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Has anyone else noticed when looking in the toy aisles that toy lines are all over the place in scale and style, even from the same company? I mean Hasbro has Star Wars figures that are "army men" size, 3.75., 6 inch, 12 inch, and I saw a biker scout that had to be 18" tall. Then there is the new Star Wars Rebels stuff there is an x-wing that is huge, looks in scale to the figures, but the cockpit won't open to hold a figure. Thane there are Transformers that don't transform, and the Marvel stuff is all over the place in scale and style as well. GI Joe seems completely lost at this point, with only a few movie based figures on the shelf. I just don't see how they don't end up "cannibalizing" their own customer base.
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You make excellent points...also, remember when action figures lines consisted of as few as 6 to 12 figures and you really could "collect them all?"
I blame Star Wars. Toy companies today seem to think a line is a failure unless it goes on for years. As a result, they overdo everything. Action figure lines have gotten so big it's overwhelming.
Mattel's DC Universe classics had over 300 figures. Between Toy Biz and now Hasbro, Marvel Legends is pushing well over 600 figures, and many of those are endless variants of the same handful of characters over and over and over. Add to that all the exclusives and it's ridiculous. I've all but given up on Marvel Legends.
Right at this moment they have TRU, Target, Wal-Mart, SDCC, and Walgreen's exclusives to chase down. I just don't have the time or energy to do it, and I'm not paying double or triple retail prices to scalpers on Ebay.
For a hobby that's supposed to be fun, these companies sure know how to suck the joy out of it. -
Toys seem to go in cycles. Little plastic Army Men style figures are making a big come back and are very popular right now. Those jumbo figures are also super popular with kids and collectors right now. The Walmarts and Targets in my area are already cleaned out of the 20 inch Star Wars figures. They sold like crazy. I haven't seen SW toys sell this well in years. I'm thinking no prequel figures in the set didn't hurt. Only one Biker Scout was left and probably because it was hidden behind something else. That was a couple of days ago. I imagine it's long gone by now. They looked great. Really well done. If I had the space I'd collect them. The Biker Scout was really tempting.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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It's not made to accompany any figures. Basically, they wanted to release a huge version of the ship, that kids can run around with, and have it be durable (no loose pieces or moving parts to break off), at a low price point.Comment
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I think a lot of the problem with a lack of focus in toy lines is down to collectors and the fact that we want and have come to expect so much from these lines that they are trying to give us what we want and as a result we get these over bloated lines and multiple scales to try and appease everyone. I for one have not bought star wars stuff in years mostly due to the cost partly to the fact that there was so much prequel stuff in it, but since the new 5 POA figures came out I have bought loads of them and the 6" ones as well.
I do have to agree with what was said earlier that so many lines like the batman and superman movie figures have cheap repaints of the Hero and not much else, the Mattel movie masters (6") were good but so expensive. both Marvel and DC lines seemed to have a lot of focus on rehashing a few central characters and the others are just fill in. The new marvel legends based on the movies are a prime example of giving us loads of spideys and yet no Gwen or green goblin from the film also a BAF ultimate green goblin would have been better replaced with the movie rhino IMO.Check out my Electronic Mag here Psycho Styrene Modeling MagazineComment
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A great observation and excellent topic for discussion. I think the toy market is getting more crowded at the consumer level. You have a tremendous collector market that smaller companies have begun to make major inroads. Retro licensing appears to never be bigger and that market is encompassing decades of collectors so the scales will vary. Then you have the current generation that seems to be caught in the middle of it. So I think that's part of the reason why you see companies trying to offer a variety of scales and price points. There's a little bit of something for everyone these days.Comment
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I constantly feel the tug between scales and lines when it comes to my favorite licenses. I am all in for the star wars black (although I do think they are starting to cheap out on some of the figures) and they look great alongside my vintage kenner collection. On the other hand, I have the NECA adam west, the entire mattel line and the figures stuff....a part of me just wishes I had just went in on the hot toys and forgotten the rest. I still might if I sell the mattel stuff and the figures stuff, but its not an easy decision in my house....im an action figure guy and the hot toys stuff starts to take me into another area completely.
Not to mention funko pop vinyl, bobbleheads....my wallet cant handle the strain!Comment
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I remember some toy lines having multiple scales in the 70s and 80s too. Star Wars had 3 3/4 inch, 12 inch and Micro and Shogun Warriors had three different scales as well.You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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Hasbro especially seems to have gone from afraid to try anything new to throwing everything out there to see what sticks. I guess there are more 18" ? figures than the Biker Scout I saw the other day, now they have Chewbacca, and I saw the new Jedi dude from the REBELS cartoon too. I like a few different scales of toys, but five or six scales for one line, especially a line with so many characters, seems like only a few will get made in some sizes and those who bought them will be left hanging.Comment
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The 20 inch figures are by Jakks. So far there is Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Tie Fighter Pilot and Biker Scout from the original trilogy and Kanan and Ezra from Rebels. Jakks did a really nice job on these. Just wish I had the space for them. Boba Fett is going to be really hard to pass up. There's also 20 inch Luke Skywalker Tatooine coming up that's really going to test me and I know I am probably going to break down and get the 31 inch Stormtrooper to go with my Vader.
You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...Comment
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I've seen those Jakks figures, and they are nice looking, but there is another series between this size and the 12" also. Of course I would still like Mego Star Wars, maybe some day. I didn't notice those 20" figures were by Jakks, the new packaging matches the Star Wars REBELS look so well I thought it was more Hasbro stuff.Last edited by Spyweb007; Sep 2, '14, 7:38 PM.Comment
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^That's due to the omnipresent style guides toy companies are forced to adhere to. It means every product is homogenized to that particular license. Ah, for the days when Mego, AHI and Corgi packaging never looked the same for the same license.
ChrisComment
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