Do all these new licenses mean the end for the old?`

[Ironman1188]

Don't get me wrong I'm tickled pink with the prospect of 1:6 Star Wars and the distribution of HotToys Rambo and Predator figures. I'm even thinking of getting a few of the LOTR ones if I can get thru. I know that the Angel license has been announced, but what does this mean for older licenses?
Will we ever see the Hellboy line get a Rasputin, Liz, John or Ilsa. No Ygor or Maleva or Pretorious for the Universal Monsters? No Giles in the BTVS? No Aldo, Virgil, Armando or any other POTA character? No Bond villains of Red Grant, Blofeld, Rosa Klebb, Goldfinger, Mr Wint & Mr Kidd, Bambi & Thumper, Kananga, Hugo Drax, Max Zorin or beautiful Bond girls like Honey Ryder, Jill or Tilly Masterson, Tiffany Case, Solitaire, Andrea Anders, Mary Goodnight, Major Anya Amasova, Holly Goodhead, Octopussy [smae actress as Andrea Anders], Stacey Sutton, Paris Carver, Christmas Jones. Or how about one or more of the plethora of Felix Leiters. Hey!!! If they give us Sir Godfrey Tibbett and Teresa DiVicenso we can also make the TV Avengers Steed & Peel!!
Ok I'm rambling and I'm not even the biggest Bond fan but you get the idea. will these older lines stay dorment in the wake of all the new multimillion $ properties or will the SSC tradition of making fan based quality pieces return?

 

[Shai]

Also, whats up with the new line horror line ???? Jason is the only survivor ? Where are all the other maniacs?

 

[dr2red]

Friday the 13th strikes with a double post by Shaihulud

 

[Fritz]

Good question. What's going on with Van Helsing?

I'm still waiting for that 1/4 Anna Valerious.

I know I know, the line is dead. But a guy can dream, can't he.

 

[Ironman1188]

Also, whats up with the new line horror line ???? Jason is the only survivor ? Where are all the other maniacs?

And even more importantly, where is Shaihulud's girlfriend??

 

[Poelzig]

Well,maybe if SS is willing to take the chance on obscure things like Pumpkinhead and Tremors,just maybe there still is hope for some of our favorite older lines.I would just like to see more releases in 1/6 scale....sooner or later all of this ultra high end merchandise has got to bottom out.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I get the impression that things like Pumpkinhead and Tremors are developed out of house so they don't take resources away from the main lines. But I am worried about Buffy/Angel and Bond which still have a ton of great characters to make. Universal monsters may be exhausted with A-listers and they've been burned with the B-people before. Renfield, Talbot, Bela as Gypsy - they all languished for a long time. Really I think the only viable one left is Ygor and then some PFs.

 

[Shai]

And even more importantly, where is Shaihulud's girlfriend??

Shes doing a strike...

 

[Ironman1188]

Shes doing a strike...

 

[Collector Freak]

IronMan, we both know that, unfortunately, the POTA line is dead.

 

[shaithis77]

No line is ever really dead.

Well, almost no line.

Monkeybone, anyone?

 

[Ironman1188]

I know nothing of the sort. Sideshow may indeed find a decent enough bone in their bodies to revisit one or two of the missing pieces. :

 

[shaithis77]

No more Apes for you. You made fun of Tremors.


GRABOID PRIDE!!!

 

[Ironman1188]

Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

 

[shaithis77]

My graboid is gonna dig underneath your apes, and eat them! ALL OF THEM!


Okay, back to work.

 

[Ironman1188]

My graboid is gonna dig underneath your apes, and eat them! ALL OF THEM!


Okay, back to work.

I'm off today. I was hoping to get in on the early pre-order for the "BIG" announcement which a lot of us were hoping was a retuen of the apes.

 

[tomandshell]

I was looking back at the announcements from Toy Fair last February, and I noticed the Moonraker Bond. Almost a year later now, and no additions to the Bond 12" line since then. X-Files has had two, both low run online exclusives. I think that may be the future for some of these lines (those that still have a future). Some of them might only be profitable for Sideshow if they handled them directly, leaving the other dealers to sell SW and LOTR.

 

[Ironman1188]

I'm good with that as long as the fans can finally get the pieces they've longed for. It's retarded that we haven't seen a Giles yet.

 

[chamildav]

I wouldn't think the Bond line is dead, just real, real slow. Still stuff that people would like to have like Jetpack Bond, several poular Bond girls and Q, among others. I just think it's going to come along very slowly now.
Buffy and Angel? Angel has just been announced so I certainly think SSC wants to offer some figures before they cancel the line. Buffy's done darn well on the figures that have been praised. The less desirable figures linger on websights but the nice ones sell fairly quickly. Why kill the line?
Some of the other stuff like the Six Gun Legends I fear are gone forever. Don't expect to see any Van Helsing again, and Hellboy is likely on hiatus until they have a reason to produce a new figure. But it's movie tie in stuff so it makes sense it's not going to last forever.
Have the Universal Monsters really run out of interesting or saleable material? I think if SSC can do shorter runs, like 2500 or less they could maybe find enough fans to sell out in a reasonable period of time. I think Boris and Bela from "The Black Cat" would do great. I want Gloria Holden and Maria Ouspenskaya and I think they would be popular enough for limited runs. Less main stream but I would dearly love to add a Zita Johansen from the Mummy in the ceremonial costume to go with Ardeth Bey. Ygor just has to happen. And what about Basil Rathbone from "Son of Frankenstein"? I think that has a good shot at being a decent seller. Ah, who knows? I just hope this line isn't dead.

 

[creecher]

Yes. Yes they do.

It only follows that there are a limited amount of 1/6 collectors, so a finite amount of expenditure. Balance that against the various lines and something has to give. I don't know how Sideshow work it out, or how long a time frame an item has to be sold in, to be relegated to the "Not selling well" shelf, but you can see the problem. You may like to collect the X-Files for example and then along comes LotR, with the fast selling, rush or die pressure. So you jump on the band wagon and before you know it another one comes out. You relegate X-Files to the back of the queue, then next thing you know X-Files stops dead in its tracks.

Sideshow must be having to deal with storage problems. So down with the lesser lines and all ahead for Star Wars, to rake in some dollars to get Sideshow Bob a new warehouse and a leather reclining bucket forklift seat with adjustable air pillows. Go Bob, you da man.

Sideshow like to use different strategies, some work, some don't. There are many factors that can change outcomes drastically. Something happened with Buffy, for it to be the only line that has ever re-arisen from the hell mouth. We can't be privy to everything. Sideshow do try to mix it up to keep us wondering and hold out interest, or we'd see the most popular figures released till the line dwindles in interesting figures and sales slow to the point where the line is no longer viable. That would be the easiest way to go, but boring, and many lesser figures would never have seen the light of day.

In the end Sideshow have to do what must be done, with what they know and what they have and what is available. As long as there is a Spooktacular in the distance my hopes of another Uni monster figure is ALIVE.