Unleashed figures

[Darth Broem]

Hey don't you worry guys.  There are some AWESOME 2 inch tall Unleashed battle packs coming your way soon!!!! 

(note: sarcasm in high gear)

[Reid]

( In Cartmans voice) "They killed Unleashed! YOU BASTARDS!"

[jokabofe]

I was really looking forward to the Shocktrooper and Han Stormie... 

(pours out some beer for the recently deceased homiez)

[Ryan]

I was really looking forward to those.

The cheap bastards already cancelled the line, why couldn't they have at lest given us the last wave? Rehashes or not, I wanted the Han Stormie and the Shocktrooper, even though the helmet looked a little goofy.

[DoctorPadawan]

As much as I loved (and still love dammit!) the Unleashed line, I can't say that I'm horribly disappointed that these aren't coming out.  The last three figures appeared to be "least possible effort" on Hasbro's part, and the only thing that was sculpted from the ground-up for them was (seemingly) the bases for 2 of the 3, the Clone's helmet, and the weaponry.  The thing that was great about the Unleashed line was that there wasn't any rehashing going on (with the one obvious exception that will give me a headache for the next 20 years) and each figure was its own unique entity.  These last three figures now seemed like a last gasp for Hasbro to make money off the line, by their logic, and retail probably told them to stick it and didn't order any more.

While I'd definitely buy the Clone and the Han were they released, I had no intention of getting the Chewbacca, and with these three figures being the "end" of the line, they would have been murder to find, since a WM employee in my area already said that as soon as the holidays end, the UL line is going straight to the clearance aisle.  Given Hasbro's penchant for shipping UL two months behind schedule, this wave would have never made it to most WMs anyway.

I know I pretty much contradicted my immense love for this line with saying I'm not upset over the (still a rumor) cancellation of the last wave, but as someone else said, I'd rather it go out with a bang (Vader, Sidious/Yoda, Ventress) than with a whimper (three rehashes).

[MetalJedi]

While I'll wait to hear it from Hasbro itself Im still quite mad that if they do cancel these then why make the effort to show us Protos of them at Comic-Con? Although Hasbro has never been ones to make sense.

The only one I was really looking forward to was the Shocktrooper. I would of picked up all three had I seen them but Shockster would of been the first one in my mits.

[Ben]

Can't say I'm crushed to hear this news, though I would have liked to buy the Han since I never had a chance to get a Stormtrooper.

[Brian]

I'm kind of disappointed with this news, mainly because of the Han Stormtrooper.  I had/have that one preordered at BBTS, and was really hoping to add it to the collection.  I was even thinking about buying two (if they were easy to locate...yeah right), since I never found the "regular" Stormtrooper here either.  I can live without the Shocktrooper, and didn't need another Chewie, but I'm still overall disappointed with the line leaving in general.  I thought I had read somewhere this weekend that there are now rumors of this line becoming exclusive to somewhere in 2006.  Although exclusives are a pain, if it meant getting new Unleashed again, I wouldn't mind seeing it return this way.

[JesseVader08]

I thought I had read somewhere this weekend that there are now rumors of this line becoming exclusive to somewhere in 2006.  Although exclusives are a pain, if it meant getting new Unleashed again, I wouldn't mind seeing it return this way.

I think a lot of people would agree with you - if an "exclusive" was the only way we could get the Unleashed, it's definitely better than nothing.

[Nicklab]

The news from Comic Con about Unleashed is definitely discouraging.  I've thought of a couple of ways that Hasbro can try to keep the line going, but it might be tough to achieve.

EXCLUSIVITY
The Unleashed line was inspired in part by a desire for Hasbro to compete stylistically with boutique toy companies like McFarlane, NECA and the like.  This is a new breed of toy company that is focusing more on collectors and collectability rather than on play features.

Bring this line back to the places it was intended to cater to:  COMIC AND COLLECTIBLE SHOPS!  Hasbro should actively court Diamond Comics and Online Retailers to be the EXCLUSIVE market for the Unleashed line.

While these outlets are smaller and are not representative of Hasbro's biggest accounts, they're the prime territory for a line like Unleashed.  They manage their inventories much more efficiently than the big box stores like Toys R Us and WalMart.  They work with pre-orders which helps tailor their business much more in their favor from a stock standpoint.

