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Bringing Home the Galaxy with Jing and Chris from Hasbro's Star Wars Team
733 Plays3 years ago
We were invited to chat with Jing and Chris from Hasbro's Star Wars team following their months long Bring Home the Galaxy campaign in 2022. Hear from others around the toy community as this roundtable discusses pricing, availablity, selection, and more!
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Transcript
Zencaster Crowdfunding Campaign
00:00:02
Speaker
You've heard us talk about how much we love Zencaster. We've told you about how awesome their podcasting platform is, how easy it is to host, record, and publish adventures in collecting with their all-in-one web app. Well, now they're giving you, our listeners, the opportunity to support us and the nearly 30,000 other podcasts powered by Zencaster. That's right. Now you can invest in the podcasts you love
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through Zencaster's crowdfunding campaign. For as little as $100, join a community of other investors who seek to help Zencaster and independent podcasters like us succeed. If you're interested in investing in Zencaster, go to wefunder.com slash zencaster or click the link in our episode description below to claim your slice of the future of podcasting.
00:00:54
Speaker
That's we funder.com forward slash z n c s t r. Are you ready, kids? Get your parents permission, check your mailbox and grab your shopping cart.
Podcast Introduction & Hosts
00:01:13
Speaker
It's time for the adventures and collecting podcast.
00:01:17
Speaker
I'm Eric. And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting, where we talk toy news, culture, and halls, along with our journeys as collectors.
00:01:30
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome back to Adventures in Collecting.
Roundtable with Hasbro's Star Wars Team
00:01:34
Speaker
What you're about to hear is a roundtable discussion with Jing and Chris from Hasbro's Star Wars team. We had a great conversation about some of the recent updates to the line. You're going to hear some voices from some other great Star Wars and toy blogs. With that, I'm just going to pass it over to Jing and Chris and enjoy. My name is Jing. I'm the brand manager on Star Wars.
00:02:00
Speaker
And of course I have with me. Chris, I'm sure everyone knows. Chris, you want to introduce yourself? Everybody. Yeah, I'm Chris. I'm design manager on the fan side of Star Wars here at Hasbro. Yeah. So thank you for joining us. We love having sessions like this just to be able to talk to you about some of the recent reveals. So I appreciate
00:02:21
Speaker
the time, morning, day, night, whatever it is that we are speaking to. So, um, I know there's a lot of questions and a lot of people, so we'll go, we'll dive right in and try to get through as many of them as possible. We'll start today with Eric ventures and collecting. Hey guys. Uh, so yeah, uh, let's, let's hop right in. Um, so bad batch season two is out and so far the only, uh, member of the crew that's been announced for the vintage collection is Hunter.
00:02:49
Speaker
While the entire team has been available for quite some time with the black series I can can you guys discuss some of the factors that go into determining which characters get selected for which scale and kind of like You know why sometimes characters are left out of one scale and included in another Yeah, so this question has come up a lot in general and I think for us it's no and I don't want this to be a bad word, but like
00:03:16
Speaker
we are constantly balancing what we hear from the community and what we hear as demands. There are requests for certain characters in Vintage that we don't get in Black series. We don't always get requests to go back and make original figures or some more obscure cool alien or things along those lines. So we definitely have to keep both of those in mind and try to balance the coolest characters we can out there. So the fan community and when they have these
00:03:46
Speaker
and then they have like these brackets and things along those lines absolutely help us and help us determine like, you know, how to balance which characters to make for both scales. Thank you. Thank you. All right, moving on James, astronomy. Thanks very much. Sorry. We appreciate it. Sorry. I said, astronomy. Sorry, James Burns. You're next.
00:04:15
Speaker
There's two James in here. This is like calling on Chris. It's always a risky, risky thing to do. So which James are we talking to? I said Geek Astronomy, but if he's not here, is he here? It looks like he's not, so we can go to our other, to James Burns. Okay.
Boba Fett Variations & Retail Exclusivity
00:04:36
Speaker
James Burns.
