Unleashed figures

[JediMAC]

I definitely agree, Nick.  The Bobas are selling through fast, but the Grievous figures are clogging shelves big time out here already.  I don't really see the Luke selling too well, since it sat pretty good last time around (at 75% of the price (and less, at clearances).  The WM Vader will probably move a little better though, just 'cause it's Vader, but yeah, the RH Vader would've been an infinitely better choice, since that thing goes for top dollar on the secondary market.  I think we'll probably see Yoda and the Stormie get re-released again though, and maybe a couple others.  But all these rehashes certainly aren't going to regenerate much interest in the line, since most folks have them all already.  Granted, the new packaging is definitely nice, if not a bit too big for displaying more than a couple.

Is that the Vader with the removable helmet?  I have the first release, but never got the other carded version.

First release was the RH Vader with Meditation Chamber base, which is the uber-expensive one to find now.  This "new" WM exclusive one is the subsequent (non-RH) version, which was much easier to find at retail just a year or two ago...

[Mikey D]

First release was the RH Vader with Meditation Chamber base, which is the uber-expensive one to find now.  This "new" WM exclusive one is the subsequent (non-RH) version, which was much easier to find at retail just a year or two ago...

I don't think so, Matt.  The non-removeable helmet with the Bespin Gantry was the first Unleashed Vader - first on the old style cards, not the pretty artwork ones they've used recently.  Then came the removeable helmet one with the meditation chamber.  Then came the first Vader re-released on the pretty artwork cards.

[Morgbug]

Mikey is correct.

[Nicklab]

Mike and Brent are both right.  The first Vader in the Unleashed line was the version that's just been re-released.  It came out in the second wave of the Unleashed line.  That wave also had the AOTC Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala.  The RH Vader was one of the last pieces on the original style cardback and shipped with Slave Leia.  That wave was VERY difficult to come by.  And when you factor in Vader's popularity compared to other characters in the Saga, it makes the RH Vader a tough piece to get.

Grievous is something of a puzzling choice for these reissues.  He was definitely more difficult to get in comparison with Obi-Wan and Anakin in ROTS Unleashed wave 1.  But overall it wasn't that difficult of an Unleashed piece to acquire.  As for the Stormtrooper and Yoda?  I still see a lot of people clamoring to get those pieces.  As such you would think that Hasbro would be trying to capitalize on the demand for those characters.  After all, none of those secondary market dollars wind up in their pockets.  Which has to lead you to wondering WHY Hasbro chose Jedi Luke and Grievous.  My guess is that Hasbro felt that they needed to get a major hero in the lineup.  To them that must mean Luke.  They certainly weren't going for Hero/Villain balance, because 3 of the characters being reissued at Target and WalMart are villains.  Perhaps they don't regard Yoda as a major enough hero?  And with Grievous, I think that there was a concious effort to touch upon Revenge Of The Sith, because every other character in the lineup is an OT character. 

[JediMAC]

I don't think so, Matt.  The non-removeable helmet with the Bespin Gantry was the first Unleashed Vader...

Whoops, I stand corrected then!  I didn't follow the line much in those early days (aside from the nipple Padme you sent me, Mikey  ), and always figured the earlier version of Vader must have been the rarer version, which has been such a bitch to track down in recent years.  Guess not.  So what the hell made the RH version so much tougher than the gantry version?  Must've been lower distribution numbers or something, 'cause those two aren't even close to eachother...

[Nicklab]

Distribution for RH Vader and the first issue of Slave Leia was pretty low.  Most people who've been with the Unleashed line since it's inception in 2002 will cite that the first two waves (Jango & Maul in wv 1; Vader, Padme & Anakin in wv 2) shipped too heavily and eventually pegwarmed.  That made wave 3 (Mace & Dooku) tough to get and even tougher to get was wave 4 (RH Vader & Slave Leia).  Things got better from there on, but RH Vader remains one of the hottest Unleashed figures ever.

There are currently 2 of them on eBay.  One guy has a starting bid of over $130 for RH Vader.  It's just proven to be a VHTF piece.

[Morgbug]

I concur, the first two waves way overshipped, though it was the second wave that was crazy abundant.  I picked up one of each for $5 CDN at Walmart on clearance and even then they didn't move too quickly.  I think I hooked up about 6-7 other people with the Vader at that price as well.  Wish I'd bought every one I'd seen and packed them away

[Darth Gamboa]

Yesterday I spotted the Exclusive Vader at Kay-Bee for 20 bucks, the packaging is exactly the same as the Best Buy one last year, except for the Best Buy sticker of course.

[Jim]

Has anyone spotted the Walmart exclusives yet

[nitro]

not yet...i haven't been to walmart in weeks though. i'm going tonight though so i'll keep my eye's peeled...the only unleashed figs i've seen there were some chewbaccas on clearance at walmart last month for i think $6.88 each (the one's with the green carded design) the last time i went (there were a few pegs loaded with them). i've seen the boba fett's and grevious' at target earlier in the week (the general looks to be the weak selling one).

[aka DaBigKahuna]

Roger...roger - these have landed in Arizona.  I saw about a dozen each of the Luke and Vader on an endcap yesterday.

Has anyone spotted the Walmart exclusives yet

[MetalJedi]

My WM used to have a endcap overflowing with the Luke and Vader Unleashed. Now there's like 2 Lukes and 3 Vaders. Im sure those will be gone soon.

Now the Grievous and Fetts are just sitting on the endcap at Target. Not sure why. IMO those are the better of the two.

[DoctorPadawan]

Area Wal-Mart Number One had an endcap PACKED with Vader and Luke this morning, plus another three of each in the overstock shelf above the regular SW section.  I was kind of surprised that they were 19.76, since I thought the Grievous and Fett were another case of Target's "We Charge More Because We Can Get Away With It" philosophy.  Weird.

Oh well, Target's got about 10 Grievii sitting on their endcap, so combined with the Luke and Vader situation that is sure to develop (Wal-Mart: We Underorder What People Want and Overorder What They Don't Want), I think the Unleashed line as a 7" series is dead as a doornail.  I guess I'll be selling that kidney to get the RH Vader after all. 

[MetalJedi]

I guess I'll be selling that kidney to get the RH Vader after all. 

That's what I did. 

[JediMAC]

I guess I'll be selling that kidney to get the RH Vader after all. 

I wouldn't quite yet, Michael.  Hasbro's gonna be dumping a few more of these Unleashed rehashes, I think, and they're well aware (or at least I made them well aware at SDCC) that they definitely chose the wrong Vader to re-release, as the RH version is much rarer and tougher for collectors to acquire.  They seemed to realize that, I suggested not to give up hope yet, as more rehashes may be coming down the pipeline a bit later on.  But yeah, based on how bad these four (three, probably, since Fett will move) are gonna stagnate on the shelves, it'd be a far stretch of the imagination to think Target or WM would be going for any more of these Unleashed exclusives, especially considering how much shelf/retail space they take up in those fancy new cylindrical packages.

But who knows, maybe TRU has got one or two lined up as well...  Yoda, Stormtrooper and Padme all come to mind as possibilities as well.  But I'd definitely prefer to see that RH Vader make it into the mix, as that's the last OT one I still need.