NECA - Planet of the Apes

[ApeManRyan]

Frustrating thing is the Ape-onauts were already in development. Sucks that the line ended, so many great figures were already made.

They were? Never knew that. Now I'm even more disappointed.

 

[dholden007]

They were? Never knew that. Now I'm even more disappointed.

Yup, I specifically asked Randy. They were sculpted. One day very shortly I will arrange a tour of Neca HQ just to see all the developed apes (and gremlins too).

 

[ApeManRyan]

Yup, I specifically asked Randy. They were sculpted. One day very shortly I will arrange a tour of Neca HQ just to see all the developed apes (and gremlins too).

Wow very lucky of you!

 

[dholden007]

Wow very lucky of you!

Well if you have time why not go, you are not that far from them. They are located in Hillside NJ. Just seeing all their amazing dioramas would be worth the trip.

 

[ApeManRyan]

Well if you have time why not go, you are not that far from them. They are located in Hillside NJ. Just seeing all their amazing dioramas would be worth the trip.

How do you get a tour? I would love to go and visit them. It would be a dream come true.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

[dholden007]

How do you get a tour? I would love to go and visit them. It would be a dream come true.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Easiest would be to tweet Randy @NECA_TOYS
He will let you know when is a good time and when he is available. He is really cool

.

 

[ApeManRyan]

Easiest would be to tweet Randy @NECA_TOYS
He will let you know when is a good time and when he is available. He is really cool

View attachment 236291.

Oh cool. I don't have a twitter sadly. I use to but people were causing issues on it so I got off.

 

[dholden007]

I like twitter a lot. Its actually comical seeing some idiotic tweets Randy gets. Some think because they collect toys they know how to run a major company but Randy's honest responses are refreshing (not the usual canned corporate responses you would get from everywhere else. ) He is one of the reasons I like Neca so much, and their customer service is amazing.

 

[lttgtimaatisgdaicfi]

I think he really blew this line. His choices in figures and assortments really sucked; very poor decisions. He could have sold a bunch of Conquest Gorillas if they were single-packed instead of in an overpriced 3-pak he claimed was a poor seller at SDCC (duh!) but sold through here at retail. Two Zaius in the first two waves, no humans, no bandoliers in the Gorilla 2-Pak, what a mess... He gets collectors to buy into the line and then poof...it's over. He should forget about Twitter and get his head out of his ***.

 

[dholden007]

You can't please everyone but the fact is this was indeed a passion project for Randy. They simply didn't sell. Its not like they weren't sold individually. Hastings has many Conquest Gorillas in stock, keep raising the price but still have plenty left. My local TRU and LCS have plenty of apes left. Not going anywhere.

 

[sallah]

I think he really blew this line. His choices in figures and assortments really sucked; very poor decisions. He could have sold a bunch of Conquest Gorillas if they were single-packed instead of in an overpriced 3-pak he claimed was a poor seller at SDCC (duh!) but sold through here at retail. Two Zaius in the first two waves, no humans, no bandoliers in the Gorilla 2-Pak, what a mess... He gets collectors to buy into the line and then poof...it's over. He should forget about Twitter and get his head out of his ***.

I gotta say... Getting pretty tired of reading posts like this one.

Lets get it all out there:

-Fox had zero interest in doing a Classic Apes line. When Randy & NECA got the rights for the new films, they pushed VERY hard to make a Classic line happen. How many other companies do you see making Classic Apes stuff? *Crickets chirping*. Fact is, it was a BIG risk on NECA's part... To the point where they actually had to convince Fox that it was even worth trying. Yet posts like yours are just filled with "they screwed this up"... Not once acknowledging what you got here- A dream line that they really stuck their necks out for. There would be no "line to blow" had they not went to bat for all the Apes fans out there.

-As far as the "poor decisions"... The line made it 3 waves, an exclusive DVD figure, an army builder 2 pack, an in-scale Lawgiver statue (!) and 2 retro figures. Pretty impressive numbers for a movie pushing 50 with basically zero presence at retail outside of the line itself.

