Should FTC have accepted Mego Marvel license even under the $80 sets restrictions?

[Vinny0026]

If that's the case I can't imagine why...FTC figures are a specialty item and not competition to anything you find at regular retail such as Wal-Mart, etc.

You ever walk down the aisle that sells Mego like figures (Venture brothers, the horror movie figures I guess by Neca? with jason and freddy) These lines don't tend to fly off the shelves. I do belive some kids would buy them But for the most part this is an Adult driven line.

Even those small Retro figures 3 3/4 inch are peg warmers (at least by me they are)

Also there is currently no DC cartoons on to help puch these lines. While 95% of boys might know who Batman is - out of that 95% I would bet 75% of them do not picture batman as blue and gray - but picture him al black like in the movies. These kids today are not into figures like we were and they never will be no matter what is on the peg. It's either sports -or video games for them. Action figures only from age 3-5. So it is clear that the FTC line is powered by Adults not children.

[ovenmitt]

Viny0026,

FTC couldn't get license for 1/4 18" Mego Marvel figures like FTC is doing with DC? No one is doing 1/4 cloth-costumed Marvel figures. NECA has 1/4 plastic Movie Marvel figures but not comic books!

[huedell]

If that's the case I can't imagine why...FTC figures are a specialty item and not competition to anything you find at regular retail such as Wal-Mart, etc.

I can imagine exactly why... and so did Hasbro

[Vinny0026]

Viny0026,

FTC couldn't get license for 1/4 18" Mego Marvel figures like FTC is doing with DC? No one is doing 1/4 cloth-costumed Marvel figures. NECA has 1/4 plastic Movie Marvel figures but not comic books!

Not sure if they could not - or if they did not even try to get those rights.
You would have to ask them.

[enyawd72]

I can imagine exactly why... and so did Hasbro

Huh? Am I missing something?

Marvel Select figures are much more of a direct competitor against Marvel Legends than Mego style figures would ever be, yet Marvel Select keeps cranking them out. Why does Hasbro feel so threatened by FTC? I really don't get it.

[madmarva]

If that's the case I can't imagine why...FTC figures are a specialty item and not competition to anything you find at regular retail such as Wal-Mart, etc.

Some Specialty Stores do carry Marvel Legends figures that they can order through Diamond, and specialty stores are the primary retail outlets for Marvel Select figures from Diamond which is a key sub-licensee of Hasbro for a variety of Marvel branded products. Diamond with its partner EMCE likely had right of first refusal or to match an offer on the Marvel license for 8" figures to be sold in specialty stores. FTC was no doubt interested in the license and may have even inquired about it first, but Diamond would have had to pass on it for FTC to get a chance at it. It may have been Diamond demanding the higher price point to partner with EMCE to make the figures to protect its own Diamond Select line.

Plus, Doc Mego has stated the license was for 1 figure at an $80 price point, so the 4-figure set Vinny mentioned would not have been acceptable to Hasbro.

[ovenmitt]

Marvel Select figures started in 2002 when Toy Biz had Marvel. Hasbro Marvel started in 2007. How long does DST Marvel Select license last? Those figures are $25 each specialty/online so why would Hasbro be worried with 8" Mego Marvel being the same?

[rchatlin]

From a business POV, they had no choice but to pass on Marvel.

There's no way they could sell DC figures at one price point, and similar Marvel figures at a much higher price point.

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[scott metzger]

Couple of points:

Disney hasn't bought Hasbro, but there have been persistent rumors of a desire to do so for several years. The idea of having their own toy-making arm is apparently attractive to the mouse. And, though there is no ownership, Disney does have some considerable influence over Hasbro (as Hasbro owes much of their income to Disney owned licenses); Hasbro had been looking at taking over Dreamworks, one of the Mouse's biggest competitors in animation. Disney made their displeasure clear to the company holding their toy licenses for Disney itself, Marvel and Star Wars, and Hasbro promptly ended any further talks to acquire Dreamworks. The Mouse roared, and Hasbro jumped.

As for the effect of Hasbro on the 8" license, there is still the possibility that Hasbro doesn't want to outright relinquish rights to single 8" retro figures at the moment. Mattel had already tried to do that format and did not do so well in that arena, so they likely had no plans for trying it again. Hasbro, on the other hand, has been proving more successful in the super hero part of the action figure aisle of late in pretty much all scales and formats compared to Mattel, so, simply because Mattel couldn't make it work might not mean Hasbro doesn't have some idea in the back of their minds that they might be able to make it work. I don't think they see the 8" figures as being major competition to their Legends 6" lines; different format and likely a different age bracket of collectors, with the 8" retros appealing more to older collectors like me and the 6" figures appealing more to folks who came into toys after the 70's. I'm not saying that Hasbro has any definitive plans for single figures in the Mego format, simply that they don't want to give up that possibility right now.

[nobody]

I don't even understand the 80.00 restriction. I haven't bought a set for 80.00 yet.

[huedell]

As for the effect of Hasbro on the 8" license, there is still the possibility that Hasbro doesn't want to outright relinquish rights to single 8" retro figures at the moment. Mattel had already tried to do that format and did not do so well in that arena, so they likely had no plans for trying it again. Hasbro, on the other hand, has been proving more successful in the super hero part of the action figure aisle of late in pretty much all scales and formats compared to Mattel, so, simply because Mattel couldn't make it work might not mean Hasbro doesn't have some idea in the back of their minds that they might be able to make it work. I don't think they see the 8" figures as being major competition to their Legends 6" lines; different format and likely a different age bracket of collectors, with the 8" retros appealing more to older collectors like me and the 6" figures appealing more to folks who came into toys after the 70's. I'm not saying that Hasbro has any definitive plans for single figures in the Mego format, simply that they don't want to give up that possibility right now.

...and/or they want to separate product by BOTH "price point" and "product packaging/presentation" to make it blatantly obvious that these "adult collectibles" aren't the competition for Selects/Legends. Smells like that to me, anyway.

[nobody]

Right now FTC is selling 3 packs for 99.00. That's comparable to DST Marvel without 2 bodies.

[rchatlin]

Right now FTC is selling 3 packs for 99.00. That's comparable to DST Marvel without 2 bodies.

Then it's not comparable.

What's the cost of 2 re-Mego bodies, $15-20?

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[huedell]

Then it's not comparable.

What's the cost of 2 re-Mego bodies, $15-20?

I'm assuming cost of bodies has comparatively nothing to do with why things are the way they are.

Right now FTC is selling 3 packs for 99.00. That's comparable to DST Marvel without 2 bodies.

I'll point out that while it may appear like a similar thing goin' on---on consideration, "without 2 bodies" comes across more "adult"/"retro"--- and that's a hard-to-immediately-detect big difference between the two products right there.

[nobody]

Then it's not comparable.

What's the cost of 2 re-Mego bodies, $15-20?

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10-14 dollars