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Thread
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Sigma 6 - Kung Fu Grip - Combat Squad Cancelled
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07-29-2007, 12:26 AM
misterd
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 8
Conflicting reports coming from reps at SDCC who seem to have marginal information isn't surprising.
What is surprising is how quickly S6 went from the darling of the Joe line to getting shoved out the door.
I know little aside from what has been reported here and elsewhere, but based on what is known, I wouldn't write the line off completely yet. If it were truly dead, Hasbro would pull the plug early as it did on Xevoz and the 2.5 line. If they are releasing the figures, it is likely with at least a hope, however slim, that something will catch.
I think what went wrong is Hasbro got encouraged by early sales of S6 and jumped the gun, rushing too much product on the shelves, and introducing a second line before the 1st had really established itself. Retailers also jumped the gun, and overordered, but largely the same few sets of figures (most notably Sigma Strike Duke and the repackaged Green Case Wave 4 Commandos). Thus we got a glut in the market during the holiday and post-holiday season. These poor decisions kicked formerly enthusiastic retailers into reluctant buyers in almost record time.
I can't tell you how many sets of Wave 5 Soldiers (Shipwreck) my WM got in in Feb. At least 8, and I bought at least 3 of them (1 for me, 2 for others). Some of those figures are still sitting on the shelves. But tis week, the new Soldier wave came in, and all but 1 was gone by the time I got there (I got mine already via BBTS). The line seems to do well enough when there is NEW product on the shelves. Not bucketloads of green cased reissues of figures that are still in stock, nor of higher priced sets of a figure that had already seen 4 different releases.
I always figured these new lines were a fishing expedition to see what, if anything, would catch on with kids, and I could see any number of possible outcomes. Maybe they all succeed and all get moved forward. I doubt that. Maybe they all fail, and the 8" experiment ends here. Or maybe its a mix, and Hasbro continues some while dropping others.
If I were to gamble...
I think the AT is going to succeed, simply because of it's quality. What scares me is the $20 tag, but with only 3 figures, I don't think we'll see a glut on the shelves.
I think the Soldiers can sell well, especially Gung Ho and Iron Grenadier and Storm Shadow. However, I am nervous about the fact that the next wave of Soldiers is essentially a reissue of the figures that were overstocked in February, plus Short Fuze. And I really don't know if Hasbro would continue the Soldiers without a higher-priced set of figures to anchor it.
The Commandos scare me. Flint looks like a quality figure, but his new look is chasing off older collectors (the ones who made many earlier figures hard to find). Red Banshee looks like crap. It's hard to take Evel Kneival Stormy seriously. I'm not sure how Windfire CC will look with mismatched chrome and silver plastic. Heavy Duty is the first near-complete repaint figure the line has seen (save for the head). Most troublesome is that this has been the backbone of the line. If it goes, the whole thing might follow.
I don't know what to make of Combat Squad. Lower cost to produce, but not terribly good results. Yet I've heard from a number of non-Sigma buyers that they look good and plan to pick some up (I know, anecdotal evidence is weak evidence). The next wave, if released, certainly looks better.
If in the end the line falls, it will be disappointing, but I was already at the end of my collecting days. I'm done with TFs, and vowed to leave the 8" line once shelf space ran out. If it goes prematurely, it saves me a little time and money.
BTW - to the 3.75 collectors - there ain't many of you, and there's fewer of us collecting the 8". Many of us didn't do the 3.75 before, so don't expect us to help save the 3.75 line either. I don't wish you ill, but the line failed to find a broad appeal after repeated attempts in the first half of the decade. I'm not sure this 2 year layoff will change anything, but I wish you the best of luck.
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