Operation Monster Force

Yeah, just as an observer it had all the hype, then a silence before it deluged everyone with product. And with the product in hand and everyone able to see what it's about, plus all the reuse, I can see how it would stall out.
 
I think part of the issue is that wave 2, really hit hard at the beginning with figures like eraser and donner party but the last half of reveals were the very bland and not totally fitting the line zombies, agents, soldiers and so on.

So like when wave 2 hits all at once (in the middle of the hasbro deluge), you’re stuck looking and laying for a good chunk of wave that’s just not very fun or fitting with the line. Plus a lot of the soldiers and stuff got beat to market by hasbro and Valaverse.

All the fan conversation with the figures in hand are mostly about eraser and dinner party and bit about the generals and the sleepwalkers. I feel like I really haven’t seen a lot of the about 60% of the wave


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I think all of this makes more sense, and invalidates a lot of the complaints is when you realize that the entire storyline tying all of this together is as weak as the MOTUC storyline; it's JUST a justification to make toys. That's it. A thread to run through everything you do and give you a reason to call it all part of one line and one brand. When the reality is that this line was clearly conceived of just being a bunch of cool toy ideas they had that could be played with on their own or slotted into other 1:12 lines. The cohesion these figures have with each other is illusory.

If you look at everything as individual offerings, it makes way more sense as a company just making stuff. The regular soldiers and spies work if that's something you want in your toy collection, or maybe you want monster dudes, or tactical vampires, or maybe you just want a bunch of zombies. This feels like a line that exist just to make a bunch of stuff no one else is really making and you get to pick-and-choose.
 
As kind of an add-on to what I said above; I've been thinking about this line all day. Spent an hour or so on BBTS going through what's available and what's coming out and figuring out what, if anything, I really want to have in my collection. The realization was just that nothing they've released is the thing I want it to be.
Lacking any nostalgia for these characters, I'm left ONLY to really assess exactly what each figure is. And if they don't hit all the buttons, it becomes a lot easier to just not want them.

What I'm finding is that there's bits and pieces I'm interested in, but they're scattered across multiple releases. I want this head, but on that figure, but I'd rather have those weapons, with those lower legs... etc. That's all fine and good, but at these prices it's not like I'm going to feel good about doing a ton of mix-and-matching and ending up with lots of half-figures that I can't really do anything with.
 
I kind of ignored the line until I realized it would scale with Classified and Legends and suddenly it opened up some really cool baseline things I could built out those collections with, along with some concepts that scratched an itch I didn't know I had Declan Van Helsing standing in as a "magic consultant" for a military unit? No regrets buying him. A Dracula who looks good fighting Serpentor? Beautiful, sold, gimme. I mean I even got the Doctor Caligari specifically to create funny photos with Dr. Mindbender or some of my Hydra figures.

I actually really like the BBWS / FMF offerings that let you expand or flesh out an existing collection. I'm really interested in getting some of those civilian characters they previewed at... was it SDCC this summer? And I know it's not monster force but I'm going to get the chimp in a tuxedo because I want a James Bond/Nick Fury action figure who stepped over from whatever timeline the apes took over. But I think it does make cherry picking the buys from this line and its sister lines a lot easier. I don't get FOMO with it but I foresee picking up a more figures later. The new reveals/wave is a dud for me but rather than being a let down, it lets me not feel like I'm missing out while I wait for the others. (Hell, it might free up some money to get the 1-2 Crimson Moon characters I've been on the fence about but wasn't sure I wanted to spend 40 bucks on. Skipping a whole ave definitely makes getting someone to stand in as Cobra's fas(c)hion designer a lot easier.

On a positive note, I LOVE that Eraser comes with wraps for his arms that are swappable/removable. That's one of those little design choices that I really appreciate. He's currently rocking invisible forearms but it's tough to decide which lewk I like better.
 
Damien said:
Lacking any nostalgia for these characters, I'm left ONLY to really assess exactly what each figure is. And if they don't hit all the buttons, it becomes a lot easier to just not want them.
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That's where I come from to the line. Only really interested because BBTS gave me a credit and I'm current on every possible PO with my usuals. Figured I'd check it out.

Eraser appealed to me most because I've always liked the bandaged look and my aunt gifted me a collection of HG Wells when I was a kid. Otherwise I'm really scraping.

