Best Figure of TAC - wave 7

[JediTricks]

Continuing with our "best figure of 2007" poll series...

Which figure do you consider the best from TAC (30th Anniversary Collection) basic wave 7?

Remember, you can use whatever criteria you wish, it's entirely up to you. Maybe you just like the coin, or you were glad to find it, or its articulation was perfect, or you found one painted flawlessly. Whatever makes it the best in your book is fair game.

When we get to the end of the line, we'll put the winners up against each other.


And if you haven't voted in the Wave 6 poll (http://forums.sirstevesguide.com/showthread.php?t=36759) yet, it'll be open until the 18th.

[jediguy]

Concept Han, because he looks just like the concept artwork
he is customizable with all of the removable stuff he has

the ewoks were second for me, because there are 2 on the card, with arrows and the dagger and the spear
R2 with the net (it's not a cargo net, it's a capture net) and litter/stretcher thing I liked as well
Tycho was nice too, with the removable helmet and skull cap thingy
the spirit of Hayden just should not have come to pass, but his outer robe is pretty cool

[TheRealDubya]

Tycho -- great sculpt that can be used time and time again for years.

[Battle Droid]

Don't have any of these, so no vote for me.

[Sinscia Fat'o]

Tycho, just because it was a cool favorite that wasn't a Concept figure, those are hogging up the spotlight.

[dindae]

Another great wave

Ewoks: Romba & Graak - 2 very good figures probably my second choice

Tycho Celchu - two removable head covering and a new sculpt for rebel pilots make this my pick

Anakin Skywalker (spirit) - I'm glad they made the figure but it needs to have a more bluish tint

R2-D2 (ewok net) - a good take on R2 that gave us some useful accesories

Concept Han Solo - a very good figure but concept figures are not as high on my wish list as on others.

[TheDarthVader]

I had to vote for Tycho because I am a big fan of pilot figures. I also like aliens and droids, but R2 is not a must have. The Ewoks were a close 2nd.

[Tycho]

I voted for the Ewoks. You get two - that's the best value right there.

Tycho Celchu - sure, it's "me" and they needed to bring out an A-wing pilot figure. So it works.

Anakin Skywalker (spirit) - Ugggh.

R2-D2 (ewok net) - I didn't need this either.

Concept Han Solo - He works as a random for Cloud City or Mos Eisley dioramas.

I'm indifferent to this wave but most excited by the Ewoks.

[pegger]

2 ewoks - 1 package. 'nuff said.

[OC47150]

Since I couldn't vote for more than one, I picked McHan, but Tycho was a close second.

I plan to customize a few A-wing pilots. It's a good one to customize.

[plasticfetish]

Of this wave, I've seen 'em all, but only bought Tycho and Han so far. I'm voting for Tycho Celchu. Han is great, but the paint's been a bit off on a few that I've seen. The Tycho figure is a really fun toy... but I'm amazed that Hasbro (the company that gives everything a blaster) didn't give it a blaster.

[Snowtrooper]

I voted for Tycho. Its nice to have another rebel pilot and they did a real good job on this one. The helmet could have been made to fit a little tighter, but it still looks ok. I plan on buying a few extra to make a squad of A-Wing pilots.

1. Tycho Celchu
2. Romba & Graak-A very close second. Sculpts look great and they have nice accessories. A potential army builder for some.
3. McQuarrie Han-A good figure, but not that exciting in my book.
4. Anakin Spirit-I know they were trying something different with this figure, but it just doesn't work for me.
5. R2-D2-Basically a repack with a few accessories. The net is nice, but I can't get the ropes to wrap around R2 on the stick carries.

[figrin bran]

I voted for Tycho as well. It's nice to get a Rebel pilot that doesn't use the Dutch Vander sculpt.

[sebillba]

Tough to choose again, as I won't get to see any in the plastic until Christmas morning. I passed on R2 altogether, and very nearly didn't bother with Anakin either, but decided I'd probably want it one day when the other ghosts are redone in this style, as I know I won't be able to pass up a Yoda.

So I only really wanted Tycho, Han and the ewoks from this wave.... and Tycho doesn't really excite me that much, so it's a toss up between the other two. In the end, I think I'm most looking forward to the ewoks, so am voting for them.

[Ji'dai]

I bought four of the five figures in this wave so there was some stuff here that I really liked or wanted.

My top picks for this wave are the Ewoks, Tycho, and McQuarrie Han. I had planned to get at least the Ewoks and Han from this wave, and only bought Tycho after I saw him in person. Tycho is an impressive figure, but not my favorite. I'm not all that familiar with the character's backstory either.

So it's a toss up between the Ewoks and Solo for me. I've always been fond of the McQuarrie artwork since I was a kid so it's great to finally see the concept art brought to life in my favorite plastic medium. The Ewoks were great too - new sculpts, nice accessories, plus there were two of 'em in the package. Ai-choo-wawa! I just gotta go with the Ewoks on this one.

I admit it, I only bought R2 for the accessories. I've always had a weakness for Endor stuff, from Speeder Bikes to Biker Scouts to the little fur balls and their village. Got to hand it to Hasbro for having the foresight to include this R2 in the same wave as the Ewoks. I'm not sure I would've bought the droid if that hadn't been the case.

I thought Anakin Spirit was a horrid figure and had absolutely no problem passing on him. Though even if the figure was better, I'd still pass since I hate the inclusion of Hayden in the new version of ROTJ.

[Cane_Adiss]

I haven't seen most of waves 6 or 7 on the pegs yet but I'll vote anyway.

