NYCC Wrap Up; Price Increases & Star Wars At 50

 After a week of taking a break from social media, a week I spent drinking heavily, and assisting many single mothers who work at gentleman's clubs buy baby formula and diapers...I have returned! And if you believe I did all that, I have beachfront property in North Arkansas I'd like to sell you...

My medical procedure was painful (0/10, would NOT recommend), but good news, no surgery needed for now, and no more medications partially because I'm tired of them not working, and given my situation I don't need any now. Plus it is the heart of football season, and I'd like to be able to have at least 1 drink. So, for now, I'm okay. Hopefully my new therapy routine will help alleviate some of the issues I've had. Not out of the woods yet, but hopefully I can avoid going under the knife. And I want to thank everyone who prayed for me, and wished me well. So, thank you! And to Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull: I've prayed for both of you on what y'all have been going through. 

Since I was inactive on Disqus Comments this week, I read and upvoted everyone I could (articles too) on BanthaSkull, and there were a couple topics I wanted to chime in on. I'll wrap up with a look at NYC Comic Con, but I'll take on a couple topics that Nomad and Chris wrote this past week, plus one topic that I'm just going to go straight into, head first. 

PRICE INCREASES

Hasbro has announced price increases for both the Black Series and Vintage Collection. Regular Black Series figures will be $27.99 while regular Vintage Collection figures will be $19.99 which for the VC is my maximum price. The big question is: will we get our money's worth? The second is: why are prices going up?! The second question can be easily answered, and it isn't tariffs. It's labor. Since most figures are made in China, the labor costs to put them together have gone up. It's why there's been a lack of paint details on some Star Wars and Marvel Legends figures the last couple of years. Another reason is the licensing fees. Disney is wanting to make money, and they've delivered more box office bombs than box office gold lately. Increasing their licensing fees is natural, they need a steady revenue stream, and collectors are their best income source to help that out. Look at how well Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Star Wars figures like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo sell (ignore the Sixer ANH Vader I see on almost every rack in my local Wal-Mart and Target stores). YouTube Channel Spector Creative made a great video about why the prices are going up, and as someone who worked on a Star Wars toyline before, I found it valuable. Tariffs don't really come into play (too much) on the increases. Mattel has started making more toys in Vietnam, and until Hasbro does the same, or open up factories in South America (which may or may not lower the labor cost, just a personal idea), whatever the reason: costs are up, and not going back down. 

As a result, I can no longer afford to troop build, or buy figures to keep carded. I'm back to being an opener, and keep my interests in the VC to the George Lucas Era. Maybe some Rogue One, Mandalorian, and Clone Wars figures could get me to bite, and some Disney Trilogy figures. For Spector Creative's video, I have it below. 

https://youtu.be/Qt4_P1Mk96w?si=XhYgBNPWUrJl5f5x

Now do I expect the same nitpicks about lack of paint apps, accessories, etc? Yep. If I feel like my $20 plus tax is worth it, I'll get it. But if it isn't, I won't. Simple as that. 

STAR WARS TURNS 50 IN JUST 14 MONTHS!

Yep. Hard to believe! But how will Hasbro handle it? I have an idea. There is no way Hasbro can do everything for 2027. Which is why they need to stretch it into 2028 too. For 2027, the campaign should be a HasLab Death Star (and no 2026 HasLab campaign either please. The Gunship negativity wore me out, and is one of the reasons I needed a social media break). My proposal would be a modern version of the Kenner Death Star Playset, but Hasbro Pulse could make 2 sets that can connect to the Playset, with the Emperor's Throne Room and the Death Star Briefing Room. I see 2027 as a year in which we get a couple Mains but mostly some alien weirdos, with 2028, the 50th anniversary of the toyline debut, gets a bunch of Mains, and hopefully brand new sculpts all over. Both 2027 & 2028 should be focused on the George Lucas Era films, with some Disney sprinkled in. Starfighter might get some VC figures for 2027, but that will be it. My hope for 2028 is we get definitive beginning and ending figures for the OT & PT. The ANH Mains can be repacks, and my guess is we get new AOTC versions of Obi-Wan and Anakin next year that could also be repacked into 2027. But getting new TPM, ROTS from the Prequels and ESB and ROTJ should be THE ABSOLUTE TOP HASBRO PRIORITY FOR 2028!!

