This Week In Your Plastic Crack, Action Figures and Toy Collection 26 26

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 12/4/2023 at 8:54 AM, fantastic_four said:

Blob is a candidate for top 10 Marvel Legends of 2023.  Love that figure!

Wouldn't exactly call him classic since Blob was more human-sized for his first few decades at 5' 10" but just drawn to be morbidly obese; even Byrne drew him around that size when he added him to the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the 1980s as shown in the pic below where he's shorter than Pyro.  Eventually artists did what they always tend to do with size-based characters and just kept making him bigger and bigger, eventually exceeding 7 feet in height.  This new Blob figure is huge in both girth and stature like the modern versions.

80's is around the time I would have known him in comics, so that makes sense. As a kid I might have known he was an older character but also might have thought that he was a throwaway. Until I read a few issues with him, forget the issue #'s or I'd post the covers, but he had some usefulness in the evil mutants category for sure. I mainly remember the blue wrestling costume.  

Edited December 4, 2023 by ADAMANTIUM

[F For Fake]

Finally got all of the NECA Universal Monsters accessory sets assembled. These things are gorgeous, and really make the figures sing. I wish they'd make more, but seeing as how they haven't solicited any beyond these three, it seems unlikely. I would have to assume they weren't huge sellers, $40 packs that don't even include a figure, but man do they make for a nice display.

The Mummy may be my favorite. The Sarcophagus is thick, heavy, and the paint apps are amazing. The Lugosi Dracula is probably the best figure overall, but his coffin is much flimsier than the Mummy's tomb. And while that table for Frank is lovely, it is a HUGE pain in the butt to assemble. I spent the whole time sweating bullets as I was sure I was going to break it. Super thing pieces having to fit into super tight holes, just a real piece of work. But once it's done, it's really nice!

I'm comfortable saying this is the best figure line the classic monsters have ever had. Sideshow did great work some time ago, and I will always adore the Remco monsters of my childhood, but the sculpts, accessories and packaging really set NECA's line far above anything else we've seen to date. 

[fantastic_four]

On 12/4/2023 at 1:36 PM, F For Fake said:

The Mummy may be my favorite. The Sarcophagus is thick, heavy, and the paint apps are amazing.

I bought the sarcophagus alone and I agree, it's great.  Mostly bought it for Egyptian decor in scenes with other characters that makes sense for such as Indiana Jones, Apocalypse, Khonshu, Moon Knight, Shadow King, etc.

[F For Fake]

On 12/5/2023 at 8:29 AM, fantastic_four said:

I bought the sarcophagus alone and I agree, it's great.  Mostly bought it for Egyptian decor in scenes with other characters that makes sense for such as Indiana Jones, Apocalypse, Khonshu, Moon Knight, Shadow King, etc.

That's a great idea, it could definitely be applied to SO many different kinds of displays. 

[F For Fake]

Though I'm making myself wait until Xmas to open up the avalanche of Classified figures I've picked up lately, I decided to go ahead and open up these Super 7 Ultimates 2001: A Space Odyssey figures. I'd had my eye on these for a while, but had read middling reviews. When they went on clearance at BBTS for $110 for the set of 4, I went ahead and picked them up. It's a mixed bag with very high highs, and fairly low lows.

First, the bad: The spacesuit body used for Dave, Frank, and Dr. Floyd, are identical; they are very lightweight, kinda chintzy feeling. There are paint apps on the molded accessories on the suit, and on the cuffs, etc but otherwise the figures are molded in the colored plastic instead of painted, and the whole thing has the vibe of something like a Playskool kids toy. I'm assuming they didn't have likeness rights, because these definitely don't look like Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood. If they DID have likeness rights...oof, swing and a miss. I tried swapping the head on Heywood Floyd, and it was a real task. The entire ball joint popped out with the head, and now I can't get it back out to put it back in the body. Going to have to heat it up, which is annoying.

Now, the good: For one, I'm just tickled that these exist at all. It's the sort of thing I would have wished for as a kid, but never actually thought would stand a chance of being produced. So, that's a huge plus. Secondly,  the packaging is GORGEOUS. The long, tall monolith-esque black boxes, the OBI strips, very minimalist and classy. Once opened, the figures look great against the backgrounds in the inner tray. So yes,the packaging alone makes for a striking display piece, which really is one of Super 7's strengths, so no big surprise there. Also on the plus side, Dave comes with several fun accessories, including the green helmet he uses for re-entry to the Discovery, a small HAL 9000 console (not sure where I'm going to put that), and even his sketchpad. That's all very cool. And Moonwatcher is the real star, as he comes with an ENORMOUS monolith, and several bones and hands, makes for a nice display.

