488 replies to this topic

[Gothneo]

Damn! bad news. they went from 60 to DST (zero!) in no time!!!

[Alteran195]

That's incredibly disappointing, their phaser replica looked awesome minus the stupid orange tip. 

 

Wonder how long until they've cancelled their figures too? 

 

Come on Wand Company or QMx, give me a good phaser replica. 

[Gothneo]

yeah... it is... but I still don't regret canceling my anovos order. 

[Alteran195]

The Anovos one is just garbage for the price, theres no way Id spend that much on that thing.

Was so hopeful for the McFarlane one, and McFarlane in general, but Im not hopeful for anything from them now.

[Gothneo]

Disheartening for sure... lets see.. .next on the list is its delayed due to production issues with the electronics??

[Alteran195]

Watching the Toys That Made Us documentary made me so hopeful for the line, but I know all this was recorded well before now, and it makes the cancellation of the phaser even more depressing. 

 

I know if the 2 figures ever actually get released, I'll definitely buy them with hopes it'll support future releases. 

[bgiles73]

Could the cancellation of the phaser just be in response to all the school shootings lately? I think that is probably more the case, than the complete abandonment of Star Trek altogether. I can certainly understand not wanting to put a lot of effort behind a replica weapon at this time especially with the shows return is pushed back to possibly 2019.

[Alteran195]

Thatd be ridiculous.

This is a replica of a Phaser, not a gun. If that were the reason, then I dont know if Id even want to support McFarlane having the Trek license.

School shootings are horrible, but that shouldnt stop a toy company from making a replica of a fake sci fi weapon.

[s8film40]

Could the cancellation of the phaser just be in response to all the school shootings lately? I think that is probably more the case, than the complete abandonment of Star Trek altogether. I can certainly understand not wanting to put a lot of effort behind a replica weapon at this time especially with the shows return is pushed back to possibly 2019.

That was my thought as well. Its not so much the school shootings themeselves but the rampant media attention they are getting. All the media outlets are desperately looking for more stories to connect with it. Just today I saw trending on Facebook some story about a game on Valve that included a school shooting. It certainly could be CBS didnt want to take any PR chances and this was already limited from certain states because of its toy gun status anyways. This was probably the item with the most potential of any new Star Trek toy. Its the only thing really new that was planned, weve already had Kirk and Picard before. Its a great design, I hate Discovery, and even I would be ever so slightly tempted to get that piece.

[bgiles73]

Alteran195 I agree that political moves in toylines is ridiculous but it has happened before. A quick search of NECAs Django Unchained 8inch retro line is a recent example of this. I doubt CBS or McFarlane want to lose money in a similar debacle.

[Morgan]

To be honest, guise, it's probably more likely tied to TRU closing up and thus their wholesale order being cut by a huge chunk. These types of things have been a tough sell for retailers for ages, even in the 90s.  

[Gothneo]

Morgan, that would be my thought... if they lost an order from TRU and they didn't have enough pre-orders from other outlets then they might cancel it.

 

... maybe the title of this thread should be changed to "McFarlane Toys does nothing with entire Star Trek line"

[JonWes]

Damn. I'm sure TRU closing is a large part of this. But if we're not even getting the phaser, I wonder what hope there is for the figures beyond Kirk and Picard.

[s8film40]

Other than Stranger Things, I dont really recall McFarlane having a large presence in TRU. In fact in my area the Stranger Things figures are actually more abundant at Target than they were in TRU. Of course the whole TRU thing has obviously had a big impact on the toy industry so I dont doubt that that has played a role.

[JMW326]

I would think that the figures (at least these first two) are still on track, since they are so far along in production and scheduled to be put soon. I was pretty disappointed when I got the cancellation notice from Big Bad Toy Store for the phaser. I was looking forward to hit. I'm thinking tru closing down may have had a big part in it. Hopefully they re solicit it later.

[Damon1984]

Hm. I have a feeling that Discovery might not be the big hit McFarlane had been hoping for and that - especially in light of the demise of TRU - it might just be too risky to put out merchandising for that show. Kinda like DS9 and Voyager didn't really sell in the 90s.

[Gothneo]

To be fair I don't think they started offering GoT figures until 4 or seasons in... by that time it was a bonified  hit. The idea is Trek should carry more weight as it already had the franchise weight behind it. 

[Damon1984]

Maybe they thought/hoped it would be another "Stranger Things" phenomenon. I agree that they should wait a bit for the new show to get some legs first. I still think there's a fair chance for a later release of the phaser, depending on how Discovery fares.

[Gothneo]

 I still think there's a fair chance for a later release of the phaser, depending on how Discovery fares.

 

Agreed... maybe S2 will rejuvenate some interest. 

[s8film40]

Obviously two different toy companies are going through things differently but it seems NECA who had a very large presence at TRU seems to be indicating they're doing well and TRU isn't an issue.

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