TT8L
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As did I. A necro zinger bump from an argument that has been dead for almost a decade. I'm flabbergasted. It's admirable and disturbing at the same time. I swear, lurking toy forums is like my Jersey Shore.
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Barbie Launches a New Line of Black Dolls Called So In Style
TT8L replied to The Wire's topic in General Toy Talk
That's so Raven. -
No less appropriate than Debbie Harry... It looks good but it costs as much as a DiD or Dragon figure, it almost costs as much as an Ashley Wood vynal. But this is the Mattel shtick, making "toys" for 30 year olds. Packaging nostalgia & selling it back for as much as they can charge. Now, if this and their other properties (not just the dumbed down versions) were on shelves at a price parents could afford (not afford to put-away to scalp for their college fund or "pass on" when they are old enough to be completely oblivious to their waning social relevence) then I would be a huge fan. Kids need good toys that promote strong, smart men & women and/or thoughtful design that inspires instead of pandering to hot properties of the hour. But apparently adults deserve better toys than kids... I mean... they can afford it.
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I too recall seeing these guys stuff before. I love it. Perfect for its stated application and more. Much like the original HISS - which when people call it totally unrealistic seem to forget its an unconventional High Speed Sentry vehicle designed by a high-tech terrorist organization not a conventional tank designed by a global superpower to duke it out head to head. I can just see the future incarnations of this thing smashing through walls at a good speed, darting from cover to cover completely flabbergasting ground troops and slower and less agile vehicles. It combines armor and agility, even stymieing other light vehicles that could track it but couldn't defeat it's armor. It's the wrench in Rock Paper Scissors. It comes out of left field and doesn't have a perfect purpose or a perfect foil.
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As stoked as I am for POC I can't do $10 toys. I would have gladly paid $10-15 for MOTUC or Ghostbusters but unfortunately for every few people like me there was a person willing to spend $28 after shipping for ONE figure that is maybe 20% original parts. And Mattel can rot for that, making less and less original product for a higher cost that only increasingly devoted fans will buy. The simple fact, from an economic standpoint, that I haven't really heard anyone put forward is this... The difference may seem marginal and even be explainable BUT When I see $10 figures I am probably only there to buy the 3 or 4 I want most, even then if it's been a rough week I may take a serious look at putting one back... looking at 4 lonely figures and knowing I spent $40+ on them after tax is depressing, it devalues them in my mind When I see $6 figures I am probably there to buy avocados or Windex & think.. why not pick up a toy while I'm there. It doesn't equal out to buying more or less for a certain amount... most people don't have a set toy specific budget.... When the price is lower I will spend more because I see the value, the fair value, and can buy what I really want AND pick up a few extra for customs because I don't feel like I'm wasting money.
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Big Brawler is Christopher Lowell
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My vote went to "the product not the logo will make the sales" Judging purely from a design POV I would give it to the simple 80's typeface logo for brand management. Keep that for merchandising purposes - it's recognizable, simple and enduring. But that isn't how companies work in today's superfast changing marketplace where things are cool forever until they're forgotten next week, or sometimes lose appeal shortly before they are even released. People actually say things like "It was revolutionary for its time" referring to things that came out five years ago... or refer to last year as "way back then". However, what works for the brand does not always work in-universe. I never liked having the brand logo on my VAMP for instance, it seemed oddly unnecessary. So I would say classic logo for brand applicable use, but don't put it on the toys. G.I. Joe doesn't exist as a brand in the fictional world of the toy characters, if that makes sense. The Cobra logo works contrary to the Joe logo in that it does exist in-universe. I think that's what it breaks down to for me, Joe's have never had a symbol for themselves. Well, unless you count Old Glory or the real world military insignia they wore. The new movie logo isn't terrible... I think it will do. At least until next week... or the far off crazy future of 2011.
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I want to like it. From the profile I had originally thought it was a re-tooled Cobra Gunship. I still see that chassis' silhouette but those big ungainly detail-less sides and their exposed screw/rivet holes remind me of the Matchbox Mega-Rig: Powered Space Base Shuttle Playset (which is a magnificent toy if you have kids or are just into cool toy designs that don't have to be nostalgic). It certainly looks better in the image where you made it black - the solid black keeps your eyes from catching the faults by tying everything together. Overall, it's somewhat uninspired. I wont say it would look better covered in greebles, but a few additional sculpted details wouldn't have hurt.
