I also agree with you on Hasbros failure to make the hands or weapons correctly. Why is it that a huge corporation like Hasbro misses the mark but Smith Lord Creations can hit the mark dead on?
If Hasbro continues the line I hope they produce some figures we never got back in the day like Biggs, Wedge, Rebel Troopers, more cantina aliens and such
Great post and love your channel! Growing up we collected all the vintage Star Wars figures, and some of the vehicles (we could afford). My parents also bought us the vintage Fisher Price figures and those vehicles, and we would often use things from that line to bolster our Star Wars toys. For the figures, we would use the roll up sleeping bags that you could roll up and they would slide up the figure's legs and be positioned on their legs. They worked great with both the Hoth and Bespin Luke and Han Solo figures (as well as others). We could store the weapons by sliding them in on the side of the backpack. When it came to holding the guns our mom would use her glue gun to put a glue "dot" on the inside of their hands to hold the gun. Not a perfect solution but it worked. We also used the Fisher Price green 6-wheeled ATV or Jeep or whatever it was. It was used to carry other equipment that we had from other toy sets. Truly awesome times in the 70's with those figures!
I might get the Chewbacca figure only because my wife's childhood Chewbacca figure survived into adulthood only to get chewed up by her mom's dog. I would get a new one for her. We still have the chewed up Chewey.
William themoviefan the average median income in 1978 was $10,556, so yes a $1.50 action figure made sense. The average income in 2019 is $56,526. A $10 action figure nowadays is actually on the low end of pricing. Why in the world would Hasbro sell a Retro Figure for $5 when they know they instantly sell out at $10. I’m not an economics genius, but that makes sense to me.
@@scoobacca Well, remember that $10,556 is 1978 was the same as $41,460.00 today. So it really wasn't that different in terms of consumer income, when inflation is added. Materials were cheaper then for toy companies, as well, so the production costs were lower - and toy companies like Kenner also had a philosophy of massive distribution and low prices - put a ton of product out there at affordable unit prices and the volume of sales increase. Hasbro's philosophy seems to be the exact opposite - depressingly low distribution to stores, but priced high. As a kid who grew up in the 80's, toy aisles are just ghost towns now - there are maybe 3 or 4 figures for each line, if you're lucky. In the 80's, when you went into a toy aisle, there were dozens upon dozens of figures from every line and wave. Toy aisles were just insane with product.
I like modern hasbro star wars figures. Superior look, superior articulation, superior weapons. But I feel like a lot of people complain cause they aren't the original kenner ones they had as kids. I feel like maybe people let nastalgia get in the way of seeing a good toy
A good toy or a good desk statuette? Those original Kenner toys could stand up to years of hard, outdoors play. I’d be scared to treat modern Hasbro statuettes the same way.
When I was a kid with the original Kenner figures, my parents would superglue the weapons into the hands so I didn't lose them. Clearly Hasbro consulted with my mom and dad on this Retro line.
Thank you for sharing! I wanted to reach out and share my experience with Star Wars vintage collecting. I couldn't find the right video to post my experience, so forgive me for posting here. Collecting Star Wars is fun for me. It was never about about investing. And now that I'm much older, I'm grateful for the many, many newer figures from Hasbro and vintage figures I find usually on eBay. I am also grateful for reproduction weapons for vintage Kenner figures because now I have the luxury of "replenishing" my vintage figures from when I was 8-10 years old. Just to share, I was 7 when Star Wars first came out in 1977. For the holidays in 1977 and my birthday, January, 1978, there were no figures. But my Dad bought me a black t-shirt with a Darth Vader iron on on front and R2 and C-3P0 on back. And my birthday cake had R2 and C-3P0 decorated on it. I was thrilled! He also bought the Star Wars soundtrack which contained a beautiful, classic Star Wars poster that I put on my bedroom wall. And I remember vividly seeing Star Wars action figures for the first time in a mall in the summer of 1978. I immediately bought Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and 2 Storm Troopers. (I chose very early on to focus on mainly the primary characters and build troops, meaning a later total of 5 stormtroopers.) One month later, I bough a Luke Skywalker in K-mart. Each figure was US $1.99, a dream for an 8 year old boy. My grandfather had given my sisters and I about $10 each to buy toys at that time. My memory and happiness then and now are priceless. Most Sincerely, Matt
Bought some retro figures - completely agree with your review - the worn out card backings are just cheesy and I can’t understand how in 2019 Hasbro can’t seem to manufacture a figure that can hold a blaster. Also, thanks for the review, I promise, no more requests until after Robotech! You guys rock!
IMO these are great. I remember a time when people said they wanted these and now everyone on the hater-wagon. I got mine on release day for 10 a piece and I regret nothing lol I also don’t plan on taking them out of the packages, so the guns falling out means nothing to me. They look good on the wall in the man-cave lol 🍻
While I am not too thrilled about these figures myself the one good thing I see about them is they make an excellent base to start if you want to make your own custom figures
As someone who had these figures when they were new and no longer has them, I love these. I hear you that the weapons do not stay put...but I wouldn't know as I am keeping them in the package. These are the closest I can get to new carded "retro" (I hate that word personally) Star Wars figures without putting my house and car up for sale. They are new, unopened, and as far as my eyes look just like what I had when I was a kid. And for $10 each (well, at the time I picked them up). That works for me.
