12" lotr line on hold

[jason2885]

Well hopefully we will get a complete Fellowship in a dio. I dont care how much it costs.

 

[The Ringer]

I think a dio of the fellwoship cresting the hill is sure to come.

 

[Seaward]

Since the line seems to be cancelled, I have to wonder how much more complete the PF line will be. Will Frodo ever have Pippin and Merry, or will Legolas and Gimli be a part of the line, or will that line get saddled with Galadriel and Gandalf the White and an incomplete Fellowship too?

 

[Fel9]

Okay, I've read through this topic and all I have to say is that I am very sad to see this happen. Did I expect it to happen? Yes...but I had hope. The truth is that the 1/6th market is kind of a two headed beast. On the one hand you have the hard core collectors that want absolute realism and fantastic articulation (which ain't cheap) and on the other you have people who want them to be reasonably priced (which means cutting corners). I tend to fall into the former not the latter...but I have my limits, and quite frankly the current crop of 1/6th figures is on a razors edge with me...

I used to collect The Dead, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Indy, and whatever RAH and military 1/6th that struck my fancy. Now it is down to the Star Wars that I don't have decent Hasbro versions of, LOTR, and that's it...and quite frankly i probably won't pick up another one in the wake of losing LOTR...

As far as the death of the LOTR line...the reality is that the market is just not there...
Yes there are a ton of Tolkien fans but a lot of them already have great versions of their favorite characters in other forms, and we are a little far away from the movies to justify a line of this magnitude...What makes me truly sad is that we were so close to having a full fellowship....I guess my toybiz rotocast Gimli will have to do for a while longer....As well as the rotocast Ring Wraith....

And as far as "On Hold" sideshow lines, we all know what that means....Makes me want to break down any buy the medicom Henry Jones Sr. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts (the correct spelling) that we'll never see a sideshow one....I mean as a hard core Indy fan i preordered Belloq, but as a follow up to the main man, sorry....

 

[Mudshark]

This news is pretty hard for me to swallow as well. While I still have a small amount of hope the line will continue somehow (perhaps there will be renewed interest when the Hobbit movies arrive), this is extremely discouraging. I'm glad I picked up a DiD Gimli earlier this year. Maybe someone will sculpt heads of Merry and Pip, so at least I can customize them with spare Frodo and Sam parts and complete the Fellowship.

 

[galactiboy]

IMHO, SS is slowly steering away from 12-inch figures into Statues and Dioramas. Despite the lower ES of Statues and Dioramas, the profit margin is probably higher for these items.

Although the same concerns were voiced 2 years ago and since then we actually had a large increase in 1/6 figures and licenses from Sideshow. They have to run their business in a way that makes money... if the collectors are buying then they will keep making them.

But Reservoir Dogs, Shaun of the Dead and LOTR all (admitadly had problems) were disappointing performers. So I wouldn't expect much more from them. Still hope we see a 1/6 Darkman, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Kuzeh]

After Indy, Vader and Stormies, unless they release the Droids, Chewie or some Imperial Military, I'm done with SS stuff...

Quoting myself, it's been an awesome ride, but coming to an end...
I'll be getting that Carbonite Solo for my Jabba setup though....

But then, since I don't think we'll get 3PO or R2 or Chewie, and maybe, just maybe some Snowtroopers or any of those guys, I'll only have HT products coming my way...

 

[ProgMatinee]

Brant mentioned there being at least 2 more figures in the INDY line in the same chat today. Conventional Wisdom... and some informed speculation assumes one of those is Toht, which could breathe some new life into the line (if SSC doesn't snuff it out again with this sluggish pace).

Mentioning that there will be "at least 2 more figures" reminds me of that recent Cincinnati Bengal guaranteeing they'll win at least 2 games.

Pretty weak guarantee.

 

[Darth Cruel]

Re: Fool of a Took

I was also a customizer and also got frustrated with 1/6 offerings that were less than I'd hoped for. But I really, really don't think that the SSC LotR are bad in any way and need all this work - all of the sculpts are great, although the production paint on Faramir and Aragorn did suffer.

Perhaps everyone complaining on forums such as this one (only on this one?) undermined the line and actually caused it's death. We've seen that LotR collectors are probably older, didn't grow up with licensed toys like Star Wars fans, and gravitated to the static statues. They just didn't respond to the posable action figures.

