After 2007, would you buy Hasbro SW figures if they changed the size?

[Anakin Palpatine]

Keep them the same but more articulate. How does Hasbro make one group of figures (i.e. G.I. Joe) with so much mobility and star wars with such a lack there of. I just don't get it. Keep them the same size but make them exciting to play with, let we the consumer/collector pose them the way we want to display them. Han endor comes to mind. I understand that original Star Wars figures we made to be played with like they were robots, but the technology is available and Hasbro has it but needs to let the Star Wars universe get a little taste. At least they are starting to get it with the clone troopers. Hasbro is more frustrating then Ewoks competing in track and field events!

[Tycho]

With figures like JT's suggesting, they'd be really tempting and much better than the 12" line.

Sounds like a mix of softgoods and plastic stuff.

Also sounds good!

I'd probably start over again - and open them, but maybe not do dioramas or continue to collect in the quantities that I so often do.

The price points on figures like this would be $10-20, more likely on the higher end of the scale.

I'd have to say they'd be really tempting. Some very creative ideas with heads and hands you've got going on there JediTricks. I'm ready for them to hire you to work on this line!

[Darth Jade]

I think I'd give up myself. I mean as of now I collect almost every 3" 3/4" figure made and to have to start all over would be insane. When would I put them. As it is the ones I have now take up all display space in my den. And the cost. I mean as it is a new figure now costs 4.00 to 7.00 bucks. What would they charge for a 7 inch figure. 10 bucks. Who can afford to collect that whole series?
I think they should make cartoons of the novels. Start with Zahn's and move forward. That would make fans aware of characters such as Mara Jade (so maybe we will get a sculpt of her that doesn't look as retarded as the one we have now). I mean A kyp figure would be great. And Corran Horn, the Solo kids, Jag Fel. The possibilites are endless but for some reason Lucas doesn't employee people that are very good at marketing SW to it's fullest potential. It is the people like us that even keep SW alive and we barely get the figures we ask for as it is. GL and crew need to wake up and realize that there is so much more SW that could be done. And then do it right.

[stillakid]

I vote to keep the figures as they are. I might buy larger versions if, and that's a big if, they looked really good. The precedent with larger scale Star Wars figures hasn't been very good. Most of the 12" line looked so incredibly bad, that I didn't bother ever buying one until the excellent Speeder Bike with Biker Scout came out. The UnLeashed line, for the most part, is okay, but still a little over the top (by design). There were those larger scale figures (around 8 or 10 inches or so) that came on a rotating pedestal that were just okay. I bought the Boba Fett because he looked kinda cool, but that was it.

I do have some larger figures as you describe (Danger Girl, a couple figures from the Spawn line, Twisted Land of OZ set, The Tick) but they take up a significant amount of space and act more like set pieces or statues than anything else. Not that there is anything wrong with that (afterall, I have them), but Star Wars is such a large universe, to even contemplate collecting even a small fraction of the characters in that scale is overwhelming. Besides which, it would be nearly impossible to set up any kind of diorama displays or to hope for scaled ships or playsets to accompany them.

[Tycho]

Oh, I would NOT see them making ANY ships or playsets to accompany these figures.

These would be fully poseable figures, unlike the Epic Force or Unleashed Figures, but similar in size.

They would be plastic, not wearing softgoods like the 12", except in the cases of robes and removeable articles of clothing (like JediTricks suggested) to help them change wardrobes (Han's vest or trench coat or Bespin jacket, etc. - versus buying 3 different Han figures like we do now).

At this point, all of you would have EVERY 3 3/4" character seen on the screens in any SW movie, and every vehicle conceivable (for sales) - like the Sith Infiltrator and Gungan Sub, etc.

ANY NEW 3 3/4" PRODUCT YOU COULD BUY, WOULD BE A RESCULPT OR RE-RELEASE OF SOMETHING YOU ALREADY HAD.

So they change the size, and they present the figures as higher-end nostalgic collectables, the way the James Bond or Dukes of Hazzard figures have been presented - or ArtAsylum's Star Trek ones.

