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Post by hbkjason on Jul 5, 2018 5:27:24 GMT -5
When the Retro WWE line was announced by Mattel I was all in. I thought it was the greatest idea ever and when I saw that Ultimate Warrior and Undertaker they had me hooked. I decided right from the start that I would not buy modern guys that I would only buy the classic wrestlers and that is something I still do to this day, apart from AJ Styles who my son got me as a gift, but AJ is awesome and my current favorite I think that series 2 has been the best so far as they seemed really focused on a specific era and I think that might have been the way to go for the whole line. I have said it before, but with this line I get the impression that at the start some dude at Mattel was all in on this and it was a real passion project, but as the line came to life someone had to have got cold feet and that is why we have had so many current guys and the little app thing thrown in. Living in the UK I have managed to get all of the figures that I have in stores, I have never had to pay over the odds to get one and going into this I decided I was not going to. I got way to into collecting in the Jakks era to the point where I sucked all of the fun out of it. So with this line, I decided that if I found them in stores I would buy them. If I could not find them then I could live without them. This line has not taken off in my area. My local Smyths could not give series 2 away and the three Sainsburys in my area have had series 3 for months now and they do not show any signs of moving. The Mattel WWE Retro Line is fun and good, but man it could have been great. I do not think that they really know what they want to do with it or who they are aiming this line at. You would think that people in their 30's would be the target market. People who grew up with Hasbro WWF figures. However, the selection of characters and the addition of the app thing makes it seem like they are aimed at younger fans. It is very strange the way that Mattel have gone about this. I think this line was poorly researched, to be honest. I mean how when you are deciding to put a Randy Savage figure in this line do you not go for a long tights Macho King or even 93/93 era long tights Macho Man. I have heard that here in the UK we are not getting the next two series which is very disappointing as I would not have jumped in as hard as I did if I had known that there was a chance they would pull the line from UK stores after just a few series in. Only Ric Flair and Randy Savage were the figures that I wanted and it would have been cool to get them, but like I said. I can live without them. Hopefully, they will release them over here at some point, but I am not holding my breath. It had been fun coming across these in stores and I like having them on the back of my game room door so I do not want to be overly negative. Like I said though this line is good, but it could have been great. For some reason, I ended up with two Mankinds so I opened one up
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Post by kennyw86v2 on Jul 5, 2018 5:52:26 GMT -5
This again.
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TheRockers
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Post by TheRockers on Jul 5, 2018 5:58:51 GMT -5
Yeah, unfortunately Mattel went into this with a different mindset than us collectors who loved the Hasbro line. I personally thought it would have been wise to make guys from the late 80's who just missed the Hasbro cut like Haku, Hercules, The Barbarian and then guys who we just missed out on in the mid 90's like Diesel, Double J, Goldust. I think Mattel's plan was to take this classic line to get our attention (Hasbro fans) and then add the current era wrestlers to grab the attention of younger kids.
Honestly, I still love the line and buy everyone. They are just fun figures to display and collect. It would be nice to get more legends but I'll take whatever they give.
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Post by SteveHulk on Jul 5, 2018 22:23:48 GMT -5
The Mattel WWE Retro Line is fun and good, but man it could have been great. I do not think that they really know what they want to do with it or who they are aiming this line at. You would think that people in their 30's would be the target market. People who grew up with Hasbro WWF figures. However, the selection of characters and the addition of the app thing makes it seem like they are aimed at younger fans. It is very strange the way that Mattel have gone about this. I think this line was poorly researched, to be honest. I mean how when you are deciding to put a Randy Savage figure in this line do you not go for a long tights Macho King or even 93/93 era long tights Macho Man. Bingo. The line, by its very nature, will mainly appeal to older fans and Hasbro collectors... so to then make it mostly modern guys seems strange (would kids really want these figures over their better looking/more realistic Basics)? ...no Sting (or Brock)!?
