The Action Figure and Toy Collecting and Discussion Thread!

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by cooleddie74, Apr 7, 2012.

  1. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2001
    Location:
    Ferguson, Missouri, USA
    They actually do, however. But as I said, retail isn't an exact science. Not every retail chain takes adult collectors into consideration and would rather have Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America than shelves full of female characters in their action figure section. I have walked into quite a few Wal-marts and have seen a number of Power Girls, Zatannas, and Spider-women collecting dust on the pegs. It seems the fewer female characters there are, the more likely a store won't be stuck with them later on. Every location is different, but that's what I've generally seen more than not in my area.
    Pretty much this. Some online toy stores--like Big Bad--don't even offer female figures individually if they're shortpacked in a case of twelve. They figure that collectors are more inclined to buy the entire case if they want the female figure(s).
     
  2. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    New Walmart toy department reset plan-o-grams have just been posted on one of the SW collecting sites. The emphasis on 3.75" action figures is being noticeably scaled back to make more peg wall space for the new kid-oriented Fighter Pods toys. Walmarts are going to devote fewer pegs to Vintage Collection, Movie Heroes and Clone Wars action figures for the coming quarter and the holiday shopping season and more attention to the little kids' stuff.

    There are quite a few upset collectors on the sites and their boards. After all the distribution and restocking issues this past year or so a lot of us were hoping for increased attention to the 3.75" product to make up for all the recent problems, but that doesn't seem to be what the largest retailer has planned. Don't know if TRU, Target or Kmart will also be scaling back on their commitment to regular action figures, but I won't be surprised if they do.

    Right now Hasbro's trying to push the Fighter Pods almost to the exclusion of everything else Star Wars-related, going so far as to change the visual theme of their website to Fighter Pods. Oh well. Nothing we can really do except hope that more new product will show up on the reduced number of pegs.
     
  3. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2003
    Location:
    Ysmault
    Any mention of DC Universe All Stars on the plan-o-grams?

    So, I think I've built up a great deal of karma with the toy gods and was very due for some good news. I just managed to grab an Eradicator and Azrael Batman off ebay on the cheap. These two have been hounding me forever, since they're always so expensive on the aftermarket, and I really wanted to have MOC versions in order to have the BAF pieces for Metallo and Bane. Well, now I finally will have them. Yay! My list of missing DC Universe figures grows ever smaller.
     
  4. Gepard

    Gepard Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2007
    One of the issues I've heard toy companies are facing these days is competition for the older kid's market coming from video games. Once they hit a certain age, they're gaming all the time and don't care so much for toys. So there's an increased focus on the younger set and making existing lines more little-kid friendly; we're seeing this in the Transformers lines as well, which have introduced a preschool-friendly line called "Botshots" and simplified the mane-line toys for a younger audience. It sucks, but what are you gonna do?
     
  5. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    Not that I saw. The cell phone pictures seemed to focus only on the pages of the plan-o-grams that dealt with Star Wars merchandise. In my local Walmarts the DC Universe stuff is in the same aisle but to the far left or across the aisle on the other side.

    Sorry. Wish I could tell you something.
     
  6. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2003
    Location:
    Ysmault
    Most DC collectors are expecting the All Star waves to pretty much be online exclusive anyways. Wal-Marts and Targets don't seem to have much support for the line, so it may only show up at the odd Toys R Us. It's too bad. I want every single figure they've shown so far.
     
  7. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    The last Vintage Collection wave is an online exclusive, which means that unless Hasbro has some surprise announcements up its sleeve for the upcoming holiday shopping season then the pegs are gonna be very, very dry between now and the first quarter of next year.

    Not like they haven't been dry for most of the past six months anyways. But...you know...this time it's the principle of the matter. There should, if Hasbro knows what's good for it, be new and fresh product on shelves to draw in customers shopping for Christmas, but with the last Vintage wave being online and only a very small handful of new Movie Heroes and Clone Wars figures slated for release before the end of the year I just don't think the pegs are going to change much before the new Legacy/Droid Factory and AOTC 3-D figures hit near the beginning of next year.
     
  8. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2003
    Location:
    Ysmault
    At least there will be Star Wars product, even if its reduced. DC Universe shipped its last wave months ago, and the major retailers won't pick up the All Stars Wave. Whether or not they go for the new DC Unlimited line which will have a focus on Superman, Batman and New 52 versions of A-listers like The Flash or Green Lantern remains to be seen. But with DC Universe done, and Young Justice done, that means that very soon, besides The Dark Knight Rises, there will be absolutely no DC figures on shelves at all.
     
  9. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    Surprise!

    Amazon has begun offering the 12 figures in the last Vintage wave individually, but the current price for one EU Old Republic Trooper has skyrocketed to $35. And the Emperor's Royal Guard is completely out of stock at the moment.

