1. Having read this site for many so many years, I was pondering the thought, 'What would knock Adam's socks off?' You think I could predict this. But, not really. I was thinking all the Droids' characters released as vintage? Maybe. Or, just retro? An all-in-one set of Cantina patrons? Maybe, but this seems unlikely. Some reasonably scaled Rebel Blockade Runner? In the sense, where am I going to put it socks knocked off? Some form of Death Star? Hummm… What are the Vegas odds? Funeral Pyre Vader. I would bet a sold, no. I'm a simple old school collector, my socks could be blown off by a newly scaled Y-Wing or a new Tie Defender. Yeah, it takes vehicles to blow my socks off. But, this is me.
--Daniel

Something I don't have already.

At this point, I've noticed what tends to make me happiest is a toy that causes me to go dig out other toys I already own. So the Cantina, that's going to qualify. Vehicles often will, as will Retro stuff - because I have a good reason to play with the toys I've had my whole life again. If Hasbro made a new Kenner-style figure, Maybe I'll go grab the CAP-2 or MLC-3. This entire hobby is about reminding us about what we enjoy - be it a movie, a toy, or something like that - so anything that enables that sort of response is a step in the right direction. It is rare a new version of an old toy can do that for me, mostly because "we added knees and elbows to this guy" doesn't necessarily give me a reason to pull something out from the stash.

Right now, my standards for excitement for figures are pretty low - and unmet. I'm impressed by Epic Hero Series and The Retro Collection because they generally make me wonder if they work with old ships or playsets. The Vintage Collection usually doesn't. "We made a new trooper based on a game" doesn't do it for me, because many of those figures exist solely for their own sakes. It's not contributing to a bigger, better collection. It's like Vintage Hunter - he's a good figure, but without the rest of The Bad Batch he's just clutter..

I see the Death Star as a challenge to Hasbro. How can you make fans a good item that meets their impossible expectations at a price under $700? Can you do this? I don't know - looking at the $400 Cantina, my guess is "probably not." But if they did a toy-grade one for $500 I'm sure we would be blown away.

Retro stuff on the whole gets me excited. If Hasbro made a new creature (or reissued an old one)? That would be fun. A new cardboard playset would be amazing, especially if it came with 4 new figures. Vlix and second-year Ewoks and Droids figures would be items that probably would keep me from complaining for a while. If we got a Gorax, I probably wouldn't make comments about wanting to see what another manufacturer could do for three or four years.

For The Vintage Collection I would like to see one brand-new never-before-made Cantina patron in 2025. (The ones in the HasLab playset do not count, I want a retailer exclusive or mass market debut.) I would like to get one new alien, human, or space suit costume to put in it that I don't already own in some form already. I don't even need a boxed set - just one guy. As far as I know, no such thing is planned, but I assume Hasbro hasn't shown us all of 2025 yet. I would also be happy to see all-new, never-before-made Original Trilogy (or Prequel Trilogy) figures of almost any kind - we get so few. "Another Luke in his farmboy gear" is the kind of thing that should hopefully appeal to new fans, but I've got dozens of him, and I feel Hasbro should (at minimum) have one completely new original trilogy figure for lifers every year. I know they're going to run out some day - but surely there's a rubber masked guy or dude in a helmet to satisfy even the most embittered collector.

For modern-era stuff, more The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett second-tier guys would be great. 3 3/4-inch Burg, the Hutt twins, Peli Motto, anything like that is more interesting than a resized figure or a resculpt of something I already own. After all, that's what we're here for, I hope. New stuff. Not "new" stuff.

I'm sure we all want something that makes us feel like we got something we've been wanting for 30 or 40 (or 50) years, and for me that's going to be a licensed, real-deal Vlix. (1977-1987 Marvel-specific or TV-specific figures of any kind are also welcome.) I'd be excited to see a new movie Ewok (especially TV movie Ewok.) My main problem right now is the lack of interesting old-school variety. Hasbro did get out some stuff from The Acolyte and they did a good job. An excellent job really, but "perfect" only gets you so far if fans neglected to watch the series first place. Fans have watched the first six films, so that always makes me happy when I can add something new there.

