Walmart Black Series 3.75" Wave 8

[Matt_Fury]

I'll get a bunch of the Sandtroopers!

[Nicklab]

The TVC Sandtrooper (if that's what will be getting reissued) wasn't a terrible figure.  Although the helmet doesn't look quite as sharp as this current 5 POA Stormtrooper that's currently in circulation.

But where are the NEW characters in this line?  It seems like every other wave is reissues.  I've been hoping that we might get some good SA versions of some classic characters.  Is Hasbro holding out for next year with the 40th Anniversary?  You have to wonder.

[Matt_Fury]

These re-issue waves favor the patient.  This line rewards people for waiting.  Besides buying a bunch of the 5 POA figures for my 6-year-old, Hasbro has saved me a lot of money over the past few years.

[Nicklab]

In some cases, yes.  I agree.  Ahsoka, the Emporer's Royal Guard and Ponda Baba  in this line are good examples of that.  The same goes for the Bastila and Darth Malgus reissues in the general release Black Series line.  Eventually HAsbro

But the Sandtrooper?  I remember that TVC figure being relatively plentiful.  As was the Tusken Raider and Boba Fett.  The ROTJ Han Solo was a head-scratcher, too, because that was a relatively easy figure to get from the VTSC line.  As was the Vader that wound up in this line, too.

Some more relevant reissues would have been some of the TVC figures like Tarkin, the ANH version of Vader, and a Stormtrooper.  But you definitely get the sense that Hasbro wants to focus the release of those characters on more of a mass-market business model.

[Matt_Fury]

I'm not saying their perfect (looking at ROTJ Han...also a Vader with swivel elbows)...but I never saw the sandtrooper and still display a couple of those roided up POTF2 sandtroopers in my collection room.  I'd love to get a few to retire those.

I can see Boba Fett in a lot of re-issues because he ALWAYS sells.

[Nicklab]

Agreed.  I think ANH Han would have been received much better than the ROTJ version.

As for the Sandtrooper?  I'm surprised to hear you didn't see that one at retail.  I saw a healthy number of those on the Lost Line Look cards at the time.  But there's also been just so many versions of the Sandtrooper released over the years.  Off the top of my head there were a couple from POTF2 as well as the  POTJ, OTC, ROTS, TSC and TLC lines.  For some reason Hasbro just LOVES Sandtroopers.

[Matt_Fury]

IIRC, the time these were comong out...I was a little more focused on being a dad.  But here in Colorado Springs, the Vintage wave was pretty hit or miss.

[JediJman]

Any chance the Sandtrooper has a removable pauldron?  The 5POA version has one, so we might be getting a Sand/Stormtrooper.  I'd buy up a heap of those.

[Diddly]

But where are the NEW characters in this line?  It seems like every other wave is reissues.  I've been hoping that we might get some good SA versions of some classic characters.  Is Hasbro holding out for next year with the 40th Anniversary?  You have to wonder.

Hasbro has said that this line was always meant to be repacks, outside of the occasional figures from new movies.

[Darth_Anton]

I have to give  that to the Echo Base Rebel...  THAT was a bitch.

Yeah, this was my thought too. Sandtrooper does not fit the bill of the teaser description.

[Jeff]

Here are the Walmart links for the newly announced/confirmed Wave 8 -

Tusken Raider   55187082 
Ponda Baba   55187083   
Prototype Boba Fett   55187084   
Sandtrooper (Orange Pauldron) 55187085


Looks like a solid wave for anyone who missed Ponda or loves army building troopers or Tusken.  Otherwise... meh. 

[Jesse James]

Kind of annoyed the proto Boba got re-released like this when it was a mail-in and all that.  Made it "special" in a weird way.  Now, meh.

Though I suppose they could shock us and make it the TAC figure but yeah I doubt it.

Ponda, I guess was hard to find?  It wasn't for me that I recall but I guess someone had trouble...  Sandtrooper?  Hah.  Sandperson?  Hahahhahaha I got those by the dozen it seemed...  Hell Sandtroopers I got by even more than the dozen as those things were like flyshit for a good while.

I dunno, I can't say I'm into this grouping personally but hey, whatever.  Proto Fett is actually probably the most appealing one in any form I guess.

Would've loved Fleet Troopers, Echo Base Rebels, the Saga Hoth Trooper (any headsculpt)...  I'd have loved a chance to pick those all up in some bulk.

I'm really worried that Scarrif Trooper is going to be basically an impossible figure to get at this point.  NEVER hit a store here, not once.  Have plenty of eyes out there...  That wave never once saw a WM anywhere near Pittsburgh.  That is some bull****.

Oh and second that on the weather...  68 here, and a new record.  I wasn't  wanting to stay home for news I knew would be meh so I took the time to get out and do stuff.  There are some gems popping up in the news though I see here and there.  Hiya Toys unveiled Colonial Marines female troopers and Predators to boot.

[Brian]

Yeah, not overly exciting really. Not terrible choices, but none I'd feel the need to hunt down. It really would be very cheap (and slow) if you stuck to just collecting articulated 3 3/4" figures these days.

[Diddly]

So with Wave 1 reflooding stores recently, should we expect to find these in stores sometime in 2019?

[Matt_Fury]

I wouldn't mind a couple of Tuskens and a few sandtroopers.  I might pick up a Ponda Baba since I never saw him at retwil, but do not need the Boba Fett, unless it comes with the MaQuarrie concept helmet.

Jesse, I hope you are wrong about the Scarif Trooper...I've only seen one at retail and hope to get more.