We're back on the Star Wars train this week and I've brought along some friends. As collectors many of us are constant critics and we can be harsh—really harsh. Okay...I'm probably more harsh than most, but it's for the greater good. I'm trying to keep the dollars in your wallet and the plastic out of the trash bin. And sometimes it's hard to put ourselves back into that childlike mindset.
Sure—hand me a NERF Gun and I'm diving over couches like I’m 5, but unfortunately when it comes to spending our hard-earned pay, we bring forth numerous pre-existing feelings about what we purchase. Yeah I buy toys, but I don't eat candy and Happy Meals for dinner and take bubble baths anymore. So to help sort through the recent cornucopia of Force Awakens toys I've enlisted the help of my brother-in-law Phil and his son Anthony. They did some retail scouring for all things Star Wars and have weighed in on the dirge of products that have met with Uncle George's seal of approval. But just because George is going to make a buck doesn't mean that the fans are going to buy or the kids are going to be intrigued. Will the Plastic Trash prevail? Let’s find out!
The Reviewers
The Dad: Phil - age 39, father of two, CFO of his household, Original Trilogy Preferist
The Kid: Anthony - age 9, Phil's son, also into Marvel, DC, Minecraft, Legos, and NERF
The Collector: Nate - age 36, author, toy junkie, refuses to buy any Star Wars Blu-Ray that has Greedo shooting first
The Ratings:
3 Yes Votes = Plastic Pinnacle; 2 Yes Votes = Plastic Fun; 1 Yes Vote = Plastic Distraction; 0 Yes Votes = Plastic Trash
Hasbro Hero Mashers
Anthony: Lame, didn't see the need to switch heads/bodies/etc. I would rather have the complete character.
Dad: I didn't get this at all—felt they were just coming up with any idea to sell a different product.
Nate: I actually like these. I bought the first Marvel-themed ones for a friend's kid and now that they've crossed over to other properties, I can see the appeal for younger kids who like to break things down and rebuild them. They remind me a little of the Centurion figures from the 80's—especially the more deluxe figures. It's kind of cool to put a Bossk head on Iron Man body so easily, but I can see where a 9-year-old would find these infantile and would rather have the ACTUAL action figure than some pseudo-building action figure/toy. And as a parent I think the frustration would be with losing parts because once Spider-Man is missing a leg, the toy is useless.
Verdict: Plastic Distraction
Spin Master Star Wars Air Hogs Anthony: They're okay, but they don't make enough different ones for me to like.
Dad: The detail looks nice but the scale of the toy makes it difficult to pair up with other toy figures and we only saw 3 different Star Wars Air Hog toys.
Nate: I like R/C stuff, but these can be hit or miss both with design and how well they fly. The Air Hogs website shows six different Star Wars-themed designs. A safe bet would be the Landspeeder or Speeder Bike since they don’t actually fly, but that remote control Zero Gravity TIE Advance X1 looks awesome. So does the X-Wing Starfighter, but 4 reviews on TRU.com give it a 2 out of 5 stars. One reviewer likened it to all Air Hog products: "over sell and under deliver," which sounds to me like wasted money and potential Plastic Trash.
Verdict: (Potentially) Plastic Fun, but hard to judge without an empirical test. Buyer be warned.
Hasbro Micro Machines Anthony: You can't do anything with them, they're too small and you could easily lose them.
Dad: I'm not a fan of the Micro Machines in general, to me these are just "filler" toys, things parents buy their kids and within a few hours they are lying in the corner somewhere.
Nate: I see the appeal for small army-guy-like toys to be played with an actual base or playset and these are clearly a throwback to the die-cast figurines and playsets of the first three films. But when it comes to the detail on something like the Millennium Falcon—it has a lot to be desired. It looks cheap and boring—as does the R2-D2. All the paint apps were wasted on the exterior and the inside looks unfinished. Hasbro clearly rehashed the Micro Machine Star Wars toys from the late 90's and transferred the concept over to this film with character head designs that open up into playsets. The heads would display cool if you had a few of them, but so would the numerous different action figure concepts they're releasing. And, yeah, these are pretty much destined to be lost in the couch cushions.
Verdict: Plastic Trash
Mattel Star Wars Hot Wheels Car and Starships Anthony: I didn't like them, same as Micro Machines, but a little bigger.
Dad: I feel the same; Hot Wheels should stick with cars.
Nate: I agree. These feel more like a cash grab than anything else. The designs range from super lame and disconnected to moderately cool, but they don't stand out from other Hot Wheels cars. In fact if you handed me some of the cars and asked me which character it represented, I couldn't tell you immediately. The die-cast starships like the Millennium Falcon look underwhelming too in both paint and design. Big fail here. METAL AND Plastic Trash.
Verdict: Plastic Trash
Star Wars NERF Guns Anthony: I like them very much. I like the detail and how the bullets matched the series
Dad: I liked them—the detail was nice and the bullets went well with each gun.
Nate: I think they're lame. Another cash grab like the Hot Wheels. I'm surprised you two like them. I've been buying a lot of NERF guns for the nieces and nephews and I thought these were pretty uncreative when compared to everything else NERF has made over the years. Sure all NERF guns are fun, but I'm also not sure how accurate the designs are to the blasters in the new film. I would rather have an accurate looking blaster that lit up and made sounds than something that shoots NERF darts and is covered in orange plastic. I can see that if you already have an arsenal of NERF guns, it's nice that these can seamlessly integrate into your collection, but, meh, I rather have something bigger and cooler.
Verdict: Plastic Fun
Hasbro Blade Builders Anthony: I didn't like these because you have to buy the pieces separately.
