It's the "Intentional Destruction of the 7" Unleashed Collection!", well, Collection! Following the forced demise of the 7" Unleashed assortment in 2005 due to Hasbro's unwillingness to create new sculpts and entertain the idea of a direct market only approach, fans cried foul and begged us to bring the Unleashed line back from the ashes! So, now, for the 30th Anniversary of the films, we have listened and have brought back some of the best and most requested pieces as overpriced exclusives in fancy packaging whose only purpose is for us to use as a scapegoat when they inevitably tank!
You've already seen the first wave of reissues hit prices you normally only see at Big Lots with the fall of 2006 Target Exclusive General Grievous, and the Wal-Mart exclusive Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader figures! Now, we can finally reveal our plans for 2007...
Wave One will include the much appreciated Anakin and Obi-Wan figures from Revenge of the Sith that you can't find at retail prices anymore (because they're usually much less)! Even though these figures are great, we realized that 18 months of pegwarming in some locations wasn't enough, so we've brought them back, in new packaging and at a higher price, just for the fans! Wave One also includes the much requested Stormtrooper, which was short-shipped in a single case assortment in the final pre-ROTS cases of 2005, and that has rapidly become one of the most valuable pieces on the secondary market! But, since we know a very small minority of fans have this piece already, we wanted to really embrace the full collector base and repaint it, so that way, the people who have the original Stormtrooper would still buy it, and the people who didn't live in a Target parking lot in March 2005 would finally get a Stormtrooper too!
Wave Two will include more fan-requests, including the highly popular Yoda vs. Sidious set (the Yoda from 2003 is so pricey and sought-after that we're going one better by including the 2005 ROTS "vs" set so you get TWO figures for the original price of that one Yoda! Aren't you lucky?!?!), the most valuable figure on the secondary market, the Bespin Duel Darth Vader (we lost the mold to the RH version but we think this one is still a quality figure that not everyone in Bum**** has had 20 chances to get at retail), AND we will be rounding out the year with the 2004/2006 Chewbacca with a brand new welding tool accessory and Millennium Falcon floor panel to hold in his other hand, complete with a new "white lump of dirt" base!
At Hasbro, we always listen to what the fans want, and this assortment is proof that we only half-listen at best.
(I'm sorry, but I had to dig out the old Hasbro rep personality one more time....)