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Sigma 6 Toy Fair Questions Answered!


General_Hawk

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thanks for the Scoop Justin, cool news..

 

btw why would DTC be a main attraction at TF?

DTC is not being offered to the brick and mortar stores

the small amount was shown for the major e-tailers like

EE and such

 

im sure we will see alot of DTC upcomings at Joe COn and

any or all exclusives at CC

 

;)

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only Vintage for me thanks!

 

 

 

wheelchair.gif... "VINTAGE?...why I got your "vintage" right here sonny boy

 

...and it's 12"!!!

 

@smilepunch@

@loll@ @loll@ @loll@ @loll@

 

Ridiculous... No female action figures? Well Star Wars seems to sell them, and so do the Marvel Legends line.

 

Their answers on the 2.5" stuff frustrates me - that's exactly the reason they had 3 3/4" figures! I can't see this line succeeding - those who buy the Sigma Six 8" won't be able to use them, and neither will us 3 3/4" fans. They've got to concentrate on the markets they've already got before going all over the place with this.

Star Wars and Marvel Legends BOTH have vastly larger collector bases than GI Joe. Padme and Mon Mothma were both shelfwarmers, and the recent Leia (despite being the best figure in the wave, IMO) isn't flying off the shelves.

And with Marvel Legends...when was the last time you SAW a female figure @hmmm@

 

Personally, I see where Hasbro is coming on the 2.5" line. I remember when I was younger, I played with the 3.75 Star Wars figures as characters, but when they got in their ships, I switched to the Micro Machines as I didn't have any of the large vehicles (especially the Falcon, and at the time lacked the funds to buy the real one)

Though given how close the scale is, I too have to question why not simply got 3.75 @hmmm@

 

I used to do the same thing with Micro Machines... but, they're like 1/144 scale, right? Or something at least close to it. MM is wayyyyyyyyyy smaller than 2.5". If you were a kid, you could use MM's to really concentrate on the vehicles.

 

I'm sure there's a marketing strategy for 2.5", but I don't see it. Maybe they just don't want collectors like me buying em'--- and if that's the strategy, it's gonna work!

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Their answers on the 2.5" stuff frustrates me - that's exactly the reason they had 3 3/4" figures! I can't see this line succeeding - those who buy the Sigma Six 8" won't be able to use them, and neither will us 3 3/4" fans. They've got to concentrate on the markets they've already got before going all over the place with this.

 

Agreed, sounds like BS. They had to create a THIRD scale just to fit into the vehicles? G.I. Joe figures have ALWAYS been viewed as "accessories" to the vehicles.

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my two cents is the success of this 2.5 line is gonna depend on the figures. If Hasbro can give these little guys decent articulation then I got no problem with the scale. The stuff looked nice, but if were talking only PVC type figures with very limited articulation, then I don't see this taking off to much. Again that my two cents

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I put them in the same category as any of the statues or busts.

 

Novelty, collector items.

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And with Marvel Legends...when was the last time you SAW a female figure @hmmm@

Marvel Legends 12......the series that is out now....the female in question would be X-23. :P

 

my two cents is the success of this 2.5 line is gonna depend on the figures. If Hasbro can give these little guys decent articulation then I got no problem with the scale. The stuff looked nice, but if were talking only PVC type figures with very limited articulation, then I don't see this taking off to much. Again that my two cents

Agreed......if the figures suck, then man those vehicles are gonna have to rock big time for the line to do well.

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Guest DavAnthony

What I think we are seeing with this 2.5" line is that the 8" isn't doing as well as expected and they are seeing (dispite what they say) that the 8" line was a shortsighted and limited one. There is only so much you can do with it and you can't have vehicles for it.

 

What Hasbro should of done, in my opinion, was to keep the 3.75" figures and create a military line and a Sigma Six line. Both of which would of looked realistic but Sigma Six obviously would of used aspect from the 8" line and the military would of carried on traditional GiJoe.

 

The more time goes on the more I'm convinced some exec. had a bee up their a$$ and decided to make an impact and cancel the 3.75" figures to attempt to "make a name for him/herself".

 

They should of invested this time into 3.75" and had it rock, get Marvel to make the cartoon and movies and go from there.

Edited by DavAnthony
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The more time goes on the more I'm convinced some exec. had a bee up their a$$ and decided to make an impact and cancel the 3.75" figures to attempt to "make a name for him/herself".

 

They should of invested this time into 3.75" and had it rock, get Marvel to make the cartoon and movies and go from there.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. #US1#

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What I think we are seeing with this 2.5" line is that the 8" isn't doing as well as expected and they are seeing (dispite what they say) that the 8" line was a shortsighted and limited one. There is only so much you can do with it and you can't have vehicles for it.

