>>10122368....ya know, I totally forgot about Hero Quest, and I sincerely apologize for that slight. Hero Quest's successful resurgence is an amazing thing and the world is better because of it's return.
>>10122539Her Saber was chosen because she was A) fresh off a new, big budget, nostalgia fueled, successful Disney+ series. Also, since her Saber was the first double bladed saber released in the line, as well as having a larger hilt then others, the increased price and box size probably made them weary of retailer engagement. As such, making it an on demand production run removed any risk of it not being a popular product on the shelves.
With Robbie, he's has a fairly strong cult following, but releasing him without the Charger would be like releasing classic Ghost Rider without his bikes. Yes, Hasbro has done it in the past...but it's always been a stupid idea. They most likely felt the Charger wouldn't be attractive to retail shops, as again size and cost factor in to how much brick stores buy into a figure. Combined with Robbie not having multiple decades of nostalgia attached to him, going the crowd funding route most likely seemed like the less risky option to just pumping out a giant car in a box.
The whole point of Haslab is to make figures and collectibles Hasbro designers want to make, but Hasbro execs feel won't sell well to retailers. So making direct market, limited run, on demand versions of these items is a much safer bet then traditionally manufacturing a product and selling it to stores. The failure of a Haslab is a glowing indication that the risks really where there and avoiding the financial loss these figures would see at market was a good decision.