I thought the heads looked the same, but the OTC one just looked INCREDIBLY better.  I know the hat looks nowhere near as crisp as the Imperial Officer variant figures though.  I thought it was the same head then just painted better.  God knows that would've taken no effort considering the original scanner tech had 2 black dots for eyes basically. 

I would say not...  MOst I've seen is 2, or perhaps 3 cases at a time...  That's my personal experience anyway.  Target's had the "most" at a single sitting, and this was just last week that I saw 2 cases (Bespin Wave) go out at a single point.

VOTC at Wal-Mart's had "more" go on the pegs at once than basic OTC at any store...

Wait, nix that...  I did see a LOT of OTC go up at once at WM when they put those big displays out...  The ones with the carry cases.  Those I've seen more of, but that wave (The bounty hunters, Bespin Luke, etc.) I've not seen at another store than WM either.

Right now, my TRU's have lots of Saga and a handful of OTC pegwarmers like R2-D2, and Spirit Obi-Wan...  Most Targets near me then have the Dagobah Wave, some Bespin remnants, and repacks of R2-D2, X-Wing Luke, Jedi Luke, etc...

I'd love to walk in and find the Tusken, Gam. Guard and Endor wave...      Love to find lots and lots of ROTJ VOTC figures too.     However, the things I want aren't the things I'm finding at all.

Happy belated birthday's all around...  And happy current B-Day's too! 

Gather up the loot, go into a room alone, and enjoy huffing plastic for a couple hours.

beyond army building I'm a completist (loose), so variances kind of motivate me...  The OTC's testing my patience with that however.  I've skipped plenty from the OTC just because I didn't like the figure in the first place.  Bespin Luke comes to mind, which I find to be too pre-posed, and I hate the action feature.

That said, the army builders snag me quick...  This includes Jawas, Tusken, Gammorean Guard, TIE Pilots, Stormies...  I'll skip the biker scout however because, again, I dislike the figure overall and he's not variant enough to warrant it.

If I see Luke cheap at some point, I'll nab him...  Same with figures like X-Wing Luke, though my POTJ one's "toofless" already by my own handy work.

Same goes for other heavily changed figures I personally don't like...  Bib I'm still wanting to see in person before I buy it or not...  The sculpt's not my favorite, but perhaps the paintjob's really great?  I've seen pictures, and they don't impress me.

But, ultimately, that's my take on buying OTC...  Army builders have been my focus.  Unfortunately I've yet to see the Gam. Guard and Tusken...  Both figures that their new paintjobs wow'd me!

My take?  At this point, OTC's no better than initial waves of any other line Hasbro's put out...  Saga figures flew off shelves when they were "new" as well, so I'm not as blown away by the OTC.  Plus I think the carded completists were underestimated on this line too...

That said, I see pegwarmers...  Chewbacca, Spirit Ben, Dagobah Luke, X-Wing Luke, Bespin Luke, Bossk, IG-88, etc...  These figures aren't "flying" off pegs here.  Bespin Wave is now pegwarming here, but it's mostly just Lobot...  It helps that the CCP's just an awesome figure and Leia's got the female figure curse of moving good.

The Endor repacks haven't shown here yet, though I wish they would since they're figures I'm anxiously wanting more of...  The army builders are moving, though the TIE Pilot's a findable figure, which is good because I usually buy one or two every time I see him. 

To me, OTC's bogging down like any other line...  The shorter packed figures are moving quickly still, but that's just supply & demand at its basic level...  Carded guys are moving this line though...  I'd love to see #'s that show adults vs. kids in purchasing power on these.  Real exact #'s or something...  Not gonna happen, but it'd be interesting to see nonetheless.

There's a lot of good and bad in the OTC, just like Saga, and at this point I am seeing it bog down where the good's still moving and the bad is starting to sit...  Some of the good's starting to sit as well, just like with Saga.  It seems like most other lines to me.

The cards rock though...  It is nice to see black & silver instead of putrid blues, greens, reds, oranges...  Blah. 

I even have to admit that I'm saving some of the cardbacks because they're just that nice.

To me, the VOTC's the line that's moving.  Cases come in and go out...  Only ANH wave is sitting, and it only sits at select Wal-Marts that (for whatever reason) ordered TONS of just that one wave.

Bad news for the scale military toy world...

