JediDefender.com Forums
Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Revenge of the Sith => Topic started by: Brian on June 10, 2005, 11:48 AM
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Although I do really enjoy seeing Star Wars all over the place, and really having a nice prominent place in the toy aisles right now, I think I'm kind of enjoying/looking forward to the "slow down" that seems to be starting now. Having 44 (or more, depending on area) figures out within two months time, along with all the vehicles, beasts, Unleashed, Galactic Heroes, BK Toys, etc. etc. etc. was a little overwhelming at times, at least for me. It seems that now things will be going back to a normal "Star Wars collecting" pace. Our local Wal-Mart has now cut its Star Wars aisle in half, with Fantastic Four taking up the rest of the space for now. They are also cramming as much as they can into the "regular" space in the action figure aisle, so I think the transition to going back to that space is slowly coming. That could be a bad thing though, because they really seem to have the same figures hanging there for the most part now (Tarfful, Ki Adi, Mas, Polis, Luminara, SBD, Clone Pilot, etc.) and I'm afraid that the later waves are going to be tougher to find. You never know though, because this stuff really has been selling well here (and elsewhere, from the way it sounds).
Like I said, I guess I kind of feel bad saying this, but I (and my wallet) sort of welcome the slow down right now. Just out looking for the Tarkin wave, and those Target glasses if they show, and otherwise I'm pretty well caught up. I'm just hoping waves like Tarkin's, the Mustafar Anakin, etc. aren't going to be impossible to find now. It is funny though, looking at both Target and Wal-Mart now, I don't think there is a basic figure of Obi-Wan, Anakin, Chewie, Padme, 3PO, R2, or Vader to be found. In fact, quite a few of the original 24-32 figures are all gone now, aside from Tarfful, SBD, and the background Jedi. I never would have guessed that, to be honest with you. Is anyone else happy for the slow down, or am I just being a terrible Star Wars fan for thinking that way? Don't get me wrong, more/new stuff is always better, I guess I just felt a little overwhelmed the last couple of months...through no one's fault but my own really ;).
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My wallet and I are both happy to have things calm down for a while. I did some serious reorginizing of my toy room last night, and was amazed at the amount of stuff I've added in the last three months. As cool as it is to see SW stuff everywhere, it's nice to not have a ton of stuff to be on the lookout for right now. If I could just find the Tarkin wave, I'd be set!
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I do have the Tarkin wave, but am thankful as hell that things seem to be slowing down. I am broke as a joke because of this, and have spent well over $2000.00 since April 2. I don't make enough money to justify that. I will try to spend the rest of the summer recovering from the insane amount of money I spent already. Just need a few more figures (thankfully no more main trooper builders are coming out for a while) and the Evolution sets and Wookiee copter, and I think I'm set for a while.
:P
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Oh, without a doubt I'm happy. The vast majority (95%) of the stuff I've gotten in the last two months was planned out well in advance (I'd actually had something of a "ROTS Fund" set aside in my bank account for about a year), but that fund is almost completely dry and I'm very grateful for a break from the constant deluge of figures these last two months.
I still think that the massive amount of figures available in the first month's release was a little ridiculous (by way of comparison, Episode I had 50 figures total by the eight month mark, and Episode II/Saga had 56 total its first eight months, and we've gotten close to that in 2 months), so I kind of look at it the way I do gas prices right now. You're so used to them charging 2.40 a gallon that when they go down to 2.25, you actually think you're getting a deal, despite the fact that it is almost double what it was last year at this time.
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While I too am looking forward to a slowdown, it's been lots of fun actually finding new stuff on a regular basis. I am very worried that the "hunt" is going to become pointless again.
In 2003, I didn't find a single figure from January until June (Padme Factory and others). I certainly don't want things that slow again. Ever.
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Happy? Surely.
I don't have the money to go on a 2-month buying blitz like you guys. I've been taking my time on ROTS figures because I counted on them lingering for years like Episodes I and II, thus they would be easy to pick up at my leisure. (I'm surprised at how fast most of this stuff is moving.)
