JediDefender.com Forums
Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Droid Factory 2013 => Topic started by: Jeff on December 11, 2012, 01:52 PM
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The winds of change are blowing again... :-\
I really, really hope the decision to re-ship 2012 Waves 4, 4.1, and 5 in early 2013 doesn't mean bad things for the Legacy BAD stuff.
They can't possibly be considering FOUR lines at retail at the same time (CW, MH, TVC, BAD), can they? Something's gotta give...
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Maybe Hasbro is pushing the BAD line back until Fall, or starting it in late Spring with a different wave? Now that the 3D re-releases are set for next Fall, they might have realized kicking the year off with an AOTC-heavy wave might cause the same issues we had this year with the TPM vintage wave.
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Interesting thought of basically the start of the year being nothing but repacks from last year. I'm not upset by THAT idea really. As noted in Vinty I'm more annoyed by some of the choices.
Starting later with BAD might be ok. Wonder what it means for shows like TF and SDCC though?
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Yeah, I'm curious what will happen with the BAD waves as well. I was sort of thinking that the online retailers would usually have had them up for preorder any time now, and I haven't seen anything yet. Like Jeff mentioned, I really hope they aren't planning on having yet another line out there at the same time. It seems like there are already too many as it is. I guess it is nice that TVC is sticking around and giving people a chance that may have missed those figures, but I think personally I'm pretty much caught up with what I want, so if BAD does get delayed, it might be a pretty significant break for people like me (which I guess is alright too).
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I can easily say that I would be severely disappointed if BAD gets pushed back to end of next year. I was able to acquire most of the figures on the TVC re-release list (except for Bespin Han Solo) either through trades or by humping my retailers. So, if there is nothing to offer in the realistic line in 2013 except for re-releases of 2012 product, then I may have absolutely nothing to collect in 2013 (because I now know not to look forward to any cool Clone Wars releases), and that will SUCK HARD!! So, if this is indeed the way things will be going, then 2013 will be worse for me than 2012 was - and that it is hard to imagine.
:'(
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Money saved though, is always good... Right? Lulls have always been difficult times.
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Perfect timing for me to focus on getting caught up on Lego.
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I'm perfectly fine with the TLC2013 line being delayed. Until Hasbro gets this inventory mess sorted out with the remaining cases of The Vintage Collection, the works are going to get gummed up. Let them work it out and get the distribution system running correctly. And then we can *HOPEFULLY* get back on a regular schedule where we see a new wave at retail every 4 - 6 weeks.
However, I'm disturbed to see some Star Wars collecting websites abandoning reason and throwing out alarmist nonsense like "THERE'S GOING TO BE NO NEW PRODUCT FOR 2 YEARS"! Really? Based on what? If you want to call yourself an authority in the Star Wars online collecting community and you go spouting off nonsense like that, you'd better be prepared to back it up.
This bit of news from Hasbro regarding the return of TVC figures to the pegs took a lot of people by surprise, but it's far from unexpected. We knew from a number of statements from Hasbro that they had a tremendous backlog of TVC basic figure inventory. This was caused by Hasbro's massive miscalculation on the level of demand for the EPISODE I themed wave of Vintage Collection figures. And Hasbro has openly acknowledged that they over-produced the TPM wave and that had a ripple effect on subsequent waves of The Vintage Collection getting out to retail chains. This led to an overstock of later TVC basic figure waves in Hasbro's warehouses.
Hasbro also announced that they would be offering a great deal of TVC basic figure stock to closeout chains like 5 Below, TJ Maxx, Big Lots and others. But there were still at least 5 WAVES of TVC basic figures that followed the EPISODE I wave. So what to do with those? As much as I like buying TVC figures for $5 a piece at 5 Below, I can't see that chain and TJ Maxx being able to take on the tremendous backlog of stock that must have been the result of the TPM wave logjam. Hence this announcement that 2012's wave 4 & 5 will be returning to brick & mortar retail!
So where does that leave things? Very likely, we're probably going to see TVC basic figures continue to ship through the new year and Q1 of 2013. That gives Hasbro and the retailers about 4 months to try to work through this backlog of TVC stock. And Hasbro will probably transition over to THE LEGACY COLLECTION of basic figures & vehicles for Q2, which begins in April 2013. Plus, the way the toy business works, we usually see new licensed lines launch within a month or so of Toy Fair. And that takes place in mid-February.
