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Messages - Nicklab

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5761
The Black Series 3.75" / Re: Toy Fair 2014
« on: February 18, 2014, 01:53 AM »
There are definitely some things from the EU that I'd like to see get explored.  My focus tends to be from some of the Dark Horse comics and video games.  And it still seems like fairly fertile ground from a character standpoint.  But I get this shift in direction.  It's an attempt to keep the Star Wars line CURRENT and moving forward with a sense of anticipation towards the new trilogy.

And then there's the shift in the action figure business.  We've seen a pattern emerge where interest seems to be gravitating away from the 3.75" action figure to collector focused 6" figures and the video game sector.  There have also been some massive failures on some serious movie licensed toy lines.  That's led to action figure lines that are leaner, more cost-concious and more risk averse than they were say, 5 years ago.

For the continued health of the line?  I'm okay with this shift away from the EU.  I understand what's driving it.  It's a compromise that's being made in the interest of benefitting the broader Star Wars merchandise line.

5762
Star Wars Rebels / Re: Star Wars Rebels Toy Rumors!
« on: February 18, 2014, 12:36 AM »
Part of the JTA report indicated that a large vehicle may be in the works for 2015.  Will that be the Ghost?  That's certainly debatable.  But with Episode VII on tap for a December 2015 release, I think that spot in the line may be for an Ep7 vehicle.

5763
The Black Series 3.75" / Re: Toy Fair 2014
« on: February 18, 2014, 12:33 AM »
Given what we've been seeing from The Official Site and other news sources regarding the Expanded Universe in general, I'm not surprised at all that there's a pullback on the Expanded Universe across multiple fronts.  I take issue with the article simply because I find Paul's work focuses far more on hyperbole and nerd rage than substance and thoughtful analysis.  I found that to be the case during my tenure on the staff at JTA and that shift in style was a major part of my reasoning for leaving that website.  But that's besides the point.

The EU pullback is actually very logical from a marketing standpoint.  Look at what's happening:
-Dark Horse's comic license is coming to an end.  That's been a major source of EU material over the past decade plus.
-Marvel taking over the comic license and re-launching the direction of Star Wars comics.
-The announcement of the creation of the Lucasfilm Star Wars story group which will be determining what is canon and what is not.  And notably this will have an impact on the post-ROTJ EU, which will likely have a tremendous impact on the story direction of Episode VII and beyond.
-Focusing Star Wars on the REBELS television series launch for fall 2014.

Getting the Star Wars toy line working along with the other arms of Disney/Lucasfilm to this common goal is something of a no-brainer in the modern world of brand management.  It does have the side effect of impacting some fans of a particular niche in Star Wars.  This is an unfortunate casualty of the new world view for Star Wars.  But it' seems clear that Lucasfilm Licensing is looking at the big picture and trying to steer things towards a greater goal.  That means working towards a successful launch for the REBELS animated series and a ramp up towards the release of Episode VII.  This move away from established EU figures et al really seems to have been inevitable given the overall change in direction for Star Wars.

5764
I've seen the Saga Legends Boba Fett along with Cody and Rex at retail.  But no Lukes yet.

The new crop of Saga Legends really do LOOK good.  The sculpts are pretty awesome.  That Snowtrooper particularly.  And truthfully, I can see how these figures might appeal to a particular niche of army builder.  Why?  There seem to be some army builders who want to build action scenes, and that's where super articulated figures are great, because you can pose them any which way you'd like. 

But I see SO MANY army builders who are doing a massive display of what are essentially troops on review.  Like the scene from ROTJ where the Emporer arrives at the Death Star.  That particular scene seems to have inspired many an army builder in their display work.  The 5 POA Saga Legends Imperial figures seem almost perfectly suited to this kind of display.  They're neutrally posed at attention.  And they're more economically priced for buying in bulk.  Especially when you look at the pricing of a figure like the current TBS Scout Trooper at $9.99 a piece.

5765
Star Wars Rebels / Re: Star Wars Rebels Saga Legends Figures
« on: February 16, 2014, 02:54 PM »
Interesting offerings for this first wave.  And safe.  The reveals of the past week have given us a little insight into who these characters are prior to Toy Fair.  I expect that the REBELS line of Saga Legends is going to be timed in such a way as to not give up too much about the show early on.

In a perfect world I'd like to see some more articulation in the figures.  And with the core characters we'll probably see them in a premium format with movie-realistic likenesses.  But the limited nature of the line so far makes it manageable.  And here's to hoping that the show will be good.

5766
Star Wars Rebels / Re: Star Wars: Rebels - Class II Vehicles
« on: February 16, 2014, 02:48 PM »
Definitely liking the look of Inquisitor's TIE Advanced.  It blends together a number of looks, from Maul's Sith Infiltrator in the wings, to the ROTS era Jedi Interceptor, and especially Vader's TIE Advanced X-1.  That kind of blending continuity is a great thing to see!

