34 replies to this topic

[resfirma]

Entertainment Earth has cancelled the S.L.U.G. Zombies series 5 and beyond. Damn.

[jason76basin]

well i'm sure jakks will make a release about it, they've been so prompt on all the other information on the line



oh wait, nevermind

[ironmask]

Good riddance.
Maybe Jakks will shift their focus to unreliably releasing another toy line of pop icon parodies... Maybe ones WITHOUT pigeon toes, this time?

Although, I know I have always wanted a Rambo with an eyepatch...

[PlasticSoul]

I was happy with the quite a bit of the line personally. Mike Biteson is one of my favorite mini guys ever. The zombie superman was awesome too. Sadly they did end up really redundant and kind of boring. I was hoping it would be lots of different styles of somewhat similar figures but i guess when one sculptor is responsible for an entire line it will most likely end up with figures too similar for my liking(coughomfgcough).

My only concern is that this failure may sway other big companies away from trying similar things themselves.

[bigburty]

Oh we'll, at least this means I'll only ever need series 2 & 4 for a full set

[ironmask]

I was happy with the quite a bit of the line personally. Mike Biteson is one of my favorite mini guys ever. The zombie superman was awesome too. Sadly they did end up really redundant and kind of boring. I was hoping it would be lots of different styles of somewhat similar figures but i guess when one sculptor is responsible for an entire line it will most likely end up with figures too similar for my liking(coughomfgcough).

My only concern is that this failure may sway other big companies away from trying similar things themselves.

I liked Tyson,, Andre, and the dog a lot... But the rest of the line was really piss-weak, imo.

[TNT138]

Lame.

again, I liked this line and supported it mostly for the potential the Aliens and Monsters lines had.

[Stratos]

I enjoyed collecting them and will need to track down Series 1 at a reasonable price.

[fkro6784]

I will be sad to see it go. It's not that I found it the most exciting line--the sculpts did tend to get samey--but there were definitely some cool ones and I really liked being able to collect a monochromatic, monster-based mini figure line from a major toy company again. As PlasticSoul said, I don't like what it could mean for the willingness of companies to take a shot at similar lines in the future.

[bigburty]

I enjoyed collecting them and will need to track down Series 1 at a reasonable price.

[ironmask]

I will be sad to see it go. It's not that I found it the most exciting line--the sculpts did tend to get samey--but there were definitely some cool ones and I really liked being able to collect a monochromatic, monster-based mini figure line from a major toy company again. As PlasticSoul said, I don't like what it could mean for the willingness of companies to take a shot at similar lines in the future.

I just hope that other companies see that the line was grossly mismanaged, and realize that it was a shit-tin of logistical errors, and not a problem with "mini figures".
You give people a bunch of "samey" toys, in lazy assortments, ship them late, and expect it to turn out well?
Hint: It's not going to go well.

Shame, as I was really hoping to get the monster line.

[Skullking]

If it hadn't been zombie related, I would have been all over these guys. Hopefully a new 'non-zombie' line can rise from its ashes.

My condolences to all you guys who enjoyed this line, it was cool to see true LRG's being sold in big retail again.

[jkaris]

That pic made be laugh out loud, Burty, thanks!

It does suck that we won't be seeing any more. One can only hope that the Series 5 figures that were produced end up on the market somehow.

[McCTXToys]

So does that mean my sealed series 1 set is made of gold now?

That really stinks though. There are some really cool sculpts left on that poster!

[iwao]

Disappointing, but it saves me $147 in EE pre-orders. EE hasn't cancelled my orders yet, but I'm assuming they will soon.

Decayin' Dom is still my favorite, but I liked most of the figures. They are still the toy that my 3 year-old plays with more than anything else. I was looking forward to getting him some new ones.

[redjarojam]

That is a bit disappointing. I am glad I got a Mick Dundee figure before the line imploded. One childhood dream realized.

[resfirma]

So I’m 52 and the only mini figures I had as a child were green army men. And I LOVED them. A few years back my daughter fell in love with Handful of Heroes, so I helped her collect all of them in every variation. In fact… we went a little overboard. But we really enjoyed that line. Great bonding time!

Then… very late in the game we discovered the S.L.U.G. Zombies. With all due respect to the folks in the forum who have forgotten more about this hobby than I have learned, but I would LOVE to know about any other line of mini figures that could compete with this one for the thought and creativity that obviously went into it. Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly agree with Ironmask in his assessment of the Jakks jacked-up management of the line. I am definitely not a fan and I will work hard not patronize the company if I can help it. But I think the creativity of this toy line is outstanding. Here’s a few reasons why:

Some of you may not be a fan of the pop icon parodies, but it takes a lot of thought to make a toy line that little kids enjoy and adults can laugh at as well. I've gotten these things out at parties and adults, once they get the possibility of pop culture references, start laughing and passing them around and start spouting pop culture trivia. I don’t know what other LRG toy line that could pull that off. I also like that there are multiple references within each figure and legend has it that they used people that work at the company as references as well. That’s cool, in my view.

