NakedMoleRat
Master Member
This is why I love the RPF. You post a tread whining about the lack of dolls on the shelf and enter into a philosophical discussion about nostalgia.
What has happened to Star Wars toys?
- Thread starter NakedMoleRat
- Start date
JediMichael
Master Member
Now what if McFarlane Toys got the Star Wars license.
It would be very different than it has been....and not really for kids so much.
The quality would sure be better.
It would be very different than it has been....and not really for kids so much.
The quality would sure be better.
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
Yes! Then we can finally have Captain Kirk smack down Darth Vader!
MattBlack
Well-Known Member
I was in a Forbidden Planet (UK store) yesterday and it was FULL of Star Wars toys! Loads of Mandalorian stuff and classic figures. Admittedly there was far more DC/Marvel stuff, but that obviously sells more these days due to the total overwhelming ubiquity of the MCU.
Shryyyk
Sr Member
That’s funny because the one in Southampton might as well be called FP: Funko Pop! because that’s basically all they have.
Which speaks to the distribution issues and the low volumes of product. Why is it that some locations get new and varied inventory, while others barely get any or never seem to restock? Clearly the demand is there otherwise you wouldn't see the high ticket prices on Ebay. So it's obvious that the toy companies simply don't make enough to meet demand.
JPH
Sr Member
So, my Quitesson is about to jump his Evil Kenevel stunt bike over a hydrcopter to save Mego, Claw-gloved Robin from Stretch Armstrong
when...
No one other than Rose Tyco blocks the HotWheels track leading up to the ramp.
*****BAM*****
Now I understand that all the kids are upset over not saving Robin, but I get to walk over to the wreckage and say,
Complete with a Rose kissing the Quitesson and a Lucas-esque, Rose-goes-limp, death throe.
Thankfully, I have rehearsed saying with a straight face, " SEE, the toys got *better*!"
Its not that they couldn't sell Rose toys at 90% off, they just didnt make them sturdy enough to survive multiple rammings at high speed.
Everything else is just salt.
The defense rest.
Your witness
when...
No one other than Rose Tyco blocks the HotWheels track leading up to the ramp.
*****BAM*****
Now I understand that all the kids are upset over not saving Robin, but I get to walk over to the wreckage and say,
Complete with a Rose kissing the Quitesson and a Lucas-esque, Rose-goes-limp, death throe.
Thankfully, I have rehearsed saying with a straight face, " SEE, the toys got *better*!"
Its not that they couldn't sell Rose toys at 90% off, they just didnt make them sturdy enough to survive multiple rammings at high speed.
Everything else is just salt.
The defense rest.
Your witness
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
I counter with this.
Rose’s performance was that of a plastic doll in the movie. She had no charisma or charm.
Her story arc was one dimensional.
When she slammed into Finn, we hoped for a finality to her arc.
We do not need a plastic representation of a plastic representation of a character.
The prosecution rests.
Rose’s performance was that of a plastic doll in the movie. She had no charisma or charm.
Her story arc was one dimensional.
When she slammed into Finn, we hoped for a finality to her arc.
We do not need a plastic representation of a plastic representation of a character.
The prosecution rests.
JPH
Sr Member
But Rose's toys actually auction for *MORE* money if they have been removed from the packaging and used!
In fact, some sellers have actually paid third partys to tamper with perfectly intact, sealed packaging to give buyers the illusion that someone actually wanted and...
***AUDIENCE GASP***
PLAYED WITH said toy!
It is kinda like putting a bite mark into a fruit cake!!! Except you can fool some folks into actually taking a bite from a fruit cake.
But playing with a Rose toy...
Whew! Suspension of disbelief and psychiatric medical records get called in for review.
In fact, some sellers have actually paid third partys to tamper with perfectly intact, sealed packaging to give buyers the illusion that someone actually wanted and...
***AUDIENCE GASP***
PLAYED WITH said toy!
It is kinda like putting a bite mark into a fruit cake!!! Except you can fool some folks into actually taking a bite from a fruit cake.
But playing with a Rose toy...
Whew! Suspension of disbelief and psychiatric medical records get called in for review.
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
It’s a strange dichotomy to be sure.
Rose figure is out of the packaging, fact.
Said Rose figure has been played with, impression.
Said impression drives up the prices as proof of figures value, sad reality.
People wanting it now, warped reality!
Increased value? It all depends on who is willing to pay for it. If I personally would not pay $20.00 for the figure in the package, I will not pay $60.00 for it out of the package.
I would counter that most of those loose Rose (no pun intended) sales do not include a BB-8 doll to coincide with.
Rose figure is out of the packaging, fact.
Said Rose figure has been played with, impression.
Said impression drives up the prices as proof of figures value, sad reality.
People wanting it now, warped reality!
Increased value? It all depends on who is willing to pay for it. If I personally would not pay $20.00 for the figure in the package, I will not pay $60.00 for it out of the package.
I would counter that most of those loose Rose (no pun intended) sales do not include a BB-8 doll to coincide with.
JPH
Sr Member
I just snarfed my pinot !!!
I was thinking more like .94 at Ollies! A Great Rose toy is usually around 1/4th the cost of shipping.
And I'd try and ship media mail
EDIT: By a "Great" Rose toy, I mean cleared scuffed and used, then sterilized.
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JPH
Sr Member
I was at a garage sale, and the seller was clearly and older science fiction, Starlog, Macross on vhs kinda guy.
