Super 7 Ultimates Thread

The...funny...thing to me about Fun!Fun! is that it's something that's more in Super7's wheelhouse. Their action figures are often bad, but their vinyl stuff is fine if that's your thing. These look more appealing to me than a Funko Pop and are quite possible worth the extra five bucks or so they seem to be charging. They're just 5 years too late. Maybe more? I have no intention of buying one since I'm not a vinyl toy collector, but the product doesn't look terrible.

My assumption is that Brian and his wife still own a majority stake in Super7 even after the outside investors and such. I can't see him relinquishing that much control, so they would likely need to voluntarily step aside or be bought out. And if anyone is offering to do that my advice to him would be take the money and run while you still can.
 
I have no idea how to save Super 7 as a business. Most of what they do doesn't appeal to me and I don't business well. I do want the rest of the Lunataks, Berzerkers, Silverhawks, and Mon*Star's Mob in Ultimate form. If they could do that before going under I'd appreciate it.
 
They need to improve quality while also lowering cost/price. Admittedly, probably not an easy thing to do on a balance sheet, but we have no idea where their money is going right now. They need an overhaul for Ultimates, or just scrap the brand and replace it with something else because it has too much baggage at this point, and it probably wouldn't hurt if they had a license attached to such to drive hype. There aren't too many untapped wells out there though at this point. Maybe the 2k3 TMNT franchise is it even though it's already underway or maybe there's something else not super obvious to me. I know a lot of folks want Tigersharks, but that's not a brand that's going to change anyone's fate here. Maybe their future is just doing these MOTU knock-off figures with properties that have never been done in that style? I'd argue those are still overpriced for what you're getting and I don't know if they sell well. Super7 has largely cemented its reputation at this point and that's not something they can change overnight.
 
Honestly if they stray too far from the "Classics" styling of the bodies they lose me as a customer. I don't mind a little innovation in articulation but I would be all the way out on restarting Silverhawks in some new design. I am interested to see where they take things, but there are a lot of directions they could move that lose me
 
I just can't see Tiger Sharks staying afloat if Toxic Crusaders couldn't. Or Dungeons and Dragons. Admittedly Hasbro's feeble attempts on the latter no doubt hurt Super 7's chances of having a successful line. The Super 7 ones were some of the best figures they have done, in my opinion.
 
I think Tiger Sharks axtually has a better chance because it has 'in universe' ties to Thundercats and Silverhawks. Honestly I think any property they do that cleaves closely to MOTU is their best bet. MOTU classics arent an option anymore but the MOTUC fans are still out there and will supplement the collection with similar properties. Its why the Conan Ultimates figures do well. If they did Blackstar, Herculoids or Thundarr I think they would do better than they will with things like G.I. Joe or Transformers where there are better toys of those properties being made. Heck if they could do Space Ghost and Mighty Might-or I think those would be super well received. Heck if they could partner with Zoloworld to do Ultimates of the Beast Warriors characters Zolotrow is cranking out I think they'd do pretty well.

I think there is still a window for Ultimates to keep chugging along - but in my view it is narrow and focused on the type of things that already sell for them.
 
My money is on Ultimates being phased out. It seems like they let go of all of the people responsible for that brand. Their PO model was already resulting in lots of cancelations, and that was before traiffs. I see them putting out the rest of what they had in the pipeline, and re-pressing what they've already made as "Deluxe" versions, redecos (like the new Thundertank) etc. They currently have this setup in FAO Schwarz:

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I could see this with several of their IPs, basically no real action figures, just collectible schtuff.

Maybe they will come back to Ultimates eventually, but there might just be more bang for buck in Reactions, Plushies, etc., that sell to a wider group of people and casual collectors.

If they were to get back into modern figures, my advice would be "do whatever NECA's doing." A NECA Ultimate is > a S7 Deluxe at the same price point. Make it so that a NECA Ultimate is = a S7 Deluxe. Paint apps, articulation, accessory load out. Sell them everywhere. Ditch the boutique idea unless you are prepared to match Mondo or MAFEX in the ring.

Whether or not this is actually possible with all IPs, I don't know, probably not. NECA has had some misses this and last year. Feel free to impose an obscurity tax. But they just shouldn't be that much more expensive than a NECA without being able to match them where it counts.
 
I guess we'll wait and see. Super7 loses me permanently as a customer if they step away from Ultimates/Deluxe figures.

And I know I'm in the minority here but I actually prefer my Super7 Ultimates to my Neca Ultimates. The Neca figures - in my experience - are more fragile, they suffer from too much paint wash making their figures look dirtier than I prefer, and their proportions tend to be slightly slimmer.

I have been the exact market for a lot of S7's Ultumates. To me their biggest misstep was expanding the brand outside of the classic ACTION figure realm. I was never going to buy Ultimates of Disney, Spongebob or even the Simpsons. I understood why they tried with the Hasbro lines but as I said elsewhere, those brands are already done better by Hasbro, so I don't want the S7 versions.

But I've been all in on their MOTU, Thundercats, Silverhawks and Conan offerings. Those also seem to he their lines that sell most consistently... so I maintain that if they refocus Ultimates back into that style of property they can keep chugging along.

You may be right. They may turn away from it, but I hope instead they refocus on the things that work in that line.
 
Guys...holy shit.

I have to vaguepost, and I'm sorry about that.

But never, NEVER spend another dime at Super7. At least not until things turn around or Brian is completely gone.

The things I am hearing would blow your mind. As ignorant and up his own ass as he already seems, you have no idea when it comes to Brian.

The margin between how much Super7 spends to produce Ultimates (and even ReActions) versus how much they charge you, the consumer, is appalling. Truly, disgusting, beyond your typical corporate greed, unheard of levels of appalling.

We all knew he is ripping us off with these. But the level of how much made my jaw drop. Do not EVER spend full price on these. Wait for the deals and discounts.

These things should be 40 MAX. And that is supposing the bullshit about them being a small boutique company is true. Which we all know it isn't.

Unreal.
 
RicksNerdLife said:
Guys...holy shit.

I have to vaguepost, and I'm sorry about that.

But never, NEVER spend another dime at Super7. At least not until things turn around or Brian is completely gone.

The things I am hearing would blow your mind. As ignorant and up his own ass as he already seems, you have no idea when it comes to Brian.

The margin between how much Super7 spends to produce Ultimates (and even ReActions) versus how much they charge you, the consumer, is appalling. Truly, disgusting, beyond your typical corporate greed, unheard of levels of appalling.

We all knew he is ripping us off with these. But the level of how much made my jaw drop. Do not EVER spend full price on these. Wait for the deals and discounts.

These things should be 40 MAX. And that is supposing the bullshit about them being a small boutique company is true. Which we all know it isn't.

Unreal.
Click to expand...
I've been saying this for years but everyone thought I was just being a hater angry about 'toys cost money' or whatever.
 
I used to wonder if their prices were so high because they paid their employees really well. They sure seemed happy to be working there and regurgitate company lines. Then they went and fired everyone…
 
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