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Post by stc13 on Mar 12, 2022 9:26:21 GMT -5
Davey is right. The two are definitely more linked now than they used to be. The last three games have all aligned with figure reveals. No difference here. Look at this list: Andre Bossman Booker T Bret Chyna Diesel Doink ERIC BISCHOFF - we’ll see if we get a fig soon Farooq Hogan Hurricane Jake the Snake Jerry Lawler Jim Neidhart Papa Shango Randy Savage Razor Rikishi Road Dogg RVD Roddy Piper Shawn Michaels Stone Cold Ted Dibiase The British Bulldog The Rock The Ultimate Warrior Undertaker Vader X Pac Yokozuna We go through this every few months. If you're seeing someone in on a trading card or in a video game, they're most likely available for a figure. There are certainly exceptions, but appearances in other licensed properties are a huge indicator of who is/isn't available currently.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 12, 2022 9:21:07 GMT -5
You would think with John having a high position of power within WWE that he would have some influence on at least getting Animal’s estate on board. Or maybe that’s where the tension is. I know not all families get along and sometimes the death of someone only causes them to become more estranged. Pretty sure that's a big part of the tension. Animal spoke pretty frequently about wanting to be an agent or to coach tag teams at the PC, and there was definitely tension that Johnny didn't get him a job. I'm not at all surprised that WWE would want LOD under a deal - they've always been big merch movers. But that doesn't make it any more likely we'll see Mattel figures any time soon.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 8, 2022 18:50:45 GMT -5
As of now, the Luminaries are in every even-numbered Unmatched series. Released/announced so far: Sting in Unmatched Series 2, Corazón de León Chris Jericho in Unmatched Series 4, and Owen Hart in Unmatched Series 6. I would imagine that larger Legends presence is inevitable down the line. Sidenote question: In your signature photo, who is it that has DDP in a headlock? I'm completely blanking even though I'm sure it's someone totally obvious. I searched up Luminaries Sting, but it’s modern. Does it just mean retro talent (that could be made into flashbacks?) or just strictly flashback attires. Also, what attire is the Jericho in trunks in? It’s Rick Rude. WCW was my favorite growing up and I have small shelf dedicated to them. I think they're interpreting it pretty liberally. Sting was clearly a modern figure. Jericho and Owen will be flashbacks. I'd imagine they're at least trying to sell retailers on a standalone legends line. They have a pretty strong in house roster. But I don't know that a third product at retail is going to happen.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 8, 2022 18:45:54 GMT -5
It would make a lot more sense to me than Darby and Cody.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 6, 2022 16:49:25 GMT -5
i collect the NECA turtles line....i have most of the movie turtle packs that were released at walmart. i was on the fence about getting the pack with oroko saki & hamato yoshi in their "street gear", from the one scene in the movie. on one hand i like being a completist....but the price of those packs went up $10 to $59 before tax....at that price? im out. its not necessary for me anymore to get stuff like that when these companies are doing what they are doing more people need to feel this way, and have the self control to NOT give in to the temptation "just because its there" its because everyone has been able to accept "well its only a couple of bucks" that we are sitting here with everything going up the only reason the cost of goods is going up is every company needs to continue to beat their own record profits to keep shareholders happy. if they stopped selling as much as they did, there would have to be a shift to get the customer back Totally agree with you. But I do start to wonder if the way we (and I use that generally for this board) collect has become a dinosaur. There are a few toy shows in my area that I've been going to for years. They've always been great for finding figures well under retail, picking up custom fodder, or grabbing some obscure 90's/00s lines like The Tick on the cheap. It's a fun way to spend a Saturday and I'd always leave with a good haul pre-pandemic. Since the shows re-started, they're now in bigger and bigger venues, and are doing record attendance. And I've left empty handed more than once. Pretty much everyone at the show is selling some combination of figures that have been in stores within the past 6-9 months priced for well above retail or the high desire vintage stuff (Hasbros, GI Joe, MOTU, etc) for around ebay prices - stuff I either already have or have no interest in. There was a show last weekend. I drove out and got there about 15 minutes after doors opened. The parking lot, overflow parking, and nearby businesses were all full. Cars were literally just pulling off on the side of the road and parking. I turned around and just headed home. From the toy companies perspective, I get it. Costs have gone up enough where you can justify an increase. And why wouldn't you? If people are regularly buying figures that just came out for $30, 40, 50 dollars on the secondary market, why not try to get a slice of that action for yourself? Even if they price you or I out, there is clearly a market there who will absorb the cost without batting an eye. The question is just a) will those folks stick around longterm and b) are there enough of those collectors to make up for lost sales/revenue. That's where I honestly don't know. My gut says no. The parking lot last weekend says yes.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 6, 2022 13:49:13 GMT -5
