One aspect about Hasbro cutting back on production numbers I find baffling is the following. Say Target/Walmart wants to order 25k (random number) of an item. Is Hasbro not going to fill that order? Are they only going to make 15k out of caution? Isn't up to the customer (Target/Walmart) to not over order? I realize Hasbro doesn't want retailers to get too burned with product and not order in the future. I just find it a little odd Hasbro potentially won't fill full orders from retailers. If this policy was for items which have refreshes (ie waves) it makes sense, since a single wave won't be overstocked and will be replaced with the next wave.
I just want to chime in that I'm so appreciative that we got characters like Luis, Jimmy Woo, Everett Ross, to help fill out these cast displays. I totally understand that they aren't popular or dynamic and have the potential of and history to warm pegs. I understand a company leaning away from producing those kinds of characters. But I am happy that I lived in a time where those characters were still considered to be immortalized in plastic.
I just want to chime in that I'm so appreciative that we got characters like Luis, Jimmy Woo, Everett Ross, to help fill out these cast displays. I totally understand that they aren't popular or dynamic and have the potential of and history to warm pegs. I understand a company leaning away from producing those kinds of characters. But I am happy that I lived in a time where those characters were still considered to be immortalized in plastic.
I was certainly happier in those times. But I will be okay with the line so that we keep getting the bad guys and such I know I keep harping on that in my posts, but everyone has their issue. The bad guys is my issue lol
I just want to chime in that I'm so appreciative that we got characters like Luis, Jimmy Woo, Everett Ross, to help fill out these cast displays. I totally understand that they aren't popular or dynamic and have the potential of and history to warm pegs. I understand a company leaning away from producing those kinds of characters. But I am happy that I lived in a time where those characters were still considered to be immortalized in plastic.
I was certainly happier in those times. But I will be okay with the line so that we keep getting the bad guys and such I know I keep harping on that in my posts, but everyone has their issue. The bad guys is my issue lol
I feel you, for sure. Seeing that list posted of all the villains we still haven't gotten... My hopes aren't high that they'll be made, unfortunately. I'm afraid the proverbial ship has sailed. Not so much because the passage of time, but I think MCU as a moneymaker is at an all time low. At one point, you couldn't lose. You knew you had a winner just because it was MCU. That kind of ended with Endgame/No Way Home. Oversaturation from Netflix to make up for character deaths, real life loss of Boseman, the pandemic, the creative union strikes, and I'm sure many other factors chipped away at the infallible MCU. The figures are a casualty of that. I don't think Hasbro and/or Disney executives and decision makers want to take chances in the same way they used to. Otherwise, we'd see old villains, or a figure of Darcy Lewis or some such. The toy industry is a fickle, flickering candle.
Again my counter to the peg warming argument is a go to Ollie's and see plenty of comic figures that end up there no one buys. I saw the Cobra guy from the Serpent Society on pegs for over 2 years, and they still make Serpent Society guys. Same for comic Malekith and many others. The goal is not to make a million peg warming items, but they clearly still make characters they know may not sell to fill out a wave.
On the Kaecilius front, a 2 pack like Ancient One and Kaecilius only ever happens if they do another MCU based premium line. They don't make that 2 pack for any other reason. Kaecilius would be a cheap figure to make, and would be an easy pack in if they decided to make an Ancient One. The only other way I can see Kaecilius being made is if in Dr Strange 3, Dormammu has a Mindless One that Kaecilius has now become and we get that figure as a BAF or something. That's knly way I see him coming at this point. I am down on the prospects of another MCU premium line.
A big difference there is the cost to make them - Rock Python was a head on a body that was reused 100 times. MCU figures have limited reuse potential.
But - and this is my preoccupation on this topic whenever it comes up - none of us has any idea how many of each figure is produced, so we really can't gauge how well they sold based on what we see hanging around. They might have made 20x as many of one figure versus another, so seeing a lot more of one lingering on pegs can't really tell us much about how well it actually performed.
That's another thing, that Luis and Ghost pack that peg warmed was probably really cheap. Cause Luis was just the suited figure they have released a million times. I am sure when they budgeted that 80th line out, they knew that would sell worse than something like 80th Thor or Cap or on the MCU side the Iron Spider & Iron Man 2 pack did. But who knows if that item met its sales goal. In the last Saga line they did, the Gold Iron Man and Happy set was clearly a budget 2 pack they did to save on the line cause things like Surtur or Iron Monger were vastly more expesnive, I am sure. So, I don't think if they did another Saga type line with the MCU, making Kaecilius would be out of the question in a 2 pack with the Ancient One cause....he'd be cheap to do. He would probably just be OG Mordo with a new paint job and head. But yeah I would agree odds of him being made outside of a program like that are slim cause he isn't an exclusive or something that would sell.
