[jjk1120]

Wait, wait ,wait. Hold on. Disney owns a porn company?

[FancyPants]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoodleChow

yeah i don't see the action figure market really lasting much longer as is. once personal 3d printers get more affordable, i can imagine 3d toy model piracy being an issue. since 3d printers can already print colors and moving parts, only a matter of time before you only need to purchase files and resin. then just make figures at your leisure.

That would be sweet. I could see that being useful to this site. First guy i'd make would obviously be myself.

[Peteparker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoodleChow

yeah i don't see the action figure market really lasting much longer as is. once personal 3d printers get more affordable, i can imagine 3d toy model piracy being an issue. since 3d printers can already print colors and moving parts, only a matter of time before you only need to purchase files and resin. then just make figures at your leisure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikefavata

I already downloaded Wave 18.

I'm sorry, but this would be awesome. All you'd have to buy is well sculpted files, which you could get from anyone...

I have a friend at work who is working on making his 3d printer create parts to make another 3d printer.

[Crazy Jetty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjk1120

Wait, wait ,wait. Hold on. Disney owns a porn company?

Yes. Disney owns a mess of companies, and distribute different things through different companies.
Many companies they don't want people to know they own.
I'm not sure if they still do or not, but they *did* own Miramax, at one time. So, basically Disney published Clerks, and Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, amongst others.

Among the things they don't want people to know they own, is a porn company. Not being familier with that industry, I've never known which one it was, and I also don't know quite how to find the information. But I do know it's out there.
Disney owns a *lot.* And they'll play dirty for it, too (Pixar is evedent of that. Pixar felt Disney wasn't giving them their fair share of profit, given they were doing all the work. So when their contract came up, they started to shop around for a new company to work with, and disney did a hostile takeover and bought them out.

Lemme dig around and see if I can't find anything on the disney/porn link.

EDIT:
I can't find anything concrete one way or another. So file under urban legend, or rumor. I just don't know where to look. And it probably would not be anything very obvious, and shielded by a few fake companies.
But this is what I did find:
Disney's Not-so-disney interests- the rumor is on there. But it's the only thing on that page that can't easily be verified.
List of assets owned by Disney- They no longer own Miramax, but I was right, that they used to.

[NoodleChow]

yup, then we wouldn't have to worry about who gets what license, what version of the character, articulation, scale, distribution, and production timelines. tons of really talented 3d modelers out there who'll make all kinds of anything. especially with the software becoming more and more accessible or even free like Blender. companies like hasbro already utilize 3d printing to do their prototyping. once that tech gets really cheap, it won't even matter.

[loublanco1976]

Yeah that what be awesome. The same buck for every figure that would get over with legends fans.

[wolverine2281]

they just need to go back to something like this:

BAM! 4 different figures
:P

[Peteparker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolverine2281

they just need to go back to something like this:

BAM! 4 different figures
:P

Dude, you know if that was in MU, it would be 4 variations of the same single pack.

[wolverine2281]

hells yeah it would! all in the same wave too

[LUCKYDUBE]

Well, can we enjoy it for now? I mean some of their 6" stuff is cool and all but their 3.75" stuff are like statues. Thinking of this makes me =( The day Mattel gets the gig I'm walking away from this hobby.

[perrych]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Abbadon

Sure, and they could also hire McFarlane to run things- or Rush Limbaugh for that matter...and really, a Red Skull that happens to look like Obama would be kinda funny.

Vonner's firing from MU may have been less than amicible and that follows a person. And him selling (if that's really him) the next wave of MU figs on ebay for $900 months before they are released sure looks bad.
As in "never work in the industry again" kinda bad.
Possibly Lawsuit Bad....I cant imagine Hsbro is happy with that noise.




Not so!
Disney, for all their flaws, is crazy about quality- they want their stuff to only be top quality since it represents them- if people think 'cheap crap" from a Disney product, they think that of Disney itself.
Crappy quality is a messy (and public) lawsuit waiting to happen too...recalls and such being a PR nightmare for a company like Disney.

It's the small silver lining in their having bought Marvel.
Following that line of thought, Hasbro is where Lucasfilm chooses to keep it's Star Wars liscence- that says a lot about quality to non-collectors.

Besides, we know nothing of Mattel's agreements with Warner Brothers- there are likely prohibitions from Mattel handling other superhero properties next to theirs- after all, how would WB know they were getting the top quality and marketing if their competition was being made by the same people?
WB are not the people to piss off either.

