There will be a new Robo Force drop from ToyFinity this Friday! This time the figures come with paint applications and look absolutely fantastic. I’m getting increasingly excited about this line. It’s an interesting time – soon the Power Lords will be able to interact with Robo Force and Mordles, with Manglors waiting in the wings.
More info from ToyFinity about the drop below. –PG
Enemy the Dictator
Hello Zetonian Fans!
The next release of ROBO FORCE product will be this Friday, December 20th, at 9:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.
It has been a blast coming up with new colors for the Robo Force. The colorways in this release match the recent Onell Gendrone Rebellion/Ecroyex Initiative colors exactly, so you can upgrade your Robo Force with Glyos pieces (or vice versa)!
Product details are as follows:
Robo Force Reforged HUN-DRED THE CONQUEROR Edition
Kit includes the standard 41 piece complement of Glyos compatible parts -now with over fifty paint applications and one secret faction symbol! -allowing you to build either Maxx Zero, Sentinel the Protector, Enemy the Dictator, Hun-Dred or your own robotic creation. $18 per kit, limit of four per customer.
Robo Force Origin ENEMY THE DICTATOR Edition
Kit includes the standard 41 piece complement of Glyos compatible parts and an additional 12 pieces for maximum customization possibilities! With over 50 paint applications and one secret faction symbol, kit can be used to build any of the four main Robo Force characters. $20 per kit, limit of four per customer.
HUN-DRED THE CONQUEROR
Additionally, there will be a limited quantity of Robo Force shirts in the store – only $15 each.
Toyfinity is also proud to offer, for the first time, an assortment of Zibits! Zibits are fantastic mini R/C robots with lights and zounds! Six different characters will be available in limited quantities.
All items will ship directly after the Christmas holiday.
After your purchase your new Force members this Friday, be sure to check out the Comics section for a new Robo Force page!
Kevin
Two hours and one of these sets is already sold out? That kind of limited availability makes it hard to get into this toyline. I've had enough of that with Mattel. I have no more desire to have to pounce on toys the moment they go on sale, and just don't always have the budget that exact moment. Frustrating, because that Enemy set looked great.
Poe
Well, given that the last Robo Force figure sold out in three minutes, two hours isn’t bad, actually.
Kevin
It might have been sooner. I only noticed it after two hours. But three minutes? This whole "toy drop" concept and fast sellouts is off-putting. There's a whole exclusivity and collector madness angle to this and I guess Glyos that I really don't like. I hope they make at least the classic color editions of the Robo Force figures available on a regular basis.
stack32
Exclusivity might be a part of it, but you need to consider you're talking about operations that can't afford to have money tied up in inventory for very long so quick sellouts are critical to the line even surviving to the next release. I know with the Glyos figures there has been a lot of tweaking to find a balance between having some stock available and selling a lot of it so they have cash to work with.
Kevin
I can see the business reasons for keeping production low, but do you think they might be underestimating the demand for these figures a little bit if they sell out in mere minutes? For someone new who wants to get into the Robo Force toyline, I think it's a barrier when you get excited about these toys and a.) go to the ToyFinity website and there is absolutely nothing in stock and b.) realize that previous sets were incredibly limited and probably very difficult/expensive to find. Let me ask you, will the ENEMY THE DICTATOR Edition get a re-release in those colors since it was so popular, or are you out of luck if you missed that small window it was available? If the latter is the case, then it makes it hard to expand interest in these toys outside of the small cult fandom that closely follows them as has done so from the beginning. I hope ToyFinity can find a balance where they can afford to keep at least a few key figures in stock at most times.
doctorkent
The last set sold out in minutes. I almost doubled the quantity of each for this time around. One set takes two hours, the other seven or eight.
So for Kevin, a quick and simple question: how many sets do YOU order if you are in charge and putting your cash into it?
(this is not a question being posed in a dickish manner – I'm curious what the average fan on the street thinks is the right amount without any starting data to go on)
Kevin
I don't know, but is there a way to gauge consumer interest, like offering a pre-order item? That might give an idea of total potential customers that are willing to commit beyond the cutoff of an item that went into production first.
Separate question: Will any of the sold-out items be made available again? That color scheme of Enemy was fantastic, but I just didn't catch it in time.
doctorkent
Well, Matty has done so much damage to the idea of a pre-order (along with many other fans in my cabal who related issues with 3A pre-orders) that I'm not going there until we have a track record of delivering the goods as promised and a need to do the pre-ordering.
I have detailed data of customer databases across multiple Glyos lines, as well as my own sales. I'd love to be in the position to just order XXXXX of each colorway and just let things go where they will – but I have the data from years of sales to say not to go that deep until demand says to.
It's easy to point to Glyos and say something about toy drops and such – but guess what. We're been playing that game at retail for years, if you realize it or not. I could never find roughly 1/2 the SW figures released at retail in 1998 because the scalper in my neighborhood bought ALL of them. Every case. Knew all the toy dept heads at every store and just bought em all. At least with Robo Force, you have a fair chance. You know exactly when an item goes on sale, as opposed to looking at TRU for six months with nada results.
I'm going to keep pushing quantities to meet the demand. There is always the potential of doing the blue/blue colorway again in the future.
Kevin
Doc, I appreciate hearing your perspective. I can see now that you're pretty much operating within the only workable framework you have and learning as you go along. I think if there is the possibility of making some of the sold out sets available again down the line, it alleviates some of the collector's frustration I was describing.
Kevin
BTW, I did recently pick up some Mordles and was quite impressed. So hopefully I can grab a Robo Force figure soon and finally see what they're all about. How often are new sets usually released?
doctorkent
The next release will be in March 2014
Kevin
Cool. This time I shall be there or be be square!
Jason S.
Did I miss the 'standard' colorways, or have they yet to appear? Or will they appear?
Poe Ghostal
They haven't done any "standard" colorways, but they're coming eventually.
dayraven
by "manglors waiting in the wings" do you mean someone is developing them currently? if so, when?
Poe
ToyFinity, 2014.
Dayraven
Gracias my man. No chances there's any blowing in the wing about the inhumanoids is there? Mangoes is my number 2 favorite 70's/80s line so these will definitely be on my radar from here out.