beaker
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2002
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Yes, it's no secret I have very little respect for the modern toy industry, but let's examine the worst of the modern blunders.
1. $10-$12 for increasingly dinky, frail 3 3/4 figures. This trend started in 2009 with Avatar, which kicked off the tiny figures for $11 MSRP. Marvel of course has followed suit all too happily.
Remember the sturdy, bigger sized well crafted 1990's figures that were maybe $4 top? The Toy Biz era of the 90s beats anything going today
2. Releasing movie tie in figures with 10 variants of the main character and none of the bad guys (cough iron man 3/robocop 2014/spiderman/etc)
3. Keeping the price high all the way til two years later, when it's clear noone wants them, then they mark it down to a dollar clearance.
4. The fact gargantuan action figures cost only a few dollars more than the tiny figure versions, even tho you could literally make like 50 action figures out of the plastic used to make the bigger ones
5. Companies who muscle their way into hogging beloved franchise licenses(Mario, Nickelodeon, etc) but then only make a few characters, promise and hint on their facebook they'll come out with more, then quietly discontinue said line without so much as an official word
6. Oversaturation of lame toy lines. Skylanders, wrestling, etc. Why can't we have a Muppet figure line, or classic video game line, or heck even Gravity Falls figures? Way too much wrestling figures. And Pixar. Sorry
7. Dreamworks figures. Why do they even bothers?
Growing up in the 1980s, the imagination was endless with how many toylines there were. Many of which had no cartoon or anything. Just wholly original ideas. With the 90s, it was mostly movie and cartoon/comic tie-ins, but they were of quality and you generally got your money's worth.
I just can't even see how any serious toy collectors can be excited these days, other than more niche
limited edition stuff
1. $10-$12 for increasingly dinky, frail 3 3/4 figures. This trend started in 2009 with Avatar, which kicked off the tiny figures for $11 MSRP. Marvel of course has followed suit all too happily.
Remember the sturdy, bigger sized well crafted 1990's figures that were maybe $4 top? The Toy Biz era of the 90s beats anything going today
2. Releasing movie tie in figures with 10 variants of the main character and none of the bad guys (cough iron man 3/robocop 2014/spiderman/etc)
3. Keeping the price high all the way til two years later, when it's clear noone wants them, then they mark it down to a dollar clearance.
4. The fact gargantuan action figures cost only a few dollars more than the tiny figure versions, even tho you could literally make like 50 action figures out of the plastic used to make the bigger ones
5. Companies who muscle their way into hogging beloved franchise licenses(Mario, Nickelodeon, etc) but then only make a few characters, promise and hint on their facebook they'll come out with more, then quietly discontinue said line without so much as an official word
6. Oversaturation of lame toy lines. Skylanders, wrestling, etc. Why can't we have a Muppet figure line, or classic video game line, or heck even Gravity Falls figures? Way too much wrestling figures. And Pixar. Sorry
7. Dreamworks figures. Why do they even bothers?
Growing up in the 1980s, the imagination was endless with how many toylines there were. Many of which had no cartoon or anything. Just wholly original ideas. With the 90s, it was mostly movie and cartoon/comic tie-ins, but they were of quality and you generally got your money's worth.
I just can't even see how any serious toy collectors can be excited these days, other than more niche
limited edition stuff