133 replies to this topic

[pickard]

I saw Wave 2 this week at my local KBToys.

I'm going to hold off on buying Shulkie in the hope that I can get the convention version in her FF outfit.

With last week's Star Wars convention, HasbroToyShop.com put one of their exclusives for sale on their Web site at the convention's end. Hopefully, they'll do the same with this one.

[Hirogen]

I still have not seen one of these anywhere in my area. The shelves are still packed with Hasbro ML series 1 (minus Ironman). The only one I actually thought about getting though was Thor. Hasbro has ruined the ML line for me so I have stopped collecting them.

In your opinion, what has Hasbro done to kill this line? I have heard a lot of people say this.

I recently picked up a She-Hulk and am very happy with her. Want to know where I picked up a She-Hulk? At a local grocery store! I think Mattel with their crap packouts for JLU and DCSuperheroes are killing those lines for me. I have pretty much stopped with JLU and DCSH aren't far behind now. I love ML and DCSH (less and less lately) b/c it allows me to display Cap, Sups, Bats, Spidey together without someone looking terribly out of scale.

[pickard]

In your opinion, what has Hasbro done to kill this line? I have heard a lot of people say this.

The quality of their inaugural wave was a decided falloff from what ML collectors had come to expect from Toy Biz.

Especially coming so quickly on the heels of one of the best ML waves ever, the atrocious paint jobs on Hasbro's first wave has killed a lot of enthusiasm in collectors circles.

Wave 2 looks better, so I don't think the line's been killed. There's still hope that Hasbro can rebound, but that first offering did the line no favors.

[Tiberius]

This year the comic con exclusives for HML will be She Hulk & apparently Stan Lee...unless Stan is coming out later...I'm not sure but he is arriving this year.

Shulkie will come in her regular duds plus her courtroom gear:

Oh, sorry this is the one I want, is this not the convention exclusive? Then I guess I have to look around for her elsewhere...

[The_Donster]

GL, considering that the 1st few waves of the HML are Toybiz sculpts, I think Pickard hit the nail on the head It's not the sculpts, as much as the paint application of the figures. Also throw in some of the points I made in my previous post and Hasbro needs to step it up. From what I can tell, wave 3 seems off to a great start and I hope the final product looks as nice as the proto's

[JMW326]

In your opinion, what has Hasbro done to kill this line? I have heard a lot of people say this.

I recently picked up a She-Hulk and am very happy with her. Want to know where I picked up a She-Hulk? At a local grocery store! I think Mattel with their crap packouts for JLU and DCSuperheroes are killing those lines for me. I have pretty much stopped with JLU and DCSH aren't far behind now. I love ML and DCSH (less and less lately) b/c it allows me to display Cap, Sups, Bats, Spidey together without someone looking terribly out of scale.

For me it isn't really the sculpt with the new figures it is the material and paint aps. The plastic has this sort of cheap translucent feel to it and the paint aps are horrible. For the most part it is like they are not even trying to paint them but see how many peices they can mold in that color. When Toybiz was doing the legends they had some pretty good paint aps (paint washes) and the plastic used just had a different feel to it. I know that these are toys but the older legends to me looked and felt like good toys. These new ones feel and look like cheap knockoffs IMO. I also quit collecting the JLU line but still hold out hope for DCSH.

[TheHSBR]

I would add that the Hasbro packaging is much better for those who collect MOC. I thought the Toybiz lines packaging was just downright bad and simplistic. These new packages look much cooler on the shelves.

I also agree that the Toybiz line had figures that were "fully painted" Hasbro has always tried to use molded colors instead of paint on most of their lines

[Artistix]

Hasbro has always tried to use molded colors instead of paint on most of their lines

And therein lies their downfall.

Why would Toybiz use a lot of paint & washes & Hasbro do not when it clearly has a negative impact on the line??

Is Toybiz a more sucessful company than Hasbro & therefore have more money to make nicer figures? or are Hasbro just cheap as all hell?

Could Hasbro make better figures without their company going belly up?

[JMW326]

I found the entire second series today. They do not look as bad as the first series but I am still not impressed with them except for Thor. The Thor figure is not only the best Thor figure but probably one of my favorite ML figures from both Toybiz and Hasbro combined. I had to get him. She Hulk wasn't bad either.

