Movies in 1/18

[dandaman]

Why they chose to create figures based on Platoon, I will never understand. Wouldn't it have made more sense to choose something like We Were Soldiers or even the older Rambo films?

We Were Soldiers naturally lends itself to more variety with the uniforms (7th Cavalry, French army, NVA, and VC). With Platoon the movie was really centered around the main characters, with the attacking NVA being nothing but a faceless enemy. We Were Soldiers did a better job of making the NVA actual characters in the film. So if you created a figure set based on this movie, you would have to have some NVA figures. I can understand why they released the figures they did with Platoon. It makes sense when you look at it like that.

The older Rambo films would be good choices obviously. Just think of all the NVA and Soviet troops in Rambo 2. And Rambo 3 had the Soviet troops and the Afghan rebels. Lots of figure variety.

Anybody have any other good movie ideas?

[AlloySkull]

Yeah... Enemy At The Gates. SOVIETS in WWII!

[olifant]

I think to do this a couple things must take place:

1) Newly released movie for "buzz"
2) Movies that kids will see, love and want toys from

Thats why we have Russians from Indiana Jones and never saw a Thin Red Line release.

[dandaman]

Kids movies?

Is Indiana Jones really a kids movie?

Remember that scene in Raider's where the guy who tried to take the idol from Indy got lanced with spears? Remember that scene where the mechanic got chopped up in the propeller? Remember the scene where the German truck driver gets run over? Remember the scene where Belloq and his henchmen have their faces melted off?

Remember the scene in Temple of Doom where Indy throws a skewer in the guy's chest? Remember the scene where Indy hangs the henchman on a fan with his whip? Remember the scene where Mola Ram tears the guy's still beating heart out and then the poor individual gets roasted in flames? Remember the scene where the evil guy gets caught in that rolling pin machine? Remember the scene where Mola Ram falls down the cliff, getting scraped up all the way, and is then devoured by alligators? (Or is that crocodiles?)

Remember the scene in Last Crusade when Indy shoots three German guys at once with a luger? Remember the scene where the tank driver is hit in the head with a bullet? Remember the scene where the guys get their heads chopped off when they are forced to enter the booby trapped corridor? Remember the scene where Donovan ages rapidly and dies in an explosive manner?

Kids movies?

[Arclight]

Well, it's likely that 21st had to take a loan to create the platoon line or if not a loan at least justify it to a number of key financial figures.

Part of this would be the idea of bankability. While the movies you listed would have been great to have figures from, they don't make good impressions on the bank. You can take the names, Charley Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berringer, JOHNNY DEPP, and Oliver Stone to the bank along with an Academy Award and the box office gross receipts and the bank will give you money. Or people will agree you could make money on that. Or you can take all that to TRU and Walmart and sell it. Drop Johnn Depp to Walmart and they buy.

We Were Soldiers has Mel Gibson, true,no box office gross and no awards. It's not bankable, though I totally agree on the interest level. It also had better vehicles and such.

Rambo... I don't see 21st getting into that based on philosphy, plus I believe Hasbro has the rights to Rambo. Someone does at least as they have made Rambo figures before. So that is out of 21st's reach or even legal possibility, I'm sure.

Again - I think 21st had to split between the bankable side and the interest side. I personally LOVE the platoon figures. So I'm really happy about it.

[forcerecon85]

If Moore and Galloway still owns the rights to their story maybe they didn't want to glorify the events of LZ X-ray with action figures. With the Platoon figures 21c knew that there wasn't an issue with making figures since the Sideshow 1:6 figures were made and did so well. Maybe they were hoping to bank off the success of the sideshow line instead of risk making figures from a 6 year old movie without merch.

Honestly I'd love to see any kind of Vietnam figures, weather its We Were Soldiers, Rambo or continuing the Platoon line with King, Bunny, Junior, Big Harold, Tex, etc.

[Panzer_M]

saw the Platoon figures today...not impressed...didn't like the movie, don't care for vietnam really...I know about it, but I don't dwell it like I do with WWI and WWII.

No SS dual packs today which kinda scared me, since they have been all over for months.

[tmanthegreat]

Kids movies?
Is Indiana Jones really a kids movie?

Well, moreso than "Saving Private Ryan" or any number of other recent, realistic war films The violence in the Indiana Jones films takes on more of a swashbuckling nature instead of people being blown to bloody bits.

Other movie tie-ins from 21c would be great, but traditionally they have not been very good with marketing what film-based lines they have made - or anything for that matter. Still, part of me resepcts the fact that they have made Sahara figures, or the Sky Captain plane They also tend to market films that are either too old or flopped. The Sky Captain planes came out months after the film, and the Sahara figures were even worse. The toy giants - mainly Hasbro - have the toy rights to all the really marketable films and 21c must get what's left over, which often means older films or less popular films.

What ever happened to that proposed "A Bridge too Far" movie tie-in shown at a toy fair a couple years ago?

[V2 MAN]

I think it would be awsome to have a set of bandofbrothers figures. That would be awsome