Re release of rare characters

[ERICKANA666]

Do you thi k that they will ever re release these kind of characters, like scratch, hot spot, half court, or any characters that was never released from the original series, or 4 frogs set ?
It could be easy money, and can kill the business of some bad sellers on ebay. Do you think they have the rights of these ?
Even with new mold these guys can sell like hot cakes. What do you think

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

They're bad sellers why? Because they won't sell you rare figures cheap? Don't be a retard.

Much more likely that Super 7 will crank some of these out in 1:12 scale somewhere down the line.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by ERICKANA666

Do you thi k that they will ever re release these kind of characters, like scratch, hot spot, half court, or any characters that was never released from the original series, or 4 frogs set ?
It could be easy money, and can kill the business of some bad sellers on ebay. Do you think they have the rights of these ?
Even with new mold these guys can sell like hot cakes. What do you think

From what I have read somewhere [can’t think of the source], many of the molds from the original 1988 toy line were destroyed in a fire during sometime in the 2000s.

Besides, a Hot Spot, Scatch, and Half Court made today would be given poor paint applications like the recent re-releases of the original turtles in the GameStop 4 pack and the Classic Collection reissues before those. Chances are it would still be difficult to get those characters if Playmates made new molds similar to the old ones for them because toy scalpers would stock up on them in hopes of selling them for high prices on eBay.

[mikey0]

Scratch, Hot Spot, and Half Court were not rare at the time of their release. Children of the 80s and early 90s ditched the Turtles at the start of the mid 90s for Ace Treasure Trolls, Mattel Disney’s Aladdin, Tyco Crash Dummies, Toy Biz Uncanny X-Men, Kenner Batman The Animated Series, CAP Toys Stretch Armstrong, Playmates Star Trek The Next Generation, Kenner Aliens, Kenner Jurassic Park, and Hasbro WWF figures. There was more variety, in terms of toys, from 1993 to 1994 than there was in 1990 to most of 1992 (especially 1990).

Unfortunately, I don’t see Playmates re-releasing any of the basic assortment allies and villains from 1992 to 1994 (with the exception of the tiny Krang from the smaller Android Body) or making all new versions of Napoleon Bonafrog, Attila, and Rasputin from the original 1988 or 1989 Genghis Frog mold. Those characters are not recognizable to most casual adult toy collectors and children of this time period like even Bebop and Rocksteady are. You will have to shell out the amount the black market dealers are asking for if you want Scratch, Hot Spot, and Half Court. I know that must stink for new and old completists of the original Playmates line, but that’s how it is at the moment.

[tmntman]

Originally Posted by mikey0

Scratch, Hot Spot, and Half Court were not rare at the time of their release.

Well, that just isn't true. They may not have been as rare as some items, but I can personally vouch for the fact that I was still actively searching for the basic assortment figures right up until the end of the line and beyond. And I never saw a Scratch or Hot Spot in any of the stores in my area. And they are the only basic assortment figures that I could never find.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by tmntman

Well, that just isn't true. They may not have been as rare as some items, but I can personally vouch for the fact that I was still actively searching for the basic assortment figures right up until the end of the line and beyond. And I never saw a Scratch or Hot Spot in any of the stores in my area. And they are the only basic assortment figures that I could never find.

When did you search for them? Toy scalpers were scooping up every Turtles item that seemed to be valuable from 1990 to ‘94 or ‘95. I wasn’t paying too much attention to the then brand new generic cards in ‘93, but I’m sure there was, at least, one Scratch at Family Dollar or Toys “R” Us in the summer of 1993. Hot Spot and Half Court were not ever as hard to find as Scratch was back then for some reason.

Turtlemania ‘90 coupled with the subsequent releases of all of the Turtles sub-waves from ‘91 onward really made it hard for completists of the ‘88 line, during its original run, to get every basic assortment ally and enemy of the turtles.

[frank_one]

Originally Posted by ERICKANA666

Do you thi k that they will ever re release these kind of characters, like scratch, hot spot, half court, or any characters that was never released from the original series, or 4 frogs set ?
It could be easy money, and can kill the business of some bad sellers on ebay. Do you think they have the rights of these ?
Even with new mold these guys can sell like hot cakes. What do you think

Easy money?! Sell like hot cake?! Wait, you seriously think that putting some obscure characters from a 30 years old toy line on stores shelves can be profitable? How many hardcore tmnt toy collectors do you think there are out there? How many people in the world are willing to buy Hot spot or Half court?

[Coro]

If Playmates was smart- Scratch, 1/2 court, and Hotspot, etc would be exact unpunch dupes of the OG releases with "SDCC 20xx exclusive" on the back of the cards...put $50 sticker on them and a special mailer box or some other garbage playmates does, and I guarantee there will be buzz...

