why no Indy at toy fair 2006?!?!

why!!!

I was disappointed too.

You would think Hasbro and Lucasfilm would want make some figures for Raiders 25th anniversary. It would help hype Indy 4 as well. Some Star War vintage original trilogy collection style Indy figures would seem like a no brainer.

if these figures don't happen soon,... I may pull a mola ram and take someone's heart out! But seriously... something's got to give!

Because Indy isn't haf a popular as the fans would like to think he is....

ClintonHammond said:

Because Indy isn't haf a popular as the fans would like to think he is....

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I have to disagree.

A heck of a lot more obscure (and down right bizarre) properties than Indy routinely get action figures. No one can tell me movies like The Warriors, Bubba Ho Tep and Scarface are more deserving of action figures than Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Heck Rocky and Miami Vice are getting figures this year.

"are more deserving of action figures"

More deserving? This isn't about 'karma'... it's about money....

ClintonHammond said:

"are more deserving of action figures"

More deserving? This isn't about 'karma'... it's about money....

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Sales wise, still the same.

Like I said, a heck of a lot more people are familiar with the Indiana Jones trilogy than something like The Warriors. Now days even ultra obscure movies like Killer Klowns from Outer Space get action figures. Indy would definitely appeal to a lot more people than those would.

vlad.... nobody could have said it better than you did! To many times have there been too many licenses getting action figure lines produced, yet no Indiana Jones??????? WHY!!!! SOMEBODY LISTEN! INDY FIGURES NEED TO BE MADE!

Patience. They are coming. They just might not exactly be in the the format we all might wish. And besides Toy Fair usually only premieres items intended for release up until the end of the second quarter of the year. Items released in July and after seldom make the showroom floor. I am not saying new Indiana Jones toys will be released this year however.

Innis

Innis said:

Patience. They are coming. They just might not exactly be in the the format we all might wish.
Innis

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I will be REALLY disappointed if all we get is "Indiana Jones Unleashed" figures. I didn't wait this bloody long for Hasbro to get their act in gear to have them only release a couple of plastic statues.

An update of the original Kenner 3 3/4 inch line is the way to go.

Vlad Dracula said:

I will be REALLY disappointed if all we get is "Indiana Jones Unleashed" figures. I didn't wait this bloody long for Hasbro to get their act in gear to have them only release a couple of plastic statues.

An update of the original Kenner 3 3/4 inch line is the way to go.

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Yeah but Hasbro will use the Unleashed scale because it would not require them to produce many items from the movies. You might only get like three Unleashed figures or something which is more cost effective for testing the market. The Disney Indiana Jones figures did not sell as well as they hoped the would and some ended up going to close-out through other means.

Reproducing the 3 3/4 Inch line would be my ideal want as well, however, as my soon-to-be launched site will note there are certain other factors that led to the demise on the first line (it has nothing to do with poor sales) and these factors for sure would influence Hasbro producing a large toyline a second time around. The response to creating an Unleashed line looks to be a small solution to this problem.

Innis

Innis said:

there are certain other factors that led to the demise on the first line (it has nothing to do with poor sales)

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I feel the problems with Kenner's The Adventures of Indiana Jones line had nothing to do with the popularity of the movie.

The biggest problem was they severely underproduced Indiana Jones. The main character of the movie and toy line was literally nowhere to be found. I remember digging through stacks and stacks of Toht and the Cairo swordsman trying to find Indy and Marion.

I also think the line would have been better served if Kenner had not waited for a year after the movie before releasing their first Indy figures.

The failure of that line was more Kenner's fault than anything.

LJN's Temple of Doom line didn't even have a chance. The media and parents groups whipped themselves into hysterics about the over hyped violence in the movie. Which is actually tame by today's standards. Episode 3 was a lot more violent than Doom. Parents getting upset over violence in the Indy movies really isn't a problem anymore.

I really like the Disney figures. But in all honesty, their sculpts and paint jobs weren't the greatest by any means. That put off a lot of people and had to have hurt the sales. Not to mention the high prices for quality of the figures and they were only available at the Disney parks.

