thamesvalidude said:
It would be useful if Sideshow would break their rule of a lifetime and let us know which lines are dead so that we can make alternative arragngements!
The only time I have seen SSC announce that a line was officially over/dead was the 8" Universal Monsters line. Evidently, they are not big fans of offering their buyers "closure" on a collection when they have finished with it. Its really sad that they don't announce they plan to offer no more. It makes the fanbase always watch boards, etc, for some inkling of hope...that never comes. This is the primary gripe I have with Sideshow. The other being that its really not that big of a deal to relay what plans for a particular line they have in mind for characters yet to be produced as well. I think this is why Bowen Designs is so popular still, despite all of the competition they have. They show sneak peeks, take fan suggestions, let the cat out of the bag regarding future plans and releases and let the collector know exactly where they stand.
An example of what I am talking about would be this. "Hey guys, we know there are tons of Universal Monsters(or collection of choice) fans out there, but we feel the 12" line has run its course and we will be offering no more entries into the realm of 12" figures in this line. Its been a great run, but we feel its time to focus on 1/4 scale and 1:1 busts now. Consider your collections complete. Thanks for your support." Ta-Da...Instant closure!
Also...what's wrong with when a license is first explored saying: "Here's our plan. We want to focus on the 6 major players of the film series as 1:1 busts. If they sell well...we will explore the possibility of producing lesser known characters. We are committed to producing the core 6 characters at least however." Then, if the line is LOTR, Universal, or whatever...its pretty much a given who makes up the core and you can draw your own conclusions.
I have never understood the secrecy involved with SSC's announcement policy. I like the way Bowen does it better. It keeps things more lively. You can also figure out if your character of choice made the cut or is not going to be produced waaaay in advance.