Why couldn't it have been called Batman & Robin FOURever? ;) Great video. Glad you compared these new "retro" figures with Hasbro's earlier 90's attempt, and even the original figures themselves. Very informative. Thank you.
As I sit here watching TH-cam on my Apple iPad and listening on my Beats headphones, I just can't understand why RetroBlasting has such a bias against the selfless Hasbro Corporation. I mean, I'm just a normal guy wearing Van's shoes, Levi's jeans, American Eagle flannel and a Nike t-shirt trying to learn about a new toy line. It makes me want to get in my Toyota Camry and drive to the nearest Chik-fil-A and drown my sorrow in an ice cold Coca-Cola. I just hope the people at RetroBlasting remember that our corporate overlords love us and deserve our obedience. This comment was brought to you by Mentos, the Freshmaker!
Everyone has a different take on particular words. For me 'retro' is anything old from my life (such as Kenner Star Wars figures) while 'vintage' refers to even older stuff of past generations (like a 1930s Flash Gordon ray gun). :)
Noticed this too with Hasbro's modern transformers- to get a great toy have to wait for third party companies to produce stickers and or new parts to add to the toy , as the out-of-box robot is usually under painted, full of gaps and few accessories, compared to the G1 robots.
Oh wow that Batman Forever/Batman and Robin thing just blew my mind. Never thought of it that way before! I have yet to see any of the single carded Retro figures in any of my local Targets. Just got two Tarkins, one to open and one on the card. Gave my extra board game to my five year old nephew and he loved it.
I was such a huge Star Wars fan from 2005-2015 and always wanted to get my hands on the original Kenner figures. The only way it was attainable was through the Kenner classic collection four pack but I think I’m gonna have to go for the Hasbro retro collection thanks to this video!
Oh boy have I wanted to get this off my chest, when these came out, as a retro loving college student who doesn’t like to spend twenty bucks or more for a figure line (black series) that I can’t even find in stores ever, these were a perfect idea for me, I’ve always wanted the retro figures and now affordable reproductions would come to store, but surprise surprise, I should have known with my black series experience. I have not seen a single one of these retro figures in stores at all, ever, I figured hey atleast like the black series they might have some pegwarmer figures I can get but no... not a single figure and these have been out for what like three years now? I wanted to give hasbro my money, for the first time I actually wanted to army build, but alas I guess I never learn with hasbro distribution or whatever causes this
As a fan of these I can only say keeping them on cardback was the way to go. I'm happy to have perfect representations of vintage figures. I guess we will see you review more of these when Wave 2 comes out! Great video!
$5 a figure? Well, that would be a charm! Here in Germany you pay 160$ (140€) for all 6 figures. That's 26$ per piece. With such prices it would be almost worth it to fly to the USA, to buy a little more and to put the difference into the ticket :D. Anyway, what I don't like is that the cardbacks are in a used look. So the cards look like they shouldn't look like. What you said about the hands and the weapons shows once again how little Hasbro thinks about such things. That doesn't affect me as much, because I won't unpack the figures either. As always, a very nice contribution from you about "Star Wars" ... and what they could have done better. :D
How are you guys the new retro collection, I might look at them in Canada if they come here but I will get more action figures from 1978. Have a great weekend. Much love
I actually just picked up the complete Empire Strikes Back Retro Collection set for $30 on Facebook Marketplace. They're pretty cool to have. Especially since I'm not a die hard collector, so I don't really go out of my way to get the actual vintage toys anymore.
I am not a sheep that agrees with everything said on TH-cam channels. But you are spot on this one! I bought these for my 4 year old son so he could enjoy the toys I did when I was a kid. And all I have been doing is putting the figures blasters back and back and back in there hands. Hasbro totally missed the mark.
I went to THREE targets the day they came out and only found ONE box of six figures. And that was all they had for the whole store! I wouldn't even have gotten those if they hadn't been stocking them and if I hadn't come prepared with the DCPI #. I also got five of the six figures loose on eBay. I love them because for me it wasn't about the construction quality or materials they are made out of, it was about the nostalgia and recapturing the feeling of buying the originals and all the memories and feelings I had about them. That is something more elusive and harder to quantify and to me well worth it. Thanks for the review though.