Then launch a limited release of the OG line like in a hasbro pulse style arrangement. Make them limited to 7k for Mondo Gecko, and 3k for Shogun Shoate or some garbage, but remake the whole line. There is money to be made there and a million other ways to capitalize on what Playmates did in the past, but they just won't. I dont understand them at all. Its like an old family business and the dad is dying and the kids have no idea what TMNT is or something.


They should really connect with their customers more.

[mikey0]

Medicom released a Scratch Be@rbrick a while back. Scratch obviously stands out amongst all of the basic assortment allies and villains in the 8th through 11th waves (1992 to 1994). The 1993 Scratch figure is one of the most coveted figures from the original toy line. Sadly, Scratch fetches for a lot on eBay nowadays because Xennials and even Millennials [who weren’t diehard Turtles fans] lost interest in all things Turtles in ‘91 and ‘92.

Scratch, Hot Spot, Half Court, and even The Punk Frogs aren’t fan favorites in the toy line, Archie Adventures comics, or cartoon. By the looks of it, we’ll continue seeing the common characters being reissued and no one else.

[cloud]

You guys seem to really know how to run a toy company ...
All jokes aside, we don't know how many of the molds are still functional.
Sometimes it might be 90% but like 1 of the accessory mold are no longer available. What do you do? release a 99% product? Don't think there is a market there.
And the other side is retail. Don't think any retail would be interested in a vintage line. Unless they go with specific stores.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by cloud

You guys seem to really know how to run a toy company ...
All jokes aside, we don't know how many of the molds are still functional.
Sometimes it might be 90% but like 1 of the accessory mold are no longer available. What do you do? release a 99% product? Don't think there is a market there.
And the other side is retail. Don't think any retail would be interested in a vintage line. Unless they go with specific stores.

The best thing would be for Scratch and possibly Hot Spot to be in a TMNT movie reboot. Playmates would be pressured to re-release the two ‘93 figures or make a new version of the characters with molds and accessories similar to the originals (like Mattel is doing with MOTU Origins). That would only be two out of the seven characters the OP mentioned though.

A large part of the problem is the figures from the sixth year of the original Playmates toy line do not grab casual consumers today the way that even Saurod from the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie does. The 4th and 5th basic waves (both from 1990) had the last characters that people of all ages are familiar with.

Super 7 could give us an Ultimate Scratch (like Latin Kings mentioned) or a ReAction Scratch and possibly a Punk Frogs ReAction four pack, but Hot Spot and Half Court are a stretch. Adult collectors would argue that there are so many mutants, robots, and aliens that should be released before Scratch, Hot Spot, Half Court, and even The Punk Frogs.

The ‘88 Playmates line was really only good for the first wave, but there were favorites scattered around from ‘89 to ‘90. I was real surprised to see Super Mikey and Super Donnie on shelves again in 2016. It’s too bad that Playmates has not given completists and fans of the first toy line a list of the molds they have. So far, we know Playmates has every character from the first wave, Krang, Casey Jones [?], Slash, T.D. Tossin' Leo, Midshipman Mike, Lieutenant Leo, Skateboardin' Mike, Delta Donnie, Movie Star Leo (sans belt), Movie Star Raph [?], Movie Star Don [?], Movie Star Mike [?], Super Mikey, and Super Donnie, but that’s it.

Still, who knows what the 2020s could bring for adult collectors from Playmates? The OP’s best bet is a Scratch and Hot Spot appearance or reference in an upcoming Turtles reboot flick. Some form of those characters would have to be made.

[I Crave Pizza No More]

Originally Posted by tmntman

Well, that just isn't true. They may not have been as rare as some items, but I can personally vouch for the fact that I was still actively searching for the basic assortment figures right up until the end of the line and beyond. And I never saw a Scratch or Hot Spot in any of the stores in my area. And they are the only basic assortment figures that I could never find.

Same here. Saw Hot Spot a number of times, but never once did I find Scratch--and I had enlisted other people to help in that search, too. I lived in a pretty market, too (Cleveland).

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by I Crave Pizza No More

Same here. Saw Hot Spot a number of times, but never once did I find Scratch--and I had enlisted other people to help in that search, too. I lived in a pretty market, too (Cleveland).

I don’t believe Scratch was short-packed. Like I said earlier, diehard Turtles fans, toy scalpers, and even comic book fans who loved the original toys were buying them. I guess the idea of a cat burglar named Scratch made the Ryan Brown designed character more memorable than the rest. Not to mention, the ‘93 Scratch figure was more detailed, glossier, and uglier than any TMNT action figure before it. No one at the time knew Scratch would turn out to be a holy grail. Scratch just seemed like such a wacky character choice that some could not help but pick him up with any other figure they wanted.

EDIT: Scatch appears in the 1993 GameBoy game, “TMNT 3: Radical Rescue”. I’m guessing that’s what made Scratch an uncommon figure around the Christmas of 1993 as well. Also, Parents were buying TMNT figures as birthday presents from 1990 to 1994 or so. Largely, I feel TMNT fandom played a part in Scratch being a once common figure that became hard to find before ‘93 was over.

