|
Post by stc13 on Apr 6, 2024 8:45:35 GMT -5
Color me impressed. Bill and Steve continue to find creative ways to build on the line and the design work has largely been great. Anything else we see is icing on the cake, but there's some exciting stuff to look forward to here.
|
|
|
Post by stc13 on Apr 6, 2024 8:06:39 GMT -5
I really want to enjoy this line, but having a straight up re-release and a re-paint really sours me. This is an era where they have a TON of guys under contract, lots of gimmicks and looks that haven't been made, and with it's limited run you can get away with some deep cuts without clogging retail.
|
|
|
Post by stc13 on Apr 2, 2024 20:09:01 GMT -5
I'm loving the Sami and KO. But that Sami screaming head reminds me of a HHH/Bryan Danielson mashup.
|
|
|
Post by stc13 on Apr 1, 2024 8:30:29 GMT -5
The subscription numbers are almost certainly way down. The quality and creativity just seemed non existent compared to when I first subbed. Years ago the tshirt designs were cool or quirky (I love my GI Joe Sarge shirt). By the time I dropped it, it was clear that the crate shirts were an afterthought with low effort designs.
I still buy the Brawlers and autographs that I'm interested in. But I haven't seen a single shirt since I dropped my sub that I wanted.
|
|
|
Post by stc13 on Mar 29, 2024 20:11:02 GMT -5
What does a 1991 hogan with a belt around his waist even look like? Is there a certain bandanna for it? Python power? I think it's basically this look. Python Power headband, Hulkster Rules and/or flag t-shirt, and winged eagle. Not radically different (especially if you do an E96 fixup) but its a notable gap as Mattel goes into more and more obscure looks.
|
|
|
Post by stc13 on Mar 29, 2024 17:57:55 GMT -5
If this is true, I... Well on one hand, Three Minute Warning is one of my biggest wants for my Samoan Dynasty shelf. On the other hand... I STILL DON'T HAVE A TARGET. I still don't have a Target and Target preorders sell out fast and I believe they don't charge up front? I've never been able to get a Target preorder in in time but if they don't charge up front there will be no point because my bank account isn't stable enough to order anything I'm not charged immediately for. Even if pre-orders sell out, they typically come back in stock. You can buy most of the last 4-5 waves on Target's website right now for retail price.
|
|
|
Post by stc13 on Mar 29, 2024 12:50:07 GMT -5
I love this set, but that has to be the dumbest chase of all time…When did Bubba wear a blue shirt? They couldn’t do Hulk in some variation of that look? If anything, they could have done a grey shirt… I'm seeing blue in photos from his NWA run. His WCW era looks all appear to be pinstripe shirts which would be tough deco wise. Agreed that it's a skippable chase, but I don't see that as a negative. Most people will be fine owning one of these. But there's an option if someone really wants to display two without having them be just a headswap.
|
|
|
Post by stc13 on Mar 29, 2024 10:20:37 GMT -5
Hasbro seems unlikely to me. They've done a few already in other lines - both Razors, upcoming Yoko. I feel like they would have held off if the line was under any kind of consideration.
Galoob would be cool. Really under rated packacing, some unique stars who otherwise might not locks for an ultimate. Not having Flair or Sting probably puts a huge dent in the chances though.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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.
|
|