If YOU ALONE could pick the 8 Greatest Hits figs for 2007

[jjreason]

How would you do it? Would you base it on the "awesomeness" of the figure? The "Hard-to-get-it-ness"? Did you miss a figure that you covet?

For me, it's a combination. So, without further ado, I hereby reveal to you the 8 figures I'd re-release if I were in charge, complete with rationale. Numbering system DOES NOT denote my feelings with respect to each figure - they're all awesome in their own wonderful ways. I also assumed that we'd get to see a significant number of "key characters" rereleased as part of this line (Commtech Han, anyone?), so I tried to stray a little ways off the beaten path for most of my pics.

1. R1G4, from the Saga collection (2004). Why? He's amazingly cool and different - and was never available at Canadian retail.

2. Zuckuss, from the POTF2 collection (circa 1998). Why? Besides the exclusive Bounty Hunters 7 pack, this figure has not seen a re-release. Unlike 4-LOM, I see absolutely NO need to upgrade this figure - and he was never available at Canadian retail (sensing a trend?).

3. Super Poseable Stormtrooper, from the VOTC collection. Tons of people like troop builders, here's one we haven't had a chance to get other than it's initial release.

4. FX7, from the POTJ line. Another perfect droid that was only available once.

5. Sio Bibble, from the Episode I line. Very hard to find, and a nice figure once you have him.

6. TC14, also from Epsisode I. Another very nice figure that was especially tough to get at retail.

7. R4-P17, if that's the correct name for Obi Wan's astromech from late in the ROTS line. Great sculpt, I'm hoping we'll get an R2 like this one in 2007 as well.

8. Grand Admiral Thrawn, from the POTF2 EU wave. I never got him, and actually quite liked the character in those Zahn books. I'd buy him for sure if they put him out again.

[Kidhuman]

Sio Bibble
Padme (acension gun)
Stormie(VOTC)
Clone Trooper(SA CW Line)


will add the other 4 later

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Some good choices. I think an ideal greatest hits wave should have a mixture of core characters, hard to find figures, and army builders. Of course, they should all be quality figures as well. Your list has quality figures, hard to find figures and one trooper. I think if you added a Luke, Han, Vader and Obi-Wan to the mix, you'd have a nice case of 12 figures.

Now, that is what I feel would be the best strategy in terms of Hasbro having a good assortment of figures to sell. Personally, since I pretty much have every figure, I'd mostly be interested in army builders.

[Tycho]

Great topic JJReason! I'm about to sort of rip your choices apart, but it's not personal. I really DO think it's a great topic.

Now I'm a diorama builder and the way I shop is by listing all the figures I need for my scenes (like 8 of those latest Naboo troops) and then I go out and buy them all immediately while the wave is still shipping. So really, I never missed out on any figure I wanted unless they were in Battle Packs or Evolutions sets and I couldn't get them individually carded and didn't need the rest.

I'm also mostly done with my troop building, but there's one or two...

How would you do it? Would you base it on the "awesomeness" of the figure? The "Hard-to-get-it-ness"? Did you miss a figure that you covet?

No.

Maybe - as I said, "if it came in an Evolutions pack or with other stuff I didn't need and thus didn't buy."

No. Technically.

For me, it's a combination. So, without further ado, I hereby reveal to you the 8 figures I'd re-release if I were in charge, complete with rationale. Numbering system DOES NOT denote my feelings with respect to each figure - they're all awesome in their own wonderful ways. I also assumed that we'd get to see a significant number of "key characters" rereleased as part of this line (Commtech Han, anyone?), so I tried to stray a little ways off the beaten path for most of my pics.

Ditto what JJReason said.

NO -

R1G4, from the Saga collection (2004). Why? He's amazingly cool and different - and was never available at Canadian retail.

- But I'm sorry to hear he wasn't available in Canada. Never? Or was he just uncommon?

NO -

Zuckuss, from the POTF2 collection (circa 1998). Why? Besides the exclusive Bounty Hunters 7 pack, this figure has not seen a re-release. Unlike 4-LOM, I see absolutely NO need to upgrade this figure - and he was never available at Canadian retail (sensing a trend?).

- Did Canada really get screwed out of figures, or did you just not want to shop at 6:45 in the morning to make sure you got them? That's the only time I ever saw and bought Zuckuss in the USA, myself.