Unless I am misunderstanding you, I have to disagree with the complaining causing the line's untimely demise. There is approximately 3,473.867 times the complaining over the Star Wars figures. And that line is thriving like no other.

I do agree with the simplest of the ideas, though, that lack of interest in the 1:6 scale format is largely (not completely) the culprit.

My theory on that particular aspect is that the nature of the story is more artistic whereas Star Wars is more action in nature. And those characteristics translate to the general audience of each story. The LOTR fans being (once again, in general) a little more refined in their tastes and therefor tending toward the statues as opposed to the action aspect of the 1:6 scale figures. And conversely the Star Wars fans are attracted a little more toward the action aspect of the 1:6 scale as opposed to the static statues.


Or not (it is just a theory).

 

[pixletwin]

Three things killed this line

1) Character Choice

2) Slow Pace

3) Pricing

 

[Adoptedscot]

Three things killed this line

1) Character Choice

2) Slow Pace

3) Pricing

Pretty sad news but not unexpected I guess.
I don't collect 1/6 but after seeing 'My Lords' in hand pics I am tempted to get GTG, he just looks so good!
x

 

[Darth Cruel]

Three things killed this line

1) Character Choice

2) Slow Pace

3) Pricing

How did character choice and pricing work to kill the line?

 

[creature4000]

Pretty sad news but not unexpected I guess.
I don't collect 1/6 but after seeing 'My Lords' in hand pics I am tempted to get GTG, he just looks so good!
x

thats the sad part... there were getting better and better!

 

[Adoptedscot]

thats the sad part... there were getting better and better!

I know I must admit I wasn't impressed at all until the Hobbits and now GTG but its 'on hold' now, which is crazy but its just the way it works I guess.
If they dont sell all their units they they won't be making a profit so it may not be worth making them, financially speaking.
As we've seen with the suprise POTA PF though, give it 4 years, they may eventually finish the fellowship
x

 

[Mudshark]

thats the sad part... there were getting better and better!

That really is a shame. I think timing was as much a factor as any of the other things. The LOTR wave is already a few years past, and that really didn't help matters.

Maybe, just maybe when The Hobbit films are released there will be another healthy wave of Tolkien enthusiasm and Sideshow will pick up where they left off. By that time they should be able to do everything they originally intended to do with the 1:6 line, including armoured humans and the more complex minion characters.

 

[Karaduin]

Sorry to keep mentioning it, but would SS develop the hobbit bodies only to make two? I hope to see Merry & Pip but this would be the 'last gasp of air' before sinking. I don't think Gimli is likely tho...

I was really happy when they announced the Prometheus and Armoured bodies. All I could think about was the goodness that these will do for the 12" LotR line...

 

[Mudshark]

Sorry to keep mentioning it, but would SS develop the hobbit bodies only to make two? I hope to see Merry & Pip but this would be the 'last gasp of air' before sinking. I don't think Gimli is likely tho...

I was really happy when they announced the Prometheus and Armoured bodies. All I could think about was the goodness that these will do for the 12" LotR line...

My sentiments exactly! That's what makes this bitter pill so hard to swallow for me. I had such high expectations, in spite of the long delays and the price hikes.

 

[pixletwin]

How did character choice and pricing work to kill the line?

Have you been reading this thread at all?

The line needed villains. Instead we got Faramir. Also villains are visually more interesting. A Wraith would have gone a long way in making people want Hobbits.

Price-wise, while I agree the price was justified considering how intricate the costumes designs were, I think the $10-15 price difference between this and other lines (at the time) was a bit too much for most collectors to swallow. Also $140 for two Hobbits I think was the point were many collectors dropped off and abandoned the line.

 

[Darklord Dave]

Re: Fool of a Took

Unless I am misunderstanding you, I have to disagree with the complaining causing the line's untimely demise. There is approximately 3,473.867 times the complaining over the Star Wars figures. And that line is thriving like no other.

Yes, I wasn't clear - I think the complaining stopped people from buying. SSC could care less about complaining if people are buying the figures. And despite all the complaints from the Star Whiners, they still buy the figures. That's not the case with LotR.

And regarding the "on hold" equals "canceled" - despite my earlier comments that isn't necessarily true. They still have the license for LotR 12" and something could happen that would make them decide to continue.

 

[pixletwin]

Who ever thought a PotA PF would be on the horizon?

You really never know, though we think we do most of the time.