JediDefender.com Forums
Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => 30th Anniversary Collection => Topic started by: Scott on September 21, 2007, 04:33 PM
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I'd like to nominate this year as the greatest year ever in SW collecting.
The basic line has been phenomenal
McQuarrie Figures are long requested and superb figures in every way
Long requested thing like: Hermi Odle, Curved Bar Pieces, Vaporator, More EU figures, Ewoks, Academy Biggs etc etc
Comic Packs
2005 was great in my eyes as well with ROTS and all of the great stuff we got that year
Whatever year the OTC was out was also a lot of fun but it didn't near have the amount of figures we are getting this year.
I just am really enjoying the quantity to quality ratio and want to actually say to Hasbro that they are doing a great job!
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I concur. They are doing almost too good of a job.
ICMG please.
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I agree. Great mix of all six movies and the EU.
Now if only we could get Noa from the second Ewok movie as a figure...
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Without a doubt. It really has been the best year ever and i dont think they can top it.
(Maybe giving me a Yarna figure would do it ;) )
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Good call, I wouldn't call it my favorite year (since I don't buy EU or concept figs), but the best year for sure because so many concepts were fulfilled this year.
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I definately agree.
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It's definitely been fun to see many long awaited figures come to fruition, especially in such well articulated and sculpted ways (for the most part, of course; there's always something to bitch about ;)).
2005 was the year I enjoyed collecting carded figures the most because of the OTC style, but 2007 has been the year I've enjoyed collecting loose figures the most. 8)
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I'd agree too.
At the end of last year I was real down on collecting with the 'final 22' and all that repacked repainted nonsense.
This year they've delivered a great mix of core characters and new characters, OT and PT, high quality sculpts, great accessories and a vintage wave to boot.
A+
Now someone make sure the guys at Hasbro see this thread.
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Now someone make sure the guys at Hasbro see this thread.
Good point! We need to be very clear about this for Toy Fair, Comic Con and any other opportunities to discuss with them the successful formula this year.
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In many ways it is the best year ever. The sheer volume and selection alone of figures - hundreds of them - pretty much qualifies it right there, but the combination of McQuarrie figs, hall of famers like Hermi, Yoda/Kybuck, VTAC Snowtrooper etc. and great fan gestures like huge accessories, Fan voted figs in the legends line, all make it the best ever.
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I'd agree wholeheartedly Scott... I was trying to think of better years and came up empty.
In 2005, ROTS started strong really, and was lead in with a great preview wave as well as 2004 product leftovers that were outstanding, but 2005 sort of fizzled besides the Evolution assortment figures. Quality took a bit of a drop around the Fall figure line-up and I was disappointed with the likes of the repaint waves, and figures like Captain Antilles that year. Not everything was rosey by any means... Just some odd trail off to end the year.
2006 I was personally disappointed in... I felt a lot of figures last year lacked in terms of overall quality, usually my gripe of articulation was the focus. Derlin, Veers, Scorch, etc., etc., etc. 2006 had some cool figures, dont' get me wrong, but there were definite lacking figures and a price-hike to boot!
2007 rolls up and holy ****... First wave, all bsically SA figures save for the miner, and he's still a big hulking decent figure. 2007's first wave trumped most figures from 2006. I mean, sure Momaw Nadon's a neat resculpt, but the figure was a 6-point statue basically. Disappointing.
Anyway, 2007's had:
-Comic 2-packs for a paltry $10... While not all figures in the series are great, or even my cup of tea (I have the Marvel figures personally), the $10 price for 2 figures and a comic is really ideal stuff. Outstanding sets IMO. Making 2007 greater themselves, and really satisfying a LOT of folks (myself included) who do like EU.
-Return of Evolutions... News is all it is, but it's good news regardless. Love it, want more of it.
-Vintage's Best Wave Ever?... I'd say yes. 2007's Vintage figures are, to me, their best work ever from Hasbro. If Luke and Leia are the "flop" of the 6 figures, and they're better than many of the previous vintage figures since the line's concept, then I think we got some great figures. Bossk's a major upgrade, IG-88 may be the greatest figure ever, Luke finishes a main character, Endor Leia does the same, Hoth Han is destined for reworking in the line, and the Snowtrooper is in-frickin'-credible and destined to get re-released himself. Vintage was a huge part of 2007 IMO.