00:04:37
Speaker
Okay so we appreciate that Boba Fett is a very popular character but why so many different repaints over such a short period of time and why owning it specific retailers making them very difficult for fans all over the world to obtain? Yeah so Boba Fett like you said is a really popular character and we did like a theme because there were so many characters variations of Boba that we didn't get to do in the past as we know we didn't just want our
00:05:04
Speaker
re-release a Boba. We wanted to do cool versions of him, which we thought the comics were a great way to tap into some of that history and some of that opportunity. And so we did that with Target because we haven't had them in the past. And in terms of like, you know, the retailer, the specific retailer, we love our partnerships with our retailer. We're continuously working with them to make sure that fans are
00:05:30
Speaker
can get the figures that they want and have proper availability. So if there's any issues, like definitely raise to us and let us know, but we're constantly working through with them to make sure that you guys can get the figures that are so highly demanded.
Scaling Black Series to Vintage Collection
00:05:48
Speaker
Cool. All right. Rebel scum, Bobby. Good morning and hello there fellow Star Wars fans.
00:05:56
Speaker
All right. This is going to kind of piggyback off of the first question a little bit. Is there a difference in the process when you have a black series figure that when you release in the vintage collection? So releasing similar characters in both lines. Is that something you can easily just scale down in modeling software or do you have more design work when you're
00:06:22
Speaker
going from a character you've released in Black Series, for example, we'll just use Hunter as an example, since that was the one that was previously brought up to releasing him in the vintage collection. Do you all just shrink him down or is there just a lot more tooling involved? Do you just start back over from the ground up? It's when we have the advantage of having done him in a different scale. We do start with shrinking him down, but it's not
00:06:50
Speaker
That's not the end of it by any means it's it's still a full sculpt development cycle for him Because you still have to go back in and all the joints on TVC are different than they are in black series And you have to check wall thicknesses of parts to make sure things aren't getting too sharp or too thin so and and all the little concerns even stuff about I mean we've talked briefly in the past about how
00:07:16
Speaker
wall thicknesses and thicknesses of plastic parts like it shrinks differently. So you have to take all that sort of stuff into consideration when you're when you're doing the sculpt for those different sizes. So while, yes, we do. We do get what seems like a shortcut to a TVC version of a black series figure. It's more about getting really good reference to start with than it is about getting a free sculpt.
00:07:44
Speaker
because we are having to go back in and rebuild all that. It's a great question, though. And it's always fun to talk about the differences between the two scales. All right, moving on. Dan, Star Wars collector. Good morning.
Black Series Packaging Issues
00:08:01
Speaker
Good morning. Now that Black Series plastic-free packaging has been showing up by retailers, a lot of our readers have voiced issues and concerns. First up, some people are getting scammed at local retailers because
00:08:11
Speaker
Someone has purchased a new figure and stole or swapped it out with something else and then returned it back to the store And then the readers end up buying that figure and they have no idea what's inside the box until they get home Or if they don't even open the packaging they're stuck with whatever's inside of it because and then because this issue some black series collectors are
00:08:34
Speaker
swearing off saying they're not going to buy the product anymore. Do you guys have any concerns about that? Is there any chance of you guys changing back to clear windows? Yeah. I mean, first off, like thank you for sharing the feedback from the community and things like that. So, you know, we always appreciate hearing that for sure. And I think first and foremost, if there are issues from the community like swapped heads or things along those lines, like please reach out to our customer care.
00:09:02
Speaker
team. That's what we're here for. We track it, we try to fix it, and we do our best to get their customer care. We do our best to try to be as helpful as possible. So if there's any instance of that, please do reach out to us. We definitely want to hear and appreciate that feedback. So that's for one. And in terms of the new packaging, it's something that we've heard
00:09:28
Speaker
It's a balance we've heard on both sides in terms of like the post out renders on the front packaging being really cool, but we'll always and constantly as we do in Hasbro with everything that we do, just always keep an eye out and listen to just listen to the community. And overall, I think, you know, we'll continue to keep an eye out. Yeah. And fan feedback and stuff from your guys' sites like
00:09:53
Speaker
that's critical to that. So keep it up and we're listening. Yeah. But reach out to customer care for sure. If there's any issues like that, like we definitely want to hear from you. Thank you. All right, Steve, the force guide. I think he, yes. Welcome. Yes. Thank you. In the reveal video for the ATST and Chewbacca set, you mentioned that you've tightened some of the joints in the ATST to fix some of the looseness issues.