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I think the B-A-D waves were lie, only existing as mocik-ups, and Hasbro thought thought that Dec. 21 is the end of the world, but now are covering their butts as folks have noticed there's no new product to pre-order. :P
I've missed a lot of figures I want from Vintage, so it's good to get more chances, but the bummer is that the 2 announced Legacy waves are so lackluster, that it's gonna be awhile before there's any new-new figures to look forward to. :-\
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People are spreading chicken little stuff. There'll be no new figures until 2014. Legacy has been scrapped. Disney wanted the BAD's for their park. No packaged Legacy figures have been seen yet.
Packaged 2013 Clone Wars has been seen, though. The vehicles already appeared overseas.
Hasbro said Vintage was one their worst selling lines ever, so anyone suggesting they are scrapping Legacy to put the planned releases on vintage cards wasn't paying attention.
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Ruh-oh. Take this with a grain of salt, but Dan Curto posted some news (http://www.jedinews.co.uk/news/news.aspx?newsID=9823) from a Target source:
•STAR WARS DROID FACTORY FIGS
•087-06-1380 $9.99
•Discontinued
Yep, that says "Discontinued".
We don't know that "discontinued" necessarily means the figures have been cancelled outright, it could just mean the DPCI has been discontinued since they were dropped from the Spring planograms or something. But it sure fits with the other rumors that the Droid Factory stuff wasn't coming this spring after all... :(
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probably just pushed back to be more in line with the movie releases. A push back will give Hasbro time to sell the "greatest hits" :P Vintage line figures that could never get out to retail. "discontinued" could just be reassigning to a new dpci for whatever reason (perhaps a push back).
Either way, of course the main line isn't done. Of course Hasbro is not going to not release the figures made for this new line - the tooling is there, Hasbro won't waste the investment on so many figures. We will see these figures in some way, shape or form.
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I look at it like this:
-the line has a lot of life with new movies so no need to go into "sky is falling" mode.
-like above molds are tooled. They'll happen.
-all the changes for the brand overall with new films and the shifting sands of the 3D releases, coupled with a poorly executed 2012, means changes were almost inevitable. Just what those changes would be we're up for debate.
-$ saved... It gives a shot at extras of some 2012 figures, or firsts for the less fortunate collectors, an at the same time saves the rest of us time and money. I've learned breaks in the hobby are good for us and help you learn about yourself as a collector.
-there seem to be a couple things coming to tide you over, but its also a chance to explore other licensees. Assuming this is a full year (or longer) type of situation and not just a break till say Fall/Back-to-School or whatever.
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I'm actually looking forward to a "break" for the better part of 2013. And I say "break" because, there's still (for me at least):
- The Yoda Packaging Class I Vehicles (four of them)
- The Yoda Packaging Class II Vehicles (three of them)
- A wave of Movie Heroes (Light-up Anakin, Light-up Sandtrooper, Exploding Battledroid, etc...)
- A wave of Clone Wars (assuming that it will come out since it's mostly repacks anyway)
- the Vintage packaged Endor AT-AT
So there's plenty of stuff coming.
If anything, I'm more concerned about the "lost" four Movie Heroes figures from the 2012 line - Tan "Exploding" Battledroid, Light-up Lightsaber Anakin Skywalker, Rocket Firing Backpack Boba Fett & Light-up Canon Sandtrooper. All on Darth Maul card-backs, all with Battle Card Game Cards. All four of them have been released in Europe on tri-lingual cards. Is that going to be the only way we can get those four figures? Or with the Vintage "greatest hits" coming out, is there a chance we might see a 4th wave of Maul-carded Movie Heroes at some point this Winter?
If there's Q&A at Toy Fair, that might make for a great question as to the fate of those four figures for the US market.
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The clone wars releases have had carded images shown, assumably they are ready to go.
Problem with breaks, is that after distribution of Vintage, I feel like the whole thing is a break until some minor miracle happens.
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no need to go into "sky is falling" mode.
I do sort of understand people going into "sky is falling" mode because there are so many unknowns right now.
The crappy distribution in 2012. Pushing AOTC 3D back to Fall 2013. Pushing RotS 3D up to Fall 2013. The Disney purchase of LFL. The announcement of Episodes 7-8-9. Any one of these could have caused Hasbro to change plans, but all of them piling up on top of each other? No wonder it’s chaos right now.
No one really knows anything, and if you believe the rumor mills, the plan has already changed TWICE since SDCC (once when AOTC 3D was delayed to Fall 2013; again with the DisneyLFL buyout) and for all we know, the plan could still be changing.
