Bantha Skull’s State of the Line: NYTF19 Edition

Posted by Bret on 02/19/19 at 02:42 PM Category: New York Toy Fair 2019

https://www.banthaskull.com/images/news/carkoon.jpeg

At New York Toy Fair in 2018, the HasLab Sail Barge campaign was launched, and many collectors looked at the Khetanna as the savior of the newly relaunched Vintage Collection. After a dubious launch wave which easily earned the 2018 Sigh Young Award (I stole that from Chris), fans were hopeful that Hasbro had big plans to strengthen the line soon. Alas, for the next year, with a few minor exceptions, the line wasn't completely resonating with collectors. We needed some news that would sustain enthusiasm into the near future. And we may actually have gotten it!

At Hasbro's New York Toy Fair 2019 Presentation, it was revealed that a variety of high quality collector-friendly products were on the way. Up to this point, 2019 was looking a little bit feeble for TVC. Yes, we were getting some cool new figures from Disney media such as Lando, the Stormtrooper, and Luke Skywalker (Crait). Additionally we're getting a desirable repaint in the Assault Tank Commander and an update to the terrible 41st Clone. But there were also some frustrating misses, like Boushh (Or "buh-bowsh", as Chris pronounces it) with the sculpted thermal detonator, Praetorian Guard (no helmet/weapon variants), and the straight repack of the now woefully under-articulated Darth Revan from 2007.

There seemed to be little cohesiveness in the line, no themed waves, no depth, a lack of supporting vehicles and environments, and a frustrating amount of repacks and carry forwards. This gave the impression of a general lack of "newness", which after 5 years since TVC had originally ended, was something desperately needed.

With the Sail Barge, Hasbro had opened the door to a bright future. They had promised to re-release some hard-to-find figures related to the scene in order to support your Khetanna displays. This was important because not only would it allow for people who missed them the first time to now be able to acquire figures to populate the barge, it also allows older collectors to get seconds and thirds when certain characters appeared in both the Palace and the Barge. Yak Face and Klaatu were welcome announcements back around the time of the HasLab campaign. But we needed more. Additional re-issues of the Gamorrean Guard and BAR2-D2 would help a bit. However, many collectors believed that most of 2019 (pre-Episode IX) was already revealed, and it was underwhelming.

Enter the Hasbro NYTF19 presentation (introduced, I might add, with a spectacular dance number by the elegantly dressed Patrick Schneider). Hasbro did collectors right, and is seemingly using the arrival of the Barge in March of 2019 as a springboard for a Jabba-themed year. Let's take a quick look:

We're getting a much needed update to the 1983 skiff mold. Bantha Skull (mostly Chris) has been pushing hard for this for quite some time now. I was skeptical at first, because I felt the originals were good enough, and I had little interest in paying $80-$100 each for two new skiffs that would likely only be marginally better than what we had. I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised by the spectacular product revealed, including the sculpt, paint apps, removable panels, alternate destroyed railing, and display stand. But the big news was that the MSRP was only $40. YES, I'LL TAKE TWO, PLEASE! I'm actually considering a third, to display separately from the Khetanna. This way I can show off the full battle scene with Lando hanging off the ropes halfway into the Sarlaac's maw, and then also have a separate vignette of the entire Prisoner Skiff ensemble. Of course, we need a Velken Tezeri to complete the scene, which is why he rocketed up our MIAF priority list.

VEDAIN! We're finally getting the driver of the prisoner skiff! And he looks awesome. He will be packed along with two well-chosen repacks (Vizam and Brock Starsher). Now technically, Vizam isn't really a skiff guard, as he was on the Khetanna. But who cares? You'll need that guy too. He also was in the palace, so multiples are desirable. And the Black Series Brock Starsher goes for stupid money on Ebay right now. This is all good stuff! Vedain's announcement will give us 8 of the 9 passengers on the prisoner skiff, so, as mentioned above, a Velken Tezeri figure would allow us to "complete the scene."

A smartly updated (not just repacked) release of Lando in his skiff guard disguise is also on the way. The best Lando to date is VC89, which also goes for a small fortune on Ebay. Here, Hasbro is releasing Lando on a newly numbered card, as he is a new figure. How? Besides using FACE! technology, Hasbro took the key step of retooling the legs so that he is a more appropriate height. Gone are the sandstorm accessories as well, so you can keep VC89 for that specific display, but now you can get multiples of this Lando for the Battle of Carkoon as well as for the palace. If Hasbro had done the same work for Boushh by retooling the hands and giving her a separate thermal detonator accessory, that figure would have been 100% win, particularly since it was being introduced to TVC for the first time.

A collector-friendly Jabba's Palace environment is also on the way. This is clearly not a hokey, action feature-laden playset. It is a true world-building environment piece for which we have been clamoring. The set is configurable, allowing the arches to be set either in line with the central wall, or at a 90 degree angle. The wall itself is highly detailed. It has two trophies, a tauntaun and a jerba. I believe this is the first time a jerba will be realized in any 3D form of a toy or collector product. The carbonite block has a magnet to attach it to the wall, and the sculpted grates above will allow some intrepid collectors to light up their dioramas very effectively. The only actual working feature happens to be accurate to the film, which is that the carbonite block can be raised and lowered against the wall. Completing the set for $50 are two repacked figures from The Black Series. Both characters appear in the Palace as well at Carkoon. The awesome Ree-Yees is included, as is the fairly decent Carbonite Han Solo. Chris has noted that this Han Solo is technically accurate only to The Empire Strikes Back. Please don't get him started on "tucked or untucked." (It's almost as bad as "punched or unpunched."). This may be my only very minor nitpick with these offerings.

Collectors of the 3.75" line should rejoice! This isn't quite a themed wave, and we hope that Hasbro will soon realize the benefits of such case assortments. But we are getting a nice amount of new and coveted figures, along with a top notch (and well-priced!) vehicle, along with a detailed environment. All of these products are going to be offered via various retail channels, so you'll have to play a few games to get everything you want. But the end result is very worthwhile. Hasbro seemingly is taking advantage of the momentum that the March deliveries of the Sail Barge will create. Within a few months, you'll be able to build a very formidable, high quality display of the Battle of the Pit of Carkoon, and we are moving towards the same for Jabba's Palace. Now if these items sell well (and early reaction and pre-order activity supports this), Hasbro will likely be interested in developing other products just like these.

I really couldn't be much happier with what I saw at Toy Fair this year. If Hasbro can continue this "world building" concept, by allow old collectors to fill out their dioramas with quality environmental pieces and obscure characters, as well as bringing us much closer to "completing the scene", it will do wonders for their desire to continue with the hobby. For new collectors, quality products like these fulfill the promise of being able to flesh out scenes for immersive and eye-catching displays, rather than just getting a handful of one-off characters and random vehicles. This will go a long way in bringing together new consumers and old collectors. Hopefully Hasbro has a few more Jabba-related announcements before Episode IX and The Mandalorian product takes over. (And when it does, please give us more more than just 4 or 5 figures and zero vehicles or set pieces!) 2020 is the 40th Anniversary of Empire, so maybe after Jabba, next year will give us similar newness and depth for our Hoth or Bespin displays.

The State of the Line is Hopeful!