 

What Hasbro should of done, in my opinion, was to keep the 3.75" figures and create a military line and a Sigma Six line. Both of which would of looked realistic but Sigma Six obviously would of used aspect from the 8" line and the military would of carried on traditional GiJoe.

 

The more time goes on the more I'm convinced some exec. had a bee up their a$$ and decided to make an impact and cancel the 3.75" figures to attempt to "make a name for him/herself".

 

They should of invested this time into 3.75" and had it rock, get Marvel to make the cartoon and movies and go from there.

 

Pretty good ideas here. I would've definitely supported both lines in 3.75" scale.

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I'm just a 3 3/4" action figure junky!

 

I don't care if Hasbro makes them or somebody else! I don't even really care if they're called G.I.Joe or Fighting Soldiers of the Universe by SHAKA LAKA INDUSTRIES!

 

If they cool looking, highly detailed and articulated, poseable ACTION figures, with cool accessories, vehicles & playsets...I'm down baby! ^_^

 

So far...HASBRO has been the provider of the BEST of this type of toy, and I've been along for the ride the whole time, but if they're weanting to dump the style and the line as we've known and loved it, just dump it already, and let another manufacturer pick up the fumbled ball and run with it for a few years.

 

They'll probably do it justice in attempting to out do Hasbro's versions as of late. Rather than hasbro trying to out do themselves, and not having the heart in it, and just wanting to phase it out entirely to make way for something totally new and different, let'em keep the names and hand over the style to somebody else.

 

I'll go where the 3 3/4" soldiers go....and leave the whacky sh@#, with familiar names like Duke and Snake Eyes..to the fans of just Duke and Snake Eyes!

 

I like the TOY...not just the BRAND name!

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I'm just a 3 3/4" action figure junky!

 

I don't care if Hasbro makes them or somebody else! I don't even really care if they're called G.I.Joe or Fighting Soldiers of the Universe by SHAKA LAKA INDUSTRIES!

 

If they cool looking, highly detailed and articulated, poseable ACTION figures, with cool accessories, vehicles & playsets...I'm down baby! ^_^

 

So far...HASBRO has been the provider of the BEST of this type of toy, and I've been along for the ride the whole time, but if they're weanting to dump the style and the line as we've known and loved it, just dump it already, and let another manufacturer pick up the fumbled ball and run with it for a few years.

 

They'll probably do it justice in attempting to out do Hasbro's versions as of late. Rather than hasbro trying to out do themselves, and not having the heart in it, and just wanting to phase it out entirely to make way for something totally new and different, let'em keep the names and hand over the style to somebody else.

 

I'll go where the 3 3/4" soldiers go....and leave the whacky sh@#, with familiar names like Duke and Snake Eyes..to the fans of just Duke and Snake Eyes!

 

I like the TOY...not just the BRAND name!

 

 

GO Spongebob!!!

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GO Spongebob!!!

 

 

"YEAH..GO ME!!"

 

spongebobjoe9up.png

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@loll@

 

 

Well...I did have to doctor him up a little, to look like 69.9% of the G.I.Joe fanclub community!

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You know there is a damn good reason Lucus is such an #$### w/ hasbro when it comes to toy making, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO IT RIGHT THEMSELVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

there is a reason why every transformer toy has the name TAKARA writen on the bottom of each toy, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO IT RIGHT THEMSELVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

It would take me winning the lottery and buying all the rights for GI joe and cobra from hasbro then start a GI joe franchise of films based derecttly on the marvel comics, w/ Larry Hamma as the script writer and advisor and have Peter Jackson be director. Then Hasbro will beg to want to make the toy again but now they would have to answer to me breathing down their neck like Lucus does and that my friends will be the only way we will ever see single carded 3 3/4 figures w/ vehicals you to asemble on the shelves again.

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Star Wars and Marvel Legends BOTH have vastly larger collector bases than GI Joe. Padme and Mon Mothma were both shelfwarmers, and the recent Leia (despite being the best figure in the wave, IMO) isn't flying off the shelves.

And with Marvel Legends...when was the last time you SAW a female figure soupson.gif

 

Those are some good points, but I often wonder if it's only because Hasbro isn't taking advantage of GI Joe. Star Wars wasn't always as popular as it is now - prior to the re-releases and new trilogy there wasn't much going on collector-wise, and the hobby was pretty much underground. Like Star Wars, GI Joe needs some media exposure - we've got Sigma Six at least, but Hasbro is ignoring the already existing fan base, plus a large number of people who'd be into a more RAH-style relaunch purely out of nostalgia. It always makes me wonder why Hasbro insists kids are still where it's at, when the majority of people I see buying Star Wars toys are adults, who have the kind of buying power no kid will every convince their parents to use. Remember those people waiting outside Walmarts and Targets last April in the wee hours of the morning? Hasbro's taking advantage of them with the Star Wars line, and to a lesser extent, Transformers, but we all know GI Joe was just as well-loved, if not more so, as those two toy lines back when most of us were growing up, and the potential for expanding the collectors' base is enormous.

