1. Adam, my question a two fister of a kind:

For me, the 3.75" figure line has 3 peaks
- the initial run from 1978 to 1983
- the resurgence in 1995
- 2005 to about 2010
How would you rank those three periods for their performance as money makers for their parent company?

Secondly, could you speculate why during these three eras of prosperity, amongst all the big vehicles and players, we never got either Cloud City or an upgraded Death Star?
--Jeremiah

According to Steve Sansweet's Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible book, figures sold in the millions per style in the 1970s. That's a lot of units! Hasbro (and Kenner) never really talked about how many units each figure sold in the 1990s (or beyond), but there were things I've read and overheard that seem to indicate 250,000 was considered a monster of a run during POTF2 from 1995-2000 and most items were lower than that. I assume Hasbro did a great business in 2005 with Revenge of the Sith, but things definitely declined a bit after that - possibly with a jump in 2008, but I have no data on how The Legacy Collection/The Clone Wars did for them beyond it doing well enough to coast on that branding for a few years. And that was pretty unusual at the time - most toy brands reboot their packaging or style in under 18 months.

With this data I would assume the original 1978-1985 Kenner run was king, mostly because it was an era where action figures were few, the franchise was new, and there weren't millions of figures already in the market on eBay or Amazon at a lower price. This is no "the original movie trilogy was better!" screed, it's just that Star Wars hit so hard and so early that everything that came after it is in its shadow. Business in the 1990s was positively booming until it hit saturation around late 1997 and 1998 (and 1999) - but they did a pretty good job taking advantage of the double-sided market of kids and adult fans with a side of speculators and scalpers. As much as I hate to say it, those horrible scalpers who bought 16 of each figure to save for later probably propped up the line and helped keep costs low for the rest of us, but that sort of thing isn't sustainable.

As to the playset questions...

In 2024 playsets are not really a big part of the greater action figure world for kids and aren't really a consideration beyond LEGO for most adult collector lines. Imaginext and Playmobil have a few. LEGO has some. But outside of the Batcave or maybe a Sewer Lair, it's rare that any line gets a giant playset - let alone multiples - from 40+ year old movies. Hasbro Star Wars is no slouch this year. In the past month we got the Armrorer's Forge and Moff Gideon's Lightcruiser's Hallway. Two isn't what we got in 1980, but it's two more than Hasbro Marvel Legends got. It's more than Star Trek got in the last decade. G.I. Joe isn't getting any playsets right now. Next year we've got Mos Eisley and a full-blown Cantina, and hopefully more. But even if all we get are two things, that's more than He-Man got this year.

1990s Kenner (note: I don't know about post-prequel Hasbro) prototyped a lot of vehicles and playsets, cobbling together a lot of concepts that some fans have seen over the years. I assume a big problem is convincing your bosses to make a $100 or $200 (or $500) toy, which was exceedingly tough in the 1990s and today seems a lot harder. Hasbro of today seems more interested in making the basic product more expensive. Kenner of old wanted to make cheap figures, which were "accessories" to X-Wings, TIE Fighters, AT-ATs, and so on - at least at first. Hasbro of today doesn't seem to think this way. Each and every vehicle or playset really should be used as a means to sell more action figures, but I also feel every single product (and its packaging) should be used to market additional sales. If you make an X-Wing, you should sell an X-Wing pilot and R2-D2 separately, and vice-versa.

In the 1970s, we got one (technically two) Death Star playsets that were pretty neat. We got a cardboard Cloud City that wasn't - also a MicroCollection Bespin Cloud City set that was genuinely amazing, and a Death Star that, similarly, was so good I still think Hasbro should just take the designs, blow them up to 3 3/4-inch size, and sell them with no other changes. It's probably as good as we could ever hope to get - and even then, they were small. If you also run the vehicle & playset vs. action figure numbers from 1978-1985, the ratio is pretty much 2-3 figures for every vehicle or playset. That's bananas, but maybe something Hasbro should contemplate. Is it worth making 50 figures a year? Would it be better to make an amazing $150 Y-Wing, a $75 Bantha, a repaintable $50 Jedi Starfighter, and maybe 25 all-new figures a year instead?

