Because Star Wars makes them more money. A lot more. And the collector market is a bigger share of that cash than it is for Transformers. What are you gonna do?

Hasbro's been very good to us, IMO.

i know, i'm just disappointed damnit

i do agree that now's a great time to be a fan though. this universe line is getting farging awesome

This whole topic if funny because a mere two months ago we were all bitching about all the Movie toys that were clogging shelves while we waited for Animated to come out and now a Star Wars movie is coming out and we're all bitching about the Star Wars movie figures taking away room for our beloved TFs.

Like some have pointed out before, Star Wars has six (count 'em, SIX!) multi-million dollar mega-blockbusters driving its fandom. More people have seen a Star Wars film than have ever even heard of Transformers. Go to a local bookstore and in between the History and Fiction sections you will find the Star Wars section. It probably would not be an overstatement to say that SW is Hasbro's biggest money maker. Yeah, it's that huge.

-A loyal TF fan.

which Bible?

so I went into TRU and they had stocked up with the new SW stuff... WOW that falken is HUGE... no wonder they need more space that thing is epic

That Falcon is great. Too bad I've got zero room for it, and don't really wanna spend $150 on it. Maybe when Target clearances them in a few months...

Best SW development this past week: the re-issue of the SW Potato Heads!

Considering that Hasbro has to pay George Lucas for the license, I can see why they would want to make as much profit as they can off of Star Wars.

Speaking of Lucasfilm, after so much experience with Star Wars, how they heck did Hasbro end up making Indiana Jones figures that are so crappy? They must have had Harrison Ford's head sculpted at least twenty times by now for Star Wars figures. Why couldn't Hasbro do a better job with Indiana Jones?

The older Indy looks a lot like Harrison Ford... the young one, er...

Although paint apps can ruin even the best sculpt, especially at that size. Honestly 3 3/4" is a real crappy scale if you want your figures to look good by today's standards... but Hasbro is stuck with it. I don't think that the original Kenner figures would have been made that size if IRL accuracy had been a big priority for them.

FWIW, they never got Harrison Ford's face right on one single Han Solo figure ever.

(Also, FWIW, the "Old Fart" {e.g. Crystal Skull} has a pretty good likeness of Indy. Too bad his hat is removable and thus looks like a Sombrero-sized fedora on his head.)

if I ever get it its going to have to be something I get in the sales also I have no space for it... but then thats never stopped me before

also its cool to see Hasbro making such huge toys again maybe just maybe if TF2 goes down well we maybe just maybe will get another Fort max sized toy.... maybe

I wonder why Hasbro haven't tried to do something similar to Mattel's Batman Movie Masters line though (i.e. larger scale, better detailed figures intended for older kids/adults)? Especially with their larger adult fanbase that probably isn't that interested in having a figure capable of sitting in a toy spaceship (I hope ).

uh, yeah, about that

Actually in one of the Hasbro Q&As with SW fan sites (seriously we need to get that going for Transformers) they did say that a huge reason for the continued adherence to the 3 3/4" scale was "vehicles". That and continuity with older figures. (Since they're so awesome and look so great in a modern figure collection?)

I would really like to see a more Marvel Legends type approach with SW figures... but part of the thing about SW is that there are five kajillion characters and the fans want all of them. That friggin' six-boobed chick from Jabba's palace was just released and she's been on fans' want lists for forever.

So yeah I don't really post on any SW boards

Heh, I knew about that "vehicles" bit from the Hasbro Q&A, which is why I mentioned it (of course, if there was a Movie Masters' Tumber it would be up my cornhole (ahem) in my collection so fast your head would spin... ).

The continuity with older figures thing is weird, since it seems like (to me at least, I don't really know) that they constantly re-release all of the older figures in new, updated forms anyway, but maybe the idea is that they don't expect everyone to rebuy every figure if there was a previous version released (similar to their "surprise" at TF fans buying repaints of molds they already own).

I don't think they're trying to keep continuity with older figures so much as, when they started remaking the line they were trying to keep continuity with older vehicles and playsets.

Increases play value for collectors and keeps costs down when they get to reuse old molds.

this

at least if SW fans are anything like joe fans. i don't post on any joe boards, but i lurk them like crazy and thats some of the biggest complaints from fans is that the new joes didn't fit good in the old vehicles. i'm sure SW fans would do the same.

I'm not suggesting that they discontinue the 3.75-inch figures, just that it seems like there would be room for a new sub-line of larger figures that perhaps just showcases the most popular characters in a highly detailed fashion (but isn't so space/cost ineffective as the 12-inch dolls from Sideshow, etc.).

Ironically they made a set of larger sized figures in the simpler and less detailed Clone Wars style.

Which were awesome!

Just a side deal.

