|
Post by poindizzle on May 20, 2013 16:16:50 GMT -5
First of all, your post was excellent. I feel the need to chime in, as I collected Jakks figs from BCA all the way through the end of Classics. I was interested in the Legends line as well. Unfortunately, as stated above, they REALLY dropped the ball with the Legends. Series 1 was sub par. Granted, at the time they really wanted to launch guys who they expected to sell and opting for established Legends, but in this case this may not have been the best strategy. In my opinion the only decent figures were Hogan and Sting, both of which I thought were among Jakks best efforts. Both would have looked great in the CS line (I don't count the last few CS series where they clearly gave up). The other figures however, while good for what they were, stood no chance of selling well. The Nash was designed after a brief, forgettable stint of his career; Angle was in an accurate, yet bland attire; Jarrett was in his early Tennessee attire (and someone like Jarrett is nowhere near popular enough to warrant an obscure attire). Series 2 had the potential to kickstart things with Jim Cornette (a GLARING omission from the CS line), Jean Ferre style Andre the Giant (with an excellent young head sculpt), Jeff Hardy (always a huge seller), and AJ and Joe in indie attires (arguably more well known and popular than their TNA series 1 looks). In short, I think series 2 would have sold very well. When they cancelled the Legends line I pretty much gave up on Jakks altogether. I have always hated the DA/DI style figures, and Jakks scaled back their quality terribly from the beginning of the first series. They were all lanky, the heads were enormous, and the disproportionate sizes were even more difficult to overlook than ever. I know I am not the only one who was psyched for the RI style figs at Walgreens. They seemed to sell well and I thought they were generally better figs than the DIs. They killed that off too. My point through all of this is that I think that it is clear that TNA is a red-headed step child. Jakks doesn't care. That's why there isn't a spokesperson, that's why nothing new is ever shown, and that's why the distribution and scheduling are so wonky. It's really a shame as well. Their knockouts are arguably better than Mattel's Divas and they have the potential to do some excellent things with RI style figures. Now they don't even offer Legends in the regular line anymore (no personal offense to Terry Taylor, but whoever chose to sell him over Cornette REALLY screwed up). I agree completely! I mentioned something the other day about Mattel's divas and how I thought that they were only just now starting to be better, how I disliked the rocker joint and thought the Jakks Knockouts were better, especially with the ab crunch, and you should have seen the butthurt. I stand by my guns. Jakks Knockouts > Mattel Divas.
|
|
|
Post by LeighD on May 21, 2013 5:23:11 GMT -5
First of all, your post was excellent. I feel the need to chime in, as I collected Jakks figs from BCA all the way through the end of Classics. I was interested in the Legends line as well. Unfortunately, as stated above, they REALLY dropped the ball with the Legends. Series 1 was sub par. Granted, at the time they really wanted to launch guys who they expected to sell and opting for established Legends, but in this case this may not have been the best strategy. In my opinion the only decent figures were Hogan and Sting, both of which I thought were among Jakks best efforts. Both would have looked great in the CS line (I don't count the last few CS series where they clearly gave up). The other figures however, while good for what they were, stood no chance of selling well. The Nash was designed after a brief, forgettable stint of his career; Angle was in an accurate, yet bland attire; Jarrett was in his early Tennessee attire (and someone like Jarrett is nowhere near popular enough to warrant an obscure attire). Series 2 had the potential to kickstart things with Jim Cornette (a GLARING omission from the CS line), Jean Ferre style Andre the Giant (with an excellent young head sculpt), Jeff Hardy (always a huge seller), and AJ and Joe in indie attires (arguably more well known and popular than their TNA series 1 looks). In short, I think series 2 would have sold very well. When they cancelled the Legends line I pretty much gave up on Jakks altogether. I have always hated the DA/DI style figures, and Jakks scaled back their quality terribly from the beginning of the first series. They were all lanky, the heads were enormous, and the disproportionate sizes were even more difficult to overlook than ever. I know I am not the only one who was psyched for the RI style figs at Walgreens. They seemed to sell well and I thought they were generally better figs than the DIs. They killed that off too. My point through all of this is that I think that it is clear that TNA is a red-headed step child. Jakks doesn't care. That's why there isn't a spokesperson, that's why nothing new is ever shown, and that's why the distribution and scheduling are so wonky. It's really a shame as well. Their knockouts are arguably better than Mattel's Divas and they have the potential to do some excellent things with RI style figures. Now they don't even offer Legends in the regular line anymore (no personal offense to Terry Taylor, but whoever chose to sell him over Cornette REALLY screwed up). I agree completely! I mentioned something the other day about Mattel's divas and how I thought that they were only just now starting to be better, how I disliked the rocker joint and thought the Jakks Knockouts were better, especially with the ab crunch, and you should have seen the butthurt. I stand by my guns. Jakks Knockouts > Mattel Divas. I feel like the Mattel section is nothing but anti-JAKKS. A lot of collectors bring up most of JAKKS last year, which was bad, but they almost never mention all the positive things JAKKS did for all thos eyears they had the WWE brand. CS line being the biggie for me, which is why I keep my fingers crossed JAKKS may try the LOTR line once again.
