Jeff - you mean different from Vader and the 5-pack of cases clamshell or different from previous releases of the SA Clone?

The figures for ROTS are the first time I've really started to Army build several different types of figures. I built up a nice-size Battledroid/Destroyer Droid army with the EP1 releases, but that was it. I've bought of all of the white-mailer-box Army Builders that have been released. And I did get a case of the EE SA Clones. So for me army building means building small squads more than generating huge armies.

So far, for ROTS, I've been army building (numbers indicate how many of each I have open)
Clone #6 (6)
Clone Commander (3)
Clone Pilot (6)
Clone AT-TE Tank Gunner (4)
Battledroid (6)
Preview Wookie Warrior (4)
Target Exclusive SA Clone (4)

and I plan (as soon as I start to see more) getting multiples of
SA Clone #41
Wookie Warrior (dark and light versions if possible)

I want at least four of each of those open. Plus I plan on getting at least two Wookie Helicopters to open. Out of all of the battles in the movie - I hope to build up a "Battle Kashyyk (sp?)" type diorama with all of this stuff - throw in a couple of Spider Droids, I'm hoping they'll make a Tank Droid at some point and I'll be good to go.

So - anyway back to buying multiples....

I do feel guilty sometimes, like with the Target exclusive SA Clone - I feel bad when so many people here say they still haven't found it and I've got enough to make a little four clone squad to fight alongside a Commander Neyo figure (if they ever choose to make one).

I really didn't feel bad about getting the #6 clone or the preview Wookie Warrior - those were/are everywhere.

The new army builder wave - there is a case of that that's packed evenly 3 of each figure - I think they will be all over in a little while. I may even grab a second Nemoidian to open and two more Destroyer Droids to add to my sep forces.

Did I feel bad grabbing almost all of the Wave 5 Col 1 figures from the one case that was put out at my WalMart on Monday morning? Yes and no - Yes because there weren't any SA Clones left, but no because I went into the store at 7:45 AM - the store opened at 7 AM, there was plenty of time (IMHO) for an earlier bird to catch those worms. So when I'm being laid back and not knocking down the doors down right when the store opens and I STILL find stuff, then I just take it as a sign that I was MEANT to buy that stuff.

Army builders should never feel guilty. If you're buying all of the multiples to open and display how you want then great. If you're buying all of the figures to resell down the road, that however, isn't really okay in my opinion. Heck - even buying multiples of what is turning out to be a HTF figure so you can use it as trade-bait down the line is okay in my book too.

So I say buy what you want and as much as you want. Never scalp the stuff. Trading is cool. Picking up multiples to help you other buds out is even better.

And GH also is also confirming reports that the Deluxe Clone 3-Pack will have a version with different paint-ops...

http://www.galactichunter.com/photo.asp?image=absolutenm/articlefiles/4447-001.jpg

I recognize the kneeling Commander Gree grunt - but the other two I have no idea.

Thankfully, neither variation is a Blue or Red Shocktrooper - which could mean those paint-ops could end up being running changes to the SA Clone #41

*sigh* I'll have to check the TRU near where I work tomorrow - I went there today at lunch time and they had lots of boxes everywhere, but I didn't see the starfighter in any of the boxes clearly marked. Perhaps I'll find it tomorrow.

Of course, my OCD will force me to buy two.... *grr*

Who here has been able to score themselves a Target exclusive Clone?

When I got mine at the Target in Brick, NJ - I had an inkling that there was going to be trouble when the case that came from the back came out 1/2 gone.

I hate to say it but I did warn everyone that they shouldn't leave w/o a fight with regards to these things being brought out from the stock room.

I would guarantee that at least 60% of all eBay auctions for this figure are currently being run by sellers who work or have a friend who works at Target.

However, I'd like to hope that HTS.com won't be the only source for Star Wars in the future.  Anytime a company has a monopoly on stuff, prices go up and quality goes down.

I hope that doesn't come to pass either. But if the Star Wars section has good sales, then I could see them start to open up to the possibility of selling exclusive items that they can't get any retail outlet to carry.

In fact, I think they should do something like this:

1) Put out a news post on starwars.hasbro.com alerting people to www.hasbrotoyshop.com and say that exclusives to the shop are coming. This gets people to go and check out the Star Wars selection. If you can manage to sell one or two items and deliver them to the customers in a TIMELY manner then great.

2) After you've got a lot of the bugs worked out post a new message on starwars.hasbro.com and take a gamble - alert SW collectors that the HTS will have exclusive AT-TE and Cloud Car vehicles, but there will be a slight catch - production will not begin until a certain date and all pre-orders for these exclusives have to be in by that same date. The gamble comes in at price - say make the AT-TE $60 and the Cloud Car $25. Give discounts ($5) off a second one (or for each additional multiple of 2) - I'll explain why in a second...

3) Sit back and see how many pre-orders come in take the number of orders you get and then multiply that by 1.25 - that should be how many you make. Design cartons that fit two of each MIB vehicle.

4) Let your product runs come into some warehouse on the west coast via the slow boat from china. As soon as they touch down on US soil, run the Credit Cards for every person who ordered even multiples - print out mailing labels for them and slap the stickers directly on each case of 2. Don't waste your time re-packing stuff, just send them out like you normally would to retail outlets. After that, start opening cases to ship people their vehicles if they only bought one (or any odd number after that). Save the extra for exchanges in case anything got damaged - after a couple of weeks, put it on your website as "In Stock" or offer online retailers like StarWarsShop.com and EntertainmentEarth.com smaller quantities then what they would of had to order if it had been exclusive to their respective sites.

Pros:
1) You only make a little more than what the market seems to need. Any design costs of the AT-TE will be helped/offset by the fact that for the Cloud Car, you used the same mold from the vintage line w/a new paint op.

2) Generate revenue directly for Hasbro w/o any middle-men AND if you quickly get people their vehicles after they've been made, you also make them happy.

3) Chance to instill confidence in ordering from your site.

4) If you don't get enough interest you can always cancell the item due to lack-luster pre-orders.

Cons:
1) The estimated cost of $60 per AT-TE may cut into profits if fewer are ordered than expected.  The fewer you make/made the higher your cost per item becomes.

2) If you have to cancel the vehicle due to lack-luster orders you do two things (1) you're basically broadcasting that the Star Wars franchise collecting fan-base isn't as big as everyone thinks and/or (2) you're alienating SW fans who pre-ordered from you hoping to get these two sought after vehicles.

Well - I know I recently returned some stuff - I had bought three Holo Yodas on the 10th of April and then over the month that followed - thanks mostly to by insane desire to buy as many Attacktix as possible - I acquired another four freebies - so I took the receipt for the three I actually bought and I returned three of them for TRU store credit (which I hope to use towards the TRU exclusive Anakin starfighter).

So I can definitely see how the glut of Clone Commanders and Pilots *might* be caused by returns, but if that were the case, there wouldn't also be the surplus of Exploding Grievous and Palpatine #35 as well... I just think that at WalMart plenty of Wave 4 and 5 collection 1 cases are starting to come in. I also think that it is incredibly smart that there are Clone Pilots a plenty around - especially since between both the Gunship and the ARC-170 you need a total of five of them just to fill all of the cockpits!