Dad: I didn't like them. It's creative but it loses the authenticity of a lightsaber.
Nate: I'm torn on these, but leaning to lame after watching the 30 second ad on Hasbro's website. It's a cool concept, but I can see how the play factor would be lost after a couple minutes—especially if you didn't have someone to duel with once the lightsaber was built. I also agree with Phil, the lack of detail in the hilts makes them look cheap. And the biggest question would be if they could handle hours of clacking against other lightsabers without breaking, bending, or falling apart. Also there have been inexpensive, knock-off versions of extending lightsabers for years, so as a parent I'd think that would be a better purchase since you're going to slam these against stuff all day.
Verdict: Plastic Trash
Hasbro Star Wars Furbacca Furby Anthony: I liked, but looks like it could be annoying.
Dad: I didn't like--another example of just slapping Star Wars on a product.
Nate: I was at Kay Bee Toys when the original Furbys took off. I hate these things. Annoying is too nice of word for how these things react and make noise. Again another product to shill with the Star Wars name—and $80?!?! Chewy himself would be upset…like The Star Wars Christmas Special upset.
Verdict: Plastic Trash
Star Wars My Size 31-inch Figures
Anthony/Dad: We both liked them. They looked authentic and something we would place in our room and collect.
Nate: I gotta agree. As someone who routinely pays $200 for a hyper-detailed 12-inch figure, the value for something that is twice the size and a quarter of the cost is clearly there. These things look durable and pose well. The look of the Stormtrooper is a bit off, but the Darth Vader looks awesome. I'd buy the Vader for my collection because he clearly could be put standing on the floor and not need shelf space.
Verdict: Plastic Pinnacle
Hasbro Remote Control BB-8 Anthony: Of course this is cool.
Dad: I would probably waste $80 if I had $80 to waste. It looked cool with the exception of the "Target Exclusive" badge.
Nate: Well it's a good thing that Anthony didn't see the Sphero App-Enabled BB-8 Droid toy that is coming in at $150. When you put this and the Furbacca side by side for the same money, clearly this thing would be more fun. And who doesn't like robots...especially remote controlled ones.
Verdict: Plastic Pinnacle
Various Star Wars Lego Playsets
Anthony: I would buy all of these.
Dad: Thumbs up to all the Legos. In general they are very detailed and I thought they delivered on their Star Wars-themed sets.
Nate: Yeah, if I didn't collect action figures, these would be hard to resist. The Mos Eisley Cantina playset, though probably not a huge seller (think about it: a bar for kids), looks super fun and is one of the key scenes that kicks off the greatest franchises in history.
Verdict: Plastic Pinnacle
Final Thoughts
Phil: For me, I just saw a lot of Star Wars labeling on everything. It does work. It caught my eye long enough for me to see what kind of "Star Wars" item it was before I realized it was something not even closely related to the movie. The Star Wars grapes is a perfect example (delicious grapes in a plastic container with a picture of Yoda on it). As far as the toys, although I'm not a collector I grew up where there were just action figures and that was it, so I naturally gravitated to the more authentic action figures and their accessories. These reminded me of the toys I used to play with when I was a kid. Everything else was just overload. I particularly didn't like any of the toys that had their specialty but then modified their approach to be more appealing to Star Wars fans. Hot Wheels, Micro Machines, Air Hogs, etc...these brands I just couldn't see the connection to movie. I classify a lot of these toys as "filler" toys, or toys that are bought on impulse by the parent because their child really wants it. 99% of the time the novelty wears off within hours and the $5.99 you paid for a Hot Wheels Yoda car just went down the drain. With all that said, I also have to remember times have changed and I'm sure all these toys have some kind of true appeal to a kid.
Anthony: Like me, anything he saw with a Star Wars pic or logo would be investigated, so the marketing does work. I asked him, “If money wasn't an issue, which Star Wars toys would you buy?” and he said he would buy the entire Lego series. After that he would buy the regular action figures to place in his room as well the life size (3 foot) Darth Vader and Stormtrooper. He really didn't have any interest in anything else. He's past that age where he used to just grab a toy and ask me to buy it, now he really knows what he'll actually enjoy playing with. He was curious though, he spent a lot of time in the aisle looking at each one and what they did...but in the end he didn't really show any interest. He told me it wasn't that he didn't like them, but he thought a lot of the toys were for younger kids. Out of all the toys we saw, he thought the Legos and NERF guns would be something he would get use out of most. Everything else he thought was more for younger kids. Ironically he was interested in other Star Wars items that weren't toys, clothing especially (he liked a lot of the new t-shirts), Star Wars sheets for his bed, and a Star Wars water bottle for his lunch, etc.
Nate: We’re on the same page with just about everything. The shill of taking an existing product and re-branding it to be Star Wars merchandise is as clear to a 9 year-old as it is to an adult. The Hot Wheels cars are my least favorite, but I’m pretty sure I would drown the Furby “Furbacca” after a few hours. I feel like the action figures are more of the same of what’s been produced for years and that’s both good and bad. The Black Series seems to be resonating with fans better than the traditional 3 3/4-inch figures, but until I actually see the film, it’s hard for me to gravitate to a particular character enough to make a purchase. And this goes for all scales from Lego to 1/6. But the Lego playsets are incredibly cool, reach across seven films, and of course are interchangeable with all of the most popular franchises of the last 30 years. Batman, Iron Man, and Han Solo can all save the universe at once. I also do really like 31-inch figures. Their size is striking and if you were relatively the same height, they would be way cool standing at your bedside protecting you at night. Darth Vader might very easily have a home at the entrance to my man cave.