Oh no, terrible news!
Well if it does come to an end, at least the fellowship was completed 😕
Well they are still taking PO’s for waves 8 and 9 so I assume those are safe?
I haven’t seen anyone from DST say anything about it, likely because they have been asked not to while they explore a sale.
@arondir They're still posting pre-orders over on X, even one today, so I presume they're still up and running...?
@arondir They're still posting pre-orders over on X, even one today, so I presume they're still up and running...?
Companies continue operating during a chapter 11 restructure. I am not sure if they'll be taking pre-orders in February and beyond, but for now they are still going. They said on Instagram that all pre-orders are valid. I really hope Bilbo and Tauriel are not the last two figures for this line.
@bills-all-day I think that's my biggest fear... that the line ends on kind of a whimper with Tauriel. I would want a Tauriel eventually, but if these are the only two characters that we get from The Hobbit films, it seems like a huge lost opportunity. Though, ending any line early would leave dissatisfied customers, no matter which figures were the end.
Diamond filed for chapter 11 protections, which means they can still operate as they go through the process.
If they filed other types of bankruptcy, they'd have ceased operations much sooner. This will allow them to either sell off assets or get the funds needed to pay off debts.
I'm so glad they completed the Fellowship already. That's my jumping off point. But I still have many DST POs open for Marvel Select and Muppets. I really hope they can find a way to follow through.
I'm so glad they completed the Fellowship already. That's my jumping off point. But I still have many DST POs open for Marvel Select and Muppets. I really hope they can find a way to follow through.
I am also very happy they completed the Fellowship as my initial plan for the line was to just get those 9. But, I like the figures so much I've bought them all and plan to get all new releases. In addition to the LOTR POs, I also have Muppets and Walking Dead figures I'm hoping get made. Please let Lips and Lew Zealand get made, at least!
I assume the long delays for the Marvel Select and Muppet figures are related to the Diamond financial troubles. In a recent YouTube interview, Zach said that the production issues are being addressed and the backlog of figures will start coming out soon. If that is the case, and the delays are caused by financial issues, I assume that means money became available somehow. Would a potential buyer of DST invest money to get product moving before finalizing the purchase of the company? That seems iffy, but I don't know much about business. The bankruptcy press release said a potential buyer of DST has already been identified. Maybe the sale is contingent on production catching up, so Diamond reallocated money to that?
Sorry for the wild speculation. I'm just trying to wrap my ignorant mind around the bankruptcy and its implications and create hypothetical scenarios where we'll all be able to keep collecting the figures we want.
They have also just announced new TRON products on the AIC podcast. Hope is not lost for further LOTR figures after Tauriel/Bilbo.
I wish we could see Gandalf the white.
yes and I got the radicals preview for the next month of PO’s so it appears at this point they are continuing with everything in development.
I didn't realize a Radicals membership includes previews of the next month's PO. Any chance Lips and Lew Zealand for the Muppets line was in the preview for February?
Have we heard an estimate for when the LOTR set after Bilbo and Tauriel could go up for pre-order? That's the set with a new costume for an existing character and another female character, right? And, Gandalf the White is a later set? I know no set is guaranteed, and later sets are probably increasingly less likely. If I limit my wishlist to 2 additional sets of figures, it is Faramir, Gladriel, Elrond, and Arwen. Assuming one of the two females is in the next set, that would mean one of my other 4 wishlist figures would go with Gandalf in the following set, and the remaining two in a set after that. Hmm, that seems a far way off.
I found a few things noteable from the bankruptcy filings by DST and Diamond Comic Distributors (DCD). DST is identified as an affiliate of DCD with a separate filing that is being managed in the same case for administrative purposes. DST's estimated assets are 1-10 million and liabilities are 10-50 million. That seems pretty bad, but I'm ignorant. DCD is a step higher for each. Both filings share the same table of creditors. I'm not sure what any of this means as far as shared finances, financial difficulties, and the DIP financing that was noted in the DCD bankruptcy press release. I'm curious if any of this is more informative to folks with more business knowledge than me.
I'm also confused why the price of the figures went down from $30 to $25? It seems like they should have increased in price, if the company has financial issues. Unless, they assume $25 figures will sell at a high enough rate to offset the price difference.
The radicals only get to see typically one thing the day before PO’s go up. No muppets so far.
Yes the next wave is Gandalf the White and a new costume for an existing character. I have high hopes this one will make it to production because Gandalf is already done.
@arondir I figured out why I thought the next pair would be a female character and a new costume. At the 50 min mark in the video, Zach says Gandalf the White will come out in a few waves, and the wave after Bilbo and Tauriel will be a new female character and a previously released male character in a new costume. He also said that next wave is ready to solicit, but they are spreading them out.
The interview took place a few days before the bankruptcy announcement. I assume a lot of plans have changed since then. I hope we see at least a few more LOTR figures.
https://www.youtube.com/live/uLUFnN9CQ7g?si=Qhkfb1CtFrtYDIbN
Ohhh interesting.
So then we have Arwen/Galadriel and Aragorn/Legolas/Frodo as the possibilities for the next wave. Not sure what they can do more with Frodo that would not also be a new Sam outfit but we have Aragorn or Legolas at helms deep as real contenders or black gate Aragorn.
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