NO -

Super Poseable Stormtrooper, from the VOTC collection. Tons of people like troop builders, here's one we haven't had a chance to get other than it's initial release.

Others would find this figure very useful I'm sure, but I have a box with about 7-8 more 1995 stormtroopers I never needed to open for my scenes yet. And I just don't need them. I have easily over 70 1995 stormtroopers, all bought in 1995-1996-1997 and I'm done with them. I also do not do an "Emperor's Arrival" diorama, so I don't need them in neutral poses and the 95 pre-pose is not that bad.

MAYBE -

FX7, from the POTJ line. Another perfect droid that was only available once.

Darth Vader's FX-6 or whatever it was in ROTS would be useful with a scene consisting of Deluxe Operating Table Vader, Palpatine, the Chopper Droid, and some sort of "21-A."

NO -

Sio Bibble, from the Episode I line. Very hard to find, and a nice figure once you have him.

I have enough of Sios. I might like an aged Sio from the Clone Wars / ROTS era, but that's a new figure, isn't it?

NO -

TC14, also from Epsisode I. Another very nice figure that was especially tough to get at retail.

I got several to be TC-14, U-3PO, E-3PO, etc. I'm done.

NO -

R4-P17, if that's the correct name for Obi Wan's astromech from late in the ROTS line. Great sculpt, I'm hoping we'll get an R2 like this one in 2007 as well.

I'm glad we were offered it. I bought a few and put them in the ARC-170 and around, but I'm done.

NO -

Grand Admiral Thrawn, from the POTF2 EU wave. I never got him, and actually quite liked the character in those Zahn books. I'd buy him for sure if they put him out again.

I like his character too, but he needs a resculpt. The figure was never as good as it needed to be.

so my other picks:

2) Anakin Skywalker from AOTC, "Evolutions" figure. I still need roughly 8 Anakins without an angry look on their faces for AOTC scenes - with a Jedi robe, too. Softgoods could be fine, but molded plastic if it is just hanging down, not "in action" or being "wind blown" would be great.

3) SA AOTC Lieutenient (blue) Clone Trooper from the Entertainment Earth 4-packs. I never bought the EE troop builder sets because there would be more Sergeants (green - offered in the final saga2 's 22 soon actually) and more Lieutenients (blue) than there would be captains (red - initially offered in May 2002) or Commanders (needed on a very limited basis and available in the Clone Wars 2-packs with Yoda, or through the EE sets since you'd need the other clones they include anyway).

4) Clone kid - originally packaged with Lama Su. I'd like a two-pack or something.

I think that's it for the moment.

[pbarnard]

Trying to distinguish if people want the most obscure, the ones they missed out on, or an actual greatest hits...I think it's a line designed for the people who need a figure/character and have that a constant need, be it kids, collectors etc. So this should be the "entry level" type of figure.

VOTC Stormtrooper
Dutch Vander (can rotate it out with Biggs or Wedge or Zev or even Luke on the same body...can also make shorter by switching lower legs with VOTC Luke Pilot)
Imperial Officer (keep rotating the head sculpts)
Random Astromech
Rotate the Protocol/misc droid by wave
PotJ Bespin Han or VOTC ANH Han
TSC #13 Vader w/#38 accessories
Rotate the Clone here.

It allows it to be continued and updated throughout a year imo.

[jjreason]

Tycho - we did, and still do, get screwed out of figs. Annually. If you'd like an understanding of what figures never came to Canada, just imagine EVERY final wave you found at retail before a packaging change - and that's the list. The first wave we ever missed was the last "Freeze Frame" wave of bad guys: Ishi Tib, Zuckuss, Piett, Rem Helmet Vader - and I can't recall what else. Since then we've missed the final EpI assortment, the final POTJ assortment (which was awesome, if you recall - BoShek, Teebo, etc), etc, etc, etc - to the point where myself and other Canadian completists have had to bother our US friends almost endlessly to get what we want.

I shop A LOT - hours and hours each week. I pretty much always get exactly whatever I want from whatever we get up here.... "due diligence" is not an issue with me at all.

We always gripe to Hasbro Canada, but they always try to placate us by offering us the newer figures a bit earlier than you guys get them down there (we got Saga2 first last year, and I'm assuming we'll get the 30th Anniversary stuff before you guys this winter). But enough about the rant, I have all of the figures I mentioned in my list save Thrawn - and I've had to resort to some pretty bad business to get a few of them (ie ebay).

