Great Piece About the State of Modern Action Figures

[samurainoir]

Just as an interesting point of comparison...

Current Mego Museum Forum stats...
Currently Active Users: 110 (60 members and 50 guests)
Most users ever online was 1,723, Aug 24, '09 at 9:46 PM.

Current Spawn Forum stats...
Currently Active Users: 399 (163 members and 236 guests)
Most users ever online was 3,438, 10-26-2009 at 07:38 AM.

Go see for yourself.
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Just because Spawn/MacFarlane doesn't have much of a following around these here parts, doesn't mean Spawn fans don't exist. A quick glance at the conversations going on over there, I would guess the average age could be 10-20 years younger than the average age of our little senoirs residence here.

[samurainoir]

Just another point of comparison...

Current GI Joe Forum stats
Currently Active Users: 306 (162 members and 144 guests)
Most users ever online was 1,090, 03-25-2009 at 07:31 PM.
HissTank.com - G.I. Joe

Although I'm told that GI Joe Collectors are much more spread out across quite a few dedicated online GI Joe communities.

I would imagine MacFarlane Collectors would also converge within their own subsections of the larger general Toy Sites, not to mention Sports Memorabilia sites and forums where Horror Fans converge. It appears they are out there in numbers.

As for other media, Spawn the movie wasn't a big hit, but it's played on cable continuously for the last decade.

The animated series on the other hand was hugely successful for HBO. Both in ratings and home video/DVD sales.

[Werewolf]

The animated series on the other hand was hugely successful for HBO. Both in ratings and home video/DVD sales.

The animated series was popular with adults. It wasn't children watching it.

not to mention Sports Memorabilia

Kids actually collected Kenner's Starting Line up toys. They were well done and great quality. They're worth about shelf price now from what I understand.

If you think you are sitting on a gold mine, with Spawn toys, I honestly wish you luck. Maybe you're right and maybe I'm wrong. But I think you'd actually have better luck hitting it rich with lottery tickets than hoping to get rich off Spawn toys in the future.

[BlackKnight]

Go see for yourself.
SPAWN.COM Message Board - Powered by vBulletin.

Sending Wofie to get Shaved and Linched , That's Messed up....

[AAAAA]

[QUOTE=palitoy;461702]Mego mention and the single greatest term ever spoken: "Nerd Hummels"



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw

[Werewolf]

Sending Wofie to get Shaved and Linched , That's Messed up....

I'm glad I didn't click on the link, now.

[samurainoir]

If you think you are sitting on a gold mine, with Spawn toys, I honestly wish you luck. Maybe you're right and maybe I'm wrong. But I think you'd actually have better luck hitting it rich with lottery tickets than hoping to get rich off Spawn toys in the future.

Why do you keep insisting I'm personally sitting on a bunch of Spawn Toys to get rich with? I've already told you I own four of them, and a couple of Movie Maniacs that I've fished out of the cheap bins in the past few months 'cause I like 'em.

We're simply having an "I suppose" conversation about demographics aren't we? Whether or not there is a real fan-base for Spawn or not? Objectively, doesn't it say something that there are four times more Spawn fans online at this moment than us old-timer Mego-heads? Given the fact that they are passionate enough to be online on a Friday Night to jaw about Spawn today, perhaps there is a likelihood that it will continue into the future? Who can know with any kind of certainty.

There was a tween/teen audience for that Spawn cartoon even though it was meant for adults. In the same way I loved the animated Heavy Metal movie or Nightmare on Elm Street and The Evil Dead when I was that age (hence... YAY! MOVIE MANIACS!!!).

[Werewolf]

Why do you keep insisting I'm personally sitting on a bunch of Spawn Toys to get rich with? I've already told you I own four of them, and a couple of Movie Maniacs that I've fished out of the cheap bins in the past few months 'cause I like 'em.

I apologize. I should have worded my posts a lot better.

Buying a toy just because you like them is the best reason there is to collect.

[The Bat]

I really liked this statement at the end of the article:

"On the retailer end, Jon Roman, buyer at Toys "R" Us, recommends manufacturers provide retailers with a point of differentiation from their competitors. That's "the number one way" to get more shelf space and move more units, he says".

And as will all know...Toys "R" Us will be the main carrier of the Mattel "Retro Superheroes" line.

[ctc]

>People want the toys they played with as kids. They want to relive those happy memories.

You’re definitely right about the happy memories, but people have happy memories for different things. A lot of folks have happy memories about collecting; or posing figures on their computer.

Spawn was one of them things that burned VERY brightly for a short time, and that’s all it takes. Think how many things people around here go nuts for, that had a lot less press and were around for a much shorter time.

>When they decide to collect some pieces back from their childhood, it'll be dirt cheap and plentiful.

You’d think. But all it takes is word of a remake, big budget film starring tomorrow’s equivalent of Will Ferrel and BAM! Instant price bounce. (Hmmmm.... “Spawn: The Musical Comedy?”)

>There was a tween/teen audience for that Spawn cartoon even though it was meant for adults.

I’d say most of the Spawn stuff was tween-focused. And tweens get old and nostalgic too.

