"The market"?

Why is it that collectors can't just say, "This is what I like better"? Why is there always this silly, unfounded argumentum ad populum that has no basis in fact? Is this same "market" the reason STAR WARS still sells so well? Is Hasbro considering a 3¾" Marvel line because of this "shifted market"? What specific market analysis led to this conclusion?


Was one needed? I see nothing special about Marvel Legends, and I have plenty of DC figures in 6" comic style in my DC Direct collection.

Yes, Justice League Unlimited figures are cheap, but that's fine, because the most important element of a figure is capturing the Bruce Timm style. It's a good thing, too, because when it comes to action figures, cheap is the only thing Mattel does well. If you want Barbie dolls or tiny toy cars, then you need to go see Mattel. In the action figure market, though, Mattel will always be stuck playing second fiddle to Hasbro. Their movie lines are a joke (I dread the idea of getting The Dark Night toys as birthday gifts next year), and their 6" DC line doesn't look much better. Honestly, Etrigan makes me wonder if those guys even know they don't have a current MOTU line in production.

Is it always going to be one or the other with people?... I collect both and I enjoy both for very different reasons, but there is one HUGE reason that I *do* like both and that's a consistancy of style within the lines. I've been a fan of the Timm-style since BTAS hit in '92 and I prefer the look of a shelf full of 4H designed 6" figures displayed together vs DCD figures with the wide variety of artist specific looks.

Basically, it's going to boil down to each person's personal opinion on which line they prefer, but as Daniel pointed out, this isn't going to be an either/or for Mattel, they WANT both to be successful and so do I.

A year ago, I'd have said JLU, not even thinking about DCSH. But now that I've started collecting DCSH which'll run onto DCUC, I'm gonna have to say BOTH. It can't be one or the other because to me they're two completely different collections.

I choose DCUC because JLU won't have the characters 'cause of issues with DC(i.e., Hal Jordan, Black Lightning, Lobo, etc)

Just remember, things change. Black Lightning and Blue Beetle appeared in Hasbro's Total Justice line. Shazam appeared in their short lived 6" line of the time. Capt Atom, Question, Blue Beetle, have all appeared in WizKids HeroClix line. In fact, so have Shazam, Lobo, and Hal. Its all a matter of how the contracts are signed.

Or revised. Shazam was mentioned heavily in the announcement of the new contract. Cyborg being added to the Superfriends line was too.


I think many DC lines from Mattel could have a good run.

two cases per wave, DCUC, I started JLU until they started getting scales wrong and was just focusing on getting out characters so I stopped same with DCD