So Many Collector Factions To Please!

The Dark Times of 3.75" Star Wars collecting (2012-2018, 2020) is well documented and well discussed here at Banthaskull. In 2012 there was a glut of TPM product...yada, yada, yada..Hasbro is now in a giant hole, and must undertake the Sisyphean task of maintaining the relevancy of the all important world-building aspect of 3.75" collecting.

It doesn't make the task any easier when the 3.75" community isn't close to being in synch on what it wants. The best we could all do was agree that we simply wanted MORE. The Petition galvanized the community to unite in an effort to save the line, and let Hasbro know we were starved for product. We are united in our desire for more, but are sharply divided in how we would prefer to see that desire fulfilled.

Here is my own personal ranking of the importance of several characteristics of TVC. The list is heavily weighted towards what I want for my own collection. However, I also have to account for things that I may not specifically want, but believe that they would be beneficial to overall health of the line (which, in turn, would be beneficial to me!).

1. Character Debuts - I will almost always prefer a never made character to a resculpt, repaint, or repack. I want to ADD to my collection, not "find and replace."

2. Vehicles, beasts, and environments - These are all critical to world-building. I'd rather see a new vehicle or playset than an upgraded version of a figure I already have. I'd much prefer to own a proper cantina playset long before Hasbro spends tooling money and a valuable figure slot on an upgraded Hammerhead. I have a Hammerhead even though he's far from perfect. A new one is pretty far down my list of things I want to buy.

3. Badly needed upgrades to Main Characters - New or upgraded figures of main characters that are woefully out of date are also important. We all know how important it would be for TVC to have a properly sculpted ANH Luke, Leia, and Han. We're FINALLY getting an upgraded Emperor, which is pretty cool. It's not just that I want my crappy farm boy Luke to hit the extras bin, I also know that the line needs to attract new blood, and the main characters (from all media) need to be readily available as often as possible.

4. Badly needed upgrades to background characters - I absolutely love the images of the new Bib Fortuna, and was happy to see the Figrin D'an pipeline reveal. These figures are in need of an upgrade. However, a Velken Tezeri, Arleil Schous, or Lieutenant Sheckil would always be my preference when it comes to Hasbro investing in new tooling.

5. Old Media over New Media - This isn't a hard and fast rule. It's more about world-building. I definitely want to see more Clone Wars and Mandalorian figures, as well as Rogue One. But those generally will take a backseat to figures that will help complete the robust collection I've put together from PT and OT sources. I would love to complete the prisoner skiff, populate more of the Cantina, add a Senator, or round out the Separatist Council. Sadly, I am generally ambivalent at this point to figures sourced from the ST or Solo, because there is a serious lack of existing support. If I knew that Hasbro was going to eventually make a Beckett, than I'd also want a Val. Then I'd want to complete the crew, get a Dryden Vos, add some Cloud Riders, and put together the sabacc game. But what's the point of a Becket if I have no reasonable belief that the other figures would follow in my lifetime? Save the new tooling for something more relevant. For the foreseeable future, some sources just aren't worth the tooling costs to take up valuable slots. So regardless of how I might feel about the ST, I think it's an absolute waste for Hasbro to slot in a new Kylo Ren right now.

6. Repaints - This is a divisive one. So many people complain about repaints being a result of Hasbro's laziness. I don't think these folks remember the overwhelming volume of repaints that were always a part of the line. I was never a fan of the slight repaint that corrected a color of an outfit, or added dirt or snow to a figure's boots. But a repaint that creates an all new character - especially a debut character, definitely is worthwhile. Hasbro should repaint away if they are able to make great use of existing molds to bring us new characters.

7. Re-issues - Since I'm into characters, obviously my interest in re-issues is limited. As a long time "completist", I already have everything that was ever released, so I care not about obtaining another one. There are some rare exceptions, particularly when it comes to troop builders (like the Echo Base Trooper) or perhaps a figure that serves a purpose in multiple settings that I failed to get enough of (like several of Jabba's goons that appear in the Palace AND on the Sail Barge). But like I said above, it's good for newer collectors or anyone else that missed out completely to not feel that the only way they can add a figure to their collection is to spend $100 on eBay. I also have no problem with most of Hasbro's Fan Channel figures, since they took nothing away from the main line.

6. O96 - I'm not a carded collector, but I recognize (reluctantly) that in these relatively lean times, carded collectors are a significant voice and a key spender of money in support of TVC. It seems people are really interested in recreating the packaging (but not the toys inside) so as to clone the Kenner look from 40 years ago. Why is this, nostalgia? Makes no sense to me. Collecting Star Wars figures IS nostalgic. Having them on TVC cards is even MORE nostalgic. Having every pixel on the card match exactly what it looked like in 1978 is like wanting to have the original uncut version of the OT, including 40 year old standard def video and crappy sound. This just seems maniacal to me. However, O96 is one of the reasons TVC packaging isn't going anywhere for a long while. I'm happy about that because I feel a consistent and unified line look is the best way to attract customers right now, and hardcore carded collectors might not stick around if the line changes packaging. I do wish that the buyer pool was large enough to somewhat mute the outsized carded collector vote. I think Hasbro is forced to pay too much attention to the fonts, imagery, and pill colors. For now, I'll deal with it, but I wish it wasn't this way.

Overall, Hasbro has to find a way to appeal to as many TVC collectors as possible. Even if we can foresee the mainline hitting 30 figures a year in the near future, those figures will be mixed across an ever expanding pool of source material, tooled to different levels, slotted for characters of varying degrees of screen prominence, and packaged in specific ways to meet demand.

Is it possible to properly catch up? Probably not. The world-building might just have to be limited to filling in the holes that exist within the older parts of our collections, while many newer sources are just going to have to be relegated to a token few main characters.

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