It's funny, since we have mentioned pilots Adam has not responded. Coincidence?

Probably.  Adam's weird like that, sleeping in one the weekends and not checking the forums and all.

Just look at it from where I sit.  At this point, I really am in no position to give any additional hints.  Even saying "mmmmmaybe" or "no, try again!" would be more than I can do.  Sorry I can't say more!

Here's hoping you dig it, etc. etc. 

Yep... and wouldn't it be to their benefit to reveal what it is regarding pre-orders so they don't end up with having them on back order again like they did with the Mando sets?  Maybe it will be revealed at Comic Con at least.

Yes, it will be revealed at Comic-Con.

A boxed set of protocol droids would be pretty dull, especially in light of this year's offerings.   E-3PO and U-3PO are both pretty similar to previous releases, so while I personally wouldn't hate seeing them, it wouldn't make for a thrilling boxed set.  Not to poo-poo it, but it doesn't strike me as something collectors, kids, or casual fans would jump on with any sort of fanatical rage.   (And I *love* this stuff.)  Hopefully the final product will tickle your fancy, it's plenty neat.

Quote from: ruiner on May 28, 2008, 03:27 PM

Read his first post again.

Droids is what I'm guessing he's hinting... but that could mean just about anything... so what's really been revealed?  Yeah, there's a big "droid factory" theme this year, so I suppose it makes sense to do more droids, but I hope it's not astromech related again... I really don't want to see more astro droids at all... 

I do want more droids however, but am more interested in the KOTOR type models... maybe we'll get lucky and see some new sculpts thrown in here. 

I was specifically referring to the original poster's comment that in our previous 2006 exclusive, "droids aren't a theme."  I say Droids are a theme.   YMMV.   Droids may or may not be in this set-- I'm not at liberty to discuss specifics.   Sorry if I wasn't clear earlier, I was just responding to the poster.

...but yeah, no KOTOR.  Not a big fan.

Is it a "themed" set like the last one?  The Droids are only themed in that they're all droids, but otherwise they were tied by nothing (well, for the most part).  But the last set was obviously Clones with Clone training Mandalorian Instructors.

I dug the themed thing for the last set...  Is it more like that then, in that there's a backstory tying everyone in the set together?

A bunch of the same thing is still more or less a theme, they're all creations manufactured by the in-universe company Industrial Automaton.  The other sets also had themes-- we did a box of Clone Troopers, a couple of Holiday Jawas, and a mix of Mandalorians to train a Clone army.

I'd say there's a good theme behind this new one.   And it is just one-- a box of six figures, not multiple boxes of several figures like previous exclusives.

Lame figure? Grievous is the best animated figure of the wave.

Assuming that this is an animated figure, of course.

Does anyone have any opinions of Grievous' starfighter?  I've seen it at retail a couple of times, but I've kind of been on the fence with it, so I've passed so far.  Is it worth picking up?

I absolutely love it.  The landing gear is a little tricky-- at first it seems like bad, saggy landing gear, but the truth is that the legs have to be pulled out until they essentially click into place.  It's not so much a bad design as it is bad execution, as it almost feels like you need to employ Excessive Force^TM to make it work properly.  Oh, and it has this folding down fin thing on the back that really doesn't add anything to it.

The seating area is perfect-- you can remove part of the console to fit larger figures.  I had no problem getting in the few Obi-Wans and Grievouseses that I tried.  The pull-out firing cannons were pretty neat, although I just leave them hidden, and the deco is great.  It feels good for what you pay for it ($25ish) and I can say that unlike some vehicles, I'm not sorry I own it.

That said, it doesn't do much.  You have some landing gear, seating for one, and some pull-out firing cannons.  It doesn't do anything a Jedi Starfighter doesn't do, the mean reason to pick it up is if you think it looks cool.

As far as new ship molds since 2007...
Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator < AT-AP < Grievous Starfighter < V-Wing

If you're the kind of person inclined to like vehicles, oh yeah, get this.  If you're not a vehicle fan, this isn't going to convert you.

Well, you never know-- the Sail Barge could end up being prominent in The Clone Wars.   If a Clone touches it, I'm sure it'll turn to gold.  Eventually.

In ROTJ, the sail barge didn't do much-- a fat guy was choked on it, and some stuff happened on the top deck.  There aren't a lot of neat rooms or compartments like the Falcon/Star Destroyer had.  I'm not saying I wouldn't like one, but there really isn't all that much to it that came from the first 30 minutes of ROTJ.  You've got some fighting on the upper decks, a place for Jabba and his cronies to sit, and maybe something to go swing to a skiff.  Oh, and some gimmick to allow Luke to crawl up the side and throw a guy out, plus at least one giant cannon on top (that we already have).  If they can find a way to stuff a pair of skiffs inside, now that'd be pretty significant.   It's awesome but lacks "oomph."   Hasbro's shown such poor support for The Mighty Jabba since 1995 that I'd be genuinely astonished to see this item come happen without having significant TV-era support expanding its role (and capabilities).  

Or you know, giant fan outcry, which is always good to have.

It really is a shame more big ticket ships didn't get more screen time in the six movies.  I mean, there's the Star Destroyers, and some of the fighters, but beyond that most of the big ships were blink-and-you'll-miss-it creations.  I blame the flanneled one for not giving his art department's awesome hardware creations more screen time.  Here's hoping television gives all these classic ships the support they need to make our next obscene toy purchase.