-Basic figure quality is UP... From sculpts and paint applications to articulation and accessories, Hasbro has a marked improvement overall in 2007. You're getting large accessories with figures you have to put together, and in some cases you buy the figure to get simply the accessory (and still don't feel cheated!). That's friggin' sweet right there. Then you get super articulated army builders out the whazzoo, to the point it's tough to keep up with and army build them. Removable gear and working holsters are almost a standard. Softgoods is being used liberally and in good ways. Sculpting is on-par with Hasbro's best work in many cases.
-Coin Pack-Ins Seem Popular... Compared to past pack-ins, I think Hasbro has their winning deal with the coins. People in general seem to like them loose and want a set, sometimes even if they don't open their figures normally.
-Obscurity... While Hasbro's giving us staples like Luke resculpts, and clone army builders, nobody can deny the coolness that is the Cantina aliens, or figures like the Jawa w/mining droid. Or what about Hermi Odle? Or Concept Art figures (a whole line), or video game figures, or Clone Wars extras... Hasbro's gone out of their way to do cool figures that hardcore fans want. I mean, Rebel Honor Guards? **** yeah! And he's the best rebel army builder ever made too! Go figure!
I'm anxious for 2008... Evolutions, more obscurity, hopefully the quality remains high (or even better?). Very little I'd gripe about in '07... Price I feel is high. Compared to other lines, $7-$8 a figure in this scale is slightly unreasonable to me, especially with the rate at which Hasbro repacks (Legends, battlepacks, etc.) things to counter costs across the line overall. Youv'e got a lot of "pure profit" type items being sold, and sold through too (line's popular it seems) at retail, so Hasbro isn't hurtin' with this line right now I'd imagine. Besides that and some minor things here and there (availability's been frustrating with some items, and I'd be happy to see UGH done away with all together, as it just attracts the wrong element to our aisle in the stores) usually with specific aspects of a figure, I'm quite pleased.
2007 is definitely my favorite year this far... 2008, I want a new SA Fleet Trooper, maybe other Rebel troops (brand new), and a nice ICMG. :)
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I think price and availability are really the only problems with this year. Other than that, yes, I'd say this is the best year ever. The concept figures, the widely available SA clone rereleases in the Legends line, the comic packs, the HUGE accessories (Vaporator, Torture rack, Kybuck, etc.) have all made this year great. And with an octupparra droid and a Gree resculpt in Wave 1, and the return of Evolutions, 2008 is looking as if it'll be just as good, if not better.
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Good topic.
I'd say this year in terms of what Hasbro has done has been about dead even with 2005 for me. But since this isn't even a movie year, this might qualify for the overall best job by Hasbro... I really say that because of a nice variety of vehicles, including some new ones as well as the Comic Packs, some decent Battle Packs, and the stellar work with the McQuarrie figues and the recent Wave 5 that has come out.
Over the past two months, finding new(ish) figures has gotten better too. I'm not as happy with the distribution this year as I was in 2005, but overall I can't complain.
There's a few things that I think are lame like the Coins and UGH and a disappointing figure or two, but other than that, a very good year as it's been aimed at collectors.
Now if we find out that Sideshow is making some killer playsets next year or 2009, that will easily top 2007 (for me at least in collecting).
But the best thing about 2007 for me has been becoming a Dad. :)
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I really like the coins - they're a vintage throwback, and they're much cooler than holograms or stands if you ask me. I wish they'd keep doing coins from here until the end.
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I could go without coins or holo mini figures. Instead of that, I'd rather they include an additional accessory that is useful for the figure, an alternate head (with a different facial expression), etc.
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I could go without coins or holo mini figures. Instead of that, I'd rather they include an additional accessory that is useful for the figure, an alternate head (with a different facial expression), etc.
I think the coins are the best pack-in they have done. I love them. Going back to the stands isn't terrible, better than the holograms but i think i would prefer if we got larger accessories and weapons as well. The alternate head idea would be very cool.
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I could go without coins or holo mini figures. Instead of that, I'd rather they include an additional accessory that is useful for the figure, an alternate head (with a different facial expression), etc.
I could be wrong, but I'm guessing it costs more to tool up and manufacture a plastic accessory than it does a coin that only needs a different etching and then they're all the same.
Besides, we managed to get those accessories this year anyway.
The alternate head thing I'd be all over too, but Hasbro's always avoided that - preferring to just release the figure again later with the new head.
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The year isn't over yet. I can't say. I liked last year an awful lot.
