Quoting myself the SW The Vintage Collection Facebook group, because I simply can't bring myself to go through this again:

I can’t express how much IDGAF about these finalists. We’ve got one candidate that might be interesting, but is largely in contention because Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead) checks an O96 box.

And the other(s)? A masturbatory exercise that makes people in the collecting community feel better, but will likely not succeed in persuading Lucasfilm Licensing to change their position on the Tonnika sisters. I spoke with actress Christine Hewitt at Star Wars Celebration 3 about this - in 2005. She couldn’t explain the situation, and neither could Hasbro at their SWC3 panel - when the guys from Sandtroopers posed the question to Hasbro with Hewitt in attendance they would not say anything. Fast forward to today? And the Star Wars brand team at Hasbro has turned over. The people at LFL licensing have not. I stopped banging my head against the wall on this topic years ago.

I thought I understood the general concept of this poll at the outset. But I don’t think it’s achieved its goal. I haven’t had a candidate from my list in contention since the first round. I liked some of the top ten, and was persuaded to stay in it until there were 4 left. But the structure of the poll makes me feel like it’s a card trick where the choice is being forced on you. I don’t feel like the goal of this poll has really been achieved here. It’s simply reaching that 50% +1 via artificial means. And I’m just not going to vote in this round.

I’m interested to see how the participation numbers look if/when that data is released. Did it increase or decrease over the course of the process?

Quote from: Nicklab on December 12, 2023, 12:38 PM

I'm taking Hasbro at their word for the $24.99 price.  Because if you've been in a Target store lately, you've got to see all of those $28 deluxe figures lingering.  Hasbro pushed pricing too far, and I think they've come to recognize that.

No doubt about it.  No one is buying Paz Vizla for $33.48.

My question though, is what is Deluxe about this Jango Fett?  That is 100% a basic figure IMO.  Over the last year or two, Hasbro raced right pass inflation into price gouging.

Don't you know, Rob?  It's paint apps!!! 

I think it's ridiculous, too.  It's like the Boba Fett tax all over again.  But this time it's anyone NAMED Fett.

I think the real culprit here is that volume sales are down, and costs are up for manufacturing in China.  That's the end result of the growth of the Chinese economy and its labor market - increased labor costs, and the "global supply chain" issues.  Plus, those license royalties have got to get paid somehow.  So who's going to do it?  Us, of course.  And Hasbro is all too happy to give us that "gift".

On this Navarro Cantina E-Web Stormtrooper... now that I have a bunch of extras, are there other scenes they'd make sense to put one with?  At this price I'll keep just the Stormtroopers if need be, but I'm wondering if I might space them out in a way that makes sense. 

The E-Web shows up again on Tython in "The Tragedy".  Whether or not it's a match for the one in TESB remains to be seen.  I haven't seen a comparison between the modern one and the version in Empire.

Pass on the figures.  I had been hopeful that Hasbro would articulate these figures at least as well as the Marvel Epic Heroes figures.  But those hopes have been dashed.  I'm not going to buy these mostly because I'm not the target market.  And that's going to remain the case until there's a character in the Epic Heroes line that just has not been, or is unlikely to be offered in the Vintage Collection.

My hopes for the Epic Heroes line lie with the potential for vehicles.  So let's wait and see what develops.

As a year end exercise it seems worth breaking down some of the numbers for The Vintage Collection in 2023 so that perhaps we can get a sense of what might come in 2024.

This is what that bore out:

SINGLE CARDED FIGURES - 28 x FIGURES
21 x NEW mainline carded figures
7 x REISSUE carded figures


FIGURE 2-PACKS - 6 FIGURES
3 x 2-packs


RETAILER EXCLUSIVE FIGURES - 7 x FIGURES
3 x Walmart exclusive carded figures
3 x Target exclusive carded figures
1 x Disney / Pulse exclusive figure


EXCLUSIVE MULTI-PACKS - 1 SET - 4 x FIGURES
1 x Entertainment Set w/ 4x carded figures


VEHICLES - 4 x VEHICLES / 4 x PACK-IN FIGURES
3 x pack-in carded figures
1 x pack-in loose figure


PLAYSETS - 2 x PLAYSETS / 2 x PACK-IN FIGURES
2 x pack-in figures


DELUXE FIGURES - 6 x FIGURES
3 x mainline deluxe figures
3 x exclusive deluxe figures ** - all re-purposed from other releases


TROOP BUILDER SETS - 19 x FIGURES
3 x sets of 4 x figures
1 x set of 7 x figures


I have to wonder if the line will deliver about the same number of releases in 2024?

I agree to an extent about the whole "Checking A Box" mentality.  Because in some respects it seems to be more about the packaging than anything else.  I think that 2006 Momaw Nadon is a great figure.  But as we get further along, 2006 seems further and further away.  Some figures hold up well over time.  Others?  Not so much. 

I know you invoked VOTC, Jeff.  And I do find the reasoning of some in the TVC focused part of the community to be a bit too rigid about their criteria.  Hasbro always referred to VOTC and VTSC simply as "VINTAGE", and were always being asked about "When are you bringing Vintage back?"  Out of that first wave of VOTC figures from 2004, I still think that Han Solo is one of my favorites of all time.  And the Legacy Collection Ben Kenobi is a classic from 2008.  But VOTC is almost 20 years old now!  And I get the sneaking suspicion that Hasbro will be commemorating the 20th anniversary of "Vintage" in 2024.  They've already announced at least 4 figures of characters that were part of the three VOTC waves.

I think a good thing that the poll has done is up-end some preconceived notions within the community.  Especially the OT centric people who can't abide anything else.  I love the OT.  Ever since I saw the first film in 1977 I was hooked!  But I also recognize that over 45+ years both Kenner and Hasbro have covered a lot of Original Trilogy ground in exhaustive fashion.  Something beyond that seems worthy of attention.

As for the Finish the 96 movement?  It still seems to have traction in collecting circles.  But it doesn't seem like Hasbro is actively trying to move that forward quickly at all.

There were some big upsets in Round 1 of the voting.  Check out the Top Six contestants following the first round of voting:

-The Tonnika Sisters
-Cobb Vanth (The Mandalorian Season 2)
-Asajj Ventress (The Clone Wars)
-Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead)
-Baylan Skoll (Ahsoka)
-Shin Hati (Ahsoka)


LINK TO THE VOTING FORM

Quote from: Nicklab on December  1, 2023, 03:22 PM

From what I’ve heard about Ezra that figures look will be as he’s seen in the holographic message.  But he will not be in hologram deco.  I know.  It makes such perfect sense.

That's what I was hoping for... but still wished it was on the "present-day" Ezra rather than the "recording" Ezra.  But I guess that gives us a Rebels version of him.

I'm happy to have ANY figures in The Vintage Collection from REBELS.  My appreciation for that series has only grown over the years.  But it seems like Hasbro is definitely dancing around the "exclusivity" of the figures that are being included in The Ghost Haslab campaign.