Like others have said, it’s reasonable to expect that we will see the 24 figures (20 figures plus 4 BAD figures) planned for the BAD line at some point. But how and when will we get them? We just have to wait and see I guess...
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I guess I'm in the 'wait and see what happens' category. I wasn't too impressed with the BAD offerings, except for a couple figures and droids, so the delay doesn't bother me much. Reissuing the best-of for most of the year is great for those that had problems obtaining figures the 'first-time 'round' but I hope it doesn't back up pegs in the long run, either. I guess for me, I'll use this time to reflect on what I have and what I want from the future. The less figures offered this year means more money for the following years (and that ESB Slave I we're getting). I'm sure we'll hear more at Toy Fair, so there's no point in panicking (not that I would) until I hear some confirmation. I totally get that Hasbro probably has a lot on their plate now that Disney has the rights and the new films are coming in a couple years, so I'm glad that they're stepping back and reorganizing before going forward.
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Hasbro confirms "global cancelation" of Droid Factory (http://www.rebelscum.com/story/front/Hasbro_Confirms_Droid_Factory_Canceled_149638.asp)
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Time to go pull my 2007 Pilot Biggs and 2007 Ceremony Luke out of the fodder/junk pile and put them back on the ANH Yavin shelf... :P
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Some of the figures however will be used in other assortments this fall.
Umm, I'm guessing some of the 9 AotC themed figures.
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Go ahead and delete this subforum. Or change it to "The ???? Collection" until Toy Fair.
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There's been a lot of speculation at the otheR site about the cause of this cancellation. So many people seemed hung up on the fact that Disney was taking issue with the Droid Factory value added pack-in, and it being in conflict with the Droid Factory promotion at the theme parks. Personally, I think they're dead wrong.
I think Disney's licensing people saw the packaging design and balked. Sure, Lucas Licensing signed off on it, but we're in a new era. Disney paid $4 billion + for Star Wars, and everything that comes with it. I think that means they wanted that iconic black and silver packaging, because you see that and it says STAR WARS. It's part of the brand identity.
As for the BAF droids? I hope we see them at some point down the line. I was really looking forward to all of them.
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Targets in my neck of the woods discontinued selling Star Wars figures back last January. No big loss.
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Targets in my neck of the woods discontinued selling Star Wars figures back last January. No big loss.
Don't you mean 'status quo?'
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So, seriously, what does this mean for the Clone Wars line? Are we getting new figures this month or not? If not, when?
It seems silly to me to delay the animated stuff because it has nothing to do with this vintage/BAD mess and the show IS ON RIGHT NOW.
The TCW pegs in my area are all pretty much a wasteland now. The second, and presumably more exciting, half of the season is about to kick off. Maybe get some toys on the shelves?
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I think I posted this over there also, maybe here, but I don't think the Disney purchase is part of it either. It just doesn't seem to add up. Hasbro showed off the new line in August at CVI so it had to have already been approved and was in some stage of production.
The Disney announcement was on October 30th and the FCC approved the sale on December 4th with the purchase not being completed until December 21st. In order to believe Disney put a stop to Droid Factory, you’d have to assume that Hasbro put on hold their production and waited to see if the Disney purchase actually went through. Would a company do that? Put that kind of money on the line when it could be possible the sale didn’t go through for some reason?
It just seems like it has to be more simple than that. I don’t know when Hasbro knew that AOTC and ROTS 3D releases were both coming in 2013 and not until the Fall, but I’m thinking when they heard that it gave them the chance to carry over all that unsold Vintage Collection stock into 2013 and push off the Droid Factory release, the first wave of which looked like it was solely made to support AOTC in the Spring.
Whether we get the OT in 3D next year or not, with a new movie slated for 2015, releasing the figures shown, but not the Build-a-Droid pieces, might make more sense also. They could do more re-packs and re-paints for late 2013 and 2014 in order to spend more time on the new film coming. I wouldn’t even be totally shocked to see the Movie Heroes/Legends line become the only line for later this year and next, after the 2012 VC cases sell through. Then they’d just have to worry about that and the tiny Clone Wars line instead of having 3.
I guess we’ll know more next month.
E...
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Although not entirely surprising with the rumblings we've been hearing lately, it is another strange move with the Hasbro Star Wars line in a series of weird things over the past few years. Admittedly, a lot of this may not be Hasbro's fault at all. With the 3D releases moving around, the whole Disney thing, along with the sales/distribution problems of 2012, something probably had to give.