I'm glad for the break so I'll have half a chance to get caught up.
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That last 2 1/2 months have been a blast, but it's almost dizzying how much money I've been spending. So a little slow down will be nice to catch my breath and figure out if everything is actually going to fit in my display room.
I have a feeling this will be a chance to make some tough decisions and decide which lines I absolutely need to collect, and others that can be left by the wayside. It could be a mental war. ;)
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I'm happy as well, but I'm not sure how much of one we'll get. Those colored clone 3-packs seem like they're going to be a pain to track down i.e. time and gas money, and some of the other stuff coming out soon is a bit pricey i.e the evolution sets. I'd like a more definate lull like the month before 4/2. :P
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I can echo everybody else's sentiments: It's been fun. And punishing!
I've spent so damned much on this junk... I really need a slow-down, but I'm not sure how slow it's going to be yet. I'm still hunting the current wave; still want some released items I haven't yet bought (including the pricey 12" Anakin/Vader); Evolution are coming, and I want the clone set (thank God I don't want any others so far!); still owe 20 bucks on an Early Bird layaway; I'd also really like to try to get that RAH 12" Vader :-[ ; and I'd like to see the movie a couple times in digital. :-\
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Although I definitely can't complain about the number of items we've seen here in the first couple months, I think...at least around here...we might be starting to hit that little "lull" we often get with Star Wars merchandise. The pegs are pretty full at all the stores, and for the most part they are full of later waves (lots of Polis, Mas, Clone Pilots, Neimodian/Wookiee Warriors, Bails, etc.) Basically, for the most part the figures that are now on the pegs, I don't see going anywhere. The earlier stuff (Anakin, Obi, Chewie, Yoda, Clones, Vader, etc.) are pretty much all cleaned up, leaving only the figures that looked like pegwarmers on the initial lists remaining for the most part. We still haven't seen anything past Deluxe 1 here really either, although I was able to get the ones I wanted via Amazon. Aside from the Target cups (found all but Boba), it has been a bit of a slow down around here, which seems to happen in every movie year. My wallet will appreciate the slow down, and like I said, I'm not complaining necessarily because we've seen so much stuff here off the bat...but I wouldn't mind finding Tarkin and his buddies, or even the Anakin/Bacara/R2 wave that is apprently starting to show up now. How are things looking in your area?
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Seems to me that the "slow down" has just sped up (at least a bit) with the following items starting to show up in decent quantities -
- Crab Droid
- Stass Alie
- Clone 3-pk
- Tarkin
- Meena Tills
- Ask Aak
- Bacara
- R2D2
- Mustafar Anakin
Of those, I do have at least one of each (except R2D2, don't need this one again)... and want multiples of most of them for army-building/customizing.
Then, we have some more army-builders on tap to be out in July...
:P
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well since I didn't buy every little thing that came out april 2, and I've mainly colelcted clone troopes, plus a few characters for my son, I don't mind the slow down as long as stuff doesn't disappear. The only other figures that have been released I want eventually are padme, bail organna, palpatine in the dark gray outfit, and maybe grevious' wheel bike or the droid tri-fighter.
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spaced things out with ROTS... Skipping lots of Collection 1 (It's sold surprisingly well but still everythign is obtainable for retail or less if you look), and waiting on lots of things in general helped me out by simply spacing out my spending... I did that and it's worked well for me.
I've managed to pick up things here and there... I just got Bail the other day, for instance, and that's been a help... I've spaced out some of my army building too with what actually "sits" like Clone Pilots, Wookiee Warriors (Preview one, however it's sold better since the movie hit so I missed out some on it), and the Neimodian... The Jedi I spaced out as well but now I have them all.
Sales paid off then when prices DID drop a little after 4/2... The slowdown was ok, but I was buying all along, just not buying lots at any one time.
