I went to about four or five Targets on Sunday, and, of course, the last one had all the exclusives.  The ARC-170 Battle Pack was with the other Battle Packs (as it had been at other stores), yet all the vehicles were on the "overstock"-- almost out of reach above the Pokemon toys, but they had TIE Bombers, AT-RTs, and ARC-170 vehicles up across from the SW figures.   So apparently, they go in the wrong place.  The endcaps were still stuffed with Hoth/Endor UBPs but they seem to be moving nicely.

(I'm digging the ARC-170.  It seems to be better made than my ROTS one was, plus I love not having to apply labels.  The Bomber is nice too, kinda wish they did it grey the first time, but why buy one perfect one when you can own three barely different ones, right?)

OK despite the "Out of Stock", and the fact that I didn't put in an order till like last month, seriously, my order shipped...  So I'm guessing the pre-orders weren't THAT heavy on this, if they can go out of stock like that and I still got mine despite a super late order for them... 

Actually, they were really heavy-- our first shipment was enough to fill all pre-orders as of the day we had units in stock, plus a decent chunk for new orders.  (Or so we thought, turns out they went a little faster than expected this time of year.  I was a little surprised by how fast they went after the "in stock" message appeared.)  I believe units may still be processing so if your cards were charged, they should be on the way.  (I just got mine on Friday.)

Very much digging it so far except my Rav Bralor seems to have a bad eyebrow for some reason.   (The black ARC Troopers are a lot  better than I expected.)

I know this is OT, but I just found out that all of my TAC preorders with EE have been pushed out to January 2008!  Waves 7-9 and Legends 4...

Keep in mind that these are estimates based on information from the manufacturer-- it could show up earlier, it could show up later.  The manufacturers ship things as they become available and we send out our cases first-come, first-served.      Some of the items may ship sooner as cases trickle in, like the first shipment of wave 7 and some of those later Saga Legends cases.   (So even though it says one ETA date on the sight, keep an eye on your order status, just in case, as items will continue to arrive all December long, and in January, and, if last year was any indication, more  units might show up in February too.  [Saga Collection figures still pop in from time to time, I have no doubt this TAC assortment will have some legs as well.])

If for any reason you should change your mind, don't forget you can remove an item from your pre-order at (pretty much) any time as long as it hasn't shipped, and if it has shipped, we have 90-day returns.   It's our intent to fill your order as quickly as we can, and because of the luck of the draw, sometimes this will be before you see figures elsewhere and other times it will be after (or around the same time).

And now, they're out of stock -- arriving soon.  (That was fast.)   Fans love the Mandalorians!  (Can't wait to see mine!)

Well, how many collectors shop at Kmart regularly anyway?   These will probably do just fine with their regular customers... the ROTS Vader case w/ Vader and Obi-Wan seemed to do just fine without our caring about it, as did the Unleashed Bumblebee with bonus comic.  And both were about as exciting as the tins.

Is it 100% confirmed that those Battle Packs will only be available to purchase for one week?  I could be wrong, but I highly doubt that.  I think someone's getting their details wrong, or at least I hope so.

Right-- the contest is only for a week, the product will be there until Target marks it down on clearance.  I believe they used similar terminology with the shuttle last year and depending on the Target(s) you visit, that was there for more than a week.  It's possible they'll be that popular... but at $50?  I doubt it.

(Although yeah, at this rate I'm curious to see if the aisle will be 90% Hasbro product with all the exclusives.)

The Ewoks are appealing but what's with the use of the AT-ST again?  That tooling (along with the speeder bike) really have seen better days and now it's in two Battle Packs at the same time.

I really don't see the collector or parent plunking down the cash for both...

What, really?   I'm all over this action.   Might even get 2 of each.   If it is indeed $50 for...
- Scout Troopers x 2 ($14 retail)
- Stormtrooper ($7 retail)
- Han Solo ($7 retail)
- Chewbacca ($7 retail)
- Ewok repaints x 2 (let's split the difference and say $8.50 retail)
- AT-ST ($20 retail)
- Speederbike x 2 (let's go with $15 retail for the pair)
- Log action (two bucks?)

I'd buy the AT-ST, ewoks, and "grassy" troopers anyway.  I figure those are worth at least $40 right there.  I could take or leave Chewie, but a coatless Endor Han... OK, sounds good.   Even if I were to chuck Han and Chewie into a wood chipper I feel like I'm getting my money's worth, as the DO WANT stuff is close enough to the asking price that the DO NOT WANT stuff is inconsequential. 

I paid $25 for a black Scout Trooper with a black bike.  Obviously, I am not too smart.  However, $50 for two troopers, two bikes, and other stuff?  Good other stuff I actually want?  YES PLEASE.  I hope they do more with this concept going forward and include slightly more new stuff.   Not that I expect my Endor Dream Box with Sanyassan Marauders, Duloks, blurrgs, baga/bordok/whatever, Wilford Brimley, and so forth to happen... but I am nothing if not stupidly hopeful.

Seriously though, it's better than I'd expect for the price.   It's roughly $80 worth of product in a $50 box, and some of that product is pretty gosh darn enticing.   Plus... EWOK REPAINTS.   Finally.   (And no I'm not being facetious.)   The only way this thing could be better is if they included a third log and some sort of platform to make a makeshift Ewok Village out of it.

Here's hoping just enough people are turned off by this so I can easily get one of my own, and by one, I mean two.  (And by two, I mean like seven on clearance if it goes that far.  At which point I'll probably trade away the AT-STs...)

I read in one of the QnA's that this got corrected before production..

They did, it seems.  You can tell in the new photos we posted that they're a smidge larger.

I have these on order but am not too excited about them. I wish they were "real" EU characters. It would have made the set much more appealing.

Well, as you probably know, some are and some aren't (or aren't yet).   Omega Squad is very much a real part of the Expanded Universe and has been around for a while, plus has actually been requested by some fans.   The Mandalorians are mostly new, but they'll be in some of the books eventually.  I know it's not the same thing-- it's more fun to get a character you already know than one you haven't met yet-- but from the brief time I had to futz with the samples, I dug 'em.   (Especially now that it seems they made some improvements to them.)

But yeah, buy what you like.  The entire collection is just so vast where sometimes it pays to be picky.   I still don't really have a place for my Darth Malak figure outside saying "welp, I got it..."

I figure the "skull" clones are going to be serving as squad leaders for my white Clone Troopers.  As they need some sort of organization.