Well, the information that Hasbro passed along to us on this set at C4 has finally been (visually) confirmed, though I think Adam was suggesting earlier that it was accurate as well.  This is indeed two separate 7-packs, ala the prior Death Star Briefing and Republic Commando sets, and not some crazy 14-pack as some folks have suggested.  Hopefully we'll get some pix up shortly...

Starts today! 

We'll have pictures eventually, not sure when they will start rolling in though.

How 'bout tonight? (Preview Night) 

I like this one, where the nutsacks at HasbroToyShop.com are already capping off their line just a few minutes into Preview Night, and creating all kinds of wonderful vibes as we head into the rest of the week... 

11:30 am (Pacific) - What’s New and What’s Coming from Hasbro:
...a special sneak preview of the 2008 product line.

I wonder how much of their presentation is going to focus on their new Indiana Jones line, which they're going to unveil for the first time at their booth on Friday afternoon...  Hopefully they're saving at least a few fun surprises for the SW line though, outside of everything we've heard of and/or seen already.  Considering there were hardly any new announcements that came out of C4 (AT-PT and Grievous Fighter), I'm hoping they saved some nuggets for SDCC here.

Yeah JackOT, Jeff speculated on the Darryl DePriest name-fun there, and it makes sense, plus Jeff also speculated on the character's "EU background" that was written up for him, and how it did actually tie pretty nicely (and subtle too), to DePriest's background with the GI Joe brand at Hasbro...

Slothus just chatted with Hasbro's Derryl DePriest down at Preview Night at Comic Con, and Derryl confirmed that that specific figure is indeed based on him.  So there ya' go.  Jeff wins! 

Oooh, spiffy looking!  Thanks for sharing, Beth.  Jealous, I am.  Hopefully mine's here soon though.

I guess I wasn't even paying attention on the Shadow Trooper helmet, or maybe I'd originally just blown it off as "EU", but now I'm second guessing myself in not wanting that one too.  Anyone else order it already?  Ugh.  I just can't decide... 

For what it's worth, I discussed the playset/diorama issue with Hasbro at length at C4 last month, and believe it or not, they're actually finally starting to entertain the idea of delving back into this realm.  I thought I mentioned this somewhere already, but if not, they said their priorities on potential playsets/dioramas would be Death Star I, Cantina, Jabba's Palace, and possibly Death Star II.  It was the first time in the last several years that they didn't throw out a "no way, fat chance, get lost" response, which was certainly encouraging.  They also mentioned they finally understood that folks might actually buy additional figures to display in such dioramas, which may help make up a little bit for the lower/unacceptable  profit margin they've long feared on these things.  They also said they were exploring the best way to bring some of these items to market (as exclusives, or modular sets, or whatever).  If I was a betting man, I'd expect to see these in the next several years...

They did however say (as they have the past couple years) that there's no way they'd license out the potential playset rights to GG, Sideshow, MR, or anyone else for that matter.  I discussed the amazing Attakus pieces with them, but don't recall now what they said about the licensing issues on those pieces.  I'll double check on that at Comic Con though.  They did realize that some of the more affluent adult collectors were more than happy to fork over the crazy cash to buy the Attakus Falcon and Death Star sets to use with their Hasbro figures, which they thought was rather surprising (and eye opening).

So there ya' go (and yes, I realize I'm posting in an already locked thread).  Maybe we'll reopen it a little later, once the horses are feeling better.  But I've gotta admit, I enjoy beating them too (just ask the Hasbro reps what a pain-in-the-ass I am)...

- M

Happy 33rd, Richard!  Maybe Kevin will take you to a titty bar for the special occasion.  If not, I'll have to go to one on your behalf, so LMK...

Wow, over 4 months since this thread got posted to?  Sheesh, Scott's turned into a sorry-ass trader in his old age... 

But at least he sent me a quick payment for some McQuarrie swag I sent him, so no complaints here.  Thanks, Cocky.

- M