It was a generally good livestream for TVC. The announcement of the Landspeeder was nice, even though it got leaked through that poster in Germany. And I am wondering if it might get a more thorough reveal over this weekend in conjunction with Toy Fair? It seems like something that Hasbro might reveal in one of those pieces that they do in partnership with USA Today.
The Ponda Baba reveal was predictable and meh. I get the push for Cantina aliens. And it was predictable since Hasbro announced the Dr. Evazan re-release. I've seen more complaints than I would care to see about how Ponda Baba is being re-released. And mostly because I wonder if these people have been paying attention at all to the way Hasbro has been doing things the past few years?
As for the two deluxe figures? I think the price will definitely be a deterrent, and it's going to affect sales. I don't know if Hasbro is aware of how many collectors buy as many as 3 of a basic figure release of individual characters. Because I WOULD have bought 3 Momaw Nadon's if that was a basic figure release. But with the deluxe price point I am only going to buy 2 at the most.
I like the Momaw Nadon figure. It looks great, and the accessories are a clear nod to the past - the E-11 harkens back to the Kenner era accessory, the double barreled blaster is pure POTF2, and the staff is like the TSC release from 2006. Does all of that justify the $24.99 price point? Ehhh
The Imperial Armored Commando looks really good. And I expect the double, triple or quite possibly the quadruple dip with this one! This deluxe versions seems to be a strategic choice on Hasbro's part from a sales perspective. I think they want to see how many of the army builders will bite. And the set is clearly designed around a very specific scene in The Mandalorian season 3, "The Return". This trooper has EVERY weapon that the Imperial Armored Commandos have as Din Djarin fights his way through a gauntlet of these Commandos who are standing guard by the barrier shields leading to Moff Gideon's command center. Looking through the scene they have the SE-14R blaster pistols (included), vibro knives (included), riot batons (included), shields (included) and jet packs (included). The troopers also have blaster rifles (included) seen in the larger battle sequences. The only weapons that didn't seem to be included were the twin blaster pistols that Din Djarin took from the final pair of guards he defeated.
So what else do I expect with the Commandos? I think we're likely to see a troop builder 4-pack, plus a single carded officer with the red markings on the armor. And eventually I think Hasbro will do what they did with the Dark Trooper, and it's likely that they'll release a single carded TVC basic figure of this trooper.
