[Steevy Maximus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by User897

Agreed. This was a misfire and the molds are going back into retirement.

The molds didn’t come “out of retirement”. The old molds are LONG gone. TLS basically had to remake everything from scratch, that’s how you got the extra details like the Switchblade’s jet exhaust and Thunderhawk’s side mirrors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by murphbri

I agree with you about the price and the generic names. But TLS did post on their site that due to feedback they are adding vac-metal to everything except for Condor. That was likely the reason why the price was hiked from Toy Fair.

The generic names are probably a directive from Hasbro, as is the trilingual packaging. Hasbro still has hold on IP marks, so TLS might have been stuck in a bind trying to use “generic terms” like Rhino and Switchblade. It’s the same reason Hasbro sells “Autobot Hound” and “Autobot Jazz”, while Sideswipe and Starscream are just named as such.

But the price increases? That’s all due to tariffs and the uncertainty around them. Not to dredge too much politics into this, but the fact remains that nearly all of our toys, regardless of directed audience, comes from China and Vietnam which have, or are about to see, SIGNIFICANT tariff impacts. That is a cost TLS has to incur to sell the products in the US. As is, I applaud them from trying to “add value” to lessen the sting of those increases (the vac metal, the mask variants, etc). As a smaller company, TLS is simply more sensitive to price impacts and have to respond more quickly than a behemoth like Hasbro and its hundreds, if not thousands, of products. But that doesn’t negate the fact that almost every toy manufacturer and retailer has been warning of increases set to hit across the board this fall.

Quote:

Originally Posted by User897

If that is true, I might be convinced to buy them. At a different retailer with a lower price, that is. I don't get out much, but if M.A.S.K. stuff starts to show up at target and walmart at a reasonable price, I'd find a way to grab them.

These products are NOT far off from where Hasbro would have to price straight reissues for retail. Especially with all the old toolings long lost.

The reality is that TLS is positioning MASK as a boutique product line, not dissimilar to the products you see from Hot Toys, or Mafex, or Super7, or any number of specialty toy producers. If these were to be carried by Walmart or Target, I wouldn’t expect to see much of a price decrease simply because I don’t see there being enough in the margin to allow it.

The better question is this: If you had these toys as a kid, and don’t now, how much would it cost to scrounge together a relatively nice, complete, sample of these products? I’m not “in” the toy buying know enough to accurately answer this, but I guarantee that it would cost more to get a vintage RHINO than it is to buy this remake. That should be the perspective one takes when viewing the pricing on these, not how they compare to the (often compromised) lower margin stuff Walmart insists Hasbro and Mattel make.


My perspective is this: I liked MASK, had a few toys in my youth. Am I a hardcore fan? Not really, but I love the play pattern, love the scale (though, Computer Warriors and Dino-Riders were my mini-scale toy lines). Prior to the increases, MASK25 was already at my limit. Now? I may have to re-evaluate where my toy budget goes as other lines are apt to see increases this fall.
But if this was something like Dino-Riders? I wouldn’t hesitate because I KNOW a remake is going to be cheaper that hunting down an original. This product isn’t directed at kids who don’t know or care about the toys they DO get. They are for us old farts, and I hope it is successful enough to see more stuff LIKE THIS become available, even if it isn’t always for me.



But I’m still PROBABLY going to end up getting the RHINO by year’s end, and hope for some interesting announcements at SDCC.