RS Propmasters X-Wing Helmets

[ggriffaw]

You mentioned this before, regarding the hyperdrive? I know the owner, he is a decent understanding person. They never reject anyone unless they have a good reason to.

They rejected me because I don't have enough friends on Facebook and I don't have a profile photo. I don't see how either of those has anything to do with being a Star Wars fan. I am active in several Star Wars related Facebook groups. I had no issues joining these other private Facebook groups.

I use Facebook to be part of certain groups and to follow the pages for certain companies. I don't want to use it to share every detail of my life or see that much from other people.

I don't think it makes sense to reject people if the point of having exclusives is to increase interest in the group. Allow people to join and if they don't follow the rules of the group, warn them. If they continue to break the rules, kick them out.

 

[Ron]

I bought the three signature X-Wing helmets they released prior. Currently waiting on Gold Leader to be up for sale. If they had been a group exclusive from the beginning that'd be one thing, but they've always advertised them through youtube and their Facebook page - which is public - so I have no reason to expect upcoming X-Wing signature helmets would be offered and advertised any other way. I don't think I would've been interested in the Dak helmet since I'm mainly focused on ANH helmets but if I was and I missed out on it after having invested in the first set of helmets because RS decided to make it exclusive to a group I'm unaware of, I'd be livid right now.

 

[ggriffaw]

I think they said all announcements will be in the RS email newsletter. It's possible the item may still be an exclusive somewhere, but at least we would know about it and have time to try and join.

A dilemma with exclusives is some people look at them as a way to promote groups, while some already in the group don't want a bunch of new people joining just to buy the exclusive and prevent long time members from having a chance to buy it.

I liked how RS handled the Concept Snowtrooper Maquette exclusive with Rogue One Six. There wasn't a hard limit on the quantity. It wasn't a problem to join Rogue One Six in time to order one.

 

[el toro]

I bought the three signature X-Wing helmets they released prior. Currently waiting on Gold Leader to be up for sale. If they had been a group exclusive from the beginning that'd be one thing, but they've always advertised them through youtube and their Facebook page - which is public - so I have no reason to expect upcoming X-Wing signature helmets would be offered and advertised any other way. I don't think I would've been interested in the Dak helmet since I'm mainly focused on ANH helmets but if I was and I missed out on it after having invested in the first set of helmets because RS decided to make it exclusive to a group I'm unaware of, I'd be livid right now.

Dak’s helmet is nice because all the no name pilots in ANH have the plain blue bird helmet also.

 

[Ron]

Dak’s helmet is nice because all the no name pilots in ANH have the plain blue bird helmet also.

Good point.

 

[ggriffaw]

A few differences between the plain ANH helmets and Dak's are the weathering, visor color, and the front part on the Dak helmet is trimmed to not have the lower piece. The RS Dak helmet is trimmed like the ESB helmet.

 

[el toro]

A few differences between the plain ANH helmets and Dak's are the weathering, visor color, and the front part on the Dak helmet is trimmed to not have the lower piece. The RS Dak helmet is trimmed like the ESB helmet.

View attachment 1571361

Don’t forget about the back of the helmet details.

 

[ggriffaw]

Don’t forget about the back of the helmet details.
View attachment 1571365

Are you referring to the weathering or something else?

 

[el toro]

Are you referring to the weathering or something else?

Sorry bad joke about Dak's death. Too soon.

 

[Synz314]

Would anyone happen to know of their ear pads are pleather or real leather? I've had both the EFX and Denuo Novo helmets and those are pleather.

 

[Psab keel]

Unless funds are limited, supplies are limited, or labor is intensive for a prop or costume then exclusives seem like an unnecessary sales gimmick to me.

I don't really forsee scenarios where demand for a specific prop is only concentrated to one source like Facebook. If the demand is there, wouldn't it make more sense to open it to everyone, unless the aforementioned resources are limited?

 

[ggriffaw]

I don't think the exclusives are being done because of any limitations. It's more for getting attention for the group with the exclusive, getting more exposure for the manufacturer within the group, or the group having bragging rights of having a particular exclusive that is in high demand. Having exclusives that are in high demand is another way to generate interest in the group.

The downside is exclusives can annoy some long time customers of the manufacturer if those customers miss out on something they would have bought directly from the manufacturer. Joining a group isn't a big deal if you know about the exclusive far enough in advance to join the group, you are willing to sign up for whatever service the group is on, and you are allowed to join the group. I think many didn't know about the Dak helmet until it was already sold out.

If exclusives are done, I prefer when they don't have a hard limit that sells out in an hour or two like the signature helmets.

 

[AJK001]

Whatever happened to having a website where you sold your products? I know I've said this before but it is worth repeating. If I'm going to miss out on some products because I'm not on social media or belong to a special group, then so be it. I'll either do without or get it on the secondary market.

