2024 HasLab - TVC Project, Coming Soon!

[Rob]

That sums up my thoughts too.  I'm not 100% convinced this is an actual image of an actual leak, but what do I know.

[Matt_Fury]

Man, Hasbro's marketing department is an absolute clown show!  Patrick probably had a good laugh about this one at least.

As far as the set.  I do like it, looks fairly modular and should be able to fit on a shelf easy enough.  Wonder what the offerings will be with this one and a $100 difference between basic and deluxe?  What's going on there???

While I doubt they'll ever get made, if they were going to make the Tonnika Sisters, it would come in this set.

[Nicklab]

The pricing is certainly a new way to approach a Haslab between the base offering and the deluxe offering.  I imagine we'll know in time what that's going to entail.

Part of me thinks the leak was an exercise in ineptitude - either by the marketing team or by the Hasbro Pulse online store team.  And another part thinks that it might have been a trial balloon.  Gauging the sentiment of the community on a set like this isn't exactly uncharted waters for the brand.  They periodically hold focus groups in order to get feedback that's more in depth and focused than what they see on social media.  And if they planned this in order to get a sense of what the response would be?  I wouldn't be completely shocked, because the fandom is more segmented now.  There's a generation of Star Wars fans who might not hold the Cantina scene in such high regard as those of us who saw it on screen when the OT was the totality of Star Wars.

The size of it all does concern me.  My first instinct would be to get the Deluxe version, because FOMO, of course.  But how much real estate will it require to display it all?  I think we're looking at something that would need to be placed on a table top.  As for what's shown in the image?  Maybe that could be displayed on a shelf that's 11" deep.

As for figures?  Count me in with Jeff in wanting the original Kenner Cantina aliens in something like the Amazon 4 - packs.  Those shouldn't get locked behind a Haslab pay wall. 

Regarding the rumor of 8 figures?  Part of me wants 3 of them to be Wuher, Ackmena and Chalmun.  A Cantina has to have a staff, right?  Beyond that?  I think some of the most visible Cantina patrons are called for, and I tend to favor those that have not been made.
-Baniss Keeg
-Arleil Schous
-Danz Borin
-Yerka Mig
-Atheloe
-Saitorr Kal Fas
-Reegesk
-Tonnika Sister (from what I understand Hasbro might be able to make one of them)

Beyond that?  There are some that deserve to be revisited.  My short list there?
-Muftak
-Bo Shek
-Takeel
-Labria
-Dannik Jerriko (because of the stupid holes in his face and those never seen on screen tentacles)

[P-Siddy]

I feel like this is the only chance we get the Tonnikas.  If it doesn't happen with the Haslab (or a coinciding figure-pack announcement), then they're never going to happen.

I also hope that we get a Kenner retro paint scheme of the 4 cantina denizens like Jeff suggested... maybe even a blue Snaggletooth version.

As for Nick's list, I don't think you can go wrong with any of those suggestions.

[GrandMoffNick]

I almost never complain about what Hasbro does. If they lock the Tonnikas behind this pay wall I will be outraged. Do a multi pack figure set shortly after, but do not make them a part of this.

[Nicklab]

Something is going to get locked behind a pay wall.  I think that's a certainty.  But it just comes down to WHAT is that?  And is it niche enough to belong there and only there?

[Ryan]

Something is going to get locked behind a pay wall.  I think that's a certainty.  But it just comes down to WHAT is that?  And is it niche enough to belong there and only there?

I struggle to determine how I feel on this issue, too. In general for me, it comes down to what kind of a set the item is packed in. If the main item (Vehicle, Playset, Haslab, etc) is itself all-new, then I am generally ok with all-new pack-ins (Like the Ghost). If the main item is a rerelease of a large item that I wouldn't normally buy a double of (like Boba Fett's Starship), then I'd prefer the pack-in is also a rerelease.

I've mostly been back on the "1 Carded & 1+ Loose Completionist" train for the past few years. It can definitely get pricy when I "need" to pick up an extra item for a loose & carded version.

In the case of a Cantina Haslab - I really don't want to feel compelled to buy two sets. I'd much rather they include figures that are already in the mainline on alternate cardbacks w/ an extra accessory or two (like the Razor Crest & Barge pack-ins). I can happily live without an extra bar glass, a cracked egg, or a different color Pram. I'd be much more annoyed to either miss out on something like a Tonnika loose/carded or have to shell out an extra couple hundred bucks and deal with storing/selling of the extra Cantina.