Clone Wars Figure Rumors/Speculation

[Pete_Fett]

I always wondered that myself - and I apologize to anyone who likes the show and I fully admit that I am judging a "book by its cover" - but whenever I see promos for that "Adventure Time" show, I groan. It looks like the biggest piece of garbage show going and that damn show is on all the time on Cartoon Network.

Maybe they could give up a couple slots of that waste of time to some more re-airings of the Clone Wars.

Why the show isn't airing at like 4pm during the week, I'll never know.

I don't know how TV works - so maybe they have a deal where they have to pay Lucasfilm for the rights to each individual airing as opposed to having the rights to air the show. Does that kind of arrangement exist? And if a show like Adventure Time is Cartoon Network produced/owned, of course they're going to show that more since they own it.

I'm sure if they started the series over from the beginning and aired it every day at 4pm (or some other suitable after-school time), the number of kids interested in it would definitely pick up.

[McMetal]

So, looks like there is at least one new Class I set for Clone Wars next year after all...SSG has some groovy pics of a 501st AT-RT with Driver and TX-21, all appear to be in the animated style, although this was the one set not shown packaged I believe. I wonder is this maybe started out as the 4th deluxe set for this year originally and got pushed back when they decided to re-do the set configurations.

I still really hope we get that Boba Fett set someday. It would give them an excuse to crank out another Mace Windu as a throw-in, which they seem to love.

I will say, if I am looking on the bright side, the figures they have previewed so far for 2013 at least have better articulation across the board than what we got this year. I didn't see a single unbendable leg in the lot so far.

[Rune Haako]

Derryl DePriest told Jedi Temple Archives that Hasbro is slowly weaning "us" to accept that these figures will eventually come with only five (5) points of articulation.

http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/content/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10426

[McMetal]

Derryl DePriest told Jedi Temple Archives that Hasbro is slowly weaning "us" to accept that these figures will eventually come with only five (5) points of articulation.

http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/content/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10426

Ugh, they can't keep kicking us like this when we are down. This was the part I really loved:

"kids get frustrated playing with figures with too much articulation, especially when trying to put weapons in the hands of them"

Are you kidding me!?!? Try putting a rifle into the hands of a figure with no elbow or hand articulation! They can't hold them properly! The Clone Wars figures are so flimsy and the weapons so ridiculously oversized, they can barely even hold them to begin with.

I really wish Hasbro would relinquish the license for Clone Wars and some other company could take it over, like the ones that do the animated Ben 10 or DCU figures. They really just suck badly at managing this potential goldmine.

[Scockery]

By kids, they mean kids that should be given the Jedi Force-whatever line and not proper action figures. But the window of kids playing with toys is small, so parents get young spoiled kids toys that they probably aren't ready for yet.

Same with the class 2 reduced scale vehicles. That idea belongs in a Jedi Force line.

[Greedo The Green Menace]

I dunno, less artic doesn't seem like much of an issue when there's nothing new coming out anyway.

[Jesse James]

I agree on the articulation argument you guys are making...  Wihle I don't think 90 POA are necessary, especially on the kid-targeted lines/figs, I do think it's comical to suggest articulation is frustrating for kids...

A totally good point that it's frustrating for younger kids, who should probably be playing with the line that is catered to them.

When I was little, Star Wars went by the wayside for GI Joe...  Why?  Because GI Joe was cooler to me.  Had better poseability, which looked cooler and was more fun to play with.  If they could've mastered not having thumbs break off at the time, GI Joe would've been nearly perfect.

It's like Hasbro's ignoring its own production in the 80's...  Hell, they even upped the arm articulation on GI Joes because they knew they could do so easily and improve the figure greatly...  Now suddenly kids are not capable of enjoying that, nor are they capable of playing with a toy like that without frustration?

Was I a prodigy and just so advanced at 5 that GI Joes appealed to me while my ape-like peers were still clubbing a femer bone off the ground?

5 POA is pretty rough...  Kid targeted or not.  They really should keep knees and elbows at least.  Maybe try moving wrist joints to the forearm instead of down load?  It works better and is a stronger point of articulation that way...  Or just admit it's because it's too costly and you think you can still sell to kids with lowered articulation counts and save a buck. 

[Brian]

I mentioned this in the C6 thread, but it really does seem like this line is limping into the sunset now.  The "new" figures are just different versions of Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, etc. that we see so much already.  They might be nicely done, but it just doesn't interest me.  I was re-watching "Bounty" this week and really wishing they'd get around to making new outfit Boba and Asaaj, Dengar, and the other hunters (not to mention stuff from the rest of the season).  If we starting seeing that, great, but if it is more of these main character re-dos over and over (or "new" 5 POA versions), I doubt I'm picking up much anymore from this line.  Might be a cheap year for SW, if things are as scaled back as it seems - which is ok with me.

