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By
Julian H. Betancourt |
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WAVE 17 In what seemed to be a smooth strategy by Hasbro to find an excuse for the Unleashed line to fail, Wave 17 was released in October of 2006. Twice before the figures in this Wave had been offered using different card designs and receiving ample distribution. It was obvious that when Luke Jedi and helmeted Darth Vader made their third time appearances, this time around as Wal-Mart exclusives, collectors' reception wasn't for the most part a happy one. O nce again and following Hasbro's new approach to the 7" Unleashed Line, both figures were offered in bulky cylindrical packages, priced at almost $20.00 each and piled up on end caps. Vast amounts could be found cluttering Wal-Mart shelves even during Christmas Season and way into Jan of 2007 where finally they were put on clearance and marked down at under $10.00Was this Hasbro's way to begin the process of ending a popular line? Was it a venue to blame collectors for losing "interest" in the figures? Apparently so. While previous releases suffering from poor distribution and low production numbers such as unmasked Vader and the Stormtrooper topped most collectors' lists, the maker opted instead to re release figures in low demand, overpricing them and dressing them up in a pretty package as Exclusives Was this unintentionally done? Was it an awful market strategy to revamp rehashes thinking central character would sell no matter being overproduced? If that was the case then Hasbro completely lost the touch here with what collectors want. It isn't an elaborate presentation what prompts one into buying a figure but rather new sculpting or in some specific cases, the re-appearance of a certain sculpt which might had been truly hard to find in the past. The two figures in this Wave didn't fit this profile. The future of Unleashed feels truly uncertain. Pessimism aside, Hasbro's unstable direction with this line speaks louder than words, feeling more and more like water testing to end something good. One can only hope that they reconsider their actions and continue offering Unleashed, a line which so beautifully has captured the essence of its characters but that has also suffered from uncaring handling by those that produce it. Ultimately it is up to Hasbro, not the collector, to keep Unleashed alive.
WAVE 18:
In
March 2007, Wal-Mart stores once again became the destination for
many followers of the 7" Unleashed Line in order to get a hold of Wave
18, sold at the chain retailer as an exclusive. Once again Hasbro
offered a set of rehashed figures at a higher price, packed inside clear
cylindrical boxes, their new standard Unleashed package. This was
probably one of the lamest re-release waves in the history of Unleashed
and before the end of March some Wal-Marts had already placed many of
the figures in the discount isle at $5.00 less than its original price.
The set was made of :
Anakin Skywalker:
This Mustafar
Anakin with lots of swirling flames around him, and wielding his
lightsaber is a straight repack from Wave 13 Nothing about the
figure and base was changed. Even the paint application remained
the same. Paying $20.00 for this figure that warmed up the pegs not
so long before seemed like a slap to our faces.
Obi-Wan Kenobi:
Another straight repack from Wave 13. This is the same figure
offered to be displayed along with Anakin's by linking them
together, depicting the intense light saber battle in Mustafar.
Obi-Wan is surrounded by flames that can be detached from the base.
Figure and base remained untouched from the previous release.
Another old item that got clearanced out.
Shadow Stormtrooper:
While the sculpt remained
exactly the same, its color changed becoming a straight repaint of the
Stormtrooper figure offered in Wave 12. The Trooper was painted black to
reflect its rank, the armor was "battle worn" in some areas and the
previous Death Star base was made in a much lighter color. Unlike the
previous sculpt the Trooper was permanently attached to the base using a
screw under his foot. The helmet was also made more permanent using a
stronger glue than the one use on the Stormtrooper
It also seemed this time
around the Trooper was manufactured using a softer plastic, being
somewhat very flexible around the legs. The laser bolts included did not
attach to their holes in the base very well and fell off frequently.
Despite being a rehash, the well proportioned sculpt and the attractive
black armor made the Shadow Trooper a much sought after figure.
