Having finally gotten this wave in the past couple of weeks, it's left me thinking.  Is this one of the last gasps in the basic figure line for Prequel Trilogy & EU figures?  The rumor mill seems to be indicating that the basic figure line is going to be shifting focus towards the OT, the REBELS series, and eventually Episode VII.  It comes across as a bit of a letdown since there are still some PT characters that would've been nice to get around to.  Cin Drallig comes to mind.

But mostly?  I'm really glad that Hasbro got to Merumeru.  I've been wanting a figure of this particular Wookiee ever since one of the ROTS teaser trailers came out and showed Merumeru leading a company of Wookiee warriors.  Hasbro really seems to have delivered with this particular Wookiee, and I'm genuinely pleased not just by the fact that the figure came out at all, but by how well it was executed, too.  Merumeru looks FAR BETTER than the ROTS Tarfful figure, and works well with some of the best sculpted Chewbacca figures.

I'd definitely like to see Hasbro revisit some of the Wookiees if at all possible.  I agree with Jesse, that the smaller of the Wookiee warrior figures was somewhat lacking in terms of leg articulation.  And Tarfful was not so great, either.  If Hasbro can get around to these Wookiees in a fashion similar to Merumeru?  That would be fantastic!

Hmmm.  I am getting the distinct feeling from this new trailer that the advanced Sentinel Nimrod is part of the story.

Photos have been sneaking out from the set. In the images that turned up on Facebook are Jeremy Renner in costume as Hawkeye, Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch and an actor in an Ultron motion capture suit. Hoping that it was actually Spader doing that, because it would be very cool!

EDITING is a wonderful thing.  As are concise, direct arguments.  Is it any wonder that people would tap out of reading the tomes that were posted on the previous page?

Your idea is interesting.  But again, it is operating under the assumption that Hasbro will be able to respond QUICKLY to market research and get their manufacturing contractors to do the same.  These are very BIG ASSUMPTIONS.

Hasbro doesn't communicate a lot about their production methods, but some things do sneak out.  Like the timeline:  12-18 months for a new figure to be developed.  And another thing?  Not all figures are produced at the same factory.  Certain figure tools are located at specific factories.  Hence certain characters from some waves tend to be grouped together.

How does that play out with your concept?  Well, suppose we have 4 waves of figures to draw from for this year end greatest hits case.  And of those 4 waves, wave 1 and 4 were produced at factory number 1, wave 2 was made at factory number 2 and wave 3 was made at factory number 3.  8 figures are going into this case of 12, with 2 each of 4 different characters and 1 each of the other 4.  From wave 1 you have 2 figures, wave 2 is represented by 1 figure, wave 3 has 3 figures, and wave 4 has 2 figures in the greatest hits wave.  In terms of sourcing that might mean that this greatest hits wave has 4 figures from factory 1, only 1 figure from factory 2 and 3 figures from factory 3.

So then you have the logistical issue of drawing together figures from 3 seperate factories and getting them packed into a single case for shipment.  From a production standpoint that's a possible nightmare.

And this isn't taking into account the production schedule at the factory.  It's very likely that when the factory isn't turning out Star Wars, they might be working on Transformers, or Marvel figures, or GI Joe.

Sometimes it's tough to go from concept to reality.  It also seems very clear that Hasbro's market research is not perfect.  Over time it has become more and more refined.  Hasbro studies the problems and adjusts.  And then the market changes again.  And it takes Hasbro more time to adjust.

Does your idea have merit?  Possibly.  But I think the timeframe is overly optimistic considering the timeframe that Hasbro works within.  If Hasbro were to plan on a greatest hits of 2014 wave?  Given their current production schedules, I think it would be much more likely to hit retail in Q2 or Q3 of 2015, and not in Q4 of 2014.  Additionally, both Hasbro AND the retailer would seem far more likely to want NEW product on the shelves and pegs for the holiday season, and not a refresh wave.

This whole sub-section of the thread should probably be a topic unto itself.  Clearly, distribution is an issue at this time.  And there are significant issues that are contributing to the problems we're encountering.

RETAILERS - Clearly, some of them are being far more conservative with their buying.  Sales in the action figure segment are down across the board because of a shift with kids toward video games.  WalMart seems to have pulled back in light of the TPM 3D debacle and the stock from that time that is STILL in stores.  Target seems to be managing their inventory even more aggressively than they have in the past with fewer orders.  And TRU is having issues maintaining their own business model.  The expansion into Disney stores certainly helps Hasbro, but we'll have to see how that pans out.  Disney stores aren't quite as plentiful as other chain stores and may have some difficulties managing their inventory down the line.

PRODUCTION - The lead time from producing a figure until the time it gets to store shelves is considerable.  A production run may take weeks.  Then there's overseas shipping, customs and distribution to retailers.  And this isn't accounting for production schedules at the factories, which are also turning out other Hasbro properties on a schedule.  The Hasbro Star Wars team can't simply call the factory and say "Hey, Darth Plagueis is really selling well!  Churn out another 3,000 and get them to me next week!"  And that kind of slow roll is likely why it's taken Hasbro 2 years to get Bastila reissued, too.  They simply aren't capable of turning on a dime like a smaller company.


Product is likely to be more readily available as the marketing for REBELS starts to ramp up.

His agent.

IMDB now has actor Adam Driver list on the Episode VII cast as RUMORED.  Also listed as RUMORED cast are...

-Harrison Ford
-Carrie Fisher
-Mark Hamill
-Billy Dee Williams
-Anthony Daniels

And that's all at this time.