[TheHSBR]

It seems that we will no longer have any movie figures in the ML scale. FF figures hit the shelves this week and they are in line with the Spiderman 3 toys. What a shame. I would have bought most of the SP3 line and some of this new FF line but now will buy zero. I understand that they want to increse the action features and to do this they must cut down the size of the figure. Hopefully they will relsease some in the ML line itself! Heres hoping!

[Artistix]

It seems that we will no longer have any movie figures in the ML scale.

*sigh*

Perhaps this is to do with the line of thinking that children/collectors are more likely to buy the figures if they are a differing scale to previous versions.

I believe that was the idea behind Playmates 6" & 7" figures.

[TheHSBR]

*sigh*

Perhaps this is to do with the line of thinking that children/collectors are more likely to buy the figures if they are a differing scale to previous versions.

I believe that was the idea behind Playmates 6" & 7" figures.

The action features are more kid friendly. They could do the features in the ML sclae but it would cost a lot more. Shrink everything down...shrink the cost...expand the profit!! Rule of Aquisition #101! (I made that up...but Im sure something like thats in there somewhere.

[JMW326]

I personaly hate action features. I want a good figure that has a great sculpt and a good amount of articulation with a decent paint job but I do not need it to have a straight oversized arm that shoots a missle or for it to flail it's arms about when I squeeze it's legs together (yes I know that sounds bad ). If there is one thing that will make me pass up a figure and not give it a second glance it would have to be one of the following things listed on the package:
Kick Attack
missile firing
sword swing
flip attack
quick draw
super punch
saber slice
UHH!!!!!!!! the list goes on.

[TheHSBR]

I personaly hate action features. I want a good figure that has a great sculpt and a good amount of articulation with a decent paint job but I do not need it to have a straight oversized arm that shoots a missle or for it to flail it's arms about when I squeeze it's legs together (yes I know that sounds bad ). If there is one thing that will make me pass up a figure and not give it a second glance it would have to be one of the following things listed on the package:
Kick Attack
missile firing
sword swing
flip attack
quick draw
super punch
saber slice
UHH!!!!!!!! the list goes on.

I understand the companies stance that kids like action features and i think it makes sense for movie toys. However the action irrittate me as well especially when it changes the look of the figure. I dont mind some of the ones youve listed above like the quick draw and such. I tought the ROTS star wars figures did a somewhat good job melding the action to the look of the figure. The spiderman line has been horrible with it especially when the figures have oversized arms to accomodate missile firing. I like the initial approach to the action features that spiderman took with the figure being separate and the action feature being present in some accessory.

[Tiberius]

I heard that the FF figures are smaller so that they could utilize the Fantasticar. It was stated somewhere that the car would have been too big to be salable if larger. But when I heard that, I guessed that they would have "regular sized" figures as well and I didnt see the smaller SM3 figures then either.

[TheHSBR]

they did asimilarcar for the first mivie that didnt sell very well. all the movie toys have been smaller since hasbro took over. i think the ghost rider toyswere smaller too. i belive theyareworking on the five" scale sota like the oldschool toybiz xmen toys.

[Artistix]

Marvelous News have shown images of the Stan Lee figure...I gather from the looks of him, he is like those Famous Covers figures:


http://marvelousnews...23&itemid=10983

Very, very cool. I loved the Famous Covers figures...though I only have Aunt May & Goblin from Spiderman.

[Gothneo]

Yes, but he's in scale to ML. I believe the Famous covers were 8" in scale...

That Aunt May was a great example of an exclusive that backfired... Collectors simply didn't buy it and they ended up being clearanced out for next to nothing as I recall.

[Chalksquared]

That Aunt May was a great example of an exclusive that backfired... Collectors simply didn't buy it and they ended up being clearanced out for next to nothing as I recall.

Do you blame 'em?
Who wants a figure of a rickety old lady? Besides... I thought she looked horrible. Not sure why. I think it was her clothes that made her look frumpy.

[Artistix]

I'm glad to hear Stan is in scale with ML....that is awesome news.

Aunt May didn't look too bad in the prototype stage...but for some odd reason, they decided to change her head before release, & the second head chosen was...well, kinda scary to say the least. I had a pic of the proto for years...& now I cannot find it!

Apparently they thought she would be a popular mail in type figure...& they severely over produced her. This was an obvious mistake, especially considering what she looked like & the characters age. That is why she was the first & last civillian in the line. Which is unfortunate, I'm sure a good looking MJ, JJJ or Gwen Stacey figure would have been much more popular.

I'm not complaining though...I'm stoked to have the two Aunt May figures I have (Famous Covers & Lego)