Hasbro Doesn’t Serve My Kind Here

I've been an adult collector of Hasbro 3.75" Star Wars since 1999, right at the time the EP1 line launched. However it happened, I decided I wanted to collect them all. So I worked backwards, usually through Ebay, but with a big assist to the Great Toys R Us Warehouse Blowout of 2000, to acquire everything made by Hasbro going back to the return of Star Wars figures and toys in 1995. Ever since then, I've been a completist. I can't say I have a 100% complete collection, as there has been the occasional item that I've purposely ignored. But in spirit, I have a near perfect track record of getting everything offered in the line that I've defined as what I enjoy collecting (this excludes animated-styled figures and the modern devolutionary 5POA figures).

I've amassed an absurdly large collection of stuff, and I love almost all of it. I belong to a dwindling minority within our community: I'm a completist who almost always wants never-before-made items and almost always hates the updates. For me, it's to the point where I grow weary of re-dos, no matter how good they may be. I've written about my collecting habits a few times recently, but I have come to the realization that Hasbro has no interest in me, despite the frightening amount of money I consistently give them.

The question is this:

What does Hasbro do for the collector who has everything?

The answer is, "Absolutely anything new!"

Yet Hasbro very rarely comes through. I grant plenty of exceptions to my "rule." For example, I'm a big supporter of the #MaketheMains campaign. I do agree that the main characters, particularly in the OT and PT, need be kept reasonably up to date with modern standards. It's no easy task given the speed at which sculpting and painting technology has advanced recently (figures from 3 years ago are already falling behind), and it is further complicated by the meager TVC budget. There is also the occasional instance of Hasbro giving me something I never knew I wanted. I scoffed at the new skiff when it was first revealed because I assumed it was going to cost like $100 or something. But for only $40, I warmed up to the idea of it, and once I saw it, I realized it was something I absolutely needed to live. Velken Tezeri would not fit with 8 other figures on the old skiff - in fact he probably wouldn't even exist if it weren't for that skiff being available.

But these are rare exceptions for me. I find myself not only feeling "meh" about almost every update, their reveals usually make me a little sad. I realize that many other collectors rejoice at things like the new Hammerhead, Landspeeder, or Bantha - and I am happy for them. But I just don't want any of these things. I liked the old Hammerhead. I thought the 2006 version was not just "good enough", it was actually "good." The problem with the figure was that it doesn't sit properly. But I found that the posture with the bent knees was ok for what it was. Even with the brand new Cantina, I could have him stand in front of an alcove bench, and he could pass as "about to sit down." Now, the new figure is tremendous; in no way, shape, or form am I suggesting it's not significantly better than the 2006 figure - I'm just saying I wasn't looking for a new one, and the precious tooling budget went to update something that I wasn't concerned about in the first place. Labria? Djas Puhr? Mosep Bineed? Yeah, I'd take updates to these because they can't even pretend to sit, and they look very silly in my Cantina. But while such updates wouldn't make me sad per se, I'd still rather have Debnoli, Garouf Lafoe, The Spacers, and Atheloe long before a new Djas Puhr. A new Labria would improve the one I already have, but it wouldn't increase the count of patrons hanging out in the Cantina.

The Cantina itself is a wonder, as are the Tonnika Sisters. Wuher needed an update, and his inclusion makes sense as he is the Cantina's "pilot", but Greedo and Nabrun Leids? I could have done without them both, no matter how awesome they are. (I really like both figures.) I know a lot of collectors are extremely disappointed in the Arleil Schous miss, but for me, it was a particular sour point that for tiers, we got our 3rd Nabrun Leids and our 78th Greedo before we got a debut character. As for RTT, with the exception of the mains, the other items were a cumulative yawn for me. Return to Tatooine was a huge disappointment. NOT ONE SINGLE FIGURE, BEAST, OR VEHICLE WAS NEW. The only thing I could hang my hat on was the Streets of Mos Eisley, but even the included Jawa was just a soft goods tweak to a pretty terrible base figure.

Mains and updates and refreshes to popular figures, beasts, and vehicles are definitely important to the health of the line. I'm sure that plenty of collectors want these things and it probably helps bring in new collectors on occasion as well. But it means that I am now rarely excited about anything announced or released. 3.75" Star Wars is the undisputed king - and it's the world-building aspect that makes this so. Give me Window Weequay, a Jerba, Yerka Mig, and Palpatine's office. Give me the Senate, the Lars Family speeder, and Home One. And for the love of all that is holy, give me Baze Malbus and Bodhi Rook already!

Unfortunately for me, I'm often unable to world-build. It's like I'm being penalized for being among the most loyal and biggest spending customers. They've already got me, so why bother doing anything for me? I'm merely conducting near-perpetual maintenance on my collection: fixing this, updating that, and modernizing the other. I desperately need to add more things that are completely new; not the 8th Gunship, the 4th Landspeeder, or the 4th Hammerhead. This isn't world-building. Hasbro seems to no longer serve my kind.

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