>>92852943>Granted, I know nothing about how the toy industry works, but that sounds like retarded bullshit.You are wrong. Have you ever heard of a "buck?" A buck is a base body that is pre-engineered, then has sculpting on top of it. Its why all Masters of the Universe figures have the same bodies, or why Marvel Legends have about 4 different bodytypes overall. Re-egineering a new body for every figure is expensive, which is why you only see it on lines where its absolutely necessary.
With dolls, the problem is exacerbated for a few reasons, mainly that dolls are meant to share clothes and have increased cost per unit from rooted hair and fabric clothes (also remember that almost every doll has to be dressed by human hands.) Every doll shares a body to make that possible. Additionally, cutting a new steel mold for a part is extremely expensive and drives up prices, especially if you have to cut a brand new mold for every character. Then you also have cost per unit calculations regarding plastic quantities; fat Supergirl will have a lot more plastic than skinny Batgirl, and tall scrawny Donna could go either way. This also influences shipping costs- a shipment with 4 Supergirls would cost more than a shipment with 2 Batgirls and 2 Supergirls.
This in turn influences the unit price, which for US retailers is a no go. You can't make multiple products in a line different prices unless you make it a totally different product type; this is why you have a standard MSRP for products like action figures, and why lines like Marvel Legends have to make bigger than average characters Build-a-Figures- no store would stock a single toy that costs 5-10 dollars more than everything else in the line.
The entire toy industry is a balancing act and made for modularity, which is why if there is a Lauren Faust style toyline won't be dolls.