1. Romba & Graak ~ Hands down the best of the wave. I'm not a huge fan of ewoks, but I buy all the aliens so these were a must have for me. Perfectly done. Bought them as soon as I saw 'em!
2. Tycho Celchu ~ The only other figure from this wave I've seen in the wild. This makes me excited for a new A-Wing even tho I don't collect vehicles.
3. R2-D2 w/ net ~ The accessories look cool to me, but I have more than enough R2-D2's. Between all his different figures he's becoming one of the worst pegwarmers in my area.
4. Concept Han ~ A bearded Han in purple? Will only buy this because it's a McQuarrie figure. I may even pass on this one.
5. Spirit Hayden ~ :tired: No thanks.

So I bought Tycho and the ewoks, but this wave seems kindof a downer for me. Kinda like wave 6 although 4-LOM is one of the best of the year! Still haven't found him tho. I CAN'T BELIEVE Hasbro let us down with the spirit "Anakin" and didn't include an interchangeable Sebastian Shaw head.

[jedi master sal]

Wow these polls are coming fast, lol.

Okay so here's how I break this down:
Ewoks: Romba & Graak: My top pick. Two figs on card, decent accesories, plenty of opportunity for custom painted fur. I bought 3 sets of these with the notion of customizing two sets to give me more and different ewoks.
Concept Han Solo: Excellent representation of the McQuarrie artwork. Custom potential here.
Tycho Celchu: Decent enough figure. Articulation is superb. I just don't like the head sculpt and the soft helmet looks WAY to big and doesn't allow the hard outer helmet to fit over top of it.
Anakin Skywalker (spirit): Had this had Sebastion Shaw's mug on it instead of Hayden's it might have been higher up on my list. I do really like the ghostie colors of the fig and the shimmering shear robe is nifty.
R2-D2 (ewok net): While the figure is just okay, the accessories really notch this up. I hate to make this last place. I'll have some uses for the fig and am glad Hasbro made him.

Not really any "bad" figures in this wave persay, just some outshined others in it.

-Sal

[obi-dad]

1. Romba & Graak: No brainer for me. I've got 3 so far and hopefully will be able to paint these figs. These are beautiful!!!

2. Tycho Celchu: I'm actually surprised this isn't winning, but as of now, it's a close 2nd for me and it looks like everyone else.

3. Concept Han: Another great McQuarrie figure.

4. Spirit Hayden: Great execution... only wish it was Sebastian Shaw's head.

5. R2-D2 w/ net: The accessories are the best part of this.

[Tycho]

I have noticed that the quality perceived in this wave is way above most of the other waves in its distribution, as I think this is the closest 3-way race for the top figure of any of the polls we've voted on so far. Wave 5 had better figures, but Herme Odle kicked butt. Wave 6 had a lot WORSE figures, so McQuarrie Snowboy is winning by default (I guess - maybe a lot of you guys value him more than I).

[JediTricks]

For me, I found this to be a mostly competent wave, but none of the figures exactly excelled on their own, it was like the lobster basket effect. None blew me away, but it had 3 solid entries, so I gave it to the McQuarrie for what it represented - the centerpiece of the fantastic five.


By the way, the wave 7.5 poll will run concurrently with the wave 8 poll because I don't think there's going to be much interest in it and I'd rather just get it out of the way as quickly as possible. And yeah, these suckers are FLYING by! Breaking the month into 3-day bite-sized pieces has made it a whirlwind.

[TheRealDubya]

This is indeed a much tighter race than the other waves.

I wonder if the Anakin Figure would have done better with this group if it had the Sebastian Shaw dome (or at least both.) The idea and execution of the Spirit figure was actually really cool...it's just the wrong guy's head. Long live Sebastian Shaw!

[JediTricks]

The prototype I thought looked pretty cool at the conventions this summer, the see-through cloth made the figure seem ethereal, but the finished versions I've seen too many with that material frayed and suffering from OG - over gold. I think even if it had Shaw's mug instead or as well as Hayden's, it probably wouldn't have done much better. That said, I'm utterly shocked it's out-performing R2. :D

[Tycho]

RealDubya makes a great point: Hasbro could have included 2 heads (Shaw and Christensen) with this figure. I still would probably not be down for buying it. My blue Jell-O figures are just fine. But even I might reconsider if Yoda and Ben are made in this manner as well.

[TheRealDubya]

The prototype I thought looked pretty cool at the conventions this summer, the see-through cloth made the figure seem ethereal, but the finished versions I've seen too many with that material frayed and suffering from OG - over gold.

There are some differences. The fabric almost looks the same, but the paint apps or sculpts on the faces seem different.
1646216463

[plasticfetish]

RealDubya makes a great point: Hasbro could have included 2 heads (Shaw and Christensen) with this figure.Could have and should have. A very good idea!

[bigbarada]

My vote went to Tycho, I've wanted a new A-Wing Pilot for over 5 years now, so it's cool that we finally got one. Even though he has the wrong helmet for an A-Wing Pilot. Plus this figure is done well enough that I am able to overlook the EU additions and that in itself is a major accomplishement. If not for the "unfinished" feel of the paint apps on the helmet, this figure is of "vintage-style" quality.

Ewoks - yeah they're great, but there is just something off about them. I was worried that putting the Ewoks in a 2-pack would result in a drop in quality and that seems to be exactly what happened. They just don't match up to last year's Chief Chirpa in terms of quality.

McQuarrie Han - I love this figure, but I won't vote for it because of the plastic cape. If it had been soft-goods then this would have easily been the best figure in the wave.

R2 w/net - Looks awesome once you get him onto that net, but other than that he's just another R2.