I feel Hasbro would be making a mistake releasing Indy Unleashed figures. Indy doesn't really fit in the extreme and exaggerated Unleashed style and a line of well sculpted Indiana Jones Trilogy figures made in the 3 3/4 inch classic SW and Indy scale are long overdue.

If they wanted to test the market, I think it would be better if they released a small assortment of Indiana Jones figures in the SW vintage original trilogy collection style. An updated 3 3/4 inch Indy figure on a retro style card would be a much better fit for the property than a large plastic grimacing statue in an extreme pose.

I understand and agree with the argument that Indy is not as popular as SW. But in all honestly and fairness not much can come close to competing with SW in popularity. I also don't think Indy would take in SW type sales and really not much does. But it would still sell and sell well.

Vlad Dracula said:

I feel the problems with Kenner's The Adventures of Indiana Jones line had nothing to do with the popularity of the movie.

The biggest problem was they severely underproduced Indiana Jones. The main character of the movie and toy line was literally nowhere to be found. I remember digging through stacks and stacks of Toht and the Cairo swordsman trying to find Indy and Marion.

I also think the line would have been better served if Kenner had not waited for a year after the movie before releasing their first Indy figures.

The failure of that line was more Kenner's fault than anything.

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I understand your opinion and you are right that distribution was part of the problem. However what I was alluding to was not that. There were internal concerns within Kenner at the time the line was being planned out that led to quite a few things being scrapped all togather. Not to mention it raised concerns for the future of the line as a whole. I have gathered information from ex-Kenner employees over the years to form this opinion. I will not post the "other reasons" here because it will first be mentioned on my site when it is launched.

Also Indiana Jones might not have been as underproduced as one may think and for sure not as underproduced as Marion. The reason why Indy may have been hard to find is that because he was the main character he was the first one bought out at the store and taken home and played with. For a figure so underproduced its amazing that it is one of the most commonly found loose figures today from the line.

Another problem I had with the article on the official site was the fact the guy who wrote the article relied primarily on old Internet information and an interview with the current Lucas Licensing President of whom was not even involved with the situation in the 1980s. Some of his information is incorrect. Most notably the claim that Kenner had not signed the license until after the film came out and toys were not released until 1982. Granted the 3 3/4 Inch line was not released until 1982 but Kenner did released the board game and 12 Inch Figure in late-1981. I have internal Kenner documentation that Kenner was well into pre-production stages at least for the 12 Inch action figure even as the movie premiered in July. Kenner/Lucasfilm already knew the movie would be a success so they did not wait to sign the license after the movie premiered. There are other issues as well with the article. I only wish the guy did his research a little better before writing the article now people will take the article as the "textbook" for the line.

I agree with you also that the Unleashed format would be the wrong way to go about getting the franchaise back into action. However from a marketing point-of-view it is very logical. If sales are high for even one Indy figure at regular retail then the desired market could be there. Kenner did much the same in 1981 with the release of the 12 Inch Figure before the 3 3/4 Inch line they waited to see the response to it first.

Whether we like it or not the something more like the Unleashed version is likely to be released before a full-fledge 3 3/4 Inch line. One also has to consider that the SW Unleashed line is geared more towards the adult collector and the SW 3 3/4 Inch line is geared towards both. If you ask your random kid on the street under the age of 10 about Indiana Jones you may be surprised not many of them know the story as well as SW. However if you ask your average adult they at least know who Indiana Jones is. Hasbro for sure has taken that into account as well. Just food for thought.

Innis

Innis said:

Also Indiana Jones might not have been as underproduced as one may think and for sure not as underproduced as Marion.

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Relatively, yes, Indy was severely underproduced.

I never had a problem as a child finding Luke Skywalker or Han Solo for example. But finding Indy was a real nightmare. Kenner knew to produce way more Lukes than secondary characters like Sand People and the Death Squad Commander. Producing Indy in slightly more amounts than a peg warmer like Toht was not the best idea.

Lastly, while I did enjoy the Kenner article on the official website, I do agree that it should have been a bit better researched.