The Mystery Crates are turning up in Disney clearance outlets for $7.99 each.  I'm still hoping to get a C1-4B - it's the only one I'm missing.

Quote from: Jeff on February 16, 2024, 11:51 AM

Steve Evans updated his website with some nifty TVC photo-checklists.  Looks like the Ghost pack-in figures will get the special HASxxx numbering, while Sabine/Chopper will get standard VC#s. 

VC332 Sabine Wren
VC333 Chopper (C1-10P)

It's dumb to be annoyed by this... but I am. Chopper & Sabine should not have been mainline numbered. They should have either matched the rest of the crew with Haslab numbering or should have been left unnumbered. It is silly to have the number inconsistent across the full Mural set.

I would lean towards leaving them un-numbered if we're getting into that level of detail about this situation.  But I think it would be completely inappropriate for Sabine and Chopper to get that HASxxx numbering.  That's my opinion, for what it's worth.

I definitely appreciate the effort Steve put into putting together those sheets.  It does seem odd for this sort of thing to be offered outside of his official capacity with Hasbro.  But then that's part of the appeal of Steve being in his roles at Hasbro AND having a social media footprint - it gives him some flexibility.  And he has also been asking the community for feedback about them in an effort to make the information that much more complete.  I actually responded to his call for feedback.  He added a number of footnotes for several figures, and I asked if he might include an additional footnote for figures that have been reissued.

Quote from: Nicklab on February 12, 2024, 10:14 AM

Oh, I know the mechanics of how the canopy opens.  It just struck me as something that probably wouldn't have been designed that way if it was being made as a miniature or a full sized mockup.  The art department as well as the model shop at ILM always took a lot of cues from current and classic aviation in terms of design.  And that cannon just would never have been something that aircraft designers would incorporate in that particular position because it could have a negative affect on crew survival in the event of a bailout.

Ejecting would be a bit of a problem.

Just a bit!

Not to go off on too much of a tangent, but the whole reference to older aircraft as inspiration for new ships made me realize that another recent ship seems to have been inspired by some WW2 era fighter planes.  The fighters flown by Shin Hati and her squadron are really a lot line some of the radial engine fighters of the second world war - the FW-190, the P-47 Thunderbolt and the F-4U Corsair all have some similar lines to that new fighter seen in AHSOKA.

Agreed on the cannon.  How would the pilot be able to get in and out of the ship with that thing mounted right above the cockpit?

It's interesting that Chris made a point of highlighting the cargo space in the aft section of the E-Wing's fuselage.  And he seems to be aware that we need some storage for accessories.  It's nice to see it here, but I think that concept would be better explored with crates and containers in the deluxe figure / worldbuilding part of The Vintage Collection.

I was tempted to buy a second E-Wing in order to get the droid carded.  But then I was just able to find the Mandalorian that's packed with the N-1 for sale on eBay for under $40.  I'll probably do the same for this droid.  And hopefully Bib Fortuna, as well.

While the preorder window from Hasbro Pulse is limited, it looks like Shop Disney will be carrying the E-Wing when it arrives in the fall.  I'm just wondering if it's going to be in the parks before I receive my order?  Because I have a trip to WDW planned for the fall.

Quote from: Matt_Fury on February  7, 2024, 10:56 AM

I don't understand why they could not announce this in the livestream.

IMO, It's nice to have some surprises.

I agree!  Some surprises are welcome.  Especially following the reactions to the last livestream.  So many people were disappointed with the figure reveals because they already knew that each one was coming.  Granted, that was compounded somewhat by the figures that were pipelined at the end of that livestream.  But overall I think a surprise announcement is a cool thing.

I'm not usually one to take Hasbro's side on the way they do business, but it didn't go unnoticed how they're structuring the preorders for this E-Wing.  A preorder window of under 1 month plays up on collector FOMO.  And it's a big middle finger to the clearance vultures.  It's funny, some people at the SW The Vintage Collection FB group were commenting about buying the E-Wing on clearance.  What magical thinking led them to believe that Hasbro will put it on clearance before March 5th?  And they seriously believe that the Disney Parks would put this on clearance before 2025? 

Clearance vultures REALLY hurt the vehicle segment of Hasbro's Star Wars line.  Any time an exclusive vehicle got announced there would be a chorus of people saying "I'll buy it on clearance".  And they wonder why Target won't offer exclusive vehicles anymore?  It seems like Hasbro is forcing an uncomfortable conversation with some of these people.