|
|
|
Post by poindizzle on May 21, 2013 5:35:16 GMT -5
I agree completely! I mentioned something the other day about Mattel's divas and how I thought that they were only just now starting to be better, how I disliked the rocker joint and thought the Jakks Knockouts were better, especially with the ab crunch, and you should have seen the butthurt. I stand by my guns. Jakks Knockouts > Mattel Divas. I feel like the Mattel section is nothing but anti-JAKKS. A lot of collectors bring up most of JAKKS last year, which was bad, but they almost never mention all the positive things JAKKS did for all thos eyears they had the WWE brand. CS line being the biggie for me, which is why I keep my fingers crossed JAKKS may try the LOTR line once again. People on the Mattel board bash Jakks for the one poor year of quality while ignoring the 12 great years like WWE.com trashes WCW for the final 3 bad years and ignores the 10 brilliant ones. Jakks body sculpts never really felt up to snuff, even when they were new, although the two torso they added to the RA line around 2006 or so for guys like Orton and Batista looked really good. Where they always shined were detailed scans and paint apps on those scans. Mattel has good scans sometimes, but when they suck, they suck hard. DA is where Jakks really gets derailed. If they had created some new molds or hell, even borrowed them from the UFC line which looks pretty good in my opinion, people wouldn't complain about DA. But they continue to use those inferior body sculpts that aren't in scale with the Ruthless figures. I agree that the CS line is Jakks Legacy. It will be forever remember as one of the best toy lines of all time. Even if someone who knows a thing or two about toys didn't collect wrestling, they'd be hard pressed not to give props to how deep the roster was. If Marvel Legends had the deep selection of characters that Jakks did with CS, I'd still have all my old ML figures.
|
|
|
Post by LeighD on May 21, 2013 7:29:04 GMT -5
I feel like the Mattel section is nothing but anti-JAKKS. A lot of collectors bring up most of JAKKS last year, which was bad, but they almost never mention all the positive things JAKKS did for all thos eyears they had the WWE brand. CS line being the biggie for me, which is why I keep my fingers crossed JAKKS may try the LOTR line once again. People on the Mattel board bash Jakks for the one poor year of quality while ignoring the 12 great years like WWE.com trashes WCW for the final 3 bad years and ignores the 10 brilliant ones. Jakks body sculpts never really felt up to snuff, even when they were new, although the two torso they added to the RA line around 2006 or so for guys like Orton and Batista looked really good. Where they always shined were detailed scans and paint apps on those scans. Mattel has good scans sometimes, but when they suck, they suck hard. DA is where Jakks really gets derailed. If they had created some new molds or hell, even borrowed them from the UFC line which looks pretty good in my opinion, people wouldn't complain about DA. But they continue to use those inferior body sculpts that aren't in scale with the Ruthless figures. I agree that the CS line is Jakks Legacy. It will be forever remember as one of the best toy lines of all time. Even if someone who knows a thing or two about toys didn't collect wrestling, they'd be hard pressed not to give props to how deep the roster was. If Marvel Legends had the deep selection of characters that Jakks did with CS, I'd still have all my old ML figures. Beautifully said. There are times that I see a Mattel headscan (in a headshot) and I actually have to guess who that is! A lot of time I need to look at comments or anothe rpicture to find out that person.
