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| "Size matters not. Everywhere, bad management is." |
More so than at any other point in the 18 years since POTF2 launched,
the Star Wars action figure line appears to be in real trouble. Overly expensive,
with hit and miss character choices and baffling case selections, the 3.75”
Black Series line is proving a mixed bag for collectors, with some figures
impossible to find whilst others sit and languish. Meanwhile, proving that
nothing was learnt from 2012’s Phantom Menace debacle, the over produced first
wave of Saga Legends is clogging up shelves everywhere. The budget line is
divisive, but at first it seemed like the figures were selling well at the
lower price point – now however there’s no getting away from the fact that the
line is stalling. This all-round poor management and failure to sell will eventually lead to price reductions
and clearance sales, which many collectors now wait for. No-one can blame them
for waiting though, because the ever-increasing RRP for the figures is becoming
truly prohibitive.
I wrote this article about my take on the health of the 3.75”
line back when the larger Black Series figures were announced, with the full
intention of migrating to the new scale. At £20 each the figures are expensive,
but the build quality and the way that each figure thus far has seemed like a
definitive release makes the cost just about worth it, for cherry picking at
least. Unfortunately before it’s had a chance to truly begin, the 6” line is
already looking troubled.
Firstly the gap between waves one and two has been a real
momentum killer, with many collectors losing interest in the line in the
intervening months. I’m sure the figures are good enough to rebuild that
interest but it’s an unnecessary stumbling block, and one that the re-launched
Marvel Legends, to choose a pertinent example, did not suffer from.
The second problem is the switch to the three figure wave,
with the fourth figure being a repack. This decision actually makes sense, in
the case of the repack being an army builder like a Stormtrooper. However, as
has been announced with wave three, Hasbro are repacking Han Solo. Don’t get me
wrong, Han looks like an excellent figure, and if there is the demand for him
then I’ll happily hold my hands up; but unfortunately the Stormtrooper was the
clear best choice for that slot. If that wasn't possible then there were
no excuses not to repack Solo’s wave mate Boba Fett, a figure that scalpers worldwide are making a
mint on. These case selection issues seem endemic at Hasbro, and scalpers are
laughing all the way to the bank. No-one legitimate wins from this situation.
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| RRP: £20. Availability: Sparse. |
The absolutely fatal strike against the Black Series however
is the price hike. At £20 each the figures are already a luxury item (and I
bought mine with vouchers and in a sale), but from wave three the price is
climbing to an unsustainable £25 each. That equates to just over $40, to put it
into context for any US readers, for a 6” plastic figure. It doesn’t matter how
good the figures are, that is a rip-off. I know that I’m not alone in thinking
this, and I really believe that this is going to do more damage to the brand
than Hasbro may have accounted for. In reality these figures should cost about
£15 each, £18 maximum. It’s going to be hard to stay with the line when the figures
become that dear.
The thing is, I’m not swearing off the Black Series;
I like the figures way too much to do that. I am however going to join the many other
collectors in waiting for sales and clearance discounts to pick up the releases
that I want, and I think that’s a shame all round. I am disappointed that
something that started off with such promise has run into these kinds of issues
by only the third wave.
It isn’t all doom and gloom though,
there is, personally, a bright side. The allure of the Black Series got me to seriously question
my collecting, and I made myself break some of the bad purchasing/hoarding
habits I’d developed. The issues with the Star Wars lines have actually given
me the opportunity to invest more time in my other action figure interests, and
time spent researching Transformers Masterpieces and TMNT Classics has helped me
to refine my ideas of what I want from a collection – in other words,
collecting Star Wars has made me collect other lines!
Really though, whatever happens with the Black
Series I’m grateful we’ve seen it at all, for the figures we do have are rather
splendid. Whatever I end up spending my money on, I really am hoping that these
current issues are easily resolved bumps in the road, and that the line goes on
to a long, glorious and (most of all) affordable future.
