Thursday, February 5, 2015

Who Wants a NECA Toys MacReady or Burton?


Everyone, right? Well, if those are figures you would like to see made in the future then fans need to be prepared to put their money where their mouth is and support NECA when they take risks by trying new things. This post is about NECA in particular, but it can be applied to just about about any product or company (not just toys).

If you take a glance at NECA's Twitter account you will see endless questions and suggestions about figures that fans would like to see them produce. Right off the bat people need to realize that securing licenses and dealing with likeness rights, etc can be a lengthy and difficult process which takes time.

Semi-related, many times fans will ask Randy to do figures that other large companies already have strangleholds on. So there is no need to ask him if we will see NECA figures for Jurassic Park, TMNT, etc. Hasbro, Playmates, and Mattel have their mitts firmly planted on many of the lines that people constantly ask them about.

That aside, we all have our wishlist of figures we would want NECA to make. Some of mine include Lieutenant Harrigan (Predator 2), Dillon, Mac, Blain, Billy, etc. (Predator), John Matrix (Commando), Ben Richards (The Running Man), Matt Hunter (Invasion USA), Col. Braddock (Missing in Action), Maj. McCoy (The Delta Force), Lieutenant Cobretti (Cobra), MacReady (The Thing), and Jack Burton (Big Trouble In Little China).

So let's take MacReady and Jack Burton for example. These are two characters that I see get brought up on Twitter all of the time. If we want to see figures like these ever be made then we need to reward NECA when they take risks and come out with new and different figures. Yes, Randy is a huge toy fan like the rest of us, but when it is all said and done they are running a business. Money doesn't grow on trees and they have budgets that they have to stick to. And since money doesn't grow on trees and they need to make money to stay in business then they need to focus on figures that are profitable.

It is my feeling that NECA will some times take a risk and try something totally new and different as a trial balloon. For example, I believe the new Retro-style EFNY Snake Plissken is one of those trial balloons. Personally, I think this figure is fantastic. I would love to buy multiples of it and give them out to friends, in fact. I realize not everyone has the same attachment to the character that I do and not everyone is a fan of the retro line. (Side note: I used to feel the same way about the retro figures, but now that I have Snake I love them and am a strong supporter of the line now!)

When people ask Randy about the chances of a MacReady or Burton figure he usually will say something along the lines of "we'll have to wait and see how sales of other figures do first." Which to me means if Snake doesn't sell well then we will not get those other figures. Again, they run a business and a business NEEDS to make a profit if they want to continue to be one. Randy can't just make any figure that he wants to.

So, if we ever want to to see a MacReady or a Burton we need to give NECA our full support...especially when they take a  big risk on a new figure like Snake. I'm not telling you to go out and buy a figure that you do not like, but if you have the slightest interest in EFNY, Kurt Russell, or the possibility of other figures based off him being made then you should consider buying a Snake Plissken figure. Money talks. If sales for Snake Plissken are high then the smart business decision would be to continue doing more. The reverse of that is also true. As we've seen with other lines, such as Planet of the Apes, a kick ass figure doesn't do them much good if people aren't buying it.

Bottom line: go buy a NECA Snake Plissken right now because 1.) it is a freaking awesome figure and 2.) you are helping increase the chances MacReady and Jack Burton figures being released in the future!





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