Yep, I am not confident that this will be easy to find either...unless they pull an Order 66 on all those Turbo Tanks and ARC-170's that are languishing on the shelves.

I actually saw this for the first time in Walmart last night (figures, after ranting about it) but in a cruel twist of fate they only had one on display and the box was damaged. Not acceptable.

Still, if I saw it at one, I am hopeful it will pop up elsewhere soon.

Well, those ARC-170's are certainly doing a good job "holding the shelf space" - none have budged around here for weeks.

Patience, to me, is relative. If there are no new toys out, I have no problem waiting for new merch to hit the shelves. But if there's a toy out, but I can't find it yet around here, OH, IT'S ON!

It's like having a mental tic...I just get driven to the point of distraction.

Luckily it has not been so bad with the Y-Wing, since this is a pricey item and unlikely to fly off the shelves when (or if) it hits. I don't feel the same level or urgency.

Lately though my concern has grown as I have seen reports around the Interwebz that we should probably buy this as soon as we see it as it may not be around long, or in great numbers. Richmond is pretty much of a hole, so I don't expect it to be a high priority on Hasbro's distribution manifest.

Having said that. I'll probably see six of them next week...

I am starting to get concerned these will not hit any brick and mortar retail outlets around here at all. It's very odd for a toy to have been out this long (over 6 weeks now at least) and not a single one has shown up at any of the 20+ stores I check each week.

I just don't see any movement on those space-sucking Turbo Tanks and ARC-170's. I think they are going to lay there forever and completely impede the flow of new toys to the shelves.

Do you have the link or auction number?

I do but I'm not sure how that would help. The picture on the listing is pretty sketchy.

I will try to post this when I get home tonight...I can't reference the listing here at work. Thanks!

Awesome, thanks for posting this!

I can't wait to get my hands on Luminara! (so to speak)

I have a question about this vintage figure.

I have had one since back in the day but I wanted another since my copy has some black paint splashed on his chest from God knows where.

I finally picked one up recently but was really disappointed when I actually sat down to inspect it. It appears to be a much lower grade figure than my original, possibly even a fake or repro.

The 2 things that really stand out when compared to my original are the leg stance and helmet paint job. The one I just got has a wider leg stance than my original. And the helmet paint job on that one seems pretty crude by comparison. The paint appears too thick and glossy. On my original there is clear detailing at the base of the skull where he has different color hairline. But on the one I just got the paint is just slapped on there sloppily and there is no detailed hairline visible.

Of course I went to check the stamp and it says 1977 but it appears in a slightly different location on the figure's leg than mine.

So what gives? Did I get ripped off? Or did Kenner's production really drop of in quality at some point with successive waves? I am really leaning towards returning this to the seller it sucks so much.

Has anyone else noticed any subtle differences with this character?

My interest in vintage collecting has really resurged the past few weeks. I find it's a great way to fill the gaps between new product waves hitting the retail outlets. It gets demoralizing when those "dry spells" hit so hunting ebay to fill out my Kenner stuff has been a great supplementary pastime.

At this point I am "guesstimating" that I should have a complete Kenner collection by early 2010. After that, I don't know what I will do to fill the void...

Walmart's octuparra droid exclusive - found today.  4 of them in the regular section mixed in with the $24.99 vehicles.

I highly recommend - this thing is huge and really worth the $35.  Nice and sturdy too.

Yep, I second that...found mine today as well and I am already thinking about going back to buy another. I love the Snail Droid but this might be my favorite thing so far!

My Walmart had them crammed in with the starfighters too...no special price tag, no end-cap display.