A question to ponder

[txteach]

With the announcement of the new WGSH line do you see the smaller, 8" figure making companies getting squeezed out? I see it happening because not all of us have limitless funds to buy figures and at $15-$20 a pop most are going to want WGSH figures. Maybe I'm wrong but I believe the new figures are going to take a lot of cash away from the smaller companies.

[BlackKnight]

All depends what you are into I suppose .
It's definately a Great Time for Toy Collectors in General imo.

[toys2cool]

I'm sure it will a little bit

[txteach]

BK I totally agree with you. It is a great time to be a collector.

[toys2cool]

BK I totally agree with you. It is a great time to be a collector.

yeah and bad time to be a collector's wife

[BlackKnight]

yeah and bad time to be a collector's wife

.... When the DC 13inchers started showing up.... I got some dirty looks,.. & *sighs* ....
Then the Hot Toys started comming in,... The dirty looks got stronger,.. & the *Sighs* Turned into Small Growls.....
... Yeah,.. So Now the DC Universe figures show up by the Case,... Most of those are cool,.. because I open them,.. & discard the packaging,... So I just get the Rolled Eye look ..... a figure here or there is cool,.. However Wave's 6 threw 8 Showed up on top of each other,.. & We are talking about 18 figures here ...., which is quite a lot,.. when sitting in a pile,.. or on a shelf.
MOTU were cool,.. Untill I now Have like 10 of them Now....
Man,.. After the DC Direct Green Lantern Statues & the 18inch figure make thier way to the Knight's House,.. I am going to get Straight Up *****ed At.

[MIB41]

I don't see any impact to other companies. If anything it should only bolster the market. Their all tapping into a target group that has been hungry for product for a long, long time and their all making different characters. I think these different companys will feed ethusiasm for one another (just like Mego did with LJN and AHI, etc. in the 70's). At this stage character selection is everything and there is alot of untapped movies and vintage television shows that don't have the "mego" stamp yet. Licensing should be getting very active right about now and there should be plenty to go around for all of these companies. It's a great time to be a collector.

[megocrazy]

I do not see the Museum members being the biggest buyers of the new WGSH. If that were the case Mattel would never have taken the gamble to do them. While I do believe they will listen to input from here, and obviously Doc and Joe, there are no where near enough collectors on this site to make the sales needed to support this line. It will be from kids that have no knowledge of what a mego figure is that make or break this opportunity. That is why the Trek and Apes lines were not picked up by a mainline company and were marketed to smaller retail outlets. That line was focused at a much broader fan base made up of not only Mego collectors, but Trek/Apes collectors, and Sci/Fi collectors as well as fans of retro TV stuff. Combined they made the lines successful, though Trek much more than Apes from what I've seen. I don't think it will have a very big impact. Even if you had passed on Trek stuff when it was released it will still be available now at some outlet. You may need to space the purchases out but in reality the only ones that will be overwhelmed will be the die hard Mego collectors. Most of the rest should be actual toy consumers that will rip the figure off the card and play with it. Just start saving your pennies now and budget your purchases accordingly. Even if Mattel releases them quarterly at 4 a wave you'll spend $80 tops and have 12-16 weeks at least before the next wave hits the shelves. Only about $5-$6 a week. Still leaves enough to grab an occasional Castaway/Zica/EMCE/etc. offering.

[Hulk]

I disagree, in fact if interest in the format is increased, then a new slew of 8 inch collectors will discover the others and hopefully want them.

[David Lee]

I disagree, in fact if interest in the format is increased, then a new slew of 8 inch collectors will discover the others and hopefully want them.

As a "little guy" this is exactly what we are betting on Paul. Mattel only makes it better for all involved. They legitimize the format for all of us. We are niche at best, so we tend to go for the more Pulp/Noir kind of stuff. We also go a notch further on the "realism" and limited quantity... GI Joe had Dragon, 21st century and BBI which spawned Sideshow and Hot Toys... I am a firm believer in the "more the merrier" mentality. The more companies that make 8 inch figures the more people will buy. Mattel isn't going to make the Phantom or Flash Gordon, but we will
As long as we stay realistic we should be fine... we are doing great now, so I think it will only get better, which equates to better for you the consumer..

The way I see it.... it's a win/win sit'chation

-Dave

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I will certainly still be buying from the smaller guys.

[Meule]

I disagree, in fact if interest in the format is increased, then a new slew of 8 inch collectors will discover the others and hopefully want them.

My thoughts exactly. As long as the "small players" don't rerelease The Waltons they should do just fine. With the correct line or show it doesn't matter whether you're big or small

[huedell]

The cream will rise to the top---- and that is all really.

What the smaller companies may have going for them is that they can
manuver quicker and focus on details quicker than Mattel, I'm guessing.

[boss]

A good example from the retail world is that when a new "big box" store enters a market, the smaller competitors initially see a bump in sales because of an overall bump in interest in the category. Eventually the economies of scale catch up to the little guy.

to sum up... at first it should be great. in the long haul... you may see some of the smaller guys consolidate or go away.

[huedell]

A good example from the retail world is that when a new "big box" store enters a market, the smaller competitors initially see a bump in sales because of an overall bump in interest in the category. Eventually the economies of scale catch up to the little guy.

to sum up... at first it should be great. in the long haul... you may see some of the smaller guys consolidate or go away.

I don't know how much of that example applies cause there are
some real harsh dividing lines in this 8 inch scale competition that
will ultimately dictate success...the most important, I'm guessing,
being what liscences what companies have.

As David Lee alluded to, if Flash Gordon or The Phantom
is something that really captivates the consumers out there the most,
it doesn't matter WHAT properties someone like Mattel has, Cast-A-Away
would still, in theory, be kicking butt.

That's just one aspect where I see things being a bit difference than typical
"big company vs. small company".