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Star Wars Collectible News, Photos, and Reviews

Hasbro, Hasbro - Where Did Our Love Go?

Posted by Paul | July 25, 2011 at 12:06 PM ET

Between the lackluster 2011 Comic Con presentation and the overall lack of respect for all things Original Trilogy, we once again make our grievances known to Hasbro and even include a few of our readers' comments into the mix as well. Not only are there more questions than ever, it's quite possible that another generation of collectors will be lost thanks to The Vintage Collection's direction and lack of Original Trilogy focus. This one is a doozey folks. You'll need plenty of time to read it all. Click through for a complete rant.

This is going to be a tough love commentary, Hasbro so please have ears to hear. We truly love you. Although our relationship may border on codependency, we think in the last few years you haven’t been more focused on the people who support your line and we sincerely thank you for that. But in more recent years, there has been a devastating disengagement between us (who support the Star Wars line) and you (the people who make all the goodness we buy a reality). The introduction to The Vintage Collection was probably the single most heart-warming thing you have ever done for collectors. While not everyone is on board with the Prequel Trilogy and the Expanded Universe making a debut on “vintage” packaging, The Vintage Collection nonetheless is exactly where the basic figure line should (and remain to) be. To be quite frank with you however, we have really never seen a more lackluster San Diego Comic Con presentation in years than this year's panel and a rather alarming digression with the way the line is heading. If you recall, 2009 SDCC was perhaps your best effort ever. You showed us six (6) new waves of figures (5 of which where shown on Preview Night) and the exclusives also presented were completely amazing, despite most of them not getting out to collectors almost a year and a half later. Why are we only getting shown two "sneak peek" waves not coming out until 2012?

So what happened this year? Other than The Phantom Menace wave and the long rumored Deleted Scenes wave, what else are you proud to show us? (By the way, will Luke and Lando be packaged in their 1983 vintage counterpart card backs or will you be giving us all-new card back designs for them?) Besides your most recent Q&A session coming at the most inopportune time (moments before Comic Con kicked off), you gave us a whole batch of non-answers and claimed that all would be made clear at Comic Con. Really? There remains more confusion than clarification. We don’t know clearly and concisely what is coming and when. And now we’re hearing rumors that the Walmart exclusive wave (something that should have never been considered again after the 2007 The Saga Collection exclusive wave debacle) is NOT coming in The Vintage Collection packaging? What?! So half of our figures based on The Phantom Menace will be in TVC packaging and the other half will not? And we have seen it in print that Nom Anor, Aayla Secura, the new 501st Trooper, Dr. Evazan and Kithaba will be joining the figures in the Walmart exclusive wave in the same case assortment? Did they get demoted to the new 2012 "Darth Maul" (Ack!!! No!) packaging as well? Please explain everything in detail to us? For some reason or another you’re fixated on the Revenge Of The Jedi idea. It’s really cool and we dig it, but please let it go already. Why did you spend so much time at Comic Con talking about this wave of figures when we knew plenty about it at Toy Fair in February this year?

We know you have a ton of properties to worry about, but Star Wars from a nostalgic standpoint should get a little bit more respect. How many other licenses have had the longevity of Star Wars? It’s a powerful commodity and we need to see more of it. And that brings us to another point. When and where are we going to see more of the Original Trilogy get some love in The Vintage Collection? If you’re holding out for New York Comic Con to tell us about this, then shame on you. We have waited since February to see what other OT goodness was up your sleeves. There are about two dozen characters needing definitive updates from A New Hope alone and we think you need to pull the focus of The Vintage Collection back here. You might tell us "all in good time" but we have brutally been waiting for much too long already. The Vintage Collection needs to maintain a focus on the Original Trilogy. We are sure you think you are doing this with the deleted scene figure and the Revenge Of The Jedi waves, but this is only a subset of the Original Trilogy. Keep ideas like the Rebel Fleet Trooper and Bom Vimdin alive and well and keep cranking out all new figures or definitive updates. We need that to never stop.

We’re also a little bit wary of your distribution answer. We don’t know what you can do to work better with stores. You seem to ignore our suggestions time and again. As people who visit stores daily looking desperately for new product, it’s frustrating that you don’t have your representatives do what we are suggesting. Dengar, 4-LOM, Cloud Car Pilot, Clone Trooper (ROTS) and Sandtrooper must all be purged from the stores. Use these figures if you have to so you can make a new Kmart rehashed four-pack again if need be. These are clogging the pegs and preventing new stock from coming in more briskly. (Or so you say.) And in your recent interview with EchoBaseNews.com you encourage (or think it's a good/smart idea for) online stores to charge more for the new figures are lower the prices of the peg warmers?! What in the Maker's name is going on. Is this the Twilight Zone?! Order more numbers of product. If your stores aren’t ordering high enough numbers, than keep HasbroToyShop.com well stocked at all times. Heck, there you should see plenty of trends of what figures peg-warm and what needs to stop being carried forward in case assortments. You also said that you are changing case ratios. We hope this comes to pass because we aren’t feeling too confident about that. Please also ensure that Wedge Antilles, the Gamorrean Guard and other great figure like the ARC Trooper Commander and Rebel Fleet Trooper see non-stop release. These should likely never become peg-warmers.