And I don't think they're bad. Just doesn't speak to me. And I don't like mixing lines, so I wouldn't just make a dude a Cobra agent or something. Even throwing a General in as Ross would nag at me that it isn't Hasbro and it's not Hasbro's in house design/art. Just how I'm wired.

It reminds me of all the times I feel bad in artist alley because I recognize the talent and effort in the artists, but their style and content just doesn't do anything for me. And why burn money on something I know doesn't hit me when theirs lots that does.
 
So... O:MF / Crimson Moon is one of my favorite lines going... but it isn't one I'm all in on either. There are items I feel fine leaving on the shelf... I'm not particularly fond of vampires, so didn't go in for any of the basic vamps. Just because everything they are releasing isn't for me doesn't mean the line isn't great. I don't even care about the story they are spinning... the figures are fun and complement other thinhs I have well.
 
Damien said:
I think all of this makes more sense, and invalidates a lot of the complaints is when you realize that the entire storyline tying all of this together is as weak as the MOTUC storyline; it's JUST a justification to make toys. That's it. A thread to run through everything you do and give you a reason to call it all part of one line and one brand. When the reality is that this line was clearly conceived of just being a bunch of cool toy ideas they had that could be played with on their own or slotted into other 1:12 lines. The cohesion these figures have with each other is illusory.

If you look at everything as individual offerings, it makes way more sense as a company just making stuff. The regular soldiers and spies work if that's something you want in your toy collection, or maybe you want monster dudes, or tactical vampires, or maybe you just want a bunch of zombies. This feels like a line that exist just to make a bunch of stuff no one else is really making and you get to pick-and-choose.
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That's what I thought the whole point of the line was, I didn't realize it had a storyline. I ordered the suited dudes to use as goons for ML Kingpin.
 
Damien said:
When the reality is that this line was clearly conceived of just being a bunch of cool toy ideas they had that could be played with on their own or slotted into other 1:12 lines. The cohesion these figures have with each other is illusory.
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And they're moving into the NPC line, which seems explicitly that. For folks like me who really enjoy the headcannon, that really likes that idea of figures that have a theme, but not a clear story, that's like catnip.
Damien said:
Lacking any nostalgia for these characters, I'm left ONLY to really assess exactly what each figure is. And if they don't hit all the buttons, it becomes a lot easier to just not want them.
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Yeah, depending on your interests in collecting I can see very much how this line just wouldn't have enough 'oomph' on its own. Totally fair. I like the line and I'm still going to end up passing on most of it.
altcunningham said:
It reminds me of all the times I feel bad in artist alley because I recognize the talent and effort in the artists, but their style and content just doesn't do anything for me. And why burn money on something I know doesn't hit me when theirs lots that does.
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Oh man, coming from the other side of that equation is rough too. I rarely did very well in artist alley, and largely it was because my portfolio was filled with either 1) my original stuff which nobody had any attachment to, and were reluctant to spend on because they already knew they liked Spider-Man, or 2) niche characters or renditions of popular characters that people thought were technically good, but hey, don't I have any Deadpool or Wolverine? Where's 90's Jim Lee Storm? Why did you draw only Punk Storm?

And that's a rough one to parse because I could fill my portfolio with Deadpool (or the like), but then the people picking up my work are less and less fans of mine, and more and more fans of Deadpool. And those fans are fickle. The folks I did get to like my stuff came back time and again because I was so oddball, there just weren't a lot of those folks.
 
docsilence said:
I kind of ignored the line until I realized it would scale with Classified and Legends and suddenly it opened up some really cool baseline things I could built out those collections with, along with some concepts that scratched an itch I didn't know I had Declan Van Helsing standing in as a "magic consultant" for a military unit? No regrets buying him. A Dracula who looks good fighting Serpentor? Beautiful, sold, gimme. I mean I even got the Doctor Caligari specifically to create funny photos with Dr. Mindbender or some of my Hydra figures.

I actually really like the BBWS / FMF offerings that let you expand or flesh out an existing collection. I'm really interested in getting some of those civilian characters they previewed at... was it SDCC this summer? And I know it's not monster force but I'm going to get the chimp in a tuxedo because I want a James Bond/Nick Fury action figure who stepped over from whatever timeline the apes took over. But I think it does make cherry picking the buys from this line and its sister lines a lot easier. I don't get FOMO with it but I foresee picking up a more figures later. The new reveals/wave is a dud for me but rather than being a let down, it lets me not feel like I'm missing out while I wait for the others. (Hell, it might free up some money to get the 1-2 Crimson Moon characters I've been on the fence about but wasn't sure I wanted to spend 40 bucks on. Skipping a whole ave definitely makes getting someone to stand in as Cobra's fas(c)hion designer a lot easier.

