JediDefender.com Forums
Collectibles => The Vintage Collection => Topic started by: Jeff on July 26, 2024, 07:05 PM
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New thread for this one... moving forward the DLX figures will come on over-sized cards with a VC # instead of the dumb boxes.
Pre-order tomorrow, 5pm ET, at all the usual places.
- VC343 Cobb Vanth (Mandalorian Armor) - DELUXE (must be all the acid-etched paint apps on Fett post-sarlaac armor)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTcjmiJWoAAmZdH.jpg)
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Gimmie.
I love that they went back to the more standard looking Deluxe cards & blisters... but I am still not sure if this release is worth the price jump over a regular figure, or that anything here makes this figure "Deluxe". The figure itself looks great, though. I still want a version of Cobb without the armor, but I am really happy to finally get him in TVC. As for the cardback, I don't want to complain too much given that it is no longer just the plain boxed deluxe, but I'd rather have had a deeper multilayered blister on a standard-sized cardback. The larger cards don't fit as well in a carded display if you try to organize by VC#. Nothing in this large or "Deluxe" enough that it really needs a large blister to display.
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Pre-order Link @ Amazon -> https://amzn.to/46s6YEL
#ad #sponsored #thanksforyoursupport
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Gimmie.
I love that they went back to the more standard looking Deluxe cards & blisters... but I am still not sure if this release is worth the price jump over a regular figure, or that anything here makes this figure "Deluxe". The figure itself looks great, though. I still want a version of Cobb without the armor, but I am really happy to finally get him in TVC. As for the cardback, I don't want to complain too much given that it is no longer just the plain boxed deluxe, but I'd rather have had a deeper multilayered blister on a standard-sized cardback. The larger cards don't fit as well in a carded display if you try to organize by VC#. Nothing in this large or "Deluxe" enough that it really needs a large blister to display.
Agreed. I've been thinking of doing a video about the deluxe figures...but I don't want to be too negative about them.
Anyway, glad to get Cobb Vanth finally!
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You should. There’s just nothing about this that justifies a nearly 50% markup over a basic figure. They just space the accessories out and make the card and bubble needlessly bigger to gouge.
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There’s just nothing about this that justifies a nearly 50% markup over a basic figure.
I don't know if it justifies a 50% price hike, but you have to admit the paint deco on this guy is crazy and definitely way more than we get on someone like Axe Woves or other basic figures these days.
They seem to be using the more expensive ink-jet printing process to get more intricate patterns onto the figures. I guess we see how good it translates to the finished product, but the amount of "acid-etching" on the armor is crazy. Look at the "acid burn" on the chest plate, the helmet, the shoulder pauldron, the gauntlets.
(click for a larger pic)
(https://cdn.media.amplience.net/i/hasbropulse/G0301_PROD_SW_VIN_CROSSWALK_0003_branded.jpg)
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Also in explanation of the higher price, someone on the Hasbro team ( I believe it was Chris Reiff) said that they would never be able to release the ROTJ Boba Fett as a mainline figure again because of the paint apps and the complexity of assembling the arms with the hoses that attach. So far, every Boba Fett or Mandalorian constructed in that way has been at Deluxe prices, including the otherwise regular carded exclusive Target Fetts in 2022 and 23.
It all goes back to the underlying fact that in reality all the brand-new tooled figures in TVC really cost $25, we just get a price break because so much reuse and repainting is going on to bring the average figure price down. They have a brilliant budget on these to hide the reality of the figure cost.
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There was a time that this would have easily fit in a mainline figure blister. I count just about the same number of accessories (and similar accessories) to the TVC 1.0 version of Jango Fett.
The paint apps are absolutely improved. And the Hasbro team has talked about it as an innovation. But this still reeks of being the Fett Tax at work.
Granted, the paint on the chest plate looks amazing. And I'm wondering if Hasbro was working to fine tune that before offering Boba Fett in that look from Tython when he reclaimed his armor.
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I believe it was Chris Reiff) said that they would never be able to release the ROTJ Boba Fett as a mainline figure again because of the paint apps and the complexity of assembling the arms with the hoses that attach. So far, every Boba Fett or Mandalorian constructed in that way has been at Deluxe prices, including the otherwise regular carded exclusive Target Fetts in 2022 and 23.
For those that missed it, this was the full blurb around that topic (you can watch the interview at the link):
https://www.bobafettfanclub.com/news/collectibles/hasbro-answered-our-action-figure-questions-on-the-boba-tax-a-new-empire-boba-fett-mold-and-more/
"However, fans have noticed that Boba Fett figures, especially those that are retailer exclusives, are a bit pricier than other figures, often getting a Deluxe version and pricetag. It’s jokingly referred to online as the “Boba tax,” and Reiff gave some insight into why that’s the case.
