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Messages - Nicklab

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9046
So how big is the list that gets presented to Hasbro at Comic Con?  10 figures?

9047
Honestly, I think the intentions of this letter writing campaign might be coming from the right place.  But the realist in me says that I don't think Lucasfilm Licensing will give you the answer that you want to hear, if any at all.  I also can't see them publicly trashing one of the companies through which they're licensing Star Wars product.

Gentle Giant has become aware of much of the collector displeasure this summer.  But do you also realize that the goal of so many exclusives is to generate buzz about their product line?  Do you not see a vast increase in discussion about Gentle Giant product on message boards?  For every one collector that vows to drop out of collecting Gentle Giant product, there are probably two to replace them because of the buzz that has been generated by this summer's exclusives.

The intentions are in the right place.  But are they grounded in reality?  That's up for debate.

9048
Drat!  Well, there's always next year for more Wookiees.  But I still have a problem with any living character losing to a corpse.  I just don't get the dead Padme thing.

9049
Joe Defender / G.I. Joe Toys Thread
« on: July 11, 2007, 11:30 PM »
I saw the Joe 5 pack for the first time today.  Pretty cool stuff, and it brought me right back to the early 80's.  But economics won out over nostalgia and I left them behind.

9050
Especially Merumeru.  He's the third most prominent Wookiee of the Saga.

9051
Well, I have to go with the characters that I voted for minus 4...

THE PHANTOM MENACE - 3
#01 Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ultimate)
#05 Queen Padmé Amidala (Post-Senate)
#09 Ben Quadrinaros


ATTACK OF THE CLONES - 3
#01 Cliegg Lars
#04 Jocasta Nu
#07 Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ultimate)


REVENGE OF THE SITH - 4
#01 Padme Amidala Skywalker (Buns Hairdo)
#03 Cin Drallig
#04 Emperor Palpatine (Senate Duel)
#05 FX-6


A NEW HOPE - 5
#03 Bom Vimdin
#04 Wioslea
#06 Red Leader (Resculpt)
#07 Han Solo (Stormtrooper Repaint)
#09 WED15-1662


THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - 3
#01 Luke Skywalker (Snowspeeder Resculpt)
#08 Hoth Soldier (Super Articulated Resculpt)
#10 Zuckuss (Resculpt)


RETURN OF THE JEDI - 4
#02 Klaatu Wooof (Vintage Jabba's Palace)
#03 Sim Aloo
#04 Sgt Doallyn
#09 Nien Nunb


EXPANDED UNIVERSE - 3
#01 Bastila Shan
#05 K'kruhk
#08 IG Lancer Droid

9052
I went 5 for 10.  Not bad.  But I was really hoping that Merumeru would place.

9053
The ROTS era Clone Trooper does appear to be the Evolutions Clone Trooper from Episode III.

9054
Rogue One / The Playset Thread
« on: July 6, 2007, 11:19 PM »

Thanks for the reply Nicklab.  Those are good points that you make and I'm not saying at all that I disagree with Hasbro needing to have well over 10,000 of an item to satisfy the retailers.  I wonder how many of the exclusive Imperial Shuttle were produced though, or TIE Fighter?  Granted those weren't new molds (or not much of new molds outside of the TIE wings) but they didn't have to try and supply each retail chain. 

Exclusives, whether it be at retail or online is the only way I think we will ever see anything like this made.  Which is exactly why I applaud the way Sideshow has handled the 12" line with their niche marketing.  

New products are too expensive to design, tool and produce for most of them to be exclusives.  That's why you're seeing big so many recycled items being done as exclusives.  Just look at this year's exclusive vehicle lineup:

EXCLUSIVE VEHICLES/BEASTS
___  ARC-170 - Clone Wars deco TARGET EXCLUSIVE
___  Gold Squadron Y-Wing Starfighter TOYS R US EXCLUSIVE
___  181st Squadron TIE Interceptor TOYS R US EXCLUSIVE
___  Geonosis Creatures TOYS R US EXCLUSIVE
___  Jedi Starfighter w/ Hyperdrive ring TOYS R US EXCLUSIVE
___  TIE Bomber TARGET EXCLUSIVE


Then compare that with the general market lineup for vehicles:

VEHICLES
___  AAT
___  Anakin Skywalker's Jedi Starfighter
___  AT-AP
___  Darth Vader's Sith Starfighter
___  Darth Vader's TIE Advanced X-1
___  General Grievous's Starfighter
___  Hailfire Droid
___  Mace Windu's Jedi Starfighter
___  Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Starfighter
___  Saesee Tiin's Jedi Starfighter
___  Sith Infiltrator
___  TIE Fighter (white deco)
___  V-Wing Starfighter


Hasbro needs to be able to make those new designs work for them in volume.  So that means trying to get them in 10,000 stores as opposed to 1,500 stores in the case of Target or even 5,000 stores in the case of WalMart.  Greater volume helps Hasbro to recoup the costs of new designs, otherwise it isn't worth it financially for Hasbro to produce new product.

9055
Rogue One / The Playset Thread
« on: July 6, 2007, 10:29 PM »
<snip>

 Funny how they say there's not enough demand for playsets, considering I think they said the same thing about the 12" line, now look how successful Sideshow has been with it.  Ha!

This depends on your definition of "success."  For Hasbro, selling under 10,000 units of a 12-inch figure (including variants) isn't usually a step in the right direction.