I chose a list of 8 background characters because I read somewhere that the fans will choose 8 of 24 "Greatest Hits" figures for next year - and I figured that Hasbro would be filling the other 16 spots with the regular repacks of core characters (Vader, Ani, R2, Han, etc).

[Mad Slanted Powers]

If you'd like an understanding of what figures never came to Canada, just imagine EVERY final wave you found at retail before a packaging change - and that's the list. The first wave we ever missed was the last "Freeze Frame" wave of bad guys: Ishi Tib, Zuckuss, Piett, Rem Helmet Vader - and I can't recall what else. Since then we've missed the final EpI assortment, the final POTJ assortment (which was awesome, if you recall - BoShek, Teebo, etc), etc, etc, etc - to the point where myself and other Canadian completists have had to bother our US friends almost endlessly to get what we want.

Perhaps me being close to Canada explains why I have trouble finding those same waves. I didn't start collecting until Episode I, but just about every final wave of figures has been hard to find. I'm not able to go early in the morning. I normally just check on Saturdays anymore. Back in the Saga and OTC days, I would often go after work once or twice during the week.

Back to the Greatest Hits topic though. If you think back to the vintage days, there were just 12 figures for a while, and there ended up only being 20 (21 counting Boba Fett) before the ESB line started. I think those original 12 (substituting Tarkin for the Death Squad Commander), are most of the figures a kid would want or need from ANH. I could probably come up with a similar list for each movie. However, that's 72 figures if you have 12 per movie. Plus, whenever I try to pick 12 characters from each movie, it's harder for all the other movies. There are either too many outfits to choose from for a character (Padme), or the character is basically unchanged in other movies (Chewie).

[2-1B]

2-1B (POTF2)
FX-7 (POTJ)
Bossk (POTF2)
Ephant Mon (Fan's Choice)
Captain Typho (AOTC)
Teemto Pagalies ('cause of how you can make it look like his bag is hanging out)
Captain Tarpals (TPM)
Stormtrooper (VOTC)

[Tycho]

That Canadian situation sucks JJReason.

But Vader RH / Zuckuss wave was not the last 98 FF wave:

C1: Luke Bespin, Leia Ewok, Lando Gen., Endor Reb
C2: Biggs, Lak, Wicket & Logray
C3: Darth RH, Ishi Tibb, Piett, Zuckuss

then:

C1: Luke New Likeness, Leia New Likeness, C-3PO, R2D2
C2: Ugnaughts, 8D8
C3: Ree-Yees, Death Star Trooper

then:

C1: Mon Mothma, Chewie Chains, Lobot, Prune Face
C2: Thrawn, Mara, Space Trooper, Luke DE, Palpatine DE, Imp Sent., Kyle, Dark Troop, Leia DE
C3: AT-AT Driver, Leia Hoth, DS Droid, Pote - went to FanClub

I think I forgot a C2 wave, but I don't recollect at the moment. The point is that Vader RH came early in 1998 (1st Quarter anyway) and it was not the last of the C3s, though maybe that assortment did skip Canada altogether.

I believe you when you say you looked for them and couldn't find them. I'm sorry for your experience.

[jjreason]

I'm not sure why we skipped that wave, but I remember finding the Ceremonial Luke wave and feeling like we'd been passed over. Was removable helmet Vaders's wave the last WITHOUT the freeze frames? Either way, that whole wave of blue-accented cards didn't come up here (and neither did the Expanded Universe wave, since we're half on that topic).

Caesar - I'm horrified to say that I'm going to dig out my Teemto figure right now, I had no idea there was an "action feature".

EDITED: Based on your post Tycho, it looks like we were completely skipped for Collection 3 cases. None of them came up here, and I wound up paying approx $20 each for them using ebay. Ugly.

EDITED part 2: Looking back, I'm sure we DID get some Collection 3 figures, because I have FF slides for a bunch of them in my slide folders - but they were all repacks (Snowtrooper, TIE Pilot, Boba Fett, etc). It must have been the last wave or 2 of C3 figures that didn't make it up here.

Regardless, I'm so far off topic in my own thread that I should likely pay the penance of some BSLOS - so I'll go Canadian:

Always too hot, never too cold
You make your last shot
Too hot to hold.

- pre-angst Alanis Morrissette, back when she was a dance pop queen known only as "Alanis"