“The amount of parts and assembly labor to put him together is unique amongst Star Wars figures, and all those different pieces, the chest armor, the shoulder pieces, even the little rangefinder that moves, all that stuff, multiple piece backpacks, gauntlets, hoses on his arms, it all adds up. And it really is about that assembly labor and piece count that really drives his cost,” he said.
Reiff said that while he knows the increased price is frustrating to fans, removing features to meet a lower price point wouldn’t necessarily make fans happy either.
“Because if we tried to do him at the regular price, I don’t think he would meet the expectation of what TVC has developed for fans because we couldn’t afford to do his level of detail at that lower price,” he added."
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Okay fine you guys win. I don't often think about the expense of paint apps.
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I believe it was Chris Reiff) said that they would never be able to release the ROTJ Boba Fett as a mainline figure again because of the paint apps and the complexity of assembling the arms with the hoses that attach. So far, every Boba Fett or Mandalorian constructed in that way has been at Deluxe prices, including the otherwise regular carded exclusive Target Fetts in 2022 and 23.
For those that missed it, this was the full blurb around that topic (you can watch the interview at the link):
https://www.bobafettfanclub.com/news/collectibles/hasbro-answered-our-action-figure-questions-on-the-boba-tax-a-new-empire-boba-fett-mold-and-more/
"However, fans have noticed that Boba Fett figures, especially those that are retailer exclusives, are a bit pricier than other figures, often getting a Deluxe version and pricetag. It’s jokingly referred to online as the “Boba tax,” and Reiff gave some insight into why that’s the case.
“The amount of parts and assembly labor to put him together is unique amongst Star Wars figures, and all those different pieces, the chest armor, the shoulder pieces, even the little rangefinder that moves, all that stuff, multiple piece backpacks, gauntlets, hoses on his arms, it all adds up. And it really is about that assembly labor and piece count that really drives his cost,” he said.
Reiff said that while he knows the increased price is frustrating to fans, removing features to meet a lower price point wouldn’t necessarily make fans happy either.
“Because if we tried to do him at the regular price, I don’t think he would meet the expectation of what TVC has developed for fans because we couldn’t afford to do his level of detail at that lower price,” he added."
This talking point from Chris came across like complete BS. Because the number of parts involved with a figure like the Mandalorian Death Watch Airborne Trooper is absolutely comparable to figures like the most recent Boba Fett figures.
The higher prices seem to correlate far more often with CHARACTERS than they do with paint apps or the number of parts. Hasbro trotted out the paint apps argument first. And then it was parts. Because if you look at the current Deluxe TVC Jango Fett it's a complex figure, but the paint apps are much simpler than Boba Fett. It seems far too convenient for Hasbro to keep shifting the rationale.
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Counterpoint, I bought six Deathwatch Airborne Troopers, I’ll buy one Cobb Vanth.
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If you ordered this from Amazon, this figure now has a delivery estimate of 4 November.
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If you ordered this from Amazon, this figure now has a delivery estimate of 4 November.
I got that update, too. And I just went back to check the excel file I use to track my orders. The originally announced delivery date was in January. It's not completely unexpected that the date might get moved up. But I wonder how long Hasbro is going to keep padding the original delivery dates? Because this Cobb Vanth delivery got moved up by two whole months!
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Sounds like DLX Cobb Vanth is starting to hit Walmart - $24.97 in most places.
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He’s on the website. If you search Cobb Vanth, you get results for TVC for $24.99, and Black Series for $19.99. lol..
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Got Cobb Vanth today. He's about what you'd expect. I can't get the flames to stick in the jetpack. You'd think for the price that would work...
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I can't get the flames to stick in the jetpack.
I've seen a few other reports online about the flames not working with the jetpack. Lame for sure, but I likely wasn't posing him with those anyway so I can live with it.
Waiting for a good comparison pic with the more recent TVC ROTJ Boba Fett so we can see if the paint apps live up to the hype on this DLX version...
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Yeah same, I just leave them on the ground next to his feet and prefer to keep accessories attached to figures so I don't run the risk of having them get mixed up with other nearby figures.
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prefer to keep accessories attached to figures so I don't run the risk of having them get mixed up with other nearby figures.
Wait, so you don't have bins and bins filled with baggies of extra accessories? You just leave them on the shelf with the figure? Is that legal? ???
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Ha. I do try to just keep them together on the shelf. I have a tackle box of extras but I regret having done that years ago because now I have no idea what goes to what. They're just there if I need them.
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Is that legal? ???