I guess in a way, the break is alright with me as well. I'm going to do my best to have the discipline to just save that money up for when things do start hitting (or for something else) and not just spend it on other collecting areas (LEGO I'm looking at you), although there may be a bit of that too.
I wonder how much Hasbro even knew about the possibility of more movies too far prior to the Disney announcement. They've often said it takes a couple years from start to finish to make a figure, and at this point there isn't even a cast for the next movie. Once stuff like that starts getting confirmed, I would guess that Hasbro will have to be dedicating most to all of their resources for the new movie stuff. I think it was sort of that way going into the prequels even, prior to AOTC we had a scaled back (especially compared to today's standards) POTJ line, and prior to ROTS we basically had the OTC and post-OTC lines (and the first round of VOTC), which - aside from VOTC - was very largely repacks. Like it was mentioned, I wonder if they'll coast on a largely "greatest hits" style line for the back half of this year and next.
Either way, it seems to be a very quiet year, or at least first half, for SW this year. I guess the Vintage re-release (or really, first release at retail for much of it) is a good thing for those who are still looking. I would think that many (most?) of us had already settled and got what we wanted online (or via the recent sales). I may buy an extra figure here or there, but otherwise I'm largely satisfied with what I picked up this year. Which is fine, because it would be good for me to save the money - even if it is for the future movie lines ;).
With this news today, I had to go back and double check what all figures were announced for Droid Factory. After checking them I was sort of "ok, no biggie" with what we'd be missing. Sure, there are several that I'd buy and was looking forward to, but at the same time it wasn't anything I was too upset about losing (for now) either. A lot of that comes from the majority of them being resculpts (or resculpts of resculpts) - and I'm a fan of updating figures in general - but so much of it was stuff we already had pretty decent versions of already (although I was looking forward to Yavin Luke and Biggs as well).
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DETH OF TEH LINE!!!!!1111!!! ;D
Obviously I can't say I'm too worried about this change of plans. It's unexpected and unprecedented (for Star Wars, anyway) but nothing I'll lose sleep over. While most of the Legacy figures were resculpts and repaints, I'm sure they will all make it out eventually. Lots of the characters were no-brainers, and I doubt Hasbro will waste the tooling. At least Toy Fair should be more interesting than usual.
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I'm not sure how to react. A break will do me some good, maybe even allow me to catch up on a few things I missed like all the disney exclusives.
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I'm not sure how to react. A break will do me some good, maybe even allow me to catch up on a few things I missed like all the disney exclusives.
I felt like the second half of 2012 was a break.
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I'm not sure how to feel either. I didn't really care that much for the selection of figures but I think I was looking forward to the TPM pegwarmers finally being removed from stores and being replaced with new stock. I just hope that sometime soon Hasbro can give us details on what exactly is going on and not give the usual lame excuses.
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After digesting the news for a few days, this announcement is starting to make more sense. And it's for a range of reasons.
A few months back we heard Hasbro acknowledge that the Episode I TVC wave created this huge logjam in the distribution system. And a side-effect of that logjam was that there were warehouses filled with cases of the waves that followed that TPM wave that would not get to retail. What did Hasbro offer on that front? They talked about offering some of these waves via discounters, but so far I've only seen figures from 2011 at chains like 5 Below. Are we really going to see 2012 TVC figures at 5 Below or TJ Maxx/Marshalls? Because if we do, Hasbro is going to take a bath on these figures!
And then there was the announcement of "TVC's GREATEST HITS". It's pretty easy to see that this is a ploy to get some of those older 2012 cases out to retail. The figure lineups pretty much confirmed that.
How will this likely play out? I get the sense that Hasbro will use the first half of 2013 to try to right the ship. Get those 2012 TVC figure cases out to retail and clear up the distribution system. I think that the discount chain avenue for 2012 TVC figures may have been shot down by someone higher up at Hasbro who saw how much that would have hurt their bottom line. So how do you clear out all of these older cases? Get them out to your core brick & mortar retailers who barely got them in the first place! And repair retail relationships with chains like Walmart that have been shrinking your shelf space.
That probably means that the new figures that we thought were in the pipeline for Spring '13 will probably be pushed back to July/August '13. And that release schedule will jibe much better with the 3-D release of Attack Of The Clones which comes out in the fall. As for the Droid Factory packaging sample that we saw from SDCC? I get the sense that Disney's licensing arm may have offered some "guidance" to Hasbro about the packaging look.
