:52 PM »
It's not a popular opinion I know, but I'll miss the 5POA/basic 3.75" line.

The 5POA line offered up a lot of great stuff to my collection - some of the SOLO stuff was really nice.  Off the top of my head, Quay, Moloch, Corellian Hound were all excellent figures.  $8 Moloch was just fine versus $13 for articulation that would have been excess on these salt shaker type figures.

I'm sure some people (and their wallets) will be happy just having a half-dozen TROS figures to track down this Fall, but I'd really like to see the LAST Skywalker saga movie get more support than six 3.75" figures.  For example, here is what is on my TROS buying list so far:

1x 2019 VC155 Knight of Ren
1x 2019 VC156 Rey
1x 2019 VC157 Zorii Bliss
2x 2019 VC159 Sith Jet Trooper
1x 2019 VC160 Poe Dameron
4x 2019 VC1xxx Sith Trooper

Ten figures.  And looking at Yakface's rumor lists, there's not much on the horizon for early 2020 for TROS (it's mostly Mandalorian).  Just bums me out that I'll have twice as many Yoda figures than an entire movie line.   :-\
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Offline Rob

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #639 on: September 23, 2019, 01:23 PM »
I agree 100% with you Jeff... 5-POA or not, most of them displayed just fine and it really made the collections feel rich and diverse.  I'm less  interested in articulation than I am in having a solid collection that looks like it represents a lot of the film.  I keep saying it, but the biggest bummer of this is going to be having all these figures from all the other movies, and then having an Episode 9 section with a dozen figures in it...

I just hope that they circle back around later and do more.

Offline Darby

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #640 on: September 23, 2019, 03:18 PM »
🙌🙌🙌 Jeff and Rob.

I always liked the 5 POA and as Jeff said, the Solo stuff was fantastic. Some of it, including Moloch and Quay Tolsite, was outstanding. Hasbro is doing great things this year with TVC to be sure, but they're also deeply confused on what they want the line to be. The rationale of TVC was to provide super articulated, premium collector oriented figures, i.e. the obscure dudes, which the line outside of a few pieces hasn't provided. The 5 POA line somehow managed the breadth and variety we're accustomed to, and now that it's gone, so is the hallmark of the SW line. Maybe it will recover, or as Adam Pawlus has been hinting, there will be some big changes. Either way, this is the end of so many things at once and it's not a fun time to be a SW collector.

Offline Mister Skeezler

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #641 on: September 23, 2019, 05:37 PM »
I think the 5-POA line was good for non-action characters, like Quay Toltsite (who I have yet to find). But characters that need more articulation really do kind of stink. For example, I really want pretty much any member of Rogue One to have at least enough articulation to hold a weapon accurately. There's nothing worse than a character holding a rifle at the end of one outstretched arm. I love the sculpt on Moloff, but he really should have a little arm articulation.

Background aliens and scene fillers are fine for 5-POA, especially if that's the only option of having them produced. The other caveat I'll mention is Cantina aliens, since most of them at least need the ability to sit.
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Offline Brian

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #642 on: September 23, 2019, 10:16 PM »
Agreed here as well. I enjoyed the 5 POA line for what it was, and like it was mentioned...the Solo stuff was pretty great. I do prefer a little more articulation, specifically in main characters or troopers, but I think a midway point between the two articulation/price wise would be great.

Personally, what I really miss - and I know those days are gone - is the more "one line for everyone" approach we saw in the vintage, POTF 2, etc days. A more simplistic line. We collectors may share some of the fault for that with detail and articulation demands, as well as the switch to 6" as the go to collector line. I've posted it before on here, but the POTJ line was one of my favorite times to collect. Figures were good for the time, prices were reasonable, it was fairly easy to keep up with a 24-40 figures per year pace, and I don't remember too much being difficult to find. Throw in some deluxe and vehicle stuff here and there.....all good. I wish we still were in a time where we could just have a Star Wars line that was for collectors, kids, parents, whoever....instead of having 4-5 different lines trying to catch each small segment of the market.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #643 on: September 23, 2019, 10:59 PM »
Yeah I’ll miss the 5poa to some extent too but I also felt like those lines weren’t well fleshed out either...  and some of the figures were a B to get too.  I don’t think I ever saw a Bodhi Rook Figure in a store.  Someone sold me one but I’m sure I didn’t get it at a store myself.  It’s funny how the ones I was kinda anxious to get became impossible to get.  Still don’t have a Jedi Temple Guard haha.

I’m happy making some of them better, or at least better to me, and so I’ll miss the 5poa if for no other reason than it was something else to look forward to.

I agree too on a Hasbro and them being confused on what they want this to be.  I’m not a 6” hatter but at the same time I can’t say it didn’t throw a monkey wrench in the works.  And now GOA get nice figures for a main line I. A whole other scale?  Yeah...  I’m far from happy right now with the line overall.  At the same time I’m slightly fatigued with the bull**** though too.  Not even necessarily with Hasbro since they’re doing what they do, but with fans, fandom in general, having these gaps in the collection that are kind of glaring... all of it.  I like cool figures when I get them but it’s not like it once was and I can’t fathom it ever could get back there right now.

Then I’ll get a 3.75” Mandalrian and completely change my tune messing around with it on my desk haha.  Hell, I’m still fiddling with my Mimban stories on my desk. 🤷‍♂️
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Offline Scockery

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Re: The Future of Star Wars Collecting?
« Reply #644 on: September 25, 2019, 03:27 PM »
Only obscure stores got the Bodhi wave but somehow there were cases of wave 2 to ship to every Dollar General in the country. Only figure from that wave 3 case I saw was Jyn in disguise at Tuesday Morning. (Probably the reshipped Leia)