Bandai release schedule

[Dedalus5550]

@ Dedalus5550​

Here is a review from a earlier release of the "new" Revell-Y-Wing:

IPMS/USA Kit Review: Revell - Y-Wing Starfighter

Is Dick Montgomery present on this forum? I have some pointed questions.

Cons

• No display stand and no landing gear (The display stand seen in the accompanying images is an old Lindberg stand which was "reactivated" for use with this model)
• Price is a bit high for a Snap-Tite especially for kids

Like THIS is extend of the cons? (Although, actually, the price in the review is much lower than what I was seeing elsewhere.)

 

[Sindariel]

In the News from Revell Germany for 2023 the will release the Bandai 1:72 Tie Interceptor and the small Bandai Razor Crest (but it seems only the non-metallic version). Although they are doing a Platinum-Edition of there own Razor Crest with photo-etched parts... (see at the end of the following page):

Revell Neuheiten Januar bis Juni 2023 | Modellbau für alle mit Spaß am Hobby

Traditionsfirmen pflegen Traditionen – und eine liebgewonnene Tradition ist die jährliche Neuheiten-Pressekonferenz von Revell in Bünde. Und so können wir unseren Lesern hier die Neuheiten des ersten…

www.kitreviewsonline.de

It kinda looks like Revell teamed up with Greenstraberry. Some parts look very familiar.

 

[Hunk a Junk]

Revell is also re-selling Bandai kits (the same with Zvezda) under their label, which only underscores the incestuous, overlapping, confusing nature of these licensing agreements.

 

[Hunk a Junk]

based on what a friend in Japan says, Star Wars and it's merchandising, especially for the new stuff just doesn't hold much interest. Some of the "hard to find" kits here can often be found there on discount racks. Mandalorian I think has been the most popular of the new content

No doubt all true, but is the Japanese market the sole determining factor in whether Bandai kits make money? That's what's frustrating. Almost every product Americans buy is made in Asia. R2's kits are manufactured in China. Why does Bandai have a higher burden to overcome selling kits in the U.S. market and being profitable than other companies?

 

[Dedalus5550]

It's almost like the only way for Bandai to stick to the SPIRIT of its license (i.e. the Japanese market) they have to develop subjects that are very likely to sell well IN Japan. The same way that a few (only one?) have suggested oversight by Lucas/Disney to throttle back the accuracy based on the license, imagine Disney doing it's own market research in Japan. They tell Bandai they can't do a larger SD or Blockade Runner because it won't sell in Japan. Even though there's the whole *wink wink* "We make a crap ton of money from the US market." Imagine if Japanese modelers only liked "The Phantom Menace."
Mike Todd

 

[Hunk a Junk]

But ARE those the limitations of the Bandai license: just the Japanese market? Because R2 was able to get a license in the last two years. I mean, if given the choice, I'd rather have seen Bandai at least try to get that U.S. license.

I wish someone with insider knowledge would step in to clarify how the licensing sausage is made.

 

[Analyzer]

No doubt all true, but is the Japanese market the sole determining factor in whether Bandai kits make money? That's what's frustrating. Almost every product Americans buy is made in Asia. R2's kits are manufactured in China. Why does Bandai have a higher burden to overcome selling kits in the U.S. market and being profitable than other companies?

That is the mind boggling thing about regional licensing in this day and age of online shopping.

It's non-sensical hurdle for companies to go through and only benefits third party sellers who could care less what country they ship stuff to

Amazon and E-Bay couldn't care less about who is selling what to which country and they are going to buy the best product.

If a Japanese country has better kits than a domestic one, people will pay more for the sipping to get the better one

And in some cases, it even winds up being cheaper buying from an overseas seller vs an officially licensed importer

 

[Hunk a Junk]

Exactly. I mean, at first Revell wasn't selling its Razor Crest in the U.S. because it was Revell Germany, but now you can get them on Amazon for less than AMT's new kit (I know because I just ordered one -- sorry AMT). So what's the point of regional and territorial deals? It just limits consumer's options, forces people to jump through unnecessary hoops, and slows the advancement of kit accuracy and quality.

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

I'm getting luck in some respects -- Bandai's 1:144 A-Wing two-packs weren't expensive at all on Amazon, so I've got two so far. My local Walmart had three of the MPC/R2 B-Wing re-pops that are box scale, but conveniently almost dead-on to 1:144. I found a 1:144 TROS Millennium Falcon on clearance locally, and have the accurizing parts from Shapeways to make it more OT...

But getting the Bandai X-Wing/Y-Wing 1:144 two-pack is going to be about $70 -- and I need two. And then the rest of the X-Wings I need in that scale. There are options, but all of them are pricey. Each of those B-Wings (a biggish model, even at 1:144) was twenty-something bucks, with tax. All three of them together were less than I'm going to have to pay for a much smaller X-Wing and Y-Wing. This is not a scale Round2 is doing those ships in. If it is a scale Revell is doing them in, it's usually accidental. So why limit Bandai to domestic-market-only, and leave us to rely on import companies? Even for stuff in the small scales that purportedly sell better in Japan, and of ships that remain perennially of interest in Japan?