So, at the clearance price I'm satisfied, mostly just for the novelty of these things being real. But if I'd paid the original retail of nearly $60 each, I doubt I'd be as enthusiastic. And really, the only reason to pick up Dr. Floyd or Frank Poole would be to round out the set, as individual figures they are kinda cheap and disappointing. Moonwatcher is a great display set, and Dave at least comes with several accessories, so they feel like better values, though still nowhere near worth the asking price. At something like NECA pricing of $35-$40, these would be a little easier to justify.

[Jayman]

Dave…Dave…I think you should calm down and take a stress pill. These figures are fantastic! Thank you for posting them Dave.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer doooo….

[Cat]

I got a Mezco One:12 Cockrum Cyclops on clearance from BBTS half price for $50. It wasn't quite good enough for me to buy in at full price, but for 50% off I couldn't resist. It's with my American friend and I can't wait to receive it. No way it'll be as nice as their Dr Fate though. He was an absolute banger. 

[ADAMANTIUM]

Cross posting because I thought I posted here to begin with, but I'll add to it.

Messaged my friend about the same and he went off to get 2 as well! Like putting needs in a barrel.

Lol

Tiger Electronics!? That's a name from the past! They and GameStop are probably saying suchkah right now due to all us 40 year olds haha.

Unless these have been rereleased for a while? It's the first I've noticed...

Anyone know?

$20 a piece?   seems like that's what they cost way back in the 80's too  or was it $5 

 

I owned Double Dragon as a kid and beat it. Getting parents to buy it was like pulling teeth, that is all I remember, so maybe that's why I was flummoxed... 

[Buzzetta]

Trouble over at Hasbro... 

More than believed. 

Given the glut of product that made its way to discount retailers and in the volume that we saw online, this further solidifies my belief that production numbers for at least fall of 2024 waves will be produced in smaller amounts or that the product is about to become less creative or worth taking the risks.  I see more reusing of parts, repaints, gimmicks and things like that to throw product out there that cuts costs.   

 

https://apnews.com/article/hasbro-job-cuts-toys-pandemic-4917d94e34e142cc19d4c765b1a85993

Quote

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Toy maker Hasbro said Monday it is cutting about 1,100 jobs, or 20% of its workforce, as the malaise in the toy business extends through another holiday shopping season.

The nearly century-old Rhode Island-based company behind Monopoly, Play-Doh and My Little Pony toys disclosed the layoffs in a memo to employees published in a regulatory filing. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

The company said that the reductions are on top of 800 job cuts that have been taken so far in 2023 as part of moves announced last year to save up to $300 million annually by 2025. As of year-end 2022, the company said it had 6,490 employees.

Like many toy companies, Hasbro is struggling with a slowdown in sales after a surge during pandemic lockdowns when parents were splurging on toys to keep their children busy. Last holiday season, many toy companies had to slash prices to get rid of merchandise due to weak demand. And the challenges have continued. Toy sales in the U.S. were down 8% from January through August, based on Circana’s most recent data.

“The market headwinds we anticipated have proven to be stronger and more persistent than planned,” Hasbro CEO Chris wrote in the memo. “While we have made some important progress across our organization, the headwinds we saw through the first nine months of the year have continued into holiday and are likely to persist into 2024.”

had said the toymaker will “focus on fewer, bigger brands; gaming; digital; and our rapidly growing direct to consumer and licensing businesses.”

Shares in Hasbro Inc. fell almost 6% in after-market trading Monday.

 

 

[F For Fake]

On 12/11/2023 at 8:38 PM, Buzzetta said:

Trouble over at Hasbro... 

More than believed. 

Given the glut of product that made its way to discount retailers and in the volume that we saw online, this further solidifies my belief that production numbers for at least fall of 2024 waves will be produced in smaller amounts or that the product is about to become less creative or worth taking the risks.  I see more reusing of parts, repaints, gimmicks and things like that to throw product out there that cuts costs.   

 

https://apnews.com/article/hasbro-job-cuts-toys-pandemic-4917d94e34e142cc19d4c765b1a85993

 

I think you're very likely correct, there will have to be belt-tightening. I don't think the evergreen lines like Transformers, G.I. Joe and Marvel Legends are going away, but we may see much of the focus shifted to Hasbro Pulse, fan channel, and other DTC distro methods. I know everyone (including me!) gets excited every year when formerly impossible to find Transformers exclusives start showing up at Ollies/Ross/etc, but that can't be a sign of health overall, right? I mean, it's been at least three or four years now that if you were willing to wait a bit, you could find pretty much any Transformers item on clearance, or at a discounter, by the holidays. There would be a couple here and there that may sell out and increase in value, but for the most part the stuff would end up steeply discounted somewhere, you just had to be willing to wait, and hunt. But good news for hunters can't be great news for the company. Those $30 toys clearancing out at $7 aren't going to make anyone much money, other than scalpers.

