Hasbro Marvel Legends Series Dragon Man Figure Pre-Order

[JayC]

In a somewhat surprising announcement last week during San Diego Comic Con, Hasbro announced they would not be offering a Marvel Legends Haslab for 2024. Instead they would be experimenting with a new timed made-to-pre-order model with their newly announced Dragon Man figure.

So you might be asking how exactly will this new model differ from the Haslab? The two biggest differences will be that there will no longer be a publicly stated minimum order number. The second big difference is there will no additional stretch goals.

With the new system there will be a stated pre-order window and if you don't pre-order the figure during that window, then you won't be able to get the figure unless you go to the secondary market for it. At least that is what I was told By Hasbro during SDCC. In other words once the pre-order window closes you will no longer be able to purchase the figure. I was told likely people won't be charged for the figure until the pre-order window closes.

While their won't be a publicly stated minimum pre-order number as we saw with Haslabs, if by chance the figure doesn't receive enough orders to justify the cost of having it made, then likely all pre-orders would be canceled.

The figure will be sold as a Hasbro Pulse website exclusive.

While Dragon Man which will stand 10.5" tall and have a wingspan of 17.5" wide is considered a mid-sized figure, there is nothing that says Hasbro won't be able to use this new model for larger figures or vehicles down the road.

It's hard to say for sure, but my guess is we will see Hasbro offer figures with this made-to-pre-order model 1-2 times a year if the Dragon Man campaign proves to be successful.

We don't yet know how long the pre-order window for Dragon Man will be open for or even when it will go up for pre-order. My guess is that it will go up sometime in September, possibly even during the Hasbro Pulse-Con event which will be on September 13.

We still don't know how much Dragon Man will retail for. I could see it costing anywhere from $75-$175, but that is purely just a guess.

From the images Hasbro showed during SDCC, it looks like Dragon Man will include an extra pair of hands and a book. I am not sure if those accessories are finalized or not.

Check out our gallery of images of the upcoming Dragon Man figure from SDCC below in our GALLERY!
 

[Reno]

I do greatly prefer this strategy to the HasLab. I'm someone who has the original Toy Biz Dragon Man, so I'm probably less excited than others about this, but I'm sure that I'll buy it regardless. I'm expecting it to be around $150, but probably anything between $100-$200 is realistic.

As far as HasLabs, I'm only disappointed because I feel like that might have been the only I could have ever seen a Krakoa playset, which is something that I really want. However, I can probably make my own. Giganto the Mole Monster (from the Fantastic Four #1 cover) with a new Mole Man and Moloids was high on my wish list for HasLab possibilities also.

[Kikipage1984]

Personally I love this model over the haslab concept ……will get some dream characters with a lower price that were to big for a baf but slightly small for a haslab

[tarot]

I love this idea. There is so many characters they can now do.

That being said.....It would mean we won't be able to get a Fin Fang Foom and the likes now. 

[TheArrow]

When is a Haslab not really, but really, another Haslab??  Set-window, open order--what's the difference??  No tier extras? Big deal.

I'm gonna swear:  BINK,!!!PIFFLE!!!! GERPIN'!!! FARP!!!!!
This a $100 USD figure, approaching $150 Cdn+........and...........and............my stomach hurts now.
I want this BAD, but I can see right now with my forecast budget, I cannot afford this.

I'm gonna go kick a garbage can.

I'm grumpy now.

[Marvel0805]

Love this switch from the original HasLab approach. For this guy, as odd as it seems, I'd almost prefer the all-gray look, versus the colorful version we see in the artwork. Just looks more rugged and real to me, I guess. 

[SUPREME007]

I really hope this falls between 80 to 100 and no higher obs lower the better like 75 would be phenomenal. But really after 100 would be pricing me out.

[tarot]

On 7/30/2024 at 8:44 PM, SUPREME007 said:

I really hope this falls between 80 to 100 and no higher obs lower the better like 75 would be phenomenal. But really after 100 would be pricing me out.

I think it would be over the 100. This a direct to consumer product so there won't be any re-releases or anything so they need to make the money somehow.

[Psychosomatic]

Very interested to see where this goes. I bought the Sentinel, Galactus, and Giant Man, so I had no issue with the Haslab model, but I feel like this change in strategy could open up a lot more possibilities for characters (or even teams) that might not have been right for a Haslab, or quite right for straight retail.  I have heard a few people suggest Team Boxed Sets like Generation X, New Mutants, Marvel Monsters, Original X-Men, so again, it will be interesting to see what comes of this.  If there is a chance for a large character, I hope they consider a good sized Frost Giant with multiple heads so you could army build them.

[Satam]

On 7/30/2024 at 3:24 PM, TheArrow said:

When is a Haslab not really, but really, another Haslab??  Set-window, open order--what's the difference??  No tier extras? Big deal.

 

The biggest difference is that this doesn't need to reach a minimum number of orders in order to be made. It's gonna happen regardless.
The second biggest difference is that there probably will be no tier extras, but we can't totally rule that out just yet.

[tarot]

What are we dubbing this kind of project? I like to call them 'Directs'. 