It may well be that a lot of you do not go in for the whole zombie apocalypse craze, but obviously many do. Apocalyptic art is important, especially if you are awake enough to know that we are all “living on the edge.â€￾ However, I also LOVE black comedy and some of the best is found in zombie films. Seriously, how could you pass up the Jay Leno or Burt Reynolds head shot in Dawn of the Dead? Or just about any scene with Woody Harrelson in Zombieland?
So help me out here. What other existing LRG toy lines can compete with this one for creativity, detail, accessibility to all ages and just plain fun?

I’m not trolling here. I know about OMFG and I’m mildly amused. But the MUSCLE line (and I know these were cherished toys for a lot of you... so sorry) just seems boring. I think I’m going to collect the Monster in My Pocket line, but it really doesn't compare to the details of SLUG in my opinion (I realize the technology is better today), although its extensive mythological and movie references took some work. Am I missing something? What else is out there?

Okay. School me. I’m not too old…

[jason76basin]

i'm totally with you sir, love the parody of old 80s things. that's one of the reasons i was such a huge fan of the line. i'm not tooooo old at 37 years old but i can't give you a "young man's" opinion

[ironmask]

See, I guess I am of the opposite school of thought. 

I see the parody figures, and think "That's cute," but the novelty then wears off, and you're left with an old gag in plastic form. It's a harder pill to swallow, when you have to buy at least two other figures, sometimes 10-11, to get one figure that resonates with you. The only figure I wanted from the unreleased waves was the Popeye zombie and I would have had to buy at least two other figures that I was not at all amused by. 

Now, MUSCLE does not at all rise head and shoulders above that point of argument... You'll certainly get figures that you just don't care about with them, too... But there was always something about the aesthetic of them that screamed "badass" to me, thus giving them much more replay value (at least, in my house). 

MIMP are certainly cool, too. There are ones that I like more than others, but as a line, are well done. 

[resfirma]

See, I guess I am of the opposite school of thought. 

I see the parody figures, and think "That's cute," but the novelty then wears off, and you're left with an old gag in plastic form. It's a harder pill to swallow, when you have to buy at least two other figures, sometimes 10-11, to get one figure that resonates with you. The only figure I wanted from the unreleased waves was the Popeye zombie and I would have had to buy at least two other figures that I was not at all amused by. 

Now, MUSCLE does not at all rise head and shoulders above that point of argument... You'll certainly get figures that you just don't care about with them, too... But there was always something about the aesthetic of them that screamed "badass" to me, thus giving them much more replay value (at least, in my house). 

MIMP are certainly cool, too. There are ones that I like more than others, but as a line, are well done. 

 

Thanks for taking the time to post. I think all of your points are well made.  Your point about replay is something I hadn't thought about.

 

I've taken some time to read some more about the MUSCLE line and I was not aware of its Manga connections or that there were cartoons and movies.  And of course, MUSCLE seems to be the foundation on which almost all of these lines rest.

 

The really saddest part of this story is the Jakks mismanagement.  So poorly planned, executed, and marketed.  I really do hope it doesn't discourage future efforts.  Although I think eventually 3D printing and scanning will be so accurate and inexpensive that anyone will be able to mass produce a sculpt.

 

Thanks, again.  I'll continue to follow your blog and your line as well.

[ironmask]

Thanks for taking the time to post. I think all of your points are well made.  Your point about replay is something I hadn't thought about.

 

I've taken some time to read some more about the MUSCLE line and I was not aware of its Manga connections or that there were cartoons and movies.  And of course, MUSCLE seems to be the foundation on which almost all of these lines rest.

 

The really saddest part of this story is the Jakks mismanagement.  So poorly planned, executed, and marketed.  I really do hope it doesn't discourage future efforts.  Although I think eventually 3D printing and scanning will be so accurate and inexpensive that anyone will be able to mass produce a sculpt.

 

Thanks, again.  I'll continue to follow your blog and your line as well.

 

Hey, thanks! 

I don't think there is any one correct answer to this dilemma... there is no accounting for taste, and my taste usually flows  directly from my love of comic book villains and professional wrestling. I can certainly see the merits of collecting toys for novelty (GoV anyone?), that is just usually not the impetus that I follow. I appreciate that you posed a subjective, yet polite, argument,  as opposed to some of the more base line-trolling that we've seen. 

 

Allow me to also reiterate, that I am bummed that this probably means we won't be getting the monster line, which I was the most looking forward to. 

