Author Topic: 6 Inch Figures?  (Read 46870 times)

Offline Dan

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #90 on: February 1, 2013, 07:02 PM »
Hasbro drives this bus, even if Lucas has acted as the gps at times. Disney simply couldn't have accomplished this in 6 weeks, or even a little longer.  And that is assuming Hasbro was in the know, which I don't think has been proven at any point. Believing Disney was not involved is no more naive than believing they were.

3 3/4 did horrible in 2012 compared to previous years, and while I lay most of that blame at figure choices and case ratios (plus a crappy movie). The fact that they had something other than squinkies in the works to hedge their bets was a good move on their part, and virtually inevetible. After choking on phantom menace for 8 months, they had to come back to the retail partners with something that actually looked new and different. 

Offline Snively Bandar

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #91 on: February 2, 2013, 05:29 AM »
I must be getting old and blind, 'cause I apparently missed all the posts that said the Disney deal took 6 weeks, and that toy licensing wasn't a factor.  Silly me...  :P

« Last Edit: February 2, 2013, 05:29 AM by Snively Bandar »

Offline Nicklab

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #92 on: February 3, 2013, 08:52 AM »
Angry?  Me?  Never....

It's very naive to completely dismiss or discount the idea that maybe, just maybe, Disney was the major impetus in having a 6" line of Star Wars realized.  Perhaps Hasbro had been considering it, pondering, thinking, but it makes sense that ultimately, Disney was the driving force that made it happen.   

Does it matter what company was involved?  Uh, yeah.  The decision marks what I believe to be a pivotal point, a bold move which speaks volumes about what is in store for the future.  It's a taste of things to come, something fresh and new, which doesn't seem to have any telltale signs of a decision that would come from the big H.       

In corporate takeovers/mergers, SECRECY is a huge factor in making sure the deal goes through.  In the case of Lucasfilm being bought by Disney, I'm sure this was the case.  Especially with over $4 billion on the line.  Hasbro's license with Lucasfilm may be a major factor in the value of LFL, but letting even a handful of key people at Hasbro in on the details of a merger/acquisition could create a leak that could jeopardize the deal.  The Disney purchase of Lucasfilm looks like it could have been a factor in some shifts in Hasbro's business model.  But I think it has more to do with the packaging look than anything else.

With all of these factors mind, I think it's safe to say that the 6" figure line has probably been in development for at least the past 2 years.  Hasbro has made it known that figure development can take at least a year to 18 months.  Designing a new range of figures is likely to take a good deal longer.  And again, I think this is a response to shifts in the toy business where 6" figures are becoming much more the domain of adult collectors.
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Offline speedermike

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #93 on: February 6, 2013, 10:40 AM »

Read the rest of what I wrote.  I'm saying that if their estimates show not enough volume/profit coming from a collector focused 4" line, then their research or decision criteria is likely flawed. 

Clearly if there isn't enough profit coming in, a company needs to stop production OR revisit the way they're going to market

JMan, I meant no disrespect before.  However, you're assuming that they don't see a profit because their "research is flawed."  Perhaps THEY are not the problem and WE are.

Look at it this way.  Let's say there are about 100 very active members on this site.  People who post at least once a week. And perhaps there's maybe 10 big SW 3.75 action figure collecting sites with the same sort of activity.  That's only abut 1000 hard core fans.  So maybe that's low, just to spitball, I'll say there are 5000 hardcore Hasbro Figure collecting fans.  Hasbro announces a new figure...some people won't buy it because they don't buy aliens, or only buy imperials, or only buy OT, or have a version already. So out of that 5000, let's say 500 aren't going to buy it.  That 4,500 people who want this figure.  Let's add in a few thousand causal collectors and kids who might want this, and collectors who want two.  Maybe, maybe, 10,000 people want this figure.  That's a tiny, tiny number for Hasbro.  They won't, and can't make money that way.  Like I said in my original statement, if Hasbro could make money off of obscure collector friendly characters, they would.  It's that simple.




« Last Edit: February 6, 2013, 10:40 AM by speedermike »
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Offline JediJman

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #94 on: February 6, 2013, 01:13 PM »
Perhaps, though using your own numbers I would argue 10,000 units of a figure x 12 figures per case is 120,000 units sold.  That seems pretty damn large compared to any other action figure line, and that's just for a single assortment.  Keep in mind that Hasbro primarily sells to the retailer, not the end consumer for the vast majority of sales.  Overall, I don't subscribe to your numbers - some sites are smaller than JD and some have a larger audience.  I also know there are a lot of collectors out there that aren't active in the forums for whatever reason, so your estimate could be lower or higher - I'm not sure how to get to that number and wouldn't really trust an estimate outside of something Hasbro reports.

What I do believe beyond the shadow of a doubt is that the audience for Star Wars is significantly larger than any other product line in that aisle.  Batman, Spiderman, Marvel Universe, Transformers, GI Joe, Ninja Turtles, Wrestling, "Fill-in-the-blank" latest movie figures...there's no way demand for ANY of those lines is anywhere close to Star Wars figures.  Then look at all the specialty stuff like Minimates, Walking Dead, Videogame figures, etc.  Star Wars drives way more volume and should be more profitable given high price points and economies of scale.  Without estimating any volumes, I think we can all agree that these smaller lines are less profitable.  And yet, we continue to see new action figure waves and new lines all the time.  If Star Wars isn't making money, then there's no way these smaller lines are, and if there were no profit in it, we wouldn't see any new action figures. Ever.

