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Why is Kenner credited for creating the 3 3/4 scale?

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  • Hedji
    Citizen of Gotham
    • Nov 17, 2012
    • 7246

    #31
    They were 3 3/4". But They were well before Super Powers. Well, at least both came before the Star Wars line died out.

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    • PNGwynne
      Master of Fowl Play
      • Jun 5, 2008
      • 19444

      #32
      ^Thanks!
      WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.

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      • tmthor
        God of Knock-offs
        • Nov 29, 2005
        • 881

        #33
        Originally posted by jwyblejr
        Not really sure about them setting the standard either. If that was the case why did Hasbro wait until 1982 to go with that size with G.I. Joe? Why not start earlier? Sure others followed suit but not everyone.
        THe last Joe line before Star Wars was the 8" Super Joe line that failed then you never heard of GI Joe again until 1982
        Last edited by tmthor; Sep 18, '15, 6:56 AM.

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        • jwyblejr
          galactic yo-yo
          • Apr 6, 2006
          • 11141

          #34
          Realize that. Just saying why wait that long between lines if the 3 3/4" scale was suppose to be so hot? Strike again in two years at 3 3/4" not something like 5 years.

          Comment

          • El Hombre Nuclear
            Museum Super Collector
            • Sep 5, 2014
            • 192

            #35
            Originally posted by jwyblejr
            Realize that. Just saying why wait that long between lines if the 3 3/4" scale was suppose to be so hot? Strike again in two years at 3 3/4" not something like 5 years.
            Well, I think the main problem was that Hasbro was a total mess in general by that point. They were losing money, in debt, and drastically cut back on new product lines for a few years while restructuring. They weren't really a major player during that turn-of-the-decade period, and weren't yet in a position to compete with the Kenner juggernaut. When they finally emerged again with RAH in '82 it was fortuitous timing for them, as they were just in time to catch the changing market zeitgeist, with disco-era space operas growing stale and the shift towards militaristic, ultra-patriotic sentiment as the Reagan years really set in and the Cold War started to heat up again. From Wikipedia:

            "Merrill Hassenfeld took over as CEO in 1974 with his son, Stephen D. Hassenfeld, becoming president. The company became profitable once again, but had mixed results due to cash flow problems from increasing the number of toys in the line to offset G.I. Joe's declining sales. In 1975, the G.I. Joe line was ended by Hasbro, caused by the rising price of plastic via its raw material and crude oil's increasing prices. In 1977, Hasbro's losses were $2.5 million and the company held a large debt load. That same year, Hasbro acquired Peanuts cartoon characters licensing rights. With the financial situation poor, Hasbro's bankers made the company temporarily stop dividend payments in early 1979. The toy division's losses increased Harold Hassenfeld's resentment regarding the company's treatment of the Empire Pencil subsidiary as Empire received lower levels of capital spending to profits than did the toy division. With Merrill's death in 1979, Harold did not recognize Stephen's authority as the successor to the chairman & CEO position. As a solution, Hasbro spun off Empire Pencil in 1980, then the nation's largest pencil maker with Harold trading his Hasbro shares for those of Empire. Stephen then became both the CEO and chairman of the board. Between 1978 and 1981, Stephen reduced the Hasbro product line by one-third and its new products by one-half. Hasbro focused on simple, low cost, longer life cycle toys like Mr. Potato Head. Hasbro thus stayed out of the electronic games field which went bust in the early 1980s.

            In 1982, Hasbro revived its G.I. Joe line—with the help of Marvel Comics—as an anti-terrorist commando based on current events. The company launched the successful Transformers toy line along with a children's animated TV series two years later. With the toys and TV Series being popular, Stephen Hassenfeld posed with the toys for a People magazine cover photo."

            Sums up the sequence of events pretty nicely. I've always wondered what might have happened if things were different and they had been able to challenge Kenner a bit earlier, but it's doubtful it would have mattered much. Star Wars was lightning in a bottle during those years, and nothing was really going to change that. Besides, they had already pretty much screwed themselves with Super Joe, clinging on to a dying format rather than embracing a more forward-looking concept, so by the time that line met its preordained doom in '78, Star Wars was exploding like a nuclear warhead right in their faces, and it was too late to turn the ship around. Considering all this in retrospect, their eventual comeback was actually quite remarkable. They could have just as easily ended up like Mego...
            Last edited by El Hombre Nuclear; Aug 19, '15, 6:32 AM.

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            • 3Storms
              New Member
              • Aug 11, 2015
              • 9

              #36
              Originally posted by palitoy
              Not to mention Microman in '74.

