399 replies to this topic

[Tortle]

Well, it seems like Hasbro has the Star Wars license for another 15 years, for better or for worse. You can read more at...

Yahoo Finance: Hasbro and Lucas Extend Star Wars License Through 2018

This is great news to Hasbro fans... but not so great news to me. I think the Star Wars action figure line has been stagnant for a long time, with dull figures and rehashed concepts. I'd love to see another company like Mattel have a crack at the license. Hell, Palisades SW toys would rock!

Oh well... it just wasn't meant to be, I guess...

-Nathan

[Rokk]

Good point. 15 more years with the same company. Sometimes change is good. Oh well, I guess the real question is in 15 years how many people will still be going nuts for Star Wars toys?

[ToyMan]

meh- sometimes it's a good idea to stay firmly rooted when you can.

look at the less-than-stellar response the "austin powers" license got when it jumped ship from mcfarlane to art asylum. heck, even mezco's austin powers mez-itz are more exciting.

but yeah, if things keep going like they are, star wars toys will take up less and less shelf space while properties like "lord of the rings", marvel comic's movie toys, and the like will continue to push them further and further towards the bargain bins.

[Tortle]

Ah, good points, Veers. A couple of comments:

1) I can guarantee that Star Wars toys will not be made for the next 15 years. After the next movie, things will definitely drop off, and the action figure line will probably be discontinued about 5 years later. Seriously, who will care about Star Wars in 7 years? I'm sure that even you Veers, the unholy God of Star Wars on this forum, will lose interest after Hasbro remakes every main character in scene-specific poses, and makes every single Imperial Officer, Rebel General, and obscure background alien. Really, there's only so much you can do with this line when there's no new movies, and I think Hasbro will reach that point soon after the last one. Sure, there may be a cartoon... but that's a big "maybe"...

2) Action-features: I'm sure you would think differently about the action features if Hasbro actually made them work well! A few of the features have fun potential, but really fall flat. Hasbro: If you can't get a feature to work, then LEAVE IT OUT! Case in point, magnetic Force hands. The magnets are so weak that they can't pick up the lightsabers well, and they look like crap on the figures because they're usually not painted.

3) I really doubt that the posed sculpts will ever be resolved. Star Wars is basically an exclusively collector toy line, and most collectors want little statues with plastic capes because they really do nothing with them. The vast majority of Star Wars buyers either keep the figures in the package, or take them out of the package and set them on a shelf, never touching them again, so they want the figures to be in a good pose.

Then again, this is really nothing new. Most POTF2 figures and the series after it (meaning 95%) are statues. Sometimes this isn't bad, though, like with Ephont Mon.

Anyway, sorry about ranting... I just want something a little different in the SW line!

-Nathan

[Tortle]

Yeah it's sad, but I guess you can't have a toy line go forever and not expect it to get repetitive. I mean, Star Wars has been going strong for 7 years!

But speaking of repetitive, this is exactly what I mean:

Pit of Carkoon Boba Fett and 300th Edition Boba Fett

Sure, the new Carkoon figure is technically different... it will have quick-draw action, flames to attach to its backpack and gun, and added articulation to its knees and ankles. But come on... it's the EXACT same figure!

-Nathan

[Tortle]

Tortle: Well, they ARE toys... from a certain point of view.

Veers: A certain point of view..?!

Tortle: Veers, you'll find that many things depend on a person's point of view.

Ahem... anyway....

You're right, the collectors will basically buy ANYTHING, regardless of whether or not they like it.

But, despite all my negativity towards the line, I will say that I like the direction Hasbro is taking with accessories. Many of the figures today come with a CRAPLOAD of nice, big accessories. And the price is pretty good, too: down to $5 again. They just have to work some more on the figures.

By the way, the last few Power of the Jedi figures I thought were really nice (Teebo, Bo Shek, etc). But Hasbro hasn't really returned to that quality yet (with the exception of Ephant Mon). If they just release quality figures on the level of those POTJ figs, with extensive accessories that are actually useful... that's a step in the right direction.

-Nathan

[Tortle]

Actually, it's confirmed... the next line will be called, "Saga of the Bear Clan".

I agree with what you're saying about the new packaging and the dumb-arse scene specific figures. But I don't know about your "all the good figures come at the end of the line" statement. I think Hasbro used to release good figures all through the POTF2 line, once they figured out not to make them look like He-man rejects. Bossk was actually early in the POTF2 line (pre-freeze frames). So were the Jawas, Hammerhead, Han Stormtrooper, Leia Boushh... all great figures, in my opinion.

