Future of Star Wars Collecting - v2

[Artoo]

I've never seen a kid pick up any PT charcaters unless it was a clone or droid. The ones I see pick up OT characters. That proves, that atleast in my area, the OT is still popular. Maybe it's just because kids are now getting into the OT, with the PT story done, who knows.

[speedermike]

I've seen plenty of kids buy PT characters.  I actually saw a kid recently digging through the figures looking for Qui-Gon!

[Artoo]

I've never seen it. I'm sure it happens because I didn't see half of Geonosis or Naboo wave. Poor kid looking for a non-existent Qui-Gon figure. 

[Darth_Anton]

I've been taking things on a year by year basis. It scares me to look too far into the future because then the question becomes, how old is too old to collect. By just taking in the current year, it gives me focus. Also, my main collecting goal right now is to complete an Imperial Batallion which I realised is one of my life long collecting goals. After that. I'll take a look at where I want to go.

[Darth_Anton]

Been thinking hard about this question lately. Right now, I want to say that 30 AC might be my last year as a completist. I might try to do what I did with E1 before it went on cearance, drop a carded collection and just get figures I really want like OT figures.

[JesseVader08]

Been thinking hard about this question lately. Right now, I want to say that 30 AC might be my last year as a completist. I might try to do what I did with E1 before it went on cearance, drop a carded collection and just get figures I really want like OT figures.

I've enjoyed my collecting of Hasbro figures a lot more since I did exactly that.  Buy what I like, pass on what I don't.

[CHEWIE]

I dunno, I don't think the prequels did quite as much as we think. 

I think they did MORE than a lot of us think... really, what would be on pegs right now if not for the prequels?  The "clone craze" has done so much for Star Wars... I'm not sure that the line would have gone much past the year 2000 if not for the prequels... or at least, if it did, it would be much smaller.

I also think with how much most people liked ROTS it really changes things, and the success allows for more of a delve into EU with the pre-ANH era... now if ROTS were a weaker film, such as AOTC or God forbid down to TPM territory, then yeah the line would be in trouble and the prequels would have more of a short term impact... granted, it hasn't been that long since ROTS debuted, but it seems like it will continue to keep the prequels above water.  So no worries for me other than on my wallet.

Also, I know not everyone customizes, but if you take a look around the various boards at customs and photonovels, most of it's prequel stuff that people are making.  There's a lot of interest in that area and I think it's going to continue... when the TV series hits, I think that most people will turn their interest to that timeline but the prequels for now still generate a ton of interest.

 

[speedermike]

I agree.  The silent majority liked the Prequels a lot.  TPM did over 400  Million in 1999.  Even with the lousy word of mouth that it generated, it was still a huge hit.  And I think that ROTS ended the whole thing on a high note.

[Artoo]

I dunno, I don't think the prequels did quite as much as we think. 

I also think with how much most people liked ROTS it really changes things, and the success allows for more of a delve into EU with the pre-ANH era... now if ROTS were a weaker film, such as AOTC or God forbid down to TPM territory

I feel AOTC was a much weaker film, it's box office record helps that. It's the only SW movie NOT to be #1 all year in the U.S. That says something right there. If ROTS was like AOTC, boy we wouldn't have all these figures out this year.



But that's just my opinion. I'm not a group follower when it comes to AOTC vs. TPM. 


Back on topic, if we keep seeing TV series like Lucas plans to do, we may see figures from Hasbro untill their license expires in 2018. Plus, there's other EU sources to be help too.

[Darth_Anton]

I agree.  The silent majority liked the Prequels a lot.  TPM did over 400  Million in 1999.  Even with the lousy word of mouth that it generated, it was still a huge hit. 

What the films did in their year of release means nothing. The reason why the PT was made in the first place is because the OT was so damn good.  The PT may have been a huge financial success, but let's see how well they are regarded 30 years from now.

[Morgbug]

I dunno, I don't think the prequels did quite as much as we think. 

I think they did MORE than a lot of us think... really, what would be on pegs right now if not for the prequels?  The "clone craze" has done so much for Star Wars... I'm not sure that the line would have gone much past the year 2000 if not for the prequels... or at least, if it did, it would be much smaller.

The reality is that there'd be nothing on the pegs most probably without the prequels.  If Lucas hadn't decided to do the prequels I seriously doubt we'd have had the 1997 re-release of the OT films.  Without those re-released films, we wouldn't have had the POTF2 line released at allin all likelihood.  So it's a circular argument but it doesn't really support your point.  I'm with Anthony on this one with respect to his comment above mine. 

And I'm not convinced the clone craze has done much for Star Wars.  It's done a lot for Hasbro and Lucas, but for the movies?  Gee, I think I'd have been ok if they'd all been white and regular military instead of the rainbow clone brigade. 

[Brian]

And I'm not convinced the clone craze has done much for Star Wars.  It's done a lot for Hasbro and Lucas, but for the movies?  Gee, I think I'd have been ok if they'd all been white and regular military instead of the rainbow clone brigade. 