|
|
Blackbird 13
Main Eventer
Joined on: Sept 6, 2005 3:32:41 GMT -5
Posts: 3,242
|
Post by Blackbird 13 on May 21, 2013 7:35:24 GMT -5
Man... I also wish we could get some more LOTR figures... and some more characters in RI style. I HATE how giant the DI/DA figures are compared to the RAs and Elites.
|
|
|
Post by The Madness on May 21, 2013 8:07:46 GMT -5
Man, what I wouldn't give for a LOTR Johnny B. Badd.
|
|
|
Post by LeighD on May 21, 2013 9:42:11 GMT -5
It sucks about Badd/Mero because we were supposed to have gotten a Johnny B. Badd figure in CS 21. But because Marc badmouthed the WWE after the whole Benoit situation, they cut him from the set. Had the whole Benoit scenario never happened we would have had a CS Benoit and Badd figure. More importantly Nancy & Daniel would be alive.
|
|
|
Post by poindizzle on May 22, 2013 11:32:52 GMT -5
Man... I also wish we could get some more LOTR figures... and some more characters in RI style. I HATE how giant the DI/DA figures are compared to the RAs and Elites. One of the smartest things Mattel did, is outside of tooling, the Elites and basics are virtually identical. The scale is the same and the torsos are very approximate in sculpt. If Jakks had taken the pre-existing molds and re-tooled them, or sculpted some that were very comparable, and kept them in scale, people wouldn't be so pissed about DA being the only option. Instead they made them larger and went in a very different stylistic direction that looked less realistic than the RA figures. Ruthless aggression series 26 William Regal stands as a perfect example. In real life William Regal is getting older, his arms aren't toned and somewhat thin compared to his torso, which is a little flabby. In RA, William regal has arms that aren't toned and are somewhat thin compared to his torso, which is a little flabby. In DA William Regal looks like the cover of a Body Building Magazine, and is 7 feet tall in relative scale.
|
|
|
Post by BoJack Hogan on May 22, 2013 12:13:34 GMT -5
Man... I also wish we could get some more LOTR figures... and some more characters in RI style. I HATE how giant the DI/DA figures are compared to the RAs and Elites. One of the smartest things Mattel did, is outside of tooling, the Elites and basics are virtually identical. The scale is the same and the torsos are very approximate in sculpt. If Jakks had taken the pre-existing molds and re-tooled them, or sculpted some that were very comparable, and kept them in scale, people wouldn't be so pissed about DA being the only option. Instead they made them larger and went in a very different stylistic direction that looked less realistic than the RA figures. Ruthless aggression series 26 William Regal stands as a perfect example. In real life William Regal is getting older, his arms aren't toned and somewhat thin compared to his torso, which is a little flabby. In RA, William regal has arms that aren't toned and are somewhat thin compared to his torso, which is a little flabby. In DA William Regal looks like the cover of a Body Building Magazine, and is 7 feet tall in relative scale. RA 26 Regal is one of my favorite ever RAs. I refused to go on to DA for this reason. I got a couple Like Kane, Taker, Big Show, and Batista, but that was mostly because they finally towered over the smaller guys (compare Taker and Rey being the same size in RA form). Beyond those examples, DA was far more ridiculous in scale. DA Umaga (and now Foley and Joe) may have been the tallest figure in Jakks WWE run. RA, while still not perfect, were far more realistic in terms of bodies. The later addition of the Batista torso, the one they eventually used for Cena and Orton, and the addition of the Regal arms and torso implemented somewhat realistic looking torsos for guys (compared with the shredded CSDA Big John Studd which was also eye to eye with CSDA Dynamite Kid and the ripped CSDA Flair exclusive from Wrestlemania). DA never even attempted to look realistic and DI still don't.
