SDCC 2017

[Jeff]

I know people are excited about TVC 2.0, but I'm reserved.  There wasn't anything new on that list except Aphra and the Tank Pilot.

Well, they had one slide that promised five NEW figures(which they couldn't show; probably TLJ based).  If you include that, you're at about 50% new/old - which is pretty much close to the mix Walmart SA stuff was running.

The worry about too much repack causing distribution problems is real though, no argument there.  Totally outside our control though. Hopefully they are paying enough attention again... 

I am sooooo glad they've chosen to spend more time with TFA and Rogue One figures/vehicles.

Me too. Nice to see they won't be 'one and done' or anything.  Will be nice if they can keep mixing older stuff as new movies are cranked out.

[Jesse James]

Cassian Andor if you're 90% of the country. 

I'm into rebuying the figures.  TVC cards for them, that'll be nice.  No argument here on repacks and stuff, but hey, tough to complain about the line IMO.  I just hope they're reserved with stuff, and we are able to get the cool stuff.  Supposedly said they're wanting to work with fans on this, and that bodes well.  Hoth Rebel will sell well I think.  Never saw a carded release, and even the TLC one that did was difficult to find, and that's putting it kindly.

I think they are going to do ok with this stuff.

[Darby]

I understand the concern with some of the repacks but these will all sell. Rey is Rey and she'll be essential for this collection. Kylo and the Trooper never sit. The RO figures never got any serious distribution. I've never seen Cassian or the Shore Trooper and Jyn and the Death Trooper only once or twice, before Christmas. I was surprised at first by the Hoth Rebel, but didn't realize this is the running change. Completely forgot about that. I wonder if that opens the door to the second Utai.

[CorranHorn]

I understand the concern with some of the repacks but these will all sell. Rey is Rey and she'll be essential for this collection. Kylo and the Trooper never sit. The RO figures never got any serious distribution. I've never seen Cassian or the Shore Trooper and Jyn and the Death Trooper only once or twice, before Christmas. I was surprised at first by the Hoth Rebel, but didn't realize this is the running change. Completely forgot about that. I wonder if that opens the door to the second Utai.

Indeed these choices on their own are good calls. My concern would be that they are going to be in the first wave, which as we all know will be over produced. So if they clog up the system with repacks to start, it could doom the line before it has a real chance.




JJ - look he has a holster!!! 

[GrandMoffNick]

Darby, you're more optimistic than me. Great for those who still need the repacks.  Suckers like me who have the figs but can't resist the vintage cards will buy them. But the openers who already have them won't buy them.

I knew there would be repacks. Having some of the characters on vintage cards will be cool. But the unrealistic me hoped for more brand new stuff

[McMetal]

colors don't look right on that RFT...

[Darby]

Darby, you're more optimistic than me.

I try to be. It's hard given the state of things and the general negativity in the hobby, but I figure, it's as fun as I want it to be. I think the early going will be very good for TVC. We're not seeing the whole picture and like Jeff says there are at least 5 figs from TLJ apparently we're not seeing. Old Man Luke and Jedi Rey are almost certainly two of them. So long as there is a healthy dose of new, I'm all for it.

[Nicklab]

A great set of reveals for the 6" Black Series.  Although the PT seems to be given somewhat short shrift.  I get that some of it is market driven, but I also got a sense of some disdain for the PT among the Hasbro Star Wars team during the panel.

Glad to see Rex get recognized.  I wonder why they went with the phase 2 armor over phase 1, but then it may be because the PT Jedi that have been offered would be more likely to interact with Rex in that phase 2 armor.

As for current entertainment offerings?  We've known about Hera for a while.  But it would be good to see Ezra recognized from REBELS, too.  TFA Leia got recognized which is overdue, too.  But it seems odd that they're already moving on from ROGUE ONE, and Bodhi has yet to be done in the 6" figure line.  SWAN asked about this during their interview with Hasbro, and I take it that Hasbro is just holding off on Bodhi for now.

The Rebel Fleet Trooper is pretty sweet.  The portrait is clearly a nod to Pello Scrambas from ANH.  But after watching Vader cut through those RFT's during the end of ROGUE ONE?  This is going to be a hot figure!

I've got some mixed feelings about the Jaina Solo.  I get that there were some loyal fans of the NJO.  But I feel like LFL has moved on from that storyline, and the character is lacking in relevance in the new canon era.  Still, the figure looks cool and incorporates some interesting elements.

The Dewback and Sandtrooper seem like pretty low hanging fruit in terms of something that would go over well in the deluxe figure assortment while also ticking off another item with Imperial troop builders.  What else can we do in this assortment?  I look to some of the ROTS era Clone Troopers with their speeder bikes.  That could be an interesting option, like Commander Neyo with the BARC Speeder.

I also recognize that we haven't seen everything for the fall.  Hasbro seems to have some sort of PR arrangements with some publications where I think they'll make some announcements ahead of Force Friday.  Between Entertainment Weekly, Nerdist and USA Today (which seem to be some of their favorite outlets) I think we may get some more reveals in the next few weeks.

