Big Items of the Future!

[Nicklab]

Add my voice to the choir that's saying the perfect Haslab project doesn't exist.  Because at this point the fandom is so generationally segmented that it's quite difficult to get to a consensus on a large project.  And I tend to bristle when I see someone throw out "Everyone would back this", because in reality it's something that THEY would back, but one person cannot possibly speak for the entire collecting community.

The concept of mini-Haslab "Figure Dream Packs" has been circulating on social media for some time now.  When I first heard the idea pitched over at the TVC FB group I was repulsed - figures should either be mainline offerings or MAYBE a store exclusive.  But if you look through the character lineups of the past 3 years or so, the focus is SO narrow.  The line doesn't have anywhere near the richness in terms of the range of characters now that it had in those 30AC and Legacy Collection days.  So in that respect I'm warming up to the idea a bit more. 

But I also think that Hasbro could be smarter and do coordinated releases - like the recent run of Tuskens!  Releasing Tusken Boba Fett along with the Warrior, plus the Tusken troop builder 4-pack was the right way to portray that setting from TBOBF.  On that note, the one playset that I've seen a lot of consensus building around has been the Cantina.  And I think something along the lines of the Throne Room could be the way to go.  And if Hasbro was going to release a few Cantina aliens?  Coordination of that release with a possible Cantina seems like it would be the way to go.

[Rob]

After the Ghost, I'd really like Hasbro to have mini-Haslabs that focus on never-before-made figures multipacks that wouldn't sell well at retail.  Have a focus on Jabba's Skiff/Barge guards, Cantina denizens, characters that interacted with the Razor Crest, characters that interacted with The Ghost, Jedi, Ewoks, Partisans... the possibilities are endless.  Make the packs on cards (like the 3 packs we've been getting) but put them in the $100-150 range (for 4-5 figures).  They could do this a couple times a year, once during a big Haslab campaign, and I think collectors would be for that.  But I know I'm only dreaming.

I’m 1000% behind this.

Haslab doesn’t have to be $500 items.  It could be things that they wouldn’t put in a store, to test out sales before hand.  Let’s see if an Imperial Dignitaries 5-Pack would sell or not!

[Muftak]

After the Ghost, I'd really like Hasbro to have mini-Haslabs that focus on never-before-made figures multipacks that wouldn't sell well at retail.  Have a focus on Jabba's Skiff/Barge guards, Cantina denizens, characters that interacted with the Razor Crest, characters that interacted with The Ghost, Jedi, Ewoks, Partisans... the possibilities are endless.  Make the packs on cards (like the 3 packs we've been getting) but put them in the $100-150 range (for 4-5 figures).  They could do this a couple times a year, once during a big Haslab campaign, and I think collectors would be for that.  But I know I'm only dreaming.

I’m 1000% behind this.

Haslab doesn’t have to be $500 items.  It could be things that they wouldn’t put in a store, to test out sales before hand.  Let’s see if an Imperial Dignitaries 5-Pack would sell or not!

You say you are 1000% behind the idea, but at what pricepoint does your enthusiasm wane? 5 figures for $150 is premium for sure, but really not that far off from the World Building pack prices, so i am kind of skeptical that it would land there as a low-run, all new tool figure pricepoint. Would $50 or $60 apiece figures still be appealing if they are doing 5,000-10,000 figure runs?

And fanboys love stretch goals, how would that even be approached on such a set?

[GrandMoffNick]

Muftak said exactly what I was thinking. Nothing but new tooled figures would be amazing but no chance they are close to only $30 each.

[Jeff]

IMHO, the figure multi-pack idea should be HasbroPulse exclusives, not HasLab. 

They could do an all-new fan-channel exclusive Sim Aloo on a ROTJ card to "complete the 96" and then do a troop builder 4-pack of Dignitaries on HasbroPulse with 4 new heads and the same robed body.  Nothing is stopping them from doing that but their own internal budget and their skewed view of what collectors "want".

If they can do a Jabba Goon 4-pack with two new human guards, a new Tessek, and a repack Ree-Yess, then they can do a Cantina carded 4-Pack with all-new Tzizvvt, Wuher, Hammerhead, and a repack Ponda Baba.  Nothing is stopping them from doing that but their own internal budget and their skewed view of what collectors "want".

HasbroPulse is a perfectly good avenue for things that would be "retail poison". 

ps.  I'm spinning this off to the general HasLab thread since it really has nothing to do with The Ghost.

[Nicklab]

Good idea about spinning off!  And the more I think about the concept, the more I think the model should be based on the Jabba's / Bib's / Boba's palace than a Haslab.  Lock people in a year in advance for a premium item like this, but don't model it like a crowd funding project.  Because then I think you might diminish the Haslab brand.

So then it would boil down to:
-How many figures do you include in this kind of offering?
-What is the pricing for a special run of figures like this?