|
|
|
Post by BCizzle on May 22, 2013 14:14:03 GMT -5
I feel like the Mattel section is nothing but anti-JAKKS. A lot of collectors bring up most of JAKKS last year, which was bad, but they almost never mention all the positive things JAKKS did for all thos eyears they had the WWE brand. CS line being the biggie for me, which is why I keep my fingers crossed JAKKS may try the LOTR line once again. This Jakks section is also anti-JAKKS, too. I like the TNA figures they have given us so far, but there so many of you guys who complain and only want RA style figures. The Legends line failed for Mattel - I don't see how a Legends line for Jakks is going to succeed. They tried and it was a bust - they just can't get all these guys that aren't in TNA right now. I would love it if we got figures of all the guys that were announced with protos, like Scotty Steiner and Blackjack Mulligan, or guys we never got, like D'Lo and the Headbangers, or guys who were never even announced, like Hercules and Dino Bravo. But the years of Jakks Classic Superstars are over - some of you need to move on.
|
|
|
Post by LeighD on May 22, 2013 19:26:37 GMT -5
I feel like the Mattel section is nothing but anti-JAKKS. A lot of collectors bring up most of JAKKS last year, which was bad, but they almost never mention all the positive things JAKKS did for all thos eyears they had the WWE brand. CS line being the biggie for me, which is why I keep my fingers crossed JAKKS may try the LOTR line once again. This Jakks section is also anti-JAKKS, too. I like the TNA figures they have given us so far, but there so many of you guys who complain and only want RA style figures. The Legends line failed for Mattel - I don't see how a Legends line for Jakks is going to succeed. They tried and it was a bust - they just can't get all these guys that aren't in TNA right now. I would love it if we got figures of all the guys that were announced with protos, like Scotty Steiner and Blackjack Mulligan, or guys we never got, like D'Lo and the Headbangers, or guys who were never even announced, like Hercules and Dino Bravo. But the years of Jakks Classic Superstars are over - some of you need to move on. Yes the years of CS are over. It ended in 2009, welcome to 2013.
|
|
|
Post by BCizzle on May 22, 2013 20:39:53 GMT -5
Yes the years of CS are over. It ended in 2009, welcome to 2013. Then why are you always living in the past?
|
|
|
Post by LeighD on May 22, 2013 21:37:58 GMT -5
We're not. We're not trying to get the CS line back. It ended in 2009. Case closed, good-bye, the end. People can talk about the line the same way people talk about LJN, hasbros, etc. Also, no one believes the LOTR is going to be making a comeback. However JAKKS is still capable of making LOTR figires, which is what this thread is able. We'd like to see more LOTR figures, but we know the line is gone. Hope this clears the air.
|
|
|
Post by blu3blazer on May 22, 2013 21:49:28 GMT -5
One of the smartest things Mattel did, is outside of tooling, the Elites and basics are virtually identical. The scale is the same and the torsos are very approximate in sculpt. If Jakks had taken the pre-existing molds and re-tooled them, or sculpted some that were very comparable, and kept them in scale, people wouldn't be so pissed about DA being the only option. Instead they made them larger and went in a very different stylistic direction that looked less realistic than the RA figures. Ruthless aggression series 26 William Regal stands as a perfect example. In real life William Regal is getting older, his arms aren't toned and somewhat thin compared to his torso, which is a little flabby. In RA, William regal has arms that aren't toned and are somewhat thin compared to his torso, which is a little flabby. In DA William Regal looks like the cover of a Body Building Magazine, and is 7 feet tall in relative scale. RA 26 Regal is one of my favorite ever RAs. I refused to go on to DA for this reason. I got a couple Like Kane, Taker, Big Show, and Batista, but that was mostly because they finally towered over the smaller guys (compare Taker and Rey being the same size in RA form). Beyond those examples, DA was far more ridiculous in scale. DA Umaga (and now Foley and Joe) may have been the tallest figure in Jakks WWE run. RA, while still not perfect, were far more realistic in terms of bodies. The later addition of the Batista torso, the one they eventually used for Cena and Orton, and the addition of the Regal arms and torso implemented somewhat realistic looking torsos for guys (compared with the shredded CSDA Big John Studd which was also eye to eye with CSDA Dynamite Kid and the ripped CSDA Flair exclusive from Wrestlemania). DA never even attempted to look realistic and DI still don't. I used to love the torso they used for Big John Studd and George Steele until they started using it for modern Ric Flair. That was one of the oddest part choices they ever made. I did like when they started using the Regal torso for Flair.