"I will make it legal." /sidious voice
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I found a case of Cobbs on the shelf at Walmart today. Though I am not thrilled with the mark-up, I am resigned to it if I want a character with extra paint apps an complex construction. And I have wanted this character in this configuration for 5 years, so I bit.
That said, I am very glad that there were quite a few on the shelf, and that they have switched to the blister cards, because at these prices the figure needed to be perfect, and I was able to sort through a bunch that were iffy on the face deco to find one I was satisfied with.
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I found Cobb Vanth yesterday at an area Walmart. I had been going to the store closest to my house trying to find him, but to no avail. So I checked the Walmart app and found that Cobb Vanth was in EVERY OTHER Walmart near me - except for that one store near my place.
Looking forward to opening this one. It looks really well done. And I hope the version of Vanth from The Book of Boba Fett looks just as good. And in light of how good the armor looks? I'd really like to see Boba in his armor as seen on Tython in The Mandalorian season 2. That fight against the Stormtroopers was epic, and that version of Boba was amazing.
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Found this guy at my local Walmart yesterday...picked up two of the five there and cancelled my Amazon order.
Nice figure...we're definitely getting a BoBF version as well at some point. Not 100% sold this should've been a deluxe figure.
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I canceled my Amazon order, too. These have been showing up in enough quantities at Walmart that they haven't been difficult to come by.
My one concern with these deluxe figures? The fact that Hasbro is only offering them one at a time, and it's a solid packed case. I don't know how many Cobb Vanths are shipping in each case. If the case pack is like basic figures? That would be 8 figures per case. It's great to be able to get figures, but I think this solid case pack leads to a perception issue that the pegs are overflowing with Cobb Vanth or whatever other deluxe figure we're talking about. I think if Hasbro offered 2 deluxe figures at a time? That might create a better perception of the deluxe figures.
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Cobb Vanth via Amazon arrived yesterday. He looks sharp - I can't wait to crack him open.
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On sale at Amazon again, this time for $18.74 -> https://amzn.to/4elHeMM
This figure is so much nicer without the extra deluxe tax.
#sponsored #thanksforyoursupport
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I'm almost tempted to get another one for that price to swap out the forearms on so that I can have the un-armored version, but we know Hasbro will likely be double-dipping on that one within the next year or two.
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I'm almost tempted to get another one for that price to swap out the forearms on so that I can have the un-armored version, but we know Hasbro will likely be double-dipping on that one within the next year or two.
Hasbro has already hinted about the BOBF unarmored version coming eventually and Jayson has it on his master/rumor list so it's pretty safe we'll get one soon.
I am still tempted to buy a second just to have one posed with the helmet on for my "many looks of Fett" shelf and then the unmasked with the TM figures.
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I'm almost tempted to get another one for that price to swap out the forearms on so that I can have the un-armored version, but we know Hasbro will likely be double-dipping on that one within the next year or two.
Hasbro has already hinted about the BOBF unarmored version coming eventually and Jayson has it on his master/rumor list so it's pretty safe we'll get one soon.
I am still tempted to buy a second just to have one posed with the helmet on for my "many looks of Fett" shelf and then the unmasked with the TM figures.
Nice. I must have missed/forgotten that. I tend always have that dilemma with helmeted characters too, I want to display them both ways but don't always want to buy an extra.
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Just ordered a 3rd one - less than $12 right now...
https://amzn.to/4elHeMM
#sponsored #thanksforyoursupport
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Some folks are now finding this guy on clearance for $7.50 at Target. It is crazy how badly these DLX figures do at retail.
Casual shoppers want nothing to do with the $23-27 deluxe figures when compared to the BS6" stuff I guess?
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Despite the costs associated with fancier paint apps, I'm still assuming they must have pretty strong margins on these to keep trying it at those prices despite the steep discounts they nearly all end up with eventually.
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I saw a few at that price just yesterday at Target. I wish I could find the Zeb pack that cheap!
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$7.86 on Amazon right now. I might buy a 4th at this price just for the accessories...
https://amzn.to/4elHeMM
#sponsored #thanksforyoursupport
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Good grief they can't give them away.
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Good grief they can't give them away.
It's really kind of surprising given the supposed demand for him. I get the $24.99 "Deluxe" price point being too high for people, but at these low clearance prices, I just don't get it. I bought 5 of him total (1 carded, 1 to display loose w/ helmet on, 1 loose w/ helmet off, and 2 extra loose figures for customs or alternate scenes).
He must have been waaaaay overproduced, if not it could be a but of a worrying sign for the line's health.
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I also bought two, one helmet on, one helmet off... I grabbed a third one for $8, but I don't really have a plan for it.