Transformers RPMs

new in stock - Transformers RPMs (Robot Powered Machines)

Die Cast Vehicles

superb new toys, non transforming Transformer collectables

plus LOADS of other new stock listed for 2012 at piggy bank toys and lots of restocked items, including Cars 2 and Action Figures

Transformers Robots in.... STOCK ! (you know the rest)

with the release of the thrid Transformers movie on DVD & Blu Ray, and by all accounts a better film than the 2nd movie, we have a large range of Transformers in stock from various guises (see what I did there?) included animated, and movie transformers. lots to choose from, grab them before they destroy the world!

transformers here

Still Loving the 'Wars

Many of my friends know that what really got me into the toy biz, was Star Wars. 

I was fortunate enough to be born before the original Star Wars era, and remember, more specifically going to see the Empire Strikes back with my dad and sister, at aged 10, at the ABC in Brighton, having to queue to get it, with the line wrapping round the block. It was awesome. 

Now, I had lots of toys when I was young, but by the time the Empire Strikes back came out I didn't get as many of the figures as some kids did, and was a bit envious of the boys who got the lot, and sadly the ones I did have were 'got rid of' as I grew out of them. That's generally what happened to kids toys back then, you got them, out grew them and moved on...but we did play with toys until a much older age, because we didn't have video games. Maybe a friend with a PC had Fred or Manic Miner or Asteroids... but not me, toys lasted to 13-14 until bikes took over...

So, it wasn't until the re-release of the re-vamped Kenner range in 1995, with the buff Wrestlemania style Power Of The Force 2 figures that were released. I'd just finished University and was out working - earning my own money, and as a consequence could afford to buy my own things - I bought a whole heap of the new Star Wars toys and figures. It was great being able to buy and collect again, i kept the figures in boxes, because we knew that those who'd saved them before in the 1970's and 1980's in boxes now had collections worth £1000's.  

Ok, the dream didn't come completely true, and there are many more figures in mint packets still in the market from 1995, 16 years down the line, which sadly don't fetch as much as figures released 20 years prior to their release in 1985 do, but that's the way the market changed. Lucas, a canny dude, managed to over populate the market with Star Wars, once he knew the franchise was rejuvenated. And boy what rejuvenation....

After the launch of the 1995 figures and tie ins with books, Shadows of the Empire a spin off was a massive success, Lucas announced that the movies would be revisited and repolished, to create the Special Editions, this undoubtedly generated new interest, more toys and more money for Mr Lucas. We as fans loved it, especially me, I had no kids only disposable income to spend, and boy did I.

The success of the Special Editions and their subsequent release on VHS Video - remember them - allowed for Lucas to announce the news that he was going to release the back story in a series of three prequel movies starting with Episode I - A Phantom Menace.

well that was it - fandom in Star Wars went into meltdown. And George Lucas sat rubbing his hands as everyone and everything wanted a piece of the Star Wars Pie, and boy was the pie big... there was so much stuff, in fact so much that there was more than some companies could cope with and the Licencing cause a number to fold soon after with stock piles of Jar Jar and Darth Maul embossed stock not shifting, there was only so much us fans could carry!

In fact with the launch of the second prequel in 2002, Attack of The Clones, licences were scarcer and less products were issued, but that's not to say they didn't continue to make toys and games. The release of the final ever live action movie was scheduled for 2005, with the Revenge of the Sith, and it tied the whole saga together, there were several key lines released during this movie as well.

We as collectors and fans thought that was probably it but we were wrong, the toys from Hasbro who have been with Star Wars since taking over Kenner, have kept coming with new ranges variations, anniversary releases and more.

The Clone Wars off-shoot movie, released in 2008 and subsequent cartoon series on Cartoon Network, now about to embark on its 4th Series, based upon a previous cartoon series, propelled Star Wars back into the domain of the kids, and the Clone Wars toys have been sought out by a new army of fans - some not even old enough to have been alive when Revenge of the Sith came out, let alone the Original Trilogy. 

There are hundreds of Clone Wars products in the market, almost too many for the more hard core adult fans to bear, but Mr Lucas has all along said it was a kids movie, and has kept true to that, although the Revenge of the Sith did have its too dark for kids moments, at the heart of it all has been the kids, and the deal Lucas did to keep the merchandising rights was not only a canny one, but also a wide ranging one for the current toy industry. Its hard to differentiate between weather some movies today are made to sell toys, or to sell DVDs / theatre tickets. Take the two Pixar Franchises, Cars & Toy Story, and Transformers, all are based upon selling a secondary product, and in the case of Transformers, a cartoon based upon a toy, based upon a film remoulded back into a toy - its come full circle almost! I don't deny Toy Story was a success without the toys, but Pixar / Disney must have made more out of merchandise than the films, I know Lucas has! I mean look at the craze over the first Buzz Lightyear Toy!

