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With waves 3 and 4 smattering across the land in bits in pieces, here's GHR's Top 5 Figures for the month of May. Happy Galactic Hunting!
1. KITHABA (RED BANDANA)
The funny thing about running changes, especially when it comes to recent distribution and the popularity of The Vintage Collection, is that you aren't sure which version will prove harder to find; the original or the running change. For now, the red bandana version appears to be the rarest in the wild and whoever's got him isn't selling one on eBay unless you're from the Orient.
The novelty in the error makes this one a must have for carded collectors. If you don't have a friend in Canada, it will cost you about $60 on eBay.
3. DARTH MALGUS
The hot streak for video game figures continues with this awesome, well designed Sith Lord on steroids. Prices on the secondary market are settling in at around $30, but consider yourself lucky if you actually find one on a peg, even with Hasbro carrying him forward in later case assortments.
4. IMPERIAL NAVAL COMMANDER
Besides Malgus, this Imperial has been the tougher find for Wave 3 due to it's awesoness and troop builder potential. Hasbro needs to double up on this guy in their future case assortments.
5. DR. EVAZAN (PAINTED SCAR VARIANT)
Both variants are proving hard to find, but the version with the painted scar is a little more scarce based on store reports and the fact that this was the first release before Hasbro decided to switch up to an unpainted version.
CONTINUE THIS FEATURE PLEASE!
THIS is an awesome segment that in my opinion has been missing from this otherwise complete and thorough website. I HOPE that is a monthly article as many collectors may feel unburdened frustration knowing that it is a national thing... Hasbro short sightedness punishes those willing to give them money.
Thanks! It will be monthly
Thanks! It will be monthly and part of the GHR feature. I know there's not a lot of Hasbro love going on right now in the interwebs, but knowing a few guys in the marketing and design team, I know they would love nothing more than to get all these figures ,the fruit of their hard work, to collectors. They really work their butts off and care about the brand and the jobs they do.
There are many moving parts when it comes to distribution, and when you deal with the big box retailers, you're basically at their beckon call, especially with the big W retailer. The U.S. and European economy are still recovering and the costs in making these figures in China have gone up. There are a lot of market forces at play here, including the surge of a certain super hero team action movie. And then there's that debacle called GI Joe: Retaliation.
Even the best laid plans fail, and I can't really say that Hasbro rolled out 2012 as well as they should. But despite criticism here and there (big harumph on less articulation!), I can say with all honesty that in the past seven years, the line has never been at such a high level of product design, marketing, and quality.
So when you see these guys at the summer conventions, give them their rightful criticism, like what the heck happened to Tarkin, but don't forget to also give the marketing guys and designers a pat in the back for all the good hard work they do. They're fans too.