00:10:21
Speaker
and that it should now stand nice and firm. That's great. Can you give some more detail on what exactly did you fix? Did you change any of the tooling, change materials in the knee, or did you just tighten the screws? We did. We adjusted some of the tooling and adjusted some of the material stiffness a little bit. So, yeah, it does stand
00:10:51
Speaker
This does stand much better, and the joints are much tighter. I mentioned this in a previous session where, for me, the Raider version of the ATST, when I got it out, it was frustrating to try and pose and stand. This version, it's still an ATST. It still has a lot of joints in his legs, so it's always going to be a little finicky to get him in just the right pose for what you want.
00:11:19
Speaker
it will hold, it will hold poses much better now. Um, the, the joints are noticeably stiffer. And for me was, was one of the big reasons to go back in and address that and do that, that toy again. Fantastic. Thank you. Yep. Oh, all right. Back up to the front, Eric, that's just in collecting. All right.
Star Wars Pricing Strategy
00:11:43
Speaker
Um, so when it comes to pricing, you know, everything in the world is, is getting more expensive, but, uh, you know, with action figures, especially, you know, with Star Wars action figures, it's been a little bit of a roller coaster ride with sometimes three or four different single carded releases, uh, you know, in the same scale available at retail at three or four different prices. Uh, will collectors see this kind of even out in 2023, or are these kind of varying prices based on retail or kind of the new normal?
00:12:14
Speaker
Um, yeah, I mean, I guess first and foremost, we at Hasbro do plan and strategize pricing based on groupings as much as possible and standardizing the offering. Like all our main line is, you know, one price, for example, for vintage and black series and things along those lines. So, um,
00:12:31
Speaker
We'll continue to work on that as much as possible. We do want to just like quickly flag the ultimate pricing of a figure for an exclusive especially is at the discretion of the retailer. We've seen that come up a few times in the past as well. It's something that we can't and won't control. So it's something that we'll continue to work with on our side to make sure that we strategize and have a standardized pricing on our side as much as possible. Awesome. Thank you. Cool.
00:13:00
Speaker
And I think the astronomy is still not here, right? So no, sure. Oh, okay. Yeah. James does not want to work on my computer this morning. So, you know what? I've been there. Um, welcome. Welcome James from the astronomy. Do you want to ask your question? Sure. Um, I'm kind of curious, you know, with, uh, the limited vehicles that are out there, what is the chance we're going to see an A-wing fighter for the black series?
00:13:31
Speaker
Um, well, the normal response I would give you here is we have nothing to announce. We don't have anything to say, but I can tell you, we, I don't see any way that we will be doing in a wing in black series. Um, it would be so big and so expensive and it, the vehicle stuff in black series doesn't seem to work quite as well as it does in TVC just straight up.
00:14:01
Speaker
Um, the stuff we've done has been amazing. Uh, the, the team that, that snowspeeder was, I love that thing. It's one of my favorites, but I, I just don't think it's realistically what black series has, it hasn't performed as well on black series as it does in TVC. And I think it's unlikely that we would do an A-wing in black series. Okay. Good.
00:14:29
Speaker
It's a shame. I was really kind of hoping for The generic response Yeah Yeah, I I think it's something that like if if there was a huge demand for anything Across the board across any scale. We always do want to hear about it though because things always shift and adjust and new entertainment comes out and you never know
00:14:55
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I want to be clear like we would never take it off the table as something to do But I I want to make sure we're being straight with you guys and setting expectations. I don't I don't think it likely But hey, like jing said if it shows up in a new show and is the hottest thing You never know Thank you Great, thank you. Um jedi news james front
00:15:23
Speaker
Thank you.
Haslab Star Wars Projects: Successes & Failures
00:15:24
Speaker
The last two Hazlab Star Wars projects unfortunately failed, whereas the previous two Star Wars projects succeeded. The last two were Black Series, the first two were Vintage Collection. Maybe there's a pattern there, I'm not sure. What's the plan with the platform going forward? And are we likely to see another Star Wars Hazlab soon? All right, back to our general responses.
