I picked up this set over the past weekend. I had a 10% off coupon, so the set was only $61 with tax. I'm fairly certain I can sell the 5 figures for $3 each (the neighborhood kids just love our summer garage sales), which means I'll end up paying about $22 for the Skiff (about retail) and $24 for the Sarlaac. For those prices, the set isn't
horrible.
Yes, I agree that it sucks that you are "forced" to buy 5 figures that you already have to get the good stuff in this set, but that is life I suppose. Not the greatest deal we've seen, but it's not as bad as some "deals" we've seen (I'm looking at you, $18 ShopStarWars figures
).
So, what do I think of my $24 Sarlaac Pit? I like it.
Yes, the top layer of the sand pit is made with the cheapie plastic (like the Lars Homestead set), but the rest of the pit is really nice. The inner base of the pit is a rigid, quality plastic and the Sarlaac itself is very detailed and poseable. I think it was cool that Hasbro decided to try something like this, so the "buying a Sarlaac is cool" half of my brain beat out the "dude, this costs way too much" half.
Yes, in the end it's probably over-priced, but as one of the handful of people left out there who actually enjoy collecting this line, I am happy with my purchase... after all, it's not like I was going to be spending that money on any new Indy stuff instead.