In the 1990s era, we (eventually) got a Freeze Chamber. We got 2 little Death Star playsets, a small Hoth, an Endor bunker, and some other bits of scenery here and there. In that era (like this era) most action figure lines can't support really expensive items, and big playsets are not something kids demand after a certain age. And it's entirely possible there's a Cloud City playset prototype that is only whispered in legends, but as far as I know a photograph has never been shown to the great unwashed masses. And if what I've heard is correct there have been a lot of Death Star concepts that have never gotten off the ground.

By 2005-2010, playsets weren't really a thing - but we got a few. We got a flimsy Lars Homestead, we got a tiny Sarlacc Pit, we got Mustafar. Of those I would say Mustafar was the one that best delivered a playset experience. While we did get some incredibly big toys, they were things like the big Millennium Falcon, Turbo Tank, and AT-TE. Arguably all of those were as much of a playset as a vehicle, and also took the high-dollar slots from actual locations. It would have been great to see a 30th or 40th anniversary Death Star, or something for Rogue One, but for whatever reason it didn't happen. I think splintering the collector base between 3 3/4-inch, 6-inch, and other scales completely changed the nature of the business, because Hasbro can sell you a Darth Vader in multiple sizes instead of asking "how can we sell a Darth Vader vehicle or accessory at multiple price points?" And what is the Death Star if not the biggest and best accessory for Darth Vader that money could buy?

If I had it my way, I'd nudge Hasbro to make (roughly) 4-up MicroCollection Bespin World playsets one per year and add on a banquet hall and a landing platform at some point. And a hallway, maybe. It might be too late for that as the 1977 4-year-old is the 2024 51-year-old, but you can probably still squeeze a few (hundred) dollars out of us with the right product. It's always easy to forget that Star Wars' success as an action figure line with vehicles and playsets is a fluke in the toy business, but Hasbro also only barely scratched the surface of what crowdfunding can do because that's not really their whole business plan. At least not yet, it may yet prove prudent to treat it as such to avoid *gestures toward Ross* future inventory woes.

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2. What do you think would be exciting for 2025 or 2026 that Hasbro hasn't already made?
--Filler Due to Lack of Questions

I don't know that collectors love "the thrill of the hunt" but I'd certainly like to bring back "give me a reason to leave the house."

My gut - which may be wrong - tells me the best thing for any hobby is more engagement. Streams and pre-orders aren't engaging, but new releases and frequent purchases (even cheaper ones) might get people excited again. For example - did you know The Vintage Collection and The Retro Collection had zero single-figure exclusives at brick and mortar this year? Actually, other than The Phantom Menace Kenner 6-pack, it's possible neither line had any other retail store exclusives. You aren't running around - maybe you're even forgetting what you have or haven't pre-ordered. If you're anything like me, you might even find the offerings to be repetitive. If so then you are clearly not engaged.

We'll need more than zero cool exclusives in stores. And, paradoxically, a smaller line. Giving people the same characters year-over-year in 4 formats with (in some cases) minor costume tweaks won't make for a legendary toy people will covet for years to come.

My token "unreasonable demand" is a HasLab program for MicroCollection Kenner playsets, but scaled up for 3 3/4-inch figures of all generations. The mini versions were unpainted, simple affairs that would deliver a lot of fun in a big package. Some would probably be pretty cheap - the Hoth Wampa cave is 2 pieces of unpainted white plastic that have, somehow, not yellowed after 42 years. That thing's amazing. An upsized MicroCollection Millennium Falcon would be such a treat - who wouldn't like a "Lando hatch"? Also it couldn't be any more disappointing than the 2018 Solo version. And, obviously, everybody wants a big Death Star and Cloud City - and there's no better way to do it while also setting fan expectations toward something Hasbro can afford to manufacture while ensuring old-school collectors aren't mad that the toy isn't 5 feet tall.