Hasbro Pulse does seem to be the ideal setting for something like this because it's direct from Hasbro.  And that changes the financial structure of the whole program since it *might* allow for higher costs per figure, but Hasbro would be getting the full retail price on each transaction, and not the wholesale price that mainline figures will earn them from the retailers.

I'm thinking these might be "Magic Numbers":
-PRICE - $120
-6 FIGURES
-$20 / figure

I also think these should be made with a theme, and possibly in conjunction with a major release, like a significant vehicle / playset / Haslab release.

[Rob]

You say you are 1000% behind the idea, but at what pricepoint does your enthusiasm wane? 5 figures for $150 is premium for sure, but really not that far off from the World Building pack prices, so i am kind of skeptical that it would land there as a low-run, all new tool figure pricepoint. Would $50 or $60 apiece figures still be appealing if they are doing 5,000-10,000 figure runs?

And fanboys love stretch goals, how would that even be approached on such a set?

It definitely depends on what it is.  There’s no reason figures in this format need to cost significantly more than they would at retail.  The idea is that they start with guaranteed sales so it’s easy to green light obscure stuff that way.  I’ve been collecting one of everything for nearly 30 years, so it would have to be pretty damn extreme for me to pass on figures in any format.  That said I’m an outlier and if it was way overpriced it just wouldn’t successfully fund.

[Matt_Fury]

Hasbro could do the figure packs you're thinking of without a Haslab....it could be an exclusive pre-order like the Jabba's Boba Fett's Throne Room.

[Jeff]

Looking at the past five HasLab projects:

Project		Status
Black Series Reva (The Third Sister) Force FX Elite Lightsaber		FAIL
G.I. Joe Classified Series Cobra H.I.S.S.		Funded!
Marvel Legends HasLab Ghost Rider: Engine of Vengeance		FAIL
HEROSCAPE AGE OF ANNIHILATION: Vanguard Edition		50% with 13 hours left
Transformers Generations HasLab Deathsaurus		81% with 27 days left

With the Ghostbusters PKE Meter/Ghost Trap 2-pack hitting it's base funding goal this afternoon (after only ~70 hours), I thought I'd pull this up for an update.  After the rough patch above (3 fails out of 5 projects in 2022), HasLab has had a much better run in 2023 - 4/4 so far.

Project		Status
G.I. Joe Classified Series G.I. Joe Assault Copter Dragonfly (XH-1)		Funded! (248% of goal)
Star Wars The Vintage Collection The Ghost		Funded! (272% of goal)
Marvel Legends HasLab Giant-Man		Funded! (139% of goal)
Ghostbusters Plasma Series HasLab Two in the Box! Ghost Trap and P.K.E. Meter		Base Package Funded with 42 days left to hit tiers...

Note quite an apples to oranges comparison of course (BS6 in 2022, TVC in 2023; Modern Marvel character in 2022, Classic Marvel character in 2023) but nice to see HasLab have a bit more success this year. 

[Qui-Gon Jim]

When was the Skystriker?  Was that already two years ago?

[Jeff]

When was the Skystriker?  Was that already two years ago?

Yes - Rancor, Skystriker, Proton Pack were all Dec 2021.  Time flies when you're having fun!

HasLab by year:

2018 - 1/1 Funded: Sail Barge
2019 - 1/2 Funded: Unicron (FAIL: Cookie Monster)
2020 - 2/2 Funded: Razor Crest, Sentinel
2021 - 4/5 Funded: Galactus, Victory Saber, Skystriker, Proton Pack (FAIL: Rancor)
2022 - 2/5 Funded: HISS Tank, Deathsaurus (FAIL: Reva Saber, Ghost Rider, Heroscape)
2023 - 4/4 Funded: Dragonfly, The Ghost, Giant-Man, PKE/Trap

[P-Siddy]

Someone posted a list of their desired Haslabs on anotheR Site, which Jayson made the comment that one will be the next Haslab.

List below:

Episode I: Naboo Royal Starship
Episode II: LAAT/C Gunship Carrier
Clone Wars: Twilight
Episode III: Turbo Tank
Bad Batch: Havoc Marauder
Solo: Lando's Millenium Falcon
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Inquisitor Shuttle
Andor: Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft
Rogue One: U-Wing
Episode IV: Mos Eisley Cantina
Episode V: GR-75 Medium Transport
Episode VI: Imperial Lambda Class Shuttle
Mandalorian: Mandalorian Gauntlet Assault Craft
Book of Boba Fett: Boba's Rancor
Ahsoka: Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle
Episode VII: First Order Troop Carrier

[P-Siddy]

Personally, I think it would be down to one of these (as much as I'd like the cantina):

Bad Batch: Havoc Marauder (The Marauder would finish off the Bad Batch (since I believe Hasbro said they'd finish the team)).
Andor: Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft
Rogue One: U-Wing
Mandalorian: Mandalorian Gauntlet Assault Craft
Ahsoka: Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle

[Muftak]

That someone was JD regular Nicklab.

