What happened to Toy Biz?

[bgiles73]

[QUOTE=Thor;591833]

I miss Toy Biz's Lord of the Rings line. I hope Hasbro picks up the license for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and does a 1/18th line as in depth as Star Wars.


I don't know man. Hasbro managed to wreck Marvel Legends imo and I cringe to think what they would do to LOTR. I guess it would be a better choice than Mattel.

If they give it the same attention they give Star Wars and the last two waves of Indiana Jones, not the first two waves Then I think we'd be in good hands. I can't stop thinking about what it would be like to get that great Indiana Jones horse sculpt retooled for Nine Ringwraiths! I currently have Pre Visla from the Clone Wars line sitting atop the afore mentioned Indy steed.For some reasonMandalorian armor looks good for cavalry! Also, the figure of Short Round from the Indy Temple of Doom wave is the perfect scale for a Hobbit. The Ugnaught from Star Wars Empire Strikes Back line is perfectly scaled for a Dwarf. Hasbro's mastery of softgoods in the 3 3/4" has me very optimistic for a really awesome line. Army building is so much better in that 1/18th scale. It would all depend on Hasbro( or some other company) taking on the license.

[megocrazy]

With Toy Biz there was a risk. Produce toys and hope they sell. By selling the rights Hasbro assumes all the risk. It's guaranteed money no matter what hits or flops. Less profit if it's a hit but guaranteed no losses. Perhaps they saw the impending economic downturn and chose the route of guaranteed money vs the possibility of a huge return. It's not like they can't re-launch the lines when Hasbro's reign is over if they find the market more stable when the license is up.

[Cmonster]

Though a lot of what has been said, is more or less true, here's something none of you are taking into consideration;

It costs A LOT of money to have action figures produced... Especially in the level of detail and the numbers of units of something like Marvel Legends. There's the US prototyping costs (The stuff I did, ie; design, sculpture, molds, castings, paint masters, etc...) Then there's overseas prototyping, done in China, then production, packaging AND shipping. Before the figures hit the shelves, there's quite the considerable investment made before they start selling. When a company like Marvel licenses out their stuff to other toy companies, it's all profit. Granted, the QC probably won't be the same, as I know Jesse Falcon personally and have worked with him for many years. He's one of the best product managers and creative directors in the business. Hasbro, on the other hand... Well, I'll be nice and not mention my experiences with them and Lucasfilm licensing.

Anyway, Smart move on their part, financially... At least in my opinion.

SC

[starsky]

that's some great insight sandy! did you get hooked up with some figures as a perk?