[Pete_Fett]

Derryl DePriest told Jedi Temple Archives that Hasbro is slowly weaning "us" to accept that these figures will eventually come with only five (5) points of articulation.

http://www.jeditemplearchives.com/content/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10426

So McMetal - still hoping to see the line continue or are you really looking forward to that General Krell figure with less articulation than the Jar Jar in Carbonite figure? 

Wow - that really sucks. I of course, will still buy as long as they make figures for the Clone Wars, but I'll miss the articulation - figures like Scuba Ahsoka really suffer due to the lack of knee, ankle and elbow joints...

[McMetal]

So McMetal - still hoping to see the line continue or are you really looking forward to that General Krell figure with less articulation than the Jar Jar in Carbonite figure? 

Well, I was hoping they would have sculpted that one before they came to that asinine conclusion, but who knows.

I do know I'd still rather have 5 POA in an animated style as a distinct line as opposed to folding them into the main line in a realistic style.

So why is Depriest doing all the debrief anyway? Wasn't he supposed to have been pulled off the line or something?

[Pete_Fett]

I do know I'd still rather have 5 POA in an animated style as a distinct line as opposed to folding them into the main line in a realistic style.

So why is Depriest doing all the debrief anyway? Wasn't he supposed to have been pulled off the line or something?

Well - clearly you didn't get the memo - didn't you know that the Clone Wars line is not for YOU? You're supposed to be collecting the realistic Clone Wars figures that Hasbro is putting out....

LOL...

And yeah - what happened to that Jeff Labowitz guy? I didn't read about his name being mentioned anywhere in the CVI coverage. Scapegoat for the recent problems with the line? I wouldn't mind if that ended up being the case, every time that guy opened his mouth, something stupid flew out.

[Jesse James]

Darryl's still involved a good bit with all the licensed stuff and I'm pretty sure even moreso with Star Wars.

I can appreciate you wanting even a 5POA animated figure McMetal...  I just hope prices reflect the drop in quality for the sake of those collecting it.  $10 would sting for a statue.  At least there's hope that it's not being canned, for the animated fans.

I honestly figured it was on its way out...  I do think they're trying to wean collectors off animated though, and into realistic only, and using the animated line as something of a sales booster for the stuff the majority of the adult share wants to buy...  Which is good for the majority, but sucks for the adults into animated stuff.

And kids don't care I guess...  I disagree, I think it's a little bit of ignoring your own history as an organization, but I also think it's probably true for younger kids...  I think anything 5/6 and up though, and I'm sort of in disagreement on articulation being "frustrating".  I just figure it's easier than saying it's cheaper.

[McMetal]

Yeah, I agree the price would have to come down if they start selling salt and pepper shaker figures again. The $10 price point would be a tough pill to swallow on top of everything else.

I just don't get the business model. I think they spend a lot of time futzing around with the different lines to prop each other up, and I think that logic is inherently flawed.

Hasbro came right out and said very clearly CLONE WARS OUTSELLS VINTAGE. So why are they trying to run TCW into the ground and dumping all of their tooling $$$ and the quality articulation and character selections into the WORSE-performing line?!?!

Instead of milking that cash cow they are trying to starve it so they can feed the one that ain't giving as much milk. Or something.

To paraphrase Nino Brown, "they running a strange program"...

[P-Siddy]

Good point, McMetal.  I don't get many of the CW figures personally (I like the Bounty Hunters, but since they tend not to make many...)  but if that line's helping to support Vintage, a line that supposedly sucks for selling, then that's odd.  But, I think if Vintage (er, maybe I should say the "Adult line") went, there would be a lot people quitting the job (er, collecting).

[Jesse James]

Hasbro came right out and said very clearly CLONE WARS OUTSELLS VINTAGE. So why are they trying to run TCW into the ground and dumping all of their tooling $$$ and the quality articulation and character selections into the WORSE-performing line?!?!

I think this is where things become complex because it's an accounting decision which can get fairly abstract.

The simple explanation, to me, is that TCW outsells vintage...  whether articulation goes down or not.  Vintage maintains a pace, but if things decrease in that line in terms of quality, the backlash from its core target audience is greater than it is with TCW line.

IE: TCW line can take the decrease, thus saving money, the line will still perform to their expectations, and Vintage doesn't see any impact.

I wouldn't be shocked if it's also them looking at TCW as being a finite property while the "main realistic line" as it were is likely to go to the end of the license.  I feel almost sure that's also part of the equation.