Now though I'm behind... I am way behind on Deluxe figures which I don't like to be behind on... I want that Vader w/Table SO bad but never find it. Never seen a Crab Droid. Vulture Droids aren't common at all... It's a rough situation there. Another slowdown may be nice to help me get caught up.
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Seems to me that the "slow down" has just sped up (at least a bit) with the following items starting to show up in decent quantities -
This is what I was checking in to say. The begining of the month we had the Tarkin wave, now the Bacara wave broke and in between they released all of the clone three packs. Now the 500 Vader is hitting, that's a lot of dough. When and if this slowdown occurs, please shot me with a tranquelizer so I don't miss it. :P
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I think I'm ready for a few new things, like the Evolution sets... but having the other stuff slow down (please!) is helping my wallet a bit. Still, I'm broke somehow!
:P
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I suppose, depending on your area and what you are looking for, there isn't exactly a "slow down" yet. I'm just kind of relieved that we are starting to get back to the 3-4 figures a month, maybe a vehicle or something thrown in here and there, type of schedule. With 44 figures, several ships/beasts, and other miscellaneous stuff (Unleashed, Galactic Heroes, magazines, BK promos, etc.) in these last couple months, it is nice to take a breath now and hopefully get back to a more "regular" release schedule. I agree though, they can release those Evolution sets any time now...I'm really looking forward to those.
For now, there's enough to be on the lookout for anyways....#45-50 (or maybe more shortly), Wookiee flyer, 500th Vader, and a few other miscellaneous things.
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Seems we're REALLY in a slowdown mode right now. Nothing new out since the KFC Anakin wave, and most of the pegs around here have been totally baren for a good month now. I think the only new things that have (barely) hit lately are the 500th Vader, Anakin Evolutions set, and a couple of those 5-packs - and most of this stuff seems to just be hitting at K-Mart so far, for whatever reason.
I always enjoy a nice cooling down period for a while, but now I'm starting to get rather bored. I want some new figures to hunt down, dammit!
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Yeah, things have been pretty slow lately, but its been ok for me to save a little bit of money here. All caught up on basic figures until #51 and up start coming out, and our pegs are full of Clone Pilots, Neimodian Warriors, Mas Ameddas, and the other usual culprits. I did find the Wookiee Flyer and Boba Fett Cup Set last weekend, but that was the first purchase in quite some time. No K-Marts in town, so no Evolutions or 500 Vaders here yet. Until those start hitting the rest of the retail outlets, I'm basically just looking for the new Unleashed wave if I'm lucky enough to see it. Definitely a slow down now, and I'm a little concerned about some of the pegwarmers we have now. I'd like to see those taken care of as the year goes on so that there isn't a problem by the time "The Saga Collection" starts hitting.
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It was slow until I found a 500th Vader, Anakin Evolutions, all 3 of the new unleashed . . . . .
Anyway, still need to find an Ask Aak for my son and other then that I have what I want until the single pack clones hit! Then I want 1 of each and a couple of some IF I can find em. I heard the Hasbro is actually going to ship alot of the clones in good case assortments to make em easy to find. I hope so.
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Yeah,d efinitely dry out at retail. Even the KM stores near me are bare, and KM is NEVER bare of Star Wars stuff.
Hell, the one is devoid of ROTS figures except one Bail and one Mothma, but they have 2 pegs full of OTC on "sale" for full retail. :)
I've yet to see the Anakin Evolutions set which bums me out some, but that's ok. It'll get here. They flew off our KM store shelves though as they were out and gone within one day, seriously. Every KM in the area got some, and they ALL sold. That's nuts. Some have even restocked and sold again.
I know when I go to Target, WM, and even TRU, the pegs are dwindling. Main characters are gone, Clones haven't been available in any quantity since 4/2 really, secondary Jedi (save for the "girls") have moved well now, army builders are slowly selling... Stand-out pegwarmers have been the Senators in the intiial waves now...