You know what really grinds my gears? Exclusives. I. Fucking. Hate. Exclusives. Oh its not the figures that are bad, in fact my Walgreens ML Thing is one of the best figures from last year, but you see, the problem with exclusives is that they tend to be hard to find, and always tend to go up for high prices online. I fucking hate exclusives because sometimes they are a simple variant of something you own, like say a Storm Collectibles Bloody Goro (I don't own any storm collectibles, but my point still stands) which usually means you don't need the figure, but other times, they are an important character who should not be released in that way. You want a Marvel Legends MCU Vision? Too bad, he was only available at toys R Us. You want any of the Kenner Retro Collection of Star Wars? Too bad, Only at Target with poor distribution. You want a Marvel Legend Corvus Glaive? Well, looks like my Black Order will be incomplete, because one of the most important members of that team was only available at Walmart, and my fucking walmart never stocks crap, so guess what? I may have to keep searching online for one for decent price, and the set he is in is now in triple digits. And don't get me started on SDCC exclusives (except for the ones that end up being released later, they're fine with me). Well anyways, it pisses me off to always see exclusives that should be everywhere, like this retro collection, so much so that if I ever do become a creator of media, I'll make it abundantly clear that there are to be NO EXCLUSIVES IF THEY MAKE TOYLINES OF MY WORK, because I want it so that everyone can get them for a reasonable price. I needed to vent. Great review.
I’m typing this in mid rant of yours Michael, AND I COMPLETELY AGREE! This is the type of stuff I’d say to myself OR my wife and daughter (as they shrug because only I care that much for toys in our home).
I remember buying my first five Star Wars figures with a ten dollar bill my grandmother gave me. That was in 1978. Each figure was $1.98 and my dad helped cover the few cents of tax left over from the ten. $1.98 each. Think about that and think about the price some of the carded figures demand with collectors.
I think these could be cool, but I agree they need to fix a lot. The worn edges need to go along with the flimsy card backs and language and safety warnings that take up half of the back of the card. If you go to Hasbro’s website you can contact them and tell them about all of these issues, I have several times and I hope more do.
If I remember correctly my cousin's Star Wars Luke's hair was that color. I had the Bespin Luke with brown hair and thought his looked strange. In the original 1982 version of Poltergeist the little girl has a Star Wars Luke in her mouth before the storm scene and his hair is that bright color.
My favorite farmboy face sculpt is the original 3-Line HK - just something about that sculpt and face paint seems perfect to me. It may be that, subconsciously, it feels right, as it was the first Luke I ever had and some part of me recalls that - but aesthetically and proportionally, it just looks best to me, out of all the variants.
7:26 - Honestly, I have the same problem with MOST Hasbro Star Wars figures holding their weapons. Not just these 'retro' ones. but 805 of all the figures I have bought in the last 10 or so years always have weapons that are too big or small for their hands or their hands are not even shaped to hold a weapon at all.
I love Big Head Han! It was small head that looked funny to me. And it was Hasbro/Target that saved my money. My Target on May 12th said they weren't slated to get them, then later they only had a Chewbacca on the Father's Day display with 30 VC Hans in stormtrooper outfit.
I think I prefer a the light swords with more girth to them. Transformers fans have seen similar problems to these with reissues of those toys, later Seeker jets have softened detals , slightly warped parts and hands which don't fit onto the arms and break/stress when put on.
Why does it seem like there's such a stigma about this line(and calling it "Repro"). Transformers, G.I. Joe, He-Man, and Ninja Turtles(as well as other toy lines, I'm sure) have all had reissues/remakes in the past, and I don't recall any bashing.
i will say from 2009-2012 hasbro make some kickass star wars toys. I have a shit ton of them from when i was younger, as well as original figures from the 70’s and 80’s
I wish I could get one to take a look at my target was clueless when they would be on the shelf. When they did hit the shelf they put them in men’s clothing in a father’s Day display three weeks before the holiday. They sold out in less then two days. hasbro do you want my money I know you need it
AMEN Michael!!!! You read my mind completely on this!!! Please save your money people these are not worth the plastic they are 3D printed from!!!!! I have all my originals and that's enough for me!!!!!
0:25 Wait, that's the ghost command play set behind Vader. When were you able to find that holy grail? Have I just never noticed it before? Anyways, belated congratulations on finding it.
I could see this to some extent, but the whole not being able to hold their guns is an absolute embarrassment. The whole point to me of having a reproduction version is that you're free to take it out of the package & mess around with posing it, but I think Michael is right that they thought no one would take them out.
Ryuko E. Lee when you put it that way (that they thought no one would take it out of the package) makes it really seem a quality control problem, or a "lets make a quick buck" problem. In reality, I hope they don't correct these issues for those who went to the ends of the earth to collect the originals.
Thank you for this video. I have been on the fence about these. I was aware of the issues with the blasters and flimsy cards but was going to buy on eBay anyway because I really want these, but the prices being double retail or more I just never could bring myself to pull the trigger on them. Now hearing from you they might release again in the fall I think I'll wait.
I personally like them , here in Australia you have to be extra lucky to find a set ( I did and it was a miracle) , I don’t get the distribution issue but supposedly these will be mass released later in the year? I for one am happy as I’m not paying those ridiculous prices for MOC vintage ( farmboy Luke etc) this way I can have a carded MOC - thanks for your videos love them - sorry you have to read some of the baffling and ignorant posts , some people have too much time on their hands or can’t do basic research ... or can’t read 🤔
I received the Escape from the Death Star game for father's day. I never had the game as a kid and have been looking at getting a vintage one. My wife got the game because of my interest and that I have gone on rants about why they never produced a Tarkin figure in the original Kenner line. I agree about the card backs and despise the big RETRO stamp on the front. I also immediately noticed the strangeness of the face on the figure. That being said I like having the figure and feel that even though there are flaws a huge error has been corrected. Plus the game is fun!
