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The Vintage Collection / Re: Animated Style for the Clone Wars 3D Figures?
« on: March 26, 2008, 08:13 AM »
Sal - I absolutely meant no offense to any die-hard collectors. You can still be a die-hard collector and decide that these animated figures fall too far outside the line of the regular 3.75" figures for you to pick up. For me I draw the line at things like Mighty Muggs, I don't like them at all, so I'm not going to buy them. Yes that doesn't make me a Hasbro completist, true, so I have adopted the term "selective completist" to define how I collect the line. I get all 3.75", 2" unleashed, 3" titanium and SideShow's "continuation" of the Hasbro 12" line. For me, that's enough.
I guess the term I should have used was the uber-completist like Jeff did. Jeff's scenario is exactly what I was trying to say, whether by choice or accident, this move by Hasbro is going to result in uber-completists (or in my case a selective completist who gets all 3.75" items) buying characters like Ashoka or Anakin with his post Padawan/pre ROTS hair or Captain Rex essentially twice in two different styles.
Where I don't necessarily agree with some of you is that Hasbro is going to turn around and make the entire line animated at some point.
The verdict is still not in on the popularity of the "animated style" when it comes to a toy line. You could almost say that the Force Battlers were their first stab at an animated style line. That failed miserably.
Going back to what I said in the original post, to even come out and admit that you're going to re-release the Yoda w/Kybuk figure on a Clone Wars card tells me right off the bat that Hasbro thinks the Yoda figure they designed for the Clone Wars line is a dud. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the toy buyers for the big retail chains told them that they didn't like the change of the look in the line. I'm sure Hasbro tried to put a business spin on the move, but if I was the buyer for Target stores and I knew I currently had a glut of Animated Pirates of the Caribbean figures in my stockrooms that aren't selling, I'd be very hesitant to pick up another animated style line based on a movie franchise.
I would not be surprised to find that some of these "Legends" figures they say are going to be re-releases will actually fall into the category of "different enough" to make you want to buy. For example. Take the Evolutions Clone Commander w/Removeable Helmet. Include the helmet that came with the Comic Pack Alpha figure, paint the figure to match the markings on Captain Rex and with just some simple parts swapping you have a realistic style Captain Rex figure. For Hasbro, that figure is technically a "re-release" it required absolutely no new tooling to produce.
I guess in the end we'll have to just wait and see, but I can't see them making an animated style line for the live-action TV series. They have proven over the last 5-6 years that they can still improve on figures they've made of core characters and they will continue to improve on them - the realistic style line isn't going anywhere. By 2010, we'll all look back at 2008 and laugh at Hasbro's "great experiment" with the Clone Wars line and how by Fall 2009 they were back to producing 100% realistic styled figures.
I guess the term I should have used was the uber-completist like Jeff did. Jeff's scenario is exactly what I was trying to say, whether by choice or accident, this move by Hasbro is going to result in uber-completists (or in my case a selective completist who gets all 3.75" items) buying characters like Ashoka or Anakin with his post Padawan/pre ROTS hair or Captain Rex essentially twice in two different styles.
Where I don't necessarily agree with some of you is that Hasbro is going to turn around and make the entire line animated at some point.
The verdict is still not in on the popularity of the "animated style" when it comes to a toy line. You could almost say that the Force Battlers were their first stab at an animated style line. That failed miserably.
Going back to what I said in the original post, to even come out and admit that you're going to re-release the Yoda w/Kybuk figure on a Clone Wars card tells me right off the bat that Hasbro thinks the Yoda figure they designed for the Clone Wars line is a dud. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the toy buyers for the big retail chains told them that they didn't like the change of the look in the line. I'm sure Hasbro tried to put a business spin on the move, but if I was the buyer for Target stores and I knew I currently had a glut of Animated Pirates of the Caribbean figures in my stockrooms that aren't selling, I'd be very hesitant to pick up another animated style line based on a movie franchise.
I would not be surprised to find that some of these "Legends" figures they say are going to be re-releases will actually fall into the category of "different enough" to make you want to buy. For example. Take the Evolutions Clone Commander w/Removeable Helmet. Include the helmet that came with the Comic Pack Alpha figure, paint the figure to match the markings on Captain Rex and with just some simple parts swapping you have a realistic style Captain Rex figure. For Hasbro, that figure is technically a "re-release" it required absolutely no new tooling to produce.
I guess in the end we'll have to just wait and see, but I can't see them making an animated style line for the live-action TV series. They have proven over the last 5-6 years that they can still improve on figures they've made of core characters and they will continue to improve on them - the realistic style line isn't going anywhere. By 2010, we'll all look back at 2008 and laugh at Hasbro's "great experiment" with the Clone Wars line and how by Fall 2009 they were back to producing 100% realistic styled figures.