First, its an assumption that this is actually Vonner. There is no reason to believe one way or another. In the end, its none of our business - unless you have a spare $900. Otherwise, it is just speculation. (I will say that it looks like it is him only because the seller sold a stroller a while back with that name - an odd thing to sell if you were going to make up a name). It is also speculation to assume he doesn't have permission to sell these figures. Most companies are VERY protective about what you can take with you when you leave the grounds. Certainly he could have snuck it out but there are much quieter ways of selling an illegal toy than ebay! They may have given him the figures as a parting gift or representation of his work to show other companies.

About Disney, I have seen plenty of examples of both products that are very well crafted and others that are terrible - all with the Disney logo on them. Fair warning - I'm a Disney enthusiast. That said, stuff I've bought from both the theme parks or in stores have been hit and miss. Some have held up for ages; others didn't get home from the store. I make no assumptions about quality of their licensees. I only assume that the profit margin for Disney is great.

[Snowflakian]

Because of certain lines like Super Hero Squad(which is on the hub now!) that's a hit with kids, and now how Marvel Universe is marketed, I don't see Disney dropping hasbro anytime soon. There's too much hand in hand marketing going on.

If anything it works too much in Disney's favor to keep working with Hasbro. The Potato heads being a prime example(since he's used in toy story). Mattel also doesn't have the best sales track record outside of Barbie. They're also too much the source of scandal with the lead paint and other recalls. When you add in how much they are the go to for WB, it also makes it seem like a conflict of interest for which lines they push.

As much as I love the Four Horsemen Sculpts, I don't trust mattel handling Marvel well at all. It'd be the death of the 4'' scale lines, no squadies, and while the legends could see some interesting additions they'd be sparse and hard to find. All around it's in Marvel's best interest to stay with hasbro and their distribution channels. The only perk that could come out of this would be Female Marvel superheroes Barbies.


If anything. My main concern right now is that Disney might be thinking Hasbro would make a good acquisition because of their brands. Something that would help bolster Disney to have another in house mass released toy company under its hat, another channel, and tons of IPs to work with in the future. Considering they have a fairly friendly business cooperation abroad, it does make me a little concerned.

[bmorr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iceman

I keep hearing this everywhere and I guess it makes sense. That is why figure makes keep trying new gimmicks to make them more playable. Maybe the kids these days just don't have good I imaginations from having way too many TV shows to watch and video games to play but who is to say? I can say that I still see kids in the toy aisles but more more I hear parents saying "no that's too expensive" or some variation of that. The prices have risen too much too fact just like gasoline has.

On the bright side, if something like MU became a more specialized adult-focused line then you would expect better figures for a higher price. At least, one would hope.

Also, I will say that I've been a huge gamer since I was like 5 years old and I've always maintain my interest in toys to some degree.

your sort of right about costs, but looking back, i remember the prices for, say, beast wars toys. guys like TM1 megs cost like 20 bucks. A MONTHS allowance for me....I dont think costs today are too much different to tell the truth.

[Crazy Jetty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflakian

If anything. My main concern right now is that Disney might be thinking Hasbro would make a good acquisition because of their brands. Something that would help bolster Disney to have another in house mass released toy company under its hat, another channel, and tons of IPs to work with in the future. Considering they have a fairly friendly business cooperation abroad, it does make me a little concerned.

I think Hasbro is too big for Disney to be able to swoop in and take over. Ten years ago, woulda been a different story. But now Hasbro has become more than just a toy company, and is now becoming a Media empire. It has several monster franchises that it owns, and a few others that it has strong alligiences with. And it's the largest toy company in the world, with several global blockbuster movies, and now even it's own TV channel.
Hasbro's nowhere near as big as Disney, but if Disney came knocking now, I think Hasbro could fend them off (Unlike Pixar, or Marvel). Or at least put up enough fight to make it not Disney's worth while.

However, something no one's really considered...
Given how Disney either does everything themselves, or aquires companies to do it for them, I'm surprised they haven't started their own toy company, years ago.
But, let's not forget that Marvel aquired Toybiz years ago, and turned it into Marvel Toys. No one's considered that Disney now owns Marvel Toys. It's far more likely that Disney will return the marvel lisence to Marvel Toys, than it is that they'll give it to Mattel.
But, if Hasbro's handling of the Marvel franchise is still successful by '17, Disney won't do anything.

[Crazy Jetty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmorr

your sort of right about costs, but looking back, i remember the prices for, say, beast wars toys. guys like TM1 megs cost like 20 bucks. A MONTHS allowance for me....I dont think costs today are too much different to tell the truth.

They are when you consider the fact that back when Beast Wars was king, that Basics cost $5, and now Legends are $7, and Cyb Commanders are almost $10. Both classes smaller than Basics were, and Commanders now cost the same as a deluxe did back then.
Back then, $8 got you a Marvel Legend with a 6" fully articulated figure, a full comic, and a gigantic BaF piece that was as big as the action figure.
Now it doesn't even get you a 3.3/4" MU with no accessories.