I wonder if for Indiana Jones 5 they’ll release the original raiders action figures and call it the Indiana Jones vintage collection, I also wonder when hasbro will give us the retro collection for return of the Jedi
Great review. I was mildly interested in this set when it was first announced but I have basically stopped buying any Star Wars products save the occasional loose figure (still working to re-complete my ESB figure set). Got a sealed classic edition four pack on ebay last Christmas on ebay for $18 (!) and was quite happy with the puchase - THAT is the price that these figs should sell for (~$5 each). The fact that Hasbro is also selling repro Transformers for far too much ($8 for Bumblebee, a figure that should be also $5, max) tells me they are selling nostalgia, not a quality product. Which means they are basically competing with eBay, not other toy makers or actual competition for our dollars. For pete's sake, they are selling a repro Optimus for $50! WITHOUT the trailer! May buy Tarkin when Target clearances it (which I'm pretty sure they will - there's tons of them in my local store, not selling). Have the original board game already...
Micheal is right about Hasbro. I was on the side that was defending them at first but I grew up in the 2000's where Hasbro's quality was fork in the road if ykwim. But as I move up right now to my teen years I have stopped buying. (primarily because sports keep me busy) but mostly because their quality has fallen way down. Star Wars figures haven't done it for me for a long time. The only thing I can but are transformers from them anymore. Even then I go with the takara variants.
I stuck the hand of Tarkin under running hot water for about 30 seconds, then pinched the grip a little while I put it in ice water for about 20 seconds... holds the blaster fine now, actually, really well. Cards are no good. Tarkin is the only one worth buying, IMHO.
Don't know if it's the editing, but there's a Ferris Bueller vibe when you're addressing the camera (e.g. "But I digress.") I think it's great, intentional or otherwise.
I was hoping to buy some of these to stand alongside my vintage figures from childhood, but I don't think I will now. I just don't understand how you can fail at something as simple as getting an accessory to fit in a hand properly, especially when it's a replica of something that worked correctly 41 years ago.
An entertaining review, but I'm not interested in retro recreations of the 3 3/4" action figures. I MIGHT be interested if they did repros on the die-cast vehicles of the era (I was an unusual child in that I actually favored those and the Micro Collection over the standard figures.) I just acquired a die cast Falcon and Star Destroyer- complete WITH the little plastic Blockade Runner- in beautiful condition and now feel inspired to collect the rest!😁 (I don't suppose I could talk you into a review of THOSE?)😉
I wish we lived in a time where figures sold for 5 bucks again.
Ash Rudel in sweden a normal small one is 20$… I mostly just get stuff when I’m stateside.
@@kerberos623 My condolences.
Just go to “5 below” they got black series and other Star Wars digs for 5 and under lol just sayin
@@darthbrolo Yeah, if you want Rogue One dirty leftovers.
Ash Rudel lmao yup that’s very true....but they 5 bucks lol
I also agree with you on Hasbros failure to make the hands or weapons correctly. Why is it that a huge corporation like Hasbro misses the mark but Smith Lord Creations can hit the mark dead on?
...there's a little Dark Helmet in all of us.
I just glued my Han Solo blaster in his hand
Because unlike Kenner of old, Hasbro can’t honestly say “we really do care”
If Hasbro continues the line I hope they produce some figures we never got back in the day like Biggs, Wedge, Rebel Troopers, more cantina aliens and such
Vader with filmnations ghostbusters command center at the background!! We demand a review!
I thought that was the Weebles Haunted House.
In a way a stormtrooper that can't hold his gun straight is sort of accurate.... heh heh
He can't hold it at all.
Lol
Great review. I have heard rumors about the figures not holding the weapons. I am so glad you addressed this. Thank you!!!!
Great post and love your channel! Growing up we collected all the vintage Star Wars figures, and some of the vehicles (we could afford). My parents also bought us the vintage Fisher Price figures and those vehicles, and we would often use things from that line to bolster our Star Wars toys. For the figures, we would use the roll up sleeping bags that you could roll up and they would slide up the figure's legs and be positioned on their legs. They worked great with both the Hoth and Bespin Luke and Han Solo figures (as well as others). We could store the weapons by sliding them in on the side of the backpack. When it came to holding the guns our mom would use her glue gun to put a glue "dot" on the inside of their hands to hold the gun. Not a perfect solution but it worked. We also used the Fisher Price green 6-wheeled ATV or Jeep or whatever it was. It was used to carry other equipment that we had from other toy sets. Truly awesome times in the 70's with those figures!
I might get the Chewbacca figure only because my wife's childhood Chewbacca figure survived into adulthood only to get chewed up by her mom's dog. I would get a new one for her. We still have the chewed up Chewey.
Chewedbacca
$10 per figure?!? I remember buying the originals in 1978 for $1.50 !!
William themoviefan the average median income in 1978 was $10,556, so yes a $1.50 action figure made sense. The average income in 2019 is $56,526. A $10 action figure nowadays is actually on the low end of pricing. Why in the world would Hasbro sell a Retro Figure for $5 when they know they instantly sell out at $10. I’m not an economics genius, but that makes sense to me.