Here's what I'd love to see across the many Hasbro action figure lines.

Young Jedi Adventures, I assume, is dead and buried. I'd love to see them try a Landspeeder with Luke, or an X-Wing, in that format - they're nice sturdy figures, and I bet parents would bite. And if Hasbro doesn't do it, let Imaginext have a crack at plastic figures and vehicles. Hasbro is good at engaging kids - Playskool had a lovely Jurassic Park Jr. line over 20 years ago, which was very much like what would eventually become Galactic Heroes. There should be something simple in this space for toddlers.

Epic Hero Series is off to a neat start, if a little heavy on repetition. I'd love to see more vehicles - Darth Vader's TIE Fighter would be amazing, as would Luke's Landspeeder. And R2-D2, C-3PO, Captain Rex, and if it's any good, the kids from Skeleton Crew. (I guess we'll find out in a week. Rumblings have been interesting.) I would like to see 20 new characters per year, and if that's too many, it might be better to let the line go and put those resources elsewhere. 9 carded figures per year in the basic assortment is hardly worth anybody's time.

The Vintage Collection, I'd love to go away for a year or have a massive overhaul. I wish Hasbro would've shifted to Power of the Force for its 40th anniversary - a line look overhaul would make the pegs look fresh while keeping the line's spirit alive - but that's not happening. I'd love to see at least two or three all-new never-before-made Cantina aliens (not "pale humans," rubber-masked aliens) added to the line for our new playset. It would be great to see some new droids, even if they're only repaints. I wouldn't mind seeing a 10th anniversary The Force Awakens wave either - we've never had a "regular" Han Solo, General Leia Organa in her vest, red arm C-3PO, or any version of Bazine Netal. I personally don't need a 20th anniversary of Revenge of the Sith collection, but I bet some fans would be game if they're, you know, too young to have enjoyed them previously.

The Black Series could also use a real overhaul. Since 2020 we've seen the packaging change a few times, more or less riffing on the same template. I'd like to see them swipe this style of box and start a sub-collection that aims to re-create every figure Kenner made in the 1980s. That's probably unrealistic, but I'd start buying again if we got that. I wouldn't mind seeing Droids repaints of R2-D2 and C-3PO, or IG-88, for that show's 40th anniversary in September 2025.

And of course, The Retro Collection. In my dreams I'd love to see Hasbro do multiple batches of 1977 figures to go with the HasLab Cantina - hey, they'd fit - along with a Landspeeder reissue, a reissue (or all-new) Escape Pod, and maybe a Dewback and Bantha. It would be great to see Droids figures or Ewoks figures brought back to celebrate the 40th anniversary of those lines, especially if it was a HasLab one-run-and-done built-to-order set of the entire first series, unreleased second series, and any prototypes they may want to finish like Kneesaa or Latara or Teebo. If Hasbro wanted to make 30 cartoon figures for $350, I'll find $350. Or $700 for two sets, just to be safe.

What I suspect is that 2025 will be a lot like 2024 - new versions of toys we've already purchased, new members of teams from Disney+ shows that are probably too old to be fresh and too new to be nostalgic, and - I am guessing - very short on "anniversary" products of any kind. (We got Rogue One fifth anniversary programs, but never any The Mandalorian fifth anniversary toys. That's democracy for you.)

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FIN

I'm out of questions! Send me some before I give myself December off for Christmas.

Also, Skeleton Crew starts December 3 - and I can't find any early reactions to screenings or much scuttlebutt for the show. It wrapped filming in January 2023 and it has what I assume is an obligatory wave of toys shipping nowish. Good or bad, Star Wars seems to work best in a void - when it's something you can obsess over with tons of books and toys and games. As a thing you watch once and then watch the next thing, I have very low hopes for it, and I don't feel there's a massive marketing push here. On the other hand Wicked has a massive push and I would have assumed people were going to skip it, and look at its box office take! Pop culture can be hard to predict.

