Author Topic: Toy Fair 2011  (Read 30244 times)

Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #90 on: February 14, 2011, 10:54 AM »
The best news from the show for me was that there appears to be no major drought this year with a consistent flow of figure waves up to June. This makes me very happy and keeps me engaged! I really hated that over the past few years, they finally got it right again!
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Offline speedermike

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #91 on: February 14, 2011, 12:58 PM »
I agree that I think TCW is on cruise control.  Why make new figures when older ones will do?  I think it makes solid business sense.
In fact, it's probably why the line is a cash cow.  Little tooling cost, lots of sales.

It is a shame that they don't go batsh*t crazy with the line, because there are some really cool designs.  Toydarian Soldiers?  Yes, please!

Also, didn't a Q & A say that they couldn't get Savage out fast enough and look for him in the spring?  Or May?  I can't remember.
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Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #92 on: February 14, 2011, 01:51 PM »
I am not disappointed at all by less animated CW stuff, in fact I welcome it. It means more realistic!

If you listened to the last Forcecast DD has acknowledged that realistic CW figures are on the way. Take a look at Embo and the new Cad Bane, they can actually pass for realistic figures. The possible slowdown can also be part of the larger conversion plan to go all realistic with CW long term. Some may see this as a stretch but look at the Joe Renegades figures, they are made to be realistic but the design is based on the animated show. When Hasbro gets on a product idea/theme they usually carry it across several lines. (GH, RP, Scales)

I will leave my above analysis with this, while the CW cartoon is popular now will it be so 5 years from now? By going all realistic it will ensure a lot more mileage out of the tools they are investing in because realistic SW figures will always be in demand. The cartoon not so much. Most collectors are not clamoring for animated Droid figures or animated Ewoks but they are clamoring for realistic versions of the characters that appeared in those cartoons. Same goes for the current CW cartoon. (You can even reference the 2004 CW Cartoon in my analysis, we all want more characters from those shorts but not animated versions. We are all happy about Fordo!)

Think about it.
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Offline Captain Piet

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #93 on: February 14, 2011, 02:14 PM »
But why not make the cooler, niche figures now before some move to realistic where they stand NO chance of getting done?
Let's be honest, Hasbro mismanages the hell out of Star Wars.
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Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #94 on: February 14, 2011, 02:34 PM »
But why not make the cooler, niche figures now before some move to realistic where they stand NO chance of getting done?
Let's be honest, Hasbro mismanages the hell out of Star Wars.

Long term investment.

While Hasbro dropped the ball on some areas (comic Packs and release timing) if they mismanaged that badly the toys would not be number #1 like they are.
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Offline Greg

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #95 on: February 14, 2011, 03:17 PM »
I am not disappointed at all by less animated CW stuff, in fact I welcome it. It means more realistic!

But are we really getting less Clone Wars? Currently there are 52 figures (includes those shown at Toy Fair) in the "Shadows of the Dark Side" assortment. The 2009 series (red cards) had 50 figures, and the 2008 blue carded series only had 27 figures. Considering the realistic lines (Legacy, TAC, etc.) seem to end up with 50-60 figures I'd say the Clone Wars collection is doing pretty well. Both the red cards and the current series have had around 20-30 repacks, so the number of new figures is around the same. If we see fewer than forty releases between May 2011 and May 2012, then I'll agree that the line is starting to be scaled back. As it stands now, the Clone Wars line seems to be doing fine.

Offline Scockery

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #96 on: February 14, 2011, 03:21 PM »
I am not disappointed at all by less animated CW stuff, in fact I welcome it. It means more realistic!

ures. The possible slowdown can also be part of the larger conversion plan to go all realistic with CW long term. Some may see this as a stretch but look at the Joe Renegades figures, they are made to be realistic but the design is based on the animated show. When Hasbro gets on a product idea/theme they usually carry it across several lines. (GH, RP, Scales)

It's a stretch.  :) Renegades figures is a safer bet than making them animated. All cable/dish packages probably carry Cartoon Network. Do they carry The Hub? Does anyone watch the Hub? Remember those animated Wolverine and the X-Men figures that died at retail, the Marshalls in my area has them for $1.00 each and they still sit there.  Also, GI JOE collectors vs. Star Wars collectors = a pond vs. a sea. If GI JOE had a huge market, they'd be making Renegades  figure in animated style. GI JOE is a second tier line at this point.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #97 on: February 14, 2011, 04:32 PM »
Actually the Renegades/Clone Wars comparisons are all pretty moot, from both sides...

Clone Wars and the animated style was set by Lucasfilm, not Hasbro.  Hasbro designed 3 styles.  Completely animated, completely realistic, and a hybrid.  Lucasfilm picked the hybrid because it represented the media well enough, but they axed completely realistic during the line's inception.  They're apparantly loosened that stance, for one reason or another.

Renegades is obviously a Hasbro property.  They're choosing to do realistic for one reason or another.  I asusme just so it blends better with the line they've made for 30 years.

Also Hasbro's said they're going to look at some main characters to release in the realistic style for Clone Wars...  I don't think animated is going away anytime soon, they're just doing something for collectors knowing that the vast majority of them don't collect the animated figs but a lot of them want realistic versions for their collections.  I'm ok with that, and them not getting too deep into realistic CW figures.  Just the main guys/gals for the most part.

As far as Hasbro mis-managing the line, I can't say I agree.  What is it now, 16 years and they had their best  year since 2005 (which was one of, if not the, best year they ever had?) last year?  From the perspective of business, they're not doing a lot wrong.  From the perspective of collectors, they seem to rarely do anything right.  Nothing's perfect, but I really can't say they're mismanaging the line.

