I couldn't agree more Nick.  Of course the 3 3/4" line is their bread and butter as has been mentioned, but the company has to try new things to keep up with the times.  Drawing in collectors with the Mighty Muggs that have no interest in the 3 3/4" line makes Hasbro stronger and in the long run they can reinvest the profits.  Sure there's possibility for failure, but Urban Vinyl is huge these days and I think it's a smart move by Hasbro to test the waters.

Urban vinyl is huge?  I think this is one of the biggest myths going around, thanks mostly to mainstream media giving lots of attention to these "toys for adults."  Many Urban Vinyl figures are created in runs of 500 or less, and many (not all, of course) take a long time to sell through at that tiny edition size.   (They opened one next to one of my favorite record stores in Phoenix last summer, I can't wait to see if it's imploded upon itself yet next time I visit.)

That and there's probably no chance of these going for more than a year.   But hey, it'll be a neat line of whatever it turns out to be that we can all list when the next line of items aimed at audiences that are not us comes out.

Quote from: Daigo-Bah on December 30, 2007, 08:22 PM

Groan. Somebody watched LOTR too many times when designing EU stuff.  Just because it can be done doesn't mean it should be 

If you don't remember this was done before LOTR in the PS game Star Wars Demolition in 2000 with Rancor Keeper riding a Rancor . I do understand what you are saying though .
roron corobb

And before that, there was the whole Courtship of Princess Leia Rancor Clan whatever thing in 1995... it's got precedent-a-plenty.  It wouldn't surprise me if there was an RPG summplement from West End Games that had the riders too.

I still, in theory, dig it. If the dark parts of the skin are really dark and the bluish parts are ridiculously bright blue, I'm totally sold on this thing.  I loves me some chaos.

Quote

Someone over at scum showed pictures of 2-pack key chains. That could could be the mystery 2-pack.

We stopped by our local Super Target this afternoon, which had already done somewhat of a reset of their action figure aisle.  They did have the keychain two packs on the pegs for $5.99 each.  From what I remember, they had Qui-Gon/Maul, Leia/R2, and Vader/Fett packs on the pegs.  They also had bobbleheads and the Mighty Muggz, as well as the new Joe comic packs.  Action figure pegs were nothing but legends clones, scouts, and Sandtroopers - who would think we'd ever see that?

Did you scan the keychains to see if they shared the DPCI that was listed above?  I'm quite curious.   (Not sure if they'd have the 087 06 prefix, but they might...)

Someone over at scum showed pictures of 2-pack key chains. That could could be the mystery 2-pack.

(Sorry to steel your thunder Adam.)

... or it could be what I said it was.   We'll all know for sure when product hits the stores in 2008.

I thought that Alpha had a Phase II new helmet later on?  And I could have sworn I saw some sort of depiction of one with an Airborne helmet? 

He had an EpIII-style helmet in, I believe, Obsession during the battle of Boz Pity.  But don't quote me on that, I didn't check yet.  I don't recall ever seeing him in an Airborne helmet.

Scum in linking to new pictures of the clones from these sets. Looks like the Barc trooper is a straight repack thankfully.

Assuming, of course, this isn't a test shot of the basic 2008 figure.  The Kashyyyk Trooper in the Chinese pictures are different from those in Hasbro's official photography, but just barely-- the camo markings are similar, but the Chinese shot is missing some markings on the figure's inner thighs and a few other colors seem a little off-- that could be the camera. 

The 2007 ARC with bluer blue and the 2003 ARC kama though... uh... wow.  That's awful.  I dig the yellow and the red ones though.

I just hope there will be a decent chunk of them-- the problem is that if there's decent figures in the set, here in LA at least, they tend to disappear pretty quick.  I never saw any of the Clone Wars Vol. 2 sets in the wild even once, and I saw a very limited number of the ROTS DVD sets.   I hope fans are as down on them as you cats are as maybe that might help their visibility when they hit.

The 2006 DVD sets, though, those were around enough.

Here's hoping they choke the stores with them.  If they're $10 a whack I'd buy at least 2 or 3 of each.   (I need a crazy articulated Emperor for my desk at work... and I gotta say, while I will no doubt change my tune before 2009, I like the idea of newfangled Stormtroopers.  I'd like 'em even more if we had some more vehicles for them to pilot.  I have no doubt a squad of these troops will be sitting in the side pockets of my Imperial Troop Transports soon enough.)   If they came with different guns (like a longer rifle) I'd probably be more giddy just at the notion of some armory variety.

I wonder if there will be a third one?  There's usually three, the Clone Wars sets being an exception.

If they do a red marked Snowtrooper and Scout Trooper next year?  Not so fine.

Hey, speak for yourself.  I still want my Super NES-themed Super Empire Strikes Back red Snowtrooper grenadiers.   Or if they gave us that Bue Stars Snowtrooper... I know I'd be waiting in line for one or six.

(Oh, the fun of collecting.  If it has a precedent?  We love it.  If not, or if we don't know of it?   We hate it.)

I think the red design is funky but I'd buy a couple, easily.   As long as the line isn't 50% wacky colored troopers every year, I'd gladly see more of these.  I'd even be happier to buy these if we started seeing those urban vinyl artist people start offering up designs just to make some truly unique and weird additions to the Imperial forces.