-No bandoliers in the 2 pack. Umm... You do realize it was only $30, right? And it included a newly sculpted "human catcher" accessory, a new backpack mold, an improved rifle, and 2 new heads. I am sorry... there just isn't anything to complain about on that pack at that price. At only $30, the production budget isn't unlimited. Given the choice between having all that new stuff in the pack or getting the same bandolier again, I'll gladly take the new stuff. Every piece you see costs something to make. Would it be awesome to include everything imaginable in a pack? Sure. But the more you add, the more money it costs to make. Cuts have to be made somewhere to keep the item at a retail price that Toys R Us wants it at.

-2 Zaius figures in 2 waves. Okay... Now given that the line didn't have enough customers to support it (and YES that is the real reason it failed and not any decisions NECA made) and we only made it 3 waves, this looks in hindsight to be a bad thing. But remember that Randy and NECA had hopes to keep this going for as long as Predator has made it. Zaius is a MAIN character in the Apes mythology... Just like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars and Optimus Prime in Transformers. So of course he would have multiple figures as the line went along... We just didn't make it far enough for that to work out in the long run.

-No humans. Sorry- But it called Planet of the APES. Taylor was in one film fully, with basically a cameo in another. In the grand scheme of things, he has a rather small role comparatively to most of the other figures made in the line. I am sure he would have made it eventually... Think that a line needs that "iconic hero" to be successful? Well, Ripley wasn't made a few waves into Alien and Dutch wasn't made well into the Predator line. Both are NECA's biggest sellers. It didn't affect either one in the slightest. Because comparatively those "iconic heroes" aren't what make the franchise. It is the Alien and the Predator... Same with Planet of the Apes. It is the Apes.

-The Wave 3 Exclusive Bundle. This has been said MANY times now. MANY. Wave 3 didn't have enough support at retail to happen. NECA had a whole wave ready to go... It was either bundle them up and go the exclusive route... Or don't do it at all. Could they have chosen one figure (like the Conquest Gorilla) and tried to sell it as the exclusive singly? Sure. Know what would have happened then? It would have sold in low numbers, and the other 2 figures would never have happened. I for one am SUPER happy they got the whole wave out at least. I would much rather have 3 figures than one. (and like dholden said- they are being sold as singles at Hastings... and not a single one has sold out).

It gets frustrating to see NECA get blamed for this line's death SO much online. They literally did everything they could to get it going and keep it going. Fact is- No other company had the guts to try this license out at retail... and when one finally did, we got the best Apes figures of all-time out of it and folks still find a way to dog them.

Sallah

 

[Protozaius]

Thank you Sallah for taking the time and energy to type this. I too am SO tired of hearing that NECA killed their own line. I just don't have the energy to address these people like do.

From now on, whenever you hear someone start this silly tirade again, just copy and paste this reply.

It's perfect.

 

[Protozaius]

Yup, I specifically asked Randy. They were sculpted. One day very shortly I will arrange a tour of Neca HQ just to see all the developed apes (and gremlins too).

I would LOVE to see ANY pictures of those unproduced Apes.

As for the Ape-O-Nauts, I asked Randy too about them on Twitter and he said that they weren't ever sculpted. All of the unproduced Apes have been already unveiled in pictures on Twitter and Facebook.

Hopefully, your tour can clarify things.

 

[dholden007]

I would LOVE to see ANY pictures of those unproduced Apes.

As for the Ape-O-Nauts, I asked Randy too about them on Twitter and he said that they weren't ever sculpted. All of the unproduced Apes have been already unveiled in pictures on Twitter and Facebook.

Hopefully, your tour can clarify things.

I will see if I can find his tweet. They definitely started sculpting them, he told me that sometime in July.

 

[lttgtimaatisgdaicfi]

You can't please everyone but the fact is this was indeed a passion project for Randy. They simply didn't sell. Its not like they weren't sold individually. Hastings has many Conquest Gorillas in stock, keep raising the price but still have plenty left. My local TRU and LCS have plenty of apes left. Not going anywhere.

LOL You mean the over-produced Zira? What a mess this line was.

 

[lttgtimaatisgdaicfi]

I gotta say... Getting pretty tired of reading posts like this one.(

Sallah

Then don't read it Oh Protectotr of all things Randy. I'm not going to read yours. Enjoy your incomplete Planet of the Apes!

 

[dholden007]

I would LOVE to see ANY pictures of those unproduced Apes.

As for the Ape-O-Nauts, I asked Randy too about them on Twitter and he said that they weren't ever sculpted. All of the unproduced Apes have been already unveiled in pictures on Twitter and Facebook.

