Perhaps, but he's got a wee bit of a gut. 

I'm bummed too. Any new rebel pilot is a good rebel pilot.

And you just know that there are a few stores out there that would love to give the set a home...

I wonder if Hasbro is in error-- on the JD Q&A this week, Hasbro says it's not their figure, but the official site explicitly states it is a Hasbro product, the droid is clearly a Hasbro mold, and the previous Jedi Mickey & Yoda set (which I have on my desk) is labeled Hasbro.  (So I wonder if Hasbro's brand is slapped on Disney items or what.)

We just got our second shipment, and I got mine-- I have to say the AT-RT is a nice little vehicle.  The best thing, which I assume is an undocumented feature, is that there's a couple of tiny slots on the back of it.  They're perfectly sized to put the clip from a Clone blaster, so the ship actually has storage for weapons, which is something I've been complaining about to myself for a while.  Kudos to Hasbro for reading my thoughts, but I'm going to have to start wearing the foil hat again.

It's pretty stable too-- jointed at the "hips" and "ankles".  It is "fun."  The little cannon in the front moves around too, so I'd say this one is slightly better than the Freeco Bike in terms of user-friendliness/fun but still doesn't feel as solid as, say, pretty much most of the original Mini-Rigs.

Thanks for the good news! I wonder if this means both waves will be hitting on top of each other at retail too. Or will there be some separation?

Based on how waves 6-10 were for us, I'd expect them to basically be showing up all at once at retail when they hit.  And since the case is half (or more than half) old product it might be tougher to realize when they hit and were missed, just like some of the other waves since August.

Entertaninment Earth got 'em too.  I got mine just a few minutes ago, they're pretty fantastic.  Thi-Sen is the big winner here.  Aayla from Wave 12 is also quite impressive.

Most surprising, though, is that Commander Stone is a new sculpt-- it has the "fixed" elbow armor, a new torso with only swivel waist movement, and the wrists are also swivel-only.

The figure selection was probably the main fumble.  The 2009 sets had figures that were indistinguishable from previous release, save for a single accessory while the 2008 packs had, for the most part, at least repaints.  (Darth Vader being a notable exception.)

As a collector, $17 per pack is a bit more than $10 was and as such, isn't as welcome.  However, $10 was a freaking bargain for a pair of $7 figures and a build-a-droid piece. $17 isn't awful and as far as I can tell between my haunts in LA and in Phoenix over the weekend, for the most part, this stuff sold through.  Two figures and 1/5 of a large figure for $17 isn't being violated-- it's not as awesome as a Battle Pack, but it's basically what it would cost you as individual figures.   Sometimes the per-figure price on an exclusive is higher, as we've seen with individually carded figures many times over at conventions, StarWarsShop.com, etc.

The least Hasbro could do is slightly different deco.  Grievous could've been repainted in movie colors, or the cape could have been given to the new 2008 figure which is still somewhat in demand.  Maul could have been one that wasn't also available in Evolutions packs or on an individual card.  Anakin could have been cleaned up or made dirtier.  Boba Fett could have been the figure Hasbro showed at Toy Fair and Comic-Con-- the animated sculpt in movie colors.  (And seemingly, Boba sold the best from what I've seen so far.)

I agree with Jack, the Super Battle Droid from the GBA game nobody remembers was a totally weak choice.   I admit not everybody was thrilled to see a droid from the Droids cartoon series, I was, but hey, that's me.  I can't recall anyone asking for any figures from any non-Battlefront portable-only SW games.

Compared to the Clone Wars 2-packs Wal-Mart got (which will likely ultimately all see regular carded release with slightly different deco), these were disappointing.   But I'm still curious how Wal-Mart and Hasbro define a non-success, or if the non-success remains cluttering up a large building somewhere on the west coast.

No matter how it shakes out, it seems a product that fans decided as a group was overpriced has failed.  In other words, we may have successfully, as the kids say, voted with our dollars.   Hooray?  (If the third series was like the second, I'm fine not getting whatever it would have been.  The first batch was just too good.)

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(I'd rather have great deco over ball elbows on some figures, specifically most Cantina characters, as they're going to spend eternity standing around.)

Can't say I agree at all, but compared to 2007 we got both for the most part...  Still, I'll take articulation over deco, but would prefer getting both to the best of their ability, especially since deco is (generally) not quite as expensive in the production process.  Even if it's just a spritz of some dirt to a damaged part of armor or some such (maybe leaving out the more intricate paint aps like the antenna).

On Cody?  Or Troops?  I agree.  Totally necessary for the collector/adult double-dip, and kids are going to buy it either way.  2006 Cody and Scorch were huge hits despite their articulation-related handicaps.

With Cantina Aliens?  Eh.  The ball-jointed elbows have done nothing to improve how the figure functions in a diorama or elsewhere.  The 2007 aliens you bring up had swivel elbows, and they were actually just fine-- perfect to hold a drink or a blaster.  This sort of thing is wildly unacceptable for a trooper, but for an action-free character?  Eh.  I was more impressed with the overall "oomph" of the 2007 and early 2009 aliens (M'iyoom Onith, Elis Helrot, Trinto Duaba & Dice Ibegon, Pons Limbic*).

*-- yes, I know he has ball elbows, but he had a table and overall better deco.

While I'm a huge stickler for toys being toys, Cantina Aliens are, for all practical purposes, made for old farts who stand them on a shelf or diorama.  If there are any figures in the modern line where corners can be cut, I'd say cantina elbows would be it.  (Well, maybe articulated limbs under the "chess piece" figures where it doesn't make a difference anyway.  But then ball vs. swivel cantina alien elbows.)

honestly Cantina aliens I think articulation partially makes them more appealing to kids.

Evidence says kids aren't buying Cantina aliens, articulation is likely not a significant factor.  A toy's intrinsic (or carefully crafted by millions of marketing dollars) coolness tends to push them the most.