But you really cannot compare the Bantha pack with this crappy set. The Bantha pack had, well, a Bantha. The Bantha is BIG. The Bantha initially had a $30 price point (with the POTF2 line) and came with one figure. How can you compare the Bantha to a crappy, significantly smaller piece of desert igloo? And c'mon, we all know that the main appeal of this upcoming set isn't the crappy POTF2 repacks (or, to be PC, the "less attractive molds" pack-in). It's the playset piece, which is certainly NOT worth anything close to $50.
Can't you? The appeal of the Bantha pack wasn't the Tuskens either-- extra figures packed in are an excuse to raise the price. And what you have with the Bantha pack was a $30 toy with new fur (less the $5 for the missing POTF2 Tusken), a $5 Tusken Female from 2002, another $5 Tusken with Massiff from 2002, and a $10 (let's be generous) VTSC Tusken.
The Bantha was a barely modified version of an existing mold. And it isn't really all that big. The desert igloo is an entirely new mold, which required new development costs. Also, the Womp Rat isn't free. So the Lars Homestead set has new molds in it, and the Bantha doesn't. Considering Hasbro's products have had one (and are about to have a second) across-the-board price increase soon, well, it doesn't seem quite as outlandish.
I'm not saying the Lars Homestead set is as fun as a Bantha, or as neat as a Bantha, or as interesting to me personally as a Bantha. But as the sets go as a sum-of-the-parts, they're somewhat comparable. It's not as fun, of course, but I'd be curious to know the actual development costs against that of, say, a Hoth Turret. (And having a few dealings with Hasbro exclusives, I can say it's not always possible to get newly molded figures.)
...I'll give you "crappy" for the figures they picked. That's totally fair. But still, crappy costs money, and even POTF2 figures have to cost something. It's not like they'd be $5 if Hasbro put 'em out on Legacy cards today. But still... $50... gah. What would you guys think the Lars homestead piece by itself should cost, anyway? $20-$25? (That'd be my estimate. Even if it isn't quite as exciting as a vehicle.)