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2. When we see a figure card in black with the silver piping all around it, we instantly equate that with Kenner/Hasbro. Is this "look" trademarked by Hasbro, and would a new licensee be able to use it?
--Chris

You can pretty much do what you want - Super7 took inspiration from Kenner for its SDCC Metropolis Maria figure. Hallmark has a Darth Vader ornament right now that's pretty much answering your question. LEGO has not been shy about using black and silver. I am not a lawyer but swiping graphic design seems not only legal, but common. We're seeing NECA use a lot of Kenner-style branding on its ALIENS, Predator, RoboCop, and other figures. Mezco Toyz is making use of Kenner and Toy Biz artwork on its Batman Five Points collection. Gentle Giant was one of very few companies to use the Kenner logo, but seems to have stopped doing so on its more recent jumbo retro figures. I'm honestly not sure the parameters of that contract, and that's the one I'm far more interested in - what allows another company to use and transform existing assets? What is involved in letting Gentle Giant (Diamond Select) make big Kenner figures? I should ask some day.

Long story longer, I don't think there's anything stopping anyone from deploying this style of branding other than Disney or Lucasfilm insisting that a manufacturer stick to a current style guide. Kenner is a trademark of Hasbro now - at least, I'm pretty sure that's how it works - but I don't think they have the monopoly on that style of box. I doubt another company could replicate Kenner's exact branding (with logo) without paying a licensing fee or buying Hasbro but as you've seen with Super7's ReAction Figures logo or Gentle Giant's Kenner-flavored redesign, it may not be necessary to use the original brand name.

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FIN

Toy fans! Onell Design have another wave of their indie toys launching Monday night. Mark your calendars. If you haven't seen these before, they're basically the ongoing brainchild of a very talented and driven fellow (and pals) making some of the lowest-run mass-production factory toys on the market today. They're compatible with the Raider/Hunter/Assassin figures from Healey Made, too, and I'd recommend checking them out if you realize that you probably haven't bought a lot of exciting Star Wars toys lately.

"Are things going OK?" is a common refrain and that's something you and I - and I would argue, Hasbro and Lucasfilm - may struggle to truly understand. Trying to roll up all your costs, versus things like edition size (optimism) can be tough and we can see evidence of enthusiasm going sideways all over. Earlier today I went to some Ross stores and saw Retro Kenner 4-LOM & Zuckuss for $3.99, and we overpaid $27.99 because, I assume, Hasbro figured fans would pay it. And to a point they were right - fanatics like me want to support the things we like, and Kenner-style figures are tops of my list. I paid $8 more for this set than was reasonable because Amazon and/or Hasbro felt like charging it, and now you - the patient sort - can get the duo for $3.99. I don't regret it, but it dumps cold water on my enthusiasm for paying more than the next item is worth, "worth" being defined as "exclusive upcharge tax compared to a normal retail item without evidence of added value."

I also saw The Acolyte roleplay lightsabers for Jedi Master Sol at Ross for $15.99, which is the kind of thing that makes you tug nervously at your collar. I've seen a lot of toys go sideways but I don't remember seeing anything go from "new" to "at Ross" in under two months - I've seen things go straight to Ross, but those usually have other circumstances involved. I always saw roleplay lightsabers as a kid thing, so hopefully these will sell through quickly as a lightsaber is a lightsaber to a lot of kids, especially if the price is right. (And lightsabers sell well to that mainstream audience who aren't collectors.)

Trying to figure out what to make (and when) is absolutely a struggle. I assume it's hard for Hasbro to get assets and nobody knows how these shows are going to be until it's too late, but I think one thing we can all agree on is this: bring back episodic storytelling. If an episode is mid, at least we can come back next week and try something new - it worked great for Star Trek. Heck, The Mandalorian worked really well in its first two seasons because we got a new mission almost every week, and it was nice to see it (more or less) concluded and we'd get to meet new ruffians and such the following week, rather than being stuck in the same plot for two months. I think it would be good for the toys too - we still want figures like Burg and Xi'an because that was a memorable and unique episode of a show, whereas there have been several shows where the episodes all kind of run together.

The whole merchandising program is kind of goofy, with The Acolyte lightsabers and figures debuting after we saw the show and generally deciding it wasn't our favorite, but also things like The Mandalorian is getting its Season Three comic adaptation in November of this year. That's 18 months after it ended. Return of the Jedi was basically dead with one foot in the Power of the Force and The Ewok Adventure grave 18 months after its debut. Episode I had transitioned to The Power of the Jedi 18 months in. The Force Awakens toy line was dead and Rogue One was done after 18 months. Expecting fans to have that kind of attention span is certainly flattering, but we're easily distracted and if it isn't "classic," it's "old." And that's no slight on any creatives - it just takes time for the culture to grow up and for things to change. By most metrics, about 15 years.

--Adam Pawlus

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