No Content Thursday:  I’m Genuinely Concerned about 3.75

This really isn't "No Content." It's quite a bit of content. I just don't feel like making up a new lead-in graphic, so I'm being lazy and reusing the generic one. I was going to put this in the Obi-Wan / ABN trooper review, but I cut it for length. So now you get to read a Banthaskull deleted scene!

While I don't do brick and mortar anymore, I know of some people who still participate in such medieval things. And the VERY ANECTODAL evidence is that the Obi-Wan/Airborne Trooper sets aren't moving. I want to reiterate a key part of the previous sentence: VERY ANECTODAL. Your mileage may vary. These are also still available online, although I have no visibility on stock levels. (It doesn't say "low stock" - or anything like that - on the product page.) I also have no idea if the units that ended up in brick and mortar were part of the grand plan, or if they were part of unsold truckloads from the online channel. It's certainly early in its lifespan (available since April 1), but it is perhaps noteworthy nonetheless.

This supports my worldview that our hobby is in trouble if we don't consolidate behind what sells instead of piecemealing everything. To be clear - The 3.75" line has been spreading things out for a while, and many sources have had their fair share of time being ignored - much to the chagrin of many collectors - including me! I've been a proponent of more figures from more sources for a long time - like when I wrote weekly articles highlighting the figures and toys that we should have been getting from Skeleton Crew.

I've quickly grown less supportive of this strategy. I have written about how Andor Season 2 was the best Star Wars thing since...Star Wars. I would have loved to have a robust collection of figures and toys from that source, but I knew then it just wasn't feasible, and I preferred nothing to the torture of a small handful of figures. I enjoy figures from The Mandalorian, but that's because Hasbro kind of went all in, so we've got plenty to build out our displays - and I love it. So I'll take more of that.

For my own collecting purposes, I have no appetite to do the "orphan" thing, just to get a figure or two from a new source, never to be revisited again. With the relative trickle of new figure slots each year, I prefer to fill in the holes in my existing displays, rather than start new vignettes that I know very well will never be completed.

That's always been a personal preference. If I had the ability to make it happen, I'd ensure that every 3.75" collector got the figures and toys they wanted for their collections - even Pong Krell. But as I see it, the situation isn't tenable. There are just too few of us on the planet to effectively support a line that draws from so many sources and splits the vote, so to speak. The line has to simplify and consolidate behind the source materials that will inspire the most sales. I no longer feel that this is simply my personal preference. I feel that this is the only way for the line to survive long term. I'm truly sad about this, because ultimately, I'd prefer this was 2010 and we were drowning in product from all over the timeline. But I'd be far more sad if the line disappeared completely.

2026 is supposed to be a PT year, anchored by the Gunship HasLab, and focused on Geonosis - one of my favorite scenes, and one of my favorite sources for toys. I would have thought this was totally reasonable and good. I like the PT very much, and I enjoy toys from that source even more. While I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the Gunship itself (I already have the 7 existing variants), it wasn't an outlandish choice by any stretch. I bought multiples because it's a great item (even if utterly non-original) and I want to support the line as best I can. But it was a disappointing campaign, and it made me wonder if the market for PT-sourced toys was drying up - despite what seems like a loud contingent on social media. But loud doesn't equate to sales, apparently.

So now here we are, and I'm concerned about the Obi-Wan / Airborne set. If brand new sculpts of a universally beloved PT Main and a (perceived) popular troop builder don't fly off the shelves, well then, we've got serious problems that go beyond retail poison like The Acolyte or the ST.

A month ago, I would have said that I wanted TVC to be 90% OT/PT/TCW/Rogue/Mando. I may now have to cross PT off my list. Not because I don't want it - I most assuredly do. But because I'm afraid PT stuff won't sell well enough - and that's terrifying. The PT should have achieved the all-important "evergreen" status. It's quite alarming if this is not the case.

I keep writing that 2027 should only be about ANH (with a little ESB/ROTJ thrown in). Every single year we get the shotgun blast attempting to hit a bunch of sources across the Saga. That's well and good. But I have always felt that SW50 should focus the celebration, and put off non-OT stuff until 2028. Otherwise, what's the point? If we "spread the love", it looks like every other year, including this one, and we'll eventually look back on 2027 and ask, "What was so special about Hasbro's efforts during the single most important pop culture anniversary in history?" Unfortunately, I see it more for survival than preference. If Hasbro/LFL/Disney/whoever decides that SW50 should be a celebration of all things Star Wars, I think we are good and truly F'd.

I am hopeful that my anecdotal info is exactly that, and the Obi-Wan sets are moving very well. But if it's indicative of the wider situation, and if these signals are valid and go unheeded with regard to what SW50 should be about, I weep for where our hobby will be come SW51.

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