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Had the Holo figures been sized like mini holos (and sculpted in neutral poses and whatnot) to the basic figures (IE: Mini holo Vader like in the AT-AT, a mini holo Amidala, a mini holo Rebel Pilot, etc., etc.), and were thus a "useable" accessory, I would've liked them a lot more.
Stands I could live without, or would rather they were the decorated variety. Coins I kinda dig as a side collectible though, I agree.
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I really like the coins. Granted it would be nice to always have a stand but we can all get those easily enough in bulk from somewhere. My only gripe is the basic price point of $6.99. I have left several on the pegs for that reason. The $10 tag on those vintage figures is getting insane to especially when the stores can only sell them at the normal prices of $6.99 or less. However, the comic pack prices are great at $10 for 2 figures and a comic book. Lots of vehicles to choose from and variety should your stores get in product of course.
Now they just need to work on the availability especially with X-Mas shopping coming up.
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Great topic Scott. This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately too, and I agree, I think this is the best year of collecting yet. The quality of figures we've gotten in the basic line has been amazing for the most part, and like many have mentioned, so has the variety. We've gotten a nice mix of the movies, Clone Wars, and various EU stuff. The McQuarrie figures are obviously a success, and they've kept the straight repacks in the Legends line for the most part - which seems like a good thing. Also, it seems like most of the "army builders" - whether PT or OT - have been fairly easy for everyone to get. There are always exceptions depending on your area, but overall, I think it has been pretty good.
The VTSC lineup was maybe the best yet, and they sold well (and quickly) around here. Honestly, there hasn't been a single "vintage" figure at any of our stores in town for awhile now. Our Targets never hit the clearance since they sold at normal price, WM seemed to get one shipment that sold through and that was it, and TRU just had a steady sell through. The accessories have been a nice bonus this year as well - and there's just been so much stuff that we didn't think we'd ever see that is getting done at this point. I'm someone who likes the coin pack ins as well. I can honestly say that there would be a couple of figures I might have passed on to save some money this year, but I didn't want an "incomplete" coin album. If the "extra" slots in the album were labeled with all the exclusives/gold coins/etc., I'd be in trouble. From a selling standpoint, its probably one of the better pack in ideas aside from the BAF concept that other lines use. The coins become a collection unto themselves, and maybe help to sell some figures that don't have as wide of an interest.
Anyways, everyone's pretty much mentioned the points I'm making here too - but its been a strong, well-rounded year. The price is the main stinker of the line (and distribution has been kind of spotty this year so far - and running behind), but aside from that the product quality itself has been really good. I'm hoping that Hasbro gets that message, and we'll see a similar make-up to the line in 2008. The hardest thing for me has been just keeping up because there is so much that I want to get :P.
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I'm going to go against the grain and say that no, 2007 has not been the best year ever for collecting. That honor will have to stay with 2004, which gave us the OTC and the VOTC. This year has been a good year for figures, but a bad year as far as collections go.
OTC and VOTC were cohesive collections. The 30AC is a mish-mash of (conceedingly well-made) figures from both trilogies, most of which are an attempt at "never-before made figures," which by year twelve of the modern line really means "obscure figures." I mean, Lava Miner? LIN droid? Cut scene Biggs? Rebel Honor Guard? Good figures, bad collection.
Saga Classics could have brough back great figures to tie the line together, but chose to offer lots of clones and droids as a grab for army builder money. Good figures (I guess), bad collection.
The Vintage line works only as a continuation of the previous two vintage lines. While it was neat to see ESB Luke and Han on packages like I found them on in '80 (while still speculating what ESB was going to be like) this is not an iconic, cohesive collection of heroes and villains like we had in '04. Good (even some great) figures, bad collection.
The comic packs are great for selling loose EU figures and a comic no one really wants, but they can hardly be said to make a cohesive line since the comics jump around and don't lend any sort of cohesiveness to the collection. Good figures (except the marvel paints), bad collection.
Then there is packaging...who could argue against the OTC being the gold standard of packaging designs thus far? The one thing I'd say they have going for them this year (the asthetic they seemed to push) is that the figures in the packages look like they actually come from the Star Wars galaxy.
Then there is distribution. Here it is fall, and half the figures have yet to really show up in stores. The case packs are awful. OTC seemed to dump everything virtually at once, in more even numbers (most cases being twelve unique figures) resulting in a Star Wars section that looked like it was trying to sell a varied collection of Star Wars toys, rather than legions of Galactic Marines. Or Fire-embossed R2s. Or Kenobi-cloaked Vaders.
