Posted by: @threash

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Posted by: @theknightdamien

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(Shouldn't be said but sometimes needs to be -- this is just in the spirit of conversation and is not intended to be aggressive or combative or anything like that. Love!)

 

Of course, just friendly discussion always! I feel like that spiderman three pack was always intended to have the head sculpts but they just did not get it worked out in time, we know this happened to other companies also with the same figures.

I won't belabor the point too much here, because it's totally fine if we don't agree on this point. But I only meant Ru's comment as a good example of this. I think Hasbro is very -generally- guilty of "devaluing" their own items by releasing something that's the same, similar, or even better than the thing you just bought. The Mojo set going up for pre-order right before a single-carded Mojo and Longshot that were much cheaper than the boxed set, for example. Or the RotJ SDCC set where basically everything in it was released single-carded after the fact.

Moreover, I still think it's important that even a second set of hands for Starkiller here would not -really- have affected the perceived value of the exclusive set which has so many extra parts and two entire extra figures. And even that is ignoring that a lot of people online, from what I've seen, ALREADY feel slighted by Hasbro offering a single-carded Starkiller -at all-.

And let me clarify that I totally get this is Black Series. Vintage Collection, at this point, almost consistently seems like a better value. Which I think is pretty sad. Maybe that's why this bugs me so much. So easy to just.. do a little better on this release. Everything is right there. Instead we get deluxe Krrsantan with..a laser blaster. And VC gets deluxe Krrsantan with like nine freakin' accessories. I don't understand why Black Series has become the 'low effort' line.

Again I agree, but there are a lot of instances with Hasbro putting out a thing with a better or cheaper, or both, version later. The 3 3/4 Jedi Luke thing was always a great example..if you line up every Jedi Luke figure they've made since, say, 2006, you can see this weird evolution that at times will take a step back in some areas here and there, but it got to a point where I gave up chasing the best Jedi Luke because they'd just do one next year that is improved in some little way. I think the BS version of that may be Din Djarin.

MCU figures do it a lot but because the first version was based on concept art. But there are also things like the Mojo you mentioned. But either way, they don't seem all that concerned with devaluing something released before, like you said. If the Spiderman set is all sold out, what's wrong with putting them out as singles with new heads? 

There's also the point that given Hasbro have released most everything from speciality exclusives down the line, either sooner rather than later, those who feel aggrieved because they bought something super special should probably have learnt by now. When they release an actual accessory as a stand alone (ie. the Han Solo Carbonite slab), they've shown they can and will release anything that will make them money.

Except Salacious Crumb. Apparently I have to fork over to get extra crap I don't want just to get that one character that has never been released single carded/boxed.

Posted by: @ru1977

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Again I agree, but there are a lot of instances with Hasbro putting out a thing with a better or cheaper, or both, version later. The 3 3/4 Jedi Luke thing was always a great example..if you line up every Jedi Luke figure they've made since, say, 2006, you can see this weird evolution that at times will take a step back in some areas here and there, but it got to a point where I gave up chasing the best Jedi Luke because they'd just do one next year that is improved in some little way. I think the BS version of that may be Din Djarin.

Maybe more of a peripheral issue, but yeah.. definitely. And you can see this at play very easily with BS Darth Vaders. The new Obi-Wan version has the better wrist hinges, and now the PRE-ORDER ANH Vader goes back to the old wrist hinges. And there's zero, I repeat ZERO, chance that Hasbro isn't aware how most of us feel about Vader's oversized, overlong cape and robe pieces and I'm sure they'll fix that in 2 or 3 more years. On a figure without butterfly joints. Then it'll have butterfly joints and new robes, but the old wrists. And and and. Hasbro would be hard pressed to deny that never giving you definitive versions of the most popular characters is entirely and maliciously intentional.

Right, good example with the Vaders. But that's how you make money off addicts, heh.

Lol. That's how I describe it sometimes when people ask me about buying figures. I just tell them I'm addicted to plastic.

It’s not in Hasbro’s best interest to put out the best version of a character, because then they lose potential future sales. You see it in every line they put out, from Star Wars to Transformers to GI Joe to Marvel.

Isn't the overall goal of humanity and society to eventually improve what came before it? There's never going to be the best version of any toy or figure because eventually there will be methods to improve it that didn't previously exist, or they didn't have the means to at the time. This is the way.