Last new fig I saw was a fluke in finding Bacara there alone at a Target. No other figures.
Funny NOT finding figures in a movie year. It's amazing what a good film, and good quality figures (overall) in a toy line can do for the popularity of the line. Nice.
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i kinda likes this "slow down" since i can save money for future sets like battle packs, exclusives. etc.
it seems stores like Target, TRU and Walmart only get a box of basic figures once a week. i've only seen them stock starfighters, M&Ms, and mustafar playsets most of the time. but i give them till august and we should start seeing the pegs gradually fill up.
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My area isn't even "slow", it stopped. It goes any slower and it'd be in reverse I think...
To KM's credit though, they actually got Evolutions, Battlepacks, and 500th Vader... They're the only store putting out stuff though. Everyone's reporting that the other stores around here just aren't stocking shelves.
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My area isn't even "slow", it stopped. It goes any slower and it'd be in reverse I think...
Unfortunately true in my neck of the woods too. I haven't seen anything new in weeks - last new figures were the 41-44 wave. :'(
Am I enjoying the slowdown though? Maybe. It just means I'm spending money on my older collections that I'm still trying to finish.
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I was at WM just last night to get some junk for the house, and they had a dozen pegs for SW figures with only 3 Red robed Palpatine figures.
3...
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Things are regressing here, too. WM is losing its pegwarmers, mysteriously and all at once. I noticed all the Jedi pegwarmers vanished from Target, all at once (TRU Mega Pack fodder?) and while in Kansas City, I discovered that it's much the same there.
Ben's been lucky finding some stuff, but not Darb. Sigh.
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I had been wanting to post someting about the current slowdown for a little while, but now it seem things are about to pick back up again with all the new figure sightings.
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The stores near me haven't restocked with basic figures in over a month at this point. Every time I walk into a Wal-Mart or a Target, it's the same Clone Pilots, Neimoidians, Wookiees, Bodyguards, and Tarffulls staring back at me. The stores seem to have an aversion to stocking the basic action figures around here, and it seems like it's that way just about everywhere.
I've yet to see the Bacara wave (although thanks to a friend about 2000 miles away I was able to get them), and the Tarkin wave has shown up twice, both times at the same Wal-Mart. The only things that have been restocked are the 500th Vader (one case at my closest WM, sold out in hours), the Wookiee Flyer at Target (twice), and a metric ton of those Energy Beam Blasters. (On a side note, is silly string still flammable? No reason for asking though. 8) )
K-Mart is the only retailer that actually has a decent mix of basic figures (they still have #6 Clones and the main characters, and not one Neimoidian Warrior for miles), and they've been restocking a variety of stuff (Evolutions, Battle Packs, 500th Vader, GH Backpack Danglers) as opposed to WM and Target's SOS. The problem is that nobody wants to shop there for SW figures because they're two bucks higher than the other places.
I had been wanting to post someting about the current slowdown for a little while, but now it seem things are about to pick back up again with all the new figure sightings.
I certainly hope you're right Anton, but if they aren't stocking the pegs with figures when the movie is still in theaters (in some locations at least), I'm afraid that they won't stock at all once the movie is gone and SW is relegated to its "black sheep" status in the toy aisle between the mountain of Teen Titans garbage and the consistently empty (as in "we haven't gotten any for six months, but we'll keep it empty anyway") LOTR peg section.