Spirit Anakin - terrible figure, absolutely horrible.

[Tycho]

Ewoks - yeah they're great, but there is just something off about them. I was worried that putting the Ewoks in a 2-pack would result in a drop in quality and that seems to be exactly what happened. They just don't match up to last year's Chief Chirpa in terms of quality.



Well, they have Lumat and Warok left to get right.

Paploo is most in need of a resculpt-update since that figure in the early version of a deluxe Endor Battle Pack (from 2002? I don't remember) was kind of a repainted Wicket mostly.

Wicket and Logray could be resculpted. I might buy such a Wicket if he were significantly smaller (and thereby more accurate) but it is not a priority for me next to getting Lumat and Warok done.

[jedi master sal]

...Ewoks - yeah they're great, but there is just something off about them. I was worried that putting the Ewoks in a 2-pack would result in a drop in quality and that seems to be exactly what happened. They just don't match up to last year's Chief Chirpa in terms of quality...

I will have to respectfully disagree with you on this. I think they match up pretty well with Chirpa. In fact they are better. They both have ball jointed shoulders and ankles and Chirpa didn't. The only thing that the Chirpa figure has better than the other two is his hood. It's more ornate and has more color. Other than that, Romba and Graak are superior.

[obi-dad]

Originally Posted by bigbarada
Ewoks - yeah they're great, but there is just something off about them. I was worried that putting the Ewoks in a 2-pack would result in a drop in quality and that seems to be exactly what happened. They just don't match up to last year's Chief Chirpa in terms of quality.I will have to respectfully disagree with you on this. I think they match up pretty well with Chirpa. In fact they are better. They both have ball jointed shoulders and ankles and Chirpa didn't. The only thing that the Chirpa figure has better than the other two is his hood. It's more ornate and has more color. Other than that, Romba and Graak are superior.

I second that. I was really surprised to read that by bigbarada. In fact, the coloring on one of the hoods, I'm too lazy to look it up now, but I think it was Graak's, has shading on it, which I remember as being better than the shading (black wash?) on Chirpa's hood.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Don't have this wave yet, but just got the message today from EE that says wave 6 and 7 are on the way. Also, I did get an extra McHan from Hasbro which arrived today.

Ewoks - Normally, I wouldn't consider voting for the Ewoks. Their size limits the articulation you can do with them, and I tend to not be all that impressed by them, even if the detail is nice and the shoulders are articulated. However, the pics and articulation diagrams on RS make these look pretty good.

Tycho - I really enjoyed the X-Wing series of books, so this is a figure I was looking forward to. He may not be dressed as he is in the books, and I don't know how he is depicted in the comics, but this is still a pretty good figure. As others have said, they could use this as a template for future pilots rather than the Dutch Vander mold.

Anakin Spirit - I've not seen this in person, but I like the effect that I've seen in pictures. I'll probably like this figure better than most people, but not as much as other figures in this wave.

R2-D2 - Cool accessories makes another R2 worthy of purchase. The pictures on RS look like the net can hold the characters it held in the movie.

Concept Han - I'll agree with bigbarada and express my dislike of the cape. It's weight makes it harder to balance this figure on its own. Otherwise, this might get my vote. Instead I'll go with Tycho since I was looking forward to him more than Ewoks.

[jedibear]

This wave had some variety to it...

McQuarrie Concept Han: Got my vote. It's a great figure that well-represents the artwork it's interpreting, and like the Hero Starkiller figure, it really represents a concept instead of what we see in the films. One of the stronger entries in a very strong line.

Romba & Graak: As others have pointed out, 2 packs of any character always feels like a better value. And Hasbro is getting better with the sculpts and detailing on these little critters not to mention a better scale with the other figures. Cool set...

Tycho Celchu:A-Wing Pilot In addition to being a great homage to one of the major forum contributors here ( :) ), this is another fine quality figure of what is basically a background character...similar in superb execution to figures like BoShek, Cloud Car Pilot, Bespin Security Guard or any number of Cantina patorns who have also received the superior articulation, detailing and great sculpt that Tycho features here. Almost got my vote but that McQuarrie line just has me spellbound this year...

R2-D2 w/ capture net: An inspired take for accessories for our stalwart astromech...it's just too bad that the droid itself wasn't one of the better efforts...where oh where are the tool attachments? Including the saw would have pushed this release right up the line... As it is, it's still a solid effort...

Spirit of Anakin Skywalker: Saw where they were going here, but it's not quite there. The Liberace bathrobe and soft sculpt make it look more incomplete than ghostly. It'll stay carded...

On to 7.5....

[jedi master sal]

Hmm, just looking at the poll, notice something here....

The core characters are not fairing well at all. (And I don't count the concept Han as such). Actual movie core figs are doing horribly in this poll. Why? one can only guess, but R2-D2 has been done way to many times. New take on Ghost Anakin, but I'm certain he would have fair better with a Sebastion Shaw head. Concept Han benefits from the fact that it's a concept fig, other wise had this been another movie Han, I don't think he would have fair so well either.

In fact in EVERY poll for TAC favorites the core characters have not faired well.

Hasbro should take heed of this. We understand they want to save money by reusing molds. Fine but only one core character per wave. They are making more money when people aren't buying the figures because they are old molds or over done characters.

Thank goodness for the holiday season or we'd be sitting on a mountain of Legends and wave 4 or less figures right now.