So where does that leave us with Star Wars? With no movies to promote new product (see Cars 2 - there is Episode I Levels of products about for the latest Cars Movie) can Star Wars toys get back on the lists of kids this year?

Well in the last couple of years, I feel that the toys have dried up a bit, the Clone Wars products are still out there and these are boosted by Lego's continued involvement since 1999's The Phantom Menace, whereby they are releasing new and older movie sets, but other than that, the toys are a bit indifferent and thin on the ground, even if they are better quality and better styled these days.

It just seems Star Wars has slipped from people's minds recently, there are no big campaigns at the moment, because too many other big movies are competing for the space in stores, we've had Pirates, Potter and Transformers, Cars, Toys Story and Smurfs and Spider-man and Batman and more are coming...

but fear not because Lucas has more to let loose and I feel this will see the release a new wave of toys and collectors and collections. 

Later this year the Blu Ray release of the entire Star Wars Series will hit the shelves, and in crisper high def, people will definitely want to renew their  interest with everything Star Wars, which is why I'm doing my bit now to get some products shifted!

2012 also sees the release of all 6 movies, in order of Chronology, and firstly of the Phantom Menace (Episode I) again but in all new 3-D!!! 

With that will come the launch of toys and more... and big promotional - I'm sure some majors will be on board to promote this, including McDonald's, and others....

so all is not dark with the force, there are some interesting events happening, and even if the long proposed live action TV series, doesn't materialise for another year or so, we will be celebrating the Wars for the foreseeable future...

so if you are looking for a few ideas, feel free to pop over to the Piggy Bank Toys store at Amazon, where we have a lot of new in - but mainly older Star Wars items from All six movies and cartoons, everything from Figures, to Trading Cards to Mouse mats and more....

 
all of the Star Wars items shown here are for sale on the site, (except the Blu Rays!) and much much more....


Star Wars here

The Hasbro 12

July, is obviously the month that the majors list their hopes for the festive season. And major brand / manufacturer Hasbro has listed its top 12 products (across 5 ranges). Its a mix of big boys, girls, and young and interactive toys.

Furreal Cookie My Playful Pup

Littlest Pet Shop Tree House

Let’s Rock Elmo (above)

Play-Doh Magic Swirl Ice Cream Shoppe

Monopoly Electronic Banking

Bop-It! XT

Kre-o Transformers Bumblebee set

Transformers Ultimate Optimus Prime

Star Wars Ultimate Force Tech Lightsaber Assortment (below)

Beyblade: Extreme Top System Tornado Battlers

Spider-Man All Mission Racer

Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster

The Let's Rock Elmo, Nerf Vortex Nitro and Furreal Cookie items are you will see listed in the Hamleys top 10, so its certainly worth noting these products, and to get in there early for 2011...

of interest to me personally is the Ultimate Force Tech Lightsaber, 

The toy features a progressive light-up blade with vibrant LED lighting and authentic sounds, allowing kids to experience the Force in a whole new way. Available in Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader models with an approximate retail price of £34.99 each. Available in August.

According to Hasbro, the new Ultimate FX Lightsaber is designed as an authentic-looking toy, with a plastic handle and shorter blade that make it lighter and easier for kids to handle. Of course, Hasbro will continue to offer the metal handle Signature Series Force FX lightsabers for adult collectors in 2011 as well.

Whats Up With Action Figures?

It seems that Toy industry figures* are indicating that even though overall toy sales remain positive year on year, sales of action figures have declined, and significantly enough to warrant concern.. With some major franchises returning to the action figure arena this year, i wanted to know why the decline might be happening and whether the return of 'boys' movies might change this, and whether its worth keeping faith in Action Figures in 2011? I have no answers specifically, and can only point to a number of factors why i believe the decline has happened:

Firstly, action figures have become expensive. Growing up, I was a consumer of Star Wars toys, and today remain a collector. We all know that in 1978 they retailed at pocket money value of £1.59. Today new Star Wars action figures are £7.99-£8.99 a piece. I know that these prices are comparative to other boys toys in the market, Bakugan, etc, but its probably a reason why these types of boys toys are not selling as well (Spaceships to house these figures cost over £50 in some cases).