The AT-DP looks pretty cool, too.  I would love to see the hatch open, but I get the sense that it's a one man vehicle based on the size of the pod.

The Phantom seems alright.  I wasn't expecting vehices right out of the gate for REBELS, but this is definitely welcome.  Still, it seems like the Ghost is the more important ship in the context of the series.  Perhaps we'll have to wait to see how the show does in it's first season before Hasbro commits to producing a Ghost vehicle?  If they do it, I would expect that Hasbro might have a price target of $80 - $100 for that particular ship.

Also noteworthy?  I think we'll be seeing a REBELS stylized TIE Fighter at some point.  The graphics on the mockup box for Inquisitor's TIE Advanced have a standard TIE on there, and we've seen a number of TIE's featured in some of the pre-production art that's been released.  I think that standard TIE would be a no-brainer for this line.

5767
The Black Series 3.75" / Re: Toy Fair 2014
« on: February 16, 2014, 12:59 PM »
They typically don't show (or talk about) exclusives at TF.

Recently, it would seem.  I've been to a number of Toy Fairs, and they have shown exclusives there in the past.  The new trend seems to be bringing the retailers to the showroom and pitching exclusive ideas for Q3 and Q4. 

5768
The Black Series 3.75" / Re: The Black Series 3.75" - Wave 6
« on: February 16, 2014, 12:49 PM »
Nice little wave.  R5-G19 is a little bit of a mystery.  At first I was thinking this was one of the droids from the ROTJ briefing room scene on Home One, but I'm not certain.

Yes, from Home One


Yeah, found it:


5769
The Black Series 3.75" / Re: Toy Fair 2014
« on: February 16, 2014, 10:38 AM »
To me, it looks like a manageable year. I've been trying to be a little more cost conscious about things, and this line looks like Hasbro recognizes some of the strain the economy has put on their customers. The figure line isn't exhaustive, but there are some really cool choices in there. The vehicle line doesn't look completely rehashed. And the the 6" figure line is going in an interesting direction with things like the speeder bike and Jabba.

However, the lack of exclusives?  That seems telling.

5770
The Black Series 3.75" / Re: The Black Series 3.75" - Wave 6
« on: February 16, 2014, 09:17 AM »
Nice little wave.  R5-G19 is a little bit of a mystery.  At first I was thinking this was one of the droids from the ROTJ briefing room scene on Home One, but I'm not certain.

5771
Star Wars Rebels / Re: Star Wars Rebels "Mission Series" 2-Packs
« on: February 15, 2014, 09:41 PM »
Who better to steal from when it comes to designs than the late, great Ralph McQuarrie?

5772
The Black Series 3.75" / Re: Toy Fair 2014
« on: February 15, 2014, 09:05 PM »
Great photos, Jeff!  And thanks for making the trip to our frozen neck of the woods.  Even with all of the snow here, NYC is probably pretty mild compared to the cold you guys have been braving in Minnesota.

5773
I saw a couple of the new Funko figures yesterday at a Barnes & Noble store of all places. They had a fairly sizable display stand near the front of the store that had photos of each of the 6 figures in this first wave. I would've liked to have gotten Ned Stark, but no luck there. They only had Jon Snow and Danaerys Targaryen. Both looked ok in person, although Jon's beard looks a bit scraggly.

They're tagged at $19.99 each, which seems to be the going rate for 6" figures these days. I'm just wondering what other retailers might be picking up the line.

5774
TV-9D9 / Re: Star Wars Rebels - Coming Fall 2014
« on: February 12, 2014, 12:20 AM »
Nice look at the development of the series.  Freddie Prinze Jr is something of an unexpected bit of casting, but the character looks cool.  It's funny though, because Freddie's voice reminds me somewhat of the voice actor who played Anakin Skywalker in Clone Wars, Matt Lanter. 

As for the character of Kanan?  He reminds me slightly of the central character from the Dark Times comic series, Dass Jennir.  But with Jedi being on the run from the Empire, I would think there's the potential for some recurring themes when it comes to former Jedi characters.  Still, he appears like he might be a little young given when REBELS is supposed to take place.  Was he a padawan when Order 66 was issued?  And it also seems clear that at some point he's going to have a lightsaber duel with the Inquisitor.  I'm hoping those scenes will be cool, but shouldn't scenes like that be few and far between?

5775
Watto's Junk Yard / Re: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
« on: February 11, 2014, 11:39 PM »
Definitely sticking with Agents of SHIELD.  It took a while for things to get rolling but the show seems to have some turned a corner.  Especially after Coulson's interrogation.  But the air schedule seems a little puzzling.  Are they taking this week off because they don't want to compete with the Olympics?

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