On a positive note, I LOVE that Eraser comes with wraps for his arms that are swappable/removable. That's one of those little design choices that I really appreciate. He's currently rocking invisible forearms but it's tough to decide which lewk I like better.
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I'm very close to getting either Calligari or the Ambassador to be part of my WWII crossover folks. I've got Indiana Jones and Funko Rocketeer together and they need a suitably pulpy fascist looking dude to beat up. I feel like either of those fit well. Mixing 3 diffferent lines to get what I want? Don't mind if I do.

Agree on the upcoming stuff too. I've got the monkey spy ordered and I already know I'll be diving into the NPC line in a couple of places (mainly the crooks to serve as both minions for Kingpin and a reference to Heat/Point Break/ whatever. But it's definitely cherry picking. I still might pick up Eraser because I think the invisible Man's descendant being an evil bastard assassin is just a great concept on it's own.
 
Damien said:
Lacking any nostalgia for these characters
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I thought the smart thing here was that I didn't need nostalgia for these specific characters. Draculas and werewolves bring familiarity without the burden of lore. Add in gonzo designs like an invisible man hitman and a Tesla-punk Caligari and I'm immediately hooked.

It requires that combination exactly, though. The more they expand into "guy in suit," the more my interest fades.

Chimpanzee spy almost got me, but I opted for the more scale accurate 4" space monkey instead.

docsilence said:
I LOVE that Eraser comes with wraps for his arms
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This is what I'm talking about. Dude specifically rolled up his sleeves and *then* wrapped bandages around the exposed arms. It's so dumb and weird and I love it.
 
JakeEkiss said:
Oh man, coming from the other side of that equation is rough too. I rarely did very well in artist alley, and largely it was because my portfolio was filled with either 1) my original stuff which nobody had any attachment to, and were reluctant to spend on because they already knew they liked Spider-Man, or 2) niche characters or renditions of popular characters that people thought were technically good, but hey, don't I have any Deadpool or Wolverine? Where's 90's Jim Lee Storm? Why did you draw only Punk Storm?
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That's the battle cry of every artist alley I've ever worked. If I'm having a good show I intentionally seek out and buy original art instead of fan art - I mean I've got plenty of fan art in my office too, but my house is filled with prints from artists I've been neighbors with in artist alley doing great work being overlooked by fan art.

Some of my readers are fond of asking artists to draw characters they've never done before when they're buying commissions - one regular at my booth actually got Simon Bisley to draw Nightwing back in August and Simon was like "decades doing this and I have NEVER drawn this guy, I'm going to need to look up reference images." But he was legit entertained to do someone new.
Fletch said:
I thought the smart thing here was that I didn't need nostalgia for these specific characters. Draculas and werewolves bring familiarity without the burden of lore. Add in gonzo designs like an invisible man hitman and a Tesla-punk Caligari and I'm immediately hooked.

It requires that combination exactly, though. The more they expand into "guy in suit," the more my interest fades.

Chimpanzee spy almost got me, but I opted for the more scale accurate 4" space monkey instead.
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I beg your finest of pardons, they have a LITTLE SPACE CHIMPANZEE TOO? BRB going to buy one of those because I need that for so many reasons

And I am very much in the same boat - I love this line as generic characters without lore behind it I can kinda slap my own headcanon onto. I hope they keep doing classic monsters and really knock those upcoming NPC style characters out of the ballpark cos I'll happily invest in those. The backstory won't sell me but a good selection of character offerings will.
 
JakeEkiss said:
Yeah, depending on your interests in collecting I can see very much how this line just wouldn't have enough 'oomph' on its own. Totally fair. I like the line and I'm still going to end up passing on most of it.
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Yeah, I like it too. It's a really cool line with some seemingly great figures. But I'm in this weird spot where the more I sit and try to figure out which figures to actually buy, the more I'm like 'well... not that one... and not that one...' because none of them are hitting on enough things that I want in a figure.

Like, I think it would be really fun to make a Ghost Recon-style character. But for me that's the head from an accessory pack (skull balaclava), and I guess the Phantom soldier -BUT he has the unbloused boots, which I don't really want. It just continues like that with other characters where I find I would need to mix-and-match. But the line is just too expensive for that.
 
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