    Screw that.

    I knew this would happen with the new Royal Guard and Republic Trooper, or something very similar. All Hasbro had to do was make the final wave a Christmas season release and make sure enough shipped to retailers to meet demand. Like they used to before the current regime full of rhesus monkeys with short attention spans took over the reins at the company. But noooooo.

    Oh well. At this point I'll just be glad to get one of each figure and I'll worry about army building a couple of them a little later. The prices and available stock right now just don't permit it.
     
  10. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2003
    Location:
    Ysmault
    When Mattel announced that the new retail DC line is mostly going to be Batman and Superman with a few other A-listers tossed in there occasionally, I was upset. Then they have to go and show us these:
    [​IMG]

    Dark Knight Returns Batman and the Batman of Zur En Arrh! Oh my god! Zur En Arrh! I never thought we would see that one made. That's just insane, and wonderful. The DKR version looks great too. That's an essential variant of Batman. You know what? If this line is gonna give us fantastic variants of Batman and Superman like these two, then I'm cool with the line just being the big guns. We still have Club Infinite Earths for the more obscure characters.
     
  11. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    I like the new avatar, OdoWan! It's a bit strange to see you without a Pony theme, but I like the new choice. :techman:

    I like the DKR Batman figure...I don't know enough about the other one to be qualified to say anything about it. That offshoot of the Batman franchise and universe was one I never got into in any way whatsoever, but the figure definitely looks pretty neat.

    The little one(I forget the name right now) reminds me of the old Domino's Pizza Noid mascot. :p
     
  12. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2003
    Location:
    Ysmault
    I like to change it up every once in a while, and when I saw this panel in the latest issue of Batman and Robin, I knew I had to have it as my avatar.

    The Batman of Zur En Arrh (at least this version) is from Batman R.I.P. from a few years back. Batman is so prepared for everything that he actually created an alternate supressed personality for himself in case he ever came under mental attack. That happens, and the Batman of Zurr En Arrh emerges, and proceeds to beat the ever loving hell out of everything. Batman R.I.P. was a pretty insane comic. The little guy is Bat-Mite, who in this story acts as Batman's "spirit guide" while he's Zur En Arrhed out.
     
  13. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    The huge MTT Troop Transport vehicles are starting to show up on retail shelves. Walmarts are selling the big thing for $129.96 or thereabouts and Target's probably a couple of bucks higher. If anyone in the thread has been wanting the new, big electronic Star Wars vehicle for 2012 it's starting to make its presence known...ever so gradually.

    As long and wide as the box is there appears to be room for just one MTT at a time on retail shelves...maybe two if you can squeeze it in between all the unsold, smaller ships and vehicles from the Episode I 3-D blitz earlier this year. Keep your eyes peeled!
     
  14. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
  15. cooleddie74

    cooleddie74 Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2001
    Location:
    The Warped Sector of the Demented Quadrant
    The Toys 'R' Us Ewok and Yavin Pilot multipacks are starting to hit stores this weekend. The pricepoint on each is a hefty $39.99, but considering you get five figures and a bunch of accessories in each set and the price of just one regular carded figure is now hovering at around ten bucks it's a really good deal. Also, it's hard to complain much when you realize we're finally getting a much needed, more articulated upgrade of Porkins from ANH as well as the first Princess Kneesaa toy since the eighties.

    Also, keep your eyes peeled at your local Kmart if you have one. The exclusive AT-ST Scout Walker in a Vintage Collection box is also starting to show up here and there. It runs $34.99 and comes with no figures, but it's a reuse and nice repaint of a pretty good mold from a few years ago and that retro-'80s box is pretty sweet.
     
  16. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2003
    Location:
    Ysmault
    Yeah, I saw those too. The Injustice Batman is just doing nothing for me, though. Wonder Woman, as nice as she is, is just not as exciting as that DKR or Zur En Arrh Batmans. It's great to see them finally using the MOTUC body for a DC figure. That opens up all sorts of new possibilities.
     
  17. Unicron

    Unicron Boss Monster Mod Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2003
    Location:
    The Crown of the Moon
    I'm personally looking for the new Shockwave myself, if I can find him.
     
  18. Gotham Central

    Gotham Central Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 15, 2001
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    I'm in for Bat-mite...witness the Power of Batman:Brave and the Bold...I now love bat-mite :D
     
  19. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2003
    Location:
    Ysmault
    Bat-mite comes with the "Grant Morrison is freaking crazy" Batman.
     
  20. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2002
    Location:
    Gotham
    Bat-Mite's use in RIP was genius, and I agree about the Injustice Batman..kind of meh. I also saw the New 52 Batgirl...the comic IMO has been meh but I love the costume design so I will probably get that.

    @OdoWan...your avatar makes me want that Jeff Lemaire "Robins" ongoing...damn it DC, make this happen!