These poll have clearly shown that new figs and new characters are what we want.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

I think the thing is with the core characters this year is that there really wasn't that much an improvement in them to make them stand out in a poll like this. In many cases, like Tatooine Luke, the only redeeming thing for most people was the accessory. I think for collectors such as ourselves, a core character is a "been there, done that" sort of thing. Thus, we are more excited about new characters and outfits. Thus, only completists and those who wanted all the coins were likely to buy the core characters.

Being somewhat of a completist, I felt that Hasbro did a pretty good job with the figures this year. At first, I had no interest in the coins. Then I heard about the coin album, and saw that the figures were mostly new characters or outfits, or new sculpts of already done figures. Thus, I was able to go ahead and try to get all the coins without feeling that I was buying a bunch of figures I didn't really want. There weren't too many figures I would have considered skipping this year. There was enough of a change to most of the redos that I might have bought them anyway.

[artmaul]

hi everyone, it seems that Han Solo concept has been one of the hardest figures to find. I've have looked all over my area (which involves 2 Target stores and 4 Walmart) but had no success at all! I just wonder if Hasbro has shorpacked this figure in purpuse.
If anyone can help me to find one, I will be willing to trade for any other Mcquarrie figure you need.

Artmaul

[JediTricks]

Hmm, just looking at the poll, notice something here....

The core characters are not fairing well at all. (And I don't count the concept Han as such). Actual movie core figs are doing horribly in this poll. Why? one can only guess, but R2-D2 has been done way to many times. New take on Ghost Anakin, but I'm certain he would have fair better with a Sebastion Shaw head. Concept Han benefits from the fact that it's a concept fig, other wise had this been another movie Han, I don't think he would have fair so well either.

In fact in EVERY poll for TAC favorites the core characters have not faired well.

Hasbro should take heed of this. We understand they want to save money by reusing molds. Fine but only one core character per wave. They are making more money when people aren't buying the figures because they are old molds or over done characters.

Thank goodness for the holiday season or we'd be sitting on a mountain of Legends and wave 4 or less figures right now.

These poll have clearly shown that new figs and new characters are what we want.IMO, the main character figures might have fared better if ANY of them weren't utter crap. 2007 was a disaster for core characters' figures, I cannot think of a single new figure of them that wasn't somewhere deep on the disappointment scale for one reason or another (many due to downright bad sculpting):

Obi-Wan: bad choice of resculpt, unpleasant gimmick face design, overused recycled body.
Mace Windu: doesn't look like the character.
R2-D2: good ideas but additional painted details are way too specific.
Han Smuggler: interesting concept but headset is not removable and face seems a little off due to eyebrows and sculpted mouth.
Luke Yavin: looks weird, pale skin, hair all wrong.
Luke Moisture Farmer: looks VERY weird, limited articulation by modern standards.
Luke Jedi Knight: cloth vest is very incomplete and doesn't look quite right, once removed the figure doesn't work as DS2 Luke for no good reason at all, headsculpt doesn't quite work anymore due to ball-jointed redesign.
3PO & Salacious: chrome doesn't fit here, paint is wonky, eye gimmick underwhelming.
Han Torture Rack: bad likeness, awful frankensteined body that's well out of scale to itself.
Lando Smuggler: boring design that uses too much old tooling and just isn't interesting, many copies have upward-looking eyes.That's a 10 for 10 loser list.


ArtMaul, Concept Han is not shortpacked, he's even-packed, the only concept figure that's shortpacked is the Concept Rebel Trooper which is 1 per case. Concept Han I believe is going to be rereleased in the 2008 assortments.

[jedibear]

First off, the group participating in these polls are by and large, collectors who have been at it for a while, so they've collected many versions of the core characters through the years already. And as MSP pointed out, their wasn't much of an improvement to any of these characters to spark anyone to think they were worth voting for in these polls.

I'm not quite as unimpressed as some here with all of them...I actually like the Mace Windu and the very scene-specific Han Torture rack (not enough to elevate them in a poll mind you) but the others (especially Luke) don't fare so well outside having decent accessories this year. And yes, blow-up doll Obi-Wan is actually my pick for worst figure of the year...but for the most part, the efforts were interesting if not always successful.

I think the the core characters included in the SW30 line were designed more towards collectors than kids...the "Legends" line kinda took care of those characters (at least the prequel big-hitters) by re-issuing prior successful versions to assure kids and new collectors had a good selection of them to choose from (much at the "availibilty" expense of the new figures at times). The SW30 collection's selection of them featured versions that were either very scene-specific (Torture Han, Crumb/Threepio, R2D2/SBD, R2D2/Capture Net), featured a great accessory (TatLuke/Vaporator), was a version never before seen (Lando Smuggler), or was an assortment filler/re-work (Obi-Wan, Han, JediLuke, Ghost Ani) among others. While the core characters may not have won a lot of notice and praise, the rest of the SW30's line was extremely strong with a variety of great character choices spanning all the films and many other aspects of the saga. Some of these figures were amazing to see as single-carded offerings...

I'm inclined to think that, from a collector's POV anyway, it might be more interesting for Hasbro to take the well-known core charcters out of the "regular" figure mix and offer them in whatever premium-themed line is on for that year (Evo or Vin or whatever new one comes along), then really do bang-up super versions featuring the most in articulation, accessories and detailing. For the "regular" line, just include the cream-of-the crop as re-issues for whatever the current line is....just a thought.

[JediTricks]

On Mace, I'd say he's at the upper end of the disappointment scale for most collectors, but he still pegwarms hard in general.

On Han, I'd say there's a very small contingent who feel the way you do - he did get a few votes (though I suspect that's more about the accessory or the carded fig than the loose figure itself).

