1. I wanted to ask a follow up to [the November 13] question on discount retailers. Are these items coming from Hasbro or other retailers (Target, Walmart) who just don't want them on the shelves anymore? I know Hasbro doesn't care if a retailer loses money by putting stuff on clearance - they've already got their money from the retailer. But how much of this product is actually made to still be out there after 2-3 years (I don't think we'll ever see a time when Legends Eternals figures aren't SOMEWHERE).

With that in mind, WHY does Hasbro keep making stuff nobody wants? Take a typical Black Series figure. It will receive at least 2 releases (regular box and archive), and then a 3rd in 'TVC packaging' if it was a OG96er. Then it will be Carbonized, Hologrammed, Credit Collectioned, Gaming Greated, and who knows what else the marketing team will come up with (I know not ALL figures receive this treatment. Just trying to make a point). It's no wonder a lot of this ends up at discount retailers.

Do you think Hasbro's figured out that short-term gains equals long-term losses, and that at some point there's too much product for a collector to buy?
--Michael

And there's a lot to unpack in your question!

First, your last question - short-term goals, long-term losses - that's American business. People are more concerned about the quarter than they are for the year. They're more interested in this year than they are for the next five years. On top of that, there's a lot of changeover - so mission creep/brain drain - with growing companies that do some things that really work well (for example, better articulation and face paint on Vintage than we had 6 years ago) and a change of focus (collectors were incidental in the 1990s rather than the significant focus today.) Hasbro and Kenner most likely sold more per SKU in the 1990s when the focus was "kid with a dash of collector," as that mindset really does a great job roping in casual/new fans too. On the other hand, at $16.99, Hasbro is generally giving collectors the figures they asked for in The Vintage Collection. We have more articulation than ever, better paint, separately-molded wigs, and Vintage packaging (why that costs more, I assume, is Hasbro deciding to charge more for it.) But I think companies shouldn't listen to collectors for everything - some character choices, sure, but the consumer product could stand to lose a couple of joints and maybe accessories if it means we can swing back to $15 or under. Collectors don't buy everything anymore.

Why the recolors? I assume Hasbro has a mandate to make the most out of its tooling investments - which I can appreciate. You're probably going to see more Holocomm if they decide move away from Credit Collection, Carbonized, or trooper retools/repaints for GameStop. There are other concepts undoubtedly in the works - and for all I know there are even more concepts that got smothered in development for various reasons. (Someone should write about those if they are not under NDA.) Back in the 1990s we had new runs of existing figures on new packaging for Star Wars while nearly every Transformers toy would eventually see a repaint. Or two. Or more. That's just business - LEGO thrives in recoloring its existing tooling, and Playmobil tends to as well. And that's Hot Wheels too.

Where do closeouts come from? Everywhere. I've bought closeouts from RadioShack corporate. I've bought closeouts from manufacturers going out of business, or because of a contractually obligated sell-off period at the end of the license. I know some closeouts come from a store that has too much inventory - but usually when you're at Ross, TJ Maxx, and the like, those tend to come from manufacturers. But not always. There are even guys who broker in closeouts - so a middle man - and I don't necessarily know where those come from. My assumption is what you're seeing now is from manufacturers, but I don't know what you're looking at nor do I have that level of visibility into other peoples' stuff.

My big question - and I don't have an answer - is if it's working for the bottom line. If your tooling is paid off and you release the same mold in 2-3 different packagings, or 2-3 different colorways/styles, does it matter if one of them doesn't sell out completely - did you make enough on the earlier ones that it's gravy? Do the recolors subsidize new tooling on things that don't tend to get repainted - like most Vintage and almost all Retro? Does the fact that collectors may be turning their noses up at stuff not because they don't like it, but because there's too much choice, factor into it? The Black Series deco variants, reissues, and general sameyness pushed me into the loving arms of Retro, and if Retro goes away I don't anticipate returning to 6-inch full-time.

That's your last question - and I think we're entering the "find out" stage. As of today we know Hasbro has a new kid line coming, plus what seems to be the last of Mission Fleet, multiple assortments of Black Series, multiple assortments of Vintage, Retro, Young Jedi Adventures, and more - a lot of which is on-shelf now. I used to be all-in on all Hasbro Star Wars figures, but I cut way back on Black Series and haven't touched Young Jedi (and only bought 2 Mission Fleet items.) It's not because it isn't good or because I don't like it - it's because I don't want that many incompatible items and after a few decades I had to say "no new scales." If the only thing running was The Black Series, I'd still be buying it - but it's not, and I'm getting older, and I'm not getting my vehicles, aliens, or droids needs met these days. I assume a lot of collectors are just buying less - they're buying, just not everything.