For my money, it's the Havoc Marauder. I suspect Hasbro has left the Bad Batch team AWOL in TVC in hopes of fitting them into the budget via crowdfunding like they did with the Rebels crew. Hunter was an exception because his armor can be repurposed.

[Nicklab]

Someone posted a list of their desired Haslabs on anotheR Site, which Jayson made the comment that one will be the next Haslab.

List below:

Episode I: Naboo Royal Starship
Episode II: LAAT/C Gunship Carrier
Clone Wars: Twilight
Episode III: Turbo Tank
Bad Batch: Havoc Marauder
Solo: Lando's Millenium Falcon
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Inquisitor Shuttle
Andor: Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft
Rogue One: U-Wing
Episode IV: Mos Eisley Cantina
Episode V: GR-75 Medium Transport
Episode VI: Imperial Lambda Class Shuttle
Mandalorian: Mandalorian Gauntlet Assault Craft
Book of Boba Fett: Boba's Rancor
Ahsoka: Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle
Episode VII: First Order Troop Carrier

LOL, that was me!  I threw a lot of $**t at the wall, and something might have stuck.  So when Jayson confirmed that Hasbro was looking at one of these as a possible Haslab I wasn't terribly surprised.

Out of the whole list I think you can narrow this down to 5 or 6 that have better odds than the others.  As for when it might happen?  Your guess is as good as mine.  One thing that I will say from the outset is that it would be nice if Hasbro delivered the Ghost before launching another TVC  Haslab campaign.

Beyond that?  I'm of the opinion that vehicles that have been made before in the modern era might get struck from the list.  That would eliminate:
Episode I: Naboo Royal Starship
Episode III: Turbo Tank
Solo: Lando's Millenium Falcon
Rogue One: U-Wing
Episode VI: Imperial Lambda Class Shuttle


So then I think it might come down to relevance.  Which of these has NOT appeared in entertainment within the past 2-3 years?
Episode II: LAAT/C Gunship Carrier
Clone Wars: Twilight
Episode V: GR-75 Medium Transport
Episode VII: First Order Troop Carrier


That would leave:
Bad Batch: Havoc Marauder
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Inquisitor Shuttle
Andor: Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft
Episode IV: Mos Eisley Cantina (also appears in season 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian)
Mandalorian: Mandalorian Gauntlet Assault Craft
Book of Boba Fett: Boba's Rancor
Ahsoka: Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle


So what are potentially the weakest selections on that list of seven?  I would eliminate the Inquisitor shuttle and Boba Fett's Rancor.  We never see the interior of the Scythe class shuttle.  And after the failure of the Black Series Rancor Haslab, I can't see Hasbro offering ANOTHER Rancor Haslab.  Beyond that?  What might be an item that Hasbro would NOT want locked behind a Haslab paywall?  For me that's the Cantina.  I could see that being offered like the TVC Jabba's / Bib's / Boba's throne room.  But I do see the potential where Hasbro might consider offering a Cantina denizen figure dream pack as a lower cost Haslab.

With all of that criteria taken into account I think it would narrow the field to include:
Bad Batch: Havoc Marauder
Andor: Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft
Mandalorian: Mandalorian Gauntlet Assault Craft
Ahsoka: Ahsoka's T-6 Jedi Shuttle

What other possible criteria could cut a vehicle from Haslab consideration?  I do see the potential where Hasbro might not want to lock the Gauntlet behind a Haslab paywall.  And that's because Gauntlets show up in multiple media, and they're numerous.  There are a number of them in the Mandalorian fleet in The Mandalorian season 3.  Would Hasbro want to deny themselves the potential for multiple sales per customer?

So, I think it might come down to these three:
-Havoc Marauder (The Bad Batch)
-Fondor Haulcraft (Andor)
-T-6 Shuttle (Ahsoka)

The third and final season of The Bad Batch is reportedly coming towards the end of 2024.  Would there be sufficient support for a Havoc Marauder?  That's unclear.  Especially since Hasbro has only offered one member of Clone Force 99 in The Vintage Collection.  Everything else in TVC has been another Clone, and not a member of the Bad Batch.  Would Hasbro do what they did with the Ghost and offer the team in conjunction with a Haslab campaign?  The precedent is there.  And if Hasbro waits to launch the campaign after they deliver the Ghost, then the Havoc Marauder might be more topical.

That would leave the Fondor Haulcraft and Ahsoka's T-6 as the remaining ones to consider.  We've just come off of the AHSOKA series season one, and I think the support would be there.  And if we're looking at the criteria of what might be timely after the Ghost gets delivered?  ANDOR season 2 looks like it's coming in 2025.  The Fondor haulcraft is likely to return.  So the potential for it to be topical is substantial.

I'm interested to hear what other people think.  Because my methodology could be off here.  And it's definitely worth people voicing their own opinions here in the spirit of dialogue.