It's really a natural time to get EU into the line, what with the movies done.

I'm not crazy about the Marvel comic 2-packs, but they're okay to a degree.  I've read most, if not all of the Dark Horse titles so it's a bit easier for me to get into those sets.

I think Evolutions is a fine platform with which to get into the EU.  Getting characters like Darth Bane, Darth Nihilus, Mandalore and NJO Luke is very cool.  Especially since some may not be well suited to the Comic 2-pack format.

The EU basic figures are cool.  Especially the KOTOR and Clone Wars offerings.  I'm very stoked for Darth Malak and Darth Revan as well as Roron Corobb and CW Yoda.

As for the EE set?  Hmmm.  This one I'm on the fence about a tiny bit.  Case in point, the armor of one of the Mandalorians pretty much matches that of an EU Mandalorian named Kal Skirata.  But is that his name?  Nope.  Generating new characters for the sole purpose of making new figures seems to me like jumping the shark.  So I'm still a little skeptical about buying the EE Mandalorian and Clone sets.

You're basically talking about a collector shop.  There are plenty of them around.  Some do business the right way, and others don't.  But most of them follow this business model:

Sell toys - Not just Star Wars, but other "hot" lines that collectors are into (DC & Marvel Superheroes, Transformers, GI Joe, McFarlane)
Sell higher end collectibles - Companies like Gentle Giant, Sideshow, Master Replicas, etc
Sell comics - Comic books and magazines bring in a good deal of weekly traffic

More advanced stores will also launch an online store to complement the brick and mortar store.

As for your stock situation?  You have to have a number of different sources.  If you're going to do things on the up and up then you start up accounts with suppliers:  Hasbro, Diamond, Gentle Giant, Sideshow, DC Direct, McFarlane, etc for new stock at wholesale prices.  You can also sell older and vintage items, but that's going to be at market prices.

What a scalper will do is try to buy stock at local stores for two purposes:  create artificial demand locally, and markup the items so that he's going to make a profit.

As for making a business like this work?  It's like any other small business.

-Startup money.  You need to get enough money together so that you can establish your accounts, get a location, stock the store, pay any employees, etc.  And you need to be able to operate long enough that you start generating profits.
-Small business models usually do not turn a profit for 3-5 years from initial investment.
-Good location.  This can make or break a business.  You want to be in a place that's got a good ammount of traffic going by, but isn't going to break you on rent.


As for specializing in Star Wars?  In theory it sounds good, but you might be limiting your potential client base.  And that could doom your store.

Creating an unmoderated forum is only going to further divide the membership.  Certainly the idea of a forum with free speech is a great thing conceptually.  A vigorous public discourse is an essential part of a free society.  But as for websites that are devoted to Star Wars collecting?  It's probably not a good idea.

The track record is already there.  Just check out the RS and GH forums.  It got UGLY.  And it definitely spilled out beyond the political threads in those forums.  And to think that people would be able to compartmentalize those socio-political discussions from others is just naive.  People's belief systems are so strongly engrained that attempting to seperate them from everyday discussion is extremely difficult.  Certainly one would like to think that an adult can rationally divide their political views from interpersonal relationships, but that just isn't the case.  Plus, you have to account for the fact that not everyone is a good enough writer in a forum environment to convey when they're being serious, snarky or just ridiculous.  That in and of itself is a huge cause for many a misunderstanding.  And most likely you're also going to draw users who are here solely for that unmoderated forum and don't add anything else to the site.

The integrity of the site would definitely be placed in jeopardy by this kind of scenario.  I think you would slowly see a breakdown in general civility across the site, followed by flareups here and there in unrelated forums.  And I don't think it's fair to those moderators who are supposed to be shepherding Star Wars discussions to have to squash disputes that are going to be started in the unmoderated forum.

And you know what else?  There are plenty of websites all over the internet where socio/political/religious discussions are thriving.  They're just a few clicks away, and that's what those websites are dedicated to.  I don't think that a social experiment is the right reason for tearing apart one of the more cohesive and cool Star Wars collecting forums on the web.

I dig the Shield on the Destroyer droid, but the Clone with the Armor on (which was shown on the last day of the con) looks awful. So does Jango with his poncho off.

Really?  I hadn't seen an image of Jango without the poncho.  Linkage?

Hmmm.  Well Hayden Christensen was the whole reason for me to go to the Toronto Con.  If he's not showing then I'm not making the trip.  To me it sounds like he got a movie gig and cancelled the appearance.  That happens when you're dealing with actors who work.  The money of a movie or tv role is way better than what they'll make at a convention.

I thought I saw that ankle articulation too.  As for ball jointed shoulders?  Not a big deal.  Does this trooper really need ball jointed shoulders so that he can be better posed eating tofu with a whole mess of other clones that are also eating tofu?  Hmmm.   

Damn.  I had gotten to a point where I was tapering down what I was collecting outside of Star Wars, and Hasbro springs THIS on us.  Adventure Heroes is an easy pass for me, but the Basic Figures are too cool for school! 

I thought I saw something from Hasbro about vehicles, too.  Who knows what Hasbro is going to pull off there.  The only ones I can think of are...

-German Flying Wing (probably too big)
-Horses from Raiders of the Lost Ark & Last Crusade
-Truck to Cairo
-German Sub (obviously WAY too big)
-Dusenberg in Shanghai from Temple of Doom
-Chinese plane from Temple of Doom
-Life raft from Temple of Doom
-Elephant from Temple of Doom
-Mining cars from Temple of Doom
-Train from Last Crusade (obviously way too big)
-Venice boats from Last Crusade
-Biplane from Last Crusade
-Motorcycle with sidecar from Last Crusade
-Tank from Last Crusade

As for Sideshow and Gentle Giant's offerings?  Cool stuff, but I may be able to pass.

Scored a SL Darth Maul and a couple of Battle Droid 2-packs this morning.