00:15:52
Speaker
We has lab in general is a great platform for us and it's something that we're not going to shy away from. Um, nothing to share at this point. Just know that it is on our radar and hopefully, you know, we get to, we get to talk about it at some point. And now a word from our sponsors.
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Speaker
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Marvel vs. Star Wars: Release Timelines
00:20:40
Speaker
And now back to the show. Okay. All right. Thank you. Rebels scum, Bobby.
00:20:49
Speaker
So just picking back piggybacking off of James. I can't wait for you guys to announce the has lab ghosts along with everybody else. All right. So release dates. Release dates, a little bit of change of subject here. Marvel sometimes can get their figures out for movies rather quickly, it seems. They're Disney. Star Wars is Disney. Now we know they're both under different studios, of course, though, because we've got Marvel Studios and we've got Lucasfilm.
00:21:17
Speaker
And even though they're all under the same family and they both work with Hasbro, it seems that Marvel gets stuff out a little bit quicker when it comes to, okay, here's this exciting character. We love them. Here's a full wave from this movie, but with Star Wars, you know, we get two or three characters. Maybe we get the main character a month or so after the show or movie airs. And maybe we get a few more characters here and there after that.
00:21:47
Speaker
So where do we see that kind of delay gap in between the two? Is there just different people at Disney working with these different teams that Hasbro? Or is it just like, okay, the Disney guys, not Disney guys, the Marvel guys just like way quicker at, okay, here's these characters you guys start working on right now. And then eventually, whenever the guys at Lucasfilm decide to give you guys characters to work on, that's when y'all are able to do them.
00:22:16
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I can't speak to the items that I don't work on, for one. So I can actually, I can only speak to for Star Wars for Lucasfilm. For us, you know, we definitely strive to get product out as much as possible. And it is different, like entertainment by entertainment, like producer by producer, movie by show, like it's, there's so many factors that go into it.
00:22:40
Speaker
And we have such trusted partners on Lucasfilm that we work so closely with and are on tons of meetings in a given week. So it's definitely an open communication in general. Part of it is always supply chain as we flex out and stabilize in the new environment. Hopefully we'll get better and better and closer and closer. And part of it is just working closely with our great partners and understanding when it makes sense for certain items to come out.
00:23:10
Speaker
Our goal, though, at the end is if we can do it, you will get it as close to show movie entertainment, whatever it is as as much as possible, because that is the ideal in every one side. That that said, I have noticed there has been. A bit more quickness in that turnaround, at least in the past year, because with Obi-Wan, we definitely got figures a lot quicker than we had previously, and in some cases with Andor as well.
00:23:40
Speaker
So it is not a notice that it has, the gap has decreased in terms of media to toy shelves. Yeah. Well, and some of that's about how the shows are produced. I mean, some, because production timelines now to actually make a show, you can make a show quicker than we can make toys for it. So it's tough to have toys out on shelf.
00:24:05
Speaker
when we both start at the same time and we do that, like we start working with Lucasfilm. We start at the same time and we can't catch them. They're so fast now. So, but shows that are produced more traditionally, which Andor and Obi-Wan both were produced more traditionally, there's a longer lead time. So those sort of things can happen. Nice. But thank you for noticing, Bobby. That is our goal. So we appreciate that. We appreciate that little comment.
00:24:33
Speaker
Alright, Dan, Star Wars Collector.
ATST Toy Pricing Decisions
00:24:37
Speaker
In regards to the vintage collection, ATST, which Chewbacca has said, we've seen this ATST three or four times previously at a much lower price. We understand that you went back and fixed the vehicle joints, which allows it to stand better, but why not give us a new carded Chewbacca figure or maybe a new Ewok? A lot of people are finding the $89.99 price point a bit hard to swallow.
00:25:03
Speaker
The adjustments to that to help it didn't hurt the price at all on that. That was all stuff just to tune and improve the joints and make it a more pleasurable experience to work with that toy. The decision to go with a non-carded Chewbacca in that set was straight up just to help manage the cost of that thing. I mean, putting a figure on a card, while it's cool, it adds cost.
00:25:33
Speaker
and trying to be sensitive to the ever increasing cost of toys and product in general. I mean, we all know how much a 12 pack of eggs costs now versus what it costs two years ago. I mean, it's insane. And the fact that we've been able to mitigate as much of that inflation as we have is huge props to the team that works on that stuff.
