Apparently Hasbro has finally gotten to the point Kenner started at back in 1978. They've got "definitive" sculpts of key characters that everyone is happy with.

CommTech Han, Emperor's Wrath Vader, and Bespin Chewie are all fan-approved sculpts that SHOULD be reissued or repainted. I'd rather valuable development time be spent on characters that NEED to be redone or haven't yet had their shot. But you can't expect Wal-Mart and TRU to jump at an assortment of secondary and tertiary characters when Taun We and Luminara Unduli are jamming the pegs.

The Bespin Escape Chewie is great, but I honestly don't see how Hasbro could have done a Mynock Hunt version justice without retooling at least the headsculpt. The previous Cinema Scene Mynock Chewie was a terrific sculpt compared to the Planet of the Apes Chewie figures we were used to, but he is still out of scale. Hasbro's correcting that.

As for Hoth Han, I thought most agreed that POTF2 figure needed a resculpt, nevermind the whole coat color debate. We're getting exactly what we asked for.

And while the first Vader with removable helmet is a favorite figure in many collections, it honestly does not hold up to its modern counterparts. The original might have been the best POTF2 figure ever, and certainly represents a benchmark for that line, it's now as different an era as Vintage.

There are very few POTF2 main character figures that still hold up to today's figures. There are plenty that could stand to be resculpted, including main characters, that haven't been on the pegs for years. Figures I'd still like to see redone would include:

Luke - Dagobah
Luke - Snowspeeder Pilot
Han & Luke in Stormtrooper Disguises
Leia - Boushh Disguise
Han - Carbonite
Lando - Rebel General
Leia - Bespin Gown
Leia - Rebel Ceremony
Luke - Rebel Ceremony

And that's not including figures like Lobot or Tarkin or Uncle Owen who could stand a little tweaking here and there.

Main characters will continue to be the big part of the line. But I honestly don't see Hasbro going overboard on resculpts as much as they used to. (Personally, as someone who lived through the Vintage years with ONE Vader and ONE Chewie, I think you're all spoiled!)

http://www.jule-art.com/

Check out this link if you're hardcore about displaying your collections. I am drooling over this site, particularly this little number.

Some seem pricey, but it's probably well worth the investment if you've got the space and need a way to organize your stuph. (It ain't shoeboxes!)

Enjoy!

Welcome to Publishing 101.

This site doesn't pay for itself with love, it is supported in part or in whole by whatever advertising revenue it can collect. Radio, television, or any mass media outside of government supported public media requires advertisers.

If it will make you feel any better, look at it from Robin Hood's point of view: JediDefender and other sites are robbing from the rich to put up collecting sites where we don't HAVE to pay ridiculous amounts of cash for an Ephant Mon.

Personally I'd rather have JediDefender as an internet resource for figures than not. If their site is paid for with "dirty" money, at least it's going to a good cause... ME! (And other collectors, I suppose.   )

I do a pretty convincing Yoda. Consequently I also can do Grover and Miss Piggy. Oddly enough I haven't nailed Frank Oz's voice yet.  

Maybe Card Bender has a franchise now.

I know what you mean. I noticed the same thing here but thought it might be isolated. Maybe the cases have been literally kicking around in storage for so long, they're getting to the pegs in far less than ship shape.

Not to get all semantic on you, Scott, but it's a little early to be calling this a trend, isn't it? Manufacturers are always looking for a way to keep costs low while still delivering a product consumers will like.

That said, I'm all for this practice. Droids make perfect sense since all they require are repainted bodies. Other characters like Imperials and Rebel pilots would be fine so long as the bodies provide enough articulation so that these aren't obviously the same figures with different heads. (Add Bespin Guards to your list, too.)

Heck, I'd be happy if Hasbro just made it easier to swap heads and hands, but then the line would be geared for kids 12 & up due to choking hazard restrictions. Not that I'd mind.  

I didn't appreciate the importance of a good breakfast until I went away to college. Until then I'd ALWAYS had a big meal in the morning, a decent lunch, and a small dinner. With my college schedule, everything went nuts and led to my out-of-shapeness.

Now I'm finally back to the pre-college routine. I usually have bacon and toast, but sometimes I'll grab a quick bowl of cereal and some fruit. And I'm a tea drinker since birth probably, one cup a day. Peanut butter is another food staple of mine. I'll have that anytime.

Then I come to work and chase it all down with my morning Coca-Cola! Ah, SECOND BREAKFAST!