This kind of scheme can work well for both Hasbro AND their retail partners.  Hasbro can manufacture a more appropriate production run.  This would also have the effect of sending more customers to Hasbro's smaller accounts, whether they have Diamond Comics handling their distribution or if they're a small Hasbro account.

Looks like I called it back in July.  In this case I really dislike being right.

[JesseVader08]

Looks like I called it back in July.  In this case I really dislike being right.

I'm confused as to what you "called".

[Darth Slothus]

Sounds like he thinks that unofficial information(I.E. rumor) 'justified' his earlier post about the unleashed going exclusive to an on-line retailer, Jesse.

I find it interesting that everybody's spazzing over 1 post a (ooooh) spy said from" inside Hasbro". I will defer judgement until Hasbro actually makes a press release AND companies like entertainment earth, ect start cancelling orders and labeling the item as discontinued. If Hasbro does do this for me anyway it will be a big dissapointment

I really liked the UL line ..have 'em all except that damn vertical-smiled vader - I 'll be sad to see the end of it

2 inch figures??!! If I can barely see 'em then I won't buy them. LOL, I challenge Hasbro to get to the 7th wave of that line

[JediMAC]

As for the last wave getting the axe, if that pans out to be true, I'm fine with that.  Just a bunch of rehashes anyway.  Not thrilled with the idea of these becoming exclusive to anyone either, though I'd be extremely surprised if that panned out...

Now bring on the 2"! 

[MetalJedi]

Now bring on the 2"! 

Please don't encourage them.

[DoctorPadawan]

HASBRO ANNOUNCES A NEW SCALE FOR SUCCESSFUL 'UNLEASHED' STAR WARS LINE!

Pawtucket, RI (AP):  Hasbro Toys, known around the world for their inept handling of one license after another, has announced that their popular line of Star Wars: Unleashed is going to be moving into "new" territory: a 2 inch scale of less detailed, less interesting figures under the Unleashed banner.

"We think that the Unleashed line had gone as far as it could in that scale" said Crack Smoking Monkey Number 12.  "Due to the unmitigated retail success of the Lord of the Rings "Armies of Middle Earth" line, we felt that we could offer a much better product that could win those hard-earned 2 dollars from the clearance aisle shoppers before they blew it all on Gandalf and his horse." 

When asked about the failure of the AOME line, Hasbro said that the line appeared to be a monumental success to them.  Hasbro also said that they felt gas prices were about three dollars too low, that the Neimoidian Warrior action figure was the pinnacle of their "Revenge of the Sith" toy collection this year, and that they are all huge Ashlee Simpson fans who are looking forward to her next album and/or tour.

The Unleashed line, which had gained universal praise from not just Star Wars collectors, but also other collectors of the more detailed break-apart sculptures of McFarlane Toys, has seen an increase in secondary-market value for harder to find pieces over the past three years, and an increasing number of collectors who focus specifically on the line.  Collector outcry was very loud about the cancellation, though Hasbro would not comment on the collectors, saying that they were aware of the demand for collector contact and that they might just get around to listening to them before "we (Hasbro) kill(s) the line in 2007."

"We feel that the 2 inch Unleashed line will offer more character variety and selection in a short period of time than the 7 inch line has offered overall.  Sure, the attraction of the 7 inch line was the detailing and the sculpting, but let's be honest: Who is going to choose a highly detailed 7 inch sculpture over a set of 6 2 inch sculptures that have about as much detail as our Attacktix line, which, incidentally, is selling like gangbusters all over Guam.  I mean, really?  Six two inch sculptures is 14 inches total, and that's way better than one 7 inch sculpture.  Am I right?"

Hasbro also announced that they plan to make the entire Star Wars action figure line exclusive to the retailer Target since their other exclusive items were so well-received.  "We've had outstanding feedback from Ebay sellers on the availability of the Target exclusives.  Since Wal-Mart is fed up with Star Wars as a whole, we felt that Target would give Ebay sellers the best shot at the SW line as a whole, who could then pass the savings along to the collectors!  It's a win-win situation for everyone!"

In an unrelated story, Roger Waters has denied any and all claims of a flying pig being spotted over Pawtucket.