Please Read This - An Excellently Written State Of Collecting Narrative

Please read this. It's an email from a good friend who I wish to remain anonymous. But this person has cohesively expressed everything I have ever wanted to so eloquently and to the point. (more....)

Hey there Paul.

It's been a long time since we chatted. Hope to find you doing well, as I imagine you are...

First off, a huge congratulations on the book. I'm confident it's a bit of a surreal reality for you, having your name on a book with Steve Sansweet. I have a vivid memory of the day I picked up From Concept, to Screen, to Collectible at a little comic book shop at the Pike's Place Market here in Seattle. That book is what turned me from a kid who had a ton of Star Wars toys when he was growing up, to an all-out collector. Anyway, much commendation to you on creating such a well-respected website that could get you notice from Mr. Sansweet. And it is a fantastic website, truly.

So...don't exactly know why I'm writing this other than the fact that I had somewhat of an epiphany when I found a case of the first wave of 3 3/4 Black Series figures on the pegs at a Target near my work. But let's back up a little bit...

I've been at this for a long time. I'm 34 years old, so I wasn't old enough to see Star Wars or Empire in the theater, but I did end up inheriting my two older brother's Star Wars toys. After the original line died I took to scouring musty old antique stores and swap meets for figures I was missing in my collection (in 1992 I found a mint, blue Snaggletooth at a swap meet for $3 - best score ever!). Since then, I have bought nearly every figure Kenner/Hasbro have released. I pass on minor deco changes, repacks, etc., but for all intents and purposes...I have them all. I open all my figures, I've never thought of them as an investment, and I traditionally don't buy online. I go out on toy runs on a consistent enough basis to have never had any real trouble finding a figure (save for Bastilla Shan and Ponda Baba). All in all, I love the hobby.

I've never been a Hasbro hater. I question their decisions from time to time, but when it comes right down to it, I love the universe that these little plastic men live in. The mere fact that Hasbro has kept that universe alive is what makes me grateful. So, I assure you this is by no means an anti-Hasbro rant, but rather my own personal state of the union as a Star Wars collector..

I've always, always been excited by each new wave of figures that Hasbro puts out. Sure, some get me more excited than others, but there's always something to keep me interested and engaged. Maybe it's that I like new things. Maybe wave after wave just perpetuates the hobby and keeps me wanting more. Regardless of what it is, I'm excited when I find new figures on the shelf. I'm excited when I see the Hasbro panels at Toy Fair/Comic-Con/Celebration. I love busting open the packages and checking out new figures. There is always that excitement...until today.

Wave 1 of the "little" Black Series invoked none of that excitement when I found them this afternoon. And still nothing when I opened them either.

And that brings me to the true questions of this writing: what does that mean? Or the less existential question: what is it about this particular wave that made me ask myself why I was still buying these things?

I've got a couple of possible answers...

1.) Real life has caught up with my hobby.

I'm a real adult now. I'm a father. I have an actual career. I just bought a house. All this has happened in the last two years, so maybe I just don't have time or room in my life for these things. Man, I hope that's not it, because it's always brought me a lot of, well...joy, I guess. I don't want to be an adult!

2.) Too much time has passed in between releases.

We've been in the worst drought of new product since I can remember. Maybe the perpetuation of wave after wave is what has kept me collecting. I've never been given any time to breath before the next wave, so I just keep going. Now that I've had a chance to reflect, maybe I've realized that I'm finally done?

3.) Hasbro has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Poor distribution of the beloved Vintage Collection. Putting the incredible Clone Wars line to the chopping block. Scaling down vehicles. Only releasing waves outside the US. Inconsistencies in brand direction. Cancelling Droid Factory. Too much focus on the 6" Black Series. Switching up the Class I vehicle line, then killing it before the next wave. Two different lines with the same name. Telling us that the Saga Legends line is not intended for us, then saying that they're a call-back to the original vintage line. I would really like Hasbro to know that there a consequences for this kind of fuzzy thinking. Has this stuff made me want to give up, because once that bitterness sets in, it's nearly impossible to get rid of it?

4.) The "little" Black Series wave 1 is just a weak wave of figures.

I already have every one of these figures. Sure, they're upgraded. Quite magnificently, in fact (Luke and Anakin are impressive figures). But the fact of the matter is that there is nothing new here. Sure, they're good figures, but it's hard to get truly excited about a figure just because his head looks better than it did before or he can bend his legs in a different direction than he could previously. This wave is simply NOT how Hasbro should launch a brand new line that is meant to excite collectors and bring them back into the fold. It's just more of the same. I hate to say it, but I'm far more excited for the limited articulation figures in the Saga Legends line than I am for the 3 3/4" Black Series. At least it's something different. Also, the Black Series packaging is lame.

5.) The Star Wars 3 3/4" line has hit a wall because it's been going on too long and lacks the "new" factor.

After 17 plus years, there's just not a lot of room for "new" in the Star Wars line. Is the possibility of getting Toryn Farr really suppose to get me excited enough to keep at this? One of the reasons I loved the Clone Wars line so much was that the characters were new, the designs were new, there was a freshness to it that the main line lacked. Maybe the 6" Black Series should be the focus. It is, after all, somewhat of a "fresh start." Although personally, I'm just not that interested in starting fresh. I'm already in waaaaay too deep.

Wow, I'm still typing here...

Anyway, the reality is that I don't actually see myself giving this hobby up, but man, what a drag if it's lost that excitement it used to have for me. There is hope for wave 2 and 3 (Even though I still think Darth Plagueis's character design is ridiculous. He's a Muun..really?), but Hasbro is really going to have to step up their game if they want to bring back the joy.

Please excuse the long-windedness of this email and thanks for listening. Here's to the potential for many great years of collecting to come!

– Anonymous

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