1. You can tour a Subaru factory and watch a car get made from the ground up. You can tour a Heineken brewery and see beer made from scratch. Whether it’s Hasbro, Kenner back in the day, Mattel, or any other major toy maker, have you ever heard of tours of the factory where popular toy lines are made? Failing that, have you ever seen documentary footage of the figure making process?

My guess is that the process is done in a few separate factories (molds in one place, assembly in another, and painting and packing in yet another location).

Do you know the process?
--Derek

I do not believe I have ever heard of a civilian being invited to see an overseas toy factory. I bet there were tours of factories when more production was here in the USA. It's a topic where there's a lot of trade secrets, but Hasbro has released a PDF of its factories for 2022 if you ever wanted to make some calls to see if you can get a showing. And if you do, invite me, so I can see it.

Unless it's in a Netflix or YouTube doc I haven't seen, I don't know that we've heard from someone who paints eyes on figures or assembles Transformers or loads boxes on the boats. I can't name many toy lines that were ever made in the USA - some Fisher-Price Adventure People 3 3/4-inch figures were labeled Made (or Packaged) in the USA back in the day - but in China, Macau, Hong Kong or elsewhere? I don't think I've ever seen someone go in with cameras for a variety of reasons, not the east of which are people who like to keep IP stuff secret. I know Disney has made much hay about approving factories who make their stuff to ensure a high standard of conditions for the workers and other reasons, though.

I don't know that anyone has actually filmed the process in some sort of documentary or anything. We've seen lots of photos and some companies, like Onell Design, occasionally share their stories with smaller toy factories and reveal pictures of paint masks or other tools of the trade. They've also made mention of things like a showroom factory that isn't the real factory in some cases. This is one of the more interesting articles on the topic, for example - Matt Doughty actually went to China and worked on his own assembly line to pinpoint waste, identify redundancy, and lower costs (and opportunities for new products from the discard piles.) He's a smart guy and honestly we all probably need to tug on his sleeve more to tell us more questions or let me film him for a doc or something. I've talked with him a few times (and heard interviews), and he's probably the most insightful person willing to talk about his time in the action figure making business. He's who I wish I could've been when I grew up, but I digress.

I'll make you a deal - if someone ever wants to make a figure with me, I'll document the progress. (...I actually have plans for such a thing, and a spreadsheet with some preliminary budget stuff. Part of the deal is if it ever gets made, y'alls need to buy one.)

At the risk of being overly political, it would be cool to see some stuff made in America. But we have increasingly complex figures with more parts than ever before, as opposed to the 1970s when a figure had maybe seven pieces to bolt together and an accessory or two. Today each figure has dozens of parts and more paint applications than ever, and it seems companies want to charge adults a tiny bit more per unit (although I feel we may be nearing the end of fans willing to pay $25+ per figure.) Maybe we could get a more automated line some day, done in the USA, Canada, or Mexico, if they ever went back and did simpler figures again - but as long as the cost of freight remains lower after that COVID spike, I don't know if anything short of total automation (or higher salaries for overseas workers changing the math) would bring manufacturing this kind of product back in the USA ever again.

Having said all of that, I have been to the offices of Kenner in Cincinnati back just before they moved to Rhode Island and axed that brand name, and got to see some of that area. I've been to Rhode Island and got to see some of their design offices, but they did a good job of hiding most of the stuff those I was with and I were not supposed to see. I have seen the former Hasbro factory building in Pawtucket, but that space is mostly offices now with very little if any manufacturing still being done the first time I was there back in 2003.

Ad: Get New Turtles of Grayskull and More at Entertainment Earth! Get Free USA Shipping on Orders $79+ with code WINTER79

 

2. 1) I’m kind of shocked that so many vintage collection deluxe figures showing up at Ross for next to nothing. These were things that I never saw in stores and bought full price online before they sold out. How does something end up at Ross like this? Is it a symptom of weak demand for TVC or is it a result of Hasbro’s distribution problems? Or both?

