I remember one thing that Derryl DePriest said Hasbro-Star Wars was going to try regrading case assortments:  Offering cases of new figures with repacks that would be geared towards troop builders.  These cases would be steered towards online retailers like EE, BBTS and the other outlets that were selling figures by the case.  In the forums it seemed to be a popular idea.  But in practice it turned out to be a disaster for the retailers.  The assortments didn't sell through.  And it was evident that this move came well after the army building phenomenon had reached it's peak.

I think that the Hasbro Star Wars brand was run pretty well from the time that Derryl DePriest came aboard (circa 2004) through about 2008.  It started to take a turn when the economy tanked in late 2008.  Coincidence?  Probably not.  And we've seen a good number of toy licenses underperform in this same time period (2008 - 2012).  Anybody recall some of the massive bombs in the toy aisle in recent years, like the Green Lantern line?

Frankly, I don't think the case assortments are designed to help collectors.  Hasbro tried this and it bit them in the ass.  The case assortments are clearly designed to replenish brick & mortar retail.  Case in point:  Darth Sidious and Darth Maul as carry-forward figures.  When the TPM wave hit those were two of the most difficult figures to find from that initial TPM case.  At retail now I am only starting to see the TVC Darth Maul every so often.  Because that figure is selling through, and is worth replenishing.

I finally found a Y-Wing Scout Bomber today at a TRU in the greater NYC area today.  Very happy to pay retail for this, since it was going for at least $40 from the scalpers on eBay.

We've talked about a 6" Scale here before and I for one am more in favor of it than I ever was...I really think they could do some really cool stuff.  Just don't start with 6" TPM figures

Does anybody have a memory?  Do we need to relive the Mega Action Figures all over again?

When did they get Wave 2 over there? JTA is always on about this 2-4 week delay from figures arriving over there to them hitting here but that seems completely unpredictable to me.

It's conjecture, but somewhat rooted in the realities of distribution. 

Asia tends to get product first just by virtue of the geography in the production/distribution chain.  Figures are produced in or around Hong Kong, and go into the global supply chain from there.  It's a lot easier to get figures in the Phillipines or thereabouts earlier simply because HK is that much closer to them than the North American ports of entry like Seattle, the SF Bay or Los Angeles.

Once product makes it to the U.S., you've got several stops before anything makes it to a store shelf.  First, U.S. Customs.  Then it's onto a Hasbro distribution center.  The next step in the chain is to get product from the Hasbro distribution center to the distribution centers of retailers, and this could involve multiple stops.  And then it's eventually onto stores. 

However, this is the ideal situation.  It doesn't account for how one retailer may have existing inventory that they want to run through before they take more deliveries.  Or potential shortages from the supply side.  This is where the conjecture of "2 - 4 weeks" goes off the rails, since it's not accounting for the inventory issues that any one retailer may be dealing with in their supply line from Hasbro.

Online retail does offer something attractive:  they do shorten up the supply chain from Hasbro to the customer by a couple of steps.  But they also have a much more limited inventory than a major retailer.

I absolutely love just how many sites have joined in.  GH, Imperial Shipyards, JTA, Jedi News, SWAN, & Yoda's News are all in on it too!

I get that feeling, too.  Based on my own conversations with him, I think he needed some time off.  But there could also be a delay in the return of Curto to the online collecting community.  I know of at least one site that has their staffers sign a no-compete contract.  And given the scale of RS in the community, I think it's entirely possible that he may have had similar circumstances.

I took advantage of the sale today and picked up a couple of Battle Droids.  But when it all rang up, it ammounted to buy one, get one free.  The 2 Battle Droids plus the Pod Racer pack ($19.99) came to $32 and change after tax.

I just finished A Dance with Dragons during a business trip.  There was a good bit of politics to slog through, but there were also quite a few moments of brilliance.  The last dozen chapters were just breathtaking.  Crazy stuff happens.  Major characters die (surprise surprise).  The reveal in the epilogue was awesome (shocking even though it was hinted at earlier).

Hopefully the last two books don't take as long... especially since it'd kill the TV series.

The political maneuvering in Meereen did drag out for a while.  But the ultimate payoff in the Slaver's Bay storyline has been pretty fantastic.  And it's continuing to get more complicated with Dany's disappearance from the city and new players getting involved there.  It's very difficult to keep the discussion spoiler free though.

A quick blurb from George R.R. Martin about book 6:

So, his interviewer ventures, knowing that this is a delicate subject, how is that sixth book coming? (It's not uncommon for years to pass between instalments.) Any idea when it will be done?

"When it's done," Martin responds, as brusquely as can be managed by someone wearing suspenders, big eyeglasses and a sailor hat. Then he softens a little. "I've given up answering, because I've clearly proved that I'm lousy at estimating these things," he says. "I'm consistently guilty of an excess of optimism, 'Oh it will be out at the end of the year', and I mean it when I say it, but the end of the year comes and goes and I get a thousand emails asking why. So I think it's better now to be like Michelangelo and say it's done when it's done."