The Series 9 Chef Figure

[Phillip]

It may seem silly, but a new figure involves thousands and thousands of additional dollars in research, sculpting and tooling whereas a repaint of a completed sculpt is much less time intensive.

Of course everyone (myself included) would prefer a new sculpt or figure instead of a repaint. But would you rather get a new figure in place of series 9 Chef or have a series 10 at all? Palisades wants to keep the line going as long as possible, but if they went way over budget AND series 9 didn't sell at the same time, it wouldn't be good for the future of the line at all. Since Toys R Us and Target are out of the picture, Palisades expenses have not gone down much, but their profits have significantly. They could have easily cut off the line at series 8, but they want it to continue as long as possible.

Whether you agree with Palisades practices or not, if you are a Muppet fan the fact that we are sitting here at series 8 is nothing short of amazing. Let's get this in perspective here. Think of all the Henson products that you heard were being produced in the past, but were never even released. Palisades has been able to tap into the Muppets in a way that no other retailer in 20 years has accomplished. Before the line even started, we were talking about how incredible it would be to have 30-40 Classic Muppet figures. We will soon have around 100 figures with exclusives in this line. We have so much to be thankful for.

Palisades has also reminded countless "adult" (non kiddie) fans that the Muppets exist and for the reputation and continuation of our beloved characters, it is hard to put a price on that.

 

[Gonzo's Goof]

I understand that a repaint would be a lot easier for Palisades to make, and also I do have to say it is nice that they even our selling this one separate so those that couldn't get the playset could have this in their group. Much like how they sold the Pigs in Space Piggy separate. The reason it also though worries me some is well the fact that in this thread a lot say they most likely won't pick it up. If the series don't sell well even a few figures, most stores have a habit of counting back. The EBgames store in my area, the first series they got around 5 cases at least, well to this day they still have a few left over, and some of their exclusive Gonzos though there are just a few left. The Manager of the store told me he requested to cut the whole thing back, and he really didn't even want to carry them anymore, but was told he had to take some in. Now the rest of their series have sold except some in the last series. Also working at Toys R Us before the same thing would happen, if something wasn't moving even if just one figure in the series they don't like to get anymore because of the fear of that one figure not moving. So while a repaint is good for them on costs, it could be bad in the long run for the series.

Now with that said again I will still get the figure and rip it open that day, and find a spot on my shelves to make it fit with the others. I have to say that these toys are the most amazing Muppet toy I have ever seen, everything else to me has always looked well cheap, not real, to smooth in toys, and the pushes always look weird. I love that Palisades has made a figure that truly captures the Muppets. Their artists all should be proud of their work. That is how I see these as artwork, and can't wait for all the next series to come out.

Gonzo's Goof

 

[Raech]

I wonder what other than Lobster Banditos they can pack him with.

I know I want Lobster Banditos, but seriously doubt they'd re release them

What else could they pack him with that would be just as good if not better?
Accessories really can sell a figure.

 

[Phillip]

Chef is coming with a Basketball Backboard and Hoop, Blunderbuss (a big gun), Green Muppet Tomato and Banana.

It's all on the Palisade release schedule...

http://www.muppetcentral.com/news/2004/tms_figures.shtml

 

[Luke]

The reason it also though worries me some is well the fact that in this thread a lot say they most likely won't pick it up. If the series don't sell well even a few figures, most stores have a habit of counting back.

It shouldn't be a problem because Chef has a lot of mainstream appeal so people other than the usual figure collectors should want him. If it was someone like Clifford or Marvin i could see your poiny but the Swedish Chef is known and loved by all. Obviously not everybody would prefer a new sculpt or figure because those people who were not able to get the playset will be very much in need of this figure. What's a display of Muppets without the Swedish Chef? There is the argument that he could have been resculpted but a) there is nothing at fault with the sculpt, and b) the whole idea is that a signature Chef makes it into the regular line. Also it is looking very much like there will be a chase variant Chef (like Shifty Eyed Sam) in Series 9 which will mean completists buy two rather than one.

I fully expect us to get a new signature Beaker of some kind (but probably with a resculpted head and some experiment theme) and it's looking very likely there will be another repaint signature style Zoot (though this could be a club sign up figure rather than regular wave) so the idea of old figures being slightly changed and released (especially playset ones) is likely to continue. It makes sense to do it - big signature characters were used to make the playsets sweeter but the sets weren't all that popular. Now time has passed it is great business sense to re-release those guys as there will be a big market for them from people who didn't buy the sets.

 

[WiGgY]

What makes you think there will be a variant of the Chef? I haven't seen of heard anything that would suggest this, other than what the fans want to see.

I do not expect to see a new Beaker. There is not much to change and it would be a waste. Maybe it's just my negative attitude, but I don't think the line will get much past series 10, if it even happens. It looks more and more like Palisades Direct will be the new outlet for a lot of of Palisades licenses. I think the Muppets will become Palisades Direct items as well.

 

[Luke]

Ken said something, one of the last answers in the questions thread that got closed i think. I've definitely heard it from him although it wasn't a direct confirmation - i'll find it. As for the Beaker they were looking at doing a post-experiment signature style one in the regular line but who knows?

I think they are doing ok licensing wise. Yeah Muppets may be mainly Palisades Direct as of S10 but some of the other licenses - X-Files and Fairly Oddparents should give them more of a chance at mainstream success. Their future licenses have more of a chance at coming together if they get good relationships built with TRU, Target etc. Sure you can be known for hardcore collectors stuff like Critters and Zim through comic shops but the big money is in the more "current" stuff.

 

[Luke]

Here it is :-

Ken, any chance the Swedish Chef can have a repaint in Series 9 to have a light blue shirt and/or explosion/mess stains a la Culinary Catastrophe?

AIP.

When i posted earlier i thought he had said something more than this but still, it was wierd he gave that an 'Anything Is Possible' in a load of answers where he was giving forthright yes and no opinions and generally not doing the AIP thing. Mysterious!

 

[CherryPizza]

I know what you mean, it seems silly to be bringing out figures that are slightly different when theres so many that really must be brought out

I agree in essence, but would be very wary of using the word "silly"...

As Muppet fans and toy collectors our passion, our spirit is so great that we couldn't possibly believe that anyone or anything could stop this line from living on and from bringing out more and more brilliant creations...

But Palisades IS a business... businesses aren't run on passion, and whether or not we agree with the creative decisions, they are made following logical decisions incorporating many important factors. We have a right to disagree with decisions, but we still need to understand that the decisions were made for deliberate reasons

 

[WiGgY]

Here it is :-

Ken, any chance the Swedish Chef can have a repaint in Series 9 to have a light blue shirt and/or explosion/mess stains a la Culinary Catastrophe?

AIP.

When i posted earlier i thought he had said something more than this but still, it was wierd he gave that an 'Anything Is Possible' in a load of answers where he was giving forthright yes and no opinions and generally not doing the AIP thing. Mysterious!

AIP is given SO MANY TIMES! I pay no attnetion to AIP answers. They mean nothing. We would have known about this by now.