The Future of Star Wars Collecting?

[Rob]

Look how much shelf space is already wasted on these dumb things...

[Nicklab]

I just saw this IG post from Steve Evans.  Including him saying “I’ll see you at 10”.  I’ve been getting a feeling that he might be going back to Star Wars.  I wonder if this is really happening?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdHNCQgOC7U/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Nicklab]

I just saw this IG post from Steve Evans.  Including him saying “I’ll see you at 10”.  I’ve been getting a feeling that he might be going back to Star Wars.  I wonder if this is really happening?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdHNCQgOC7U/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

It looks like Steve deleted this post.  I wonder if he's involved, or if his post raised questions?

[Dave]

I've noticed a change at the Targets I shop at (Minnesota) where there are now consistently TVC and Black Series figures on the pegs whereas just a few months ago you generally found completely empty pegs.

I wonder if people's buying habits have changed - not buying stuff for their kids or themselves now that the pandemic is mostly over and they can spend money on other things?  Or is this a sign of the factories in Asia and the logistics have been smoothed out and their building/shipping/stocking more than they did in the past?

Are you seeing this too?  Thoughts?

[Rob]

For TVC in Chicago they only have Landos at Target.

Lots and lots of Landos.

There are occasionally BS figures, but it's usually, not much variety.

[Jedi Idej]

Dorkside has a sale of select items as did HasbroPulse last week. I too wonder if we are reaching a saturation point. If it's because more items are coming to market, then I see a slower pace in our future. If it's because buyers are leaving -- yikes !!

[Ryan]

For TVC in Chicago they only have Landos at Target.

Lots and lots of Landos.

There are occasionally BS figures, but it's usually, not much variety.

It's mostly just Landos in these parts too, either the Bespin TVC variety or the BS6" General Landos. I've occasionally seen a figure or to from another TVC wave, a Retro wave, or a few leftover BS Archive figures but those sightings have been rare.

[Rob]

I miss the days where there was a few waves worth of figures on shelves and one or two that were scarce.  This new model is lame.

[Matt_Fury]

I'm ok with just preordering items online, but they need to make it so that preorders don't sell out in under 30 seconds half the damn time.  Also, I would prefer less lead time between when I make a preorder and when it shows up at my door.  I'll gladly sacrifice the latter if it gets me the former.


I do miss the days of going on a toy hunt and finding new items...the Legacy collection was a golden age for modern collecting and I miss those times.  However, those were back in the days when I wasn't married with two children, so I'm ok with changing how I purchase items.

[Nicklab]

Just looking at the IMMEDIATE future of collecting?  It seems like Hasbro might be catching up, and also maintaining a degree of secrecy with new media that might make The Vintage Collection a bit more current.  The fact that the new wave that includes the OWK Obi-Wan, Reva, Vader as well as the AOTC Anakin has turned up in New Zealand and Asia seems to indicate that these might turn up worldwide much sooner than we initially thought.

I ordered that wave case of May 5th, and these are turning up in NZ in mid June.  The original delivery date was advertised as January 2023.  Could these seriously turn up in the U.S. within the next couple of months?

[P-Siddy]

I've been thinking about the future of Star Wars collecting lately in general.  Most of us on here are 40+ (there might be some 30yo fans here) and I just wonder about the next generation and if there will even be a future the movies.  I remember being excited and passionate about Star Wars growing up in the 70s/80s, but I really don't hear about kids being that passionate as I was.  I have two children (14 and 12).  The 14-year-old saw Star Wars at a similar age as I and she saw the sequels in the theater.  She enjoyed the Lucas Six but was indifferent about the Disney ones.  She hates Solo because the villain shares her name, albeit different spelling).  She hasn't watched any of the Disney series, either, and my son simply isn't interested in Star Wars at all. 

How about you and your children?  Is it the same or do any of them share your passion?

[Nicklab]

Bossk's Bounty dropped a video about 5 Things Hasbro Should Stop Doing With The Vintage Collection.  And a lot of this seems to be on point. 

Regarding the case assortments?  That's more complicated than it would seem at the surface.  Generally speaking, I agree regarding the case assortments.  The problem is the 8 figure case.  Hasbro shifted to the 8 figure case because 8 figures will perfectly stock a retail store display peg.  The old 12 figure cases would overflow to another peg.  As many big box stores like Target and Walmart now assign only 2 pegs to TVC, using 2 of the 8 figure cases makes sense as those 2 cases will stock all of the TVC pegs.  If the standard in stores was for 3 pegs for the TVC mainline, then the 12 figure case would be a better fit as 2 of those could completely stock 3 pegs.

When the standard for 3.75" figures was a 12 figure (or more) case, there was a lot more flexibility in terms of the case mix.  Troopers would get adequately packed in addition to main characters.  And the ratio of those to the more collector focused characters like the Mythrol or Kuiil would have been a better balance.  Figures like that would be far less likely to pegwarm.

