6" Star Wars Black Series

[loolar]

I got out of the 4" a long time ago, and have been collecting mostly DCUC and DCIE the last few years, and now 6" MOTUC - so SW Black in 6" is welcome to me. Ironically, it was when I got the big Millennium Falcon that I realized I didn't care for the scale. That toy is huge, it's awesome, and it's still too small. That sort of helped me get over the vehicle desire. I'd rather have in-scale smaller vehicles, like the smaller micro machines, or slightly larger - heck, what were those called? Anyway!

[Idiot Savant]

My local Target just got in a huge shipment of Black Series 1...which will probably sit there so long that Target won't bring in series 2....ShopKo and Target are the only stores in town that sell the 6" figs

[Havok1891]

I bought the Xwing Luke Skywalker a while ago, mainly to see if I'd like the figures or not. I gotta admit, I am not impressed for $20. I have tons and tons and tons of 3.75 inch star wars figures, and the Luke I bought isn't great enough to restart collecting even just the core characters at $20 a pop. Glad for the guys that dig them, but it's just not worth it for me.

I am not sure how there are selling. I don't think places are getting resupplied quickly, so I don't think they are flying off the shelf fast. They do seem to be moving when they are in a store, except for R2 D2, he def. seems to be the weakest link.

I did originally plan to get the core heroes & villain(s), but . . . I think I will just use the 3.75 figures I already have for that display.

[Idiot Savant]

New Black Series news:

- They plan on making a 6" scale speederbike (a little old news)
- they're planning on making a 6" scale Jabba!!! "Bo shudda"!
- Chewie, Threepio Jedi Luke and Lord Helmet (sorry, Vader)!

Man, I CANNOT wait for these....

[Freddie:]

New Black Series news:

- They plan on making a 6" scale speederbike (a little old news)
- they're planning on making a 6" scale Jabba!!! "Bo shudda"!
- Chewie, Threepio Jedi Luke and Lord Helmet (sorry, Vader)!

Man, I CANNOT wait for these....

I doubt this will ever happen unless they figure out a way to do a box set for San Diego the way they did with the Thunderbolts. I can't see them getting past wave 3 before the line is cancelled.

[Caleb]

ANOTHER Luke? And it's still not the ANH version? Man, they need to get on the classic Luke and Leia before the line winds up in Marvel Legends' boat. They seem to be selling in my area, but I'm sure that's not the case everywhere.

Glad to see Threepio, Vader, and Chewie are on the roster, though. Man, a few more stocked waves like that, and I'll be able to call it a day on this line. Now if only they'd get to Lando...

Also, the idea of a Black Series Jabba is pretty darn cool. If he comes packaged with his li'l buddy and the tentacle dude (NO WONNA WONGA!), that would be aces. I'm sure the price tag will be huge, but the figures I've got (Artoo and the Sandtrooper) have impressed me enough that I assume any further figures will be worth it, even if I have to drop a bit more money on them.

[secondwhiteline]

It's only a matter of time I cave in on these like I caved in on an S.H.Figuarts Sailormoon a couple of weeks ago. Heh.

Hah! You're not the only one. Granted, I've got all the future team members preordered at BBTS. I'm in this for the long haul.

So how's the Black Series doing? From an outsider's perspective, it seems like it's not performing as well as we expected. And if you can't sell Star Wars at 6-inch, then 6-inch is well and truly dead.

[Caleb]

The Black Series figures actually seem to be doing pretty well in the Chicago area. I can't speak for every store, but in this area, it's relatively difficult to find Maul and the Sandtrooper. Like most figures, it's going to be a regional thing (heck, I'm betting those weird Prince Caspian figures even sold out in some bizarro corner of the globe) as far as sales go. Some guys had trouble finding the MoS MM figures, and I could get the whole series - minus Faora - in any of the Targets around Chicago. Probably on clearance, too.

The problem is the price tag. I know there's a general mentality that Star Wars is an adults only thing, but it isn't. A LOT of kids are really, really, really into the Wars, and those kids can't drop twenty bucks on a figure like it ain't no thang. I know it's not phesible, but they'd move more units if these things were about eight dollars cheaper (and nine at TRU). The reason NECA can charge those prices is because a.) Their figures are aimed into specialty stores directly, or at adult collectors, hence commanding a higher price tag, and b.) Their production runs are far, far more limited than anything the 'Bro has ever attempted, hence they HAVE to command a higher price. Simply put, nobody wants to pay $20 for an action figure. But niche collectors are more willing. Unfortunately for Star Wars, Hasbro has "just as good" offerings in three inch scale for ten bucks less. So, yeah, I don't think it's a matter of 6-inch being dead. I think it's a matter of Hasbro trying an experiment that would work way, way better if these were the only Wars offerings on the market and were priced more in the range of the SW target audience.

Blasphemy, I know, but kids love Star Wars. And for every 38 Year Old guy who can translate all of Nien Nunb's dialogue, there's a kid who just wants to play with some cool toys, but can't pay $20 for them. That's a lot of yards.

[secondwhiteline]

Hey, man, you're preaching to the choir. Star Wars IS a kids' franchise. It always has been. It's not like comics where you can flail and point out adult-targeted SW stories. There's no Sith Lord Returns or Emperor's Royal Guardsmen or Saga of the Trash Compactor Monster that you can ramble about to pretend your hobby is mature now. Selling $20 action figures in a mass market to a demographic that needs adult accompaniment to see the Fast and the Furious is a fool's game. Hindsight being what it is, maybe they should've just farmed these out to Diamond or something.

[Caleb]

I thought The Ewoks were enough of an indication where the film franchise's heart really lies, but - believe it or not - there are still adults who will get really, really, really mad when you call Star Wars a kids' movie. I love that the comics and novels became very dark in some cases, but the movies? Okay, so Empire and Sith have decapitations (although the ONLY gruesome decapitation comes in A New Hope) and some dark themes, but it's nothing the smallest of children can't handle. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But charging the same prices as an adult-oriented line of, say, Terminator action figures? Just seems kind of silly, as far as I'm concerned. If these guys retailed for a few dollars over the TMNT figures, they'd doubtless be a runaway success train. But, good point, they're more like the Marvel Select figures. Considering that Disney, who has a partnership with Diamond now, owns Star Wars, they could've easily farmed The Black Series out. They'd be specialty only, and the sales would probably be about the same - albeit with a lower production run so more profit.