1. Adam: In a 2024 column, you said it would be a "miracle" if the Cantina got into our hands in 2025. It did! The Cantina beat the Ghost's turnaround time by more than 2 months relative to its campaign. Since we always ask "why was this delayed" here I will ask, why do you think Hasbro was able to turn the Cantina around so quickly for a HasLab?
--Brad

There's no way I'm going to be able to get anyone on the record to confirm it, but I would speculate the only reason we have this early is hedging against tariffs. It might cost more to skip to the front of the line or hire extra shifts in China, but that's peanuts compared to 145% in hypothetical mark-up. Or 34%. Or the 100% we're hearing about right now. If you can get an item built earlier before things get more expensive. (Also, those tariffs are based on cost of goods, not what you the customer paid for it.)

We probably got it early because that made the most sense financially, rather than expediting unsold goods. Most likely the factories and Hasbro (and other toymakers) had planned to be ready to get out as much as possible and ship it under the best conditions. The size of the tariffs keeps changing, and storage fees are probably a worthwhile insurance policy against any additional fees at the ports. In other words, I speculate we can thank the bean counters for this one!

Otherwise, this item probably would've been delayed. I think we just lucked out.

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2. Do you think fans and/or Hasbro have lost sight of the "toyetic" nature that led to all the classic Star Wars toys? I'm a fan who loves the fancy, realistic stuff we've had, but like you, I have been loving the retro stuff. It really tickles that itch, and it is so much more affordable. I haven't dipped into the Epic Hero line because of the slight scale difference (and cutting back in general to things that really interest me), but I love that they are good toys first. Anyway, that's a ramble to maybe let you riff on.
--Mike

I would say Hasbro's Epic vehicles - despite being a hair scaled up from 3 3/4-inch - are perfect. Nobody's buying them in droves, but your Vintage and Retro figures work great with the bikes, N-1, and X-Wings out there. Hasbro did a nice job making something better than some of the toys I grew up with. I miss the R2 button on the X-Wing, but the wings still open and the slide-out blue... uh... things are fun. The proton torpedo is a big improvement. It's arguably the best of the not-1970s-Kenner-derived X-Wings as toys go. The N-1 is similarly very good, and Hasbro added wheels - wheels! - to its new bikes. They're lots of fun. They did a nice job and I don't want to neglect to give them credit for actually delivering the goods, even if big box stores are loath to stock them. My only complaint is that there aren't more movie vehicles to be had.

The world of toy collecting got away from the toy part. If Epic debuted in March 2020 - right during Mando mania - I think it would've thrived. Doubly so at 3 3/4-inches, because adult fans would likely happily buy a Mando Speeder Bike for $20 or any of those characters in the wake of the exciting new show. Timing is everything, and Lucasfilm, Hasbro, and/or Disney have not been particularly time-sensitive since COVID-19 threw things for a loop. I assume this might be a result of Baby Yoda ruining everything for marketing departments and causing companies to want to hold back "spoilers." I'd go on a rant about how nothing happens on a lot of these shows and consumer products tell us next to nothing of the plot, so they're just costing themselves business, but that's another topic. Put those figures out. They don't ruin the story.

Nobody really does "one scale fits all" character product outside maybe video games and Pokemon cards, but Mattel comes close. Its Hot Wheels and WWE offerings are compatible across the board, with price points (and deco/articulation) to meet each audience while not necessarily alienating potential casual customers. I'll never buy a $50 Hot Wheels car, but I'll pick up something for $1-$5 without giving it a second thought. I don't collect WWE but I admire the kid line's photorealistic faces (even with slightly less articulation) and can appreciate a kid might buy one or two collector figures if their favorite grappler isn't available in the sub-$15 price point. Star Wars is more or less "collector level or bust," so LEGO is going to keep getting that business. Hasbro decided to segregate the lines and make them incompatible, and that diversification costs them business. LEGO is LEGO, a kiddo X-Wing is still pretty good in absence of an adult fan X-Wing. Hasbro's Epic X-Wing exists largely without classic trilogy peer in stores right now - there's not enough runway to get anybody started on anything.

I really think this can all be fixed with streamlining the lines. LEGO is fundamentally LEGO, Hot Wheels is fundamentally Hot Wheels, and you don't have to worry about a brick not connecting to another brick or a track being too big for a car with very few exceptions. If you go to the store, you can't exactly buy a bunch of figures that are sure to fit with one another - that has got to be weird for the buyer.

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FIN

That wasn't a bad week. The Retro Collection Garindan is coming - the hips look fragile - but hey, it's a start. We got to see The Vintage Collection Padme and Shaak Ti for next year. For some reason we're getting The Book of Boba Fett's title character costume in The Black Series about four years late instead of at launch? Wouldn't have guessed. I assume this must be a hint he's in the new movie. But what really surprised me was a new HasLab.

A TRON: Heroes of the Grid 3.75-Inch Collectors Set has what looks like a fancy store display (with lights), two vehicles, and five figures for $259.99. At the same time, America said "no" to the new third movie in the series.

The set's display base is not huge, but it's about an inch too wide to fit in an IKEA DETOLF. (Hasbro: if you can shave it down a bit, you totally should.) I'm not the biggest TRON fanatic but I have to say it looks really cool, with amazing face sculpts. It didn't pass 7% on its first day so it's going to have an uphill battle - but what's interesting is that it has new "Hasbro 375" branding, which implies more to come, and it's also not 6-inches. Hasbro has been doing Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones at the bigger size almost exclusively - so why the change to this smaller size? Supposedly it's not a heck of a lot cheaper to make a fancy smaller figure than a bigger figure, but I have to assume freight has something to do with it. Or licensing. Who can say? Either way, this is the first time - I think - we're getting a HasLab from a licensed movie property that doesn't already have a line for mass market.

I think this is a great format for a product. I don't know if TRON has the oomph to pull it off (I hope so!) but this could be a great collectible format if Hasbro could just squish down the width to fit in a DETOLF. Why? Imagine if Hasbro said "we're going to make a base and a diorama backer with five or six figures for Star Wars." If tomorrow they said "we're going to make a two-tiered figure display, 14 retro figures from Droids, and a White Witch speeder" I'd be first in line to fork over (I'm ashamed to admit) probably whatever they ask. They could put out a Death Star Trash Compactor with USB lights or sounds and some figures, or a real big Well of Souls, or maybe even The Ark. It's a neat idea and this walks a line of "adult collectible display piece" and "toy thing" that could be real appealing to the filthy rich casual class.

I think they're on to something. Some sort of modular collectible that's also sort of a collection in one box, with a built-in display? The only thing that could be better is if it perfectly fit in existing, common collector shelving. I hope they keep at it, I think there's gold to mine here.

--Adam Pawlus

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