Star Wars Black: A Response to Poe Ghostal

When I wrote “Five Reasons Why Hasbro’s “Star Wars Black” Will Fail” — something I hope doesn’t come to pass, but I believe will happen — I expected responses. What I did not expect, though, was for a well-written response to follow my own within hours . . . but that’s exactly what Poe Ghostal did with Poe’s Point > Star Wars Black 6″ Doomed From the Start? (I’m not so sure).

This is my response to Poe’s article.

1. Against Tradition

My argument was that collectors of Star Wars action figures have made a 35 year commitment to one scale and that (traditionally) any other scale has failed. The 12-inch action figures Sideshow Collectibles (browse Sideshow’s site*) are doing better than I ever expected, but they’re also reasonably priced, if expensive, and outside of the reach of many Star Wars fans.

Poe writes:

This is clearly an experimental side-line. And is this really that different than their Marvel plan, where the Marvel Universe figures exist comfortably alongside their Marvel Legends line?

I completely agree that Star Wars Black 6-inch action figures are an experiment for Hasbro. And as an experiment I am sure someone at the company has an eye on the project and decisions will be made based solely on performance; with the whispers that boys toys are in trouble I have to ask: If Star Wars action figures of the 3.75-inch variety suffer a decline in sales and 6-inch toys do not cover the loss which scale will decision makers at Hasbro back? I suspect that the 3.75-inch line — the traditional line — will win any day that 6-inch figures are not showing a healthy profit.

And as to the happy coexistence of Marvel Universe and Marvel Legends action figures at retail all I can do is say that here in Austin both lines have shrinking display space at Walmart and Target. And I rarely see Marvel Legends at Walmart these days. They’re coexisting, yes, but neither one seems to be thriving.

2. Limited Play Potential

I stand by my argument that Star Wars action figures need Star Wars vehicles to be truly successful. In his post, Poe actually — in my opinion — helps reinforce this need for vehicles with one simple line:

If anything, I think Phil is selling the characters of Star Wars a bit short.

I don’t feel that I am, but I’m seeing the vehicles as not only vital to play but also characters in their own right. The classics like the X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and Millennium Falcon may not have speaking roles in the Star Wars films and books and comics and . . . well, they don’t speak but they are recognizable Star Wars characters.

And what fun is a Boba Fett action figure without a Slave I? The 6-inch scale, to me, is just small enough that we as collectors immediately start imagining vehicles. 12-inch scale action figures are massive and vehicles unrealistic. 6-inch scale action figures are of a size that vehicles are possible, but manufacturing costs would be an issue.

Kenner had been successful with twelve-inch tall Six Million Dollar Man dolls, as Hasbro has been with G.I. Joe. But Star Wars was clearly going to be a vehicle and accessory driven line, and if a twelve-inch Han Solo was going to pilot his Millennium Falcon, the ship would have to be five feet in diameter and cost several hundred dollars.

— Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible*

3. Twenty Bucks!?!?!

Yes, twenty bucks. I spend my days working hard and can afford the $20 price point on the Star Wars Black 6-inch scale action figures, but not everyone can and not everyone understands what goes into manufacturing these toys. When the tooling alone for a 6-inch scale action figure can run into $50,000 then that $20 price tag doesn’t look so bad; If Hasbro gets 50% of MSRP then they have to sell 5,000 units just to cover tooling costs. And that’s if we don’t think about actually manufacturing the toy, designing the toy, shipping the toy, marketing the toy . . .

I think $20 is perfectly reasonable for what we’re getting, but it’s not about what I or others online think. What do the shoppers in the store think of the $20 price point?

Poe pinpoints where he and I are coming at this from very different directions with:

. . . it’s not for kids, and Hasbro doesn’t need kids (or at least, not a lot of kids) for it to survive.

Yes, we totally disagree here. I feel that Hasbro must have kids for this line to survive and be successful only because I don’t think there are enough adult collectors to keep the line healthy for more than a a couple of years. As collectors our tastes and habits change, and we need the cool and the fresh to stay excited in a line. If the action figures were cheaper they could sell to more fans and potential fans — especially kids — but at $20 we’ll never see the line so successful that Hasbro can take more than a small slice of retail display space.

4. Difficult to Find

Poe argues that this point is a statement designed to lead to my final reason why the Star Wars Black line will fail, and that’s a totally acceptable argument from Poe and he is correct. But that doesn’t make the problem any less likely or annoying. In fact, I have nothing to add except to say I agree with Poe when he says:

If collectors can’t find the figures, they’ll give up in frustration and quit the line entirely.

5. Oversaturation of the Market

The final reason in the list, where I expect Hasbro to bury shelves in 6-inch scale Star Wars Black action figures Poe Ghostal has an entirely different view on the subject:

The figures are too expensive and, from what I’ve heard recently, barely break even cost-wise.

I have no inside information from Hasbro on their costs, but if Poe’s statement is derived from a discussion with a reliable source then I think it reinforces my overall opinion that the 6-inch scale Star Wars Black action figures are destined to fail. If the toys are barely break even pieces then Hasbro may resist the urge to oversaturate the market, but I cannot see a low profit line surviving the first round of “where do we make ourselves more efficient?” discussions at Hasbro in the future.

Poe also writes:

Hasbro has already stated the SWB6 will “primarily draw characters from the original Star Wars trilogy of films while also bringing in key players from the prequels.” Phil assumes Hasbro is going to do something that the company has already stated they’re not going to do.

Yes, I totally expect Hasbro to change their tune once the new Star Wars movies are within a few months of reaching theaters. I cannot see any way that Disney/Lucasfilm doesn’t have an impact on what Star Wars toys are produced and if I were in their shoes I would direct Hasbro to support the new movies.

But the key to not oversaturating the market with 6-inch scale Star Wars Black action figures is for Hasbro to do something that toy companies are not well known for: Exercise restraint. Whenever a line does very well companies react by increasing product and, at times, flooding the shelves. It’s not until product is selling slowly — and some starts going on clearance — that production runs are dialed back. Combine this with the hype for new Star Wars movies — I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw The Phantom Menace-levels of promotion and merchanising — and I think this spells oversaturation and doom for the line.

Whatever Happens, this Will Be Fun!

None of us can know for sure what will happen with the 6-inch scale Star Wars Black action figure series, but regardless of how long the line runs I am sure that we’ll keep talking about it and many of us are anxious to buy our first figure from the line.

I’m hoping that we at least get the first twelve action figures from 1978 in this scale — see “Star Wars Black: Defining Failure” and “Star Wars Black: 36 to 12” — and if we do then, for me, the line will have been a success.

But I’m not so sure that the line will ever see the original twelve action figures.

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