Prior
to the release of WAVE 18 into the mass market, Hasbro was targeted
with a question that practically gave away the future of the now
decaying Line once it was answered. When asked if there were any plans
for new sculpts for the 7" line after Wave 18, Hasbro responded:
"There will be an important partial re sculpt coming a little later this year as an online exclusive. We are looking into Brian’s Toys, Entertainment Earth, and Diamond Comics. However, details on this one have not been announced yet and probably will be held until CIV " .... Our struggle has been trying to find the largest aggregate audience beyond the audience that picked them up the first time in their carded form, since that market was not enough to continue to sustain the development of new items. Our strategy has been to get the best characters back out there, in measured amounts, in a new package style to determine whether the market can support overall the volumes we need to recoup development costs. While the jury is still out on how successful we have been, we are not abandoning the 7" format. A few of Hasbro’s other lines are going to be doing a 7” Unleashed type figure, if that does well then we may look at the line re-appearing under the Star Wars brand."
The answer
sustained such an incredible derailment from what collectors wanted
that it clearly put Unleashed on the spot as a Line reaching its end.
Let's put it into perspective knowing as we know Unleashed appealed to
collectors, not kids.
According
to Hasbro sales were to blame : "since that market was not
enough to continue to sustain the development of new items"
Hasbro's
strategy to captured a broader fan base and gain momentum was to: "get
the best characters back out there, in measured amounts, in a new
package style to determine whether the market can support overall the
volumes we need to recoup development costs
It
was clear the Line had been fed to the sharks, destroyed by its creators
with erroneous marketing strategies, brought to an end where Hasbro
practically put the blame on collectors and the lack of sales rather
than themselves and their out of touch actions.
All
that was needed was adding new characters to the Line, having a proper
case ratio and better distribution. There was no need for an oversized
package. People wanted new faces not new boxes and if so, why not re
release characters that hardly anyone was able to find during initial
run?
"...there will be an important partial re sculpt coming a little later this year as an online exclusive. We are looking into Brian’s Toys, Entertainment Earth, and Diamond Comics. However, details on this one have not been announced yet and probably will be held until CIV " And with this promise in mind loyal supporters of the Line waited for what it seemed to be Unleashed's end of the road, expecting not even a figure but a re-paint/re-tool of one. If Hasbro couldn't keep the Line going with new sculpts then Unleashed was already dead. Sculpts - The Names: Hasbro's
decision on naming every UNLEASHED sculpt produced was conceived to aid
brand the Line, to distinguish it as something other than your regular
action figure. Magazine ads appeared showing pictures of the figures along
with the titles given to the sculpts.
A free small poster was made available for the Australian market to be handed out along with the purchase of the DVD at Toys R Us. The poster presented the pictures of Windu and Tyranus, the new UNLEASHED range, and became the first promotional item to feature the names of these sculpts.
For
some reason this practice stopped with the release of Wave 5, thus, officially,
only four Waves received names. As an effort to continue with this tradition, as
well as a venue to better describe any specific pose and character, reflecting
emotional depth and feelings, I've taken the liberty of giving names to those,
otherwise, nameless sculpts. The names are now part of the images I've worked
with and like so, I'm including a list with the official and nonofficial names.
Unleashed Prototypes:
As
with every toyline, Unleashed had to go through several pre production stages in
order to become what it is today. As such, engineering or production samples of
a figure were/are run to test a mold for consistency and to adjust the machine
before full scale production takes place. This is called a prototype. Errors:
Since
its first light of day, back in 2002, Unleashed has only accounted for three
whoops. It certainly shows that Hasbro's attention to production standards is
playing a good role here, and a watchful eye is being kept over the line. Having
said this, we live in a non- perfect world and mistakes are bound to happen. But
first, a word to try to clearly define and error vs. a variation, which are
commonly confused by inexperienced collectors.
I have included close up pictures of two of these errors here. I thank DiverDown21b for allowing me to photograph his missing saber Maul. Last Note: The
Unleashed Series is an artistic approach towards the films in its own way.
It's a view of the characters' nature through the imaginative mind of an
artist. Unleashed are indeed, sculptures showing an intense emotional
essence and elaborate rendering. True is the fact their poses and pieces of
environments not always match the films but they bring to us the fine
interpretation of events from those that behind a table, crafting tools in
hand, have given us so many years of pure collecting entertainment.
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