I'd like to see this approach to the line for 2013...
TVC - Keep it going, just be smarter about carry forwards, and for the love of GOD, fix the Phase 2 clone trooper helmets! And limit each wave to 3-4 carry forward figures.
Movie Heroes - Keep it going, but sprinkle in more new stuff, and for repacks, pick ones that make sense. Add some new deco/weathering to army builders here and there.
Clone Wars - Keep it going, but just sprinkle in more new stuff and don't be afraid to make some new aliens and try and get some figures out there that line up with what's on TV at the time.
Battle Packs - Throw in some cool accessories/small environment pieces that we otherwise would not get - seriously... this will draw in more people than Hasbro realizes.
Vehicles/Deluxes - Enough with launching new lines with REPACKS - when a line launches, it should be fresh and new, not stale before the stuff even makes it to the sales floor.
Big One - Make it OT. We're due for OT anyway. Sail Barge would fit the bill.
Playsets - For the love of everything holy, outsource to a company like Sideshow if you aren't willing to roll up your sleeves and make a kick-ass product.
As for a 6-inch line... pass. I can't see myself having any interest, and they'd be priced close to $20... no way am I going down that road. I'm sure the figures would be very cool, but they're just not my thing. The only larger scale stuff I ever cared for was He-Man when I was a toddler.
I agree with everything Chewie has said here.
I think the loss of the Vintage Collection in 2013 will be a huge blow to the line.
I still don't understand the carry-forwards mentality. It just doesn't jive with the paradigm of "keeping the costs per wave down".
Wouldn't it make more sense AND result in cost savings if you had the following schedule:
Wave 1: 12 "new" figures - unlike a lot of folks, I'm okay with good/near-ultimate versions being just put onto Vintage cardbacks for the sake of us getting the character/figure packaged that way - Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon are a great example of this.
Wave 2: 6 "new" figures, 6 carry-forward figures from the previous wave.
Wave 3: 6 "new" figures, the 6 "new" figures from Wave 2
Wave 4: 6 "new" figures, the 6 "new" figures from Wave 3
etc...
In my mind, this accomplishes the following:
1) you're going to end up with doubling your order for many of your figures which should bring costs per unit down from China
2) you're giving collectors a chance to start alternating case pre-orders - for example, if Wave 3 had been the Blu-Ray wave and the Malgus wave completely, I would have just pre-ordered two of those cases and just waited for them to come, I'd be done with both waves in one purchase.
3) if you have one or two Vintage packaged "greatest hits" figures, or slightly re-tooled figure in each wave, that should cut down on costs-per-wave as well - figures like FX-7, Hood-up Hoth Han, Ugnaught (BD#43 w/Gray Jumpsuit), Hoth Rebel Trooper (BD #42), AT-AT Driver, Chief Chirpa, Emperor (ROTJ), AT-ST Driver, Endor Poncho Luke (Kit Bash of VC23 w/parts from the Battle for Endor BP), Romba, Luke in Stormtrooper Armor, Warok and A-Wing Pilot (Arvel Crynyd) could all be peppered into the Vintage line to both (a) keep the cost of the wave down since the figure has long been tooled; and (b) fill much needed holes in getting a modern version of the Vintage figure on a modern Vintage Cardback.
There is something definitely to be said for consistency, and if starting with the BluRay wave (or maybe even the TPM wave) if they can have chains like Target and WalMart change the overall assortment SKU for a line to clearance out the pegwarmers from the previous year that's all they need to keep the line "fresh" and "current", what all-powerful moron in the sky keeps saying the packaging changes are what's needed?