I'm still on the fence for most of the non FTIL figures. But I'll grab all the new inclusions, and maybe suited Cody and Kenny. I'm up in the air on the Supreme line. $40+ is a lot to spend for a single figure.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 6, 2022 13:45:04 GMT -5
I want to love this line, but there are so many instances of "one step forward, two steps back". Things like joints feeling worse over time, questionable part choices, and the most frustrating of all, sub par headscans. Screaming headscans being the only option available, ala the first Miro, Lance Archer, and now Brian Cage. As far as I'm concerned, they should be an option but never the default. It's enough that it'll completely ruin a figure for me and I find myself often having to wait for future releases. On the plus side, I did absolutely love some of the things that were shown, namely the Supreme Cody, Kenny and Black. Those are easily three of the greatest wrestling figures I've ever seen and I can't to try and track them down. I think you hit the nail on the head. Though I don't think the scans are sub-par, per se. But the choice of which head to include is. There have been a few situations where they used a better scan exclusively with the chase figure (Rosa and Riho come to mind) which including the lesser scan on the figure that's available at mass market. I totally get the goal of having more expressive figures. Yelling scans are tough to nail for Mattel too, so I don't think it's purely a case of inferior scans. But they really need to default to the one that looks the best, and then either use alternate versions as a second head or on the chase versions.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 6, 2022 12:05:50 GMT -5
I didn't hate them as much as some clearly did. Most looked decent to good. But I felt like overall the head quality is going to be more animated or catroony. A lot of the open mouth or yelling scans don't look great, imo.
Hopefully the final products look better. But I do wonder if something has changed behind the scenes, either in terms of internal designers or the third party scanning company they're working with.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 6, 2022 12:01:16 GMT -5
Surprised by the comments here so far. I saw a ton of improvements over previous waves. Everything looked really good to me in person. Definitely top wrestling figure line contender. Maybe videos will help! Also handled some of these and they're great up close. Hoping some folks change their minds.
I'm the opposite -- I think Jazzwares has done a great job until now. But almost all of these figures besides Thunder Rosa, Jade, and a few others seem really worse than almost all of the figures released thus far with the exception of some like Riho, etc.
This is sort of where I'm at. The line has been great in my eyes, even with some of the issues with skin tones. I was pretty pleased with every figure up until FTR and those super cartoony looking heads. I hoped that was a one off situation, but yesterday's reveals look to be more in that vein. And they came out with some super quality soft goods, but have since switched to a lot of the same clunky rubber coats and jackets that Mattel has frustrated us with for years. Obviously the line has done well, and there are going to be some tradeoffs that come with increasing volume probably far faster than they imagined. I hoped they would grow their parts library some to get a move diverse selection of arms, torsos, etc. Maybe that's just a design choice, but seeing the arms on a guy who is literally comic book style ripped like Brian Cage is disappointing. For me, the majority of the figures shown are a step back from where the line was through the first 7-8 releases. Maybe the videos will show a different perspective, or there can still be improvements before the final product. But what started as one or two figures seems to be becoming a trend, and I don't think it's going in a direction that a lot of collectors want.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2022 17:18:27 GMT -5
Where was this announced? Yes please point me to that too, beyond excited. RSC's Instagram.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2022 17:16:40 GMT -5
I know we're all upset that we didn't see TH2 reveals today, but let's try to avoid any fights folks. I'm legit bummed Butcher & the Blade are the biggest ones missing for me. I'm also starting to get a little anxious on legends - getting basically 3 a year isn't going to cut it for me given all the names they have under contract.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2022 17:07:56 GMT -5
I know we're all upset that we didn't see TH2 reveals today, but let's try to avoid any fights folks.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2022 16:38:16 GMT -5
It’s fine to want something, but be a little realistic about when/if a figure of her could happen. No, clearly someone with ink still drying on their contract deserves to be prioritized and rushed out over a cult hero that's been associated with the company for well over a year. Mercedes also has a ton of tattoos and is going to take some planning to fit into the deco budget. They don't have a ton of women. I'm sure she'll pop up sooner than later.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2022 16:08:16 GMT -5
Any word on what the expect MSRP is for these Unrivaled Supreme figures? $40, I believe.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2022 15:34:14 GMT -5
Jazwares said in the live stream that they would be at Double or Nothing and would do a years worth of reveals to combat the leaks. when is DON May 29
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2022 14:26:06 GMT -5
It's a mixed bag for me. I'm really happy to see Cage still in the line - I was worried he might get pulled. Jade looks great, and they keep mixing in new talent.