And again, as to the lack of CW stuff at Toy Fair...

There was a big assed ship, the focal point of the show.  There was a big RC tank, a high-ticket item.  There was a number of new unseen, not rumored Deluxe packs that wow'd both aisles of collecting.  There were some figures that we'd seen in one capacity or another, but there were some new figures.

Clone Wars sells itself.  This is a trade show to sell ****, so they're probably not as focused on it, and you'll see a little more Clone Wars in Summer at SDCC.  And if not, well like was said, the line's on cruise control for a while, while they milk it for all they can.  It's not like there isn't anything new, there is quite a bit, but it may just be scaled back some compared to previous years because some of the obscurity is pegwarming and they'd like to milk the line financially for a bit.  Clone Wars seemed pretty great to me though.

Realistic didn't see one new vehicle...  Not one.  they saw a few exclusives (very few) and some new waves of figures, which is what's required to keep collectors hanging on, and to wow retail buyers (who the show's ultimately for) into strongly supporting the line for the year.
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Offline Brian

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #98 on: February 14, 2011, 05:45 PM »
Yeah, that's the one thing - aside from the waves of figures (which were great, don't get me wrong), there really wasn't a whole lot for the "realistic" TVC line.  Vehicles and all that are next to nothing, and the other stuff (like the TRU Rebel Deluxe set, the Blu Ray sets, etc.) are just repacks - cool or not.  Vehicles were slim to none aside from the big one and deluxe sets, so it sort of evens out in a way as well.

I do think there are still surprises on the way (and at SDCC of course).  I sort of get the feeling we might see that repainted Slave I in the last third of the year, but you never know.  Plus, there are always exclusives that are shown later, like the Jabba, Dewback, and AT-ST sets of the past.  I'm pretty sure those weren't shown at Toy Fair in their years, although I don't remember for sure.

Offline Brian

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #99 on: February 16, 2011, 11:36 AM »
I probably just missed this somewhere (or forgot), but do we know which wave the delayed Wedge figure is supposed to be a part of now?  I couldn't remember if it was Wave 6, 7 or 8 - or if it had even been confirmed yet.

Offline Jeff

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #100 on: February 16, 2011, 11:47 AM »
An answer that won't make a lot of folks happy...  Wedge is part of Vintage Wave 3, Revision 11, which should ship in May between Wave 6 (March) and Wave 7 (June).

Wedge is not slated to be part of Wave 6 or 7 (yet).  They could add him to a future revision case but, as of Toy Fair, unfortunately the only place to find him will be in a box full of stuff everyone already has. :(
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Offline JACKOFTRADZE

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #101 on: February 16, 2011, 11:49 AM »
He will be hard to get but there is some really great news, the Sandtrooper and the EP3 White Clone are coming back in the wave 7 case! So if you missed those two hard to find figures you will have another crack at them!
« Last Edit: February 16, 2011, 11:49 AM by JACKOFTRADZE »
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Offline darth broem 2

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #102 on: February 16, 2011, 12:58 PM »
They don't mismanage Star Wars but they do make head scratching moves.  That is one of them.  Let's re-release the ultra pegwarming Sandtrooper and Clonetrooper.  I am kind of concerned that those 2 realistic army-building figures pegwarm that badly.  They have a couple of flaws but not that much to be rotting there on the pegs like there are.  I was hoping to get a carded orange-pauldron sandtrooper in the future.  I doubt that happens now!  So, please Hasbro show as many of the movie figures as possible so these buyers can scarf them up! 

Since this was a show for buyers I don't think they needed to push Clone Wars at all.  The buyers know what sells well and right it's that stuff.  They don't NEED to show tons of new figures.  They just have to make sure they make certain ones like Boba Fett, Anakin, Kenobi, Ashoka, Cad Bane, and whatever funky new clonetrooper everyone digs.  And like it was mentioned already they did make their focus on the Republic Attack Ship.  I don't care for it but guess who in my family already wants it.  Yep, my 6 year old where this stuff is primarily aimed at..kiddios.  Yeah, the show is getting a bit darker in tone but he still eats it up.  It's still pretty basic - bad guys vs good guys.  LOL.

Offline Scott

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #103 on: February 17, 2011, 02:36 PM »
Jeff...what item or slide got the biggest reaction during the presentation?

Offline Jeff

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Re: Toy Fair 2011
« Reply #104 on: February 17, 2011, 02:46 PM »
Keeping in mind that the event really is a mishmash of all sort of collector sites, I'd say the three slides that generated the most buzz were...

1) Return of Indy - Derryl snuck it in at the start of the Joe presentation and there were pretty much no rumors it was happening.  Lots of murmurs and even some applause (ok, the applause guy was me  :-[).

2) Starscream Skystriker - again, lots of laughs and reaction.  I think because it drew from so much (TFers, Joe, the Joe V. TFers Marvel comic mini) it got a big reaction.

3)  The "Return of Marvel Legends" preview slides. The way the Marvel guys reacted it was like they were showing pr0n up on the screen.  Bucky Cap generated a lot of buzz, so did the mention of BAF Terrax.


Star Wars was the first presentation of the day and because of a very full event agenda (they slotted all the Q&A time to the Joe/TF Hub cartoon team) they rushed through things pretty fast and didn't linger too much on any slide.

I guess the biggest reaction slide for SW was the one with Nom Anor... and that was just a lot of groaning at the idea of EU on Vintage.
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