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Things have basically come to a stop around here too, and I'm getting concerned about finding some of the later figs/stuff in the ROTS line. Target finally got rid of the "Star Wars only" aisle, and turned it into a clearance aisle this week. ROTS stuff is now in the "regular" action figure aisle, but with a fairly large section right now for the basic figs. Of course, nothing good though :). Wal-Mart and Target literally only have the following figures...and have for quite some time:
Mas Amedda
Clone Pilot
Polis Massan
Palpatine w/Red Saber
Neimodian Warriors
Occasionally - Bail Organa, Aayla Secura, Luminara Unduli, Saesee Tiin
I hope they can figure out some way to clear this stuff out, so we can see a little of the last few figures of this line, and so things are all gone in time for the Saga Collection as well. Unleashed pegs are packed with Obi-Wan and Anakin (except Target has only one Unleashed, and Obi-Wan that has been sitting there for weeks). Force Battlers are the tons and tons of Obi-Wans and Anakins that have been there since 4/2. Starting to see Mustafar playsets pile up a bit now too, vehicles are thinning out...don't know if I've seen the starfighters at WM or Target in quite some time now. Looking forward to some new stuff (new Unleashed, Evolutions, 500th Vader) showing up sometime soon. No K-Marts here, and TRU has piles of the same figures they've had for awhile, Vader wrestling buddies, big PEZ dispensers, and other misc. crap that no one wants :). I don't mind the slow down (actually had a chance to pick up a few vintage figures for the first time in a long time), but I'm ready for some new stuff to start popping up again.
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It seems this "Slow Down" is picking up the pace!
i dunno, its probably California but honestly, i thought finding the shock troopers, black pilot or green commander would be difficult, but its NOT.
Most of the Walmarts over here probably had a truck load (10-15 cases) of new shipments in basic figures and since the SW aisle are now condense, they only put out 5-7 cases a day.
Also, the new assortments with the shocks are great. Abundance of clones so i guarentee ppl will find wut they want. not as hard as with the At-TE Gunner 2 months ago.
HAPPY HUNTING!
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It seems this "Slow Down" is picking up the pace!
i dunno, its probably California but honestly, i thought finding the shock troopers, black pilot or green commander would be difficult, but its NOT.
Oh, you Californians get everything. :P
(Just kidding) ;D
I went into the Target that I had my amazing experience this past Sunday at (check out the Unleashed thread in "Other Collectibles" if you care) and found that, for the first time in about a month and a half (at least; it's probably closer to two months), they decided to stock the pegs full of figures. Of course, the problem is that they put out two cases of the 41-44 "Army Builder" wave and despite one of the six Clones being left, there were still six each of our friends the Wookiee and the Neimoidian hanging around to add to their already impressive total.
The thing that I'm finding particularly irritating is that out of 56 figures (not counting paint variants) out there, only about 10 of them can be located at this point in time. That's some way to generate sales when a little less than 5/6th your entire action figure assortment is not able to be purchased. Not to mention the fact that the retailers have raised the prices on figures again (Target's back to 5.99 and all the WMs near me have gone back up to 5.88), gas prices keep going up, and the selection and availability of items that people would buy is slim to none. If I see anything at my local retailers in the basic line past what I've seen already (Meena Tills) at this point, I'll be extremely shocked and surprised.
But it's still funny to go in and see the mountain of Fantastic Four stuff that the retailers pushed SW out of the way with not selling at all. :)
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It's nice to have the slow down so I don't spend so much on figures, but I wish I could have got my #50 Ani first, along with the 3 other figures that I really want. Then I could relax and wait for the later shipments. Unfortunately, the later waves are slow to pop up around here in the TCs, or at least on the west side... seems like the east siders get all the good stuff first!
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Well, as I said in another thread, the retailers near me have not restocked the pegs with a case of new figures (as in figures that have been released since April 2nd) since June 14, when a local WM put out a second case of the Tarkin wave (two days after they put out the first case of them). Target restocked with the army builder case of 41-44, but other than that, it's just been more Collection 1 1-12, 25-28, and 33-36.
I keep reading all these reports of 10 cases of the Pilot Obi-Wan wave showing up all over the place, and the Clones being easier to find than anticipated, and although I'm glad you guys are finding them without much problem, it makes all those trips to Target and Wal-Mart even more depressing when I walk out emptyhanded. Between the Unleashed preorder debacle with Amazon, the lack of new figures at retail, and the rising gas prices, my collecting morale is pretty damned low right now. :'(
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I will welcome this break until Commander Bly, Gree, and the 501st show up, and the Jedi Temple Assult from Kmart. That and the Clone Evolutions. I am undecided on the Sith Evolutions, though a good friend of mine said it will be nice to have an Emperor who has lightning coming out of his fingertips and not his sleeves for once.
