I ended up just getting the Battle of Takodana set for $47.99, which is around what the set should cost to begin with.

Amen.  In my opinion this may be the most overpriced / lamest set they've produced in years for the Star Wars line.  (I know the new mega Hoth set is giving it a run for its money.)

About the only time I pass on a <$150 set is if its a slightly updated version of a set I already have.  Some have been overpriced and I've eventually gotten most for 30% off when the value gets better, but if this set were marked down 30% I'm still not sure I would pull the trigger.

Just bought a Dremel motor tool to help with some of the trimming and sanding.  I've yet to get started, but hope to spend most of Memorial Day Weekend working on it.

Quote from: Diddly on April 21, 2016, 12:54 PM

Prince Dead at 57

UGH. 

Double ugh.  That guy could put on one hell of a concert.

In the early 90's we used to go out to his Paisley Park complex after bar time when he would have jam sessions with his band The New Power Generation that would last all night long.

I'd add the following two:
- Rey from the original jedi temple on Skellig
- C-3PO red arm and if you want to stretch you could do an R2 since he hasn't been released in years

I agree with you Jeff - there isn't much left to mine in this movie without getting fairly obscure.  You could pack an occasional creature from Maz's castle in future waves, but would have to be careful not to overdo it, or make it an exclusive multipack where you don't jam the pegs with blink and you'll miss them figures.

I have a feeling there may be an interesting reveal around the Snoke character in one of the upcoming movies and they want to hold off until that happens.

Ultimately I would much rather see them release a wave or two heavy on Rebels or even Clone Wars figures if they're looking to fill the gap.

I like the design/theme as well. It's funny though that they chose the bad guys versus the good guys or "Rogues" as it were for the design. Some thing about this design screams vintage Marvel comics as well as Walmart t-shirt at the same time. 

Don't they almost always choose the bad guys on the card / box design?  Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, etc.?  I'm not sure if this is because they get all the cool costumes, or if there is some consumer psychology involved, but it seems like its almost always the baddies.

I thought we were seeing a Force ghost of her disappear.

I would hope that if she died that it would have been obvious and there could be some more meaning behind her death.  e.g. she sacrificed herself for Kanan and Ezra, and then when she dies she appears as a force ghost or something.

I only watched it once, but as far as the "explosion of the temple" went - I thought it was more like an electromagnetic pulse, or something that maybe wasn't super destructive.  As others have said, if Maul can survive everything he has, then Ahsoka can survive a temple explosion.

Par for the course.  My stupid and tragic tale of trying to acquire a TFA movie poster.  Kids, let Grandpa Dave spin a yarn. 

**********

Back in 1998-2005 (the old days) - in the days of LucasFilm and ShopStarWars.com, a new Star Wars movie would be in the works.  Excitement would build.  Articles would be written.  Fanboys would speculate and salivate.  A trailer would be shown in the theaters accompanied by the release of a "teaser movie poster".  Interested consumers would go to ShopStarWars.com and buy the teaser poster for $20 plus shipping.  The transaction would take a few minutes and a week later a poster would arrive at your door.  The same would be true of the theatrical release and the theatrical poster.  Five minutes of online shopping, $20, and one week later UPS would leave it at your door while you tended to other things.

Spring forward to 2015 and the days of Disney running the commercial operation.  New movies would be in the works.  Fanboys would salivate.  Yet there would be no way to purchase either a teaser poster nor a theatrical poster other than cheap downsized reprints.

A few fast acting people would be able to acquire these posters, but only through Disney's movie rewards program.  Quantities were very limited, so you better act fast. 

"What is Disney Movie Rewards", you might ask?  Its a loyalty program for people that buy Disney DVDs.  You might also ask, "Why is that the only sales channel available to get a movie poster.  Shouldn't these be available at Disney parks, or Disney stores in the mall, or maybe even Disney.com?"  "Why should I have to buy ten copies of Air Bud to get a Star Wars movie poster"?  All good questions.  Perhaps the Hasbro team responsible for choosing figures to make that never appear in the movie might have lent some help in making these genius decisions.

So kids, Grandpa Dave has spent probably upwards of 80 hours trying to get the theatrical release of this movie poster.  His old bones weren't quick enough in getting ten copies of Air Bud before all the posters were gone (seriously, anybody need a few copies of Air Bud?).  He spent hours driving across town twice on movie premier day because a local theater was supposed to be selling posters that turned out to be small one sided copies for $25.  He as Googled, and searched online, and logged in DisneyMovieRewards.com daily for four months trying to get a poster.  He has made countless bids on eBay only to lose out to people willing to drop upwards of $100 to acquire these posters.  No luck.

Well, after all this he finally managed to "win" an auction on eBay for the theatrical poster (he is still looking for a teaser poster) for $100 on Tuesday.  Thanks to USPS the poster tube arrived with a giant spot caved in.  Thank you for a $100 creased poster. 

If you're doing the math.  Old days - 5 minutes and $20.  These days - 80 hours and $150 ($100 for the poster and $50 for ten copies of Air Bud).

And then today, Friday, out of force of habit Grandpa Dave checked DisneyMovieRewards.com, and for the price of ten Air Bud movies I can now get a The Force Awakens movie poster.

To Bob Iger, and the leadership at Disney - may a real (not animated mouse) crap in your bowl of Cheerios tomorrow morning.

*************
I know its way too long, but I just had to vent. 

Especially in this case all the Empire imagery is very familiar and key to the story.  It sounds like a darker movie and having villains on the box makes sense.  And I doubt we'll see all that many battles with X-wings or any other well known Rebel symbols.

If they put Jyn or some of the other currently unknown Rebel guerrillas on the box it wouldn't be very recognizable.

I think the design is sweet.