00:26:01
Speaker
But anything we can do like that and leaving Chewbacca off a card. That's a decision that's it's more than just that, but that's an added benefit of keeping him off the card is is helping to mitigate costs a little bit because that it's important. I mean, we we know. And are sensitive to how much things cost. It's a it's a big beat. We're constantly trying to get costs down on things, figures, vehicles, all of that.
00:26:31
Speaker
So it's sometimes we can do more than others. Thank you. And when we want Chewbacca standing on top of the ATSD, replicate that scene as much as possible. Hopefully at some point in the future, we'll do a fun new Chewbacca and have him on a card back and do all sorts of great stuff. Thank you. Thank you. All right, Steve, the force guide.
Pre-order & Shipping Challenges
00:27:02
Speaker
to cost lately a lot of pre-orders have been shipping many months before they're originally scheduled dates or some may prefer that to a lengthy
00:27:12
Speaker
delays we experienced earlier in the pandemic, these surprise releases can make it difficult for fans to properly budget when a mountain of pre-orders show up all at once and they may end up canceling the orders. We know the world is slowly returning to normal and it's nice to see fewer delays. Is there any way Hasbro can be more transparent about the projected shipping dates to give fans a better idea of what to expect so they can budget accordingly? Yeah, so I guess like we kind of touched upon this but hopefully
00:27:42
Speaker
We are getting to a new normal knock on wood and things are stabilizing a little bit more. So the upfront communication in general should.
00:27:51
Speaker
Ideally, be better and better moving forward. We are adjusting just like everyone else for the last couple of years. It definitely threw us for a loop when it went from one extreme and we're slowly trying to stabilize that. So we certainly can understand and appreciate the fan side of things. And as much as we can and as close as we can when we do the pre-orders, we will try to be as clear.
00:28:18
Speaker
And if there are massive updates that we are somehow able to share, we definitely have in our PR team to share that as well. So, um, no, appreciate, appreciate the feedback, but hopefully, you know, like you said, it's, it's going the other way and we'll stabilize and knock on wood. Uh, we'll be, we'll be in a better place. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Back up to the front, Eric.
Expanding the Retro Line
00:28:47
Speaker
So this question is actually for Chris. I'm glad, I'm glad you were, uh, you were on the call today. So this comes from one of our, our listeners at, uh, DAT figures on Instagram. So, so far the retro line has been a huge hit, you know, kind of recapturing that the classic vibe of those late seventies, early eighties, uh, you know, interaction figures, but for those of us that are a little bit older,
00:29:09
Speaker
you know, a lot of us were introduced to a really, really muscular set of Star Wars figures in the nineties with the relaunch of power of the force. So what are your thoughts on, you know, as, as that original or that relaunched line gets older and you know, becomes more retro. What are your thoughts on, on maybe doing a a nineties inspired retro line? I could really, I mean, I could, I could totally be down for like a really buff Mando. That would be, that would be sweet.
00:29:41
Speaker
That would be an amazing experiment. I know the figures well. I have a set of the original release of those figures hanging on my wall at home. They are unique and beautiful in their own way, but they are not 70s retro.
00:30:05
Speaker
We have said before, nothing's off the table. That's certainly a fun part of Star Wars history for us. There are no plans currently to do that. But I like your thinking. It would certainly be a unique way to go. So I'll keep it in my head. It will rattle around in here and haunt me at night in ways that I wish it wouldn't.
00:30:34
Speaker
Buff Mando. Now you've done anything. Buff Mando and Buff Grogu. I mean, Grogu has to be, you know. Okay. Yeah. Gee, I just, I just ruined James's day. Well, I didn't. So I'd like to preface. That was not my question. That came from one of our followers. I'm just doing my due diligence. Brief cargo with his shirt open and like, yeah. No, no, let's move on. Let's move on. Yes. Let's move on. Um, King's astronomy, James Hamilton.