2)Related to above, do you think we’ve hit the point where TVC stuff is too expensive? The newer deluxe figures are sitting on pegs in droves. I know the $27.99 has stopped me from buying more than one. Especially when every other thing I’ve gotten at full price I later see at 70% off. To me it’s not just the cost - it’s the cost and getting a figure that doesn’t seem different than what we’ve gotten recently for basic. I’m kind of just ranting but I’m worried that we’ve hit the point where TVC is pricing people out without offering more. I know I would pay more for basic figures with extra hands and accessories, but the paying $28 for a figure that isn’t that much more elaborate than a regular one has me voting with my wallet. I don’t know if other people feel the same or if Hasbro has just produced way too much of these.
--Matt

Some markdowns are proving that the free market takes deluxe figures and slashing prices - scan everything at your local stores and check online shops. What lessons will be taken from this? It remains to be seen.

In some cases I don't know that Hasbro produced too much - but if they had an inventory glut and stores weren't taking it quickly enough due to their own on-hand inventory glut of existing product, that's life. You have to move product, you can't sit on it forever. There are some amazing stories when some companies have done this over the years and suddenly a container of really old rare figures turn up for sale, but I don't think that will be a likely thing in this era of collector stuff. Better versions will come out, we'll get older faster, and new audiences aren't coming for this stuff anymore because there's no entry-level kid lines that can grab a kid with just 8 figures, not all of which are from the same era/story.

When it comes to closeouts, that's a unique beast. If a company (or a store) have too much of something that is taking up space and won't sell quickly, they just want it gone. It might go for 90% off, it might go for a 5% off, and there are legendary deals I've heard just because of lucky timing. (Heck, I've made a few!) It's not always because the items aren't good or desired - just this last year, we've seen Walmart exclusives that were given little to no distribution, as well as stuff I never had a crack at to order online due to insta-pre-order sellout, dumped for 60% off. Rare Transformers got dumped at Ross last fall for $7.99 - some are still showing up. You probably never saw them in stores, the pre-order sold out within minutes, so you couldn't get it at full price. But you can get it for a fair price on eBay right now.

If Hasbro is sitting on a bunch of waves that aren't moving, they may be motivated to sell regardless of which wave - I don't know what their inventory levels were like. I was pretty shocked to see Andor characters for $3.99 myself, especially as those were pretty new. But when I saw them in Walmart, they sat - this stuff just doesn't fly off the shelves like it used to. I think Hasbro could right the ship by tightening up the overall line with fewer products that look a bit more exciting - a tiny Vel Sartha with one accessory came out shortly after a pretty fancy Reva with multiple accessories or tricked-out Darths Vader with multiple hands. I think with most collectors will pay for a good item at a fair price. If Hasbro put out Vlix tomorrow, a Retro one, I'd drop $30 on it even if it's a $12 figure. If Hasbro made Tonnika sisters, I'd pay $17 - give me something I don't already own, especially from the original trilogy era, and I'll show up for it. The Black Series kept giving me very similar figures, and now I see them at $5.99 at Ross and skip them. I have a lot of Jango Figures - the new one is better, but it's 2.5 times what the last one cost. That's a hard pitch to make to long-term older fans, especially since it's from the prequels.

I was at Comic-Con a lot. I remember seeing Hasbro team members' eyes light up several years ago (I think it was 2016 or 2017, before the 2018 The Vintage Collection relaunch) when Gen X-aged fans were saying "we'll buy literally anything on a vintage cardback," perhaps not understanding the unspoken part was "not Disney and probably not prequels." Now Hasbro are reissuing previously released Finn and Cassian Andor - the originals are dirt cheap. Hasbro's years of success created an unlikely competitor in millions of available figures, some of which are quite cheap. That's no fault of the current team - but like I said, if you want a The Black Series 3 3/4-inch Cassian Andor, you can buy the new 2024 reissue for $17 or you can buy the existing one for $10-$12. It may not be a hard choice, and without things like vehicles or good playsets, do fans feel a drive to collect? When half the new items are items you already own in new boxes, is it worth it? (I bought a bunch of TMNT MOTU Turtles of Grayskull last week. I need something new, or new-to-me.)

The Vintage Collection died before. It could happen again, and maybe it should go on hiatus if waves are going to be 50-75% "we have this at home." Also - and I say this as someone who loves this stuff - if it ends? It ends. Very few action figure lines have run this long, and I'm hard-pressed to name any in America who haven't had a year(s)-long hiatus or were moved to a different manufacturer. Star Wars fans have far too many options.

