To Hasbro: 2017 Must Look And Feel Like The Vintage Kenner Era
Date: November 15, 2016 at 02:41 PM ET
Topic: Hasbro


It goes without saying that if The Vintage Collection doesn’t make its deserved return by May 2017 that Hasbro has totally lost touch with the adult and longtime collecting community. This is the ONLY time to bring it back. The Force Awakens isn't the 40th anniversary of Star Wars. The new Expanded Universe is not the 40th anniversary of Star Wars. It's all about the Original Trilogy (the point from which anything starts is what defines an anniversary) and this is our only moment in time to embrace and celebrate it! Newbie collectors won’t care so much as they can’t see too much beyond the 6” line (which is fine). So, we decided to join their company in order to make some suggestions for Hasbro's The Black Series 6” line. This hopefully will placate everyone. Granted, if this isn’t your scale, you’re not going to care too much about this post (probably). But we think some suggestions from longtime collectors might help Hasbro to engage a fledgling community of collectors that they're losing exponentially. Here is what we want to see from The Black Series 6" line for the 40th anniversary of Star Wars. Click through for more!



P.S. Note there are NO 6" figures in the image above and two VERY thrilled Star Wars fans.

1. In 2005, Hasbro reintroduced the Early Bird Figures set. Although launched with the Revenge Of The Sith products line, this collector-focused item was really a foreshadowing of what was to come that December. In December The Saga Collection, a collection of Star Wars figures which for the first time ever bound our galaxy of characters together under one banner, was released. But the Early Bird Package in 2005 was the catalyst to assure everyone that the Original Trilogy was coming back big time…. and it did. Solid waves of figures from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi were mixed in with waves from the Prequel Trilogy. And the packaging mimicked that black and silver and starry background Kenner card back that all of us identify with so strongly. So to Hasbro 2017 we suggest: how about releasing a mock Early Bird Set in The Black Series 6” line? You can make a bigger tray to hold them, give us another stab at R2-D2 and give us a deluxe-sized cardboard background on which to display them.

2. And while we’re speaking of the Early Bird Kit, how about just generally focusing on the original 12-Back figures and maybe recreate a display stand like the mail-away one from the vintage Kenner era? And no more giving us crap like THIS. You say you are committed to making companion products for The Black Series 6” line, so here is a perfect opportunity. It will also give us the opportunity to display all 12 figures together. It also means that you’ll need to release a Jawa and Death Star Commander in the line too. How about updating the Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa figures while you're at it?

3. We’re thinking a replica Sears' Cantina Adventure Set would be sublime too. There just aren’t enough alien characters in The Black Series 6” line that are from the cantina. Sure, we got a half-baked Greedo with wrongly shaped eyes, but how about the beloved Hammerhead? Ponda Baba? And Snaggletooth (please make Takeel and not Zutton)? Give us a nice gigantic cardboard backdrop (hey, Gentle Giant Ltd. did it) and some cool packaging and we’d be all into this! Oh, and please be sure that Ponda Baba has all of the interchangeability that the stunning The Vintage Collection version has. No cheap shortcuts allowed! If you want to throw soft-goods on Hammerhead, we’re all into that too!

4. The Empire Strikes Back line introduced young Star Wars fans to the Mini Rig in the early 80s. Since The Black Series [Phase III] 6” Special Forces TIE Fighter was ludicrous and became clearance fodder, we think the idea of vehicles in this scale is just not feasible. Between the laughably high MSRP and the impracticality of displaying them in collections that are 40 years old, we’re thinking a smaller scaled vehicle line might be of interest, provided you have the right pack-in figures to go along with them. We propose that you remake the Mini Rigs in 6” scale, yes the same ones. We propose: The ISP-6 *with Emperor’s Royal Guard, Snowtrooper or Darth Vader), the AST-5 (with Klaatu), the INT-4 (with AT-AT Driver), the MLC- (with Hoth Trooper), the MTV-7 (with Snowtrooper), the CAP-2 (with Bossk), the PDT-8 (with Han Hoth). You catch our drift. Should you find this a viable 40th anniversary release, please keep the price point around $40 (for vehicle and figure).

    

      

5. How about just a better focus on standout background characters that seem to not get touched with a 10-foot pole anymore? We’re thinking Yak Face, Bespin Security Guard (your options are endless here Hasbro), Lobot, 2-1B, FX-7, Amanaman, Ewoks, Death Star Droid, Gamorrean Guard, Cloud Car Pilot and SO MANY MORE! The list is endless. We don't need another Finn, another Rey or another First Order anything. BRING BACK THE OT! Star Wars collecting needs an OT focus again! Please don’t forsake the characters from the Original Trilogy in 2017. We need to see more and more and more.

6. The Black Series [Phase III] line look needs to retire by first quarter 2017. Please revise the line and convert the packaging into miniature version of the Kenner “Large Size Action Figure” boxes. Please keep the design as faithful as you can to those classic 1979 and 1980 figures. You will notoriously gain new followers of this scale for the packaging alone…. And the figures will look better for it.

7. Longtime Star Wars fans LOVE the 1985 The Power Of The Force line. Could you produce a complete set of the coins in larger 6” scale? That would keep the original coins valuable while giving those that don’t have them a chance at them. And the larger size would be faithful to your 6” focus for the modern collector.

8. Could you try a test run of The Black Series 6” Special Action Figure Sets? These were a huge hit as TARGET exclusives during The Vintage Collection. and not all of the sets were produced. Maybe you could start off with the set in 6” scale that you never got to in 3.75” scale. We’d love to see you produce them all. They’re a great concept and would make great collectibles.

9. If you’re not going to make the Death Star playset that we’re dying to get from you, how about producing a cardboard Palitoy Death Star for the 6” line? The larger scale might be a wonderful update tout our 3.75” figures too as some of the scale was too small for the original release. It would be great to have some sort of updated playset for ANY Star Wars figures today. But of course we'd prefer a true scale and AWESOME plastic Death Star over this ANY day.

10. Yeah, it's beating a dead horse but we don't care. Please bring back The Vintage Collection in 3.75” scale by May 2017 the latest. Life is too short. Your original collectors won’t be on Earth forever, and there is so much to get to before we’re gone. Thank you!







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