There's no way they're taking regular core characters out of the basic line though, without them the line folds instantly because it's powered by casual collectors who continue to buy these figs. The key I think is just to make better figures.

[Tycho]

There's no way they're taking regular core characters out of the basic line though, without them the line folds instantly because it's powered by casual collectors who continue to buy these figs. The key I think is just to make better figures.

While I agree with this above, JediMasterSal's post was very well-written and perfectly echoes my sentiments.

Theoretically, I think the Saga Legends line should have been perfect to carry out their attempt to keep the core characters out for newbies and kids.

1) Han
2) Luke
3) Leia
4) Chewie
5) Vader
6) C-3PO
7) R2-D2
8) Lando
9) Boba Fett
10) Palpatine (OT or PT)
11) Yoda (OT or PT)
12) white armor (OT Storm or PT Clone)
13) Obi-Wan (OT, definitely PT)
14) Anakin
15) Padme
16) Sith (Maul or Dooku)
17) Separatist Droid (Battle, Destroyer, Super)
18) Jango Fett
19) General Grievouos

That could be 24 characters if you offer every major type of white armor from each era and 1 of each main Separatist Droid.

24 characters = 2 cases of 12 figures each.

If a store's auto-re-order is triggered by the number of skus registered to a SL case made up of characters above being depeleted, then the re-order could be done by computer. It doesn't matter what the sticker on the end of the peg says if an employee scans it with a handheld. The best thing is that would not be the way the employee can re-order. It would all be automatic.

Thus if TAC sold off the same pegs, the inventory depleted should register as TAC not SL, and TAC should be auto-re-ordered.

Again THEORETICALLY it should have worked. An employee at Wal-Mart told me where they thought it failed:

The warehouse / distribution hubs get in these cases that all look alike. The guys that make stock pallets for the trucks to leave the distribution hub don't have time to note the difference between a 12-figure box of SL or TAC. When the truck leaves the distribution hub headed for individual stores, each is lucky if they get what they can use.

This would suggest Hasbro could continue with their distribution plan, only alter the look of the SL cases on the outside, or change the entire figure packaging (to tubes similar to the smallest titanium ships?) so that SL is clearly a different product even if a similar 3 3/4" figure is what's actually inside the packaging. I'd say that then the problem's solved.

Am I right?

[Mad Slanted Powers]

The warehouse / distribution hubs get in these cases that all look alike. The guys that make stock pallets for the trucks to leave the distribution hub don't have time to note the difference between a 12-figure box of SL or TAC. When the truck leaves the distribution hub headed for individual stores, each is lucky if they get what they can use.That seems like a lame excuse. What's to keep them from sending a totally different product that is in a similar box? If these boxes have bar codes that they have to scan, I would think that the inventory would get thrown off if they are sending the wrong boxes. Somewhere along the line they need to have some controls in place to ensure that the right product is getting sent out.

Where I work, if a customer gets sent the wrong item and lets us know about it, we can check stock to see if we are off. Those sorts of shipping errors will get figured into shipping efficiency statistics. Thus, corrective measures can be taken if it becomes a problem.

So, I would think that Hasbro would send these cases to the distribution centers on separate pallets with separate bar codes. Then the distribution center would just be pulling what the computer tells them to send to individual stores. They would go to where the TAC cases are and get those, and likewise with the Legends.

Now, I've never worked in a warehouse, but I do assign the weekly cycle counts, so I know that we have our inventory in a location based system. If everyone has done their job correctly, there should be X number of Item #1 in Location A if that is what the computer says. If they go to count that item in that location and it is wrong, it counts against them the same whether it is off by 1 or off by 100. The expectation is that if we tell the customer we have something, it should be there in that quantity.

[jedi master sal]

Wow this was a close poll. Glad to see the Ewoks won though. People have been clamoring for more Ewoks for a long time. Had they not won, it would have sent a mixed message to Hasbro.

[obi-dad]

Wow this was a close poll. Glad to see the Ewoks won though. People have been clamoring for more Ewoks for a long time. Had they not won, it would have sent a mixed message to Hasbro.

I'm betting that sales would tell them more than the results of a poll with less than 100 votes. I know I have 3 of them and decided I will finally try my hand at custimizing, if you can call it that when I am only painting their hoods different colors.

[Tycho]

I can only speculate MadSlantedPowers, as I don't work in a warehouse or with pallet stocking either. Some of the overnight crew I see doing this at Wal-Mart make me wonder whether they have a program to employ parolees who just got out of prison? I wouldn't be surprised. Now it's stereotyping about ex-cons, but if I were to guess, they wouldn't be overly concerned about scanning individual cases of SW figures.


That seems like a lame excuse. What's to keep them from sending a totally different product that is in a similar box?

Both SL and TAC say "SW action figures" on the shipping boxes. You're asking if shipping employees read barcodes and labels further than that. I don't know. I am guessing that Hasbro's "system" gets messed up because they don't. Otherwise, theoretically, the two assortments should have worked.


If these boxes have bar codes that they have to scan, I would think that the inventory would get thrown off if they are sending the wrong boxes.

I guess it depends upon whether the barcodes are being scanned down to "the decimal digits." I can't speak intelligently about this.


Those sorts of shipping errors will get figured into shipping efficiency statistics. Thus, corrective measures can be taken if it becomes a problem.

Where we as collectors perceive a problem because we are looking for specific TAC items, department managers and store managers who oversee a much larger product mix by far, don't care about specific "minute changes" in the Star Wars figures shipped in any specific carton. They may look and say "Star Wars is selling fast or slow." They are probably unaware and uninterested in the difference between TAC and SL. That's Hasbro's deal to try and keep the line open to newbies and maintain it for long-time collectors.