I'm sure it's extra tough with a lot of MCU stuff - even the "budget" Luis/Ghost pack likely nets out costing them much more if you factor in reuse. Ghost was a brand new sculpt that has been reused exactly zero times (I think), while 80th Thor, Cap, and Iron Man probably sold better AND were the basis for years of future releases. That definitely impacts the calculus of who gets made. It's also why I always maintained that split MCU/comic BAF waves were actually probably working out pretty well for MCU fans - that easy repaint Rock Python was offsetting the dedicated sculpts for Shuri and War Machine.
It's hard to argue with the deluxe model though, especially if the alternative was to keep doing mixed waves. $40 for Red Hulk on his own is a far sight better than having to buy 4 comic figures you might not have been interested in to complete the BAF (like the Endgame Hulk wave).
One aspect about Hasbro cutting back on production numbers I find baffling is the following. Say Target/Walmart wants to order 25k (random number) of an item. Is Hasbro not going to fill that order? Are they only going to make 15k out of caution? Isn't up to the customer (Target/Walmart) to not over order? I realize Hasbro doesn't want retailers to get too burned with product and not order in the future. I just find it a little odd Hasbro potentially won't fill full orders from retailers. If this policy was for items which have refreshes (ie waves) it makes sense, since a single wave won't be overstocked and will be replaced with the next wave.
I imagine that the "cutting back on production" line is just how they pitch to us that they didn't get orders from some retailers on certain waves. If Wal-Mart wanted a huge run of the Void wave I'm sure they'd get it. They probably work in consultation with retailers to determine demanded, sizes of production runs, and what they think will work better at retail vs online only - but Wal-Mart and Target are still their customers, and I bet they'd fill the order if it was made. Just speculating though.
@e-rock Yeah I ended up grabbing Falcon as well. A good headswap and some extra kitbashing and he would be a pretty good modern update of first appearance falcon. Plus the color scheme feels military so it fits with the MCU origin of Falcon
@h-bird Will always support deluxe figures over BAFs. As a more casual marvel legends collector (which still means I buy alot of product because they put out a ton of product), I don't think I've ever actually completed a BAF even with coming close to some.
I'm afraid the proverbial ship has sailed. Not so much because the passage of time, but I think MCU as a moneymaker is at an all time low. At one point, you couldn't lose. You knew you had a winner just because it was MCU. That kind of ended with Endgame/No Way Home. Oversaturation from Netflix to make up for character deaths, real life loss of Boseman, the pandemic, the creative union strikes, and I'm sure many other factors chipped away at the infallible MCU. The figures are a casualty of that. I don't think Hasbro and/or Disney executives and decision makers want to take chances in the same way they used to. Otherwise, we'd see old villains, or a figure of Darcy Lewis or some such. The toy industry is a fickle, flickering candle.
There was sort of the perfect storm set up for disaster for MCU figures - the enormous popularity of Thor:Ragnarok, Black Panther, Infinity War and Endgame made MCU a can't miss proposition - stores struggled to keep up with demand for figures from those properties - the pandemic hit and stores were selling as many figures as ever thanks to stimulus check spending. The Shang Chi and Black Widow Waves came out without their movies because of the pandemic and that was weird
But when the Eternals movie came out retailers ordered a TON of product with Target and Walmart each demanding their own store exclusive figure to lure customers to them. The shelves were stocked to the brim ready for an onslaught of customers ... and then the reaction to the movie was "meh" and the reaction to the figures was "no thanks" and just like that Target and WalMart were much more gun shy about orders of MCU figures. Several of the next movies didn't even get dedicated waves (QuantumMania, the Marvels) and the momentum slowed down even further with the writers strike wreaking havoc on the release schedule once again.
It's going to take a major rebound at the box office - and Deadpool/Wolverine is a great start - for the MCU to get retailer faith back where it was. If that actually happens, maybe the MCU figure train will pick up some steam once again.
But as others have said - the problem with the MCU figures is that even if they sell better than comic figures on a unit to unit basis - the cost is likely much higher due to the unique tooling required for each movie figure versus many of the comic figures that can be done with primarily (or entirely) reuse.
Since Luis was brought up a couple times here, is his X-Con just printed on? Not sculpted? I need 2 cheap suited bodies (buttoned) and think he'd be great if it's not. Honestly, I'd prefer an all black suit, but don't think a buttoned up one exists.
It's printed - but he has tennis shoes, not dress shoes. If that matters.
Luis in Cap 4 confirmed.
@schizm Thanks! I can likely steal dress shoes from the multiple suited figures I have in bins.
Just realized I can just swap out unbuttoned jacket on a black suit body for Luis's buttoned one. Then just have minor paint work to do.
I don’t remember the Luis figure having tennis shoes/sneakers. They’re more like black work shoes. Not the annoying curved dress shoes the other suits wear, but like heavier duty shoes with sculpted soles.
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