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

[F For Fake]

On 10/27/2021 at 8:32 AM, Buzzetta said:

That is what was weird about this Haslab reveal.  They released all of the tier unlocks.  I don't think that they have ever done that before.  It was always wait and see once you reach this incentive what the next incentive might be.   I don't know how to take that whether or not they have confidence in this or they do not have confidence in this. 

One of the things I also noticed was a complete line change.  There have been no new retro figures announced.  There was a release of some reissues in that short line and then then the new sculpts like Roadblock, Scarlet, Stalker, and Grunt.   I was really hoping for a definitive Tunnel Rat in this line but it looks like the line is being put on hold with no announcements forthcoming. 

As far as o-rings are concerned it looks that is going to remain a Hasbro Pulse exclusive. 

As far as the line itself is concerned, I wonder, (emphasis on wonder), if they are listening to the adult fans a bit too much.  There have been some sudden and drastic line changes in the last year.  Now, I know that the brand manager has changed and thus the vision, but this is what we have seen in the last year:

• Futuristic weapons are being phased out in the 6" line in favor of more realistic weapons.
• O-Rings have returned. 
• Haslab project on the adult level. 

Chatter on the FB groups shows that the adult collectors are eating it up with some saying they ordered the max of five skystrikers already.   But what about the kids?  The health of the line depends on future generations.  Is this the right direction?

 

I have no answers as the vision, direction and marketing for this line has been shaky over the years.  I don't know what to say.  GI Joe is one of the most iconic toy properties of all time.  What can be done to preserve the line for the future?

 

Yes, I know half of this is rambling. 

 

Very good points all around. I also wondered about the tier unlocks, because that was always a fun part of the process, at least to me. With this project it almost felt like they were saying "Look, the tiers will unlock more o-ring figures, and we know that's all you lunatics care about!" I could almost interpret it as a lack of confidence in the Sky Striker itself, and a need to hedge their bets and encourage buy-ins by showing that you'll ultimately get six new o-ring figures if we all pull together and back the project. The chatter that amuses me is the folks that think the flight crew figures are a boring final unlock, because boy, that's the thing I want the most! I love "generic" figures like that.

As for the seeming focus on adult collectors, I'm going to chalk some of it up to the fact that the 40th anniversary is coming. Hasbro knows that they have a certain number of middle aged nerds hooked, and that they can reliably sell x number of units to those fans. So for the 40th they are going hardcore into the nostalgia. Although I liked some of the stuff they were doing with the retro line (the vehicles are repaints or re-do's of old molds, but $25 for a vehicle, figure, and retro package, is a pretty good deal these days) it seems doomed at this point. It doesn't help that it was Wal-Mart exclusive. I could see it being quietly euthanized in favor of a new "retro" line with o-ring figures centered on the 40th anniversary nostalgia that is open to all stores, online sales, etc. Seems like a slam dunk compared to the narrow focus of the Retro line. If it somehow survives, I will keep buying the vehicles and occasional figures, but I can't honestly say I'll miss it too much if it goes away.

I agree that the current focus seems to be centered on old fogeys like me. However, I understand that there's a new animated series in the works, as well as a new video game, so I could very much see figure lines related to those bits of media that will be targeted directly at kids. Something like what we saw with the Snake Eyes movie roll-out: classified scale figures for the old heads, smaller/cheaper figures for the kiddos, along with motorcycles, role play toys, etc. It seemed like a very smart approach, to me, catering to both markets. The only problem? The movie was a deadly bomb, so no one really cared at all about ANY of the merchandise. But I could definitely see them adopting this strategy for future Joe media. I'm not sure how figures do with kids in general, not just Joe. Do kids still play with action figures? I truly have no idea.  But colorful characters with crazy gear and vehicles seems like an evergreen idea that they can sell with successful media tie-in. The heyday is long since past, but I think the line is safe for at least a while longer.

 

 

[F For Fake]

On 10/27/2021 at 8:41 AM, classicaaron said:

do people really care about the o-rings? to reissue figures just released and look essentially the same and call them exclusives and sell them for a mark up and expect people to care? i collect joes but dont consider myself a diehard but those figures were a very easy pass for me.  going forward i will buy any new figure they make, whether they are o-ring or not makes no difference to me.  cant believe people would buy them just for that fact when half the collectors are MOC anyways and wont even notice the difference.  i get nostalgia but the figure itself is nostalgia not the building material. i am a diehard heman collector, whether they are made the exact way as the originals or not still doesnt matter to me.  i could care less if they come with rubber heads or plastic heads just give me the figure. i certainly would be buying two different version of them if they did that.

