As I wrote in another thread (probably very off-topic, but I started out rambling about Vintage, so...), Hasbro's handling of this line has pretty much driven me out of collecting any of their properties, with the exception of Transformers, which you can occasionally find SOMETHING from. Having to go pretty much online only on a limited collecting budget last year was the major straw that broke the camel's back, but their continual seeming self-sabotage on SW recently has just taken any and all fun out of what used to be an enjoyable part of my life. I was spending more time and energy trying to find pieces and getting very little emotional return on my "hobby", so I just decided that, unless I see it at retail, I'm not interested.
It's enabled me to find things that truly do bring me enjoyment (namely Lego, but also gave me time to get back into X-Men comics, and I've been catching up on the stories/books I've missed since graduate school lately), and that don't cause me to develop an ulcer because Hasbro didn't ship them, or the only place I can get them is on Ebay for 40 bucks a pop. I really feel sorry for completists (if they're still out there), because I know better than most what a need to be complete can do to people on an emotional level, especially when you can't be complete.
The thing that really strikes me as telling about where I'd rather put my energy has to do with this being Return of the Jedi's 30th anniversary. That is a HUGE deal for a film to still be relevant and loved after that time period, and when asked what they planned to do to celebrate, Hasbro said they were doing nothing special. Sure, they're rereleasing the TIE Interceptor in a vintage box, but you'd think there would at least be a wave of figures they could release to celebrate. But no, instead we get yet another prequel wave with a few ANH figures mixed in.
Lego, on the other hand, has (in the last year) released or will release:
-Jabba's Palace with Bib Fortuna, Leia Boussh, Jabba the Hutt, Gammorrean Guard, a B'Omarr Monk, Chewbacca, Salacious Crumb, and Oola
-Desert Skiff with Luke, Boba Fett, Han, and Barada
-A-Wing Fighter with a pilot, Han, and Ackbar
-Rancor Pit with Luke, Gammy, Rancor Keeper, and the Rancor
-Jabba's Sail Barge with Ree Yees and Max Rebo (amongst others)
-UCS B-Wing Fighter
-AN EWOK VILLAGE WITH 16 MINIFIGURES
-Two planet sets (Endor and Forest Moon) with minifigures and mini-ships
Even Sideshow is doing that incredible (yet out of my price range) Darth Vader 1/6 scale doll, but Hasbro can't do anything outside of reissue a 4 year old toy in a new box at (what will likely be) a 10 dollar price hike? I just don't get it. The only thing that would be more bizarre would be if Hasbro did ANOTHER wave of Episode I figures in the Black Series line. Then again, we've only seen the first two waves, so maybe they have another Qui-Gon or Daultay Dofine on the drawing board because "kids love random Neimoidians."
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go build a Lego Superman set because, you know, it's fun.