So, a kid sees a Rose toy on the table, and the seller immediately says, " TEN BUCKS!"
Now, the kid/potential customer looks over at him like he is on drugs.
"OKAY," replies the old guy, "TWENTY!!"
Now the kid looks lost.
Finally, the seller realizes his lack of clarification, "I'll GIVE YOU Twenty bucks to cart that trash off."
Well heck! If that kid didnt walk off with the Rose, a life-sized Martin Landau cutout, *TWO* Catherise Schell cutouts and a robotic arm to handle the Rose doll!
And people gripe about the state of Star Wars toys...puh-shaw
So, a kid sees a Rose toy on the table, and the seller immediately says, " TEN BUCKS!"
Now, the kid/potential customer looks over at him like he is on drugs.
"OKAY," replies the old guy, "TWENTY!!"
Now the kid looks lost.
Finally, the seller realizes his lack of clarification, "I'll GIVE YOU Twenty bucks to cart that trash off."
Well heck! If that kid didnt walk off with the Rose, a life-sized Martin Landau cutout, *TWO* Catherise Schell cutouts and a robotic arm to handle the Rose doll!
And people gripe about the state of Star Wars toys...puh-shaw
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
Heck, even a red-eyed off world Jawa wouldn’t touch a Rose Tico action less figure.
CT1138
Sr Member
Their QC must've increased, then. I still remember being distraught over how my McFarlane MM6 Queen and Warrior just crumbled.
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
That must have been quite the battle.
Master Boda
Sr Member
I remember back in 95/96 seeing SW figures in the store thinking cool I need to get these.My spark for SW Toys was back.By the early 2000’s I was buying cases of the line,IMO the sculpt and paint apps were just getting better and better as were the vehicles.It was the new golden age for SW toy enthusiasts,hell at one point we were getting characters from movie,comics,and video games sometimes in the same wave.
Then something happened, I was informed the character’s from book’s and games I like were no longer part of the “Universe” I grew up on and invested time and money into. I tried the “new universe“ characters,I bought a emo sith figure brought him home and “my people” rejected him and asked wtf is this guy. I threw the emo sith away in the trash where he belonged.Oddly enough I picked up some RO figures and they fit right in.
I guess in a way I happened to SW toys, I have always used the name of the characters and planets from SW.In my world I made my own story of what was going on in my universe with my people. The new SW has no place in my world so I stopped collecting with the few exceptions of a really cool sculpted figure/ship from the OT.In a way it was almost a relief after collecting for so long I was looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, I have seen the light.
Then something happened, I was informed the character’s from book’s and games I like were no longer part of the “Universe” I grew up on and invested time and money into. I tried the “new universe“ characters,I bought a emo sith figure brought him home and “my people” rejected him and asked wtf is this guy. I threw the emo sith away in the trash where he belonged.Oddly enough I picked up some RO figures and they fit right in.
I guess in a way I happened to SW toys, I have always used the name of the characters and planets from SW.In my world I made my own story of what was going on in my universe with my people. The new SW has no place in my world so I stopped collecting with the few exceptions of a really cool sculpted figure/ship from the OT.In a way it was almost a relief after collecting for so long I was looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, I have seen the light.
I had almost the entire line of the 1995 POTF figures, having missed out on the vintage Kenner line as a kid. For some reason my area didn't have the Kenner figures by the time I was old enough to play with them. I stopped collecting the 1995 line with the first wave of TPM figures and sold everything I had off for pennies shortly thereafter.
Since then I collected the first few waves of the Vintage collection figures with those beautiful card backs, a loose set of Jabba and his court members, a few key vintage Kenner figures, and a handful of other figures with cool sculpts or packaging later on but I inevitably always sold them all.
I think once I got my hands on the ones I wanted and had the experience of owning, say, a Kenner Jedi Luke from 1983, it fulfilled that childhood dream of missing out and my interest in collecting them just faded. I certainly appreciate the figures and toy lines but my props and costumes are far more interesting to me than a mass produced product and bring me far closer to experiencing the movies than some figures do sitting on display.
Couple that with the lack of availability, the insane secondary market prices, and the inconsistencies in sculpt or paint applications and I'd much rather pass than get involved again.
Since then I collected the first few waves of the Vintage collection figures with those beautiful card backs, a loose set of Jabba and his court members, a few key vintage Kenner figures, and a handful of other figures with cool sculpts or packaging later on but I inevitably always sold them all.
I think once I got my hands on the ones I wanted and had the experience of owning, say, a Kenner Jedi Luke from 1983, it fulfilled that childhood dream of missing out and my interest in collecting them just faded. I certainly appreciate the figures and toy lines but my props and costumes are far more interesting to me than a mass produced product and bring me far closer to experiencing the movies than some figures do sitting on display.
Couple that with the lack of availability, the insane secondary market prices, and the inconsistencies in sculpt or paint applications and I'd much rather pass than get involved again.
NakedMoleRat
Master Member
The other side is when I do order them from Amazon, they just shove them into a box slightly smaller than the card, and it comes warped, creased and bent.
It seems like the only way to order figures (of any type) if you're a mint on card collector is to purchase from a retailer like Big Bad Toy Store or the like. The few times I've ordered with them they packed their items very well with the mind set that people are purchasing these items as collectibles and condition, even that of the packaging, is just as important as the item it houses.