I care about o-rings, as I have never really gotten into the pvc bodies and weird elongated features of the 25th/50th anniversary and retro lines. The proportions just seem off to me. However, I'm not really interested in o-ring rereleases of stuff I already have. I ordere the Storm Shadow/Snake Eyes two pack to support the idea, but if it becomes strictly a reissue program, I'll not be buying them. What I (and a lot of other Joe fans) want most of all is a continuation of the o-ring line. Give us the characters that never got an o-ring release, or new outfits/decos on classic figures. Expand the line, don't just give us what we already have. That's why I bought in on the Super 7 reaction line. They seem to be committed to giving us Sunbow accurate figures in a WIDE variety. The first wave has six different Cobra Trooper variations and a lesser known character in Kwinn. If they keep that up, I'll be in for the long haul. They're not o-rings, but they're giving me the classic retro vibe and designs that I want.

[Buzzetta]

Hasbro Pulse Member 1027 Stream

New exclusives to be revealed.   Going on now.

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by Buzzetta

[Buzzetta]

Emily is updating us with information about the GI Joe line

• Classified Cobra Officer is revealed. Weapons are slightly a step into the future but definitely more grounded than the weapons that were released with figures in the first wave.   Highly impressive.  All weapons are able to be attached to the figure's web gear.  Even the magazines attach to the back.   Ships in the spring.  Preorder opens up for Pulse Premium members. 
• Preproduction Haslab Skystriker in the background. They are plugging it again. 

[Buzzetta]

Classified Alley Viper revealed.

 

[Buzzetta]

Transformers is up...  

New reveal for the Gen Selects line... this is the small production run line for figures that only a select group of people would want  

Lift Ticket is a red Trailbreaker repaint. 

[Buzzetta]

Oh I wish I was a kid with reckless abandon.

GREAT Haslab homage to the Ghostbusters in-movie commercial. 

Hasbro Pulse Haslab Reveal...

The Proton Pack 

 

[Buzzetta]

Jedha Patrol Stormtrooper... 

Not bad... I don't collect this line but still... not bad. 

[fantastic_four]

I can't imagine that proton pack gets 7000 backers.  It's SO niche.

 

The GI Joe Cobra Officer looks great.  I know how to look in the code to see how many they make available and how many have sold--they're making 7,500 available, and they've already sold 6,147.  It's selling like hotcakes and will be gone quickly after general sales open at 8 PM.

[Buzzetta]

On 10/27/2021 at 7:26 PM, fantastic_four said:

I can't imagine that proton pack gets 7000 backers.  It's SO niche.

 

The GI Joe Cobra Officer looks great.  I know how to look in the code to see how many they make available and how many have sold--they're making 7,500 available, and they've already sold 6,147.  It's selling like hotcakes and will be gone quickly after general sales open at 8 PM.

You will have to teach me that trick 

 

[fantastic_four]

On 10/28/2021 at 5:15 AM, Buzzetta said:

You will have to teach me that trick 

Bring up the new Mr. Sinister on the Pulse site.  Right-click the page in Chrome and choose "View page source".  Hit CTRL-F to find text in the page, and search for the term "inventory".  Skip the first few instances until you find some text that looks like the below:

js-product-inventory="-5463" js-inventory-quantity="13950">

Most sites that use a standard, off-the-shelf software package called Shopify to do their commerce like Hasbro does will have inventories inside the page.  Sometimes it differs as to where the counts are, but on Pulse it has always been in there somewhere.  In the example of Sinister you're seeing two numbers--the first is the number sold, and the second is the total available.

Edited October 28, 2021 by fantastic_four

[F For Fake]

Yes, the Pulse inventory trick is the best, I wish I could use it everywhere!

The Transformers Generations Selects line gives us some really neat repaints and niche figures that wouldn't fly at retail, but LIft Ticket is a pass to me. I'm usually only interested in the ones that have references specific to my fandom, like the gray Shockwave which is a tribute to the Radio Shack Galactic Man. I think stuff like that is pretty cool. However, these days I'm trying to stick with just 86 movie and Lost Light crew members for my modern TF collection. Must...exert...self control.