Although I'm sure post-pandemic economic slowdown is a huge contributing factor, I also have to think that at least some of the sales slump is due to lack of interest in the products themselves. Is it a coincidence that the Marvel Legends waves we find clogging up the clearance racks are Eternals, Shang Chi, Black Panther 2, Thor Love and Thunder, The Marvels and Ant-Man related? To be 100% clear, I'm not an anti-Marvel, anti-whatever type guy, I don't care about the movies one way or another, and I am not one of those neckbeards who cries because Marvel put girls in their movies. But the general perception I have is that the fanboys who normally gobble up these toys didn't really seem to like those movies, and were pretty vocal about it, to the tune of declining box office grosses, and thusly, declining toy sales. Hasbro produced World of Wakanda product like the movie would be able to possibly match the lightning in a bottle success of the first Black Panther film. With Chadwick Boseman gone, that just wasn't going to happen. That was a one in a lifetime cultural explosion, impossible to replicate, and now Shuri Copters will haunt the landfills until the end of time.

We will be buried beneath an avalanche of Snake Eyes: Origins figures until the heat death of the universe, not because G.I. Joe sucks, but because no one watched that movie, and the people that did watch it, didn't seem to like it that much. 

And while Transformers aren't going anywhere, there's no getting around the relatively poor performance of Rise of the Beasts, which means Primal and co will be clogging up shelves for a minute.

So, I do feel like a big factor that they're not really discussing is that the fanbase that pushed these lines to greater heights is either aging out, or just not really that interested in the product itself. Pop culture is cyclical, and the ancillary products will suffer as a result.

(That being said, GI Joe Classified is absolutely KILLING it these days, so I hope they keep pushing it.)

[whisp]

This was a why not moment and bought it lol.

[Namtak]

On 12/11/2023 at 6:38 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Cross posting because I thought I posted here to begin with, but I'll add to it.

Messaged my friend about the same and he went off to get 2 as well! Like putting needs in a barrel.

Lol

Tiger Electronics!? That's a name from the past! They and GameStop are probably saying suchkah right now due to all us 40 year olds haha.

Unless these have been rereleased for a while? It's the first I've noticed...

Anyone know?

$20 a piece?   seems like that's what they cost way back in the 80's too  or was it $5 

 

I owned Double Dragon as a kid and beat it. Getting parents to buy it was like pulling teeth, that is all I remember, so maybe that's why I was flummoxed... 

Just to not confuse anyone .those are brand new toys that looks like stuff from the 90s but its not.

So there would be no confusion 

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 12/12/2023 at 11:26 AM, Namtak said:

Just to not confuse anyone .those are brand new toys that looks like stuff from the 90s but its not.

So there would be no confusion 

Ah thanks for the clarification! On the box it stated something like "from the vault" but I really didn't know what that meant

There were several different ones way back when, or more than I'd remember, so I wouldn't know if these were reissue or brand NEW!

Appreciated!

[Cocomonkey]

On 12/12/2023 at 2:01 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

Ah thanks for the clarification! On the box it stated something like "from the vault" but I really didn't know what that meant

There were several different ones way back when, or more than I'd remember, so I wouldn't know if these were reissue or brand NEW!

Appreciated!

Yeah, these were re-released at some point in the 2010s, I think. These look like the re-releases.

[Yorick]

On 12/11/2023 at 3:38 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

I still have an xmen one of these (and a submarine game).  I think last time I tried to play it, one of the buttons was not functioning.  I might have to do some soldering.  Those were awesome!

[Cocomonkey]

The Tiger game is awesome; it’s one of my three X-Men toy grails to try and find at a show/random store. Well, top 2 now I guess, since I managed to find my #1 at NYCC this year. Hmm, which I don’t remember if I ever posted…

Top 2 things I hope to hunt down now are a working original issue Tiger X-Men game, and then all the X-Men pogs I can find (pooooogs!), preferably unpunched/unopened, hehe.