Adam is more right than you know here Chewie.  10,000 units won't satisfy Hasbro's retail partners.  Just look at this breakdown in terms of the number of stores that Hasbro is serving with their major accounts:

Toys R Us:  586 stores in the US / 670 stores internationally
KayBee:  605 stores in the US
Target:  1502 stores in the US
WalMart:  3366 stores in the US / 2701 internationally

That's 9,430 stores that Hasbro has to serve with product.  And that's not counting K-Mart, Meijers, Zellers, Diamond distribution, etailers, etc.  With Sideshow producing in the neighborhood of 10,000 figures for a single 12" figure run, that doesn't go far enough to supply those outlets.  Those numbers should give you an indication of just how different of a playing field Hasbro is on compared with the boutique licensees.

And get this:  Hasbro had to CONVINCE WalMart to carry the 30AC assault vehicle line.  WalMart had cancelled that SKU in their inventory system after The Saga Collection.  Now we know just how popular the vehicle line is, right?  To lose WalMart on that segment of the Hasbro Star Wars line could be potentially devastating to the health of the 3.75 inch line.  Hasbro literally had to show just how good Target's sales on that line were to WalMart just to convince them to carry those $20 vehicles.  WalMart doesn't seem to care that Star Wars is one of the most profitable licenses of all time, and they're not being generous with space in their planograms.  So mass retail is pretty much out of the question right now for playsets.

As for Gentle Giant?  They're having a difficult time satisfying their own customer base right now in a number of ways.  Their limited edition pieces have not necessarily met demand.  Their website architecture has not been able to cope with high traffic levels.  Their deliveries tend to be behind  schedule.  They don't seem to be sure what to do with their Bust Ups line, which has really been one of their only broader market products.  Some people are questioning their dedication to collectibles, when they also seem firmly entrenched in their film business.  And there are rumblings that GG's customer service has been poor to the point where Steve Sansweet may be questioning the value of having them as a Star Wars licensee.

As for the Attakus Falcon?  It's well outside of the price range of any toy at a price of over $2,000.  It weighs in excess of 300 lbs.  And the metal figures are a larger scale than the Hasbro 3.75 inch figures.  They also cost about $80 per figure.  Try army building like that.

9056
Other Collectibles / Re: Gentle Giant Statues
« on: July 6, 2007, 04:27 PM »
The timing of the offerings from both Sideshow and Gentle Giant have seemed puzzling at times.  Sideshow puts out their 12" Jabba the Hutt and right around the same time GG announces their Jabba the Hutt and Max Rebo band environments.  I would think that maybe Lucas licensing would be aware of the situation and tell the licensees when they can do a certain item so that two licensees won't be in competition with each other on their offerings.

9057
Rogue One / The Playset Thread
« on: July 5, 2007, 10:43 PM »


 :P

Ah, hello Barbaro.  Might I flog you some more?

;D



Gentle Giant has too many issues to tackle with their own line of products.  Let's not involved them in 3.75" scale playsets too.

9058
Gentle Giant / Re: Gentle Giant Mini-Busts
« on: July 4, 2007, 04:30 PM »
That blog is UGLY!  And where the hell did that SWABIE come up with the fact that I won?  I posted it here and maybe one other board.  WTF?!?!

9059
Gentle Giant / Re: Gentle Giant Mini-Busts
« on: June 30, 2007, 01:17 AM »
Great scott!  It sounds like a conspiracy!


9060
30th Anniversary Collection / Re: 2008 Rumors!
« on: June 28, 2007, 06:47 PM »
Here's a breakdown of everything Curto mentioned in his rumor report on the Forcecast:


GENERAL LINE NOTES
-30AC line look continues into 2008 without the coins, possibly to be replaced by figure stands
-Mid 2008 the line will change to Clone Wars


BASIC FIGURES
-Willrow Hood - Ice Cream Maker Guy - Probably 2009



-Lumat & Female Ewok with Wokling - Lumat listed in figure stands




-Grand Admiral Thrawn - Updated



-Commander Praji - Imperial Officer - A New Hope



-Wes Janson - Rogue Squadron Pilot - The Empire Strikes Back



-ARC Trooper Pilot - Clone Wars Gunship Pilot



-Senator Toonbuck Toora



-Rebel Fleet Trooper - Super articulated



DELUXE FIGURES
-Vader's Secret Apprentice - possible deluxe pack (already listed at toysrus.com)



COMIC 2-PACKS
-Both figures TBA - Star Wars Legacy Comic 2-pack (not including main characters)

-Tsui Choi & FIGURE TBA - Star Wars PURGE


-Janek "Tank" Sunber & FIGURE TBA - Comic 2-Pack


-Jabba the Hutt (aka Mosep) & FIGURE TBA (most likely Han Solo) - Marvel Comics adaptation



MULTI-PACKS
-Speeder bike set (possible battle pack with Biker Scouts with hovering effect)
-Cinema Scene - Death Star - possible 2009
-Cinema Scene - Cantina - possible 2009 (including tables/seats/bar parts/distillery)


VEHICLES
-Large vehicle(s) may be on the way
-B-Wing Starfighter - with human pilot




-AT-TE - Based on appearance in Clone Wars trailer (Hasbro hinting strongly)



-AT-ST (expanded cockpit to fit two pilots)




CREATURES
-Rancor (repack, possibly improved)

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