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And even then what is the point of getting Short-Fuze when he looks just like all the other versions of that body and his head looks like CP Hawk w/ two little dots from a glue gun over his eyes. I imagine the set will more than sell through though - which is good - anything to bolster the line... just not something I want or need.
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Though I don't necessarily like these squatty things you did flawless work and made an excellent choice of character. Thumbs up!
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HOT TOYS does it in 1/6 scale. They have done it well for quite some time. DID does it too, to a lesser degree of success but at a lower cost. And they even make real fabric gloves that go over the hands, real metal working machine gun ammunition where every shell comes out, solid metal helmets etc. All for less than $50. And they've done this for years. I'm spoiled on their 1/6 scale. As much as I would love some 1/6 or 1/4 scale Star Wars, G.I. Joe or Star Trek figures - I see no reason to pay almost twice the price for 1/10th the equipment and 1/10th the detail. Prices on these figures have gone up I'm sure since I was buying them a couple of years ago but just knowing what's possible makes it impossible for me to buy sci-fi or fantasy figures until the quality and price are where they should be (I know there are some deviations from this, but mostly that's how I feel) Agreed. And he's just so skinny. It isn't healthy.
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Good eye. I don't have any clue WHY they would think to emulate those figures but you've hit the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned.
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Because no matter how they paint it, I will be re-painting it. I do it with almost everything. Besides, the price is good and despite being a rather patient person I would rather not wait if I don't have to... I've been without even one HISS since I sold most of my vintage vehicles.
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From the perspective of a customizer, these Target exclusives are fantastic. I imagine I can sell the hideous drivers for possibly $3-4 each which means minus the purchase of one can of black spraypaint and a little elbow grease I can get a decent army of HISS tanks for about $6 each.
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Very nice. One of the few figures that looks nice despite the garish colors, perhaps because of them. Good detail, clean, and very true to the original.
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Perhaps not suddenly. It's common procedure to say that "life is short". However, life is not short. Let me say two things - 1.) I went a couple of YEARS without so much as thinking about toys... and I may again. But, I never sold my collection and I always come back to them, often with more appreciation and enthusiasm than when I left them. 2.) Regardless of how little you may be interested now or how you perhaps think you may need cash or extra space, the money you make from your collection (and this applies to about 85% of us) will be negligable. I could make a few thousand dollars from my collection but I know that in the big picture it's a drop in the bucket. My advise would be not to worry. Take it as an opportunity to re-examine what you really care about and sell what doesn't really make you happy if you have to then keep the rest... because chances are that one day you'll come back to it.
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Probably one of my favorite figures, actually. Cobra Air Devil is one of the few stand out figures made after 1991.
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Wow. I guess it all depends on WHY you collect. I've been in it since almost the beginning & I have bought only what I liked for my own enjoyment. I'm sorry, but toys are not a serious investment. If anybody has the money to buy a PDD for their own pleasure with their own expendable income and be happy then so be it. If someone has spent more than their means to acquire a piece they don't actually find appealing so they can horde it away into a safety deposit box hoping that someday they can sell it for markedly more than they paid... well, it's no crime but it would be a shame if it hurt them by depriving them of money that they may have otherwise needed very much when the "rarity" they purchased only sells for 25% more than what they paid after three years waiting. Agreed.
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I really thought I saw one at a retail shop. It was so long ago, I can't be sure... but something that ugly has a way of haunting you. I never knew the figure was rare until somewhat recently. I actually saw one in person that I'm certain of... I saw it pulled from a case. I wont knock anyone that genuinely wants a PDD, but I have heard a number of collectors say how terrible the figure is and yet they still would like to have one. I would not take one if it was free.... well, if I could use it for custom fodder I may. If anyone really thought the figure was worth having, there are plenty of customizers who could make an almost identical copy for $20-30.
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If it is any consolation; I think the wings of a 1:1 TIE would be quite permanent... In 1:18 scale, I think the best you can do is put a shunt into the compartment where the each wing attaches. You can either stuff it in and hope it works or get out a screwdriver and take the vehicle apart. Folded cardstock ought to work.
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Although they are nearly $9. The X-wing is a better bargain though I don't think anyone is having trouble finding it.
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The only vehicle that Hasbro made that incorporates a modern sense of realism and detail is the Night Ops Humvee for G.I. Joe... which is arguably better than what BBI released. So far as Star Wars is concerned though, if I had to pick just one, I would say TIE Bomber.