Now, go back through the various store report threads for the last few years.  You will find frequent complaints to the effect of "I want this figure, but I can't find it anywhere."  Anybody here doubt that a case full of Hoth Rebel Soldiers or Emperor's Royal Guards per store wouldn't sell through within a week?  I'd buy a case of Hoth Rebels all by myself.  Heck, there are several reports of people buying lame figures they already had just to buy some Star Wars for a change.  Go check toy sites or Ebay for the prices on a Starkiller figure or Darth Malgus.  These figures are selling at 2-3x the retail price because Hasbro failed to get them into retail distribution.

I don't know how you can take the highest-demand product in the aisle and claim volumes are too low to make it profitable.  Those low volumes are tied to assortment and distribution failures.  I think believing anything else is equal parts irresponsible and disingenuous.  I'm just not willing to let Hasbro off the hook for this after the distribution wasteland we have endured the last few years.
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Offline P-Siddy

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #95 on: February 9, 2013, 06:18 PM »
After seeing these in person, I believe I'm in.

Offline Ghost of QG

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #96 on: February 9, 2013, 07:06 PM »
lf I missed the answer I'm sorry, but will these figures come with a figure stand? 6" figures usually need them..

Offline P-Siddy

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #97 on: February 9, 2013, 07:07 PM »
lf I missed the answer I'm sorry, but will these figures come with a figure stand? 6" figures usually need them..

I didn't hear this being asked, but they were not displayed with stands.

Offline Jesse James

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #98 on: February 9, 2013, 08:02 PM »
At the price, they should.

I think they're very pretty but I'm very glad I'm out. :P
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Offline JediJman

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #99 on: February 11, 2013, 12:18 AM »
lf I missed the answer I'm sorry, but will these figures come with a figure stand? 6" figures usually need them..

I have quite a few DC and Marvel 6 inch figures.  Almost all of them stand fine without a stand.  I've only had trouble with some of the women given theirheels/smaller feet.

I'm still on the fence with that price point, but I'll be all over these if I can get them for <$20.
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Offline Pete_Fett

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #100 on: February 11, 2013, 08:16 AM »
Even after seeing the pics, I'm still out.

I started collecting this line when it started in 1995 out of a sense of nostalgia for the line I had as a kid.

I will be incredibly disappointed if there comes a day when 3.75" Black Series/Vintage quality figures end, especially if that means I don't get figures for all of the new movies to go with the collection I've been building since I was a kid.

The hope I have is that this is an example of, once again a toy manufacturer failing to look at failures in the past - both their own and of other companies. While this isn't exactly the same, I'm reminded of the Playmates Star Trek movie line for "Star Trek: First Contact" - Playmates deviated from their 4.5" scale and that line was a huge failure, and they could not right their own ship quickly enough to keep the line going. Sure, Art Asylum took over, changed the scale and produced great sculpts, but that line never sustained the level of success that Playmates saw in the 90s, and even with a popular new movie and Playmates return to the Star Trek toy game, Star Trek toys continued to flounder at retail.

Hasbro tried this scale before - sure, it was with three EP1 characters, and with no where near the level of detail as we're seeing in this new 6" line. But will enough people come on board? And when I say enough, I mean enough to sustain the line. The Hasbro execs say this line is for the "Dad collector" but did it ever occur to them at Dad collectors are collecting because they did as kids themselves or because they've brought their own kids into the 3.75" line and it's something they collect together.

I'm going to bet that this line will not take off like Hasbro is hoping it will. It may not be right away, it may even be after the 3.75" line goes on hiatus for a couple of years. I just don't think that a collector base that does get excited by cantina alien #15, is ever going to get excited or be "all in" on a line that until movies hit will be nothing but 6" versions of characters that have already been done. Based on a lot of the comments in this thread, I think I'm right, very few of you have said they're "all in". Most folks are saying they'll be selective, and if I worked at Hasbro and was hearing that, it would make me nervous - collectors being selective means there's a chance for one figure being DOA at retail which could mean a log jam at distribution.

Maybe I'm wrong, but if I'm right, I just hope the experiment ends quickly before even more damage happens to the 3.75" line.
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Offline BrentS

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #101 on: February 11, 2013, 11:17 AM »
I gave up collecting 3.75" several years ago... my interest wained and it felt like a chore to collect them all.  I didn't have a place to display them so they just sat in tubes in my basement. 

These 6" figures intrigue me.  If its a small line with only a limited number of figures, I could keep up.  The pictures I've seen so far make the figures look pretty amazing.  I may jump into this line.  Especially if the figures actually retail for less than $20.

Offline Darby

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #102 on: February 11, 2013, 07:26 PM »
The 6 inch figures are, not surprisingly, outstanding. The Sandtrooper in particular is outstanding. R2 is probably a future desk ornament for a lot of people. That being said, collecting the new scale has no appeal for me. I have nowhere to put these, and no energy for laying down $20 on these either. I would be interested - I think - in my personal favorites, like the Jawas, Hammerhead, Snowtrooper, but what really interests me is something new. Whether that's new Clone Wars figures or the new movies, just something new.

Offline JediJman

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #103 on: February 12, 2013, 08:24 AM »
A highly articulated line of figures in a new scale doesn't qualify as something new?  Or do you just mean new characters? 

I'd be curious to know how many people would collect this line at a $10 price point.  I would be all in at that price.
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: 6 Inch Figures?
« Reply #104 on: February 12, 2013, 08:34 AM »
$10 would definitely be an attractive price point.  But look at the pricing on other Hasbro 6" figure lines.  Since Hasbro picked up Marvel Legends the price point on those figures has been creeping upward.  $20 seems to be about as high as collectors in this scale seem prepared to go.  Unless, of course, they get something special.
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