I also agree regarding the gimmicky repaints.  I'm glad the Carbonized "expression" has not returned to TVC.  Although I think Hasbro really missed an opportunity there, because they should have put that style to better use.  Imagine that paint technique on characters that could benefit from it?  Think about how a Carbonize Captain Phasma, Din Djarin (in Beskar armor) or C-3PO might look with that treatment?  Beyond that, I think Hasbro could make some smarter repaint choices by giving us some onscreen droids that would require a simple repaint - the black RA-7 droid from ANH, or any of a myriad of astromech droids just to name a few.

[Jeff]

I also agree regarding the gimmicky repaints.  I'm glad the Carbonized "expression" has not returned to TVC.  Although I think Hasbro really missed an opportunity there, because they should have put that style to better use.  Imagine that paint technique on characters that could benefit from it?  Think about how a Carbonize Captain Phasma, Din Djarin (in Beskar armor) or C-3PO might look with that treatment?  Beyond that, I think Hasbro could make some smarter repaint choices by giving us some onscreen droids that would require a simple repaint - the black RA-7 droid from ANH, or any of a myriad of astromech droids just to name a few.

Yeah, I'm way in favor of smart repaints.  Axe, Morak Migs, and Koska were smart repaints with minimal new tooling required.  Multi-color Fetts and a continuous stream of ARC Troopers isn't it.

I'm sure we'll see that Piett used more than just Jerjerrod - Needa, Ozzel, Yularen, Motti, etc etc.  I just hope it's not a barrage where 10 of the next 30 figures use that sculpt or it'll get old quick.

This line is desperately missing the WOW mix.  They gotta toss some crazy alien stuff in here now and again.  The Mythrol and Kuiil were nice non-human adds that we just don't get enough of anymore.  Feels like all the recent non-humans were retreads or repacks.

Like, it's the 40th Anniversary of ROTJ.  How about some new murder-bears from Endor?  A new Ewok Village Dress Leia?  How about NEW skiff guards (Yotts Oren) or palace weirdos (Fozec, Velkin, Taym).  How about a new Ishi Tib (Shasa Tiel)?   Nope.  Here's a bunch of repacks from Jabba's Palace, another Vader, the 5th time we've tried Endor Han in TVC, and more Jedi Luke variants from TM and TBOBF.   

[Nicklab]

This line is desperately missing the WOW mix.  They gotta toss some crazy alien stuff in here now and again.  The Mythrol and Kuiil were nice non-human adds that we just don't get enough of anymore.  Feels like all the recent non-humans were retreads or repacks.

I think you can link this to the quantity of figures in the cases.  But that issue is linked to the number of pegs each retailer will give The Vintage Collection.  A standard retail peg will hold around 8 TVC figures.  The current TVC case consists of not so coincidentally - 8 FIGURES!  When the 3.75" figure lines had more pegs allocated to them, the 12 figure case was the right fit.  A store with 3 or 6 pegs for Star Wars 3.75" figures could be fully stocked with 2 to 4 cases with the 12 figure per case pack.

That 12 figure case pack also made it easier to balance between what Hasbro regarded as A, B and C level characters.  Main characters or really popular characters might merit 3 per case.  A good figure like a trooper or droid might get packed out at 2 per case.  And an obscure backgrounder might be only 1 per case.  The 8 figure case throws that balance off.

Like, it's the 40th Anniversary of ROTJ.  How about some new murder-bears from Endor?  A new Ewok Village Dress Leia?  How about NEW skiff guards (Yotts Oren) or palace weirdos (Fozec, Velkin, Taym).  How about a new Ishi Tib (Shasa Tiel)?   Nope.  Here's a bunch of repacks from Jabba's Palace, another Vader, the 5th time we've tried Endor Han in TVC, and more Jedi Luke variants from TM and TBOBF.   

I'm all on board with Hasbro trying to go deep on ROTJ characters.  But I almost think that they would have to be in some kind of Fan Channel offering so the efforts could be focused on the market that wants those characters.  I think some kitbashing and repaints would work - evidently Kithaba was planned in TVC 1.0 to be the basis for a Barada figure at a later date.  And I agree about Yotts Oren and some other guards.  There are a number of common elements in previously released figures that would work for other characters - the chest plate on Skiff Guard Lando also turns up on Fozec.  The padded tunic that Velken Tezeri has is very similar to the one Vizam has.  It shouldn't be difficult to kitbash some of these together.

I'm all for some more Ewoks.  I'd definitely like to see Hasbro revisit the Kenner Ewoks that haven't been made in TVC in that form.  I'm on the fence about Ewok village Leia though.  The POTF2 version of her peg warmed for SO LONG.  OMG, it's been 20 years and I can still remember walking into TRU and they were all over the place.

[Jesse James]

Interesting discussion on this on social media recently… I don’t think TVC survives without some corner cuts.  I know it’s not popular with collectors and sometimes I’m annoyed by them too, but I think we don’t get much without it I’m afraid.