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I'm the same as you Dr. Padawan. we're not in a slowdown, we're at a standstill.
Anything new's been gobbled up... LOTS of new stuff at the toy show last weekend here, but nothing on store pegs. I went to an out-of-the-way Wal-Mart tonight that I hit often since it's not too far from me, and it hasn't restocked in ages except for some Deluxe which is what I had on Layaway up there... So I go to get the layaway, and they have NOTHING new since the last time I was there. Nada.
I got my Layaway of Deluxes and went home... Lots of great figures, none out there though. Seems that retail's just so gunshy from past experiences with Hasbro and movie-based releases... They just seemingly bailed on Hasbro though and there's these huge dead spots of no product to many areas. Very weird considering that in 2002 or 1999 the shelves were CLOGGED right about now and we'd all be bitching about the attrocious case assortments.
We still bitch about that, and it's still warranted, but it seems now the past is biting the line in the ass somewhat. Hopefully we see new stuff out in force here soon. I want that Obi-Wan Pilot figure NOW.
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Its very much the same here, although I will say I was fortunate enough to find the Antilles wave last weekend at Target. Wal-Mart hasn't had anything new in ages, and I don't see that they will have the space for it anytime soon (the usual pegwarmers are there in en masse). I really want to find that Obi-Wan Pilot figure, as well as the Anakin Evolutions set, but no signs of that around here yet. That, along with the various Clones (Evolutions, Red Shocktrooper, "Final 12" versions) are really what I'm looking for the rest of the year at this point. Then I think I'll be ready for some new OT stuff :). Target has been the only retailer with anything new around here lately, Wal-Mart and TRU are basically choking on the same stuff for quite awhile now. The same thing also happened to my Unleashed preorder through Amazon, I haven't heard anything from them and they're still "shipping" in June. Except its...August. I'm not counting on them showing up. I guess I could live without them if I never found them, since I usually stick to the OT ones in this line, but I'd pick them up if I found them. I'm worried about the Han Stormtrooper one upcoming though, I'd really like to get that one. Anyways, I'm happy for the slow down overall, but at this point I'm ready for a few more things to show up. The overall pace of figures, and sheer amount of stuff out there to get, should be much better from now on. Not quite as big of a "push" anymore, and that is alright with me. I'm sort of ready for the nice "year after movie" collector year ;).
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I lucked out the other day at KB of all places. They had the Pilot Obi-Wan wave, and the Mustafar Anikin wave. Ani was the only figure that was gone. It was nice to get 5 new figures in one day. I have yet to see Tarkin, or the Zukusa wave.
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Seems to me that the slowdown is coming to and end. Stuff seems to be hitting and if it's not hitting hard in some areas, it's on the verge. In fact, I think too much is hitting at once as my wallet is taking a bit of a beating already. :P
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I'm not happy anymore, that's for sure. I know some places are seeing more product right now, but not here in Iowa. Good lord, it's dry as a bone.
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After today's unsuccessful trips around the surrounding areas only to find the same figures I saw the other day staring back at me, I've pretty much given up making special trips for this stuff. I've always prided myself on being a patient person, but the whole collecting "hunt" is getting on my last damned nerve right now.
Already this year, I've cut back on collecting and cleared a bunch of stuff out. I've gone further and said that I will no longer be a completist. Now, I'm swearing off these fruitless trips to the local retailers; if I find them, I'll get them, but I'm not going out of my way on the chance that I might find Captain Antilles with a bent card hidden behind the towels in Target.
Collecting the ROTS line went from "fun" to "suck" in four months. Way to go retail and Hasbro! :P