And then there's the announcement of Episode VII in 2015. For Hasbro to launch a toy line that's going to be ready for retail by March 2015, they need lead time of 2 years to 18 months. Development of a figure alone can take about 1 year. But a full toy line? That's another thing. Hasbro's team needs to get started on development of that line within the next few months. This is very likely a major factor into Hasbro's organizational plans for Star Wars this year and 2014 as they start getting ready for the E7 line. Especially if they're planning on an E7 Preview wave like we saw for both Episode 2 & 3. IIRC, those were released 2 - 3 months before the movie line debuted.
But overall, I think this is a reset period that is being used to right some of the wrongs of the past year+.
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I think they are gonna take a bath on some amount of TVC regardless. Time to make value-two packs or something. Not that glue or taped cards will make a lot of us happy, but...
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Couldn't have happened at a better time, my baby is due any day now. ;D
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Couldn't have happened at a better time, my baby is due any day now. ;D
Must be something in the NY area water (and for those that know me, no I'm not talking about a new addition for our family).
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Official word (say this at the 'Scum)
From Hasbro P/R:
Star Wars fans,
The Droid Factory line which was slated for spring 2013 has been cancelled. We were very excited about this line at its inception and wanted to give fans an early sneak peek when we unveiled it at Star Wars Celebration this past summer. Unfortunately since then, through the course of development, we realized that the price would have to be increased and we felt that the value we were adding with the droid parts was no longer substantiated.
As a result, we have decided to rework our 3.75” figure program to create a line that is on-par with the quality and pricing of the Vintage Collection. Many of the figures intended for the Droid Factory will become available in this new line in the fall. We’ll be able to share more news on this at Toy Fair.
We also recognize that there were many hard-to-find Vintage Collection figures in 2012. So, as we shared last December, we will re-release many of these figures this spring before the Vintage Collection goes on hiatus, making way for some of the most exciting new initiatives for SW collectors in years.
Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm.
So they are attributing it to not wanting a rise in prices. Well...*^@#&&!*...I'd guess build a droid is never returning then. That will make it easier to pass on a lot of figures, though.
And VINTAGE is still going on hiatus. This is no surprise to me.
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I wonder how long before we start seeing Ebay sellers Viperskingdom or Tunghori start getting there hands on these figures?
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I want to know what they are planning to do with the Clone Wars line this year. Are they going to suspend that line for seven months too?
That would seem crazy because there is no associated "cost increase" with that line, we have already seen packaged photos, and the show is on the air right now for several more months.
You simply cannot find any figures on the pegs around here anymore outside of 2012 Wave 1. I am so sick to death of seeing the same Anakins, Plo Koons and Mace Windus everywhere I go. I was really hoping they would start clearancing this swag out ASAP to make room for the new line look. Now I'm wondering if that will ever happen.
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I got that same PR note this AM. I am glad that they finally issued a full release.
RIP Build-A-Droid pack-in. Hopefully some day they will find a way to bring it back again... :-\
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What I find in the release of this statement is that prices will be going up regardless. I don't think there has been a time where Hasbro has said that they were doing things to keep the retail cost down and have it not go up anyway.
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Because things did so well in 2012 at $9.99, and with paint aps cut to the basics for the most part. Oh well.
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What I find in the release of this statement is that prices will be going up regardless. I don't think there has been a time where Hasbro has said that they were doing things to keep the retail cost down and have it not go up anyway.
Yeah, that is my concern too. I find the price/value piece an odd rationale. And one that just does not ring true to me. Maybe the projected costs for sustaining the line beyond 2 waves could be understood. I imagine all of these early waves were sunk costs.
Honestly, I just hope they provide a good explanation and an exciting plan moving forward.
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The cost issue is ominous. I think there has to be some consideration of the fact that costs may actually price collectors out of existence. They may price the Sequel toys out of any chance of vitality as well (what will MSRP be in 2015? $11? $12? $15?). That being said, I appreciate Hasbro looking to avoid costs but as they've stated before the droid pieces/gimmacks/doodads add negligble cost to the product, and are they to offset perceived reduction in value. So this explanation makes little sense.
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What I find in the release of this statement is that prices will be going up regardless. I don't think there has been a time where Hasbro has said that they were doing things to keep the retail cost down and have it not go up anyway.
Yeah, the Battle Packs are probably the best example of diminishing value with rising prices that Hasbro has tried over the years, and I sadly see that becoming the rule rather than the exception. 10 bucks a figure is already pushing it way too far, IMO, so the implication that prices will probably go up again (or at least stay at current levels with even further reduced paint apps and articulation) has me hoping for a more extended break than this to be honest.