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Post by hbkjason on Jul 6, 2018 1:07:45 GMT -5
The Mattel WWE Retro Line is fun and good, but man it could have been great. I do not think that they really know what they want to do with it or who they are aiming this line at. You would think that people in their 30's would be the target market. People who grew up with Hasbro WWF figures. However, the selection of characters and the addition of the app thing makes it seem like they are aimed at younger fans. It is very strange the way that Mattel have gone about this. I think this line was poorly researched, to be honest. I mean how when you are deciding to put a Randy Savage figure in this line do you not go for a long tights Macho King or even 93/93 era long tights Macho Man. Bingo. The line, by its very nature, will mainly appeal to older fans and Hasbro collectors... so to then make it mostly modern guys seems strange (would kids really want these figures over their better looking/more realistic Basics)? ...no Sting (or Brock)!? Ugh do not get me started on Sting When I first put these up on the back of the door I just used bluetac. Well Sting fell off.... when the door was closed so when I opened the door I well and truly ed up his card I probably should just open him up and put him next to my lose Mankind, to be honest with you. However I have not been able to bring myself to fully open up the card so the Stinger is doing his Stinger Splash in a drawer right now. Also on a side note do not be a dumb ass like me and just try and stick these up with bluetac. I think if you did it on a wall it would be ok, but on a moving door.... they will fall off. So what I ended up doing was putting a nail in the door, hanging the card on it and then use bluetac to make to straight. I have seen Brock a few times at Smyths, but never pulled the trigger.
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buddyboy101
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Post by buddyboy101 on Jul 6, 2018 5:56:42 GMT -5
The line had huge potential, but even the first series showed some areas of concern - a sluggish looking Warrior, a photoshopped Undertaker, a heavy emphasis on current talent, odd packaging artwork, limited distribution, etc. All of these issues could have been overlooked if they nailed down the roster. Series 2 was the closest to perfection, but "jumper" versions of HHH and Sting led to no-buys for me. Personally the ideal line up would have six figures in each series (4 legends, 2 current). The focus should have been on characters or attires that were never produced by Hasbro. At this point, the line appears pretty dead. I agree that Macho choice was extremely questionable. The only one I'm looking forward to at this point is the grey Undertaker, but we haven't even seen him from the front! Classic Mattel...
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Post by stc13 on Jul 6, 2018 10:07:54 GMT -5
There are too many variables that we'll never know why the lineups and attire selections have been the way they are. Bill said he designed the second series, and that series was pretty much perfect in my eyes. The attires and character selections have been less exciting in other the other lines. I do wonder how familiar the designer/designers of the retro and basic lines are with WWE's product. Bill is a big wrestling fan, and it shows in the products he designs. But some of the decisions in the other lines makes me wonder if the folks designing them have any familiarity with wrestling.
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Post by SteveHulk on Jul 7, 2018 0:05:45 GMT -5
Ugh do not get me started on Sting When I first put these up on the back of the door I just used bluetac. Well Sting fell off.... when the door was closed so when I opened the door I well and truly ed up his card I probably should just open him up and put him next to my lose Mankind, to be honest with you. However I have not been able to bring myself to fully open up the card so the Stinger is doing his Stinger Splash in a drawer right now. Lol - well if you were after another Sting to display MOC, The Entertainer currently has Series 2 Retros for £6...
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aaron34
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Post by aaron34 on Jul 7, 2018 19:43:11 GMT -5
Love the line... but... double ups of sting and KO already?? Too many jumpers, no Diesel yet, Cesaro is a must for me and so is Big Show!!! A few more legends would be nice... but I really do love the line and hope it keeps going!!
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kiphouse
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Post by kiphouse on Jul 7, 2018 23:53:54 GMT -5
Bill did the first 2 sets and now the other guy is doing them. When i told him it didnt make sense to firstly do the red white blue ring again first because unlike the ljn ring, many folks still have a hasbro ring, that they shouldve done a raw version first to match series 2 he said that maybe someday. When i pointed out how it made no sense to have the blue ring and literally no wwf guys in it pictured, he replied, Flair? To which i pointed out that thats an nwa/wcw flair. He clearly doesnt get it at all. Top it off w those stupid stands that drove the price here in Canada 5 bucks and ive stopped buying them. When series one pics came out first we were all over the moon. I stared at them for weeks. Now theyre completely overpriced and just garbage. What an awful shame.
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Taylor
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Post by Taylor on Aug 7, 2018 7:58:26 GMT -5
Apologies if it’s in another thread, but I can’t seem to find the info on the case breakdowns for Series 1 (U.S. and U.K.).
Each case was made up of 8 figures, although KO and Roman Reigns weren’t released here in the U.K.
I think the two figures that had two per case in the U.K. were Cena and Warrior and possibly the same 2 in the U.S. but can anyone confirm, please? I know it wasn’t KO, Reigns or Brock Lesnar in either country that had 2 figures per case but that’s all I’m certain of.