I'm also not content with the price or supply of these toys in the European Markets, and won't be the first to be unhappy that the price points here don't match the US. In the US, a £7.99 Star Wars action figure is priced at $7.99 - at the current exchange rate that is just £4.89. Surely its not costing more to get these toys to the UK, certainly not £3.10 more. (Those of you in Europe are even worse off with action figure prices nearing €11.99). And overall supply is poor in the UK, we get waves 1,2 & 3 of a series, then nothing, US stores still get the full compliment of waves, vehicles, everything. UK buyers are hard done by, in this regard. (check my store when it launches as we intend to stock the harder to get figures and ranges as well as the usual bog standard 'high street' ranges). I'm still seeing left over 'female' Star Wars figures from lines released 3 years ago on the shelves of Toys R Us, such as the 2008-2009 legacy collection Breha Organa & the super unpopular Yarna Dal Gargan.

Secondly, there might just be too many action figure lines out there, just off the top of my head, there is Ben 10, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thor, Harry Potter, as well as almost every action movie series releasing a range. Boys find it hard to pick a series / franchise / line to follow and collect, and they just keep coming too.

Thirdly, classification of toys and similar alternatives. What boys determine as 'action figures' may have changed, but the measure of action figure sales might not. Lego Mini figures don't fall under action figures at all, neither do toys like Playmobile, Pixar Cars vehicles, Bakugan, Pokemon. Boys are still out buying all of these products instead of action figures and playing 'action' games with them. How does the Toy industry classify Transformers, for example, are they Vehicles or Action Figures? Hasbro has been pushing its NERF range for a while and sales of these types of action toys where by 'you take over' the action might even be replacing action figures themselves. Sales of 'safe' weapons and water toys have rocketed in the past year, and its no coincidence that these sales increases have mirrored the decline in action toys.

Lego has, I believe, hugely impacted the Action Figure Market. Their mini figure ranges have impacted significantly on the 'action figure' model. With low price points but the same playability and collectorbility factor, Lego is cornering a market it doesn't even generally trade it. With Character Building coming along with its HM & Doctor Who ranges too, the future is looking bleaker for the traditional 'action figure'. With Lego licensing more and more products, like the Pirates of the Caribbean range, and continuing its now long standing range with Star Wars, its only going to help the brand and impact on the Action Figure Market.

Cars, by Disney are also capturing what i believe is a part of the Action figure market. With a massive range of toy cars, which are undoubtedly NOT action figures, but fall under the vehicles market, have been selling to boys consistently well since the original film was released in 2006. Helped by the Cars Toon series and innovative updating of the pre-existing range. Cars 2 vehicles just released are also going to start flying off the shelves, and I fear at the expense of Action Figures. Again these figures retail at a much more competitive price point where two vehicles can be bought for the same price as one Action figure. You can race two cars against each other, a single action figure is pointless without a friend! Cars, you may argue are selling to the general boys market who buy toy cars anyway, but I think the Cars range is different, because each car is a character. Unlike hot wheels where the car is unique, but still is based upon a real car, the Pixar Cars have faces and can become playable characters, with an 'action' ability. Certainly the younger boys are buying and collecting Cars characters, probably in place of collecting a range like Star Wars.

The bright points on the horizon are the number of new action movies due to hit in 2011. Despite my claim that the action figure market is perhaps overloaded, even more action based toys might revitalize the market. Coming in 2011/12 are the following films which will all be 'action figure' and boy toy friendly: the Star Wars Clone wars - series continues, Star Wars Episode I -3D, Scheduled for release in 2012, Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, X-Men First Class, Thor, Real Steal, Transformers, Captain America, The Avengers, Green Lantern, MI:IV, The Adventures of Tintin, Batman 4, Spider Man, and possible movies, like Cowboys and Aliens, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Men in Black III, Star Trek II & The Hobbit.

It is a tough market, but as retailers we have to cater for everyone in it, and we must remember that Action figures are NOT just for collectors.

Personally I believe prices have to become more consumer friendly, but in these economic times, it is perhaps difficult for manufacturers to cater for this. Boys still love action figures. As I believe what boys deem to be classed as 'action toys' has changed, this might be affecting the plight of the traditional multi articulate blister packed figure.

The solution as ever is down to retailers and manufacturers to work together to sell and stock the right ranges at the right prices. It seems in recent months the major stores have made some odd decisions on stock and availability of lines, Doctor Who and Star Wars are two I can think of where 'shelf warmers' are common, and popular figures are in shorter supply than normal. Maybe the new and upcoming film licensed ranges will change these perceptions and bring the action figure toys back to life. I'm particularly looking forward to the Real Steel range, and think this could be the jump start the action figure market needs.

* Full year 2009 vs 2010 growth figures:

Action Figures     -17%
Total Toy Market  +7%
Building Sets (including lego) +48% 

Toy News, March 2011

Let me have your comments.