 

As for mass producing sculpts... Yeah. I am crossing my fingers, haha

[walker13.1]

I just hope that other companies see that the line was grossly mismanaged, and realize that it was a shit-tin of logistical errors, and not a problem with "mini figures".
You give people a bunch of "samey" toys, in lazy assortments, ship them late, and expect it to turn out well?
Hint: It's not going to go well.

Shame, as I was really hoping to get the monster line.

It sucks that this line got the cancelled, but I agree with Ironmask.  Some of the things they did were just dumb. 

 

1.  Create a case (that was never released) that had I think 64 spots for figures out of the 100 or so figures that were scheduled to be released.

2.  Make people buy multiple figures, by only putting one figure that is different from the 12 pack in each three pack.  That is a good way to piss people off.

[DrBo]

i'm totally with you sir, love the parody of old 80s things. that's one of the reasons i was such a huge fan of the line. i'm not tooooo old at 37 years old but i can't give you a "young man's" opinion

 

To shame, I really liked that line as well.

 

I liked the pop culture reference but thought it worked on both levels; if you got it it was all the more fun, if not, if if it whore off, it was still a funny looking zombie and undead slayer.

 

M.U.S.C.L.E. had plenty of nod to the comics of real life wrestler, but got it or not, it was weird little wrestler and that was fun; I think it was the same her, but with silly zombies and humans fighting them.

 

The recurring theme, I give that to the detractor, indeed had me just chasing my favorite figure; and the end if a had a bunch of zombie and a handful of human that looked right; I found no need to chase and collect to whole line (with all the double involved, more so - even if I ended up with a few).

[resfirma]

How to explain Jakks' ineptitude?

 

My guess is that, like many companies, they run by the near-term quarterly profitability numbers.  They don't have a strong strategic maturity.  They don't really understand their customer base.

 

For example, who did Jakks foresee would be the customer base for S.L.U.G. Zombies? Where they marketing to children? Nostalgic MUSCLE collectors? Walking Dead fans? The millions of people obsessed with zombie apocalypse strategies? People who like pop culture parodies? People who see the zombie craze as in indication that we are all 'walking dead'? All of those groups?

 

What was the marketing strategy to target and penetrate all these customer bases?  What was the total cost of ownership of producing the line?  How much product did they need to sell to be profitable? 

 

Having worked in large companies for most of my life, often there is only political support for a product/service and not much strategic thinking.  I would love to have seen the product / business plan for this line (if there was one).  It's possible, that someone said, Hey, what can we do to get on the zombie band wagon?  And somebody had the S.L.U.G. idea.  Or somebody said we should remake MUSCLE.  We'll do zombies, monsters, and aliens!  

 

It could be that they thought through all of this, but then had poor execution.  Manufacturing delays, cost overruns, etc.  Or the company just could have had financial problems and the S.L.U.G. line was deemed too low of a priority (not enough profit?) to continue.  I've seen lots of great ideas get cut over the years simply because they didn't make the perceived priority list of what the organization thinks it can get done. I've also seen big ego senior leaders go sour on an idea and kill it simply because they don't like it.  Who knows?

 

Let me give you a real world example. My company once had a couple people who wanted to create an electronic payment product/service for the Internet.  The senior exec old heads didn't think it had the chance to be profitable.  The people left the company and started PayPal. The rest is history.  Still, to this day, people in my company don't like to talk about PayPal's success.  It could have been ours.

[resfirma]

Hey, thanks! 

I don't think there is any one correct answer to this dilemma... there is no accounting for taste, and my taste usually flows  directly from my love of comic book villains and professional wrestling. I can certainly see the merits of collecting toys for novelty (GoV anyone?), that is just usually not the impetus that I follow. I appreciate that you posed a subjective, yet polite, argument,  as opposed to some of the more base line-trolling that we've seen. 

 

Allow me to also reiterate, that I am bummed that this probably means we won't be getting the monster line, which I was the most looking forward to. 

 

As for mass producing sculpts... Yeah. I am crossing my fingers, haha

 

Thank you!  I think your are a thoughtful, talented guy.  Much respect.

 

Couple of questions:

 

As a REAL martial artist, are you really a pro wrestling fan?  And I do consider you one of the REAL martial artists.  As a formal high school and AAU wrestler, although I respect pro wrestling athleticism, I hate that people don't see it as entertainment and not REAL martial arts.  MMA is REAL martial arts.  Maybe the most REAL martial arts competitive sport ever.

 

Also, as someone who clearly understands that Hulk is a hero, and the STRONGEST THERE IS, you don't see him as a comic book villain do you?  

 

Okay... the first question is more serious than the second... 

 

Thanks!  Again, much respect.