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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« Last post by McMetal on May 8, 2025, 06:16 PM »Why not cut out the middle man and just slap a tariff on the CEO? (I’m joking but also 100% sure that idea was spitballed) 🤦♂️
Bringing Balance to the Force
Recent Posts
82
TV-9D9 / Re: Andor (SPOILERS possible)
« Last post by Nicklab on May 8, 2025, 05:37 PM »Genevieve O'Reilly has a long history with the part of Mon Mothma. She first played Mon in scenes that were deleted from ROTS. She reprised the role in ROGUE ONE in 2016. Then she came back to voice act in seasons 3 and 4 of REBELS. Then there was ANDOR season 1, followed by her part on AHSOKA. And how she's playing the part in season 2 of ANDOR - 20 years after she first played the part.
The one bit of casting that's still a little bitter to accept is that Jimmy Smits was "unavailable" to reprise his role as Bail Organa. He's played that part for a long time - most recently in the OWK series.
Beyond that? This was an epic story arc. And I don't even know where to begin with it all. To see everything come to a head on Ghorman was startling. The Empire went looking to provoke the catastrophe that ensued, all in the name of taking complete control of the planet so that it could be mined to oblivion.
It was interesting to see what happened with Syril's character. He was far more complicated than anyone might have guessed. He seemed prepared to be an Imperial lackey, and he was thoroughly used by the ISB and Dedra. But he seemed to have a moral compass that was guided by some desire for justice. But then that all got thrown out the window when he came across Cassian, and he lost it.
One thing that I was glad did NOT happen? We've encountered Imperial sharp shooters before, notably a former one in The Mandalorian. And I'm glad he wasn't shoe-horned into the role of the shooter who took out an Imperial trooper in a false flag attack in order to give the rest of the Imperial troops an excuse to open fire on the Ghor.
The one bit of casting that's still a little bitter to accept is that Jimmy Smits was "unavailable" to reprise his role as Bail Organa. He's played that part for a long time - most recently in the OWK series.
Beyond that? This was an epic story arc. And I don't even know where to begin with it all. To see everything come to a head on Ghorman was startling. The Empire went looking to provoke the catastrophe that ensued, all in the name of taking complete control of the planet so that it could be mined to oblivion.
It was interesting to see what happened with Syril's character. He was far more complicated than anyone might have guessed. He seemed prepared to be an Imperial lackey, and he was thoroughly used by the ISB and Dedra. But he seemed to have a moral compass that was guided by some desire for justice. But then that all got thrown out the window when he came across Cassian, and he lost it.
One thing that I was glad did NOT happen? We've encountered Imperial sharp shooters before, notably a former one in The Mandalorian. And I'm glad he wasn't shoe-horned into the role of the shooter who took out an Imperial trooper in a false flag attack in order to give the rest of the Imperial troops an excuse to open fire on the Ghor.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« Last post by Nicklab on May 8, 2025, 05:00 PM »One mom & pop mini-chain near me is already trying to take advantage of the new climate. They jacked up their TVC basic figure prices to $21.99 - and this was on OLD stock, like the CW Barriss Offee, Vel Sartha, Greef Karga and others.
Meanwhile I'm plugging more gaps. SMH, this is not looking good.
Meanwhile I'm plugging more gaps. SMH, this is not looking good.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« Last post by Rob on May 8, 2025, 04:40 PM »Me too, and the actual shortages and price shocks haven’t even hit yet. It’s likely to be very very bad.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« Last post by Ryan on May 8, 2025, 04:14 PM »I've had more than Kenough of these tariffs.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: TVC and Tariff Pricing
« Last post by Jeff on May 8, 2025, 01:53 PM »Mattel announced that they were revising some forecasts, planning for price hikes, and planning to move some manufacturing out of China because of the tariffs. Then this happened...
Quote
Trump threatens toymaker Mattel with 100% tariffs
Steve Kopack
After toymaker Mattel said it would move some production from China to India to dodge 145% tariffs on China, Trump said he could hit the company with 100% tariffs.
Referring to the planned move that Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz announced, Trump said, "I've heard them say ... we're gonna try going somewhere else. That's OK. We'll put 100% tariff on his toys."
"And he won't sell toys in the United States, that's their biggest market," Trump added.
Shares of Mattel briefly took a sharp drop on Trump's comments, and the stock remains lower by around 2%.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: Andor Product Line Wishlist
« Last post by Nicklab on May 8, 2025, 01:42 PM »Even trying to distill a list of some of the most notable moments could easily turn into an entire year's worth of TVC releases.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: Andor Product Line Wishlist
« Last post by Ryan on May 8, 2025, 02:49 AM »I was going to type a whole thing here after watching S2 7-8-9 arc, but I'll settle for...
Come on, Hasbro. *sigh*
Seriously, my list is so long.
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The Vintage Collection / Re: 2025 TVC Streets of Mos Eisley Playset
« Last post by Ryan on May 8, 2025, 02:46 AM »Another good, but not great set. Overall, the sculpt was great and I like the included accessories/figure, but I have some gripes. 1) By far, the biggest detractor for me is the completely flat and lifeless paint application that has affected so many other offerings in TVC lately. 2) the connection points are somewhat unsightly and seem like they should be able to be hidden by the tall exaust accesessoy, but they can't 3) While it is cool that you get two versions of stairs to choose from, the large size makes it so that the wall cannot go directly against the back of the shelf. 4) The droid can be removed, but leaves an unsightly little nubbin behind. 5) I kind of wish we had gotten a street-level door matching the one that 3PO and R2 hide in. 6) The sculpt inside the archway lacks any texture.
I decided to try and fix some of these issues myself. I did a full repaint of the entire set, took a saw to the center of the stairs so that the facade can sit against the back of a shelf, and removed and plugged the droid ports. Overall, I'm thrilled with how it turned out, even if the walls are a bit dark. In the future, I may do more to hide the connection points and droid ports, but am happy with it for now. If this set ever makes it to clearance, I'll probably pick up a few more.
I decided to try and fix some of these issues myself. I did a full repaint of the entire set, took a saw to the center of the stairs so that the facade can sit against the back of a shelf, and removed and plugged the droid ports. Overall, I'm thrilled with how it turned out, even if the walls are a bit dark. In the future, I may do more to hide the connection points and droid ports, but am happy with it for now. If this set ever makes it to clearance, I'll probably pick up a few more.
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TV-9D9 / Re: Andor (SPOILERS possible)
« Last post by McMetal on May 7, 2025, 11:56 PM »I went back and watched the Secret Cargo episode of Rebels in Season 3 which occurs right after the final episode of this latest arc. It dovetails pretty nicely, Erskine is even there, which I had forgotten. They do mention something about Bail arranging her transport but that makes sense considering it was the original plan. And same actress doing the voice work, too.