@@scoobacca Well, remember that $10,556 is 1978 was the same as $41,460.00 today. So it really wasn't that different in terms of consumer income, when inflation is added. Materials were cheaper then for toy companies, as well, so the production costs were lower - and toy companies like Kenner also had a philosophy of massive distribution and low prices - put a ton of product out there at affordable unit prices and the volume of sales increase. Hasbro's philosophy seems to be the exact opposite - depressingly low distribution to stores, but priced high. As a kid who grew up in the 80's, toy aisles are just ghost towns now - there are maybe 3 or 4 figures for each line, if you're lucky. In the 80's, when you went into a toy aisle, there were dozens upon dozens of figures from every line and wave. Toy aisles were just insane with product.
The original retail price for these figures was $2.49. Adjusted for inflation, that's $9.78 today.
$1.50 in 1978 is $5.89 in 2019 according to inflation calculator
Mike, I can't thank you enough for doing this for me. Thanks, man. This was very helpful for innumerable reasons.
I like modern hasbro star wars figures. Superior look, superior articulation, superior weapons. But I feel like a lot of people complain cause they aren't the original kenner ones they had as kids. I feel like maybe people let nastalgia get in the way of seeing a good toy
A good toy or a good desk statuette? Those original Kenner toys could stand up to years of hard, outdoors play. I’d be scared to treat modern Hasbro statuettes the same way.
I love your review videos. They offer so much good information.
When I was a kid with the original Kenner figures, my parents would superglue the weapons into the hands so I didn't lose them. Clearly Hasbro consulted with my mom and dad on this Retro line.
Congrats for actually getting a hold of these
Thank you for sharing! I wanted to reach out and share my experience with Star Wars vintage collecting. I couldn't find the right video to post my experience, so forgive me for posting here. Collecting Star Wars is fun for me. It was never about about investing. And now that I'm much older, I'm grateful for the many, many newer figures from Hasbro and vintage figures I find usually on eBay. I am also grateful for reproduction weapons for vintage Kenner figures because now I have the luxury of "replenishing" my vintage figures from when I was 8-10 years old. Just to share, I was 7 when Star Wars first came out in 1977. For the holidays in 1977 and my birthday, January, 1978, there were no figures. But my Dad bought me a black t-shirt with a Darth Vader iron on on front and R2 and C-3P0 on back. And my birthday cake had R2 and C-3P0 decorated on it. I was thrilled! He also bought the Star Wars soundtrack which contained a beautiful, classic Star Wars poster that I put on my bedroom wall. And I remember vividly seeing Star Wars action figures for the first time in a mall in the summer of 1978. I immediately bought Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and 2 Storm Troopers. (I chose very early on to focus on mainly the primary characters and build troops, meaning a later total of 5 stormtroopers.) One month later, I bough a Luke Skywalker in K-mart. Each figure was US $1.99, a dream for an 8 year old boy. My grandfather had given my sisters and I about $10 each to buy toys at that time. My memory and happiness then and now are priceless. Most Sincerely, Matt
Great post Matt!
Thanks for another great video Mike.
Bought some retro figures - completely agree with your review - the worn out card backings are just cheesy and I can’t understand how in 2019 Hasbro can’t seem to manufacture a figure that can hold a blaster.
Also, thanks for the review, I promise, no more requests until after Robotech! You guys rock!
Great video! Exactly the comparison I was hoping to see.
IMO these are great. I remember a time when people said they wanted these and now everyone on the hater-wagon. I got mine on release day for 10 a piece and I regret nothing lol I also don’t plan on taking them out of the packages, so the guns falling out means nothing to me. They look good on the wall in the man-cave lol 🍻
Hahahaha "Tell me why a bootleg from China...!" Lmao 😂
Why is Luke's hair NEON GREEN for the retro collection figure? It was bad enough being yellow but that is just silly!
Well, I guess you could say he's getting ready to audition to play a certain clown in the future. Hehehe.
Those guns never fitted in my original vintage versions either so pretty authentic to my mind
While I am not too thrilled about these figures myself the one good thing I see about them is they make an excellent base to start if you want to make your own custom figures
As someone who had these figures when they were new and no longer has them, I love these. I hear you that the weapons do not stay put...but I wouldn't know as I am keeping them in the package. These are the closest I can get to new carded "retro" (I hate that word personally) Star Wars figures without putting my house and car up for sale. They are new, unopened, and as far as my eyes look just like what I had when I was a kid. And for $10 each (well, at the time I picked them up). That works for me.
Why couldn't it have been called Batman & Robin FOURever? ;)
Great video. Glad you compared these new "retro" figures with Hasbro's earlier 90's attempt, and even the original figures themselves. Very informative. Thank you.
