I've been following the poll pretty closely.  And I was pleased to see that the guys running it are also collecting some demographic data in order to get a sense of who is voting.  There seem to be 3 sizable cohorts:

Age 55 - 64 = 4.1% of the submissions
Age 45 - 54 = 35.7%
Age 35 - 44 = 21.3%
Age 25 - 34 = 24.7%
Age 18 - 24 = 12.5%

I was surprised to see that the age range of 18 - 44 accounts for some 58% of the participants.  And perhaps that's why the source material skewed more towards the PT and onward.  But it's also interesting to see how the ages correlate to a degree with the characters that made the top 12.

I think everyone went into the nomination process with their own criteria in mind.  For me?  Hasbro has thoroughly mined the OT for characters over the past 30 years in a big way.  And it's increasingly become a struggle to come up with characters from the OT that haven't been made before.  So in some cases attention gets shifted towards the characters that might have been made before, but the figures might be dated or are lacking in terms of quality compared to modern figures.

I understand the inclusion of the ROTS versions of Anakin and Obi-Wan in the Top 12.  And while it seems like Hasbro has gone there before, it's been well over a decade.  The TVC ROTS Obi-Wan is actually based on a 2005 figure.  And the TVC Anakin from ROTS just looks kind of bad.  That existing version of Anakin, and the way that the Clone Wars really made him into a much more fully developed character?  That's why Anakin was on my list of submissions, and why I voted for him in my Top 6.

I totally get the push for the Bad Batch.  And if I had more room on my list I would vote for them.  But I didn't because I saw needs in other parts of the saga.  So my top six is:
-Anakin
-Asajj Ventress
-Baze Malbus
-Luthen Rael
-Arleil Schous
-Qimir / The Stranger

I wanted to keep it new and complete some groups of characters.  Plus I was disappointed that Arleil Schous didn't get backed with the Cantina.


As for a figure dream pack for a Haslab?  The topic has been a point of discussion for a while.  And I think it's potentially feasible - but it's got to check some boxes.
-It's got to be characters that would generally not stand a chance of getting made otherwise.  Main characters don't seem like a solid fit here.
-There should be a central theme linking them all
-The price per figure should not go above $25.  So 8 figures would cost a maximum of $200, 10 would be $250, 12 for $300, etc.

Quote from: Rob on October  1, 2024, 10:34 AM

You guys cannot post about Jimmy Carter right ahead of his 100th birthday in this thread of all places.

I saw the family photo that the family should never have released.  Let the man have some dignity!

I remember seeing an image of him from his wife's memorial.  He's in rough shape, but hanging on.


Sad to hear about John Amos.  When I watched "Good Times" I had no idea that he only a few years older than Jimmy JJ Walker.  Between that series, "Roots", "Coming To America" and "The West Wing"?  He had an impressive career.

I was at a Disney Store Outlet over the weekend and picked up another TC-14 at the $6.98 price.

I stopped putting a lot of stock in what Adam has to share.  And maybe that's because I understand (to a degree) and appreciate Jayson's reporting process.  He's been on the money so much that when he shares something it's pretty solid.  And in fact it's so good that he doesn't need to play the game with Hasbro's PR people, even though it precludes him from participating in official Hasbro events.

I found Cobb Vanth yesterday at an area Walmart.  I had been going to the store closest to my house trying to find him, but to no avail.  So I checked the Walmart app and found that Cobb Vanth was in EVERY OTHER Walmart near me - except for that one store near my place.

Looking forward to opening this one.  It looks really well done.  And I hope the version of Vanth from The Book of Boba Fett looks just as good.  And in light of how good the armor looks?  I'd really like to see Boba in his armor as seen on Tython in The Mandalorian season 2.  That fight against the Stormtroopers was epic, and that version of Boba was amazing.

If these are still available when I'm in WDW in a few weeks?  I might buy another.  But I'm shocked that there's still a fair amount available.

I have mixed feelings about this batch of reveals.  But then I have cut back on my Black Series purchases dramatically.

-Prince Xizor - I never had a lot of attachment to Shadows of the Empire.  But it's probably because I got back into Star Wars around 1998, which was after the window of time for SOTE.  Still, Jayson found a blurb in the Xizor press release that make it appear as though Dash Rendar, Luke and Leia from SOTE might also be on the way.  But that's still not a factor for me.
-Commander Bacara - This is a MAYBE for me.  Because I'm thinking about also getting Ki-Adi Mundi, and the two figures seem to complement one another.
-Commando Droid - Impressive!  And I might be getting this one.

-Dagan Gera - Interesting design - especially the lost arm.  But a pass
-Luke and Leia - AGAIN?  I don't know.  Maybe I'll sell my old versions and get these.  But it's not inspiring to get repeats on main characters when the way TBS launched was with the promise of getting these main characters right the first time.