So, I would think that Hasbro would send these cases to the distribution centers on separate pallets with separate bar codes.

Probably not separate pallets. That's likely too much cost and bother, depending upon the shipment sizes to the distribution centers - which I don't know offhand. So I'm guessing. But remember, the system didn't work too well in a lot of our eyes, so I don't think it can be hailed as a sucess.


Then the distribution center would just be pulling what the computer tells them to send to individual stores. They would go to where the TAC cases are and get those, and likewise with the Legends.

1) are the employees that work such jobs that dilligent?
2) do they really care at all? ("these boxes all say they contain SW figures - what's the difference?")


If everyone has done their job correctly

the big "If"

Again, a box of hand towells is clearly different from a box of SW figures, even if they are the same size.

2 boxes of SW figures, 1 SL and 1 TAC - they're just SW figures to an employee that has to be at a certain productivity level by the end of the hour.

Theoretically, if the boxes of hand towels are divided between red towels, white towels, and blue ones, it's possible that a less-than-dedicated truck-loader will send one store all red towels and another the blue and white ones only. WE are a bunch of people really into Star Wars figures and really aware of the difference between TAC and SL. Do you know anyone really "into hand towels?"

I'm only guessing, as I don't know what goes on in the warehouses. However:

1) my theory's possible
2) the SL distribution versus TAC didn't go as smoothely as it should have in theory from all evidence

3) it was a good idea and kept a lot of slots open in the TAC line for collector figures as there wasn't ONE regular Anakin figure in the TAC line, and we know Hasbro "needs" that figure out there, hence SL.

[JediTricks]

The cases have individual numbers printed on them, the people who work at the warehouses either use the barcode reader to learn where they go, or they just read the printed numbers on the box and check it against their shipping manifest. It's not that complicated, you're making it seem impossible when it's not.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

That's what I figured. When you receive something, you should have a manifest or packing list that tells you what you are getting. They wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't check to see that they have what they are supposed to have.

[Tycho]

They wouldn't be doing their jobs if they didn't check to see that they have what they are supposed to have.

That's what I was figuring: that they weren't correctly doing their jobs. I have trouble trusting people - especially those I've never met.

[JediTricks]

The only failure is at the store end, no matter what they tell you. Employees counting product in their building as the wrong line is one problem, they count 24 Saga Legends on the pegs as TAC and now TAC won't move until those SL turkeys leave - I saw this at TRU with all 139 figures on their pegs entered incorrectly, so they'd NEVER have gotten another TAC figure if I hadn't brought it to their attention.

The other problem, and this one is the main problem, is that employees aren't careful enough about placing SL figures on SL pegs, they see Star Wars and they either don't peg them correctly out of the case (the better-managed stores don't have this problem), or they don't take the time to put them back on the correct pegs when customers move them around (this isn't really the employee's fault, the assortment numbers are not that easy to find and look pretty similar to each other). And Hasbro doesn't really care, they want customers to be fooled by the SL packaging looking like the TAC packaging so they'll buy SL thinking it's new when it's not.

But it's not the distribution warehouse guys' fault, they do their jobs without caring or knowing what's in the box most of the time, they simply take boxes with specific numbers and part them into pallets going to specific stores that need that product as the manifest tells them to. Blaming them is totally unfair.

[Tycho]

You may or may not (or I may or may not understand something).

First, you're comparing Toys R Us to Wal-Mart. Let's not for a minute and pretend Wal-Mart is better managed. Why?

On a TRU receipt it just says SW figure and the assortment it came from. Thus you should be able to return a Jango Fett with a Padme receipt - as both are wave 8.

If you buy the same wave at Wal-Mart, your receipt will say:

Jango Fett
Padme Amidala
McQuarrie Trooper
Clone in Training Gear

etc.

I (me, myself, representing the non-existent person "Tycho") think that Wal-Mart's inventory is labled:

Units Wave 8:

Jango Fett
Padme Amidala
McQuarrie Trooper
Clone in Training Gear

And

Units Saga Legends:

Darth Vader
Anakin Skywalker
Sandtrooper
RA-7

No matter what stickers are printed and stuck on the ends of pegs, or what figures (that all look alike to the uninterested employee), the computer registers the sales and monitors the inventory as discerned between the TAC and SL - as designated above.

You can stock any of these figures on any peg behind any label, and the computer will still know what sold from what case assortment - and order more should it be necessary.

Employees that have too much power and not enough knowledge could screw it up, but Wal-Mart seems a far different situation than Toys R Us or Target, who just run with assortment numbers. It's my guess, but I think you can return Padme with a Jango Fett receipt from Target and all that matters to them and their inventory is that it is Wave 8 TAC. Wal-Mart won't ever let you do that.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Yeah, I think the only thing that would go wrong at store level is if they put too many Legends out that don't move while they have TAC in the back. Thus when the Legends sell, the computer will say to order more. By the time the TAC is put out, the cycle will repeat itself because even though it might sell quickly and get reordered, the pegs will be clogged with Legends again.

Wal-Mart's end cap was gone and most of the figures in the regular spot are M'iiyoom Onith. Target was mostly Legends. I did find a Padme at Target and reluctantly paid the higher price for it. They only had a handful of figures. I made it to one Fred Meyer, and it was mostly Legends.

[Tycho]

Yeah, I think the only thing that would go wrong at store level is if they put too many Legends out that don't move while they have TAC in the back. Thus when the Legends sell, the computer will say to order more. By the time the TAC is put out, the cycle will repeat itself because even though it might sell quickly and get reordered, the pegs will be clogged with Legends again.