As I sit here watching TH-cam on my Apple iPad and listening on my Beats headphones, I just can't understand why RetroBlasting has such a bias against the selfless Hasbro Corporation. I mean, I'm just a normal guy wearing Van's shoes, Levi's jeans, American Eagle flannel and a Nike t-shirt trying to learn about a new toy line. It makes me want to get in my Toyota Camry and drive to the nearest Chik-fil-A and drown my sorrow in an ice cold Coca-Cola. I just hope the people at RetroBlasting remember that our corporate overlords love us and deserve our obedience. This comment was brought to you by Mentos, the Freshmaker!
LMAO!😂
Everyone has a different take on particular words. For me 'retro' is anything old from my life (such as Kenner Star Wars figures) while 'vintage' refers to even older stuff of past generations (like a 1930s Flash Gordon ray gun). :)
I'm just buying the Retro collection for the memories they rekindle as I lost my Star Wars figures as a child.
I have a bad feeling about this
This video is why I love Retroblasting...well done.
00:47 ... THAT SPITFIRE, THOUGH! What brand, dare I ask?
If they didn't have the huge retro collection badge covering the card back artwork, I'd have bought them all.
I wonder what Broken Vader will say if/when Hasbro releases a 12" Star Wars retro figure collection!
Noticed this too with Hasbro's modern transformers- to get a great toy have to wait for third party companies to produce stickers and or new parts to add to the toy , as the out-of-box robot is usually under painted, full of gaps and few accessories, compared to the G1 robots.
Oh wow that Batman Forever/Batman and Robin thing just blew my mind. Never thought of it that way before! I have yet to see any of the single carded Retro figures in any of my local Targets. Just got two Tarkins, one to open and one on the card. Gave my extra board game to my five year old nephew and he loved it.
I was such a huge Star Wars fan from 2005-2015 and always wanted to get my hands on the original Kenner figures. The only way it was attainable was through the Kenner classic collection four pack but I think I’m gonna have to go for the Hasbro retro collection thanks to this video!
Oh boy have I wanted to get this off my chest, when these came out, as a retro loving college student who doesn’t like to spend twenty bucks or more for a figure line (black series) that I can’t even find in stores ever, these were a perfect idea for me, I’ve always wanted the retro figures and now affordable reproductions would come to store, but surprise surprise, I should have known with my black series experience. I have not seen a single one of these retro figures in stores at all, ever, I figured hey atleast like the black series they might have some pegwarmer figures I can get but no... not a single figure and these have been out for what like three years now? I wanted to give hasbro my money, for the first time I actually wanted to army build, but alas I guess I never learn with hasbro distribution or whatever causes this
I found one (Leia), once, at Target. She was already on clearance, the first and only time I saw any of these on the pegs! And yes, I check often.
Thanks guys for this honest review
thanks retroblasting for the honest review of the figures
This why I come here! Wonderful job!
As a fan of these I can only say keeping them on cardback was the way to go. I'm happy to have perfect representations of vintage figures. I guess we will see you review more of these when Wave 2 comes out! Great video!
Just coming back to laugh at how Hasbro said they’d release this on a wider scale. Two waves later and there’s far and few in between.
$5 a figure? Well, that would be a charm! Here in Germany you pay 160$ (140€) for all 6 figures. That's 26$ per piece. With such prices it would be almost worth it to fly to the USA, to buy a little more and to put the difference into the ticket :D.
Anyway, what I don't like is that the cardbacks are in a used look. So the cards look like they shouldn't look like.
What you said about the hands and the weapons shows once again how little Hasbro thinks about such things.
That doesn't affect me as much, because I won't unpack the figures either.
As always, a very nice contribution from you about "Star Wars" ... and what they could have done better. :D
How are you guys the new retro collection, I might look at them in Canada if they come here but I will get more action figures from 1978. Have a great weekend. Much love
I actually just picked up the complete Empire Strikes Back Retro Collection set for $30 on Facebook Marketplace. They're pretty cool to have. Especially since I'm not a die hard collector, so I don't really go out of my way to get the actual vintage toys anymore.
I am not a sheep that agrees with everything said on TH-cam channels. But you are spot on this one! I bought these for my 4 year old son so he could enjoy the toys I did when I was a kid. And all I have been doing is putting the figures blasters back and back and back in there hands. Hasbro totally missed the mark.
Glad I waited to see the reviews...
I went to THREE targets the day they came out and only found ONE box of six figures. And that was all they had for the whole store! I wouldn't even have gotten those if they hadn't been stocking them and if I hadn't come prepared with the DCPI #. I also got five of the six figures loose on eBay. I love them because for me it wasn't about the construction quality or materials they are made out of, it was about the nostalgia and recapturing the feeling of buying the originals and all the memories and feelings I had about them. That is something more elusive and harder to quantify and to me well worth it. Thanks for the review though.
You know what really grinds my gears?
Exclusives.
