Action Force and Valaverse

[JakeEkiss]

However it seems like he just can't help himself and has to stick in jabs at others.

This 100%. Like, he does make competent toys. You simply cannot argue that. And I genuinely believe he's lowering prices because he thinks that's a stand-up thing to do when you're successful and you can (and in large part, I agree, even though I'd never tell an artist they were obligated to do it). I think he's genuinely sincere about his love for toys.

I also think he's one of the most easily bruised egos I've seen outside of government. And he doesn't just want to be right, he wants to be right in ways that show other people are wrong (see his Extras line). It seems like he's one of those people who gains at least some motivation from spite. He does things not always their own sake, but sometimes to prove someone else wrong.

 

[Damien]

It seems like he's one of those people who gains at least some motivation from spite. He does things not always their own sake, but sometimes to prove someone else wrong.

I think this also applies to his pricing, so I disagree with your assertion that he's doing that because he thinks it's the right thing to do. He's doing it because he thinks it's the equivalent of putting his balls in Hasbro's mouth. "See, even -I- can do it when I make money, why can't you?" Especially during a time when everyone is out here complaining about big toy companies constantly raising their prices. I don't believe for a single second that even 1% of his decision-making process leads back to 'because it's a good thing to do.'

Also, I will still always caveat that he makes competent toys after someone else told him how to do so. Let us never forget that the PURE BOBBY version of Valaverse failed and looked a bit shit. What Bob has been able to do is take the improvements from others and implement them. That's not necessarily an easy thing to do, but I also don't think he deserves much credit beyond 'he followed instructions.'

 

[Fletch]

I still follow Vala on YouTube, mostly for the videos that pull back the curtain on the design and producing processes. I haven't seen everything he's posted, but I can say it seems like he's eased up on the competitor bashing.

Now, it seems like most of the bashing duties have gone to his sidekicks (like Laserpants, I think his name was?) or his acolytes in the comments sections. Maybe he's not a better person and is just learning to delegate, but at least he's watchable.

I was actually impressed by his DFW panel where he gave credit to other companies for innovations he was incorporating into his line. It's a sharp change from the past where he'd accuse other companies of stealing his ideas.

Long story short, I still want to collect Action Force, but there hasn't been a lot to excite me about it. I was very briefly pumped about a possible Dio de los Muertes faction, but that turned out to be a single exclusive figure with rare chase alt heads. And, as an old Navy man myself, his lead up to his pirate faction sounded cool, until we finally saw them and they were just more tactical dudes but with, like, a shark tattoo.

As my other collections continue to grow (especially Monster Force) I know it's Action Force that's getting boxed up first to make room, so it feels a little irresponsible to continue to buy them. Still, I'm looking forward to that Locust flyer and would still like to get my hands on a couple Scarabs since I skipped those initially.

 

[bat]

I think this also applies to his pricing, so I disagree with your assertion that he's doing that because he thinks it's the right thing to do. He's doing it because he thinks it's the equivalent of putting his balls in Hasbro's mouth. "See, even -I- can do it when I make money, why can't you?" Especially during a time when everyone is out here complaining about big toy companies constantly raising their prices.

How is any of this bad, though? Hasbro's CEO is out here saying he wants to double prpfits or some such absurdity and we can all see he's doing it through price gouging. These megacorps like Hasbro saw collectors willing to pay higher prices for smaller companies's figures produced in lower quantities and greater cost. Then Hasbro said let's raise prices with no such argument about economy of scale, maybe throw a Magic card or whatever in there and raise the price 60%. The pricing is rapidly making this hobby exclusive to the very wealthy and that sucks. I don't at all have a problem with a smaller company pushing back against the trend, whatever the reason.

 

[secondwhiteline]

I still follow Vala on YouTube, mostly for the videos that pull back the curtain on the design and producing processes. I haven't seen everything he's posted, but I can say it seems like he's eased up on the competitor bashing.

Now, it seems like most of the bashing duties have gone to his sidekicks (like Laserpants, I think his name was?) or his acolytes in the comments sections. Maybe he's not a better person and is just learning to delegate, but at least he's watchable.

I was actually impressed by his DFW panel where he gave credit to other companies for innovations he was incorporating into his line. It's a sharp change from the past where he'd accuse other companies of stealing his ideas.

Long story short, I still want to collect Action Force, but there hasn't been a lot to excite me about it. I was very briefly pumped about a possible Dio de los Muertes faction, but that turned out to be a single exclusive figure with rare chase alt heads. And, as an old Navy man myself, his lead up to his pirate faction sounded cool, until we finally saw them and they were just more tactical dudes but with, like, a shark tattoo.