The Retro Collection had a pretty good year. Not as good as last year - but it's not over yet. If you haven't jumped in yet, keep your ears to the ground, because there are some pretty good things hitting Ross and other places that may make you want to pick up a few things. Yes, I am hinting at something.

While I complain too much, and nag a lot, Hasbro has more or less done a good job with pricing these things in 2024. $60 for a brick of 6 carded figures in a protective box? That's reasonable. I'd love to see another 6-pack from each original trilogy movie every year, but further, I'd love to see The Power of the Force figures with coins. (You want me to pay another $4 per figure and not complain? Reissue them all with coins. Want me to pay an extra $6 per figure? Do a HasLab with an extra set of coins pre-opened to go with the carded coin figure set.)

We even got a new playset - kinda, sorta. The Vintage Collection The Armorer’s Forge Playset was criticized by fans as being a simple, unpainted affair with some detail represented by stickers. And if you're in your 40s or 50s, you know that's how Kenner handled the old playsets - Vintage fans are probably right to be irritated, but I just opened mine and it works great with The Retro Collection figures. If we got Retro playsets like this, I'd be all set. But I digress - how are things looking on that figure front?

In 2023 it was a pretty impressive. There were 6 Return of the Jedi mainline figures, 6 more for Shop Disney/Pulse, 6 Star Wars figures in a box set, 7 Ahsoka figures, 8 The Book of Boba Fett figures, 2 Amazon ESB Bounty Hunters, and one Target-exclusive prototype of Mando. That's 36 figures - a record-breaking year for fans of all things Kenner.

2024 wasn't nearly as good - and it was all prequels, so pretty alienating to kids of the Kenner era. But we still got three 6-packs from The Acolyte, The Phantom Menace, and an Attack of the Clones/Revenge of the Sith set. The latter of which leaned heavily in "always leave them wanting more," with no set delivering a fully satisfying experience. No one movie got Anakin and Obi-Wan together. No real "team" of Jedi was completed. There's one odd-woman-out from The Acolyte that, while a nice figure, doesn't "play" with the others. There's no Count Dooku, there's no Ani, but I guess no matter what you do it's going to come up short. (I was disappointed by the lack of post-ROTJ characters.) We got 18 total figures - I don't know how fans are taking to the 6-pack format right now. I assume not well, but we'll see what turns up at Ross.

What's interesting is watching the secondary market - and by interesting, I mean "not that much of a surprise." 4-LOM and Zuckuss are being dumped at Ross for as low as a jaw-dropping $3.99. (Amazon charged $28 so I assume a lot of fans balked, and to closeout we go.) But aside from that, the Return of the Jedi set with Mon Mothma and Yak Face shot up - it's over $200. The Walmart Yoda from 2020 is still over $30-$40. It seems like there's still generally decent interest in the sensible original trilogy characters. Sure, The Emperor is also getting dumped at Ross for $3.99, but you could get a loose complete 1984 original for under $20 last year and also The Emperor is dull. A reissue seemed unnecessary for any figure that affordable.

With 2025 on the horizon, Hasbro has made no plans known for the future. My hope is they do new classic trilogy characters. It would be great to see a wave from either Rogue One or Andor, just because the aesthetic matches (and the audience is probably the right age/focus.) And of course it's the 40th anniversary for Droids, so I'd very much love to see them do something with that, and I hope other fans have also been asking for that. My worry is that the 10th anniversary of The Force Awakens may result in a wave - I liked the movie, but the 2015 Hasbro line scratched my 5POA itch quite nicely - or that we might get nothing at all. It's a niche product, but it's also my absolute favorite.

I still feel it's a fun line, and I'd love to see them keep at it. (Maybe even reissue 1978 Han Solo with a retooled right hand to better hold the blaster. I'd pay for one! Do the "small head" variant this time.) Only 18 figures a year leaves me wanting more... but so does 40 figures, as this is who I am as a person. I'm a market the can't glut. I don't know what compares with this stuff, hip, hip, hooray! Let's hear it for Hasbro - don't let them take it away!

--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.

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