DEAR HASBRO:  The Market Is Screaming At You

We had to be patient for the relaunched Vintage Collection to get much Original Trilogy love. For wave one, we got a repack of the Hoth Rebel Soldier. That was it for 2018. To date, it's the ONLY figure from wave 1 that seems to be selling well.

In 2019, the Vintage Collection is exploding with Original Trilogy goodness both in terms of currently (or soon to be) shipping product as well as upcoming product, and the response has been off the charts. Toy Fair created more buzz than we've seen around these parts in a long, long time. We TRIPLED our standard traffic, and we're still experiencing a traffic bounce (thank you to the new readers who have stuck around). Meanwhile it's only mild hyperbole to say that NO ONE can keep the product in stock.

A check of Hasbro Pulse, Dork Side Toys, Entertainment Earth and Big Bad Toy Store shows that for the most part they are sold out of the individual wave 4 figures as well as the full case pre-orders. BBTS does have some singles available, but they are charging a premium. The new Skiff is currently sold out at Amazon. Yes, at AMAZON! The exclusive Skiff Guard Lando and Stormttrooper Han Solo figures seemingly sold out in mere minutes. Fans are gobbling up the OT product at a blistering pace. WE BACKED A $500 BARGE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

This isn't rocket science. TVC is the nostalgia product. Nostalgia, defined as "sentimentality for the past." The vintage Kenner line is only the "past" for those who grew up with the OT, so it's only natural that product would do well. Furthermore, the opportunity to ring the cash register with those of us who remember and love the Kenner line is starting to dwindle. I'm getting old. It's time to put away childish things and move onto more adult pursuits like collecting NES cartridges. Hasbro, you should be dipping into our deep pockets as often as Mr. Nomadscout forgets his password.

But there is one glaring omission here. Aside from the "they can't keep it in stock" wave 4, the OT is barely represented in the mainline. I'm perfectly happy getting OT product in any way, shape, or form. I'm trilled at Hasbro's out-of-the-box product thinking on display at Toy Fair, but the mainline seems like the key to keeping this train chugging. I'm very confident that TVC is primed for at least one more retail push if we can get a better OT representation. And in no way should this be construed as me suggesting "OT exclusivity" in the TVC. We have never, and will never, advocate that. We're just calling for more than the 6 figures announced so far (four of which are straight repacks).

One concern is that the OT figure candidates are dwindling down to just obscure characters. As far as "never before made", there is some truth to that, and we should get those figures. Those obscure characters are the straws that stir our collecting drinks, but they can't sustain a line by themselves. If those characters only known to hardcore fans become too prevalent, the line stays into the territory that sunk the Masters of the Universe line (i.e. lack of core character accessibility). The good news is that there are a host of OT core characters that could use updates. The Episode IV Luke, Leia, and Han could all use updates (if you think the VOTC Han is definitive, you're wrong). We've recently called for a definitive Episode V/VI dueling Darth Vader. Like it or not, that Evolutions Episode V Boba Fett STINKS. I don't care how many times you've bought it. You bought a stinky figure a bunch of times. It's a prime candidate for a "Jedi-level-articulation" upgrade, as is the Episode VI Fett (which could be released on the vintage "desert" card). Mix those in with an occasional "never-before-made" character, and now you're cooking with gas.

It's abundantly clear that the market will gobble OT product up right now. Sales are ready to take off on a hockey stick trajectory. Hasbro, you just need to make them.

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