|
|
|
Post by LeighD on May 23, 2013 5:10:49 GMT -5
RA 26 Regal is one of my favorite ever RAs. I refused to go on to DA for this reason. I got a couple Like Kane, Taker, Big Show, and Batista, but that was mostly because they finally towered over the smaller guys (compare Taker and Rey being the same size in RA form). Beyond those examples, DA was far more ridiculous in scale. DA Umaga (and now Foley and Joe) may have been the tallest figure in Jakks WWE run. RA, while still not perfect, were far more realistic in terms of bodies. The later addition of the Batista torso, the one they eventually used for Cena and Orton, and the addition of the Regal arms and torso implemented somewhat realistic looking torsos for guys (compared with the shredded CSDA Big John Studd which was also eye to eye with CSDA Dynamite Kid and the ripped CSDA Flair exclusive from Wrestlemania). DA never even attempted to look realistic and DI still don't. I used to love the torso they used for Big John Studd and George Steele until they started using it for modern Ric Flair. That was one of the oddest part choices they ever made. I did like when they started using the Regal torso for Flair. I agree. The torso Steele, Hacksaw, and others had look way to big for a modern day Ric Flair. The Regal torso was a fine pick for a modern day Flair. Anyone else hate when they used the Rocky shoe mold? CS 21 Flair has it and it kills the figure for me.
|
|
wwfgrk
Jobber
Joined on: Oct 4, 2011 15:28:19 GMT -5
Posts: 39
|
Post by wwfgrk on May 25, 2013 14:38:33 GMT -5
Hi - sorry to jump in on this thread - but I'd LOVE to buy these prototypes - namely Jim Cornette. Anyone have any leads as to how I may go about purchasing them?
|
|
|
Post by 3Lephant (Naptown Icon) on May 25, 2013 15:53:43 GMT -5
No one has revealed that they own one on here so your guess is as good as ours. Hopefully they will release his figure in a future line considering he has cut ties with ROH
|
|
The IT Factor
Mid-Carder
If you want some, come and get some!
Joined on: May 9, 2013 8:06:28 GMT -5
Posts: 232
|
Post by The IT Factor on May 25, 2013 16:41:17 GMT -5
It annoyed the hell out of me when JAKKS canceled LOTR Series 2, espically when I saw the Styles, Joe, and Cornette.
I have the Hardy from this lineup, but I wished they still released Styles, Cornette, and Joe.
Did they ever explain why they did this?
|
|
|
Post by Scotty on May 25, 2013 17:03:22 GMT -5
I was so mad when that set was canceled, pretty sure it was one of the onlysets I've ever preordered. Ended up getting Hardy, but I still really want a RA Joe, Cornette, and AJ
|
|
|
Post by LeighD on May 25, 2013 21:15:26 GMT -5
It annoyed the hell out of me when JAKKS canceled LOTR Series 2, espically when I saw the Styles, Joe, and Cornette. I have the Hardy from this lineup, but I wished they still released Styles, Cornette, and Joe. Did they ever explain why they did this? From what I've read/learner it boiled down to retailers not wanting the RI style, namely Kmart and TRU. Still don't understand why it wasn't released as Online exclusive to test those waters.
|
|