More Mego Licenses Announced! Firefly, Charmed and Wizard of Oz coming soon!

[RSS]

As if we didn’t get enough good news yesterday with the announcement that Mego was returning to Target stores in two weeks, now SyFy channel has let it slip that Mego Corporation has the license for fan favourites Firefly, the long running WB series Charmed and Wizard of Oz which many Mego fans know and…

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[boss]

Couldn’t be happier about Firefly.

[Marvelmania]

Cool, wish they'd do a line of Supernatural figures but I'm really happy with the lines that they going to be putting out! Especially I Dream of Jeannie and Action Jackson!

[EmergencyIan]

Did the original Oz line sell well? Was it targeted at girls? I ask because I don’t recall it.

I’m not sure how well some of these figure lines from older TV series will do, because of the types of TV series they were. Boys wanted to be super heroes, cowboys, knights, adventurers, the Dukes, the guys from CHiPs and Startsky and Hutch. That would be my benchmark when choosing properties. I suppose that’s why the Walton’s didn’t do well as action figures.

- Ian

[Earth 2 Chris]

Wow, this is really exciting stuff! Firefly figures should go over very well!

Chris

[scott metzger]

Did the original Oz line sell well? Was it targeted at girls? I ask because I don’t recall it.

I’m not sure how well some of these figure lines from older TV series will do, because of the types of TV series they were. Boys wanted to be super heroes, cowboys, knights, adventurers, the Dukes, the guys from CHiPs and Startsky and Hutch. That would be my benchmark when choosing properties. I suppose that’s why the Walton’s didn’t do well as action figures.

- Ian

Again, you have to look at the demographics. Fifteen bucks a standard figure is better than I expected, and may open the door to some purchases by the young uns, but that's not going to be the bulk of sales. Two days ago, I was in Walmart and saw a small boy about 5 or 6 with his mom looking at a DC Multiverse figure he wanted. The mother flat out said, "That's $18. We're not getting that." Point is, there are kid aimed figures out there under 10 bucks, and that's what parents are going to tend toward. Now, if Mego gets back the DC or Marvel license, there's some potential inroads to be made, but, again, you're competing with cheaper versions of Batman or the Avengers on the pegs. The main market here is going to be adult fans, either of Megos or of the particular properties. Firefly has a strong cult following, Charmed is getting a new series, which will also spark renewed interest in the old (and it's entirely possible they have the rights to both series), and Wizard of Oz is an evergreen property that almost always has some merchandise being made out there. And all of these fit the Mego style well; I'd argue at least Charmed and WoO fit this style BETTER than they do Marvel Legends style plastic figures, as they are people in clothes that would in many cases be hard to do in plastic form without sacrificing major articulation. We've seen plastic Firefly figures, but I think Mego style would work at least as well. What I'm seeing isn't just going after a popular license here; it seems Mego is going after properties that would be well served by the Mego style. In a crowded collectors figure market, that's not a bad strategy.

As for the announcement itself...I JUST got done putting together a set of classic Oz Megos for both me and another for a friend, so...naturally that's one of the properties. Seriously, though, the thought of maybe getting some repros/re-dos of the very expensive Munchkins or characters like the flying monkeys would be great (monkeys would be Oz-ian army builders, as would the Witch's guards). Of course, this could be a whole new line rather than just a re-do. And I'd say the original did quite well, with 7 regular figures, three playsets, and, most of all, four munchkins that required a newly tooled body (that's the capper: major new tooling means the line had to be doing well enough to justify it) Charmed I'm definitely in for. Never watched Firefly, but that does not preclude me getting the figures. And there's always the big plus to these kind of licenses: lots of new head sculpts of just regular people; good, proportionate sculpts almost guarantee multiple purchases from me on a lot of figures.

[Confessional]

WoZ… Marty and Doc, please dispatch a wicked flying monkey! Probably as close as we'll get to POTA, but I'll gladly take it!

[scott metzger]

WoZ… Marty and Doc, please dispatch a wicked flying monkey! Probably as close as we'll get to POTA, but I'll gladly take it!

Definitely seconding this. Again, army builder. I'd get at least three or four to fly above my Emerald City playset right off.

[Goblin19]

Good choice. I'm on the fence for Oz and Firefly. It seems like they're right near Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now, those I'd be all over.

[EMCE Hammer]

I'm in for extended Oz characters, Firefly, and the Charmed ladies for customs purposes.

[cjefferys]

Did the original Oz line sell well? Was it targeted at girls? I ask because I don’t recall it.

I think the line sold fairly well and I believe it was mostly targeted at girls, I remember seeing them mostly in the girls toy section. Of course, even back then there were doll collectors and Oz/movie memorabilia collectors buying them as well, which is why boxed examples are pretty common these days.

[SpaceAgent]

I remember walking into Toys R Us back around 1975, hoping to see new Marvel or DC Megos and finding the Wizard of Oz. As a kid, it upset me because I knew it meant there wouldn't be new superheroes. I foolishly never collected them because I was annoyed, so I will get them this time. (Even though I was mad way back when, I had to admit they looked cool.)

[hedrap]

Agh...wrong OZ...

[emeraldknight47]

Good choice. I'm on the fence for Oz and Firefly. It seems like they're right near Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now, those I'd be all over.

Amen, Goblin! I’ll definitely be picking up the FIREFLY set (provided the eBay flippers will allow it); but I’ll give a pass to the WoO. Now were they doing a BUFFY (and ANGEL) set, yeah, those I’d be waiting in line for!

[Marvelmania]

Good choice. I'm on the fence for Oz and Firefly. It seems like they're right near Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now, those I'd be all over.

Awesome suggestion!!!!!! That would be a line I'd definitely collect!