I agree with Iceman completely on this. Rising prices do have a lot to do with the failing toymarket.

[bmorr]

yeah, lol, i forgot about the whole size class renaming. and 8 bucks for a new legends is pretty incredible considering the cost of a figure the same size today went up about 100%

[SH0CKWAVE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty

EDIT:
I can't find anything concrete one way or another. So file under urban legend, or rumor.

pretty much sums up this entire thread.

[Crazy Jetty]

@Shockwave

LOL! Nice.

[Jason Abbadon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmorr

your sort of right about costs, but looking back, i remember the prices for, say, beast wars toys. guys like TM1 megs cost like 20 bucks. A MONTHS allowance for me....I dont think costs today are too much different to tell the truth.

Same here- and as to gimmicks, look at MU and ML- gimmick free baby!
Even when we see gimmicks like in the Avengers, it's almost aways the crap with the figure, not built into the fig itself like Toybiz used to do.

[proteus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty

I can't find anything concrete one way or another. So file under urban legend, or rumor. I just don't know where to look.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SH0CKWAVE

pretty much sums up this entire thread.

Hahahahahahahaha @SHOCKWAVE!!! And @Crazy Jetty you should try Hoboken way,i hear theres some kinda mothguy living in the woods there who swears him,Bigfoot,and the Tooth Fairy will be getting the license for MU...You think that MU are hard to find now,wait until they are only sold at full moon from a mushroom circle in the forest.(Apparently they are also the company behind the near mythical SK Omega Joe-compatible line as well.)

[trebleshot]

IIRC, Marvel Toys was dissolved when Hasbro was granted the master toy license to the Marvel characters. If that's the case, Disney/Marvel would still have to create a toy company from scratch if they want to keep the license in-house.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLASSIFIED

April Fools was the 1st! This is real!

No, this is speculation at best.

[Iceman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy Jetty

They are when you consider the fact that back when Beast Wars was king, that Basics cost $5, and now Legends are $7, and Cyb Commanders are almost $10. Both classes smaller than Basics were, and Commanders now cost the same as a deluxe did back then.
Back then, $8 got you a Marvel Legend with a 6" fully articulated figure, a full comic, and a gigantic BaF piece that was as big as the action figure.
Now it doesn't even get you a 3.3/4" MU with no accessories.

I agree with Iceman completely on this. Rising prices do have a lot to do with the failing toymarket.

It's the rising price over such a short period of time (5-6 years) that is doing it. Look at how fast housing prices rose compared to income. Eventually it became unsustainable and housing far less affordable. That market corrected itself but a lot of damage was done.

A lot of things combined to make higher prices for many products such as shipping going up when fleets became docked because of less goods moving around in a slower world economy. Oil prices directly effect the price of many plastics but even when prices to make figures go down it's not like we will ever see lower prices at retail. Once a price gets bumped up it stays there.

[Super Joe]

Thread began with a hypothetical question. Like a "What If" its possible. Its understandable why fans like MU to stay with Hasbro; and reacted accordingly. Yet surprising news of Hasbro firing Vonner conjures the following question = why should Hasbro keep Vonner when they MIGHT not keep Marvel? It may explain why Hasbro fired an otherwise great fan-favorite David Vonner.

As repeated, we won't know till 4+ years when Disney decides which toy company to give it to in 2017. Can go either way; Hasbro or Mattel. Its not about that. Question is "What If" Disney does what they often did (and give another license to Mattel) to add to that toy company's already long laundry list of Disney-owned licenses? Focusing back on topic. WHAT IF it POSSIBLY does happen = what would you guys like (or don't like) to see?

[Super Joe]

Sample (hypothetical) Answers:

1. I like to see you (Mattel) keep the same quality / articulation of MU figures which Dave Vonner crafted in his previous employ.

2. I'd like to see Amalgam action figures if you (Mattel) use 4H bucks for both Marvel and DC. Using 4H bucks for both, may work well, achieving a "uniformity" across super hero action figure lines. However great this uniformity, I still also like to ensure there remains a great variety of body types. Example, 4H bucks used on Bane should not be used on Puck.

3. Because I'm a fan of both quality / articulation of Hasbro's MU, I want to see Mattel keep it that way; or improve upon it. And in the event you hire Vonner, please have him craft his same articulation / quality in your DC Comics 3.75 inch lines, too.

[Super Joe]

On a related note:
Mattel cancels YOUNG JUSTICE 6" and 4" lines? - Toy Discussion at Toyark.com