 

Only problem is, no one's taking advantage of that potential. Hopefully the new Transformers movie, which is presumably based upon the G1 mythos and characters, will encourage a GI Joe one (it happened before), which might then inspire a more serious animated series. We've seen it happen with Batman... maybe we'll get lucky.

 

And those two female RotS figures you mentioned are hardly good examples - I'm all for female action figures, but even I am a bit creeped out by the idea of PREGNANT action figures, and Mon Mothma was barely in the movie at all - Hasbro really should have short-packed that figure and given extra room to the Clones. Female ML figures seem to be brisk sellers from what I've noticed, but then again I haven't really been paying close attention...

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What's the deal with Scarlett/Baroness, etc.? The fact of the matter is, market research has shown that female figures do not sell strong with the young boys toys crowd. It's a simple fact. With tooling costs for eight inch figures being what they are (which is very expensive) it is very hard to justify creating a completely new tool for a female figure.

 

 

Sounds like Scarlet and the Baroness are never gonna happen.... DAMN IT HASBRO!!!! @cussing@

 

I think I may have just decided to drop this line.

 

 

Just because marketing research says something does not make it a fact. I am dumbfounded on how they can call it a fact because market research says so, and see it as another case of the suits thinking they know more about what customers will buy than the customers do.

 

Baroness and Scarlett are among thew two most valuable original 3-3/4" Joes, and there's a reason for it. Marketing makes dumb conclusions all the time. People wanting S6 is an example. People wanting sound-attack tabs on everything is another.

 

 

Besides, Hasbro needs to remember that no matter how hard they try to alienate collectors with S6 to push it on young boys, collectors are still buying it anyway. At this rate, collectors are probably buying more of it than kids are.

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First, let me just say I know that this is all coming from a respected source. I know he's not pimpin his site. And so what if he was? It's just as informative, and IMO a staple to the Joe collecting community.

 

Now, all that being said, I still have one question? Where did all these answers come from. I understand he did some 'digging', but he never said who he talked to. I could assume he spoke with a Hasbro rep, but I like to have all the facts rather than make assumptions. Taking into consideration that he never mentioned a source, when I read the Q&A, it came across more as an opinion than hard fact. That's what prompted me to post this question. Again, I'm not questioning anyone's honesty. I'd just like to know before I put any weight behind these answers.

 

So, long story short, who's the source for these answers?

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Baroness and Scarlett are among thew two most valuable original 3-3/4" Joes, and there's a reason for it.

 

Yeah, because no kids bought them back then, so there are a lot less of them on the secondary market. @hmmm@ @smilepunch@

 

Justin

 

 

They sold well; it's just that fewer were made in comparison to other figures.

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Baroness and Scarlett are among thew two most valuable original 3-3/4" Joes, and there's a reason for it.

 

Yeah, because no kids bought them back then, so there are a lot less of them on the secondary market. @hmmm@ @smilepunch@

 

Justin

 

 

They sold well; it's just that fewer were made in comparison to other figures.

 

Heh. There's a novel concept - the "short-pack." We all know that Hasbro knows what kids want. So, they short-pack stuff that's not gonna be in high demand - like Republic Commando Commander Scorch in TSC Geonosis wave @smilepunch@

 

I wish I could say that it would only take a new tooling for the head & upper torso, and cobbling together various other pre-existing parts for a Sigma 6 Scarlett, Baroness, or Jinx but, realistically, I think all of the current figures' physiques are too extreme for reuse on a female fig. The overall look would need to be much more slender for the female characters' frames, IMHO. I don't want a Scarlett, Baroness, or Jinx that looks like a Tunnel Rat with a 34C bust. Not that they should look like heroin-chic runway models but, they should look a little more delicate than Rat-boy, sculpt-wise (i.e. not as angularly-extreme regarding musculature.) I very much look forward to the day that Hasbro decides that the females are a viable investment for the 8" Sigma 6 line. Unfortunately, we're probably more likely to see a 2.5" version sooner than an 8" version :(

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Baroness and Scarlett are among thew two most valuable original 3-3/4" Joes, and there's a reason for it.