I can see Hasbro doing an entire line of Movie Heroes repacks from now until Episode VII (with the Droid Factory figures already tooled mixed in and Mara Jade offered as another Jocasta Nu-type exclusive) since I'm assuming they'll have to work quick on those toys. With the lead time necessary on toys, Hasbro would have to have finished concept art and actor names and likenesses in their hands right now and with Disney/LFL not even releasing a director for the film yet, I doubt that.
This might be what finally makes me wind down on my collecting days, at least where Hasbro is concerned. I've gotten all four of the Class I deluxe sets this week and its honestly felt like more of a chore than anything else. On the other hand, and I've said this before, Lego is giving me a great deal more enjoyment than I've had collecting Hasbro's stuff in a long time, plus Lego is doing new Clone Wars stuff (Z-95, Krell) that Hasbro doesn't seem to be interested in approaching. Oh well...just rambling out loud. I guess what I'm getting at is that not only is the break going to allow me to buy things that I enjoy more, it's also going to give me (and others I'm sure) the time and distance to figure out if and when I am going to continue buying Hasbro products period.
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Yeah, basically "me too".
I'm winding down anyway, on collecting. I buy what I like... As it stands, I've not cared remotely enough to even make an effort to go to TRU to see those new Class I sets. Much less buy one at their inflated price.
I like to keep an open mind, but IF prices go up I find little logic to it. The line's done shittily at this price, so it's the wrong direction to go. BAD as a concept gave me hope that, even if prices were $9.99, at least you got something extra. You got something cool.
Now, $9.99 and no extra incentive... eh, that was how it was the last little while so fine, whatever, the BS continues. I hoped for better distribution so I could, at the very least, pick and choose since some of what they do I have little to no interest in but had to get it because I was forced to buy by the case this year.
So now the speculation of a price hike looming, again? Hasbro seems to know the hikes have killed other segments. $5 figures blow out the door... Figures on sale at TRU fly off teh pegs... So what makes you think another financial blow can be handled? Not to mention that if you take quality down but keep prices as high as they are now (but stable), you're still NOT going to sell anything?
BAD as a line had me excited for the value... When it was cancelled, I wasn't upset by the break, but what did bother me is that the additional value I was looking forward to is out the window. Don't even make NEW toolings for the droids, just repaint the toolings you have so any perceived financial impact is bare minimum and you just have extra random droids to push sales to people. I'm fine with that, even if they're paintjobs that don't jive at all with any EU or film droid. I just like getting something extra for the already overly high price.
Now... no droid, + possible price hike? Lame. It's speculation but that's what really the collecting world is these days, and so yeah, if that happens it sucks. I've come to expect "that sucks" when it comes to the hobby anymore though.
I like many of the figures, but at this point new is obscure, and resculpts are all there are that are exciting. New movies is more new, but I may not even like those, so I'm kind of on an emotional rollercoaster about how much I do, or don't, care about this hobby.
It's funny how I can think of things I'd buy, regardless. The Speederbike got me at full price (and discounts for extras, but I bought one full price upon sight because it's glorious). I can think of many, many things they'd do half-assed that I'd want but wouldn't pay the money for that they'd demand. I can also think of many things they'd do half-assed that I'd be just as happy I didn't want it in the first place.
My "I'd buy that at any price" list is really, really short though. And really obscure and/or unrealistic in terms of expectations.
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Yeah, price increase was all that I got from that release. So basically no more vintage, no more B-A-D, and higher prices.
Just more of the same old, same old, and like the rest of you guys, probably a good time to bow out. There are only a handful of figures left that I want anyway, and I'd happily buy them, but I just can't take anymore "5 Sandtroopers a year" nonsense or resculpts of figures from 2008 that we didn't need because the version from 2008 was good enough as is.
And another thing that bugs me is that Hasbro is constantly touting price increases, yet other stores/lines are proving that their excuses are just that, excuses to charge more. We've seen 5 Below selling through cases of crap figures just because they're cheap. And why not buy them at such a low price? We have a local grocery chain here in Texas called HEB that has small toy sections, and they're constantly stocking Hasbro merch often, and at roughly $7 a figure too. That's the way I've scored several TVC figures, and TCW figures as well, and I've also seen some HTF Marvel stuff there as well. Kind of disproves Hasbro's excuses about them needing to charge more to cover shipping costs to WM and Target and TRU despite these places rarely restocking figures in 2012.
