Excessive is definately a tough word to toss around on a website with dozens of individuals with thousands of figures!
If Hasbro wanted to put a limit on them, they sure could have as they have in the past (5 per household or whatever).
At least with the mail away, it's not leaving anyone in the cold like army building at retail. I don't blame anyone that does it, because we all have our desires for what our collection looks like. I was a big army builder for a long time, but that takes figures off the shelves for others (and is nearly impossible in an age of 1 figure per case, sometimes in only one assortment).

I haven't heard of anyone not getting a Fett, or getting one of the dreaded "unavailble" post cards that have been part of some mail-aways.

With the mail away, all anyone had to do was send in the $7 and some cardboard. I wish they would make more army builders available that way- Rebel fleet trooper, gamorrean, imperial commander, good stormtroopers,  etc.

I found this wave at Wal Mart (Minnesota), and didn't even know there were variations until I went to post the find. I found a non-painted scar evazan, and both Kithabas have the brown sweatband.

no wonder Evazan only has one good eye. He's packaged with the gun facing himself, secured with a rubber band. 

My last batch of checks were cashed on 4/27 (I had mailed some on that Saturday the 31st), so I expect to get those fetts in the next week or two. I do like mail-aways 

There is something about an active hobby versus a passive collection- As I find myself looking less and less for star wars items at retail, I feel less connected to the collection. I don't want to just echo myself, but as I see myself picking less up, I feel like I can let more go and not miss it-  I have to think the vast majority of us are in the same boat, where most of the collection is either in boxes or plastic tubs anyway. Speaking for myself, I far outcollected what I anticipated or can ever realistically use or enjoy in any signficant way. 

Another question for the thread might be "what does your final collection look like?"  I'm starting to spend a lot more time contemplating that question.

I'm a hoth luke and Dr Evazan away from thinking I'm 99% done with the retail figure game.

The next step is to figure out what I really want to keep for future displays, what the kids/nephews/nieces might want to have someday, and the rest will slowly be put up for sale or away in storage for a decision at a later date.

It's been a fun run, and I'll probably hang around and pick up an item here and there. I don't harbor any bitterness toward Hasbro- my collecting was going to come to an end at some point no matter what. Now it is time to figure out which parts to keep, and which to send to someone elses collection-

Jumping the shark indeed...

Make it two clone commanders, (Bly, Bacara, Cody, etc) and I am actually really interested. If I get this pair, it will be somewhat reluctantly, and that isn't the way I want to collect.

Well, I think it would be better received a year or two after the 3 3/4 line goes away for a bit. You have to create some hunger if you are trying to sell plastic food- Look how excited some of us were when bend-ems and little metal action masters showed up, because we hadn't seen anything Star Wars at retail in years. Those were painted bird-poop compared to what we get now, but the lack of anything else made them look like gold.

If I had known in 1995 how many figures would be produced, and how many versions of them, I would have said "I guess in 2020 I'll go back and pick up the ones I like." If a new line showed up now, I would simply say "I guess in 2025 I'll go back and pick up the ones I like." Not to mention that 80% or more of these things are worth less a year after their release, not more. Patience and passion seem like strange partners, but I get a lot more bang for my buck on the aftermarket than I do at retail.

Clone wars was the main line drawing my interest the last couple of years. I like the stylized look, because they are toys, and it fits with the cartoon. I would actually like to see them re-do the entire movie series in animation at some point, with a toy line to support it. Some of gentle giants animated statues are fantastic, and a toy line like that might draw me back in. 

With that being said, my own kids are growing up, and the window of time I intend to spend gathering too much more stuff is closing. Even if they came up with something completely different, it is really going to be aimed at a different demographic than the one I am headed toward-

Holy fricken' lick!  US $598.99!  Da ****... over!

Star Wars Kubrick DX 2 Hidden Secret AT-ST PILOT DX02 Chase 1P

Hmmmm, it does have free shipping....

the vinyl has been a great direction IMO, and getting Lando (vinyl), bespin Leia (vinyl), Lobot, and another shot at shiny 3-PO in parts would be nice. Plus the Bespin guard and Ugnaught are still waiting for their bricky release. I have a feeling Luke would end up in the wave, maybe in a little rougher shape than the series 4 release. I don't know what would make a good BAF though- the circular walkway where Vader tells Luke about that two faced Obi-Wan would be pretty cool, but seems pretty unlikely.