I was in TRU today looking for a gift for my friends kid. I was heading towards the board game isle and I heard a guy go "Transformers Chess(which is on clearance), why not Star Wars"

The people he was with who where very loud kept about the isles telling him they didn't understand why everything had to be Star Wars with him, going further to say that the movies where alright, but not that good(I concur).

Well, I took my time and made it to the row with the chess set and took a look at it, as I've been wanting it, and saw it alone in the middle of every game ever made in a Star Wars variant. It was sick. Not only was it overkill, this prick was complaining that there was one game that wasn't Star Wars.

So I'm looking for the best box when he walks down the isle. Him and his crew come back into the isle and a pretty cute girl(who's been harassing the Star Wars guy) tells me that the game looked nice. So now this guy is getting mad that everything isn't Star Wars, but he don't know I've been hearing them.

So I say loud and proud, "Yeah, I'm glad to see that a timeless game is being handeled right, unlike all this worthless Star Wars crap!!!"

His crew started laughing, he turned red, I walked away a true fan.

I'm not sorry for saying it, Star Wars had some cool looking things, but over all it sucked. The Force is a Farce, Luke is a Weenie, and Bobba Fetts a b!tch! And the same goes for Star Trek, Star Gate, Star oh who gives a frig anyway!?!

But how do you REALLY feel?

I'll stand for a lot of things, but I won't have you debasing innocent starfish.

Yeah! What'd they ever do to you?

chocolate starfish >>> YOU !!!

The Clone Wars animated figures were in the same scale, actually.

And fans bitched about them because the "look" didn't match the rest of their collection. (lol, sound familiar?)

But they made bigger ones, too. *is too lazy to google pic this morning*

And, yes, it does sound familiar.

You might be thinking of the "Force Battlers" that came out in 2005 as part of the Revenge of the Sith line. They were just chunky kids' toys with a toon-ish look, but they weren't using the Clone Wars aesthetic or characters.

That's probably it, then.

I distinctly remember seeing "animated" style toys in about a six inch scale in the toy aisle one day, but all I really collect is the OT Galatic Heroes...that tiny Millennium Falcon's so cute...so I don't really "keep up" with the overall line.

It's okay, I wish I knew less about it.

I had to watch TV and use a VC Ara

to VC aRa

I don't collect any SW. I have a few from childhood and some an aunt gave me years ago.

but when I saw those first day stickers on the legacy vader...

*can't be bothered to read entire thread*

Disclaimer: JMCT (Just My Conspiracy Theory)

I reckon Hasbro/Archer does play favourites when it comes to marketing certain lines over another. Star Wars is a no brainer as it's a significantly bigger franchise, but let's make another comparison here - G.I. Joe.

Hasbro's marketing of G.I. Joe recently - in my observation and from my conversations with G.I. Joe fans - appears to be far more focused and attentive than Transformers. Archer himself has admitted that he is personally a G.I. Joe fan having grown up with G.I. Joe and that he didn't really know much about Transformers until he got his job as head of boys toys at Hasbro in 1999 (his debut heralding Transmetal IIs and Transformer Animorphs leaving many fans wondering "wtf?!" :/). Inattentiveness and lack of focus has long been one of my biggest criticisms of Hasbro under Archer regarding Transformers. Cos if they'd paid attention they would realise things like how "Decepticon Octane" or even "Mega-Octane" are much better names for Universe Tankor. It's almost as if Archer and his team need to take big doses of Ritalin™ each and every time they work on TFs. (-_-)



I don't object to Archer being a personal Joe fan - he's entitled to his own personal fandom and that's great. But I find it unprofessional that he should allow his personal bias to effect his work to the point where lines like G.I. Joe, which unlike Star Wars doesn't appear to be a massively larger franchise than Transformers, receives far more focused attention in its development and marketing.

And before anyone accuses me of "Hasbro bashing" Takara is sometimes guilty of allowing their bias to detriment other lines too, e.g.: Beyblade. (-_-) But on the whole their track record isn't nearly as extensively bad as Hasbro's in my observation.

you should read the thread.

But I think you miss the point that Takara caters to a different demographic than Hasbro.
The Japanese TOY market is different than the American TOY market. I think both companies listen to their fanbase quite a bit.

Which in Habro's case happens to be 5-10 year olds even if the fanboys don't like it.

And, to be fair, G.I. Joe fans have gotten toy lines that were hit or miss since 2000. Things started to get better with the first comic packs and some of the army builder/specialty figure sets that were sold at TRU. The 25th anniversary line is the best thing to happen to G.I. Joe since the line debuted in the '82.

I agree with this.

However, just check out any of the GI Joe forums to see if fans are happy with Hasbro (HINT: They are not.) If you think that '09 Bumblebee was a difficult find, imagine entire waves of figures going that way, because that's what the 25A figures have been like. Don't get me started on store-exclusives.