I. Fucking. Hate. Exclusives.
Oh its not the figures that are bad, in fact my Walgreens ML Thing is one of the best figures from last year, but you see, the problem with exclusives is that they tend to be hard to find, and always tend to go up for high prices online. I fucking hate exclusives because sometimes they are a simple variant of something you own, like say a Storm Collectibles Bloody Goro (I don't own any storm collectibles, but my point still stands) which usually means you don't need the figure, but other times, they are an important character who should not be released in that way. You want a Marvel Legends MCU Vision? Too bad, he was only available at toys R Us. You want any of the Kenner Retro Collection of Star Wars? Too bad, Only at Target with poor distribution. You want a Marvel Legend Corvus Glaive? Well, looks like my Black Order will be incomplete, because one of the most important members of that team was only available at Walmart, and my fucking walmart never stocks crap, so guess what? I may have to keep searching online for one for decent price, and the set he is in is now in triple digits. And don't get me started on SDCC exclusives (except for the ones that end up being released later, they're fine with me). Well anyways, it pisses me off to always see exclusives that should be everywhere, like this retro collection, so much so that if I ever do become a creator of media, I'll make it abundantly clear that there are to be NO EXCLUSIVES IF THEY MAKE TOYLINES OF MY WORK, because I want it so that everyone can get them for a reasonable price.
I needed to vent. Great review.
Well now I've got till August-September to decide whether I should cancel my preorder of these figures.
It's the Star Wars Retroblasting collection!
I’m typing this in mid rant of yours Michael, AND I COMPLETELY AGREE! This is the type of stuff I’d say to myself OR my wife and daughter (as they shrug because only I care that much for toys in our home).
In the guitar world we call pre-aged stuff "relics." But at least the cases are usually new...
I never understood that whole thing with reliced guitars, but people buy them like crazy.
I remember buying my first five Star Wars figures with a ten dollar bill my grandmother gave me. That was in 1978. Each figure was $1.98 and my dad helped cover the few cents of tax left over from the ten.
$1.98 each. Think about that and think about the price some of the carded figures demand with collectors.
I think these could be cool, but I agree they need to fix a lot. The worn edges need to go along with the flimsy card backs and language and safety warnings that take up half of the back of the card. If you go to Hasbro’s website you can contact them and tell them about all of these issues, I have several times and I hope more do.
Why did they keep Luke's Lightsaber yellow?
I "fixed" the weapons issue by replacing them with repro weapons, which have better color (especially the lightsabers) and fit perfectly.
I'm still getting these if I can find them. Because not all of us can afford the original figures.
I heard that first wave of the 2019 retro collection has been Re-released in a six pack box set this year. But did Hasbro fix the blaster issue?
4:08
Retro: Anime made by Netflix
Vintage: Manga
1995: 1980-1990s Anime
I WANT THAT SUPER ORKO 3 shirt!
John Calcano google super orko 3 tshirt. Inthink teerepublic have it
Is Luke's hair really fluorescent yellow?! He looks like a novelty highlighter!
If I remember correctly my cousin's Star Wars Luke's hair was that color. I had the Bespin Luke with brown hair and thought his looked strange. In the original 1982 version of Poltergeist the little girl has a Star Wars Luke in her mouth before the storm scene and his hair is that bright color.
My favorite farmboy face sculpt is the original 3-Line HK - just something about that sculpt and face paint seems perfect to me. It may be that, subconsciously, it feels right, as it was the first Luke I ever had and some part of me recalls that - but aesthetically and proportionally, it just looks best to me, out of all the variants.
that Super 7 ReAction figure looks just like you, Michael!
7:26 - Honestly, I have the same problem with MOST Hasbro Star Wars figures holding their weapons. Not just these 'retro' ones. but 805 of all the figures I have bought in the last 10 or so years always have weapons that are too big or small for their hands or their hands are not even shaped to hold a weapon at all.
Great video, I didn’t mind the price, I had a coupon!
I love Big Head Han! It was small head that looked funny to me.
And it was Hasbro/Target that saved my money. My Target on May 12th said they weren't slated to get them, then later they only had a Chewbacca on the Father's Day display with 30 VC Hans in stormtrooper outfit.
I just bought these six months ago, hopefully Hasbro made improvements on them. I haven’t taken them out of the package yet.
I'm still waiting for the "wider release" of these 2 years later! 😆
For a Retro collector it amazes me how you have missed Battletech toys.
I spy an Ultimate Soldier 1:18 Spitfire in the background!
I’m hoping for las 17, sold mine in hard times and I miss them!
Where did you find out that these would be back in stores for fall? I have been trying to get them but scared of eBay prices
I think I prefer a the light swords with more girth to them. Transformers fans have seen similar problems to these with reissues of those toys, later Seeker jets have softened detals , slightly warped parts and hands which don't fit onto the arms and break/stress when put on.
Why does it seem like there's such a stigma about this line(and calling it "Repro"). Transformers, G.I. Joe, He-Man, and Ninja Turtles(as well as other toy lines, I'm sure) have all had reissues/remakes in the past, and I don't recall any bashing.
Because the Star Wars collecting community has lost its mind within the past decade.
@@retroblasting True.
Does wider scale mean there are more figures comming?
i will say from 2009-2012 hasbro make some kickass star wars toys. I have a shit ton of them from when i was younger, as well as original figures from the 70’s and 80’s
I wish I could get one to take a look at my target was clueless when they would be on the shelf. When they did hit the shelf they put them in men’s clothing in a father’s Day display three weeks before the holiday. They sold out in less then two days. hasbro do you want my money I know you need it
AMEN Michael!!!! You read my mind completely on this!!! Please save your money people these are not worth the plastic they are 3D printed from!!!!! I have all my originals and that's enough for me!!!!!