GP's site:

http://www.gpxd.com/Index.htm

is gonna be no more after a little while...  There's some brainstorming going on at his forum on a fix for this, and honestly this could be a HUGE chance for a cohesive group of guys to get together and make a ROUTINELY updated news site ala our very own JediDefender that brings you the best news first from companies like BBI, 21st, Power Team Elite, or even G.I. Joe and other brands...

Unfortunately, I dunno that such an enterprise will work...  I don't know how to make sites, or i'd single-handedl have thrown it together right now as a way of having an immediate change of power.

The guys at GP's are dedicated, even if I can't say I agree with them or their opinions all the time, and it's a shame GP's is gonna close shop.

I'm not arguing your points Morgbug, as I agree...  I don't like seeing Canuck teams falter, but the figures are against them.

My point is within Scott's entire point...  The real problem's profit sharing and a cap...  Copying the NFL to a tee so the NHL can prosper and competition is spread...  And then to Holographic Elvis's point about restructuring the rules and enforcing them as well, so the game itself is more to the fast-paced hockey that draws ALL fans in.

My post was in regards mostly only to Holographic Elvis's idea to close a ton of teams down.  You don't close off teams that are solid performers for the NHL and that will thrive in a competitive and economically friendly league.  My hometown being one of them... 

I think the expansion's out of control...  Not that I think Phoenix is doing that poorly as an expansion team but I don't agree with them taking a team from Canada for it.  Some of those teams I think are a bit much though, but not all of them.  Columbus and Florida (one of the FL teams) namely.

I think there's room for all these teams, but it's the league that's screwed up, not the small market teams which Pittsburgh turned into...  We weren't that way a little over 10 years ago though.  We were the dominant team in the league by far and away...  And fans still are supporting the Pens vehemently (though the arena thing's leaving a sour taste because we've got 2 stadiums we're paying on, and one's for a losing team that gives nothing back to the city *cough*pirates*cough*).

My post wasn't a shot at Canada, but rather a point that you don't close teams in the U.S. that have been here for ages, have a solid hockey foundation, have shown good performance, and have the ability to grow and expand, in favor of Canadian teams...  It's the same problem you've got in Winipeg, but in reverse...  I don't agree with closing shop and moving a team North or South of the border if they have a viable market, and Winipeg and Pitt both have that...

Columbus, Carolina, Florida, Nashville, Atlanta...  I dunno.  Atlanta's minorleage team always did well, but on those others I'm not so sure.  I mean, Columbus isn't even really a "major" city in Ohio beyond being its capital.  That's like saying Harrisburg's a major city in PA...  It's just not the truth.  It's our capital but Philly and Pittsburgh are considered the 2 "big names" here.  I'm perplexed on the Columbus decision.

Washington was the ONLY older US team on HE's list I agreed with, and that's because they are just not behind that team and never have been.  The caps would have dominant teams in the playoffs back when the Pens were winning cups, and you'd still see MORE fans from out of town than Caps Fans...  You don't see that in Philly, Buffalo, or NY though, and I'd say each isn't but a hop, skip, & jump from Pittsburgh as well...  No offense to any Caps fans here though, I just am speaking for what I've seen over all the years of playing them.

Anyway, I'm not in disagreement iwth your points MOrgbug, but I do disagree with catering to Canada at the cost of established U.S. teams just as the Canucks feel the same but in reverse order.

I say lock the NHL (teamwise) at what it is, sort out a salary cap and profit sharing, and revise the rules in grand fashion...  Then you'll see a game ready for expansion on both sides of the border.

Good call on the articulation count.

They said 13 points but the Stormie sports the same exact points as the Clonetrooper did...  Why they went with 13 in the preview I'll never know.  I do recall being quite worried about said count though, thinking Hasbro dicked us over on a wrist or something.

Thankfully they didn't.

Ya know what though?  The holster sucks.  Don't like how they did it one bit, but it'll do...  Blaster looks like poodoo in it though...  This would really hurt any other figure in my eyes...  Hell, the Stormtrooper's got a few flaws I'm noticing, and flaws that would really detract from ANY other figure, but this thing's so poseable I'm biased.

I saw someone at Scum complaining about a lack of hip ball/sockets...  He's getting a bit of a "you're nuts", which I see their point, but I also see his point as the Stormie's legs are closer together than other figures.  Lando's the same way actually...

Still, this figure's so kick ass, and I can get him into several running poses...  I'm happy as a clam, and he doesn't look out of place with the CT Stormie.  He'll "blend" witht hem I think.  I've been posing mine amidst a line-up of CT's and he gets lost in them.  Cool stuff.