I am glad for the new stuff, but only because I have the old stuff. On it's own, I'd call 2007 superfluous.
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I'd have to respectfully disagree with 2007 not being a good year and that TAC is a bad collection. I think the wide diversity of the line in 2007 has been a major strength, and to be honest, the OTC stuff was mostly just rehashes, and disribution was very poor (at least in my area). Really it seemed the OTC line for the most part, was just something to hold fans over as Hasbro was concentrating on ROTS product.
Getting so many obscure figures has been fantastic in my opinion. Characters like the Lava Miner, Rebel Honor Guard and Academy Biggs, along with all those Comic Packs has been very refreshing. These are figures that for the most part are being made for the very first time.
Distribution and Price are probably the two things that I haven't liked about 2007, but it's still been a very strong year. The only comparable line in my opinion is the ROTS line, and what a fantastic time that was!
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Well, lets look at it this way...
Imagine, if you will, a 30AC coin album filled with coins for the following:
#1 Luke Skywalker (Dagobah Training)
#2 Yoda (Dagobah Training)
#3 Spirit of Obi-Wan (Dagobah Training)
#4 R2-D2 (Dagobah Training)
#5 Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot)
#6 Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight)
#7 Han Solo
#8 Chewbacca
#9 Princess Leia
#10 Darth Vader
#11 Biker Scout
#12 R2-D2
#13 C-3PO
#14 Boba Fett
#15 Obi-Wan Kenobi
#16 Stormtrooper
#17 Wicket
#18 Princess Leia (Bespin Gown)
#19 Cloud Car Pilot
#20 Lobot
#21 TIE Fighter Pilot
#22 Greedo
#23 Tusken Raider
#24 Jawas
#25 Snowtrooper
#26 Luke Skywalker (Bespin Gear)
#27 IG-88
#28 Bossk
#29 Darth Vader (Hoth)
#30 Gamorrean Guard
#31 Bib Fortuna
#32 Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard Disguise)
#33 Princess Leia (Slave Outfit)
#34 Darth Vader
#35 Han Solo (AT-ST Driver)
#36 General Madine
#37 General Lando Calrissian
#38 Imperial Trooper
#39 Holographic Emperor (SSW.com Exclsuive)
(Or better yet, just take a look at this thread (http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=4436.0) where I swiped the list from. A picture says a thousand words.)
I think that would have been nicer than the one we have this year (especially if it had then also contained gold vintage coins for the 12 VOTCs as well.) I mean, are we even getting a coin of Princess Leia for the album this year? Or Chewbacca? (Concept Chewie doesn't count.) Well, at least we'll have our Pax Bonkik commemorative coin. Whoever that is.
OTC was almost completely rereleases, I think I bought twelve of the thirty-nine offered (as opposed to maybe thirty of the hundred or so offered this year.) OTC's purpose was to distill the best of what Hasbro/Kenner had done for the nine years prior as far as core OT characters and must-have* secondaries to put a ready-made collection on the shelves at the same time as the OT DVDs hit. (*--the exception that proves the rule being the Cloud Car Pilot.)
If I could only have one year's worth of figures and that was it, I would take 2004s in a heartbeat.
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I agree with Muftak in a lot of ways, and the core of my carded collection is the OTC set because it had a defined beginning, end, and set the standard for me on what I want a cardback/package to look like. But it didn't include anything from the prequels, and that leaves a lot of collectors wanting.
2007 has an amazing offering, and like 2006 seems to be bent on sheer overload for the obsessive collectors. I picked up most of the TSC figures, and decided enough was enough. So far in 07 I have limited my purchases to some clearance items (Order 66 and YTSC), a few figures from the main line, and the Mcfigures. Frankly, TSC put my collection on overload, and 07 doesn't have the cohesiveness I would want to see in a defining year. No basic leia or chewbacca?
Take my opinion with a grain of salt, as I admit to being overwhelmed by the volume and prices of the current products.
But I hope they revisit the OTC cardback design and do a year of 75-80 "core" figures from all of the movies/cartoons/etc with good sculpt choices, great cardbacks, and zero pack ins (maybe a mail in offer for a display base or something). And drop the price a buck while they are at it.