Han with big head is fine for me. It reminds the one I had as a kid.
This was REALLY good!
0:25 Wait, that's the ghost command play set behind Vader. When were you able to find that holy grail? Have I just never noticed it before? Anyways, belated congratulations on finding it.
Why do the lightsabers look half-melted?
I agree. Give me my originals anyday over these
8:38 Re-release them? lol they're still clogging shelves at my local Walmart.
Maybe Hasbro did these "mistakes" on purpose to allow people to more easily tell them from originals?
No
I could see this to some extent, but the whole not being able to hold their guns is an absolute embarrassment. The whole point to me of having a reproduction version is that you're free to take it out of the package & mess around with posing it, but I think Michael is right that they thought no one would take them out.
Ryuko E. Lee when you put it that way (that they thought no one would take it out of the package) makes it really seem a quality control problem, or a "lets make a quick buck" problem. In reality, I hope they don't correct these issues for those who went to the ends of the earth to collect the originals.
Thank you for this video. I have been on the fence about these. I was aware of the issues with the blasters and flimsy cards but was going to buy on eBay anyway because I really want these, but the prices being double retail or more I just never could bring myself to pull the trigger on them. Now hearing from you they might release again in the fall I think I'll wait.
I personally like them , here in Australia you have to be extra lucky to find a set ( I did and it was a miracle) , I don’t get the distribution issue but supposedly these will be mass released later in the year? I for one am happy as I’m not paying those ridiculous prices for MOC vintage ( farmboy Luke etc) this way I can have a carded MOC - thanks for your videos love them - sorry you have to read some of the baffling and ignorant posts , some people have too much time on their hands or can’t do basic research ... or can’t read 🤔
My retro Leia holds her blaster without any issues. So perhaps there are inconsistencies with the hands. So perhaps this is limited to some figures?
I received the Escape from the Death Star game for father's day. I never had the game as a kid and have been looking at getting a vintage one. My wife got the game because of my interest and that I have gone on rants about why they never produced a Tarkin figure in the original Kenner line. I agree about the card backs and despise the big RETRO stamp on the front. I also immediately noticed the strangeness of the face on the figure. That being said I like having the figure and feel that even though there are flaws a huge error has been corrected. Plus the game is fun!
They temp my inner 6 year old self but I just can pull the trigger. Thanks for an honest review.
I wonder if for Indiana Jones 5 they’ll release the original raiders action figures and call it the Indiana Jones vintage collection, I also wonder when hasbro will give us the retro collection for return of the Jedi
Great review. I was mildly interested in this set when it was first announced but I have basically stopped buying any Star Wars products save the occasional loose figure (still working to re-complete my ESB figure set). Got a sealed classic edition four pack on ebay last Christmas on ebay for $18 (!) and was quite happy with the puchase - THAT is the price that these figs should sell for (~$5 each). The fact that Hasbro is also selling repro Transformers for far too much ($8 for Bumblebee, a figure that should be also $5, max) tells me they are selling nostalgia, not a quality product. Which means they are basically competing with eBay, not other toy makers or actual competition for our dollars.
For pete's sake, they are selling a repro Optimus for $50! WITHOUT the trailer!
May buy Tarkin when Target clearances it (which I'm pretty sure they will - there's tons of them in my local store, not selling). Have the original board game already...
Micheal is right about Hasbro. I was on the side that was defending them at first but I grew up in the 2000's where Hasbro's quality was fork in the road if ykwim. But as I move up right now to my teen years I have stopped buying. (primarily because sports keep me busy) but mostly because their quality has fallen way down. Star Wars figures haven't done it for me for a long time. The only thing I can but are transformers from them anymore. Even then I go with the takara variants.
I stuck the hand of Tarkin under running hot water for about 30 seconds, then pinched the grip a little while I put it in ice water for about 20 seconds... holds the blaster fine now, actually, really well. Cards are no good. Tarkin is the only one worth buying, IMHO.
Don't know if it's the editing, but there's a Ferris Bueller vibe when you're addressing the camera (e.g. "But I digress.") I think it's great, intentional or otherwise.
I was hoping to buy some of these to stand alongside my vintage figures from childhood, but I don't think I will now. I just don't understand how you can fail at something as simple as getting an accessory to fit in a hand properly, especially when it's a replica of something that worked correctly 41 years ago.
Hasbro clearly still hates Kenner
An entertaining review, but I'm not interested in retro recreations of the 3 3/4" action figures.
I MIGHT be interested if they did repros on the die-cast vehicles of the era (I was an unusual child in that I actually favored those and the Micro Collection over the standard figures.) I just acquired a die cast Falcon and Star Destroyer- complete WITH the little plastic Blockade Runner- in beautiful condition and now feel inspired to collect the rest!😁
(I don't suppose I could talk you into a review of THOSE?)😉
Good to know, I was considering buying a few, but if they can’t hold the weapons... I’ll try to get Walmart’s repro soundwave instead