Cobra Officer is indeed the "secret" figure in the three pack being sold on BBTS, good to know. I'll take all of these army builders. Can't wait for that Viper/Viper Officer pack that is rumored. So far all of the new reveals were 100% correct according to that list that was leaked a while back, so it appears to be legit. Which means Tomax, Xamot, Zarana, Crimson Guard and Dusty should all be on the way next year. I will buy a boatload of Crimson Guards!

[F For Fake]

On 10/27/2021 at 7:26 PM, fantastic_four said:

I can't imagine that proton pack gets 7000 backers.  It's SO niche.

 

The GI Joe Cobra Officer looks great.  I know how to look in the code to see how many they make available and how many have sold--they're making 7,500 available, and they've already sold 6,147.  It's selling like hotcakes and will be gone quickly after general sales open at 8 PM.

Really? That's interesting, because to me, I think it'll blow past it. There are a ton of Ghostbusters fans, and I've seen a lot of them cosplaying over the years at conventions. They have groups like those 501st Legion Stormtrooper people, so a ready-made Proton pack seems like an easy sell. They're already halfway there less than 24 hours later with 3532 backers. Meanwhile, the Rancor and Sky Striker have been up for nearly a week, and are sitting at 3789 and 4414 respectively. I think it's going to do just fine. (Side note: I don't care much about Ghostbusters one way or another, so I have no dog in that race.)

Along those lines, has anything ever NOT gotten funded? Seems like the necessary backers always pour in over the last couple of days. It's funny, Unicron was kinda stagnant for a long time and there was a lot of hand-wringing about whether or not it would fund. Not only did it fund, now it sells for $1500+. Insanity. Should have gotten one!

[Buzzetta]

On 10/28/2021 at 9:23 AM, F For Fake said:

Really? That's interesting, because to me, I think it'll blow past it. There are a ton of Ghostbusters fans, and I've seen a lot of them cosplaying over the years at conventions. They have groups like those 501st Legion Stormtrooper people, so a ready-made Proton pack seems like an easy sell. They're already halfway there less than 24 hours later with 3532 backers. Meanwhile, the Rancor and Sky Striker have been up for nearly a week, and are sitting at 3789 and 4414 respectively. I think it's going to do just fine. (Side note: I don't care much about Ghostbusters one way or another, so I have no dog in that race.)

Along those lines, has anything ever NOT gotten funded? Seems like the necessary backers always pour in over the last couple of days. It's funny, Unicron was kinda stagnant for a long time and there was a lot of hand-wringing about whether or not it would fund. Not only did it fund, now it sells for $1500+. Insanity. Should have gotten one!

Yes.  

I am still disappointed that Cookie Monster was not funded. 

Unicron's campaign was extended.

To promote early interest in the Ecto Pack Hasbro is offering an exclusive unlock only to those that commit to it in the first 48 hours. 

[F For Fake]

On 10/28/2021 at 9:41 AM, Buzzetta said:

Yes.  

I am still disappointed that Cookie Monster was not funded. 

Unicron's campaign was extended.

To promote early interest in the Ecto Pack Hasbro is offering an exclusive unlock only to those that commit to it in the first 48 hours. 

Ah yes, Cookie Monster! Pour one out for my blue boy.

Was there some monkey business related to Unicron? I'm sure I've heard whispers that BBTS or some other companies must have bought up some stock to push it over the limit. This being the internet, that could also very easily be compostable_fertilizer, but I do wonder.

[F For Fake]

hahahaha "compostable fertilizer". That is a new one to me. I will have to remember that I'm back to posting on a pg-13 board, as opposed to the places I've spent most of my time the last few months.

[Buzzetta]

On 10/28/2021 at 10:39 AM, F For Fake said:

Ah yes, Cookie Monster! Pour one out for my blue boy.

Was there some monkey business related to Unicron? I'm sure I've heard whispers that BBTS or some other companies must have bought up some stock to push it over the limit. This being the internet, that could also very easily be compostable_fertilizer, but I do wonder.

I heard about things like that as well.  However let's just say I know of a few people that have multiple accounts and multiple addresses to send things to.

