Rants & Raves

There’s got to be a way that The Vintage Collection collecting community can get into Hasbro’s good graces that it inspires them to produce the best action figure line possible. As you all know well, it’s been a torturous uphill battle, and it often feels like they bother with us because they “have” to, not because they “want” to. I recently came across a clip of the season 1 finale of 2000’s Malcolm in the Middle television show (some of the greatest TV ever produced by the way), and I thought it was the perfect metaphor of the relationship between The Vintage Collection, The Vintage Collection collecting community, and Hasbro. And what metaphor would be complete without injecting Bea Arthur, ABBA, and buttons? Click through if you dare.

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Thank you for getting Paploo into The Vintage Collection, Hasbro. As one of the main Ewoks in Return Of The Jedi with tons of screen time, it’s awesome to get an update as well as another Kenner 96 release checked off in our collections. But as usual, you have some work to do. Click through for more.

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Something’s gotta give. This is a mere sampling of the many items from my many orders with Walmart that have been canceled without warning. The Black Series 6″ figures, The Vintage Collection figures, and Walmart exclusives have all gotten canceled. I must have over 30 cancellation emails from Walmart now. The question is whose fault is this? It’s a question we’ve never received an honest answer to from anyone.

2020 has come and gone, and that’s good for many reasons, of course. But it’s bad for others. One reason in particular that it’s not good is because of how Hasbro treated The Vintage Collection for The Empire Strikes Back’s 40th Anniversary. (more….)

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Are you tired of proving your worth to Hasbro, 3.75″ collectors? How is it that we literally “kill” it for The Khetanna and then only get two all-new action figures to populate it? And then we all step up to the plate HUGELY once again for the Razor Crest, only to see Hasbro asleep at the wheel. Why aren’t they banging out 3.75″ action figures for us after that major campaign success? They owe it to us to make us new characters from The Mandalorian for The Vintage Collection. And after two years, how is it that we don’t have some core and behind the scenes characters from The Mandalorian yet? (Would you announce Kuiil already?) While Hasbro is obsessively reusing parts from their older 6″ figures, they’re doing next to nothing to utilize older 3.75″ super-articulated figures that could be revitalized to bring us new characters from The Mandalorian. Oh, and yes, we deserve some all-new tooling as well. (more….)

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Look, this isn’t another dig at “sixers.” So don’t take it that way. But will Hasbro ever throw a bone to TVC collectors? It’s pure frustration. The Vintage Collection cannot catch a break. Retail doesn’t care. Collectors are getting numb again. And it’s obvious that Hasbro certainly doesn’t care. (more….)

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You have to wonder what happens at Hasbro’s Product Development meeting. Do they pitch ideas based on what’s popular and sells? Or are they so far behind with playing catch-up for being ill-prepared with The Mandalorian, that everything is getting pushed to the backburner? Think about it.

Hasbro designs a multipack including a trio of Cantina aliens or Jabba’s aliens. Check. Classic vintage Kenner packaging. Check. The first run sells out in no time. Check. Hasbro solicits it once again due to its success. Check. Hasbro never produces another set like it again. Check. “We seem to be made to suffer. It’s our lot in life.” Check. (more….)

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Yesterday, after expressing personal joy and elation for the announced all-new Return Of The Jedi Boba Fett, I posted an article suggesting Hasbro relook at the packaging to make it more authentic to the original Kenner card back. A few readers took the article, which focused on encouraging Hasbro to make the artwork better, out of context, and interpreted it as complaining. So, in return, they complained about “perceived” complaining. If they read the article, they’d see the relevance of it. Thankfully, someone did. JTA reader and friend Binary_Son, famous for creating our “Back The Barge” campaign posters, whipped up how he sees the Return Of The Jedi Boba Fett card art in minutes. And it’s already worlds better than Hasbro’s version shown yesterday. You can see how important it is NOT to zoom in on Boba Fett and correct the “pill” and “Backer” colors. And let’s not forget about the unobstructed sawed-off blaster rifle or the darker blue sky. All of these elements are crucial. In his rough example, the lower body would still need some work, but hopefully, you’ll catch the drift of what Hasbro should be giving us. Thanks, Binary_Son!

OK, Hasbro. Firstly, thank you for doing right by collectors of The Vintage Collection. Today’s announcement was LONG OVERDUE, but at least it’s here now. Secondly, since you’ve confirmed this figure’s release, it’s now time to talk about that card back. You should have time to remedy the multiple issues that plague it and get it to your art department to fix it. Click through for more.

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Is Hasbro simply denying that Fives is getting repacked in the mainline? Their “ultimate checklist” is not as ultimate as they think. It lists the other figures from the wave (Hondo, Chirrut, Jedi Luke), but Fives is still conspicuously missing! We just reviewed this figure, and it’s one of Hasbro’s best. I have 4 of them in hand from Amazon, and another arriving today! Hasbro, where’s Fives?!

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If you’re a The Black Series 6″ collector, Jar Jar Binks and the Return Of The Jedi Boba Fett should outrage you (more….)

A wider box doesn’t mean the figure inside is a deluxe figure.

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Hasbro made TWO HUGE mistakes deciding on what figures to release in The Vintage Collection basic figure line. It might be two of their worst decisions in the ENTIRE run of The Vintage Collection basic figure line. (more….)

