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.

Here's a link to the first round of voting.  You get to select 5 out of 10

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScuoPbdW6vjOxz-sucGzKMq65VPCB8xvO6Wpa8bQeGxa5RLrQ/viewform

I think the demographics might be a part of the situation.  But with TVC as well as past lines the Original Trilogy is really well represented.  Aside from ultimate versions of the main characters (see the whole "Make the Mains" movement), it's getting difficult to come up with something truly new and exciting for the OT.  Hasbro's just not going anywhere near as deep with background characters as they did before 2013.  Things that seem important there now is the whole Finish the 96 concept, and I see an increasing amount of discussion around making things like a TVC Momaw Nadon so that Hasbro can get closer to having all of those original 20 back characters on a Star Wars card.

What I can see from the standpoint of the social media centered community is that Clone Wars presents some fresh territory with a lot of characters that just haven't been made in a realistic form before.  If the budget for the TVC line wasn't so tight we almost certainly would have gotten Asajj Ventress and Savage Opress a long time ago.  We're only just getting Count Dooku coming up in TVC in the next few months, and it's been at least 13 years since Hasbro made the last really good Dooku.

And on the flipside, the demand for Sequel Trilogy figures remains pretty low.  And I think we can all get a good sense of why sentiments have developed that way.  I see a lot more demand for figures from the Disney+ series, ROGUE ONE and even SOLO than the ST.  Again, it's because of how little it's all been covered in comparison with the OT.

Where I do think the OT is going to thrive in the near term is with the Imperial officers.  Hasbro is going to run that into the ground really fast!  So I expect figures like Admiral Ozzel and General Veers to get delivered sooner rather than later.

Silly me!  It's such an obvious choice, after all.