Don C.

[michael crawford]

Nice to see you guys liked the article - and I knew they'd use Nerd Hummel, as it's just the kind of catchphrase writers like They also managed to get most of my comments in context, although they did screw up a couple of them.

There's some great discussion going on here, but I think it's important to segragate some of the things I call 'pop culture collectibles', because if you don't you can make assumptions that don't apply.

For example, you can't talk about a true collectible like a Hot Toys DX-01 Joker and Power Rangers or Megos in the same breath. The former is a pure collectible, the latter are toys. Nostalgia will drive whatever future value the latter might have, but that's not true of the former. What will drive the value of something like the DX-01 Joker is the love for Batman and the film, the Dark Knight. If that movie remains a classic, then the best collectibles will remain in demand.

It's also important to recognize the difference between collecitbles that are collectible because of themselves, versus those that are collectible because of the license. In the former category you have things like Beanie Babies, or the dreaded Hummels. People collect them because they think they are collectible, not because they are based on a property they love. When the fad around the item disspates, the interest in collecting them is gone. Instead, a collectible like the Gentle Giant Remy maquette from Ratatouille (of which they only made 200) will always be very collectible as long as Ratatouille stays popular.

Collectibles based on other licenses can actually be great collectibles, and hold the promise of value. It's still a complete crap shoot, because the property needs to remain popular, but if you were an 'investor' I'd say buying the Hot Toys Avatar figures next year would be a good bet, for example.

Collectibles not based on licenses are nothing more than a pyramid scheme. Their 'collectiblity' depends on others buying them for their own sake, not for the love of a property like Batman, or Star Wars, or Indiana Jones. Eventually people collecting them figure it out or move on, and the bottom drops out.

And none of that has anything to do with actual toys, where nostalgia is king. My youngest kids are twins, a boy and a girl, just turned 9. I have several of examples of their favorite toys - Lego and Megabloxs for my son, Barbie for my daughter - that I bought to keep in the package and give to them on their 30th birthday. I think they'll love opening up something like it was xmas morn 25 years earlier. I just wish my parents had done that with some Marx stuff.

[TrueDave]

I'm wondering if the 12" GI Joes made in the 90's will hold any nostalgic value for anyone. I have too many of them and honestly they do nothing for me.

Me.I had the 30th anniversary figures and think those heads are the best . I liked that they did a lot of nice historical lines such as Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, Buzz Aldrin.

The Hall of Fame figures were great in most everything but articulation. Still my Favorite Cobra Commander. Plus we saw Cobra, Destro, and Snake eyes unmasked for teh first time in toy format.

Classic collection had the talking Navajo wind talkers, some great fire and rescue sets, a couple of good police men. Plus how about the little know vehicles towards the end? Armored car> Half Track, and teh Harley Davidsons?

What sucked was when the started molding clothing on, t shirts, sweaters and flack vests and teh reuse of eth big clunky rubbery action man stuff. Usually for teh Ironically lousy GI Joe 2010 line and the Venom and Valor stuff.

If you want to get rid of some stuff message me.

I still need a Minute man, a WW1 German etc . . .

[ctc]

>The former is a pure collectible, the latter are toys. Nostalgia will drive whatever future value the latter might have, but that's not true of the former.

I think things can jump back and forth though. People CAN develop an affection for something designed strictly as a collectible, and people do hoard toys on the assumption that they are, or will be a pure collectible. And it's possible for the motives of the overall collector community to change; so the bottom can fall out of a collectible's market, and years later people can get into them out of nostalgia, which funds a new speculator market for the product, which jacks up prices.... etc.

Don C.

[Sandman9580]

Things are going to get strange soon. In the coming decades toy collecting will cease to resemble anything like its current state. Imagine, when high-end 3D printers that are able to replicate different materials are as ubiquitous as the inkjet next to your computer, you're going to be able to send and receive toys by email. Nowadays, if I want customized Megos or SuperPowers, I have to commission or make them myself. But soon we'll be able to design them easily in a program and print them out. And if you want a repro of something, you'll be able to scan it with a laser and print out an exact copy, with mold lines and even slight paint variations perfectly replicated. Files of copies will be available to download for free. Monetarily speaking, "originals" will always have value, but it will be vastly reduced when there are a glut of perfect 3D copies available to anyone.

[Orlock]

This hobby got screwy ( just like comics) when the manufacturers started trying to manipulate things on purpose.

THIS^ A hundred times this, and it is one of the things that since the late 80's early 90's has gotten under my skin about this hobby of mine.

How many collectors are irritated out there that the DCU line's ONLY Joker figure was a Wal-Mart exclusive? That the Batman Superman Public Enemies line of DCU sized and 3 3/4 size figures are all Target exclusives? I don't have a freaking Target within miles of me. I have to drive over two hours just to get to one, and then, if they don't have them in stock...wasted trip.

Ashcan covers, repaints, intentionally short boxed figures and limited production runs. Holographic scratch and sniff special foil dirt bag editions....**sighs** when did things stop being cool on their own merit and have to be FORCED to be cool?