Future Black Series Releases
00:31:05
Speaker
Hi. Okay. So, uh, this actually comes from one of our Instagram followers, Don Tober. He wants to know if the figure dirge is ever going to be made in a black series. Uh, dirge is an awesome character. Uh, there are no plans currently to make dirge in black series or in TVC. Um, but he is,
00:31:35
Speaker
is certainly a cool character. And we are always looking for cool characters to do. So is he on the list? Yes. Are there plans right now? No. All right. James Burns.
00:31:51
Speaker
So the retro collection two packs of bounty hunters have been very very well received at Amazon. They've done incredibly well. Would you consider doing other two packs? So for example I know you just talked about the buff figures from the 90s but you could go back for example and do you know Darth Maul and characters like that in a retro style that would
00:32:14
Speaker
That promotes the prequels because a lot of people come into the hobby these days are from from the prequels and 25 years ago so doing retro figures like that, but The point of the question there was more two packs like you've done with Amazon because they've done really well Yeah, no, they have done. Well They're they're a fun way to do more retro figures and
00:32:37
Speaker
And you will not find anyone here more so than me who wants to do more retro figures. So any way I can make that happen, I'm going to push for. And two packs are a great way to do that. I'm glad that you like it and that fans like it. Bobby, Rebels. Let's
00:33:03
Speaker
shift gears a little bit over back to replica. James kind of touched on this a little bit when he talked about the Hazlabs and that we had one of which was the Revasaber. Black Series replicas, have there ever been other items considered other than helmets and lightsabers such as blasters, thermal detonators or whatever?
00:33:31
Speaker
or small droids like training remotes and so on? Yes. We're constantly looking at other things to do. Straight up blasters, unlikely you will see those happen. There are a whole set of problems around blasters that I think we don't need to talk about. And if we were to do a blaster thing, it would probably be Nerf and a fun way to go there. We've done that in the past. They've been successful and very cool.
00:34:02
Speaker
As far as black series probably not on those but other stuff. Yeah, like it it's certainly a space to do and find other other expressions of And I'm assuming you're talking premium role play sort of things in there but yeah, I think there's There's lots of other stuff in Star Wars that isn't a lightsaber and isn't a helmet So yeah, we're
00:34:30
Speaker
We're looking constantly at ways to expand into that stuff. Yeah, maybe even like. Oh, but. No, go ahead. Well, I was going to say, I was going to say maybe even like as it might sound silly, but I'm totally serious about this. Maybe even like a Star Wars toolset, like how tech has his tool belt in the bad batch. I mean, you want to you want us to make a hydro spanner? Yeah, hydro spanner will be so cool.
00:35:00
Speaker
Oh my gosh. Um, yeah. So we, we have a lot of creative folks, obviously on the Hasbro side and innovation is a big piece of it, but I love ideas like that. Like that's actually kind of kind of cool. Um, so keep them coming. Thank you. All right.
Pre-order Cancellations & Walmart Issues
00:35:16
Speaker
Dan from stars collector.com.
00:35:18
Speaker
Um, do you guys know what's going on with the Walmart and their Star Wars exclusives? They've been taking pre-orders for them like months in advance. Then when the release dates roll around, they're sending out massive amounts of cancellation emails to customers saying, sorry, we have not, we had to cancel it because the manufacturer doesn't have the product for us to send you or for them to send us to send to you. This has happened multiple times in 2022. And these exclusives rarely show up at local retail stores as well.
00:35:46
Speaker
And the last part of the question was, we know that you guys offered some of the Walmart exclusives to some fan channels to sell, like Entertainment Earth and etc. Is there any possibility to let all of Walmart's exclusives go to fan channels? Because the customers aren't receiving the product from Walmart and when they do, they're mostly damaged because they're not packing them well and they're sending them the envelopes and everything else.
00:36:10
Speaker
Great change of pace when we're receiving them from entertainment earth mint and box because they're actually taking care of shipping them and stuff. Yeah, I mean, you know, entertainment earth they do a great job. I guess first off, so sorry for the frustration and from the community for the frustration like obviously we can understand how
00:36:30
Speaker
how that is in the ideal situation. We know that Walmart understands how important collectors are, like these figures are to collectors, and we are constantly talking and working with them in terms of getting, you know, making sure there's limited cancellations. Our understanding was that it was very limited, but there were some cancellations, and hopefully they'll try to limit them even more going forward.
