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Post by stc13 on Mar 26, 2024 12:28:05 GMT -5
How did we get back to fantasy booking Hasbro getting the license when WWE/Mattel basically just signed their most recent extension?
There's absolutely no indication Hasbro has been or would be interested in WWE. They have a long term deal with two monster licensed properties with Star Wars and Marvel. Plus a ton of in house IP (Transformers, GI Joe) in the same category as wrestling.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 25, 2024 19:12:42 GMT -5
Some, but rarely at this point. I collected NXT figures up until the NXT 2.0 rebrand and would grab many of my main roster favorites. But I usually limit it to 1-2 figures of current guys. With how little roster turnover there has been over the past decade, there aren't a lot of new figures I'm interested in.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 25, 2024 19:10:10 GMT -5
Keep in mind, unless the rule has changed, they have to have access to the tape library for them to use specific looks or if they don’t have that promotion’s library then that attire would have to also been used in something they do own. Playing devil's advocate, this line seems perfect to work around that issue. They own a LOT of tape libraries or IP rights, including many NWA affiliates. And since the champions would tour the affiliates and battle defend the belts, there's a pretty high chance most major names (at least from the 70s on) appear somewhere on tape. Guys would basically cycle the same gimmick/look across the territories. And there may be more flexibility on what looks they're able to do - the reference for the upcoming Legends Hogan is almost certainly something they don't own tape of, nor do they have the Inoki/Ali match as far as I know.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 25, 2024 19:00:15 GMT -5
Yeah all those Graham, Monsoon, and Harley figures they’ve been flooding us with is starting to get annoying. As much I love those guys it definitely is a continuation of what this line has become the last 3-4 years. We maybe get 3-4 actual new wrestlers from past eras each year if we’re lucky. Last year was what Brother Love and Ali? I may be missing someone but it’s not many. It’s not Mattel’s fault they gotta work with what they have I just think there’s way more attention right now to how to gimmick up or repackage all this stuff over and over again then giving us some dope stuff. I don’t know I’m really hoping with Vince gone maybe there will be more of a push to get some more guys under deals. Triple H is a huge historian of the business so I’m optimistic about it You're obviously entitled to your opinion, but I think there's a pretty strong argument that from both a design and deep cut standpoint Mattel has never done more for collectors across eras. Obscure figures like Japan Hogan or Peter Maivia, deep cuts like Chainsaw Charlie or debut Faarooq, 2-in-1s and chases to get alternate looks like Terry Gordy or Molly Holly. They have dedicated lines right now exclusively for the territories, Golden Era, Attitude Era, and a catch-all Legends line. WWE is a business and Legends deals exist to generate a profit. There are always going to be constraints, but there has been a pretty steady effort to bring in new names year over year and expand the offering to fans. Obviously things have changed with Vince gone. But I think people expecting to suddenly get a flood of new Legends deals or deep cut characters are probably in for a lot of disappointment.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 25, 2024 7:49:24 GMT -5
It's worth keeping in mind that the usual constraints still apply - the wrestler will need a legends deal and Mattel will need to think they have enough selling power to move thousands of units. And PowerTown contacts may make some of these talents off the board.
But there are some interesting names who are or are likely signed Bob Backlund Wild Samoans Andre Piper Valentine Johnny Rodz (seems like a long shot for a figure) Ivan Putski Dusty Lawler Kaufman could make sense as a future celeb legend Jim Duggan
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Post by stc13 on Mar 17, 2024 12:26:06 GMT -5
Do we NEED a vault? With Mattel I get it...the line has been going for 15 years. Jazwares has been making figures for...four? I'd rather see Jazwares focus on the current lines they have. Improve the headscans, focus on quality control. Stop inventing MORE series. Jeremy has always been bold and inventive and that drives his success but we genuinely need quality over quantity, not another series. With a figure line less than five years old, let's focus on going forward. Get your current series of figures out to consumers. Increase your quality. Vault is just branding. It allows them to have a direct to consumer platform to sell products that they can't get retailers to pick up and that cut out the middleman. If they were able to consistently deliver product to mass market reail, this would be a huge win for most collectors. They haven't, and are rightfully getting scrutiny over this rollout.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 17, 2024 10:20:14 GMT -5
Daniels has been a glaring omission. I'm bummed we won't get a proper reDRagon. I feel like we'll somehow miss getting Jeff Jarrett yet again. Reunion Hardys.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 17, 2024 10:11:48 GMT -5
There was a ton of middle ground that they never touched. They didn't need to have one woman per wave and they didn't need to be packed at 1/case. I don't think slapping the chase sticker on them and paywalling them like they did with The Bunny was the answer either. They went out of the gate hot with a product that WAS hot, but had little depth. Once you got past series 2, the name value fell off a cliff. Archer, Nyla, SCU, etc just didn't have enough draw to sell figures at a national scale, and still don't. AEW has built some home grown stars. But a lot of the early choices (Scorpio, Private Party) of who to build really fell flat. Unfortunately the toy line is so far behind right now that I have no clue how to get things aligned. If Archer, Rose and Supreme Baker were exclusives and not mass retail figures the line would be in much better shape. But as mass retail releases every Target I hit has some combination of multiple of those three figures. Then they f’d up by mass releasing the street clothes Hangman at the same time as the Walmart exclusive sure the shirt was slightly different and the one had the belt, but honestly they canceled out each other sales because if you found the one you didn’t need the other. And it’s the same at Walmart I see some combination or Archer, Rose and both Hangman figures. Although the Walmart Hangman is almost always missing the title. But if those there figures weren’t mass released to every store that carries AEW figures the line would be doing much better than it is now. Because with those figure rotting the pegs the stores aren’t getting shipped new product once they sell out of the product they got for the reset Tho was the Mount Kisco NY Target yesterday and all my Targets are like that in some form. Ironically I'm in Pittsburgh where the Britt figure actually would sell and I never so much as saw a tag for Supremes at Target here.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 17, 2024 9:04:50 GMT -5
