Tag Archives: collecting

Off Topic – TMNT Figures

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All the rage with the kids in the toy aisle lately (outside of LEGO, of course) seems to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

Kindergartners up to adults are devouring these at retail – and there’s some things here that seem to fly in the face of what Hasbro’s doing with their action figure lines these days… these figures are highly articulated, various creatures support the main characters, new vehicles are integrated into the line, and the granddaddy of them all?  The line features a huge playset!   Oh and one other minor detail – these bigger, more articulated figures cost consumers less at the register than most of Hasbro’s product. 

Could Hasbro learn a thing or two from Playmates?  Or is Hasbro’s new direction for action figures a better model?  Share your thoughts after the jump!

More Suggestions for Hasbro

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Earlier in the summer, we posted an SDCC wishlist that unfortunately didn’t come true, but since that time, forum moderator localgotal has been sharing some amazing mockups of figures that blow nearly all of Hasbro’s offerings for 2013 out of the water.

Check out the latest examples that he’s put together in the forums, and join us in scratching our heads as to why Hasbro wouldn’t launch The Black Series with figures like the examples above rather than packing Wave 1 with 2x per case of figures like Biggs Darklighter and Episode II Anakin Skywalker… because any of the above figures, packed at even 3x per case would be better than much of what’s in Hasbro’s launch wave.

Now… if we can just get him to mock up some playsets

Won’t Stick? Staple it!

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Lo and behold, Toys”R”us employees have come up with an alternative to taping the bubbles back onto The Black Series figures… a few well placed staples will do the trick as I witnessed today.  Before getting upset with retailers for this, remember – this is a manufacturing issue on Hasbro’s side; not the fault of stores that receive faulty packaging from Hasbro.

Can’t Hasbro do better than this?

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With Hasbro’s new lineup, I was optimistic that we’d see some real positive changes.  And while we might not be drowning in new product like we were with Hasbro’s over-zealous 2012 launch, it’s hard to walk by much of Hasbro’s toy sections these days without yawning.

That being said, I hope that the hobby has better days ahead and we will return to the glory days of 2005-2009 when Hasbro had a better grasp on demand and had a broader selection of impressive figures available at retail.  That was all before bandwagon trends like Fighter Pods and Angry Birds became such a priority for them.

I think it’s time to go back to the bread and butter and pull the collectors back in like Hasbro has had to do a couple times in the past and realize that in 2012, they abused the license and pushed kids away… and now most of them moved onto something else.   And they won’t be back until Rebels launches.

As for catering to collectors, I’m not sure they are really doing that with their launch to The Black Series.  Angry Birds isn’t going to interest anybody – not kids or adults.  It’s a lame crossover that has been overplayed.  Yet they’ll invest in this instead of some 3.75″ environments.  Seriously?

Do you agree?  Disagree?  Read my full rant and share your thoughts in the forums!

Space Station Diorama Walls: Update!

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The collecting community has stepped up to the plate with a huge outpouring of support for the team at Galactic Merchants as they aspire to make cool diorama display pieces for the fans.  And now, our pals at Imperialshipyards are going to be hosting a podcast with Galactic Merchants, and they want to know what questions you have about these dioramas!  Head on over to their forums and submit your questions!

Amazon Build-A-Droid Carded Images

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A lot of collectors may not be happy with the Droid Factory line being an Amazon exclusive, but there’s no denying this is some of Hasbro’s finest work in terms of packaging, and it’s a true shame that this line was replaced by The Black Series.  Check out a full gallery of pics courtesy of volkerc here and also share your thoughts in our forums.