 

[3DImpact]

The downside is exclusives can annoy some long time customers of the manufacturer if those customers miss out on something they would have bought directly from the manufacturer. Joining a group isn't a big deal if you know about the exclusive far enough in advance to join the group, you are willing to sign up for whatever service the group is on, and you are allowed to join the group. I think many didn't know about the Dak helmet until it was already sold out.

This.

Will NOT EVER join Facebook, so any exclusives through such groups there are an automatic miss for me, and that’s disappointing and aggravating for a loyal RS customer like myself.

Would much prefer the ‘old way’ of just selling them directly from RS and foregoing such ‘exclusives’ nonsense…

Dan

 

[Psab keel]

I don't think the exclusives are being done because of any limitations. It's more for getting attention for the group with the exclusive, getting more exposure for the manufacturer within the group, or the group having bragging rights of having a particular exclusive that is in high demand. Having exclusives that are in high demand is another way to generate interest in the group.

The downside is exclusives can annoy some long time customers of the manufacturer if those customers miss out on something they would have bought directly from the manufacturer. Joining a group isn't a big deal if you know about the exclusive far enough in advance to join the group, you are willing to sign up for whatever service the group is on, and you are allowed to join the group. I think many didn't know about the Dak helmet until it was already sold out.

If exclusives are done, I prefer when they don't have a hard limit that sells out in an hour or two like the signature helmets.

I know social media is a huge market for so many of these fandoms and all, but if the idea is to really highlight a product, a manufacturer, or maker, then wouldn't a website be a better option? I mean I get that "everyone" is on social media but you also have to compete for attention with other vendors. A website is an exclusive platform for customers to buy just your products and on one else's. No need for competition there.

Plus one of the reasons why the large manufacturers like Hasbro or Mattel have taken huge losses in the last decade because they insist on exclusives being the cornerstone of their business model and the sales have only dropped as a result. It honestly perplexes me why fans makers are using the same tactics to entice buyers when they already have a mostly captive audience. I mean most serious collectors already know who RS is and they are willing to shell out good money for a lineage item, so why make it harder for those people to get said item? I just don't get it.

Whatever happened to having a website where you sold your products? I know I've said this before but it is worth repeating. If I'm going to miss out on some products because I'm not on social media or belong to a special group, then so be it. I'll either do without or get it on the secondary market.

I'm with you there. If I have to join Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Tinder, Grinder, or whatever the hell else, just to get an item, then I'll either make it myself, or learn to live without it. It's bad enough I'm on Facebook. lol You do almost wonder if wesbites will sort of go by the wayside at some point because the preferred method of connecting with a business to so many people is deemed more important if it's part of a "collective" rather than individual.

 

[Cantina_Dude]

I'm a bit confused by some of the criticisms here...

If I understand it correctly, the "Hyperdrive" Facebook group admins facilitated a run of signature plaques (something they seem to do a lot of with various Star Wars related actors etc.) with John Morton directly and then basically commissioned a run of "Dak" helmets from RS to pair them with. The Hyperdrive people then offered up these plaque/helmet bundles for sale to the members of their FB group. What's the problem with this? Should RS have refused this commission? If so, why? Could not another group (or individual for that matter) organize some specific signature plaque run and commission a maker to produce helmets to go with them?

 

[Ron]

I'm a bit confused by some of the criticisms here...

If I understand it correctly, the "Hyperdrive" Facebook group admins facilitated a run of signature plaques (something they seem to do a lot of with various Star Wars related actors etc.) with John Morton directly and then basically commissioned a run of "Dak" helmets from RS to pair them with. The Hyperdrive people then offered up these plaque/helmet bundles for sale to the members of their FB group. What's the problem with this? Should RS have refused this commission? If so, why? Could not another group (or individual for that matter) organize some specific signature plaque run and commission a maker to produce helmets to go with them?

If they facilitated the plaques and signatures and simply had RS make the helmets for them, then yeah that's different. I don't have a problem with that.

I just hope they (RS) weren't planning on one day offering this same signature edition helmet but now won't because of this commission. It would be as if this run were an RS exclusive.

 

[ggriffaw]

RS also had a Rogue One Six exclusive around the same time. I don't think there is a concern with one specific exclusive. It appeared to be a trend.

 

[Psab keel]

I may have misunderstood this particular situation though. If a Facebook group commissioned a limited helmet from a vendor then that's a different matter.

I just think it's strange for a vendor to offer exclusives of their own volition, through a specific platform barring the reasons I mentioned above. But that's just my perspective.

 

[Synz314]

I may have misunderstood this particular situation though. If a Facebook group commissioned a limited helmet from a vendor then that's a different matter.

I just think it's strange for a vendor to offer exclusives of their own volition, through a specific platform barring the reasons I mentioned above. But that's just my perspective.

That was my understanding..The Hyperdrive has done several limited autograph helmet runs. They are the ones that organize it, the autographs, and contact helmet makers if they wish to produce the helmets for the run. They could have just gone with any other X-wing helmet maker for the Dak run, but they went with RS.