For Retro in 2028,  all ANH figures should be made available as Pulse exclusives, and single card so I....um, I mean collectors, can troop build Rebel Troopers, and get Dr Evazan and Stormtrooper Han. Also make Stormtrooper Luke available, Uncle Owen, Aunt Beru and the Tonnika's. 

TRON 3.75 INCH FIGURE HASLAB 

Tron was a video game that ticked me off as a kid, but I loved the original movie, and recently bought a physical copy on Blu Ray. It's 5 figures: Tron, Flynn and Vori, plus bad guys Sark and Program. 2 light cycles are added, for a cost in the US of $259.99. The base lights up, and lights are in both cycles for added illumination. But, here's why this will likely fail: it needs 10,000 backers to go into production. It has 43 days to get that, and as of my writing this (Saturday Oct 11th) it sits at 800 backers. Now anything can happen, but with figures that come close to resembling the actors and actress, and some other characters missing, I have my doubts. I obviously hope it funds, and I might back it now that I don't have an immediate surgery to fund, but without any assurances more figures would come from the original movie in that scale, I can't justify putting my money into it. At least now. There is a Sixer line from the 2nd Tron movie...and I'm just waiting to see Olivia Wilde's character as an action figure, but those have better detail, especially on the face sculpts. 

STAR WARS NYCC REVEALS 

BLACK SERIES 

Only touching on these since I'm actually interested in a couple of them. One DEFINITELY needs to be included in the VC one day. 

1. Kyle Katarn 

Image from X user Preternia. This figure looks absolutely perfect! Glad to see him with a lightsaber, I couldn't find a package image, but on inspecting a zoom in, he does come with a blaster. And if I get this (I need to sell some plasma), my Dr Aphra Sixer becomes Jan Orrs. And I still think Kyle could be done in the VC with a new paint job, and some partial tooling on the Kanan Jarrus buck. 

2. Duels End Darth Vader 

This former Target exclusive now gets a general release after, shock of all shocks, he was hard to find when first released. Huh. Well, if you want him, you've got a chance to get him. This Vader is from the Obi-Wan Series, not Rebels. 

3. BOBF Boba Fett

He hasn't had a Sixer yet. Until now. 

4. Wal-Mart Exclusive Purgetrooper and Patrol Trooper 2 pack

The Patrol Trooper hasn't been done in the VC why, exactly?! It's a decent Sixer figure. The Purgetrooper is from the Jedi Survivor game, but on the new Clonetrooper buck this time. This exclusive is part of Wal-Mart's Collector's Con. 

All of these figures are now available for pre-order. More reveals to come at London later this month. 

VINTAGE COLLECTION REVEALS 

1. Shaak Ti

I really like what Hasbro did with Shaak Ti. She has a great use of her soft goods, and a near perfect head sculpt. She's needed an update like this for YEARS! 

2. Padme Amidala 

This is the version of Padme who has been on several of my March Madness lists over the years, and even on Last Figure Standing too. Hasbro can also put this figure on a Clone Wars movie card, too since she also wore this outfit in the movie. The face sculpt looks good, but I really want to see her in person before making a final judgement. On some photos of her hands, it appears Padme has ball jointed wrists (something I've advocated for a while now), but it wasn't touched on in the Hasbro Pulse video, so maybe not. But if she does have them...game changer for the VC. But with the price increase, I'll need to sell plasma to afford one to keep on card, the image is perfect. 

RETRO COLLECTION 

Garindan makes his Kenner style debut, and I hope this image is a prototype. But, for Kenner looks, it's good. Sadly, he'll be part of a 6 pack with other figures that will make me scratch my head. It would be nice if they were available single carded again, but that's just my opinion. 

Thanks for reading! A special thanks to Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull for allowing me to post this link in the comments section! Please share this link on your social media accounts so I can get more readers! 

Photo credits: Black Series and Retro from BanthaSkull/Hasbro PR; Vintage Collection from Yakface/Hasbro PR. Tron image from Hasbro Pulse. 

Edit: Found Bom Vimdin at Target this morning, along with a MOTU Origins Sketch Series Spikor figure. Why mention Spikor? That was my favorite MOTU villain figure back in the day. If anyone wants me to review any MOTU Origins figures on here, let me know! It would be a great change-up every once in a while.