[Atlantis]

Nice, solid figure and looks accurate, well done. Not sure if the wings are fully articulated like the BAF Sauron's were, but otherwise looks like a great offering of a fan favorite. Not seeing a $100.00 figure here but we'll see what they do.

[tarot]

On 7/30/2024 at 9:47 PM, Atlantis said:

Nice, solid figure and looks accurate, well done. Not sure if the wings are fully articulated like the BAF Sauron's were, but otherwise looks like a great offering of a fan favorite. Not seeing a $100.00 figure here but we'll see what they do.

they did say there MAY be swappable wings.

[Ironspider428]

I'd love to see some MCU stuff using this model. A Giant Man would be awesome. I was confident we'd never see MCU Haslabs so I'm very excited for the potential for some more elaborate MCU figures now.

[since83]

On 7/30/2024 at 2:55 PM, tarot said:

What are we dubbing this kind of project? I like to call them 'Directs'. 

I'm going MTOs for "Made to Orders"

[Emnems80]

So if you don't get your preorder in you have to get it on the secondary market? What if there's say 9,700 preorders, wouldn't Hasbro make 10,000 units? And if that's the case what would they do with the leftover 300? I'm pretty sure they would put them up on Hasbro Pulse again to sell.

[JayC]

On 7/30/2024 at 3:51 PM, Satam said:

The biggest difference is that this doesn't need to reach a minimum number of orders in order to be made. It's gonna happen regardless.
The second biggest difference is that there probably will be no tier extras, but we can't totally rule that out just yet.

Thats not entirely true. There is a min number its just not going to be stated publicly. If they dont get enough orders to justify moving forward then they won't. They have to get enough orders to still justify the production costs. So the only difference is we as the public won't know what that number is.

[JayC]

On 7/30/2024 at 6:12 PM, Emnems80 said:

So if you don't get your preorder in you have to get it on the secondary market? What if there's say 9,700 preorders, wouldn't Hasbro make 10,000 units? And if that's the case what would they do with the leftover 300? I'm pretty sure they would put them up on Hasbro Pulse again to sell.

Not according to Hasbro. And Dan Yun was very clear to me on this point. If you miss the pre-order window then you won't get another shot at it unless you go to the secondary market just like with a Haslab.

[AndyL]

I like it. Like I said in another post. The chances of another future successful Haslab are very slim. Based in character choices alone. I think the only feasible one at this time might be Fin Fang Foom. But I seriously don't think it would have the character strength to power another $300 plus Haslab. Others have said Living Tribunal or Celestials but those have less chance than FFF. Vehicles are a no go. Playsets will never fly. And I know they have their fans but it's just the truth. There really is not much left at this point. They already have the Giant Man model so characters like Foster, Atlas or Yellowjacket are a few slight details away. Those could easily be done as On-Demand. I'm good with this. Like I said on the other post things like Hellcharger and Fantastical can be done through other avenues. This is a good thing. What would be nice though is if there was a certain amount of orders reached there would be a bit of a price break. Because I don't see this Dragon Man or any other On Demand figure coming in under $100.

[JayC]

Here are the three main differences between this and a Haslab:

- We won't know what the minimum goal is needed for the item to move into production.

- There will be no added stretch goals so what you see is what you get no matter how many people pre-order it.

- More flexibility in the type of item they can release through this new model. Meaning while it could be a bigger item like a Fin Fang Foom, it can also be a more moderate sized item like this Dragon Man figure. With Haslabs, the assumption was that it always had to be a big sized item. This does give them more flexibility in the type of figures they can do giving them more opportunities to do characters that might not otherwise have a shot of getting made at regular retail.

[since83]

I find the not knowing the minimum almost more stressful. 

[TheArrow]

On 7/30/2024 at 4:24 PM, JayC said:

 There is a min number its just not going to be stated publicly. If they dont get enough orders to justify moving forward then they won't. They have to get enough orders to still justify the production costs. So the only difference is we as the public won't know what that number is.

So there's a FOMO psychology being exploited in this???  Well, that's clever in a twisted way, but it's also a great way to build resentment towards a brand.
Haslab is hard enough for some collectors to contend with and now there's going to be a whole other tier in play.   Not belly-achin', just lamenting what I see coming.

[GnarlyCharlie85]

I think this is a good idea. This is how we can get uniquely designed figures going forward. Figures we didn't think they would make because of tooling or whatnot. It gives us those big mid sized figures we need more so than giant figures at this point(their all mostly done at this point). Mangog, Porcupine, Box from Alpha Flight are just a few I can think of off the top of my head. The possibilities are endless I really think this is gonna be a win for us as a community.

[Jormungand]

No matter the sales model they use, I have been saying for the last several years that hasbro should move towards smaller- large scale figures and price them accordingly, under $100. The example I kept giving was Dragon Man... did they listen to me? Eh, probably not, but it is a good idea. Inflation will continue to give haslab fans sticker shock with the gigantic figures. Plus, there are far more smaller-large scale figures that have the potential to unite legends fans behind a campaign. I for one am very pleased by this announcement. Now I am holding my breath to see what pricetag they put on it.

[SpiderS]

It's great to see big muscle bound characters with double jointed elbows, hopefully this trends extends to other figures of similar size, and especially future Hulk.