Ad: Get New Star Wars - New In Stock and Deals at Entertainment Earth! Get Free USA Shipping on Orders $79+ with code FALLFREE79

 

2. The Target exclusive legacy rancor monster that we have is sweating plasticizer like crazy. It's always had good airflow and temperature control around it. We can wipe it down with dish soap and water, but the stickiness just comes back. After seeing another rancor on the Book of Boba Fett we were hoping Hasbro would do a new version, but that doesn't seem likely. We are trying to decide if it is worth it to track down a replacement. Is the plasticizer issue common to these rancors? Or did we get a dud?
--CS

With tens of thousands of units of that Rancor - and other Rancors - you might find variation from piece to piece. I honestly don't know if they're all gong to sweat or not (weirdly, my modern ones are all still boxed except for The Force Awakens and Power of the Force ones) but over the years I've found numerous things can impact if something releases oils or not - and I can't be sure what exactly causes it. Some people say heat, or moisture, or light, or play, but it just seems to happen with some plastics with age. There's no real predicting it either - this stuff isn't meant to last forever, although landfills seem to say otherwise.

For that reason I would say expect any replacement you get from that era to likely exhibit similar problems if kept in the same environment. It might not - but it might. I've seen a lot of Transformers since 2020 seem to spontaneously become yellow, some in the box within weeks of manufacture, and some after a year or two of allegedly being kept out of the Sun. (So far, most of mine are unblemished in the basement.) Your mileage will vary, but here's my level of crazy advice: take it in the shower with you.

You have a sticky Rancor. You can clean it with a mild soap, but my proposal is that you take it in the shower with you with a soft toothbrush and focus on an arm or a leg while you're cleaning yourself - and see how that compares with the rest of the beast. I wound up trying this with some Glyos The Outer Space Men and Onell Design figures from roughly 2010-2013 that started getting sticky - they needed a lot of extra work - but now aren't sticky. Just putting them in a plastic tub with water and then brushing them didn't quite seem to get the job done, but didn't clean up all the material. The ones I took in the shower, after over a year later, aren't sticky. I freely admit it is weird as Hell, but you probably took toys in the tub when you were a toddler, and I was out of other ideas. And now you're ending decades of reading me with this creepy or weird note, aren't you lucky? I haven't tried it with a Rancor, so I'm going to say I'm not responsible for anything, ever.

What I don't know is the plastic's oil and what that means to humans. Is it dangerous? I assume no, if only because some sort of product recall should be happening if it is - or at least a warning to dispose of it. I don't even know if that is done once a product reaches a certain age, or if manufacturers just (incorrectly) assume these items are out of circulation and in the trash. There's a lot we don't know about how plastic behaves over the long haul, and I am increasingly assuming our descendants will hate us for the plastic toys of the last few decades for some reason or another after we're gone.

At this time I would not anticipate seeing another toy Rancor if only because Hasbro hasn't done much in the way of creatures in the past few years. Sure, we got a Rathtar and reissues of Jabba the Hutt. As far as medium-size (or large) beasts go, Hasbro hasn't shown any interest in stuff bigger than a Massiff lately.

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

What a month! The Book of Boba Fett The Retro Collection figures are on the way to me. Healey Made has the Dungeon Magi, some D&D/Kenner-inspired creations. Onell Design have some awesome glow-in-the-dark toys in stock, which you should check out. Also the amount of inventory is high, with cheap closeout toys available for rock-bottom prices if you know where to look. (And some of it is legitimately good stuff.) I'm feeling like I should be jettisoning a lot of stuff that I don't want to keep forever, but maybe things will right-size. I mean, Sears is opening stores again, who saw that coming?

It's a weird year to be a fan of things. I've seen very little Doctor Who, but those last three specials were a lot of fun. I still haven't watched the new Indiana Jones and have missed a few Marvel movies... and am caught up on Star Wars stuff for the non-preschool set. And Star Trek, which had a marvelous year ranging from the superb, to the fan service, to what I feel was made to appeal solely to me. We're seeing franchises reach out and try new things, new old things, and altering the perceptions of how people view them. (Also I'm watching The Land of the Lost, most of which I have not previously seen.) There is no shortage in potential entertainments, ranging from the amazing to the forgettable. I don't think Star Wars is having its best year right now, but I'm glad we've got some things to chew on while everybody tries to figure out what the future will be.

And what's next? A Ghostbusters sequel, a Transformers prequel, the last season of Star Trek Discovery, a third Deadpool movie which may reboot X-Men, the final season of The Bad Batch, The Acolyte, the last season of Andor (whose fans come in "hardcore" or "didn't finish watching it" flavors), and maybe more. There are even Alien streaming series and movies in the works, plus a whole new season of Doctor Who, which is both great and a little alarming. I love the fact that there is so much to watch, but also it's concerning how little we have from the 21st century. Franchise fatigue may not be the only problem as fans get older and new, younger fans don't have anything of their own to really keep the world of nerd stuff going ahead.

It probably says a lot that I spent a chunk of 2023 watching old Doctor Who with Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee, The Land of the Lost, and more of whatever Svengoolie felt like showing. Much of it is still new to me, which could be real competition as streamers put out new shows that are somewhere between "OK" and "fine, I guess" as an audience can just tune in to something from 50 years ago with awful puppets and cheap effects and be entertained for several months. Here's hoping the new stuff is great - because if the store shelves are any indication, it's not inspiring sales.

--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.