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I suppose most of the way I view things on comparing the OTC line to any other line stems from being an opener. Packaging isn't an issue with me, nor are the coin books, UGH stuff, etc. I either give the coins away or pitch them, same with the stands and the holo minis. Since my focus is to create dioramas/customs/photonovels, those gimmicks just take up extra space in my collection.
I will admit, from an aesthetic standpoint, the OTC cards were very nice though and it was a nice collection. I do feel that it really lacked in some areas - but all the "new" figures were pretty cool I think. The rehashes though were kind of lame - and there wasn't even an Emperor in that collection, or a Royal Guard. Add to that some of the older sculpts they used, and I saved a lot of money when that line came out because most of them I could find loose at a collector show if I wanted them for just a buck or two.
The whole coin concept would have been a lot cooler if it was ONLY original trilogy characters like you said, and would have probably been better suited for OTC. Maybe what they should look into doing somewhere down the road is about 35-40 figures from the original trilogy on POTF style cards, with the coins. That would harken back to the vintage days a lot better I think - especially if they used the exact same characters from that line and used the most up to date sculpt of characters (like using the Early Bird Chewbacca instead of a Mechanic Chewbacca again). I'd still probably pass on collecting coins, but do have to admit there would be more of a nostalgia feeling for me.
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I really don't think you could make a case for this year not being the best we've had.
I don't want to echo too much of what's already been said, but I remember at the end of last year, when we were starting to hear rumors, none of us believed them. We said they were too good to be true. Why would we have thought that if we had already gotten something better?
Looking at a list of this year's figures, almost every one is something that we have been talking about and asking for for a while now: Hermi Odle, CZ-4, SA Mace, Academy Biggs, Fireplace Padme, Galactic Marine and Airborne Trooper, Red Jumpsuit Clone, Smuggler Lando, Apartment Jango, Droideka w/shield, new Ewoks, "Burly Mustafarian", Rebel Honor Guard, SA Super Battle Droid, Han w/torture rack, SA 4-LOM, new Ceremonial Luke, a moisture vaporator(!), and on and on. Almost every figure is entirely new, and the few that aren't are significantly modified versions of great sculpts: VOTC Han with new head, headset, arms, calves, and modified belt; VOTC Stormie with removable helmet; R4-G9 repainted as R2-D2 with new flame stuff; and RotS Pilot Obi-Wan with new head, electrostaff, blaster, and rebreather.
As was mentioned earlier, we've also gotten a lot of really nice accessories, even some things that could easily have been put in a "deluxe" assortment, except that they're of better quality than what we've seen in that line. Moisture vaporator, Kybuck, Umpass Stay's drum, Han's torture rack, R2's cargo net, Droideka w/shield, curved Cantina sections. There's some great small things too, like Vader's cloak base and all the Ewoks' goodies (even little individual arrows!). Even the repaints they put together to replace Force Unleashed are good choices. (Mostly. I mean, Pax Bonkik? Wtf?) The poncho Clone is nice though. Personally, I think it would fit right in with a regular wave even. The Naboo guy was an obvious one that really needed done at some point. The BattleFront Vanguard is a cool idea too, and the R2-B1 will be welcomed, I'm sure.
Then consider things like the McQuarrie figures, the interactive R2/SuperBD, quite a few minor/EU characters (even KotOR), Holiday Special Fett, pre-Cyborg Grievous.. Hasbro has really gone above and beyond this year. And that's just the basic figures. We've also gotten quite a few new vehicle sculpts in the starfighter lineup, and some spiffy repaints too. The Vintage wave was just awesome, IG-88 possibly being the best figure ever. The comic packs seem to have been a real hit. And you can see why when we're getting two figures and a comic for $10 and many of them are all-new sculpts and characters that have never been made before, and probably never would be in the basic line.
We obviously underestimated Hasbro in our thinking, and it really makes me wonder what's in store for us next year and beyond..
So let's not call 2007 the best year ever. Just the best year so far.
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I could go without coins or holo mini figures. Instead of that, I'd rather they include an additional accessory that is useful for the figure, an alternate head (with a different facial expression), etc.
Or just drop the price point!
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Im happy with is years collection. I love the art work on the cards. I wish they we do one wave for the legacy figures get the vader,r2,chewy, ect., and just get it out the way. My Fav figures are Darth Revan,Hermi, Pre-Cyborg GG, and Concept Boba. I would give this years collection a 8.5 out of ten. If they would have only produced one Vader and R2, I would have given it a 9.5 ;D