Big Items of the Future!

[Dave]

I was wondering about that.  I didn't know if they were the same species, they had renamed Lak, or what was going on.  Thanks!

[Rob]

Yeah I was going to say, I thought this guy was not Lak Sivrak.

[Jeff]

Was having a discussion with a friend last night.  I brought up all the 6" vehicle HasLab wins in GI Joe -

GI Joe Classified 6" HISS - 27.6k sold
GI Joe Classified 6" Dragonfly - 24.7k sold
GI Joe Classified 6" Rattler - (rumored) - not even announced yet and tons of buzz from Joe collectors.

Remind me again why Hasbro hasn't tried a 6" scale AT-ST? or 6" scale X-Wing HasLab?  Seems like there are big vehicle buyers there...


My friend was on the other side - 6" vehicles = HasLab death.  The Marvel HasLab wins have been "big guys" - Sentinel, Galactus, Giant Man.  The only fail was a vehicle.  He doesn't think the average 6" collector cares about vehicles, just the figures and that my view of vehicles is skewed because I'm a 3.75" Star Wars lifer.

He said the only reason the Gi Joe vehicle HasLabs do so well is because Joe is the one property that actually did a good job converting the 3.75" base into a 6" base.  You can't get 3.75" anymore, so almost all the Joe fans are 6" fans now and Hasbro is doing a great job re-selling the same figures to those guys just in a new size; 100% cashing in on nostalgia and with a healthy repaint scheme in palce too (Python Patrol, Night Force, Tiger Patrol, etc).

Do you think he's right?  Is GI Joe the only line that can pull off 6" vehicle HasLabs?

[McMetal]

I don’t think there is enough evidence to form an informed opinion yet either way. The Ghost Rider HasLab failed because it had a more limited appeal to begin with and a real value perception problem. I read all the Ghost Rider comics growing up and never even knew he had a car. Just didn’t resonate with older dudes like me with money to spend.

I absolutely think an AT-ST could succeed but a lot would depend on the tiers, and given their track record I’m not sure we can count on them to deliver there. They’d be too tempted to trawl out a slightly tweaked Snowtrooper, AT-AT Driver, or one of the Imperial Officers.

Now that I think about it though, not sure what “new” Hoth figures would really excite me at this point either. 2-1B for sure, and I guess the mushroom shaped Medical droid. (FX-7?) Would they do those though? 

[Jedi Idej]

Could see an Ewok Village as another good candidate if they think this went well.

This has been on my Haslab want list. Got to include Vader's funeral pyre.

[Dave]

6" Vehicles are just so damn big.  I can't imagine how big an AT-ST would be - 3.5' tall?

I've purchased the small vehicles (landspeeder, dewback, speeder bikes) and they're sweet.  I got the Snowspeeder and its just too big.  I passed on the TIE fighter because it was too big too, even though I think you could have purchased it on clearance for $40.

I don't think 6" Star Wars fans are that hard core and I think the fan base there is super diverse, so I'm not sure there is anything that a lot of people would rally around.

I've gave up on 6" figures a year ago because I've just run out of room.  I know I wouldn't back anything 6", but didn't hesitate to back a big ass Ghost and Cantina because its 3.75" and goes with the thousands of figures I've already got and plan to keep.

[CorranHorn]

Considering they cannot release a 3.75” AT-ST that is stable and won’t eventually fall over or warp, why would anyone want to pay hundreds of dollars for a 6” version likely to have the same problems?

[P-Siddy]

GI Joe Classified 6" Rattler - (rumored) - not even announced yet and tons of buzz from Joe collectors.

Is it really a 6" Rattler and not a 3.75" one?  I heard the rumors of the Rattler but not the scale and figured it would be a 3.75" one to go with the Skystriker they just did.  If it's 6" then that would be pretty huge, I'd imagine. 


Edit: I guess the HISS is pretty big and I'm sure the Dragonfly will be even longer, but man... the length and wingspan of a Ratter. Can't imagine.

[Matt_Fury]

Black Series is always going to have trouble with vehicles.  Anything bigger than a speeder bike is going to take up way too much space.  The FO TIE Fighter they did ended up being on clearance because it was huge.  I don't know how successful the Snow Speeder was, but if it did make them money, they'd do more...look at how much love they get with figures!

[Brian]

Agree with a lot of what has been said. I think the 6” scale vehicles for Star Wars are maybe a tough sell. They have covered things that are a little easier to put out there, like the Landspeeder, speeder bikes, etc. The larger stuff they have done has largely sat or gone clearance, but there isn’t a very big sample size for that either. I personally love the Snowspeeder they did, it’s beautiful. That being said, mine is packed away because it is tough to display (plus the whole thing of having one or two six inch scaled vehicles amongst all the 3 3/4” ones.)

Which brings me to Jeff’s friend’s other point…converting small scale collectors to 6” collectors. With probably some exceptions, the Joe team has done a great job at this. Kind of the on,y game in town, outside of Super 7 stuff. Star Wars is so segmented, and has been for awhile, which I think is part of their problem. Heck, we even have competition within scales with the new Epic collection or whatever it is called. They always seem to be trying maybe a little too much at once instead of really committing to something. In the vintage, POTF2, and prequels days it as pretty much “you like Star Wars? Well here is THE line” (with a footnote of the 12” line). Plus the fact that you could largely do both with those prices. That just isn’t realistic now, not to mention players like Hot Toys.