Hasbro alone makes multiple figure scales aimed at adults and some of them look pretty similar. At Ross, I showed my wife The Vintage Collection and The Retro Collection Ahsoka Tano, who were side-by-side for $3.99, and at first glance she thought they were the same figure. The graphic design is nearly identical. Given how many times we're being asked to buy the same figure in multiple scales - and sometimes the same mold multiple times in the same scale - maybe fans finally have enough. Fans still show up for exciting new things like Mando's ship, HasLabs, that retro Mon Mothma/Yak Face set seems to have sold through, and if I can keep tooting this horn - look at Mattel's Masters of the Universe Origins. It scratches a collector itch, a kid itch, a fan itch, and gives dads an excuse to buy toys "for their kids." Right now, only LEGO does that for Star Wars fans.

Become a Patron!

Special thanks to our generous Patreon patrons, especially: JT, Jared, Bobb, Christopher, Daniel, Dan, Tim, Jayson, Matthew, Michael, RJ, Robert, Stephen, Todd DrReiCow, Eddie, Jeremy, Mario, and Todd! Thanks for helping us keep the servers on!

FIN

This week I bought a marked-down Masters of the Universe Origins Battle Armor Skeletor, which snowballed into a few more purchases and I think I want more. (If you're looking to dump figures and vehicles and playsets please send a list.) I needed something new to fuss over, and Turtles of Grayskull did it. (I found Mouse-Jaw at Target on Friday!) I had a very nice collection of Classics, with no desire to start over - but after waiting four years, it's clear Mattel put a lot of work and love in this new format that pushes my "I never had these as a kid" buttons. I now have a Talon Fighter. And Stridor. And a few other odds and ends. If I were still buying The Black Series I'd never consider it, and I've been fascinated by Mattel's ethos which more or less amounts to "the originals, with collector articulation, done so you can play with your kids." Also have you seen Krang? Bonkers.

Mattel has previously crossed over these molds with WWE - I haven't bought any yet - and Stranger Things figures are coming. TMNT also crossed over with Power Rangers at Hasbro as higher-cost collector figures. I think Turtles of Grayskull are going to be a hit with the kind of collector who said, at some point, "I'm never buying figures from this brand or that brand again, I have too much." It's imaginative and fun - even if it is just a crossover of things you already own. It's arguably new blood. It's hard to get as excited for Ahsoka when the new figures of your title character are just the existing molds in new packaging, maybe with a new cloak. It's easy to get excited when Krang is placed in the body of Megator, a large evil giant.

I'm not saying I want a Star Wars crossover, I don't even know that it would be a good or fun idea. But I do miss weird, fun, surprising things. And vehicles. And blackjack, and ho - well, you see where this is going. Sometimes toys need a big shot in the arm. Authenticity, articulation, and higher prices can only take you so far - eventually you have to try something weird and new, like - you guessed it - crossing over Star Wars with LEGO, which was such a mind-blowing thing in the 1990s you can't even imagine how excited people got at the press release. I'd lose my mind over Star Wars Playmobil, mostly because it would probably mean more playsets and vehicles in a year than we've had since 2018, but who knows?

I am by no means saying Star Wars is dead or anybody isn't doing a good job or anything like that - but in the past few weeks, the big pre-order was for a Jango Fett figure we bought multiple times, redone, at $25. Right now the most exciting pre-order coming up is probably The Phantom Menace The Retro Collection pack of action figures, with no vehicles or playsets or (as far as I know) additional figures. It is hard to find momentum in Star Wars, because it's so scattered. Jango isn't even the centerpiece of an Attack of the Clones relaunch - he's a tangent to the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace. Made in the right quantities, prices will not go down - but "That's not my department!" said Wernher von Braun.

So I'll be spending a little time in Eternia this year, at least for a while. And in the sewers. And maybe in Dracula's castle. But I am really hoping 2024 somehow lights a fire under Star Wars, because I bet we're about to get a period of time where things are run low, and you miss them, and prices may go up. Maybe. I can hope. You don't want it going on clearance if this whole enterprise is to continue. It should. But it's 2024 - the current action figure line will have been running for 29 years this July.

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? Email me with Q&A in the subject line now! I'll answer your questions as soon as time (or facts) permit.

I'm on Instagram! All Pictures from a GameBoy Camera.