Are people gonna complain that their offerings are gone in 30 seconds, or are people gonna complain there isn't enough demand for them? Or maybe don’t make a figure that is highly in demand that people been asking 3 years for a f’n Walmart exclusive instead of a full mass retail item. Then make a figure that’s not a high demand figure a pegwarming mass retail item. If they made that Archer, Rose or Supreme Baker figures 1/5000 or 1/3000s exclusives respectively they probably would have sold out because the diehard completists would have still purchased them. There was a ton of middle ground that they never touched. They didn't need to have one woman per wave and they didn't need to be packed at 1/case. I don't think slapping the chase sticker on them and paywalling them like they did with The Bunny was the answer either. They went out of the gate hot with a product that WAS hot, but had little depth. Once you got past series 2, the name value fell off a cliff. Archer, Nyla, SCU, etc just didn't have enough draw to sell figures at a national scale, and still don't. AEW has built some home grown stars. But a lot of the early choices (Scorpio, Private Party) of who to build really fell flat. Unfortunately the toy line is so far behind right now that I have no clue how to get things aligned.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 15, 2024 22:50:45 GMT -5
I brought build-a-figures back because you asked for their return and creatively, it gives even more opportunities to make looks or talent that might not make the cut otherwise. These extra 8 BAF figs or so a year we’re getting now just don’t happen if the BAF execution goes away again. Why anyone would want BAF’s to go away is crazy to me. Please, keep them coming. Exactly. There will always be a finite number of slots, which people seem to not get. With some of these niche figures, it's an outside the box release or none at all. I will say the BAF lines have been exceptionally hard to get, and I'd like to see that improved. I never saw any indication the Survivor Series wave hit any retail, and it came and went in a flash from RSC.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 15, 2024 9:17:13 GMT -5
I had Eddie in my cart and it's saying out of stock.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 14, 2024 15:41:41 GMT -5
Buff is one of my top wants, and one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. Great look, great charisma, always entertaining. I was a huge fan from his early tag runs through the Buff character. Obviously the guy got in his own way, but it's a shame that never had a meaningful run anywhere post-WCW.
I'd love to see him in the line and would buy any figures they make.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 12, 2024 18:12:23 GMT -5
I'm hoping to see nothing I want, honestly. I'd much rather see figures I'm interested get a retail release than have to pay an online premium + shipping.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 11, 2024 21:48:18 GMT -5
Cranberry Walmart looked like they got the shipper, but all MNW figs are gone. Still most of E106 minus Bearer, a few Trish WM, and Top Picks. They didn't have it as of Friday, so it must have gone out over the weekend.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 11, 2024 17:45:38 GMT -5
I wouldn't consider it being scalped, but I paid $70 for the Legion of Doom loose. That is/was probably about as high as I'm willing to go on a Mattel figure.
I started collecting about 5 years into the line, but a lot of figures could still be had for at or below retail. Most of the most expensive purchases were tag teams - $50 for the Rockers, $30 for Bushwackers, $40 for Demolition, and $70 for LOD. I passed on Texas Tornado, Akeem, and Martel at their prices at the time.
Now those prices would be an absolute steal. But I'm happy with my collection and just hold out slim hope some of these will get remade some day.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 11, 2024 17:39:49 GMT -5
What Hard to Kill said. Maybe that changes when they move to the CW if they find a bigger audience. But right now the execution has been perfect and the store exclusive lines are the strongest they've been in ages.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 11, 2024 12:30:59 GMT -5
I was joking. In all seriousness though, I wonder if we may see this kind of approach going forward for big outside talent. Sign a deal, pump out merch over a year, culminate in a HOF induction. While not the HOF side, that definitely seems like the strategy recently. Mr. T, Zeus, Ali. It seems like they at least tried with Bad Bunny. I could see them pursuing others like Rodman, LT, Snoop, etc who have loose WWE ties.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 11, 2024 10:27:38 GMT -5
I have very few carded figures mixed in with over 1000+ loose and ive never dusted the collection nor have i ever noticed anything more than the usual small specs on the actual shelf vs the figures. If anything the carded stuff has collected more dust if that makes any sense. I think it comes down to where/how you display them and temperature/moisture/climate conditions. Mine have always been in my semi finished basement on shelves and we run dehumidifier’s/heat as needed Same here. My figures are primarily on Billy book cases, some of which have glass doors and others are totally open. I haven't had to dust either in years and everything looks great. My collection is also in my semi-finished basement, which isn't a super high traffic area. I definitely notice more dust buildup on collectibles in the common living spaces.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 10, 2024 19:14:27 GMT -5
Shipper hasn’t hit any of the Walmarts I looked at in Pittsburgh. Swear we just don’t get them or they are sent out to greensburg They've been found at North Huntingdon, North Versailles, and Butler. Nothing in Cranberry as of Friday and Gibsonia usually doesn't get shippers.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 9, 2024 10:26:11 GMT -5
Great looking figures, though they really need an alternate head without the visor.
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