1:18 Epic Hero Discussion & Purchases
- Thread starter YAK_Chewie
- Start date
Hasbro's new Epic Hero line has some potential. Though, I think doomed to fail due to the style of the figures... 5poa and (are not customizer friendly either, which would help some).
I saw the deluxe Paz and Sabine today at my local Walmart. They looked fine. But not enticing enough to buy. $14.97 each. With big clumsy weapons that nobody is asking for... including kids.
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I saw the deluxe Paz and Sabine today at my local Walmart. They looked fine. But not enticing enough to buy. $14.97 each. With big clumsy weapons that nobody is asking for... including kids.
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5 POA can be customizer friendly, I've seen some cool ones done with Kenner / Retro figures, but I don't think customizers are even a consideration, since they're just selling these as toys.
I think it's just Hasbro trying to get kids back into SW figures (at reasonable prices), since they're probably not buying TBS or TVC. I do wonder if Retro appeals to kids, or aesthetically they think they're "off" because they didn't grow up with Kenner figures in the 80s, lol. I'm guessing the Mission Fleet line is / was cancelled and this is a replacement?
PS: does Jayson have a reset date for these at retail - I've heard no specifics, just a few reports of them showing up randomly at WM.
I think it's just Hasbro trying to get kids back into SW figures (at reasonable prices), since they're probably not buying TBS or TVC. I do wonder if Retro appeals to kids, or aesthetically they think they're "off" because they didn't grow up with Kenner figures in the 80s, lol. I'm guessing the Mission Fleet line is / was cancelled and this is a replacement?
PS: does Jayson have a reset date for these at retail - I've heard no specifics, just a few reports of them showing up randomly at WM.
Yeah, they're not considering these with "hey let's make it easy for people to pop these apart." I just mean that we need as customizers would help sales more if the figures had soft torsos, rather than the split torso hard plastic.
The problem with these is simple though. Most collectors don't care for this for obvious reasons, and this will miss the mark with kids. These are sadly destined for clearance.
Kids need to see a bigger selection of characters when they are in the toy aisle to open up their imagination and makes them want a collection and actually put on their birthday want lists. They need more articulation than this, and don't want the goofy oversized weapons.
Hasbro needs a line of Star Wars figures similar to 2007 TAC approach in terms of quality and variety and packaging artwork. Then kids and adults will be very interested in the product. Star Wars sells better when it appeals to adults and children. This line just likely isn't going to succeed given the current format.
They need to remember what worked in the pre-Disney era when Star Wars was always among the hottest brand in the toy aisle and was constantly selling through and being restocked.
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The problem with these is simple though. Most collectors don't care for this for obvious reasons, and this will miss the mark with kids. These are sadly destined for clearance.
Kids need to see a bigger selection of characters when they are in the toy aisle to open up their imagination and makes them want a collection and actually put on their birthday want lists. They need more articulation than this, and don't want the goofy oversized weapons.
Hasbro needs a line of Star Wars figures similar to 2007 TAC approach in terms of quality and variety and packaging artwork. Then kids and adults will be very interested in the product. Star Wars sells better when it appeals to adults and children. This line just likely isn't going to succeed given the current format.
They need to remember what worked in the pre-Disney era when Star Wars was always among the hottest brand in the toy aisle and was constantly selling through and being restocked.
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I get your concerns, and we've touched on this before, but with a compromised level of articulation somewhere in the middle, say 10 POA, if they're going to do a massive line with character diversity to appeal to kids and collectors, it's going to eliminate the need for 5 POA and TVC at the same time. If you offer a 10 POA version of certain characters (at lower prices), those will likely outsell the TVC version, leading to more of them going to clearance, and then not being offered anymore. I think that's why we have these extremes, because 5 POA isn't direct competition for TVC. Not to mention, 5 POA has a higher profit margin, than a SA figure, so it's no wonder they're pushing it, especially if they know kids, parents, and gift givers aren't going to pay $17-28 for a single TVC figure, they need to offer alternatives if they want those consumers buying this brand.
It's definitely a good point to consider that a middle range line might hinder TVC sales. I'm not sure if it would or not. My feeling is they really are shooting themselves in the foot though by going with the extreme approaches. We already see retro is starting to fail.
We also see massive layoffs at Hasbro. Something they are doing isn't right. Can't keep doing the same thing and expect better results.
My feeling is overall, it would be better for Hasbro, retailers, kids, and collectors if they added a mid-tier line generally under the Mandalorian banner, and focus it on Disney+ media. Remember the POTF2 cards with Vader's head in the corner. Do that with Mando, then under that, artwork of the character and show its from.
Put out 3 waves of figures a year like that with 8 figures per wave, with some vehicles, and keep TVC going as normal. This is how we could also get some of those desperately needed items like the Blurrg finally made.
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We also see massive layoffs at Hasbro. Something they are doing isn't right. Can't keep doing the same thing and expect better results.
My feeling is overall, it would be better for Hasbro, retailers, kids, and collectors if they added a mid-tier line generally under the Mandalorian banner, and focus it on Disney+ media. Remember the POTF2 cards with Vader's head in the corner. Do that with Mando, then under that, artwork of the character and show its from.
Put out 3 waves of figures a year like that with 8 figures per wave, with some vehicles, and keep TVC going as normal. This is how we could also get some of those desperately needed items like the Blurrg finally made.
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My local Walmart seems to have sold through their initial shipment of deluxe.
Tonight, they had a peg dedicated to just Vader in this line. They had 6 of Vader and a sticker on the peg that said Vader too.
Not sure why they didn't go with J hooks on these?