But these heads look rough. And it seems like they've moved away from some of the super intricate soft goods we saw in the first few waves. Not sure how I feel about doing street clothes of Britt, Cody, and Hangman. They're different, but I'm not sure that I want to pay $20 for those figures. There's just something that feels off with the designs for me.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 5, 2022 8:46:16 GMT -5
Scorpio Sky will get a TNT Title shot on next week's St. Patrick's Day Slam. Also, Paige VanZant will officially become ALL ELITE.TK really buried the lede in that tweet. PVZ has a ton of charisma, seems like a great natural heel, and seems to has a pretty good sized following. If she becomes even half decent in the ring, she'll do very well
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Post by stc13 on Mar 4, 2022 18:38:46 GMT -5
When you look at the scope of what's available, I really do think we're in a golden age of collecting. The scope (legends, indie darlings, AEW, WWE, smaller companies, Lucha legends) of what is being made is absolutely astounding, and the quality across the board been upped over the last year or two.
And I've never felt so blah about many of my purchases. Few figures truly excite me the way I used to feel even a few years ago. I'm debating whether I need to slow down, part with some figures, or just take a break from collecting. Between difficulty finding figures at retail and space constraints, I'm just not having as much fun as in the past.
I got into collecting figures because after decades as a collectors and dealer in sports cards, I was sick of the constant chase, fomo, and fixation on "value" in the card hobby. And figure collecting is starting to feel the same way for me.
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Post by stc13 on Mar 4, 2022 18:29:45 GMT -5
Will Luminaries include talent not currently employed by AEW?
When will we see AEW figure stands? (hopefully already answered by the Q&A)
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Post by stc13 on Mar 4, 2022 16:34:06 GMT -5
There's a certain saturation point where I just lose interest. And $25 might just be it. I collect a pretty wide range - legends, NXT, and some current roster guys. But at this point I have a figure of just about everybody I want on the main roster, I have zero interest in buying NXT 2.0 figures, and almost every legend we get is a repaint. At $20, or even $22, I'll make some stretch purchases and buy a figure I don't love on a whim. That isn't going to happen at $25, even if I can afford the price hike. I was a pretty active Marvel Legends collector, but haven't bought a single figure that wasn't on clearance since the raised the price. The value just isn't there for me. I think Mattel is really overestimating their market. They're focused on short term margins, potentially at the expense of losing a good chunk of overall volume. If hardcore collectors are rethinking, I'd imagine the casual mom buying for her kid is going to have the same reaction. Crazy how so many people talk as if Mattel has a diabolical plot to stash hoards of cash through unnecessary price increases (“focused on short term margins”). It couldn’t POSSIBLY be that they’re seeing increased costs the same as everybody else and are focused on the long term viability of the line and the company! They're certainly seeing increased costs, as all industries are. Their choice is to eat those costs, take a smaller profit margin and hope to maintain the volume of sales, adjust their budget and maintain the same price point, or to pass costs to the consumer in order to preserve their target margins and probably see a decrease in sales. That's a decision that companies make every day. It's a choice. It doesn't mean their choice will turn out the be the correct one. Toys are a luxury item, and two price hikes within 12 months will definitely have an impact on sales volume that could be greater than the revenue they would lose by taking a smaller profit margin.
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