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

Super 7 will be cranking out high dollar figures for the collector's market (hardcore fans) at a price point that will drive more casual fans away anyway.

[Candy Kappa]

I don't think re-releases of Hot Spot and Scratch would sell like hot cakes, I'm sure a handful of collectors would buy them as stand-ins before they can scrape up funds to buy the over priced figures in eBay down the line.

[mikey0]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

I don't think re-releases of Hot Spot and Scratch would sell like hot cakes, I'm sure a handful of collectors would buy them as stand-ins before they can scrape up funds to buy the over priced figures in eBay down the line.

If the re-releases of Hot Spot, Scratch, and Half Court were anything like the last Classic Collection figures from 2016, chances are that casual consumers would be able to get their hands on them for a little while until Pixel Dan puts up his review. Like you said, a large number of toy collectors who know of the characters would use any Scratch and Hot Spot they could purchase as stand-ins for the ‘93 figures and keep a number of them on card to sell on the Bay. Other TMNT product buyers would customize them to look close enough like the ‘93 originals and take them to the Bay. The only character I can see being a peg warmer would be Half Court, but many adult collectors would get nearly all of the Half Courts off the shelves. Of course, these would have to be sold at Walmart or GameStop. The list from Walmart would be in a thread here and Toyark shortly afterward before the three hit the stores. There would be a real limited number of those aforementioned characters if sold at GameStop. In other words, it would be another toy hunt for Scratch, Hot Spot, and Half Court for the people who missed them the first time around.

Scratch was a then little known character who became a part of TMNT history (more so than Shogun Shoate). Perhaps, Scratch was the perfect basic assortment mutant out of each one of them.

[mikey0]

As of right now, it seems like there is a better chance of, at least, an Ultimate Scratch being made by Super 7 than a re-release from Playmates (like First of Two Latin Kings is saying). Even at the $45 price point, Ultimate Scratch will go fast. The OP would be up against fans of the TMNT Ultimate figures, hardcore TMNT fans, scalpers, casual buyers, online toy reviewers, and comic book store sellers. Again, that’s not all of the characters that the OP brought up.

A ReAction Scratch would be 3 and 3/4 inches tall, whereas the Ultimate Scratch would be 7 inches tall. Neither will look like spot-on versions of the 1993 character. A Playmates re-release of Scratch, Hot Spot, and Half Court could be missing paint apps or be given completely different paint apps from the ‘93 originals. Unfortunately, Playmates only re-releases classic figures from the 1988 toy line as a tie-in for an event (35th Anniversary), new series (Playmates Toys missed the boat with “Rise”), or movie (a new TMNT movie reboot is supposedly on its way). Playmates doesn’t really do anything for their oldest customers (like Coro was saying) in the way that Hasbro and Mattel do little things for theirs (G1 Transformers reissues, Hasbro Pulse 6 inch figures on original cards, and MOTU Origins). TMNT fans really get the short end of the stick when it comes to good re-releases, exclusives, promos, and advertisements.

[Coro]

Originally Posted by cloud

You guys seem to really know how to run a toy company ...
All jokes aside, we don't know how many of the molds are still functional.
Sometimes it might be 90% but like 1 of the accessory mold are no longer available. What do you do? release a 99% product? Don't think there is a market there.
And the other side is retail. Don't think any retail would be interested in a vintage line. Unless they go with specific stores.

Thats why I said SDCC exclusives to build buzz...look at that SDCC shredder they released. That created buzz...although the wrong kind of "wtf is this ugly thing".

[mikey0]

A Super 7 Vintage TMNT line (like their Vintage MOTU line) could help matters for the OP. Nevertheless, the likenesses would not be 100 percent like the first ones from 1989 and 1993. Super 7 has gotten quite complaints about their vintage He-Man not resembling the 1982 original.

I’m not sure if the ‘88 Playmates line was as iconic as the 1982 Mattel MOTU line, though. It’s funny—the original Mattel MOTU line came before the Filmation cartoon, whereas the original Playmates Turtles line appeared in stores almost seven months after the Fred Wolf mini-series. It wasn’t even solely the 1987 syndicated series that sold the original Playmates line in its heyday, it was largely the 1990 movie.

Again, I’m don’t think a Super 7 TMNT Vintage Hot Spot and Half Court would be made. The Punk Frogs and Scratch would definitely be possibilities for the Super 7 Vintage TMNT line (if one ever happened) nonetheless.

[MrPliggins]

I can also vouch for the fact that I never saw a Scratch in the store during its release. I saw a Hot Spot one time in a Hills, and they only had one. Halfcourt, Sandstorm and Mona Lisa were everywhere. (Also in the Cleveland area).

Even at the time Scratch was known as a rare figure, so toy dealers and collectors were scooping them up as well as tmnt fans. I had to get mine at a toy show, traded Spawn figures and Starting Lineups. I don't think tmnt fandom had a lot to do with it, because the fandom was dying at the time.