 

[Dedalus5550]

I would like an authoritative statement about the STATUS of the Bandai license. History has mostly shown us what they will make and what can have access to (in the US). But this slight trickle, where we get tiny signs of new tiny kits, re-pops from john Q other-license-holder, etc., is ridiculous.
Mike Todd

 

[monsterpartyhat]

I would like an authoritative statement about the STATUS of the Bandai license.

As far as I know, there has never been any authoritative statement about the license, ever, and I doubt there ever will be. Even the chatter about why they replaced the detailed figurines with cutouts is conjecture; I've never seen a single verified statement about it. So, I'm afraid we all have to just sit and wonder.

Clearly, Bandai DOES still have a SW license -- they continue to put out new figures and kits; the rate of new kit development has slowed down, but that's entirely natural in an IP license that has had (a) large output over the last 8 years, and (b) hasn't released a new movie in 3 years, and likely won't for at least another 3. EDIT: And (c) turned out a few turds in a row....

At one point people were speculating and/or stating definitively that Bandai didn't have a license for the Disney+ TV shows, but that was clearly false, as we now have multiple kits from Bandai based on the Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett. Licenses like this thrive on novelty - whether it's introducing new ships & characters, or variations of existing characters (see the continual churn of character variations in Marvel movies -- every on-screen variant of the major characters gets a new SH Figuarts figure; Star Wars, for the most part, doesn't have the same level of churn to drive collectors to buy new variants like that)

We can sit around and argue until we're blue in the face about how it would be a slam dunk for Bandai to make this kit or that kit, but the fact is that scale modeling for designs from the 40+ year old OT is a niche market.

 

[3Dsf]

I would like an authoritative statement about the STATUS of the Bandai license.

Why do you think they would make such a statement?

 

[Dedalus5550]

Why do you think they would make such a statement?

It isn't that I think they WOULD. In fact, history would suggest this won't come. But it does seem like a basic fact that could be addressed. It would seem to be along the same lines of what to do when you BEGIN the license. You tell the world that you have it and kits are coming. You don't keep it a secret until you've got kits on the shelves of the LHS. Although in all honesty, I guess I don't have personal knowledge of how these announcements come out. I log on to a forum and a member posts a thread. How did we know FM was no longer doing SW stuff? And as someone posted, Bandai does, in deed, seem to be still putting stuff on the shelves, but then aren't they leaving holes. I'm looking at the hits at an Amazon search, and it seems pretty clear which kits are at about retail, and which are at collector prices. I guess what bothers me is that Bandai is quiet quitting. The trickle of re-releases leaves many holes, and near total lack of new kits over that last, I dunno, couple of years(?), pales compared to how it used to be.
Mike Todd

 

[RedheadKevin]

There were some noises about Bandai re-releasing a whole bunch of their Star Wars kits sometime this year. Has there been any news on when that might happen, or a list of exactly what's coming back to stores?

 

[TazMan2000]

There were some noises about Bandai re-releasing a whole bunch of their Star Wars kits sometime this year. Has there been any news on when that might happen, or a list of exactly what's coming back to stores?

Grogu 1:4 & 1:12
Boba Fett (Mandalorian) 1:12
due soon, but probably either December or early 2023

TazMan2000

 

[Inquisitor Peregrinus]

The BoBF version of "Boba Fett's Starship" in 1:144 is in stores now, too.

 

[Analyzer]

I can't even find the BlueFin Star Wars shop anymore and the Bandai Namco shop has no mention of Star Wars


Most recent thing I could find was for the 2022 Celebration line up

Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles Awesome Star Wars Celebration 2022 Line-Up - THE ILLUMINERDI

Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America is set to wow fans at Star Wars Celebration on May 26 – 29 in Anaheim with an awesome line-up of toys and collectibles.

www.theilluminerdi.com

These were the kits pictured

I know they did a recent restock of the PG Falcon, but these seem to be the kits they regularly restock based on what I see at Hobby Lobby and other places

I have also seen recent restocks of Slave-1

 

[Analyzer]

Also going to the Premium Bandai USA shop, this is the only thing showing

STAR WARS | PREMIUM BANDAI USA Online Store for Action Figures, Model Kits, Toys and more - Page 1

 

[Analyzer]

the old link for bluefinbrands.com redirects to here

Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America Inc |Manufacturer and Master Toy Licensee of Collectibles, Children’s Toys and Entertainment

Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America Inc. is the manufacturer and master toy licensee of some of the most popular brands in collectibles, children’s toys and entertainment today, including Tamagotchi®, DragonBall®, Vital Hero, Anime Heroes®, Bandai Hobby, Gundam, Storm Collectibles, Flame...

shop.bandai.com

and no mention of Star Wars there in the series list

 

[Poakwoods]

I think this thread can be closed, at this point...