              People don't do their research, to many websites and blogs, not getting Star Wars killed Mego, Star Wars created 3 3/4" and was also the first merchandising blitz based on a movie (Apes takes that crown).

              Weren't Microman figures fairly large up until the late 70's?

              At any rate Kenner definitely does not deserve credit.

              Comment

              • El Hombre Nuclear
                Museum Super Collector
                • Sep 5, 2014
                • 192

                #37
                Originally posted by 3Storms
                Weren't Microman figures fairly large up until the late 70's?

                At any rate Kenner definitely does not deserve credit.
                No, that was Henshin Cyborg, which Microman spun off from. Henshin was dead (in Japan, at least) by '76, and Microman was 3.75 right from the beginning in '74. The only similar line that was possibly earlier was the 4" Little Legends of the West from Excel/Empire, although the exact dating on those has always seemed a bit murky to me. However, the line that really deserves the credit for popularizing this format in North America is the Adventure People, which for some reason never seems to happen. I think part of the problem is that the whole "outdoor adventure" thing was very specific to that one period in time (roughly '73 to '81, i.e the actual "cultural" '70s), and has not carried forward in the collective consciousness like Star Wars, G.I. Joe, etc.

                Comment

                • 3Storms
                  New Member
                  • Aug 11, 2015
                  • 9

                  #38
                  Who remembers the Love Boat or CHIPS action figures?

                  Did they catch on in pop culture the way GI Joe and Star Wars toys did?

                  That's a lot of the problem. Kenner didn't exactly revolutionize the scale but they were the ones who pushed it into something every kid had.

                  Comment

                  • El Hombre Nuclear
                    Museum Super Collector
                    • Sep 5, 2014
                    • 192

                    #39
                    Originally posted by 3Storms
                    Who remembers the Love Boat or CHIPS action figures?

                    Did they catch on in pop culture the way GI Joe and Star Wars toys did?

                    That's a lot of the problem. Kenner didn't exactly revolutionize the scale but they were the ones who pushed it into something every kid had.
                    Well, I'm not sure those particular figures (although I am a dyed-in-the-wool CHiPs fanatic!) are the best examples to use. I think the previously discussed Adventure People and Micronauts/Microman lines are more relevant, as they were both quite popular well before Kenner's cash cow, and almost certainly directly influenced its creation in the first place.

                    There's no doubt that Star Wars ultimately took the 3.75 scale to a whole new level of ubiquitous popularity (which was then built upon and expanded even further by RAH), but I think what some of us are saying here is that the real pioneers shouldn't be brushed over, minimized or forgotten, which too often seems to be the case these days.

                    Comment

                    • samurainoir
                      Eloquent Member
                      • Dec 26, 2006
                      • 18758

                      #40
                      Originally posted by El Hombre Nuclear
                      Hasbro thus stayed out of the electronic games field which went bust in the early 1980s.
                      This is interesting. Someone please correct me if I am misremembering, but wasn't their foray into early handheld video games one of the many cascading factors contributing to the downfall of Mego?
                      My store in the MEGO MALL!

                      BUY THE CAPTAIN CANUCK ACTION FIGURE HERE!

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                      • samurainoir
                        Eloquent Member
                        • Dec 26, 2006
                        • 18758

                        #41
                        So given the fact that the earliest presentation Prototypes of Star Wars figures were in fact using Fisher Price Adventure People, I'm not sure if the folks at Kenner have any claim that these were developed without awareness of other 3 3/4" toy lines that preceded them.

                        The Star Wars Collectors Archive is virtual museum of Star Wars memorabilia from collectors around the world.




                        The Star Wars Collectors Archive is virtual museum of Star Wars memorabilia from collectors around the world.

                        My store in the MEGO MALL!

                        BUY THE CAPTAIN CANUCK ACTION FIGURE HERE!

                        Comment

                        • WildWesley
                          New Member
                          • Aug 7, 2015
                          • 14

                          #42
                          I reckon it's a myth.

                          Comment

                          • WildWesley
                            New Member
                            • Aug 7, 2015
                            • 14

                            #43
                            Originally posted by samurainoir
                            So given the fact that the earliest presentation Prototypes of Star Wars figures were in fact using Fisher Price Adventure People, I'm not sure if the folks at Kenner have any claim that these were developed without awareness of other 3 3/4" toy lines that preceded them.

                            The Star Wars Collectors Archive is virtual museum of Star Wars memorabilia from collectors around the world.




                            The Star Wars Collectors Archive is virtual museum of Star Wars memorabilia from collectors around the world.

                            I think it should be a challenge to recreate these prototype figures.

                            Comment

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