I think they make the 9000 at this point. Stretch goals may be iffy, but you never know. Either way I'm just a spectator in all this.
The reason why Ghostbusters got funded first, and maybe the only one that gets funded of the three that are left, all comes down to want and fandom. As simple as that sounds. But it's far more complex than that. Let's use the Transformers has lab entries as an example. The two figures that Hasbro had up were Unicron and Star Saber. The former is one of the most iconic Transformers that has not received a generation 1 toy to exist. The second is a figure that is not had a proper modern update in years and comes from a cult favorite cartoon. And then there was the price for the second one which was very much in line with what people could afford. With the rancor there is very little in terms of fan popularity for just that figure. It is not a monster that had a ton of screen time. It is not a character that gets a ton of depth in the expanded universe. It's not a dark horse character that has a dedicated fan base that is so large that it becomes semi know. I have never seen anything star saber originally came from and yet I know the character! Because there's enough people that talk about him that through osmosis I have learned who he is. The proton pack is the very first has lab for ghostbusters, a passionate fan base. It is an item that many fans have gone out of their way to have custom built or built themselves. We have never had anything like that at that quality and scale before. Honestly it didn't matter what the stretch goals were for the proton pack. It was going to get made because there are enough people out there that wanted and it fits multiple niches. The fan base. Cosplayers. Lovers of movie replicas. With the rancor you have an overly large figure of a character that had minimal scream time in one memorable scene for a scale that even today fans are iffy on. It was always going to struggle and then the tier list killed it
I didn't know that the Rancor wasn't insanely popular. For me, it's as iconic as anything else in the series is and, all I could think as a child when the gate comes down was "what an absolute waste". I also wasn't aware of any disdain for The Black Series but, that's not my thing and I'm not in the Star Wars fandom. Even out of scale, I would have thought there would have been interest considering you could probably put an entire 3.75" figure in the Haslab Rancor's mouth since it's not like species height doesn't vary considerably in Star Wars. For clarity, I'm not saying that it's worth the MSRP (I don't feel that it is) and that everyone should be chomping at the bit for it. If it does get funded, I fully expect to see a laundry list of regrets since it looks like it's going to be made out of the same rubbery plastic that Marvel Legends figures are and a lot of the details will be lost under the paint (e.g. the nails on the hooves) because it's too soft to have crisp details. The $400 Galactus campaign had recently ended. The $180 Star Saber campaign had just recently ended. It's the 4th quarter which means people are buying presents and that's going to eat a huge chunk of disposable income along with costs increasing on everything possible across the board. It's not a complaint about choice. It's arrogant AF to drop a $230 Skystriker campaign along with a $350 Rancor campaign as well as a $400 Proton Pack campaign all at the same time on top of all of that. It's entirely possible that neither the Skystriker nor the Rancor would have been funded if the campaigns had been spread out but, they would have had a far better chance. It's just basic economics to not do something like this when the market can't possibly support it. It was an extremely poor decision and there will be internal fallout from it.
It's been fun watching Hasbro announce they'll add the keeper and many of the people who cried about the lack of one now going "TOO LATE NYAH!" like a bunch of five year olds.
Honestly, I find it odd how many people there are that won't back a product because of the stretch goals when all they are is bonuses. Sure, they're somewhat factored into the cost, at the higher tiers, but the core item is what is being purchased. Just seems silly to me to throw a fit over the bonuses like a lot of people do.
I mean especially since he isn't even a stretch goal. They are including him if the original goal is met.
The most common excuse I'm seeing (besides "too late") is "ugh why isn't he carded?" Because apparently they don't realize he'd be in the box with the Rancor. It's going to be fun to point back to this when people whine about future projects. Even when Hasbro gives people what they want they bitch.
If you mean a picture of him, probably because they are just starting the development process of the figure. By their own admission on the Rancor HasLab page: "We will be adding a fully newly-tooled Star Wars: The Black Series Malakili figure to the base offering, funding at 9K units. Uncarded and ready for action, Malakili comes with his unique gaffi stick inspired by Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. This figure is in active development, and we will share renders as part of our backer updates if the project successfully moves into production." Uncarded (unlike the previous stretch goal figures), and in active development, not even a render available.
Having an uncarded Malakili will also help in a couple of ways. No need to develop a card and blister/coin so some cost/time savings there. Being a loose/bagged figure should also throw a bone ( ) to those who were upset the tier figures could never be taken out of the collectible packaging. I'm happy they've added him as I always thought he should be there. Hopefully the numbers get there.
Yep, I should have been more clear. I was hoping for a picture or something. Even a screen grab from the movie tossed on to the page would have been cool.
I really don’t give a rip about their margins or Shareholders. The fans stood up for what they wanted and Hasbro caved. This is good for us. You spent a large amount of time calling Star Wars fans toxic for being upset and complaining. But because they complained (and cancelled) they got Hasbro to step up and make the project better. It’s the definition of ‘vote with your wallet’. You were wrong to tell people to be silent. No change can happen if nobody says or does anything. This is a very good thing and sends a message to Hasbro that they can’t cheap out or tell their customers what they want. They have to listen to us.
They had one for their social media announcements (a screen cap), but knid of surprised they didn't update at least the text for the HasLab page.
"Do you remember how it felt the first time you saw the trapdoor of Jabba’s palace slide away to reveal the hungry Rancor below, awaiting it’s Twi’lek™ snack?" Nice job goofing off a slave woman's grizzly death for refusing to be sexually molested there, Hasbro. Keep it classy.
I was texting someone last night about the Rancor. It makes no sense to me why anyone would cancel because they didn't like the tier items. If you already backed it then it would stand to reason you want the base item. I guess everyone just assumed the Keeper was going to be one of the tiers which does make sense but still it wasn't promised. I can understand waiting to see the whole package first and see what goals make it but not canceling after jumping in head first.
I know this is a TF forum, but do you think Hasbro should put more effort into the Vintage Collection or Black Series? I wonder which is more profitable… personally I like TVC because of the vehicles. The 3.75 inch figures have pretty decent articulation and sculpts as well.