I agree. That's very plausible an easy to see an employee making that mistake. Many are not paid enough to care if they don't already care to begin with. Star Wars needs to be replenished? Tear open the nearest case of SW figures.

Hasbro could have totally helped that situation by packaging Saga Legends in a style similar to how their mini-Titaniums are issued. No worries about apples and oranges here - apples and grapefruits are by far easier to distinguish even at minimum wage.


Wal-Mart's end cap was gone and most of the figures in the regular spot are M'iiyoom Onith.

Onith came from our SSG list. I actually never voted for her. It's hardly the best remaining cantina alien design. But it had to be done some time and the curved bar section was a good pack-in to help a more boring character.

[jedi master sal]

...On a TRU receipt it just says SW figure and the assortment it came from. Thus you should be able to return a Jango Fett with a Padme receipt - as both are wave 8....

A fact I have actually taken advantage of.

Now that I've been buying cases online, if I have extras that I can't trade or sell to fellow collectors (always at cost, BTW), then when I happen to buy army builders, I hold the receipt and take "back" the unwanted figures from the cases I got. I've actually only don this once this year and may have to for my case of wave 8 since I haven't traded or sold off all of my extras from that wave.

And please before anyone gets snarky with me for doing this, it's only been ONCE and I take great pains to try and trade or sell these figures first before returning them. I've only returned ONE figure this way and that's NOT goignt o break TRU. Especially considering I prefer to shop there than WM or Target. (I get their gift cards at my local grocery store whic gives me points towards gas, so I actually save more by buying fro TRU regardless of the fact that they are slightly higher in price than WM. (The savings difference is that much!)

-Sal

[JediTricks]

On a TRU receipt it just says SW figure and the assortment it came from. Thus you should be able to return a Jango Fett with a Padme receipt - as both are wave 8.That's incorrect, they're not entered with different names, but the UPC is individually recorded on the receipt matching up to the figure's UPC, they scan the receipt and then scan the figure, if it doesn't match up they won't take the return. TRU simply doesn't bother to waste time on typing in the name of every figure in the case, which makes sense to me since it's the case they're replenishing from Hasbro, not individual characters, and Hasbro gets sales data on individual characters via UPC reporting anyway since it's computer-automated.


No matter what stickers are printed and stuck on the ends of pegs, or what figures (that all look alike to the uninterested employee), the computer registers the sales and monitors the inventory as discerned between the TAC and SL - as designated above.

You can stock any of these figures on any peg behind any label, and the computer will still know what sold from what case assortment - and order more should it be necessary.It only orders more when a specific minimum number of figures is reached. That'd be all well and good except that when the TAC pegs get filled with SL, the TAC cases go into back storage where they don't move and don't leave the system, then SL slowly sells down and gets reordered while TAC languishes in the back because the system isn't registering TAC sales meriting replenishment, leaving the stock in the back some more. That's its inherent flaw, it forces the TAC product to suffer at the hands of the slower-moving SL product. Hasbro sees greater sales of SL because they don't recognize the flaw in the program, they only see that SL is moving while TAC isn't and they don't get that it's not demand but design causing it.


Employees that have too much power and not enough knowledge could screw it up, but Wal-Mart seems a far different situation than Toys R Us or Target, who just run with assortment numbers. It's my guess, but I think you can return Padme with a Jango Fett receipt from Target and all that matters to them and their inventory is that it is Wave 8 TAC. Wal-Mart won't ever let you do that.The problem is identical between TRU and WM, you're just getting caught up in your own trappings because you identify the figures by name - the employees of both chains do not (or should not, any system is only as good as its weakest link of course), they let the system identify the figures by the UPC that was sold on that receipt to avoid the very situation you're describing. It's the same with Target as well, they don't care if it says "Ladies Home Journal" on the description, if the UPC matches it gets returned, if not it doesn't.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

My Target receipts have the same number for different figures, so unless there is something else recorded with the transaction number in the computer, they wouldn't know.

[Tycho]

I think JediTricks might be right. For a long time I hadn't understood his explanation about this as I'd been over it with him before, but this time I think both of us made our points more clearly somehow.


My Target receipts have the same number for different figures, so unless there is something else recorded with the transaction number in the computer, they wouldn't know.

Sometimes that is an employee at the register being lazy. They see you found 1 of each of Wave 8 for example. (That's what? 7 figures?) So they take 1 figure (Voolvif Monn) and scan him 7 times and throw everything you bought into the bag. They're not supposed to do that, but it happens, especially if they're busy at the moment.

In this case, inventory may be screwed up by employee fault, but it is not the stocker's or the section worker's fault, but rather the check-out lane cashier's. This can happen at any retail outlet.

If you ever want to return very specific figures, make sure they scan them individually. If you're doing what Sal did (I'm not picking a bone with him), then start bagging your own figures and very carefully show the cashier that there are 7 of them, leaving one in their hand to scan and enter 7 times. There's no garauntee that will work, BTW. A good employee won't let you do this.)


It only orders more when a specific minimum number of figures is reached. That'd be all well and good except that when the TAC pegs get filled with SL, the TAC cases go into back storage where they don't move and don't leave the system, then SL slowly sells down and gets reordered while TAC languishes in the back because the system isn't registering TAC sales meriting replenishment, leaving the stock in the back some more. That's its inherent flaw, it forces the TAC product to suffer at the hands of the slower-moving SL product. Hasbro sees greater sales of SL because they don't recognize the flaw in the program, they only see that SL is moving while TAC isn't and they don't get that it's not demand but design causing it.