As my other collections continue to grow (especially Monster Force) I know it's Action Force that's getting boxed up first to make room, so it feels a little irresponsible to continue to buy them. Still, I'm looking forward to that Locust flyer and would still like to get my hands on a couple Scarabs since I skipped those initially.

I wonder sometimes what the ultimate goal of this line is. Is it meant to stand on its own or to be a major supplemental piece to someone's military 1:12 collection? Or both? Or are they just focused on constantly trying to improve their output and logistics and don't really have a bigger-picture goal?

I use Action Force for mooks and weapons, and I'm happy with it on those terms. I don't think the character designs have ever been very imaginative. Describing the pirate faction being, "just more tactical dudes but with, like, a shark tattoo" nails it - there's a real generic Call of Duty look to most of their releases. That feels like a missed opportunity when the market seems to trend towards wilder designs.

 

[TheGillMan]

I definitely see it as "mooks and weapons". Yeah, there is a lore or story to it, but I think most people tend to buy them as supplements to other lines. None of the "characters" really seem to have much of a fleshed out personality, so to me they work better as generic soldiers to fill out other displays.

 

[JakeEkiss]

I wonder sometimes what the ultimate goal of this line is. Is it meant to stand on its own or to be a major supplemental piece to someone's military 1:12 collection? Or both? Or are they just focused on constantly trying to improve their output and logistics and don't really have a bigger-picture goal?

I use Action Force for mooks and weapons, and I'm happy with it on those terms. I don't think the character designs have ever been very imaginative. Describing the pirate faction being, "just more tactical dudes but with, like, a shark tattoo" nails it - there's a real generic Call of Duty look to most of their releases. That feels like a missed opportunity when the market seems to trend towards wilder designs.

I think in Bobby's head he wants to be an alternative to GI Joe. More "realistic" in looks, but with this post fictional civil war lore driving it. Like, they've got comics and he keeps talking about a movie and such, and it largely reminds me of every time the 4 Horsemen talk about anything other than toys. They imagine their specific world and lore is a draw for the fans, and for a lot of them, I think most of them, it isn't.

I think the majority of Action Force collectors are more like you and me. They use the line as supplement to something else. Background GI Joes. Paramilitary goons/mercenaries for street level heroes to fight. Extra guns for Punisher, etc. A few die-hards are in it for the lore of the line, but not most. I somewhat wonder if the upcoming Swarm vehicle isn't a response to the fan tastes, actually. Both the vehicle and driver look a lot closer to a goofy scifi military vibe that GI Joe has. Bobby is on record being against certain things (doesn't like ninjas or space stuff) but then he does have his own samurai dude now... so that doesn't seem like a firm stance. When he announced the swappable arms people immediately asked about robo-arms and he didn't shoot that down either. And I think wild robo arms could only help this line.

I also think on a long timeline you sort of have to make this goofier, there's just not enough road in "guys who are all military-lite" to permute forever. I feel like there are avenues already in the line currently untapped. We have a lot of golden guns now, where's the Destro analog that uses them? Some big flamboyant character who is decked out in some ridiculous colorway and fits with those golden shooters? Where's a signature Crimson Shadow trooper? The one released is just more of the same, but supposedly these guys are the high-tech gun runner faction. They need a look of their own as distinct as Swarm.

(edit: Since all of the characters have pretty obvious names, if Bobby did a character with golden guns as their thing it will definitely be called Midas.)

 

[Damien]

How is any of this bad, though?

I'm not sure I said, or meant to say, that it's bad that he's doing it. I'm saying he doesn't deserve credit for doing it -to be a good guy-. Right? You can do a good thing for shitty reasons. It's a good thing his prices are going down. I just don't believe it's some kind of collector fellowship or good-guy-Capitalism that's motivating him.

The pricing is rapidly making this hobby exclusive to the very wealthy and that sucks. I don't at all have a problem with a smaller company pushing back against the trend, whatever the reason.

Yeah. I don't disagree with you at all. My only objection is praise where it isn't due. Or where I don't believe it's due, to be fair. If Bob wants to sell his figures for exact cost and never make money (for example - not saying he's doing that) just to spite Hasbro because he personally has beef with Lenny -- awesome. Do it. Everyone that buys those figures are winners in that equation. I just don't want anyone saying he's doing it because he's just that nice of a guy, because that isn't the truth.

I was actually impressed by his DFW panel where he gave credit to other companies for innovations he was incorporating into his line. It's a sharp change from the past where he'd accuse other companies of stealing his ideas.

I think Bob has hit a point where he's very aware that he never managed to foster this complete take-over of the military 1:12 space like he wanted. He does get pushback from his customers when he talks shit too much about toylines his own customers also buy and enjoy. Also, we're not blind, right? We can see when Hasbro is doing cool things and if he says those things aren't cool, or that he did them first even when he didn't, he's just going to make his current customers not want to buy from him. He's a good enough businessman to have seen which way the wind was blowing and accept that he's PART of a market, not a market unto himself.