00:36:53
Speaker
um and we're just always working closely with the retailer and you know on the other flip side like just to show how much they do understand they have shared with us um as well that they're looking into steps to protect the packaging more starting later in 2023 um so it's something that is is great news to have um yes starting more towards like the middle of 2023 but they're making the steps and we're having those conversations and it's
00:37:23
Speaker
Absolutely great to understand from both sides how that's going to impact the collector community in the future, because we know how important those packages are, and so do they. As far as offering them to other fan channels, do you guys just pick and choose? Yes. So I will say, and sorry for missing that part of your question. Yeah, so I would say we give retailer exclusives
00:37:50
Speaker
their exclusives, and if they choose to share it, then that is at their discretion to share it. So it's not up to us to share it more broadly than that. All right, thank you. All right, thank you. Steve, the force guide.
Updating Figure Articulation
00:38:11
Speaker
Recent all-new vintage collection figures have barbell hips that offer a great range of motion and really elevate the posing experience. Of course, they also make older figures inferior by comparison, even otherwise great figures that have just got rocker ankles, such as the Denjis Yeren and the Stormtrooper. How easy or difficult is it to add the style of hips to existing figures so that more of them can meet this new modern articulation standard?
00:38:43
Speaker
Well, it's something we've looked to do as we do these figures. But I hesitate to say that it is a standard because those are dangerous words to throw around in TVC because it's such an expansive line to say that there's a standard for TVC. If we were to say, OK, this is the standard, that kind of implies that we're going to go back and recreate every figure that we've done in TVC to bring it up to that standard.
00:39:12
Speaker
And that's not something that's likely to happen as we get a chance to give figures that kind of articulation and agreed like it's great. So we want to put that in there, but it's not realistic to go back and add that to every figure. Where we can, we will make that adjustment, update those figures, but it's likely to be part of a more substantial update to a figure.
00:39:41
Speaker
Because it does it does take tooling to do that. I mean, it's it's I would say. At least three tools, three sets of steel molds to do that for any one figure, because you've got to do the the pelvis, the barbells and the hip parts, you've got to do all that at least to make that work. So and we don't want to we don't want to spend that money to update figures that are already cool and take away from doing
00:40:11
Speaker
Take away from the budget to do more new figures. So I mean we say balance a lot. It's it's part of how many plates can we spin at the same time? Like that's that's part of that adventure. So yeah, I agreed that like those sort of advancements and and new additions and innovations in articulation are are critical to things but I
00:40:37
Speaker
And this is just a personal preference. I don't like using the word standard for it because of the implication that that sets a precedent and says, this is what we're going to do. And I think there are smart ways and smart ways to activate on that and to take advantage of that, that allow us to do more for everybody. I understand. Confusing enough? No, I get it. Thank you.
00:41:06
Speaker
All right, so we are out of time.
Indiana Jones Livestream Promo
00:41:09
Speaker
In my quick last-minute pivot, I did want to quickly plug in the Indiana Jones livestream that is going live tomorrow. Chris will be on that. Obviously, he works on Indy as well as Patrick and Eric. So just if you guys are interested and I know that there's overlap between Star Wars and Indy, please tune in and see. Yeah.
00:41:33
Speaker
Please tune in and see that. There's some great reveals coming. I know that there are some great items coming. So yeah, hope to see you guys there. And also thank you for joining us. I know this takes time out of your day to do so. And we appreciate talking to you and hearing from the community and from your followers as well. So yeah, thank you. And I'm sure we'll talk to you soon.
00:41:57
Speaker
Thank you, dear listener, for hanging out with us today.
Closing Remarks & Credits
00:42:00
Speaker
Subscribe, rate, and review us wherever you listen, and then tell your friends to do it. Thanks also to Joe Azari, the golden voice behind our intro. Our music is Game Boy Horror by the Zombie Dandies. Find more about them both on our show notes.
00:42:13
Speaker
Follow us on social media at AIC underscore podcast on Instagram and Twitter. Stop by and say hi. Show us your toy hauls and share your toy stories. Maybe we'll talk about it in a future episode.
00:42:37
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive producer, Franca Blaui. This program and many others like it on the non-productive network is distributed under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial no derivatives license. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.