I'll completely agree with that.

My solution is to change the packaging of the SL figures so they have to go on different pegs. Put them in the clear "clams" that the mini-Titaniums come in (different size than Titaniums of course) and then they can't be stocked with heterogenous product like the TAC figures. Instead I believe SL figures even came with "movie coins." :rolleyes: Bad move.

I think for 2008 there is only 1 line. Force Unleashed is a wave (2) of that line, but Clone Wars could be a separate thing when the cartoon debuts. I'm not sure. I guess there are SL type entried slated. I'm not sure how they'll be released. But it's late in the game to give them new packaging.

"Hey: those guys in RI are paid professionals. We're just internet fanboys. Is it really possible that we've figured out things that they have not?" Maybe that should be a Hasbro Q&A question :D

[Mad Slanted Powers]

No, with Target, I'm looking at two separate receipts for two different figures. The numbers on the receipts aren't even UPC codes. I write the figures I buy on the receipts for future reference.

Concept Starkiller - 087061990 with description "STAR WARS"
7th Legion Clone - 087061990 with description "STAR WARS"

[JediTricks]

My Target receipts have the same number for different figures, so unless there is something else recorded with the transaction number in the computer, they wouldn't know.I just looked, Target receipts record UPCs, not their in-house DCPIs, so that's the "weakest link" issue again: Most likely your checker just swiped 1 figure over and over or swiped 1 figure and then told the register to multiply that specific transaction (a quick 3-button keystroke). This is not their standard procedure though, and with good reason as Target charges more for SL figures than for TAC figures so they could have charged you for the SL price on all your TAC figures (which is for sure a crime here in California, probably in every state), plus it makes it difficult for the customer to return the items since the transaction does not accurately reflect the purchase. (see below)



My solution is to change the packaging of the SL figures so they have to go on different pegs. Put them in the clear "clams" that the mini-Titaniums come in (different size than Titaniums of course) and then they can't be stocked with heterogenous product like the TAC figures. Instead I believe SL figures even came with "movie coins." :rolleyes: Bad move.We suggested this to Hasbro directly back in Nov '06 (not the Titanium packaging though as Titaniums already are suffering this problem from the Marvel and Transformers Titaniums in the same-shape packaging), and their answer:
Q: Would Hasbro consider changing the Greatest Hits-style line to have packaging different from the regular basic line, the cardback graphics being more different than they currently are, so both it and the regular line draw unique attention from each other? A: We work with Lucasfilm very closely on the differentiation of each line. It's felt that a "family" look is more important than a different look, and that is why there are small changes between the two rathar than very large ones. This is likely to be the case next year for the 30th Greatest Hits line as well.
IMO, that answer is a clean way of saying "we're trying to fool less discriminating customers into buying old product thinking it's new again". Granted, the TAC and SL packaging differs with orange vs red & black borders, and the assortment number is right on the front of the bubble, but it's still fairly deceptive. Hell, even the asst numbers look similar:
87500 vs 85770
And it's printed only slightly different color from the section it's sitting on: http://www.rebelscum.com/TAC/TACSLBDs1cardfr.jpg vs http://www.rebelscum.com/TAC/TAC02marinecardfr.jpg (under the large "Ages 4+" on the bubble tray insert), so gee, I can't imagine why it'd be difficult for an employee to figure out on the pegs. :rolleyes:



I think for 2008 there is only 1 line. Force Unleashed is a wave (2) of that lineNope, we've got another few waves of Saga Legends shipping until Spring, and then in the Fall when we get the Clone Wars line, the TAC-'08 line will basically be the dumping ground for this "Greatest Hits" concept. At that point, I believe the lines will look different since TAC'08 (not its real name, but calling it "Saga" again is confusing) will have the current look while Clone Wars will have its own look, but by then the damage will have been 3 years done.


EDIT: Reading MSP's post from a minute before mine, it's clear what that is now, that's the Target DCPI, it's Target's internal code for that assortment (the entire TAC wave is a single assortment number, SL is a different one), their DCPI system has 2 less digits than a UPC. However, I believe the receipt in their computer system also recorded the UPC code, it's just not printing it and the UPC has a generic name associated with it. If he tried to return another figure with that receipt, even though the DCPI is the same printed on the receipt, I believe the UPC wouldn't match the transaction in their computers because they recorded more information than what they printed.

If you look on the shelf tags, you'll see all Hasbro products have the DCPI of 087-06-xxxx (as a Titanium Series and Transformers collector too, I run into this a lot).

[dindae]

I found a return today at Wal-Mart of a lone Episode I C-3PO and thought about this thread. If employees will accept product that is eight years old there is no way they will keep two line that look very similar seperate.

[bigbarada]

I found a return today at Wal-Mart of a lone Episode I C-3PO and thought about this thread. If employees will accept product that is eight years old there is no way they will keep two line that look very similar seperate.

lol I remember when I lived in central Texas that I would find figures sitting in the Wal-Mart aisles with K-Mart price tags on them.

[El Chuxter]

It's 'cause stores either have too-liberal return policies, or they're Nazis. Target used to take back items that were years old and with no packaging. Now they take nothing without a receipt from the past three months. When I was at TRU, we were told we had to take returns of any item we sold, even if it clearly had the pricetag from a competitor still on it. Something about making the customer happy. Of course, they changed policies about a year ago, and are apparently such sticklers that they make Target look like Wal-Mart. They just can't seem to realize that a happy medium, where they take stuff back but have some leeway if it's clear it is ancient or bought somewhere else, would be the most ideal for both store and customer.