I wonder sometimes what the ultimate goal of this line is. Is it meant to stand on its own or to be a major supplemental piece to someone's military 1:12 collection? Or both? Or are they just focused on constantly trying to improve their output and logistics and don't really have a bigger-picture goal?

I think it's both. Originally, Bob wanted this to BE modern G.I. Joe. He was hoping everyone would want his stuff and Hasbro wouldn't be able to get their shit together on a 6" Joe line and he'd be the only game in town. Especially as production expenses eclipsed the ability to sell 4" figures for significantly cheaper than 6" figures and it was likely Hasbro would also not really be able to sustain a 4" presence.

As I said above, I think that whole plan kind of collapsed on him when Hasbro starting putting out really good 6" Joe product and he had to accept that he was just going to be the 'other 6" military line." But I'm sure he will continue to add named characters and stuff rather than only generic figures because eventually he'd like to be taken seriously as 'Valaverse' being its own unique thing.
I'd be surprised if that ever happens even just based on the name. He needs to rebrand if he wants his line to be taken seriously as more than a 'fuck Hasbro' vanity project, because no one is taking 'the universe is my last name' seriously, I'd wager.

 

[Fletch]

There was a time when this  was the Joe line i wanted. Recognizable characters but in accurate modern military gear. Condor and Eclipse, as originally colored, were clearly Duke and Scarlett.

I think there's an element of Vala trying to recapture the collecting experience from our childhoods. He's got those clip-and-save Flag Action Points, fer instance, and a tie- in comic book*. He kind of skipped the Saturday morning cartoon, though, and went straight to a live-action movie that's apparently at some level of pre-production.



* it's weird to me that a toy line based on real world modern militaries would have a setting in a near-future collapsed society setting. But whatever, I haven't read them.

 

[Damien]

Recapturing the collecting experience? Maybe. Could be his motivation. Or it's just a cynical way to capitalize on your nostalgia and he isn't original enough to have his own ideas so he just does what G.I. Joe already did. That kind of seems to be his MO.

 

[docsilence]

I'd be surprised if that ever happens even just based on the name. He needs to rebrand if he wants his line to be taken seriously as more than a 'fuck Hasbro' vanity project, because no one is taking 'the universe is my last name' seriously, I'd wager.

I don't really have skin in the game since I haven't bought in on this line, but I was snooping for Classified-scaled figures I could toss in to create some new original characters there with and every time I see the name of the company my old marketing / PR brain winces. It just kind of sets of a little red flag before I give someone my money.

 

[Damien]

I don't really have skin in the game since I haven't bought in on this line, but I was snooping for Classified-scaled figures I could toss in to create some new original characters there with and every time I see the name of the company my old marketing / PR brain winces. It just kind of sets of a little red flag before I give someone my money.

Yeah, I mean BEST case scenario is that it looks very amateur. 'Valaverse' screams 'I make these in my garage.' Which is fine if you are and want to remain an indie line. But if you want mainstream attention, you're gonna struggle with that name.

 

[yojoebro82]

I got the Legend of the White Dragon 2 pack. I like that alot. One of my fave JDF figures. Its really well done.

I know this is an old post I'm quoting but I've been on the fence on getting this pack for a while. I love JDF and it would be cool to get White Dragon, don't have a need for the other guy in the two pack though.

Is this movie ever going to be released?

 

[Trunks3540]

As far as I know it was set for this year. But its been pushed back multiple times, and I have a feeling this great economy right now is partly to blame since its and indie movie and there are like literally 2 people working on it right now. Will it come out? I hope so, it would really suck if his last project never saw the light of day. Will it be soon, I doubt it. The figures are basic run of the mill Hasbro style artic, or common Valaverse. But they are really cool. I like them alot. I think they're a smidge taller then Hasbros PR figures, but I put mine there in the display and they look good. I haven't actually rearranged it to add them but they don't look out of place to me.

Sent from my SM-S921U1 using Tapatalk

 

[RunestoneCowboy]

I didn't know Vala was producing a movie, but without knowing anything more than the setting (post-societal collapse) and genre (military action), I can already tell that's a much more ambitious, i.e. expensive, idea than Vala has the money to make. I mean, he could be smart and do a "downed behind enemy lines" story that justifies a small cast wandering around the woods for most of the movie, or something like Hunt for Red October that takes place almost entirely in a ship or submarine, but stories like those wouldn't really help promote his toy line because they're purposefully small and light on the gun fights. I'm guessing it's going to be a lot of tacticool soldiers meeting in non-descript offices to tell us about big things things that happened off-screen, followed by CGI gun fights in industrial parking lots.