Why? In part because they were fresh and interesting: some of them hadn't been made before, and those that had were drastically different figures than their vintage versions. Star Wars figures are now stale and boring, and I'm really not sure if there's ANYTHING that Hasbro can do about it. Sure, they can upgrade the quality, put more accessories with the figures... but again, it's still the same old crap. So, I retract my last statement, about "steps in the right direction"... Star Wars is hopeless.

Anyway, I suggest you start collecting something else if you don't like Star Wars. I have! I've abandoned it for Ultimate Muscles and Muppets! Yes, Veers... there is life after Star Wars!

-Nathan

[Ridureyu]

I like the monsters.

[Tortle]

Yup, that's the reason why I've basically given up on Star Wars. I thought that the 300th Boba Fett looked great, and was a good improvement on the original. But the newest one is just a rehash... which makes it boring!

Here's a quote from Rebelscum that sums up the Star Wars collector mentality...

Looking back at the previous versions of the character it's clear to see that Hasbro, and the Boba Fett figure, has come a long way since 1996.

Maybe... but really, all the Star Wars figures are pretty much the same now as they were then. The more recent ones may look better, but they have pretty much the same articulation, the same plastic capes, the same vehicles, the same multi-figure pre-posed sets (the Trash Compactor sets are basically the same as the Cinema Scenes)...

For a lot of collectors, that's not bad. But I'm just bored with the line. Something different and new is needed to get my interest back.

What do I mean by "different and new"? Well, for example, one of the reasons I love the new Ultimate Muscle toys is because they are different from old MUSCLEs. They have different proportions, different colors, etc... If they were all the same as the original MUSCLEs, I wouldn't like them as much because I've completely explored that concept. The same is true for the new Ninja Turtles: they have a different feel than the old figures. The new Star Wars toys seem like the same ol' crap Hasbro's been feeding us for the past seven years. That's all I gotta say 'bout that...

-Nathan

[Tortle]

That cracks me up!

I'll beat on a dead horse, too... Here are the concepts that have been rehashed over and over again, but are essentially the same...

-Cinema Scenes = Trash Compactor Scenes and 25th Anniversary Sets

-Epic Force = Unleashed

-Episode I Accessory Sets = Target Accessory sets (but hey, these come with a rehashed figure so it's different)

-Speeder Bike with Biker Scout = Speeder Bike with Luke = Speeder Bike with Leia = Speeder Bike with Clone Trooper

-Boring, pre-posed figures = Boring, pre-posed figures with action features that don't work

-Rehashed vehicles made from vintage molds and given neato paint jobs = Rehashed vehicles made from vintage molds and given neato paint jobs, but are exclusives so they're impossible to find

-Beast Assortments with crappy beasts that have cheap, stiff plastic and dumb action features = Beast Assortments with crappy beasts that have cheap, stiff plastic and dumb action features (some things never change at all, I guess)



-Nathan

[arforbes]

I wish I could stop beating this dead horse, but look at this...

http://www.rebelscum...troopercomp.jpg

It is the 3 "versions" of the Rebel Fleet Trooper. 3 VERSIONS?! How about this for an idea Hasbro.

1 = White Guy
2 = Black Guy
3 = Alien

To me that is 3 versions, just changing the hair color doesn't cut it. Although I did like the clean shave/beard versions of the Endor Rebel Trooper.

Those look exactly the same...which was your point, I'm assuming! How can they call those different versions???

[Adamantiumwulf]

They are going to have a dead bruised horse, soon there will be nothing left to beat.

Did they ever come out with a 3D puzzle slave I?

before it is over star wars toys are going to be a big joke and everyone who collects them whill have to go into hideing (big exaggeration but you get the point).

[Tortle]

Wouldn't people rather have inexpensive X-wings and TIE fighters?

I wouldn't, because that would just be a rehash of old toys. The X-Wing, for example has had five "versions"...

-Vintage White
-Vintage Battle Damaged
-POTF2
-Electronic
-Dagobah

The TIE Fighter is no better. Releasing another version of each would just be doing the same old thing...

BUT, Hasbro could change the concept to make it exciting! For example, they could make an X-Wing and TIE Fighter that could come with different interchangable parts. The TIE Fighter would come with different wings, extra cannons, etc., and ditto for the X-Wing. You could customize your own ship! The parts could even interchange between the ships, so the X-Wing could have TIE Fighter wings. Sure, it's weird, but it's different and fun! But that goes against the entire Star Wars methodology....

SLAP! Squish...

Oops... the horse is getting a bit mushy from all our beatings...

-Nathan

[Ridureyu]

I did a small assignemt for my Economics class on this.


Ha!!