We’re not alone in our angst and disappointment. Here are just few samples of how our readers feel about Hasbro and your San Diego Comic Con lackluster presentation. Please see below. Please wow us again Hasbro. The line needs a kick in the rear and you’re the only ones that can see that this happens. You have a potentially ultimate basic figure line. You need to reconnect with long time collectors again. Engage us, get us salivating again and bring things to the table that hardcore collectors will do cartwheels in the aisle over. Thank you for your time. Now please see what our readers are saying.

From Allen:

You and Chuck are incredible people for the love you have for "all" things Star Wars and the quality site you maintain.

But I must say, today's HASBRO presentation was a terrible, terrible let down.

1. Luke's Taun-Taun is vintage, but not The Search for Luke Skywalker? Do they even think about those of us who display thematically?

2. No Hoth Luke to sell this year? No vintage Wampa?

3. The finally create or get to making great, nostalgia-based / Kenner inspired cardbacks (20/21 back style, not 12 as many have reported), but this debuts for figures from the TPM and "deleted scenes" from ROTJ?
What?

4. No way (it appears) to get Hasbro to release Vader and Stormtrooper on ANH cards. Seriously, they are on Empire and soon to be on Return and Revenge, but not available on their "original" vintage cards? Even VOTC screwed this up back in 04.

5. Collectors have 1 new Empire figure, 1 ANH figure, and countless "Revenge / Return" variants to buy for the rest of this entire year? The TIE Fighter pilot should, for example, be restored to a ANH card because Kenner should have never waited til Empire to release one. :-)

6. I know people are stoked for B-Wing and Y-Wing, but no X-Wing or BMF in vintage packaging?

7. I could name 600 figures (maybe more) which are already as good as it gets (or as good as 2011 can get) that HASBRO could re-release on ANH, Empire, or Jedi backers. Right now. Whole cases of 12 repackes each . . . I see virtually nothing of interest for the remainder of 2011, save for the Landspeeder. But I am quitting anyway.

I am happy for loose and / or SAGA collectors, truly. I know you, specifically were thrilled beyond belief to get AOTC carded figures since 02-04 was Blue Saga. And I will just bet TPM fans are "over the sanctuary moon" for the waves in 2012 and the new exclusives.

What I want appears impossible, or at the very least contrary to what HASBRO does or wants to do. TPM, AOTC, and ROTS interest me not at all for the TVC. Same for "Revenge" cards (that's not the film's title) and the "Deleted Scenes" figures I don't want (I never bough the Legacy ones to begin with from 08).

For a strict, "I want the best possible figure on a perfect scene card with no stickers and better back photography" collectors, I don't see where I am wanted, listened to, or appreciated. There's nothing for me. At 38, it's time to stop.

The way HASBRO reacted (and answered) to another legitmate QnA complaint (this time it was either you or Yakface) about The Rebel Trooper not having a holster is disgraceful. Why should fans care so much when Hasbro isn't as passionate as we are? I know that's unfair, but I feel so irrelevant as a customer for their products.

I give up. They win. I quit. I am done. DC and HASBRO have finally beaten me down enough.

With all seriousness, I thank you for everything. You, Rebelscum, and Yakface are tremendous sites run by dedicated folks. I wish you all the best. I am selling or donating all of the remaining pieces of my collection for the rest of 2011. By 2012, I'll have very few items left (if any).

Thanks for reading and listening.

Sincerely,

Allen

From Chad:

First off, that was unfortunately the most lack-luster presentation and display Hasbro has ever brought to SDCC. Not sure if it was the lack of new product, the lack of all new characters we've never seen before, the repacks, repacks, and repacks, the lack of any surprises from the Clone Wars line, the lack of new vehicles or anything new from the awesome deluxe line, the apparent lack of OT characters in general, or the fact that I'm still bitter about not finding two entire waves of TVC in the wild (in 15 years of collecting, this has never happened to me). Or maybe it was the fact that Sideshow simply blew Hasbro out of the water. Nonetheless, I was incredibly underwhelmed by everything I've seen from Hasbro (except the amazing Mon Calimari pilot!).

Now that I've gotten that rant out of the way...here are some questions that popped into my mind after checking out the slideshow and the display:

1. What is the haps on these TCW deluxe vehicles shown at Toyfair: Boba Fett & Speeder Bike, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Attack Shuttle?

2. Why didn't we see anything on the new TCW 3 packs (Battle Packs): Cad Bane Escape, Defense of Kamino, The Hunt for Grievous, Assault on Geonosis?

3. Any word on the Search for Luke Skywalker ultimate battle pack w/ Han, Hoth Rebel Soldier, and Taun Taun? Will it be an exclusive?

4. Have they found a home yet for any of these figures: Imperial Scanning Crew (running change TLC figure that never saw the light of day), Princess Kneesaa from the defunct Ewok set, the running change Utai that was mistakenly put out on display at Toyfair a few years back, or the Funeral Pyre Vader?

5. Realistic Clone Wars characters? Where and when?!!!!

6. The Rebel Commando in the SDCC Death Star Exclusive set has a new head. Will we get him on a single card in stores? The slideshow shows the same old Rebel Commando on a Revenge card.

7. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Maul in the 2012 TVC wave 1: repacks? And the Battle Droid from the same wave: will we get two of those? I'm pretty used to getting two in a pack. Especially since the Sage Legends come in two packs and they cost me $2 less than a TVC figure. Seems like I should get two if I'm paying more.

Great coverage by the way, fellas. Talk to you soon...

Chad

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