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.

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.

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

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

Quote from: CHEWIE on July  6, 2007, 03:12 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.

 

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





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.

Great scott!  It sounds like a conspiracy!