 

Yeah, because no kids bought them back then, so there are a lot less of them on the secondary market. @hmmm@ @smilepunch@

 

Justin

 

 

They sold well; it's just that fewer were made in comparison to other figures.

 

I'd be interested to hear where you get the sales numbers from...I mean, how do you KNOW they sold well? I'd love to claim they sold well, but man, I was 8 years old in 1982 and 10 years old in 1984, so I have no idea. I would have thought if they sold well, though, we would have gotten more than 7 female figures in a 12 year span back in the day. I mean, that's one figure for every 2 years...1 female figure for every 100 male figures. And here we are complaining because we don't have female figures just 6 months into the Sigma 6 line? I mean Hasbro was perfect back then, right? Wouldn't you have thought if female figures proved to be successful back then, we would have seen more?

 

Star Wars aside (because of it's huge collector base, which has proven it will buy anything regardless of character, gender, or quality), we can look at any toyline these days and see that there is a general lack of female figures.

 

TMNT - How many April O'Neils have their been? 2? 3? The new line has been going for a few years now, and there are definitely a lack of female figures here. When Playmates did this line a long time ago, April O'Neil was a valuable figure because there were so few of her produced that she shot up in value on the secondary market. Why? Because Playmates knows girl figures don't sell well to young boys.

 

The Batman - Batgirl is the first female figure we've gotten here. This line has been out for at LEAST a year...now we have Batgirl, but guess what? She's shortpacked. Because Mattel knows girl figures don't sell well to young boys.

 

JLU - This is a strong collector-based line, and does produce a decent amount of female figures...but remember when the line first started before it had some ground? Remember how valuable the 4" and 10" Hawkgirl was because she was produced in such low numbers? Why? Because Mattel knows girl figures don't sell well to young boys.

 

Marvel Legends - Another strong collector-based line, which also does pretty well in the female figure market. However, when they DO produce female figures (like Mystique, Black Widow, Scarlett Witch) the females are insanely short packed and hard to find. Why? Because Toy Biz knows girl figures don't sell well to young boys. They can market them more successfully because there is such a strong collector's presence...but when Legends was first starting out, we didn't get any female figures THEN either. Elektra was the first, in Wave 4, after the line had been established.

 

Power Rangers - Sure, a couple of the rangers are female, but they all look like guys in their Ranger suits...and back when Power Rangers first hit shelves, the pink and yellow Rangers were shortpacked (and the lead villain, Rita "whatever her name is" wasn't even MADE). Why? Because Bandai knows girl figures don't sell well to young boys.

 

MOTU - I hesitate to even bring this line up, because nearly every figure besides He-Man and Skeletor were shortpacked...but both Teela and Evil-Lyn were shipped 1 per case, and those were the only two females produced. Why? Because Mattel knows that girl figures don't sell well to young boys.

 

But hey, you know...it must be all of these toy companies are wrong, because as collectors, we're experts in the toy merhandicing and production fields...right?

 

I think everyone would be shocked to learn how much research is done into this issue, and people need to keep in mind that the Sigma 6 line is still YOUNG. Very young. Asking Hasbro to take chances with expensively molded female figures this early into the line's lifespan is a mistake. They are constantly evaluating times to get these figures to market and are constantly looking at ways to make this work. I never said it was NEVER going to happen, just not this early in the line's life. Give it a little time.

 

Of course, if you ask many Joefans out there, they'll tell you that Sigma 6's lifespan is almost over already, so there's no desire to wait (in spite of published sales reports being very positive).

 

As for whether or not folks believe me, it doesn't really matter to me one way or another. I saw a lot of people with questions out there, so I knew I had some resources to try and find some answers, so I did so. I'm not some big "insider info" guy, and normally I'm right there with folks who try to curb that behavior. All I wanted to do was get some answers out to the people who had the questions, and whether or not you trust my answers is totally up to you, and honestly doesn't affect me one little bit.

 

Thanks for your time! :)

 

Justin

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I wasn't questioning your honesty one bit. I just was curious as to the source of the info. I've been given no reason to doubt anything you've said. It just helps to have a source. Your info is probably 100% true, and that's great. I just wanted to know where it came from. I know if this info had come from someone with less credibility, they would have torn him apart and scrutinized every last bit of info he put out there. But, because you're a reliable member of the Joe community, no one questioned anything. Just by the fact that you were able to say that retailers have been pleased with sales of S6 for the most part, and not have 100 people telling you how badly the line is really doing, or that you're just making stuff up to support your own beliefs (like has happened every other time someone has mentioned sales for S6) proves my point. Maybe I'm just looking too far into it, but I think people should at least mention a source if they're going to put out those type of comments.

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