Great discussion, and certainly a few topics here of particular interest to me.

First, to the "Q&A". I'm glad someone referenced the SSG vs JTA chats, because to me they could not have been more different. SSG asked some good questions, got some good answers (yay, Ghost!) and did not inject any sort of editorializing or personal complaints in their write-up. (Such as "too many other people at those darn other sites kept interrupting me!" or "I'm not asking all these negative questions that I solicited on my own site and wrote down and brought with me anyway for some inexplicable reason!")

Maybe the overall tenor of the questions is a reflection of the personality/maturity level of the fan base they have cultivated to this point. Maybe all those front page articles about the line's impending doom and OMG WTF are you doing now, Hasbro?!?! have had a trickledown effect on the people that read that stuff regularly, so that they cannot help but frame everything in a critical and frightening light?

It's nice to want to interact with the site members in some way, but maybe Paul should just come up with his own questions from now on. Or solicit some from other sites...I'm sure JD could have provided him with a few quality ones. I don't think that kind of snarkiness is necessarily representative of the collector community in general.

As far as the topic of female action figures, this has always been a sore issue for me. I have two young daughters, and I don't want their gateway into the world of action figures to be some humiliated woman in a metal bikini. So no thanks Hasbro. Hera and Sabine scream "Girl Power". Yeah, we got them as figures, but only in two packs, not single carded, and only after the primary male figures had long been out. The message sure seems to be "we don't think we can possibly sell these losers on their own". And they couldn't even put out Sabine with a removable helmet, which they did with Ezra. I guess they figure if they disguise her maybe noone will realize she's a girl. And to date there have been NO female characters made in the larger scales such as 12" or 20" or even 31". (Again, we got Ezra, Kanan, and even Kallus who is a more minor character than Hera OR Sabine)

I do recall them saying that female figures don't sell as well as male figures, but I think it really depends on the character choices. Season 3 Ahsoka in the CW line for example, was an oustanding seller. And yes, I'm still bitter about not getting Duchess Satine or Bo-Katan in the animated line despite them having major roles. Maybe Hasbro just needs to work on figuring out how to market more effectively to that segment of their audience.

I still maintain that no matter what happens come Christmas, Hasbro is not going to be myopic in their focus on TFA. There ARE going to be other new Stars Wars toys to purchase that have nothing to do with that movie. And there will continue to be.

I think there is room for Rebels and TFA stuff, over the holidays, and beyond.

I wouldn't characterize it as wishful thinking so much as a reasonable expectation. I'm not an idiot, I understand what is going on with the line, the industry, the economy, the seasons, the rotation of the sun, etc etc. But this is the very definition of an iconic ship, at least as far as the current media goes. It is a gaping omission from the Rebels toy line-up thus far. The damn thing is practically designed to be an ideal vehicle/playset too, from the cockpit to the living quarters to the docking station for the Phantom.

I get that not everyone is a diehard fan of the show or the toys...that's totally cool. It's not for everyone. But I would not go so far as to imply collectors who are big fans of the show are unhinged from reality for assuming this is going to get made at some point soon. Maybe it's already under development and will be unveiled prior to Christmas, when the second season (which has been confirmed) will be airing. It's not like everything is going to come grinding to a halt come September and all they are going to make is TFA stuff anymore. Hasbro is on record as saying they plan to continue supporting Rebels, so I think it is fair to expect more to come. And there's not that many other vehicles there to choose from at this point.

I don't think it has anything to do with the movies, or being in a movie, or whatever. Eventually, IMHO, it'll happen. It's a major part of "The Canon" now. (It took them awhile to get to the MTT too...)

Just my two cents~

As someone who lives in Richmond VA and has made that short trek north to DC countless times, I can personally attest that it is not nearly as barren as the show is making it out to be. There are LOTS of sources of water between the two cities, not the least of which being the Mattaponi River and Lake Anna.

I'd love to know what road they are taking...makes sense they would stay off I95, so I am guessing they are supposed to be on one of the less traveled parallel routes like 301 or Rt. 1. PLENTY of sources of food and water along those roads.

I wonder why they didn't just let Eugene drink the water they found and then see what happens. If he doesn't die or get roofied, might as well drink up.

Is Jedi Defender going to be part of the gladhanding strokeathon known as "The Pulse Initiative"?

 

Saw Kingsmen tonight...enjoyed it thoroughly, except that the wife and I were forced to sit in the very first row, which was brutal on the neck.

BBTS has some shots and preorders up for Reaction Classic Trek

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/menu.aspx?menu=34&category=10470

LOL...no Kirk!

I give 'em credit, that's ballsy for a first wave.