Hasbro Made-to-Order Figures

raybot said:
I was going to order 2 but I think I was trying to downsize buying or something last year so I must’ve just gotten 1 and called it quits. Got enough work just trying to find time to sell off my triples, quadruples, and so on anyways. Does look like buying 2 would’ve covered the whole cost if you just sold the other one though.
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The MTO/Haslab model kinda inverts the whole idea of scalping. If someone orders extras solely to flip they’re basically contributing to a lower aftermarket price. In this case I’m all for it!
 
Opened Dragon Man, and he is beautiful but cumbersome. Saw TFitz’s warning about the tail, bummed about that. It is huge and erect and really doesn’t curve very well. His articulation is tight enough in the joints, but a little wobbly in the hips where it matters a lot to keep him upright. Definitely have to use the tail as a tripod. New wings won’t be compatible with TB DM. Accessories are fun but I can’t get the glasses secure, and he can’t grip the book. Sculpt is beautiful. Paints are good. Proportions almost seem too human. I liked the monstrous proportions of the Toy Biz figure. That was really peak TB, a work of art. This is a Hasbro-fication of the character, which is not a bad thing, but it lacks a bit of personality. I get why they went MTO on this guy. I’m glad to have him in my collection. But it’s pricey, as just about everything is these days. One of my extras is spoken for, one more up for grabs.
 
hmmberto said:
The MTO/Haslab model kinda inverts the whole idea of scalping. If someone orders extras solely to flip they’re basically contributing to a lower aftermarket price. In this case I’m all for it!
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I wouldn’t say inverting….more like exacerbating.

Like, when I had a kid and bought a house and Hasbro wanted $300 up front a year ahead of time for a HISS tank, I wasn’t feeling it. Fans or scalpers almost doubling Hasbro’s goal dampened the price all the way down to somewhere between $500-$600 shipped. MTOs and Haslabs just guarantee scalpers whatever stock they want and free shipping.

I wanted two Dragon Mans just because I’m a stickler on paint and molding errors. MTO makes sure there isn’t going to be another one to choose from unless I buy two, pay double on the aftermarket, have the time for Hasbro customer service, or somebody wants to trade me a good one for a weird looking one.
 
I mean... what is a company supposed to do? How can they hedge against someone not having the money available when they put it up for sale? Are they supposed to deliberately over produce so people can wait and buy it at discount stores? Thats not sustainable.

Doing made to order seems a fair way to get something out that the company might not want to take a chance on otherwise.
 
I got no problem with the model or reselling, but I just wouldn’t say it’s somehow going to flip the script on the aftermarket. It’s as fair as anything else and it gets unshelvable product made.
 
PanchaMaestro said:
Scalpers? MTO guarantees you can order one at its retail price. Shit; do that with the whole line as far as I'm concerned.
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I had the same thought when I saw our SDCC folks reporting that Jack of Hearts has no chance of being made. Offer him as an MTO.

If they could cut down on the time to release, I wouldn't be opposed to them making all Marvel Legends MTO.
 
Funny thing about Jack of Hearts. If I remember correctly, somebody asked about him at SDCC 2023 and one of the Hasbro guys said he was "on the way" or something like that. I could research it on Fwoosh but I'm being lazy.
 
raybot said:
I wouldn’t say inverting….more like exacerbating.

Like, when I had a kid and bought a house and Hasbro wanted $300 up front a year ahead of time for a HISS tank, I wasn’t feeling it. Fans or scalpers almost doubling Hasbro’s goal dampened the price all the way down to somewhere between $500-$600 shipped. MTOs and Haslabs just guarantee scalpers whatever stock they want and free shipping.

I wanted two Dragon Mans just because I’m a stickler on paint and molding errors. MTO makes sure there isn’t going to be another one to choose from unless I buy two, pay double on the aftermarket, have the time for Hasbro customer service, or somebody wants to trade me a good one for a weird looking one.
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Ah, a classic case of "What, you can't read my mind? I have to actually type the words I'm thinking?"

I don't disagree that it doesn't fundamentally change the aftermarket - after the thing is released and no longer available at MSRP, the normal dynamics supply and demand are still there. I was meaning solely from the perspective of the morals? ethics? of buying solely for the purpose of scalping/reselling. If someone buys up 5 Psylocke/Thanos Target exclusives the day they hit shelves just to sell them, that's true scalping - they are removing others' access to a limited stock item and pushing people to the aftermarket where prices will be higher because they inserted themselves. If someone preorders 5 Mephistos or HISS tanks just to resell, it's kind of the opposite - that's 5 more that otherwise would not have been made, which is going to bring aftermarket prices down.

It's not a particularly novel point I was making, but that's what I was intending to say.
 
Beamish said:
Funny thing about Jack of Hearts. If I remember correctly, somebody asked about him at SDCC 2023 and one of the Hasbro guys said he was "on the way" or something like that. I could research it on Fwoosh but I'm being lazy.
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thefwoosh.com

Page 6 | SDCC/NYCC Questions and Team Chats

Page 6 | Did anybody here get a chance to meet with Dwight, Ryan and Dan at the booth and ask any questions? I've only seen a few videos on YouTube. O...
thefwoosh.com thefwoosh.com

The Jack of Hearts mystery deepens...
 
Messing around more with DM, I’m getting a bit disappointed. Range of motion in certain spots is limited, and this seems to be a universal problem that they won’t seem to address.

Neck can’t look up enough. For no reason other than the hinge stops too soon. If the plastic was cut out a bit more in the back, he’d be able to look up. I’ve got him crouched down, but he’s stuck looking down.

His ankles don’t move up enough. This is a problem across the entire Hasbro line. He has toe hinges, but they’re so limited that they don’t help.

The aforementioned tail issue also becomes a hindrance. Too stiff to bend, too soft to support poses as a third leg. This is a heavy figure that needs all the support it can get. But then the angle at which the tail sticks out, really kills the space a display will allow. I’ll need to find a way to get him to hover above my shelves or something.

I think raybot was also praising the integration of butterfly joints into the torso/pectoral sculpt. I think this set up makes his chest seem very narrow and small. Not saying that Max Hulk’s overlay approach is the solution, but this isn’t exactly the winning combo either.

I want to love this figure, but I’m also just trying to be pragmatic about it. It’s hard to play with and pose. That takes the wind out of my sails.
 
the disk hing just.. stopping.. is a weird choice.

I don't find myself fighting against the articulation too much, but getting him to balance in any kind of pose is a hell of a challenge.
 
Resilient said:
the disk hing just.. stopping.. is a weird choice.

I don't find myself fighting against the articulation too much, but getting him to balance in any kind of pose is a hell of a challenge.
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The neck hinge moves forward more than the head sculpt will even allow. These are shitty engineering decisions.
 
NORM said:
I think raybot was also praising the integration of butterfly joints into the torso/pectoral sculpt. I think this set up makes his chest seem very narrow and small. Not saying that Max Hulk’s overlay approach is the solution, but this isn’t exactly the winning combo either.
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Think it was Resilient, not me. I always thought they cut in weirdly but I’m not the biggest fan of forward rotating butterfly joints in general. Once a figure has a big shoulder it’s just game over for that pec sculpt.
 
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