Retro rereleases and how to do them right

[Wardah]

If it's between a quality 30$ pony and a cheap repo like we got before at ~5$ a piece, I'll happily take the 30$ one any day of the week, as long as it's a well made collectible.  Agree that a smaller production run, maybe with a company that's focused more on catering to collector markets would be ideal.  Or online sales, skip the big box store releases since they aren't the target demographic for something like this anyways.

The thing is those things are not any higher quality from the originals. They are just a smaller run so they need to up the price to make the same profit. I think Hasbro or whoever they would license G1 to could probably provide quality equal to the originals at a more reasonable $10 a pop.

[LadyMoondancer]

I don't think Hasbro can produce a high quality (like G1 quality) individually packaged repro for $10.  Anything individually packaged is going to be more expensive than the 3-packs to begin with.  I would guess at least $20 to produce something high quality.

Remember that they also have to recreate any G1 mold they want to use, and we want them to do a better job than they did on the collector ponies or what's the point?

[ponyqueen]

Remember that they also have to recreate any G1 mold they want to use, and we want them to do a better job than they did on the collector ponies or what's the point?

Do they have to recreate the mold? What happened to all the old ones?

[LadyMoondancer]

They were lost or melted down to make new molds.  Also happened with a bunch of their other toylines . . . they never expected to use the molds again, so they turned them into something useful.

However, I think the two halves of the Skyflier mold are still around, in the hands of two different collectors?  (One has the head, the other the body.)  Can anyone confirm?

After looking at the He-Man page, I think maybe my first estimate was too high and Hasbro could probably do it for $15 . . . The He-Man figure was $25, but he has moving parts.

I do think in order to get a good looking mold, they would have to hire an actual sculptor to recreate the molds, which would cost more than their collector pose method where it looks like they took a pre-existing collector pony, and used it to get the mold.  (Which results in shrinkage and explains why they are shorter and weirder looking than 80s collector ponies..)

[Wardah]

I don't think Hasbro can produce a high quality (like G1 quality) individually packaged repro for $10.  Anything individually packaged is going to be more expensive than the 3-packs to begin with.  I would guess at least $20 to produce something high quality.

Remember that they also have to recreate any G1 mold they want to use, and we want them to do a better job than they did on the collector ponies or what's the point?

Bridge Direct can make a quality SSC for $10 tho and she is more involved to make than a pony. Tbh I really don't trust Hasbro to get it right which is why they should license it to someone that can. Bridge Direct also does the Fisher Price Classics which they licensed from Mattel.

[Al-1701]

Couldn't they use examples of all the molds and run them through the machine that creates a 3D computer model by running a sensor across the object?  That would be more reliable than physical casting and probably cheaper than hiring a sculptor. 

[Baby Sugarberry]

Or use a 3D scan/print as the base, and have an artist touch up the resulting starting point into a good quality blank.  I don't see why it shouldn't be possible - if us, as hobbyists / consumers, using off the shelf craft materials can recast original toys with a fair degree of accuracy, a large company like Hasbro with all its resources has no excuse not being able to do at least as good a job.

[ponyqueen]

Baby ponies are smaller than adult ponies (oops, spoiler alert), so the raw material cost and shipping costs per unit are less, so there's a better chance of turning a profit, right? Plus, they're WAY adorbs!

[LadyMoondancer]

I hadn't thought of 3-D scanning technology, that's a good idea.

[FarDreamer]

Bridge Direct can make a quality SSC for $10 tho and she is more involved to make than a pony. Tbh I really don't trust Hasbro to get it right which is why they should license it to someone that can. Bridge Direct also does the Fisher Price Classics which they licensed from Mattel.

Sounds like a good plan to me.  I wonder if we petitioned if we'd get anywhere.  According to the friend I mentioned before, the matty collector folks had a lot of contact with collectors about exactly what they wanted from the He-Man and Thundercat re-releases.