TF fans have it easy.

So they're complaining that the brand is popular?

Yes.

And the fact that despite this, most stores are only stocking ONE case of figures (which, FYI, only comes with one of each figure) and in most instances this is the only time that wave is stocked. So you basically have to hit the store the day it puts out new stock to have a shot at getting most figures before some scalping fuckwad comes along and buys out everything.

Which all ends up being Hasbro's fault, I'm sure.

it's not like there's anything going on in popular media right now to promote this stuff. I'm sure that when the movie hits, there'll be a lot more of that stuff available.

Well, that it is popular and poorly-stocked.

The single-pack figures are damn near impossible to find outside of the first few days stores put them on the pegs, and are rarely, if ever, restocked before the next wave hits. I'd say it was just a specific store issue, but every single retail store in my area (Walmart, Target, and TRU) that carry the figs suffer from the same problems.

EDIT: Didn't mean to repeat ST53...I was writing as he posted. FYI, I tend to buy out the stock that they have, but I'm no scalper...

That's not Hasbro's fault though. They just sell the figures to Wal-Mart, Target, TRU, etc... and the retailers are the ones who distribute them.

Also, it's not really Hasbro's fault if some sorry excuse of a human being scalps all the figures before fans and kids can get a crack at them.

Something about "Hasbro's distribution sucks!" And I can kind of see that because the wave releases have no rhythm to them. You'll see a new wave, and a new one in 3 weeks, and then nothing for months. I don't think its really Hasbro's fault other than the fact that they simply aren't producing enough of it for my tastes. Some figures have been difficult for me to find. From Hasbro's standpoint they're doing well because there isn't a whole lot of unsold merchandise on the shelves.


Yeah, but its all going to be movie stuff. Meh.

25A figures are kind of like Classics for the Joe line, it essentially was a filler line (there were only going to be 25 figures released originally, and 10 of those were the two 5-packs.) But it exploded in popularity. (Wow! updated figures of characters were all ga-ga over 25 years ago? Who saw that coming?)

And the retailers do this based on what they think is gonna sell.

I don't know if this is the case for anyone else, but at our closest Wal-Mart there's an entire end cap filled with pegs of these guys.

That's just getting a jump on the ball
As long as you don't hit five stores in a morning then sell everything for three times its retail price you're ok.


Same here.
Also, IIRC they had those GI Joe 25th Anniversary packs in the display boxes. Perhaps the retailers wanting more free shelf space lead to only one or two of those sets being sent to most stores?

Just FYI, people who go in and buy all the figures left on shelves I generally characterize as "scalping f*ckwads." Some people just simply love the figures and want multiples, and I don't have a problem with that. In any event, some people are completists, and if they buy an entire wave of 25A figures, they might be cleaning out the store's stock but they aren't really buying multiples because there's only one of each to begin with.

I know a lot of undue angst gets directed toward toy companies, but its hard to believe that, for the better part of a year, these retail giants would allow their stock of an obviously hot-selling toy to dwindle to nothing for months at a time.

Who knows? Maybe there was uneven distribution, maybe they didn't think the sales were hot enough to justify restocking right away, maybe with the new TF movie coming they decided to sacrifice GI Joe shelf space for TF shelf space. Maybe it was something else all together.

Regardless I doubt Hasbro was sitting on unsold GI Joe merch refusing to sell it to the retailers.

Well, my guess is that the production run is significantly lower, not that there's an artificial shortage.

Maybe they just didn't really care? GI Joe is kind of under the pop culture radar.

Sounds to me more like the big retailers aren't as enamoured with the 25A Joes as the Joe fans wish they were...





Huh. I felt that for ObiWan and Anakin the characters were quite close to the Clone Wars aesthetic (just a tad chunkier) - I actually bought ObiWan for just that reason.

Regardless of that, retailers would surely have taken note of the sales that have taken place since the release and would have, at some point since then, readjusted ordering patterns to ensure that there aren't empty pegs, whether or not those sales were expected when the line debuted. 'Cause, you know, lots of stores (i.e. every one I've been to in town) have been selling them like friggin' hotcakes.

I could understand that if you could walk in to any store in America and see lots and lots of GI Joes hanging from the pegs. But the fact is that you can't. For every store that has "an end cap full of figures," there's probably 3 or 4 that have one or two figures and don't get any more in stock for months. And since the line debuted every store I have been to has had the same amount of shelf space reserved for the line, despite there sometimes being weeks with only one or two figures in stock, which leads me to believe that they have ordered and are waiting for more, they just aren't getting it.

Again, not saying this is completely Hasbro's fault, I think they just underestimated the line's popularity. But, how could they have known? Like Madhammer said, its under the pop culture radar and unlike TFs has been mostly collector driven in recent years.