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Tonight, they had a peg dedicated to just Vader in this line. They had 6 of Vader and a sticker on the peg that said Vader too.
Not sure why they didn't go with J hooks on these?
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That's surprising, some thought they'd be instant pegwarmers, but they sold out? Any idea how many were in the case? Odd that they're also doing solid cases of characters, that's probably not the best move, as they've done solid cases of TVC, like that Echo Base trooper, and two WMs near me still have a full peg of those years later. Hopefully it's just a high traffic store that sells a lot of figures, because solid cases of Vader across the country might be slow sellers. I'm looking forward to seeing the basic assortment, as loose pics still haven't shown up online that I've noticed. I'm looking forward to seeing Luke & Ahsoka, the only ones I'd consider buying.
As for Retro starting to fail, not sure that's accurate, as I'm seeing the new wave selling out at retail, even though some say they weren't interested in the Ahsoka series figures. I find that a lot of collectors say one thing and then do another, often talking down 5 POA, and buying them all, lol especially on RS, there is some seriously hypocritical commentary there. I wouldn't be surprised if Retro is doing just as well as TVC in all reality.
As for Retro starting to fail, not sure that's accurate, as I'm seeing the new wave selling out at retail, even though some say they weren't interested in the Ahsoka series figures. I find that a lot of collectors say one thing and then do another, often talking down 5 POA, and buying them all, lol especially on RS, there is some seriously hypocritical commentary there. I wouldn't be surprised if Retro is doing just as well as TVC in all reality.
I'm pretty sure this was a full case of Vader. Which is surprising but there's no way they'd have sold all the others and still had him. I was there the previous day and none of these were there. The peg he was on also says "Vader"
Retro really isn't getting stocked at any Walmarts in my area any more. They took a hit it seems with the Kenobi retro wave by marking at least 30 of them down on clearance. In fact, none of the Walmarts in my area seem to be ordering them (they used to). As for Target, they get in 1-2 at a time around here. In brown cardboard boxes from distrubution centers where they bust up the cases, which seems to mean that either Hasbro is fulfilling less or Target is ordering less.
For a while, I was buying some TBS, and Retro. I stopped though and sold them off pretty cheap. I don't know why I was buying them, other than I like Star Wars. The figures themselves just didn't do much for me. Of course some people do love them.
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Retro really isn't getting stocked at any Walmarts in my area any more. They took a hit it seems with the Kenobi retro wave by marking at least 30 of them down on clearance. In fact, none of the Walmarts in my area seem to be ordering them (they used to). As for Target, they get in 1-2 at a time around here. In brown cardboard boxes from distrubution centers where they bust up the cases, which seems to mean that either Hasbro is fulfilling less or Target is ordering less.
For a while, I was buying some TBS, and Retro. I stopped though and sold them off pretty cheap. I don't know why I was buying them, other than I like Star Wars. The figures themselves just didn't do much for me. Of course some people do love them.
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I swung by that Walmart a couple times this week. As of this morning, there are 5 Vader figures left. And he's still got a special peg.
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Has the mixed case assortment with different characters not been found at retail yet? Thus far it's been the deluxe figures, alongside Vader and Mando in solid cases.
I'm not seeing too many reports on this line (though I'm sure they are out there), but I saw them today at my local Walmart in the bins in the Easter area.
Seeing an actual assortment was kind of fun... and a lot better than just a lone peg of Vader.
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Saving the assortment for an Easter display - I didn't see that coming, haha. I'm surprised they'd attach SW figures to that type of holiday; these make more sense as stocking stuffers. I have no idea what people spend, if anything, on Easter, but they'd likely move faster at a lower MSRP to hook impulse purchases, to toss into those baskets, lol.
It seems like it could be a reasonable strategy... some parents grab figures for Easter baskets... Hasbro lures in the kid... the kid wants more figures... and the parent looks in the regular toy section later when more product starts showing up.
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Well... two weeks later... and still nothing seems to have moved from that bin!
Wow, I do think these figures suck... but dang.
Wow, I do think these figures suck... but dang.
The Walmart stores in my area haven't sold many of these at all. Like nearly zero. However, they've gotten more in thanks to the new shipper display...
But walk down a few aisles, and they are in the clearance aisle as well, for $5.00... you can't make this stuff up... 🤣
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But walk down a few aisles, and they are in the clearance aisle as well, for $5.00... you can't make this stuff up... 🤣
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Dang Chewie, almost seems like you're rooting for this assortment to fail, lol. I guess kids are finished with Star Wars in your area? Around here, the Grogu and Stormtroopers all sold out, while the others seemed to have sold at least a few each, though Mando more than the others. Some of the deluxe versions sold as well, but there were a couple of each left last time I checked. There is a list floating around for a second wave of characters, so Hasbro is still trying to get kids back into the brand...
Well, at the three Walmarts that I've seen these at, they aren't selling. There's no sign of interest from kids or collectors. And when the stores start putting them on clearance right when Hasbro sends them in shipper displays, that's not a good sign.
I'm not rooting for the line to fail, but I've been raising red flags as soon as we saw the line revealed. If this line fails, Hasbro can blame themselves. So far, this is a minimal effort line on their part. Not sure how they'd expect these to pull kids in given the approach. I think they can pull kids into the 1:18 brand, but this formula is not the way to do it in my opinion.
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I'm not rooting for the line to fail, but I've been raising red flags as soon as we saw the line revealed. If this line fails, Hasbro can blame themselves. So far, this is a minimal effort line on their part. Not sure how they'd expect these to pull kids in given the approach. I think they can pull kids into the 1:18 brand, but this formula is not the way to do it in my opinion.
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