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MWFD
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Post by MWFD on Aug 7, 2018 8:24:51 GMT -5
I agree that Macho choice was extremely questionable. The only one I'm looking forward to at this point is the grey Undertaker, but we haven't even seen him from the front! Classic Mattel... Wonder what's worse: Mattel's first Macho Man retro figure being an nWo version and not a Macho King or WWF Macho Man version? Or Mattel deciding to produce an "American Made" blue and white Hulk Hogan before, ironically, an nWo Hollywood Hogan or a Hulk Rules/Python Power Hulkster?
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Post by stc13 on Aug 7, 2018 8:42:58 GMT -5
I agree that Macho choice was extremely questionable. The only one I'm looking forward to at this point is the grey Undertaker, but we haven't even seen him from the front! Classic Mattel... Wonder what's worse: Mattel's first Macho Man retro figure being an nWo version and not a Macho King or WWF Macho Man version? Or Mattel deciding to produce an "American Made" blue and white Hulk Hogan before, ironically, an nWo Hollywood Hogan or a Hulk Rules/Python Power Hulkster? NWO Macho and it's not even close, imo. The American Made Hogan was a RSC exclusive - they give RSC figures that they don't plan on producing in the main lines. At the time it made to give that figure to Ringside, since the more recognizable versions would be strong sellers in more widely produced lines. Even an earlier WCW Savage would have made more sense. An NWO version isn't high on my want list, and makes little sense without Hall, Nash, and Hogan.
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drnickriviera995
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Post by drnickriviera995 on Aug 7, 2018 9:12:37 GMT -5
I agree that Macho choice was extremely questionable. The only one I'm looking forward to at this point is the grey Undertaker, but we haven't even seen him from the front! Classic Mattel... Wonder what's worse: Mattel's first Macho Man retro figure being an nWo version and not a Macho King or WWF Macho Man version? Or Mattel deciding to produce an "American Made" blue and white Hulk Hogan before, ironically, an nWo Hollywood Hogan or a Hulk Rules/Python Power Hulkster? Are we talking about a retro Hogan? Where is this? Assuming it's a basic or elite, but don't know why then it's posted here.
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drnickriviera995
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Post by drnickriviera995 on Aug 7, 2018 9:15:34 GMT -5
Apologies if it’s in another thread, but I can’t seem to find the info on the case breakdowns for Series 1 (U.S. and U.K.). Each case was made up of 8 figures, although KO and Roman Reigns weren’t released here in the U.K. I think the two figures that had two per case in the U.K. were Cena and Warrior and possibly the same 2 in the U.S. but can anyone confirm, please? I know it wasn’t KO, Reigns or Brock Lesnar in either country that had 2 figures per case but that’s all I’m certain of. Break down in later US cases were: Warrior x3 Undertaker x2 Cena x2 Lesnar x1 Early US cases had 2x of Lesnar, Cena, Owens and Rollins/Reigns? (I don't watch current product and always confuse those 2 guys). Assume, UK got the same breakdown as later US cases, but perhaps someone else can confirm.
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Post by Bandalero on Aug 7, 2018 10:13:39 GMT -5
this line is a marketing failure. It seemed like they started with the best of intentions but by series 3, switched to another brand manager and in the process switched the main target audience. Now you get what you get and they've missed the boat on a potential cash cow.
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drnickriviera995
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Joined on: Jul 25, 2010 23:58:50 GMT -5
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Post by drnickriviera995 on Aug 7, 2018 10:41:11 GMT -5
this line is a marketing failure. It seemed like they started with the best of intentions but by series 3, switched to another brand manager and in the process switched the main target audience. Now you get what you get and they've missed the boat on a potential cash cow. Even from Series 1 there were big miss-steps starting with case break downs. IMO the best figure they've done to date was Undertaker. Don't know why they insisted on 2x each of Cena in those cases when he had already been available. And went with 3 of Warrior and only 2 of Taker. Could have done 3x of the newly added Warrior/Taker or at least swapped it to 3 Taker/2 Warrior. Clearly Undertaker was going to be wanted much more by collectors since he was actually needed to add to Hasbro collections. While Warrior was basically the same attire as the first Hasbro and a poorly done figure IMO. This resulted in Warrior and Cena clogging Walmart shelves and preventing S2 from being stocked at a lot of stores.