They will be fully poseable however, and not cheaply made in assembly and durability like McFarlane's stuff. It will be more solid like ArtAsylum's Trek line.

Hasbro would likely never redo every character in the line. Just the major ones, sort of like how Unleashed was released, with a little more flexability for characters like Tarkin, who likely won't get "Unleashed." So in other words, you'll never see the Imperial Dignitaries done at that size, nor Wuher.

In any case, I might buy these. They could turn out to be awesome. I imagine we'd only get 15-20 per year, too. Not 50 like the 3 3/4" put out.

But I VOTED NO, because I want the EU to be treated right, and have tons of 3 3/4" figures like Jagged Fel and the Yuuzhan Vong and Jacen Solo with possibly even vehicles like Coral Skippers being made to fight the X-wings.

Then I might even assemble a new Rebel Fleet. Imagine getting your hands on a K-Wing Bomber toy! (Look that up in the NEW ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO VEHICLES and then tell me you don't want a toy of THAT! - this ship so rocks! It's like the B-52 of the SW galaxy!)

Anyway, staying with 3 3/4" EU and some re-releases seems to me to be the way to go. Hasbro can do Fans' Choice Polls to see what novels to treat (New Jedi Order, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, and which ones to skip - Children of the Jedi; The New Rebellion, etc.)

[jedi master sal]

Not just no, but an emphatic HELL NO!

I've got way to much time and money invested into the 3 3/4 line as wel as the 12inch line. Not to mention the Action Fleet/Micro Machines lines, Epic Force and now Unleashed.

I feel this was irresponsible to even put this out there.

Hasbro might get the "bright" idea that we want these.

I DO NOT!

And I know myself enough to say that I would fight the urge hard but then there would be that one that just looked to damned cool to pass up and I'd have to buy it. Then I'd be faced with having to go back and find all of the ones I passed up before.

NO WAY!

3 3/4 forever!

Man, why you even put this out there. As if there isn't enough to collect already. AND different sizes to boot. Enough already please. I'm really hoping to stop collecting when I'm 40 and that's just 5 1/2 years away for me. I'm really looking forward to the day when I stop collecting and can concetrate my time and money elsewhere. Dioramas, owning a home... and so on. I'll always love Star Wars, but I don't have to collect forever to prove it.

Apologies if I seemed over the top, I just wanted to make my point perfectly clear.

One final note, when Star Wars or at least the toys dies off, will you be prepared? What if this other line was started but never finished due to lack of interest? Wouldn't you be very disappointed that not all of the characters where made. We are quite lucky at this point that we have as many background characters that we do. Finish the 3 3/4 inch line. Make alot of the EU figs in the 3 3/4 scale. By the time that's all said and done, Star Wars will diminish in it's popularity. No not of course with us, but you only need look at history to see that it WILL happen. After RotJ came out, SW was only on the top for a couple of years after that release. Then we went into what many of us call the "Dark Times". The toys had stopped being produced, no more movies were on the horizon. Indeed we all had thought that Star Wars was done. And though it left a mark on society would never reclaim the fame and glory it once held. With the prequels, SW came back to the forefront. I fear that if the toys went in this direction after EPIII, it would be deemed a farce just to keep the toy line alive, instead of the integrity of the movies from which all of the toys came about.

I'll always love Star Wars, but I am looking forward to the end of collecting in just a few years from now.

-Sal

[Jaff]

The more I read new posts about this topic the more my resolve against it grows. I am a very astute collector of the 12" and 3 3/4 figs. Since I've been collecting SW stuff for over 2 decades now I must say that I am looking forward to being done with the 3 3/4 line some day. I want to one day sit in my study and stare at my COMPLETE collection and not worry that I have to hunt down some new thing. I love collecting, but I also love thinking about other things too. SW is a big part of my life, obviously since I've probably thrown down over $5,000 so far in collecting, but I look forward to it ending some day. This 7" line stuff was tried and failed with the Epic stuff, having them try this is only a desperate attempt to prolonge the inevitable.