That's an interesting point.  I wonder how the majority of people feel about the rainbow clones - from the movie standpoint.  Granted, many to most of us buy up the majority of the variants in figure form, but would it have been better to see them as all white in the prequels as they were in the OT?  I guess I wouldn't have minded seeing them that way, but still having the Galactic Marine and Elite Corps troops as nods to the OT - but in all white.  Even clones with different "looks" like Cody would be ok, but still be all in white.  I'll admit, some of the colored clones look pretty cool (I like the shocktrooper look), but the colors have gotten a little crazy - and are obviously there to sell toys.  But, it works.

[Morgbug]

Oh I agree Brian, lots of them look really cool.  I'm partial to the 501st and Shock troopers myself. 

But I'm convinced the whole reason for going from white troops to color designations is nothing but marketing for the collectibles side of thing, Hasbro being primary, but others like Gentle Giant and Master Replicas have also benefited.  And I've bought right in too, though I think that hunger has been pretty well satiated by now. 

But the trooper variations in the OT struck me as functionality chanes to design: snowtroopers with skirts to help keep the extremities warm; biker scouts with more flexible armor for riding the bikes and maneuvering in the bush on Endor.  Functionality, not marketing. 

In AOTC we met the clones and it seemed that most were white with any variations in color designating rank and not much more.  Though I suppose they snuck in the pilots on us, but I'd assumed those were a precusor and functionality thing like the Tie Pilots they resembled.  ROTS introduced a spate of different functionality changes in terms of gear and I'm not opposed to that at all.  Commanders having different gear than grunts is groovy.  Jeez, having different gear for different purposes in different units strikes me as downright logical. 

But when I think of the different, blatantly obvious markings on the clones I think marketing, not unit designations.  Yeah, you could tell a paratrooper from an SS officer in German militia, but the differences weren't that obvious.  What's the point in the clones on Utapau having orange?  I can sort of accept the point of the camouflage on Kashyyk but I'm left scratching my head as a bunch of camo troops are standing on a beach.  Huh?  Yeah, I know, it was meant more for the forest that seemed to resemble Endor. 

I'm just kind of amazed at the inverse evolution of troopers in the Star Wars universe and I'm not sure it's a good thing.  I guess my concern stems from a fear of Lucas going back and Ted Turner-ing the OT with troopers from the rainbow world.     It's fun from a toy standpoint and bluntly put it's bloody brilliant marketing considering they can use a half dozen slightly different molds a dozen times each.  It's a perpetual money machine.  I get it and I'm not against them making money.  I just don't think it did anything for the movies is all. 

[Brian]

I agree with you Brent.  I like the gear/functionality differences in the troops, but the colors have gotten a little crazy.

But I'm convinced the whole reason for going from white troops to color designations is nothing but marketing for the collectibles side of thing, Hasbro being primary, but others like Gentle Giant and Master Replicas have also benefited.  And I've bought right in too, though I think that hunger has been pretty well satiated by now.

Like you said, I think I'm pretty well satisfied with clones overall for now - after picking up the Galactic Marine, Airborne, and Elite Corps recently in particular.  I'm sure we'll see more and more "made up" clones, and maybe I'll even end up buying them, but like you said - it really seems like marketing genius more than anything else.  I have the same fear of the "super special editions" having colored Stormtroopers all of a sudden, but I really hope that is an unjustified fear.  Like you said, the AOTC clones weren't even quite as bad, as the colors designated rank differences.  Now the colors don't seem to have any rhyme or reason to them for the most part, like you said.  I guess I can't complain too much, I keep buying them like a sucker .  Great post(s) though Brent, I agree totally.

[Dan]

I dunno, I don't think the prequels did quite as much as we think. 

I think they did MORE than a lot of us think... really, what would be on pegs right now if not for the prequels?  The "clone craze" has done so much for Star Wars... I'm not sure that the line would have gone much past the year 2000 if not for the prequels... or at least, if it did, it would be much smaller.

The reality is that there'd be nothing on the pegs most probably without the prequels.  If Lucas hadn't decided to do the prequels I seriously doubt we'd have had the 1997 re-release of the OT films.  Without those re-released films, we wouldn't have had the POTF2 line released at allin all likelihood.  So it's a circular argument but it doesn't really support your point.  I'm with Anthony on this one with respect to his comment above mine. 

And I'm not convinced the clone craze has done much for Star Wars.  It's done a lot for Hasbro and Lucas, but for the movies?  Gee, I think I'd have been ok if they'd all been white and regular military instead of the rainbow clone brigade. 

I don't know, I think the figures made the comeback based on the secondary market popularity of the vintage line. That was a cash cow waiting to be milked, and Kenner and Lucas started pulling. If I remember the timeline correctly, the figure rebirth started a a year to a year and a half before the re-release of the OT trilogy in '97. That dog had legs without the movies-  I'm sure it would have been long over by now without the new flicks, but that OT figure market was just waiting to be filled. I had started picking up the vintage ones about that time, paying something like $15-20 for figures like hoth soldier and 2-1B. The new line with no missing paint or accessories at $5 a pop was an easy sell for me.

That being said, I've just about left Hasbro behind at this point. I have 3 AC figures- last year I picked up nearly 200 figures. The frequency of releases and glut of repaints finally tipped me over the edge. I'm sure I'll still get a few, especially OT imperials when there are sales.