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Post by hbkjason on Aug 7, 2018 10:44:28 GMT -5
this line is a marketing failure. It seemed like they started with the best of intentions but by series 3, switched to another brand manager and in the process switched the main target audience. Now you get what you get and they've missed the boat on a potential cash cow. I posted this in another thread, but Pixel Dan did an interview with some dude from Mattel and he was saying when he looked at "his Hasbro" collection that he always thought that Iron Sheik was a missing piece...... how in the blue hell does any Hasbro fan look at their collection and think that the missing piece is an early to mid 80's Iron Sheik? As much as I like the line they clearly have the wrong people behind it. I just take it as it comes, would I like to have tons of figures to buy? you bet I would! But I am not going to get bent out of shape over it either. Also if I cannot find them in stores then I can live without them. I refuse to pay a penny over retail for these.
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Post by SteveHulk on Aug 7, 2018 11:23:30 GMT -5
Apologies if it’s in another thread, but I can’t seem to find the info on the case breakdowns for Series 1 (U.S. and U.K.). Each case was made up of 8 figures, although KO and Roman Reigns weren’t released here in the U.K. I think the two figures that had two per case in the U.K. were Cena and Warrior and possibly the same 2 in the U.S. but can anyone confirm, please? I know it wasn’t KO, Reigns or Brock Lesnar in either country that had 2 figures per case but that’s all I’m certain of. Break down in later US cases were: Warrior x3 Undertaker x2 Cena x2 Lesnar x1 Early US cases had 2x of Lesnar, Cena, Owens and Rollins/Reigns? (I don't watch current product and always confuse those 2 guys). Assume, UK got the same breakdown as later US cases, but perhaps someone else can confirm. Yes, that's correct - the UK had the cases without Owens and Roman, which wasn't a great start. But we did have LOADS of all Series 2 (my fave!) and quite a few of Series 3... that's it so far though. this line is a marketing failure. It seemed like they started with the best of intentions but by series 3, switched to another brand manager and in the process switched the main target audience. Now you get what you get and they've missed the boat on a potential cash cow. It does seem as though they're alienating the main people this line would appeal too (ie. older fans and legends/Hasbro collectors). I'd have loved it if they could have continued with 6 figures per series, with a 50/50 split between current roster and legends... or if need be a 4 current/2 legends split. I'm hoping the "higher ups" will see how popular figures like Flair and Macho have been and maybe the line will be more legends-heavy in the future...
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MWFD
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Post by MWFD on Aug 7, 2018 12:06:17 GMT -5
Wonder what's worse: Mattel's first Macho Man retro figure being an nWo version and not a Macho King or WWF Macho Man version? Or Mattel deciding to produce an "American Made" blue and white Hulk Hogan before, ironically, an nWo Hollywood Hogan or a Hulk Rules/Python Power Hulkster? Are we talking about a retro Hogan? Where is this? Assuming it's a basic or elite, but don't know why then it's posted here. What? I was discussing decisions made by Mattel, and which one was worse. No idea what you're trying to say or talking about at all, quite frankly. Anyway, I get the reason why American Made Hogan was an RSC Exclusive but Mattel still decided that particular version of Hogan, regardless of what line it was in, should've been produced before the others like Hulk Rules and nWo. Granted, there was no way Mattel could have predicted the whole racist Hogan fiasco (though a sex tape where Hogan's banging his best friend's wife could've hinted that the dude's character was, um, less than ideal for a brand targeted to children) but I digress. Anyway, I think Hogan was the bigger miss considering they couldn't correct their mistake since they weren't able to make any more Hogans; Mattel could announce another retro Savage today if they wanted. Either way, hopefully Mattel has learned the lesson that when you've got the rights to produce a figure, no matter how many character looks they have, don't mess around getting out the greatest hits and most popular versions first. Despite my original question though, Mattel has done a really good job with the WWE license. Everyone, including myself, is quick to point out any of the negative or questionable decisions, but Mattel's produced an awesome product for WWF/WWE action figure fans in my opinion. And as for the retro line in particular, I, too, would love more legends, I'm not holding my breath. In my perfect wrestling figure world, Mattel would bang out the long-desired 'orange card' Hasbro series characters (in the same style as they had been planned by Hasbro), and then, work their way to the modern day in chronological order.
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