[fantastic_four]

On 12/12/2023 at 10:01 AM, F For Fake said:

Although I'm sure post-pandemic economic slowdown is a huge contributing factor, I also have to think that at least some of the sales slump is due to lack of interest in the products themselves. Is it a coincidence that the Marvel Legends waves we find clogging up the clearance racks are Eternals, Shang Chi, Black Panther 2, Thor Love and Thunder, The Marvels and Ant-Man related? To be 100% clear, I'm not an anti-Marvel, anti-whatever type guy, I don't care about the movies one way or another, and I am not one of those neckbeards who cries because Marvel put girls in their movies. But the general perception I have is that the fanboys who normally gobble up these toys didn't really seem to like those movies, and were pretty vocal about it, to the tune of declining box office grosses, and thusly, declining toy sales.

The general decline in MCU quality for those films was one thing, but there are two other ones.

The first is that Marvel moved ALL of those films, and they did it after Hasbro had already committed to having figures in the stores.  In some cases those movies got moved multiple times.  For example Hasbro initially held back their Eternals figures, but then Marvel moved it again after Hasbro had already started shipping them to stores, and by then it was too late.  I don't believe the figures for ANY of those films you listed, plus the ones before those up to Black Widow, hit stores within 3 months of when their associated movie released.  That's a big problem.  I understood that for the 2020 and 2021 films due to the pandemic, but Marvel STILL keeps moving movie dates constantly and screwing Hasbro over.  Why did they move the Marvels this year?  Can't really blame the pandemic anymore, although certainly that placed some pressure on the dates to slip.  Whatever their reason for constantly changing release dates it's screwing Hasbro over, BIG time.

There is another problem as well--Target has become absolutely terrible at selling toys in general, particularly Marvel Legends.  They screw up constantly since early 2022, and I don't get it.  The main problem specific to Legends they have is that in 2021 they switched from ordering one or two boxes of 8 assorted figures to ordering 4 to 7 boxes of 5 figures per store.  So every store now gets 5 versions of every figure, but not every figure is ever going to sell five copies, particularly in one store.  They need to switch back to assortment boxes of 8, and ever since they made this change at least half of what they buy ends up on clearance.  It was clear that was a mistake in the moment, and they've never solved it.  But that's just one problem they have--they also screw up everything else related to inventory management as well.  Many Legends waves never go up for pre-order, or some that do never actually fulfill ANY pre-orders.  Many waves now sold in stores NEVER get listed on the web site.  They've become just awful at selling toys now, and there's no clear reason for why.    Target has been my go-to place for buying toys for years, so it has been frustrating to see them become so terrible at it.  

[Yorick]

On 12/14/2023 at 8:49 AM, Cocomonkey said:

The Tiger game is awesome; it’s one of my three X-Men toy grails to try and find at a show/random store. Well, top 2 now I guess, since I managed to find my #1 at NYCC this year. Hmm, which I don’t remember if I ever posted…

Top 2 things I hope to hunt down now are a working original issue Tiger X-Men game, and then all the X-Men pogs I can find (pooooogs!), preferably unpunched/unopened, hehe.

OMG.  You've got Tiger, Micro Machines and pogs all in the same post?!!! 

 

 

[Cocomonkey]

On 12/14/2023 at 10:48 PM, Yorick said:

OMG.  You've got Tiger, Micro Machines and pogs all in the same post?!!! 

 

 

You know it! The 90s are alive and well! 

Pog-wise, I have some Wolverine slammer still sealed from like 2005 when they apparently made some more, and a bunch of unpunched Hardee's three-pog sheets (including some duplicates, if anyone wants to trade ). There were a couple sets put out in the 90s that came all in like a plastic bag kind of deal (store-sold, as opposed to one of the fast food chain meal toys), but I haven't managed to find any of those packages in the wild (they're on eBay, but that's just...not fun, lol).

[Yorick]

On 12/15/2023 at 8:04 AM, Cocomonkey said:

You know it! The 90s are alive and well! 

Pog-wise, I have some Wolverine slammer still sealed from like 2005 when they apparently made some more, and a bunch of unpunched Hardee's three-pog sheets (including some duplicates, if anyone wants to trade ). There were a couple sets put out in the 90s that came all in like a plastic bag kind of deal (store-sold, as opposed to one of the fast food chain meal toys), but I haven't managed to find any of those packages in the wild (they're on eBay, but that's just...not fun, lol).

I'm on the DC side of things, so my pog collection would have to consist of the "Death and Return of Superman" set.  Pogs is basically a reinvented version of marbles or jax (if anyone reading hasn't played it).  Some clothing stores used to carry pogs - they were everywhere.  There was so much cool/strange artwork on many.  I believe I still have a tube somewhere...