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As you know, Ollie’s stores got multiple case assortments of The Vintage Collection in enough quantity to make a big deal about it and posted the news in their ad the week they went for sale. If you’re a collector of The Vintage Collection, you know that MANY of the figures that arrived at Ollie’s never made their way to brick and mortar stores like TARGET and WALMART. A lot of collectors saw the Rogue One Stormtrooper for the first time at Ollie’s, and on clearance to boot. One of the case boxes from the same Hasbro distribution center went to Ollie’s. And then we have another picture of a Walmart case from Walmart with the local label pulled back for comparison. What we discovered is not unexpected, but still disconcerting. It provides proof of how frustrating the current state of distribution is. Click through for more.

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The Vintage Collection is in desperate need of Emperor Palpatine figures. We have an idea of how to kill three birds with one stone. (more….)

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It’s easy to forget what magnitude of things are wrong with The Vintage Collection when uber-cool items like the BMF are shipping, but don’t lose focus. I typically cannot be bothered with anything on social media, but this post caught my eye. JTA was tagged by blueharvestcollector with a post that asks, “Where’s the TVC scale version?” (of Baby Yoda). The question seems simple, but it’s profound because it speaks volumes. If the absence of a 3.75″ The Child action figure in the line doesn’t scream at you how disengaged Hasbro is to The Vintage Collection; nothing will. For goodness sake, Chia Pet collectors have Baby Yoda before TVC collectors. Doesn’t that embarrass anyone at Hasbro? And before someone says, “maybe the character is to small,” I would draw your attention to 2009’s TLC Captain Typho (BD 47) figure’s communicator accessory. I believe it’s still the tiniest 3.75″ accessory to date. For that matter, the 6″ The Child’s accessories are tiny as well.

Hasbro, thank you for the all-new and beautiful Tantive IV playset. It was a nice surprise. But we have to talk about that pack in figure stat! (more….)

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As long as I’ve been collecting and reporting on the Hasbro toy line, there has been an endless circle of blame between retail and Hasbro. Hasbro says they send the stuff to retail. Retail says that Hasbro never sends the product. Wherever the truth lies, collectors know that the bottom line is that The Vintage Collection has primarily become an online/mail-order collection of action figures. (more….)

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Yes, this is part of the #fightforTVC campaign, but I pose this as a legitimate question to 6″ Black Series collectors. For over 40 years, 3.75″ action figures have dominated the Star Wars collecting market. Only a few years ago, the 6″ Black Series line entered the scene, and has since grown into a line with many new figures per year and a large collecting group. But how long can it continue? Is collecting 6″ figures sustainable? Let’s explore a few reasons why it may not be…

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I really didn’t want to complain about much of anything Star Wars collecting related, because there is too much going on in the world that’s inimitably more important. But hopefully, this won’t be interpreted more than an important suggestion to prevent the situation from becoming Hasbro’s siren’s song of doom.

The Retro Collection Boba Fett has just begun hitting retail, and the aftermarket on them is hideous. They sold out in split seconds at Walmart. Yet, no one important seems to be paying attention to this at Hasbro. Well, here is your fair warning to get more produced. Hasbro – here is a reality check for you. I hope that you’re producing SOLID CASE PACKS of Boba Fett from the Retro Collection so 3.75″ enthusiasts can buy anywhere from 5-10 case packs of these when they become available through the Fan Channel. Please don’t disappoint us, and please kill the aftermarket now. You’ve made so many mistakes with the 3.75″ line, please heed our advice and don’t let this important decision slip through your fingers too. Thank you!

Hey Hasbro! Your art department has some work to do on the upcoming The ViIntage Collection Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) figure. (Thank you for releasing this long-awaited figure by the way.) While we received this card art on the first edition Luke Skywalker (Endor Capture) figure from 2010, it’s nice to see everything corrected and in place for this ultimate release. However, there is ONE major error we’re hoping you can fix to help authenticate the original vintage Kenner release from 1983. To our readers, by comparing the thumbnail images below, can you see what differs between the two of them? If not, click through for the answer!

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As someone who, in my strong opinion, was justifiably critical of the Sequel Trilogy, I had zero hopes or expectations for The Rise Of Skywalker. ZERO! However, the last thing I ever expected was to like the film. A LOT. Let’s face some basic facts. The Sequel Trilogy went the wrong way for Star Wars. (more….)

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I found this to be a bit humorous. Maybe you will too, or maybe you won’t. While periodically looking on Amazon for a Luke Skywalker (Crait) figure (since they sent me a destroyed one that arrived months ago), I was shocked to see what the aftermarket price is on this canceled figure. Currently, it’s over $60.00. That’s obviously not the humorous part. What is humorous, however, is the “alternate” lower-priced figure Amazon recommended instead in the top left corner. Click the image below and see it for yourself. I mean, I know it’s a “silver anniversary” figure and everything, but come on Amazon! I am not necessarily looking for a lower-priced figure, I am looking for this figure at MSRP! How irritating is it to deal with Hasbro’s inability to get the appropriate stock to their retail partners, without it going to ROSS, Ollie’s, or TJ Maxx first?

With the state of Star Wars merchandising (and action figures in particular), I wish that everything The Vintage Collection-related going forward would come via HasLab. (more….)

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You’ve always collected Star Wars toys with relative availability at the retail level. But recently, you’ve encountered another dimension of nothingness; nothing to purchase because there’s nothing found. You’re desperately trying to spend your extra income on the latest Star Wars figures. But instead, you’ve just crossed over into The Hasbro Zone. (more….)

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We know what we’ve been told. Hasbro supposedly held back “a large percentage” of stuff to avoid spoilers for The Rise Of Skywalker for The Vintage Collection. (The same is true for The Black Serie [Phase III] 6″ line.) That’s why we were bombarded with over a dozen straight repacks over the summer. But the film is out. The spoilers are known. And yet, there are NO newly announced 3.75″ super-articulated action figures from the film announced. WHY? (more…)

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