I also guarentee that allot less people will buy the 7" stuff and thus would cause them to stagnate on shelves killing our beloved franchise faster by creating peg warmers.

[JediTricks]

With figures like JT's suggesting, they'd be really tempting and much better than the 12" line.

Sounds like a mix of softgoods and plastic stuff.

The price points on figures like this would be $10-20, more likely on the higher end of the scale.

I'd have to say they'd be really tempting. Some very creative ideas with heads and hands you've got going on there JediTricks. I'm ready for them to hire you to work on this line!

By then, I'm hoping that electronic features and plastic soft goods will have advanced enough to make it work, but at this scale, cloth soft goods (robes & vests) work a lot better and probably would have some advances by then too (look at the 12" clothes coming out of Japan now, one of those companies has this micro-weave fabric that looks and feels WAY better than anything in the US market). Heck, on some of 'em, the jackets could be extra arms and a removable vest, I've seen other lines do that.

If Hasbro called me up tomorrow and asked me to head up a project like the one I described, I'd be all over it. I'm thinking $12 to $15 a figure at WM & TRU, but I know some of my ideas went beyond that. And if they called me up to the majors I'd strongly suggest EU lines in the classic 4" scale. Then I'd rule the world, bwa ha ha!

BTW, I'm not trying to suggest killing the 4" line, I think that line could continue to run while this line was going. This 7" concept really is about what I think figures should be though, especially the 12" line which just don't do what it should IMO. Better sculpts, neutral poses, tons of articulation, lots of accessories, great paintjobs, and a real sense of a worthwhile action figure purchase.

I disagree with you Jaff about the amount of sales, look at Marvel Legends, that line is not in scale with previous Toy Biz Marvel lines and is selling really well, and they can get it out there at a $6-$7 pricetag, think of what twice that could produce. You can't judge it by Epic Force or Unleashed, both are statue lines, not action figures.


I don't understand this need to have the line "end". If you are so desparate to have a "complete" collection, why not quit now or at POTJ or some other milestone?

[jjreason]

My vote was to quit after having each 3.75 each character. My interpretation of this is getting to the point where my collection of small figures is as complete as I want it. That's when I'll stop.

When I say I won't buy 7 inch figures, I really have to qualify. If they were of stupifying quality like the ones envisioned by JT, it'd be hard to say no. What I refuse to be caught up in again is this ridiculous, all-consuming, near full-time pursuit of god-forsaken pieces of plastic. I don't go out of my way for ANY OTHER TOYS EXCEPT STAR WARS, AND I NEVER EVER WILL AGAIN. I HATE HOW HARD IT'S BEEN TO GET EVERYTHING OVER THE PAST 4 YEARS.

IF I can find them in my store, AND Im happy with them, then yes I'll buy. I too am looking forward to a day when I can know smugly that my collection is complete (well, complete enough for me anyway).

[fishyfett]

Come on fellas, the 3 3/4 format has been working since the early bird era. Why change it now?? I'm sure Bernie Loomis, then head honcho of Kenner, had the right idea when he put out his thumb and index finger to be measured by his assistant, Dave Okada, and came up w/ a height of 3 3/4 for the first Luke figure. And from this figure, everything else will be scaled up or down. I know that not all the figures (or the ships) are scaled properly, but for playability's sake and realistic expenditure, the size make it possible for the figures to interact w/ the playsets and vehicles. But if Hasbro tries to make a change going this direction, I'd say 'Go ahead. Make my day.' Give me a reason to stop collecting. After all, I only collect the figures, creatures and ships, just to keep it real. No playsets, no statues, not even those Disney droids and no 12" dolls. So, go ahead, Hasbro, make the change and you can kiss this one goodbye. I remember the Epic Series, 8-inch figures. They bombed. And also Mattel's bid for the SW license and talk about making the figures at 6 inches. It bombed, too.

Please let things stay the way they are right now. No funny ideas, please. After all, we've been enjoying this franchise for a while now, so let's not end the ride yet.