The Tease of Things I Don't Need

 

   The lure of things we don't need, could easily find greater needs to apply the cash to, and which we may not even have the space for, is a very First(ish) World Problem, to be sure.

     HasLabs is a special projects division of Hasbro, that occasionally pitches large and/or elaborate items - oversized figures and/or vehicles - essentially crowdfunding each project. They set the price, and a funding line - the number of people who need to pledge to buy one (or more -- up to five) at the announced price, then collect the names and information of interested parties for a period of 45 days. Once the number of pledged buys hits the target, the project is greenlit. 
    A couple years ago there was a HasLabs special build project aiming to fund a production run for an oversized (32" tall), elaborately-articulated action figure of Marvel comics' Devourer of Worlds: Galactus. Back on July 18, 2021 I posted a piece on the project, which at the time was just two days into its funding stage. He would also come with three different faceplates, so one could have him with a suitably impassive expression, an angry one, or a dangerously depleted, nearly zombified one for when he would be in a truly desperate and frightening stage of hunger. It also included a battery compartment, such that the emblem on his chest and a couple spots on his helmet could light up.
     One or more additional targets are offered, such that as each of these new pledge lines is crossed, some additional figure or new accessory is added, which the buyers will also receive at no additional cost. These are "stretch goals." If the response continues to be strong, additional stretch goals are added to incentivize new funders, or in some cases to entice existing funders to increase their orders. Some patient, business-minded folks, with the cash to play with, opted to get more than one, counting on being able to sell the extra(s) for a higher price than they paid. The aim would be to ultimately defray or perhaps even fully cover the outlay, so in the end they'd have a set and most to all of their money back.
     With Galactus, the price was $399.99, to which any appropriate tax would be added (depending upon where one lives), and with free domestic shipping. The magic number of pledges required to authorize the build was 14,000.
 

    The stretch goals were a FrankieRaye/Nova figure if it hit 16,000 backers, a new Silver Surfer figure at 17,000. As those were reached, they added a Morg figure if they reached 20,000 backers, then, finally, a swappable Head of (Dr.) Doom if it reached 22,000 backers, which was a nod to Secret Wars.
     Ultimately, they blew through all of the stretch goals, and did so to a degree that there was a watch to see if an additional one would be added, but that's where they drew the line. The last day of August came, and as it fell the process was closed, and those who'd pledged found their accounts charged for it. The manufacturing and shipping was roughly a year off. Ultimately, everything arrived in a huge box.
     To answer the likeliest question: In a moment of weakness I put myself on the list. Everything came in a humoungous, elaborately-decorated box, and aside from me opening it to the point of sliding the internal display unit out, I've done nothing with it. It was slid back into the box the same afternoon it arrived, and has remained there since. Sheer clutter has left me with no obvious place to even consider displaying it, and plans for 2026 continue to remind me that in less than three years I'm going to have considerably less discretionary personal space to decorate. Those are all things I should keep in mind.
    Today's post concerns a new HasLab project, one that's currently almost 25 days into its 45-day funding period, and is still slowly, slllllloooooowwwwwlllllyyyy creeping toward its funding goal. Midnight, just under three weeks from now - at the end of Monday October 23rd - the funding stage will close. The pace of pledges will have to accelerate sharply if this one's going to succeed. It took nearly the first, full, fifteen days to reach the halfway mark of 5000 pledges, and as of last check it hadn't reached 5,500.
     This proposal is also for an oversized, but smaller, classic Marvel character figure. This time it's Dr. Henry Pym in his guise as Giant-Man. This one is to be 24" tall - so 8" shorter than Galactus. (That link will pop out as a new screen.)
     The price point is $199.99, so half of what the Galactus was, and the minimum number of people who have to pledge in order for it to be made is 10,000, so 4000 fewer people than what was needed to authorize Galactus.

      It will come with three, interchangeable face plates: An impassive/serious one, an angry one, and a rictus of a grin. It also comes with three pairs of eyes, looking down, straight ahead, or to the left, such that these can be mixed to allow for nine facial expressions.

      The manic grin suggested to me a cartoon interpretation of a young Craig Ferguson from a point in time when he might have dabbled briefly mixing cocaine and methamphetamines. Or maybe a young Dick Van Dyke following a psychotic break.
     The face continues to be the single most off-putting element to me, but it's mostly just a matter of realizing it comes down to settling on a face for him, and I'm not sure what artist's source they're drawing from. The ad copy suggests they were reaching for Alex Ross' somewhat photorealistic interpretation, and I guess I'm just not so settled on that. It's odd that this is as off-putting to me as it's proving to be, especially given with how relatively casually I rolled with the MCU casting Michael Douglas as Hank Pym.

     The opening stretch goals are character mods.
    The first is a zombie faceplate and death-rumpled antennae if it reaches 12,000, for those who will want him (at least part of the time) as a literal Marvel Zombie.
    The second is a Skrull replacement head, which will be included should it cross the line of 14,000 backers. That one will be for those wanting to have him revealed as having been replaced by a (suitably empowered) Skrull, perhaps if they were setting up a Secret Invasion display.
    Most of the negative responses I've seen to it have lamented the stretch goals, especially that first one, which really looked as if it should have just been part of the basic build.
     

 The Skrull replacement head - a Secret Invasion-themed nod - reminded most of the final stretch goal for Galactus, that Doom head, which in 2021 seemed to excite almost no one. It was such a specialized story mod, and most of the people speculating on another stretch goal had been listing various other heralds of Galactus.
      Back to the present, I don't think anyone would argue against thinking better stretch goals this time around would have seen a more enthusiastic response by this point.
     Back in 2021 I did make some notes on the early funding progress (noting them in the blog post) for this and can readily see that the Big G was drawing in considerably more immediate interest. It was slightly better than halfway to its funding goal just two days into the process!
     As of this posting, I have not joined the ranks of the backers. The main point of this post is to simply acknowledge that the program exists, making it easier for me to look back on exactly when all this was going on. A pop cultural history marker.
      Secondarily, it's to potentially burn through the urge to go for it. Sometimes just indulging it in the imagination proves enough, much as window shopping sometimes does, especially if part of what one's imagining is a blend of "what am I ever really going to do with it?" and realizing the simple truth that it's just a matter of time until circumstances will have me looking kindly on having a spare $211.99 (what it would cost me, including Pennsylvania state tax) handy.
     So, for now it just remains something to think about. - Mike