[Jeff]

Met up with the local JD crew last night.  We talked a lot about The Ghost (and how many of us have shamefully not opened ours yet).  We talked a lot about our (my?) excitement for the upcoming Mos Eisley Cantina.  On the drive home, it got me thinking...

A Star Wars HasLab in 2025 is a given.  Is Hasbro going to go for a third TVC project in a row or will they go back to try BS6" again after two TVC wins in 2023 and 2024.

2018 - TVC Barge = funded
2020 - TVC Razor Crest = funded with 5/5 tiers
2021 - BS6" Rancor = fail
2022 - BSRP Reva Saber = fail
2023 - TVC Ghost = fully funded with 3/3 tiers
2024 - TVC Cantina = funded with 2/3 tiers

Think 2025 is going back to the TVC well?  Maybe back to a vehicle since those sold a bit better than the playset did last year? 

Are they worried about overloading TVC fans so it's time to go back to the BS6" crowd?

Are they going to roll out the 2025 HasLab at Star Wars Celebration?  SDCC in July?  Hasbro Pulse Con in the Fall?

[Dave]

Think 2025 is going back to the TVC well?  Maybe back to a vehicle since those sold a bit better than the playset did last year? 

Are they worried about overloading TVC fans so it's time to go back to the BS6" crowd?

I'd be interested in the demographics of the BS6" crowd vs. TVC and if the BS6" crowd skews younger, less affluent, less hard core Star Wars, more random in their collecting. 

I get the feeling the TVC crowd has a heavier concentration of more affluent original collectors like a lot of us here.  So even if the BS6" ideas are great, maybe they just don't have the interest or ability to drop $500 on a mega item.

I'm not sure there are big ships that people have the room for or interest in leading to me thinking playsets are potentially the way to go.   The fact that five out of six of us at the meetup last night didn't have our Ghosts displayed yet leads me to believe these extra large items are just tough to accommodate. 

I like how flexible the design is for the Cantina where you could put it on one big open shelf or break it up and lay it out on normal bookshelf setup where your depth is limited. 

I'd love to see them do a Death Star in this manner and not necessarily the giant dome that they sketched out a few years back.  If they could have a handful of the iconic scenes from the two Death Stars in a flexible configuration I think that would be great.  If you've got the ability you could maybe stack them, have them all laid out together, or string them along a series of shelves where they all go well together.

I wouldn't mind an Ewok Village either, but my guess is that probably isn't at the top of enough people's wish lists.

If they do go the ship route, I hope its something more along the lines of The Razor Crest that can more easily fit on a shelf and not something more massive like The Ghost.  I'm not sure what might fall in to that bucket.  Andor has gotten zero love from Hasbro, so I'm guessing a Fondor Halucraft is out.  I always thought a Quadjumper was a cool design even though its not key to the Star Wars universe.  Although both of these they may be able to do as a $175 Fan Channel exclusive without going to the $400+ HasLab.  An Outlander TIE Fighter is kind of in this bucket too.

I do hope they keep the TVC HasLab's going.  And I've said it before that something that may involve a lot more figures and be less big (ship or playset) would be totally fine with me.  Something like a $175 Fondor Halcraft with ten Andor figures ($200) that they would never release at retail would be awesome.

[Nicklab]

The rumor mill has TWO vehicles in the pipeline for The Vintage Collection.  Hasbro has already revealed the Landspeeder, and I think the official rollout for that is coming in this next livestream.

As for the other vehicle?  In light of just how much it was featured in the trailers for ANDOR season 2, I think Hasbro's going to take on the TIE Avenger.  It seems like the TIE Avenger is the central focus of one of the story arcs in the new season.  And because of that?  I think Hasbro might reveal the vehicle as early as Star Wars Celebration in Japan, or at SDCC 2025.  My money is on Celebration Japan, though.  It's more timely.

As for a possible Haslab?  I can see Hasbro possibly going back to the well with The Black Series again, but it would have to be a home run - something SO OBVIOUS, and SO WANTED that there's no question about whether or not it would get backed.  I also think that it's got to have a low enough price point to draw in the Black Series customer base.  I don't know for certain, but I think the GI Joe Classified HISS Tank might have been one of the most reasonable priced campaigns at $299.  I think that should be the target price for a TBS Haslab.

If Hasbro is going the vehicle route?  I have two wants - the U-Wing sized up to a size where it can fulfill its role as a troop carrier, and Luthen Rael's Fondor Haulcraft.  I think my desire for a SOLO style Millennium Falcon is probably too big of an ask.

[Matt_Fury]

I would like to renew my desire to have an Ebon Hawk as a Haslab.

It would force Hasbro to load us up with KOTOR I & II figures.

[Nicklab]

I would like to renew my desire to have an Ebon Hawk as a Haslab.

It would force Hasbro to load us up with KOTOR I & II figures.

I always thought the Ebon Hawk was a pretty great ship!  I think that could be a possibility for a couple of reasons:
1 - Knights Of The Old Republic is regarded as one of the best RPG video games of all time, and likely one of the greatest Star Wars games ever.  The game was originally released in 2003 and people still talk about it quite a bit.
2 - A KOTOR remake has reportedly been in the works for some time.  What is it's status?  Unknown at this time.  But if it rolls out to even half of the acclaim of the original game?  That's going to be a BFD.

If that KOTOR remake hits in a big way?  And if there's the possibility of some sort of show / movie related to KOTOR?  I think an Ebon Hawk Haslab campaign could be a possibility.