Hasbro may not have a booth at New York Comic Con (NYCC) this year, but the collectibles company still has a presence at the show, displaying both of its current HasLab projects for the first time. One of these projects is the new Marvel Legends HasLab Engine of Vengeance, which is on display at the Marvel booth.
This crowdsourced project launched last month, with a goal of getting 9,000 backers by Oct. 31. The 1:12-scale vehicle — inspired by Marvel Comics‘ All-New Ghost Rider (2014) — comes with a Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider 6-inch-scale figure and has a variety of features, including six flame trail effect pieces, 20 LEDs for Hellfire effects, and the ability to transform between Hellfire mode and Street mode.
According to Principal Designer Dwight Stall, the Marvel Legends team knew they wanted to make a vehicle for the Marvel Legends, especially because fans were very vocal about wanting one. The team chose Ghost Rider as the test drive (pun intended) for a few reasons — Not only is this year the character’s 50th anniversary, but the car is simply, as Stall describes it, awesome. “I mean, it’s a flaming muscle car,” Stall says. “It’s just cool. The cool factor is always important, and this thing has cool factor in spades.”
The car’s size also made it a logistically smart option for the brand’s first vehicle, says Marvel Legends Senior Manager of Products Ryan Ting.
“You kind of need to walk before you can run,” he explains. “So fans are saying, you know, [they want] a Black Bird jet or, like, a Punisher Van. Those are humongous things. We wanted to do something that was still impressive, but, you know, at kind of that entry point for a full-size vehicle.”
Making the move into vehicles wasn’t without its challenges for a team that had previously focused almost entirely on action figures. For this reason, both the Marvel Legends team and Hasbro’s newer HasLab team worked to develop the car, and Hasbro brought on a car-enthusiast designer to assist. Collaborating with this designer helped make the car not only in line with the Marvel brand, but also authentic to its era.
“[The designer] had a lot of ideas, and he helped me redo the whole interior,” Stall says. “Cause he is like, ‘No, no, you picked the wrong thing. That wouldn’t be in this era.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know, because I drove up my wife’s Honda Civic for so long, you know?’ No shade toward Honda Civics. I’m just saying I’m not the guy, you know, rocking one of these things.”
At the time of writing, the HasLab project has 5,257 of the 9,000 backers it needs. Since the project launched last month, some collectors and fans have been vocal on social media about the vehicle’s $349.99 price tag, which is comparable to the price of the previous — and much physically larger — Marvel Legends HasLab projects. However, the Marvel Legends team says this price tag is warranted. Ting knows it’s natural to compare the new project to previous ones, but notes that the last Marvel Legends HasLab launched more than a year ago when materials and other manufacturing elements cost less.
But inflation isn’t the only factor at play. What collectors may not realize is, as Stall explains, the car requires a lot of plastic.
“For the Sentinel and Galactus, all the expense was on the outside, building them up,” Stall explains. “An automobile has a lot of stuff on the inside. It’s not just an outer shell. It’s got a bottom, it’s got a middle … it’s got seats, and it’s got a lot of stuff that you require to do a premium Legends item. But you don’t get the visual credit for it being stretched out into a giant robot.”
Generally, the team says this HasLab is one that it’s best to see in person, and that fan response at NYCC has reflected that. Attendees have also gotten an in-person look at the project’s add-on figures, which will be “unlocked” if the project exceeds its goal. 10,000 backers will unlock Madelyne Pryor (Goblin Queen), while 12,000 backers will unlock Mephisto. According to Stall, a third character figure for this project will be revealed soon.
But if fans decide this item isn’t for them, the team understands. “At the end of the day, this is a premium toy,” says Dan Yun, Manager of Products Development and Marketing. “It’s not, like, a life necessity kind of item. … Even as marketers, we always say collect within your means, collect what you love. So if this is a project that you see in person, I think you’ll learn to love it.”
And Stall says that many fans have had positive feedback during the first two days of the show after seeing the display. “People have been seeing ’em in person, and they’ve loved them. They’re like, ‘The figures are beautiful,'” Stall says. “For the car, there’s a lot of ‘That’s bigger than I thought,’ or ‘That’s way more detailed than I thought.’ Or ‘The lighting is so much cooler in person.’ … And I’m, for one, super proud of this and I’m gonna be backing it myself.”
The Marvel Legends HasLab Engine of Vengeance is open for backers at hasbropulse.com until Oct. 31. If it is fully funded, the vehicle is set to ship next fall.
