When you look at what other action figure toy lines have to offer, you sometimes wonder if Star Wars survives solely on nostalgia and “Star Wars,” rather than because of great products or good value.
The reason I mention all this is because of the brand new GI Joe Classified HasLab: Sidewinder. When you see it, what it offers, its features and its price…you start to wonder if Star Wars fans are just being ripped off these days and the remaining collectors are even fooling themselves into thinking something like the Cantina Stuff is a great thing to have. Click to see more!
GI Joe Classified Rattler, complete package with potential bonuses
Okay, so what prompted all of this?
GI Joe Rattler HasLab costs $329.99. But this is a massive 6-inch scale airplane, in fact, it’s almost as big as a 6-inch scale X-Wing!
JTA regular Oofa was kind enough to send me his updated comparison chart:
Click to enlarge!
Now, Ufa wants to know why Star Wars collectors, Black Series collectors, no longer buy any of the big vehicles. The dimensions can’t be that, because as you can see, the new HasLab Rattler is almost the size of an X-Wing.
But we do know why Hasbro won’t be producing any Black Series vehicles other than smaller ones as accessories, and in fact they uncharacteristically revealed all of this during a fan Q&A not too long ago. They were vocal about how sales were terrible, specifically mentioning the Snowspeeder, where sales didn’t meet Hasbro’s expectations and the larger vehicle was shelved (for now).
Then you wonder why the GI Joe community supports 6-inch scale HasLab vehicles. Has Star Wars gotten to the point where a similar entry in the Black Series is unlikely?
The Diamondbacks nearly raised the money in less than a day. 9k needed, currently 7,614, 45 days to go. It will most likely have all levels unlocked and have 18,000 backers.
When you look at the Sidewinder’s feature list, you’re really going to be surprised if you’re a Star Wars fan.
Because rattlesnakes have electronics. It has a lighted cockpit display, the gunner turret cockpit lights up, and it has landing lights!
Actual work lights….
All of that, plus maybe two more figures and some patches and of course accessories, will set you back $329.99. And the $399.99 or even $499.99 bistros are… nothing. Just like the “No Game Feature”, there are no lights, no sounds, just lots of cups and glasses and some characters.
Even the super successful Razor Crest HasLab has no electronics, no cockpit lights, no engine lights… nothing.
Yet G.I. Joe clearly has it all. At a cheaper price.
To collectors, whether Disney is ripping off Hasbro with Star Wars and licensing is completely irrelevant. Finally, an action figure toy line will get a large 85cm/33.5-inch illuminated vehicle, priced at $330. Star Wars has a $350 vehicle or a $400 unlit cantina.
So the question is: have we become accustomed to being licensed less than other toy lines because we’ve been trained to accept less licensing costs? Why don’t more fans praise Hasbro’s sometimes lazy or at least pretty accurate Star Wars sets? Especially HasLabs like Razor Crest, Ghost or Cantina will benefit from lighting. Apparently Hasbro could easily do this for G.I. Again, the cost is lower, of course because Hasbro owns GI Joe outright and Disney is going to require a hefty royalty fee on all Star Wars toys, but as I said, for the consumer, the customer, It doesn’t matter, it’s Hasbro’s responsibility to make this happen.
So I wonder…have we all been trained to accept “barebones” as the standard for Star Wars? I also wonder how much the Black Series X-Wing (almost the same size as the Sidewinder) will cost… My guess: It has no lights, costs $399.99, and as you go up the levels you get the same pilots The body and maybe the pork will be put into use as a unique mold. And it will definitely have fewer accessories.
What do you think of the GI Joe Rattler HasLab compared to previous Star Wars HasLabs? How do you feel about the fact that the current Joe HasLab is expected to be fully funded over the weekend, two or three days after launch, while the Cantina campaign is moving slowly and is only unlocked shortly before the deadline? Even if Cantina only needs 8k supporters instead of 9k like Rattler? While Star Wars once dominated, G.I. Joe was essentially only released in the U.S. and never became a truly global franchise or a truly successful movie.
Do you think collectors should let Hasbro know we deserve better? Is Star Wars just second tier now? Or are you content with paying less and more?
GI Joe Rattler HasLab provides more details.