And look at the Hobbit toyline. Granted I've only seen it at TRU, and those figures are CHEAP (by TRU's standards) and for the price of a Star Wars figure you get a highly detailed, articulated figure with a decent amount of accessories, and 2-packs for just $5 more! And like Jesse said, that's another thing Hasbro is doing, dropping weathering and small paint apps along with accessories like individually sculpted vests, jackets, etc. All stuff Hasbro says would "up the price" even more, yet these lines are doing it with no hassle.
And even while LEGO is a bit more expensive than it was a few years ago, you still get awesome stuff with the sets that make the smaller, overpriced sets feel worth it, mainly in the form of minifigs. I don't think the Palpatine's office set is worth $90 but you get Palps, Sith Anakin and the Jedi that try to arrest him, all unique figures with unique details.
I understand they probably have to pay Lucasfilm and now Disney a pretty penny for rights, and more for likenesses to the actors, but there has to be some sort of breaking point. I always used to say "Oh I won't buy figures over $6" then "Oh I won't buy figures over $7" and so on but seriously... I'm out at MSRP over $10 other than a few things I really, REALLY want.
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I hear what you're saying. This really is an odd time for collecting. I think that many factors...TPM toys flopping, and the Disney sale are really causing what's going on.
I'm cool with it really, because I could use half a year off. I'm curious about what, if anything, will show up at ToyFair. In truth, the Droid Factory 2013 line was one I was not very excited about, as there were no new characters in the mix. Not even one. I just can't justify buying another Anakin, or Clone just to get the droid.
Since I read this news about the line being cancelled, I have decided to put my efforts into my Star Wars room. We moved into a new house last fall, and most of my collection has been boxed up. The only room I can use is a small one in the basement. It's really small. It's hilariously small. But when it's done it will be wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling figures, vehicles and ships. My plan is to have it ready for May 25, which will be the 35th anniversary of SW!
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That's a good point Mike, about the whole, "Buy another _____" figure. That's frustrating too... They crank out a whole lot of the same with tweaks here and there.
I mean, let's face it, there's a whole lot of nothing in any given wave. Remember the days of bitching when Hasbro would do one whole wave of repaints that, by today's standards, are pretty great compared to the repacks they choose at times? Kinda funny now looking back at figures like the Imperial Engineer and Red Naboo Tech guy. Hated in their time, but actually higher quality than the same old OWK or QGJ or whoever stuffed into a case as "necessary filler". Add in the need to deal with buying by the case and being stuck with that "necessary filler". blah.
I'm not completely down on things, I just am souring on Hasbro. I think retail f'd up 2012 more than they did, but they didn't help matters. Now 2013's here, and they think the "greatest hits" Vintage scam is somehow grand news to us. Well, most of us could give a ****. I'm seeing that quite clearly. We bought that stuff, by the case, last year.
Now I'm all for a break, so don't get me wrong there. But Hasbro, make no mistake, you're not doing me a favor. Not at all. Doing me a favor would've been making cases of JUST the ACTUAL hard to find stuff. But I digress.
Now, you're taking away BAD, a value-adder to the line. That stings. But also, there's I think solid speculation going on that a price-hike is once again looming over a line that has proven beyond doubt that price hikes are what is killing it.
Make no mistake, it's not discolored plastic, distribution, misshapen accessories, paint aps, or anything else. It's all prices killing these toys. $5 sells. $7 sells. $10 doesn't. Just like, oh, say, $30 doesn't sell a small ship. Or $130 a big one.
Like I said, I'm sure I'll buy some stuff I like, but I'm equally sure I'll be passing on a lot more stuff I'm sure I would've probably bought had it had droid parts packed in. I mean, you can't pass repaints, repacks, and all the rest off as easily. I used to buy that stuff! In bulk! BAD 2008/2009? Yeah, I was buying figures I already had, just to complete droids I had almost done.
Now, money saved, I guess. I try to just look at it as that. I'll be much better off.
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I think Disney wants to keep BAD a theme park only exclusive only. Hasbro could easily include pieces of those WDW figures in the packaging but that would cut into theme park sales. Disney wants to put the concept at Disneyland too.
Hasbro also has unsold stock in warehouses that needs to move since stores don't stock star wars anymore. Even now, I see four identical figures on the shelves and they STILL refuse to stock even after Christmas. Does it have to be absolute zero in stock before a case is ordered? It wasn't always this way.