I mean it is not uncommon.   I have two different ticketmaster accounts and addresses.  I have two eBay accounts and I even have two open table / yelp accounts to make reservations with at restaurants.  It would not surprise me nor would I expect a store like BBTS NOT to do that in order to secure a number of Unicrons.  

Hasbro does not sell to certain countries and they will ship so...why not. 

Rob Ross who runs the GI Joe Trader PX group and owns a toy store in Missouri said that he committed the store to 10 Skystrikers that he will only offer to international customers.   The limit on the Skystriker is 5 so he found a way. 

[F For Fake]

On 10/28/2021 at 10:45 AM, Buzzetta said:

I heard about things like that as well.  However let's just say I know of a few people that have multiple accounts and multiple addresses to send things to.

I mean it is not uncommon.   I have two different ticketmaster accounts and addresses.  I have two eBay accounts and I even have two open table / yelp accounts to make reservations with at restaurants.  It would not surprise me nor would I expect a store like BBTS NOT to do that in order to secure a number of Unicrons.  

Hasbro does not sell to certain countries and they will ship so...why not. 

Rob Ross who runs the GI Joe Trader PX group and owns a toy store in Missouri said that he committed the store to 10 Skystrikers that he will only offer to international customers.   The limit on the Skystriker is 5 so he found a way. 

I'm sure you're right. Especially given how well most of the Haslab stuff has done on the secondary market, there's no way retailers/dealers are going to leave money on the table if they can afford to pick up multiples, and frankly, why would Hasbro care? They want to sell a bunch of them, so I doubt they're monitoring the situation very closely.

I'm going to stick with my two Sky Strikers, and try to be happy with those. I don't collect Star Wars at all, but I'm tempted by the Rancor, as I do love ginormous monsters. 

[Buzzetta]

On 10/28/2021 at 10:49 AM, F For Fake said:

I'm sure you're right. Especially given how well most of the Haslab stuff has done on the secondary market, there's no way retailers/dealers are going to leave money on the table if they can afford to pick up multiples, and frankly, why would Hasbro care? They want to sell a bunch of them, so I doubt they're monitoring the situation very closely.

I'm going to stick with my two Sky Strikers, and try to be happy with those. I don't collect Star Wars at all, but I'm tempted by the Rancor, as I do love ginormous monsters. 

If this was last year.  I would have locked in that Rancor first day.  I have the 3 3/4" version in the home office hanging over a bookshelf.  But now?

 

I have parsed down and sold so many things that I am LOVING the amount of space freed up in this house.  I just shipped out books to a book reseller and received the paypal payment for them once they scanned it into the system. I was going to toss those books.  Multiple 25 gallon containers worth of stuff have been rehomed.   

The Black Series Rancor, while I cool novelty would be like having a toddler sitting in a corner of the house given the size.   Now, I am sure that the unlocks will include a Rancor Keeper.  Perhaps a secondary unlock would be Oola.  I don't 'do' the Black Series but I am tempted.   I have even heard of some preordering the Black Series Rancor for use with the 3.75" figures for an even more intimidating monster. 

Nice... 

but... I am liking the space.

[F For Fake]

On 10/28/2021 at 12:37 PM, Buzzetta said:

If this was last year.  I would have locked in that Rancor first day.  I have the 3 3/4" version in the home office hanging over a bookshelf.  But now?

 

I have parsed down and sold so many things that I am LOVING the amount of space freed up in this house.  I just shipped out books to a book reseller and received the paypal payment for them once they scanned it into the system. I was going to toss those books.  Multiple 25 gallon containers worth of stuff have been rehomed.   

The Black Series Rancor, while I cool novelty would be like having a toddler sitting in a corner of the house given the size.   Now, I am sure that the unlocks will include a Rancor Keeper.  Perhaps a secondary unlock would be Oola.  I don't 'do' the Black Series but I am tempted.   I have even heard of some preordering the Black Series Rancor for use with the 3.75" figures for an even more intimidating monster. 

Nice... 

but... I am liking the space.

I totally get it. The thing about selling stuff is that the more stuff you sell, the easier it is to keep selling. It is oddly liberating, as well as financially beneficial! I'm going to try to talk myself out of the Rancor since I really don't collect SW, but I do think a lot of that stuff is really neat.