Hopefully, your tour can clarify things.

This is what he originally said. I also sent him a follow-up inquiry in regards to the rough sculpt. Had the line continued we would have definitely seen them. The developed Apes I was referring to were the ones that we did already see but I bet they have many amazing prototypes as well.

 

[dholden007]

I gotta say... Getting pretty tired of reading posts like this one.

Lets get it all out there:

-Fox had zero interest in doing a Classic Apes line. When Randy & NECA got the rights for the new films, they pushed VERY hard to make a Classic line happen. How many other companies do you see making Classic Apes stuff? *Crickets chirping*. Fact is, it was a BIG risk on NECA's part... To the point where they actually had to convince Fox that it was even worth trying. Yet posts like yours are just filled with "they screwed this up"... Not once acknowledging what you got here- A dream line that they really stuck their necks out for. There would be no "line to blow" had they not went to bat for all the Apes fans out there.

-As far as the "poor decisions"... The line made it 3 waves, an exclusive DVD figure, an army builder 2 pack, an in-scale Lawgiver statue (!) and 2 retro figures. Pretty impressive numbers for a movie pushing 50 with basically zero presence at retail outside of the line itself.

-No bandoliers in the 2 pack. Umm... You do realize it was only $30, right? And it included a newly sculpted "human catcher" accessory, a new backpack mold, an improved rifle, and 2 new heads. I am sorry... there just isn't anything to complain about on that pack at that price. At only $30, the production budget isn't unlimited. Given the choice between having all that new stuff in the pack or getting the same bandolier again, I'll gladly take the new stuff. Every piece you see costs something to make. Would it be awesome to include everything imaginable in a pack? Sure. But the more you add, the more money it costs to make. Cuts have to be made somewhere to keep the item at a retail price that Toys R Us wants it at.

-2 Zaius figures in 2 waves. Okay... Now given that the line didn't have enough customers to support it (and YES that is the real reason it failed and not any decisions NECA made) and we only made it 3 waves, this looks in hindsight to be a bad thing. But remember that Randy and NECA had hopes to keep this going for as long as Predator has made it. Zaius is a MAIN character in the Apes mythology... Just like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars and Optimus Prime in Transformers. So of course he would have multiple figures as the line went along... We just didn't make it far enough for that to work out in the long run.

-No humans. Sorry- But it called Planet of the APES. Taylor was in one film fully, with basically a cameo in another. In the grand scheme of things, he has a rather small role comparatively to most of the other figures made in the line. I am sure he would have made it eventually... Think that a line needs that "iconic hero" to be successful? Well, Ripley wasn't made a few waves into Alien and Dutch wasn't made well into the Predator line. Both are NECA's biggest sellers. It didn't affect either one in the slightest. Because comparatively those "iconic heroes" aren't what make the franchise. It is the Alien and the Predator... Same with Planet of the Apes. It is the Apes.

-The Wave 3 Exclusive Bundle. This has been said MANY times now. MANY. Wave 3 didn't have enough support at retail to happen. NECA had a whole wave ready to go... It was either bundle them up and go the exclusive route... Or don't do it at all. Could they have chosen one figure (like the Conquest Gorilla) and tried to sell it as the exclusive singly? Sure. Know what would have happened then? It would have sold in low numbers, and the other 2 figures would never have happened. I for one am SUPER happy they got the whole wave out at least. I would much rather have 3 figures than one. (and like dholden said- they are being sold as singles at Hastings... and not a single one has sold out).

It gets frustrating to see NECA get blamed for this line's death SO much online. They literally did everything they could to get it going and keep it going. Fact is- No other company had the guts to try this license out at retail... and when one finally did, we got the best Apes figures of all-time out of it and folks still find a way to dog them.

Sallah

 

[sallah]

Then don't read it Oh Protectotr of all things Randy. I'm not going to read yours. Enjoy your incomplete Planet of the Apes!

I am.



You enjoy that unearned sense of entitlement.

Sallah

 

[Jayrod88]

I really miss this line.... I couldn't bring myself to sell these off. Over the past few days, I've had these feeling that Neca may drop a random bomb and release maybe a single figure this year. Maybe a SDCC 2016 Exclusive or something.