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I'm not buying the Disney want's B-A-D to themselves until hard evidence backs it up. The rumor mill said Legacy was getting axed even before the deal with Disney was finalized. So advanced negotiations over a theme park exclusive? Seems iffy.
Also, I'd think that the people, hard core collectors and casual vistors, going to the theme park to get B-A-D's is negligible in overall Disney profits. We are talking about just one theme park here, right?
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Two eventually but yeah, I don't know if I buy the Disney thing either. I've heard that rumor and just don't know how much weight it holds. You never know though, but for now I'm fine not considering that a factor.
I don't think there's a boatload of people going for Disney Parts either. My local buddy's been my drug mule on those for me and let me use his discount. I'm probably in a vast minority that cared.
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Its always a little sad to see "our" line have things like this happen, as regardless of the reason a hiatus like this can't exactly be a great thing for the line. For me, the break will be nice. I spent more than I wanted to last year again, and I could use the break to just save up. I guess the re-releases of vintage is good for those who missed it, but it seems like most collectors probably got these online via cases or sets or whatever by this point. Could be a lot of stuff sitting on the pegs again this year, just due to it basically being "old" stuff - even if it was hard to find (or impossible) the first time around.
I'm not sure I buy either of the build a droid/Disney or pricing reasons for the death of this line. I really think Hasbro got thrown for a loop with the combination of the disaster of 2012 (TPM backlog), the general slow down in action figure buying from non-collectors, the movement of the 3D releases, and the Disney acquisition. They are probably scrambling a bit now, moving the AOTC heavy wave to the Fall (and likely adding in some ROTS themed stuff), and lining things up for the possibility of the 3D OT next year. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see an OTC type line next year, with a few new figures and a lot of repacks. They have to start dedicating a lot of their resources to the new movie stuff with the first one scheduled for 2015. If that date holds, I think that they'd want to be working on stuff already and there hasn't even been a single person cast yet.
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I kinda wish I had known this bit of news before the TRU Buy-One-Get-One-50%-Off sale had ended - the only reason I hadn't upped my count of Speederbikes to 6 openers from 4 was because I was planning on getting a bunch of Droid Factory Biker Scouts (which was supposed to be the same sculpt as what's with the bike)....
Here's hoping TRU has another sale soon...
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You should get more of the speederbike anyways...that thing is just, plain awesome.
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I can't say I was too distraught by this news... in fact, I'm actually a bit relieved. I have always had mixed feelings on the whole "Build a Figure" concept. While I don't mind getting full waves and completing the BAFs, I hate the idea of missing one or two figures and having an incomplete BAF. Now that BAD is cancelled I don't have to worry about completing BAFs. In addition I'm sure all of the figures shown will make it out over the next two years so it's difficult to lose any sleep over the cancellation.
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I got that same PR note this AM. I am glad that they finally issued a full release.
RIP Build-A-Droid pack-in. Hopefully some day they will find a way to bring it back again... :-\
Hell, just take the droids and make them mail-aways... I'm not so worried about how they are distributed, I just want the figures to keep coming.
I did like this part of the release:
"rework our 3.75” figure program to create a line that is on-par with the quality and pricing of the Vintage Collection."
Sounds like we don't have to worry about those unarticulated battlepacks becoming the norm.
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As I looked through my local Target's reset, it made me think about how bad a year Hasbro had last year in particular for boys toys. Kre-o has been rotting for two years to the point where I see no shelf space dedicated at Target. Spider-Man sucked for them. Star Wars had distribution problems up the ying yang. TPM did not take off, Battleship bombed, GI JOE got bumped. Add it together and it is no wonder if the 3D releases and Disney just pushed the uncertainty beyond acceptable risk.
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Good point. Avengers was huge for them though, and I believe that one huge line can sometimes carry everything else.
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Yeah, it seemed like it was just a crap year for action figures in general. I can't say I was seeing that Batman stuff flying off the pegs either. Aside from the Avengers stuff (which seemed to do great), and some of the more collector focused stuff (Marvel Legends seems to sell pretty well, but doesn't come in all that often), it seemed like a pretty slow year for action figures. Lots of the same stuff on the pegs all year long between SW, Spidey, Batman, lack of Joes, etc.
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I don't get the whole batman thing...the Nolan films are great, but do kids really watch or like these? I'm pretty liberal about what I show my and 6 and 8 year old (we saw Raiders in the theater) but I would not let them see the Dark Knight. The Joker is (awesome) terrifying, and psychotic. I understand that "Batman" as a whole, sells, but are kids really clamoring for a Bane figure?