I heard a while back that, technically, we know how to make a lightbulb that lasts forever (don't know if it's true, I'm no scientist). But it wouldn't be a good business venture to sell that, so they make one that only lasts X amount of hours so that people will keep buying more. That's any business, really.

Now, obviously there are some characters who will probably never see the light of day again in BS form, but there are many that will see more than a few incarnations. I generally don't mind paying for them again- even paying extra- if something about it is truly different and updated. The new clone bodies, for instance, seem to be a pretty good upgrade. Some people swear up and down that all these Vader re-releases have small differences, and I'm sure they do, but to me, it's not really worth it for those tiny changes. Others would heavily disagree. At the end of the day, only you get to choose what's worth double or triple dipping. I never begrudge anyone for getting or not getting a certain release- our collections are as unique as we are sometimes.

That said, I've always agreed that locking something behind exclusivity is silly and not a good business venture. You have ravenous collectors that would gladly buy at least 2 of something, but you limit it. Obviously this creates hype, which creates demand for your product and business, etc. But with the world and collecting market being what it is, more often than not those exclusives end up in the hands of scalpers instead of the fans they were meant to. I can't tell you how many times I've seen exclusives that some fans had been waiting ages for, sometimes a good part of their lives, and something finally gets announced as an exclusive, and they aren't able to get it because of bots or scalpers. Don't even get me started on poor distribution.

I think the best way to do things would be the timed exclusive. These days, a lot of companies, including Hasbro, has done it. Limit something to a certain site or Con for however many months, and then make it widely available later. The ones who want to feel special can, but everyone can get their shot. And heck, there could still potentially be a pretty good aftermarket value- so many Funko collectors go WILD over which sticker a Pop has on its box and drive up the price. Seems like a win-win for all, no matter how you collect.

Given Starkiller's popularity in the fandom, it wouldn't surprise me to see more releases down the road, ala Cal. He's the perfect candidate for a deluxe release, or a second release in a new outfit. That's why I'm not freaking out too too much just yet. I think Hasbro knows they'd be stupid to only release one of the most popular characters, that fans have been clamoring for for ages, only once.

Hasbro certainly has gotten a bit shady with their dealings lately. I know they have to keep with the times, and there's always been BS exclusives, but the shenanigans have definitely gotten worse lately. I hope they, and many other companies, can still course correct.

Must have more Paz!!!!

Is that it - both of the reveals are re-issued figures, one with a purple paint job?

Dang. They couldn't even make the gun barrel orange like it's gotten too hot?

Is there anything new about THIS version of NH Vader? Even if there is....how many times are they going to keep making this figure? There's so many other characters we still need from the OT and PT before going back and doing the same figures over and over again. 

I missed the stream- did they say anything about there being more Clone packs? It's a fun idea, especially if it gets us some more Jedi in Clone Wars armor. I'd be tempted to make a custom Clone Wars Plo with that Mace body, but not if he'll get his own release down the road. Would be nice if they just made 2 packs of different clones from each Batallion, with different paint jobs or helmets.

Any word on Ki-Adi, as well?

Seems like it was a pretty underwhelming stream all around, from the looks of it (aka a good one for the wallet).

Also, I eagerly await the day Hasbro decides to go with a color other than blue for new sublines in BS. We're up to, what, 6 or 7 shades of blue now?

@joshsquash729 They didn't say anything about more Clone Packs on the video.  But they did say there would be more info and reveals tomorrow during the London Comic Con.

So, maybe something will be said there.  I feel like there HAS TO BE more packs, because this little side set is called CLONES of the Republic.  Clones......plural.  As of now it's just Clone of the Republic lol.

Make no mistake, I pre ordered this 2 pack, as I am very happy to have the purple version of this clone as opposed to the previous more Canon release.  I like the purple.  But Hasbro really kind of messed up here.

I understand why Mace comes with this Clone.  But they would have sold so many more sets if it was two Purple Clones, or one Purple and one other clone.  Because then people would buy multiple packs.

But, if the idea is to let out a clone and a Jedi each time, that is cool, and I hope we get some NEW Jedi.  But it's also bad, because they really miss out on the army building sell factor.

Clones of the Republic 2 Packs really should be 2 different Clones per 2 Pack, so people could buy 3 or 4 of the same 2 Packs and army build two different Clones at once.