New Chewie and Porkins may be delayed

[Jedieb]

The next wave of POTF figures may not be showing up for a while (July). Hasbro may be delaying the figures so they can ship them with the new card design. This should please variation hunters but I'd just rather have the figures as soon as possible. And I've heard the blue card shown at Toy Fair is not the final design. Hopefully we'll see something that will please collectors and kids alike. The next batch due include Tusken Raider, Chewbacca, Mas Amedda, Coruscant Guard, Security Battle Droid. No more COMMTech chips so hopefully we'll see prices drop a buck or so.

[Bromine]

I just wish they'd stop fiddling with the packaging and pump out more figures. Mas Amedda and Tusken Raider sound cool. I'm really hoping prices will drop.

Btw, I just checked my local ToysRUs. They STILL have plenty of stuff from 1997. No new stuff. Truly sad.

[Jedieb]

The figure situation is pretty grim. I've been lucky and I'm all caught up. I'm just happy for new collectors who are just starting out. At least they have a decent chance of picking up items they've missed at some cheap prices.

[Bromine]

Not to mention all the collections being sold off on E-Bay. All told, seems like a GREAT time for new collectors who are not interested in profit to pick up a compete collection. I think that's why a lot of people are leaving the hobby; reality is setting in and they realise they're not going to get rich off of it.

[SPY007]

How many people are really quiting the hobby because" they won't make money"? I'll bet a lot of people just said F it. I sold much of my collection because I got sick of the resculpts. Granted the new trooper and PROPERLY PROPORTIONED figures are great, but I don't need 9 Darth Vaders! I got rid of the LAME bulky figures, kept only one best of each figure and have opened most of them. Also, has anybody else noticed that the R2-B1, R2/Leia hologram, upcoming battle damaged R2 and other R2's are ALL different sculpts? Why not make ONE R2, get it right, mold/paint it different colors and sculpt previously un-made figs? Lucas has totally hored himself . He has sold out so blatently it makes me sick. When I was a kid I had asperations of working at ILM. My god, if I would have worked on EP1 and THEN saw that piece of crap, my brains would be on a ceiling someplace. That film litterally made me ill, along with most of my friends. The casting (minius Ahmed Worst), pod race (minus the two headed jack ass), Darth Maul and the sabre dual were awsome. The rest sucked Bantha doo-doo (Hey I'm as good a writer as George Lucas: I made a poopy joke!) I will be very surprised if EP2's opening is even close to EP1's. The re-release of EP1 only made like 2 million. I think that is a good indicator of how many people wanted to see it again. George Lucas has lost his passion and his edge. Star Wars is no longer what it was. New figs delayed? BFD. Anybody else feel this way?

[Jedieb]

I sense much anger in you...

While I didn't like EP1 as much as the original trilogy I certainly didn't hate it the way you do. And as for Lucas selling out, he really doesn't have much control over what Hasbro does with the line. LucasFilm does have final approval over the line but do you think GL sees every bit of plastic before it goes off to market? I'm unhappy with the number of resculpts but I blame Hasbro, not GL. He doesn't come up with figure ideas and lame distribution schedules.

I've never talked to anyone who's actually sold off their collection and it's interesting to hear your views on why you did it. At least you kept the figures you liked. But I think there are a lot of other collectors out there who sold their collections off because of EP1 letdown and Hasbro's distribution problems (Holographic R2). Spy007, back on May 2, 1999, did you think you would ever reach this point?

[SPY007]

I think up until a few months ago I couldn't imagine not collecting SW. Two years ago I was a collecting madman. Ironically, I have more money now than ever to spend on SW and I'm still selling off bits and peices, so it isn't about me not having the cash, it's about GL trying to get his hands on every penny of it. He does by the way approve what Hasbo does. He may not actually do it himself, but he is the king of his empire. He oversees all.

[Bromine]

I think Hasbro could do better, but I also think they try to improve. Problem is, everyone wants something different. Some collectors want new figures, while others actually want resculpts. Kids especially want the "hero" figures as opposed to obscure aliens, apparently. While some collectors want new and obscure characters made, others complain that they don't want some dumb figure with only 3 seconds of screen time. Don't get me wrong, I think Hasbro could do better, but they're also in a catch-22.

I've had no real complaints, except availability and price, but that's life. I buy what I like, and I like a good number of stuff being produced. IMO, with all the figures being cranked out, there's bound to be something for everyone. Although I don't think anyone gets EVERYTHING they want. I've found it best to be happy with the figures I like and be patient for the ones I want them to make. Odds are if you want a specific figure or a better resculpt, it will come out eventually.

[Jedieb]

Retailers are also to blame for some of the problems facing SW collectors. They ordered WAY too much product early on. When it started to sit on shelves they cut back drastically on new case assortments. And when they did order new stuff they did it in small numbers because they had so much unsold product. For Yoda's sake, Holo Sidious was suppose to be out in November of last year and I finally found one just this past month! And I bet many people here still haven't seen one on a peg.

But if you're cutting back a good place to spend your money is on vintage stuff. If I slow down that's where I'll focus my time and money.