But then there's the exclusives.  I had asked someone for help with Thrawn at SDCC, but that didn't happen.  Now I hear that the SDCC exclusives being made available online has been pushed back to a date in September TBD.  And I'm also hearing that the SDCC exclusives will also be available at HASCON in September.  This deal is getting better all the time!

[Jeff]

Now I hear that the SDCC exclusives being made available online has been pushed back to a date in September TBD.  And I'm also hearing that the SDCC exclusives will also be available at HASCON in September.  This deal is getting better all the time!

Since HASCON is Sept 8-10, I guess it makes sense to push back the online orders until after that if you're planning to sell the SDCC stuff at HASCON too.  At the least it gives folks yet another chance to get them, I guess.

[Nicklab]

I actually have some family close to the HASCON venue.  And my kid might enjoy some of the other Hasbro licenses, so we're talking about the possibility of going.  It's driving distance for us, which helps.

[Darby]

Not sure where to put this, but JTA had a pretty good Q&A with Hasbro today. Very unusual for them. Almost like someone else was asking the questions.  Anyways, the highlights for me:

Bistan and Fenn Rau probably in 2018 - at least they're coming.

Possible Greatest Hits type line for older 6 inch figs people missed, probably next year. Gray Hair Han still on tap.

Scarif stormtrooper not in TVC initially, but probably later. They chose Death Trooper over him.

Will probably see a 3.75 version of the 40th Anniversary 6 inch Vader, and a SA version of the 5 POA RO Stormtrooper. Given their reactions, I'd say these two are probably already in the works.

Jabba's Palace, Cantina and finishing the 92 were reasons they went back to vintage. Yakface / Sim Aloo seem to be a lock.

Cardboard playsets seems like it could return given the reaction to the question.

TVC $ - between 10 and 15, which means 12.99. 15 or so figures for the first year. Hopefully grow it. I feel this is super conservative, but interested to see other people's reactions. Given all the interests this line is serving, 15 feels small.

[Brian]

One of the better convention showings they have had in the last few years. Still the lockdown on Last Jedi reveals, which seems silly, but not unexpected. Lots of good Black Series reveals between Leia, Maz, RFT, Reys, Rex, and Dewback. Cool stuff. Personally very happy to see the return of the beasties, always one of my favorite parts of the movies/line. Hope it continues.

The 3 3/4" stuff looked good too. Some small improvements in articulation in spots too. I don't have a problem with the 5 POA, but I have a little trouble getting too excited about redos of figures I already have better versions of. Previously I had picked up all the 5 POA OT characters but I'm wondering if I should continue that or not. The Luke/Leia/Han/etc. group looks nice, but with less and less display room do I really need to buy 5 POA figures just to store them?

Still excited for the vintage return as well. Just watched the Q and A Darby mentioned and saw the info about price and numbers. I'm not sure of the "sweet spot". At first 15 didn't sound too bad. We used to get about a dozen a year in the VOTC days, and even the very early POTF2 days....but seeing a lot of the reissues they have planned, that might eat up those spots quickly. Honestly, I think a 12-24 range is fine with me....as long as there isn't more than half of those being repacks. Makes it easier to keep up without going broke. And the fact that they are doing vehicles in this line (the tank looks amazing) is the cherry on top.

[Nicklab]

Cardboard playsets seems like it could return given the reaction to the question.

It seems like something may have shifted in Hasbro's approach.  I think after two years of dumbing things down in an effort to maximize profits, perhaps they got a clearer picture of what the customer base wants?

One thing in another Hasbro property got me thinking:  the GI Joe Cobra Missile Base playset that they just re-offered as an exclusive.  So will the interest in a low-cost item like that change their thinking? 

Or are they looking at what some third parties are doing?  I think that might be shifting their thinking, too.  Because the Hasbro guys spent A LOT of time during their panel talking about building the diorama that was on display in their booth.  And some of it bears a striking resemblance to a very popular 3rd party diorama item that's been the topic of discussion here. 

[Darby]

One thing in another Hasbro property got me thinking:  the GI Joe Cobra Missile Base playset that they just re-offered as an exclusive.  So will the interest in a low-cost item like that change their thinking? 

This is a really good point. And I do think there has been a substantial shift in their approach. A lot of it I think is Steve Evans, who has been very vocal on wanting things that then come to pass in the next cycle - creatures, TVC, and perhaps next playsets. I think he's more a fan with a fondness for the classic play pattern than we've had in the lead spot for a while. Certainly since DePriest.

Evans also cited consumer feedback on the creatures and underlines the need for fan dialogue and conversation on TVC and elsewhere constantly. The marketplace is too scattered and cluttered to ignore the base you're trying to sell to, so this is a good sign.

[Nicklab]

Yeah.  Steve Evans seems to get it.  I was very impressed with what he had to say during his interview with SWAN.  And he seems to have a lot of the collector mindset in his mind, much like Derryl DePriest did.  Hell, he mentioned Yakface unsolicited at about 7:05 into this interview when being asked about the 3.75" Vintage Collection.