Toymakers

can make and minimize the overhead.”

How long the pandemic bump will last remains to be seen, but toymakers appear eager to leverage the growing interest.

“It seems they have sped up in terms of the frequency of offering these projects,” Wood said. “What the lasting full effect is won’t be known for another year at least.”

Hasbro started its e-commerce site, Hasbro Pulse, in 2015 to offer popular toys from its Star Wars and Transformers lines, among others, along with insider peeks and access to exclusive products. Three years later, the site was expanded

to include HasLab, its crowdfunding platform for high-end toys. The first project was a 49-inch-long replica of Jabba’s sail barge from “Return of the Jedi.”

“It was a crazy idea that some of our designers had,” said Brian Chapman, head of global design and development for Hasbro. But the company doubted its ability to sell. “We had to throw all that out the window,’ Chapman said. ‘This was new for us.”

Even at a price of $500, the sail barge zoomed past its funding goal, a success that prompted Hasbro to offer other premium items, including a $350 Sentinel action figure from Marvel Comics and a $350 Razor Crest vehicle from “The Mandalorian.” The company experimented with offering basic and premium

packages and incentives to encourage backers, as well posting production videos and interviews with designers.

“We are going where the consumer needs us to be,” said Kwamina Crankson, general manager and vice president of Hasbro Pulse. “We have a robust road map of dream items coming.”

Only one project was not funded, a $300 Cookie Monster plush replica, but Crankson said that backers hadn’t been charged and that the failed project had offered valuable insight for the company.

Next up: a $400, 32-inch version of Galactus, a supervillain from Marvel Comics, large enough to consume an actual planet. The company is also planning a crowdfunding project for the Rancor from

“Return of the Jedi,” the first product from its premier Star Wars: The Black Series line to appear on HasLab.

Because of the high price tag and the long delivery window, the challenge for toymakers is being able to maintain the sense of anticipation, said Wood, of The Fwoosh. A production cycle can take up to a year, and buyers can get antsy, which means companies have to stay in touch with regular updates.

“There’s a lower barrier to entry on the web, but there is a different type of work on their end to be connected and build that base,” Wood said. “From an initial risk standpoint, it’s easier, but later, you have to deliver.”

Mattel went with a simpler model, skipping crowdfunding

and opting instead for limited runs of exclusive products on its website, Mattel Creations. The projects include collaborations with artists such as Madsaki and Gianni Lee and companies such as Herschel Supply and Tesla. Mattel even dipped its toe in the digital-art world with an auction of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, of classic Hot Wheels cars.

With Comic-Con International, the annual popculture festival in San Diego, going virtual again this year because of the pandemic, Mattel will use the opportunity to sell its convention exclusives on Mattel Creations, including a $50 Masters of the Universe Mega construction set in collaboration with artist Frank Kozik and a $35 Scare Glow action figure

from the Netflix series “Masters of the Universe: Revelation.”

“The world has changed from an e-commerce perspective,” said Richard Dickson, president and chief operating officer of Mattel, who sees Mattel Creations as a way to showcase the company’s history while offering new products that appeal to fans and art collectors.

Some of those items include a $75 Barbie doll made of translucent resin and a $300 Masters of the Universe figure, Shogun Warriors Skeletor, which stands nearly 2 feet tall. (Naturally, Brandt bought that one, too.)

“We are working with avid collectors,” Dickson said. “They may outgrow toys, but they never stop being fans.”