Darth Caedus

This is a version I think NOBODY ever expected to get as it's a short-scene, split-second variant of Mk XLIII - but although there's other figures we all wish we'd gotten (Ronin/Rescue/etc.) this is still a really cool figure. We only have 2 existing Tony Stark figures so it's nice to have a 3rd one capturing him mid-transformation. A super obscure variant but another cool one for the Hall of Armor nonetheless. Also doesn't lock a must-get figure behind a short-term promo as well which is nice - people who REALLY want to go completionist can get it but nobody's Iron Man collection will be lacking if they miss it. Hilariously enough, we now have 3 different Mark XLIII iterations. Somebody on the design team must really like Age of Ultron!

Been a minute. Big update. Let's rock and roll. Still looking for Mark XVII Heartbreaker.

People are Chicken Little-ing here. The prices are $30, $40, $70, $80, $90, this has been known for a while. Pretty straightforward.

Some new stock, priorities updated. Let's make a deal folks!

Dammit, now there's a strong reason to buy multiple U-wings - I went back and checked Vader Down #1 and that's the exact outfit of Blue Squadron. I suppose one could just pawn off the uniques piecemeal to recoup some of the costs. Hopefully they don't go for *too* much on bricklink since I doubt we'll ever see another Blue Squadron figure appear, it's pretty obscure.

Great looking wave, stronger than the initial TFA I think. TFA wave 1 had some overall duds like the Snowspeeder (not interesting, not enough screentime) and Kylo's shuttle (just too inaccurate). Everything in this wave looks strong though: -Imperial Tank: great figs, good looking build, better $40 kit than the Snowspeeder was. -AT-ST: never perfect but looking solid. Chicken walkers are kinda just what they are, they're not the coolest vehicle in all of Star Wars, but they're absolutely essential to have in your collection. -TIE Striker: the standout. Looks imposing and the color pops well, wisely follows the Special Forces TIE Fighter as being a pure-army-builder TIE. Lego knows we want to buy two or more. Takes the best parts of Malgus' Fury Interceptor and puts it into something relevant (read: canon). -U-wing: had some worries but this delivers. Good coloring, undercarriage looks on point, engines look strong. All the key hero figs lumped in here makes this an easy buy to justify too. -Imperial Black Shuttle: strong coloring and cool look kind of says, "AT-DP had a heroin baby with an Imperial Landing Craft". Lack of Mr. Whitaker is lamentable in the wave but we get an excellent looking Krennic which is what matters most. Torso is primed for purist Thrawn MOCs should one so desire.

Updated - now have Cap polybag, some updated Wants. TDKR Bane, Mark XVII Heartbreaker, and Star Wars are the priority!!!

+1 to Duncan Young for a good trade!

Death Troopers being locked down makes sense, same procedure as the FO Stormie for TFA, only available in limited numbers in large kits, then (likely) available in a battlepack come January.

I ended up buying all of Constractables wave 1 but only Phasma on a whim from the second wave. Don't think I'm going to continue with the Rogue One constractables, the builds on modern Bionicle are just too flimsy (those grey socket extenders are the cancer of the medium). Deathtrooper and the K250 look solid enough. In fairness, the two examples you cite are not great comparisons. The Final Duel has only a net ~2 new figures (Vader all-new, Luke very slight update with the flap-up, Emperor no longer exclusive to a book) and 2 junk figures (red guards are relevant to the setting but already a glut were available in battlepacks, should have been Janus Greejatus or Sim Aloo or both). The FO Transporter's only real claims to fame minifigure-wise are Phasma and the 2 Flametroopers - FO Stormies are battlepack fodder and the Resistance troopers are not particularly special, though the female one is still technically a (rather dull) exclusive. The Vader's TIE vs A-wing has 4 new figures (Vader costume change is a critical alternate version, Sabine s2 is a major improvement while still not perfect, Tarkin is spectacular despite some folks' issue with the coloration, and the A-wing pilot herself is new), so it comes out better minifigure-wise than either of those you compared it to. Even if you roll back further and compare to the Sith Infiltrator at the same pricepoint it's better (only 2 new figures there, both of them pretty minor updates).

The points about Super Heroes vs Star Wars in terms of minifig vs build being the draw are valid. The vast, overwhelming majority of Super Heroes sets are scrap-builds ready to be immediately broken down for parts, it's ALL about the minifigures. I can scroll through the list of all Super Heroes sets and list the ones that of any real value to keep built and displayed: DC: Arkham Asylum, UCS Tumbler, *maybe* Jokerland and/or Wonder Woman's/Justice League jets, the BvS Batwing, the '66 Batcave Marvel: the first two Quinjets, the Starblaster Nova ship, the Milano, the Hulkbuster, Giant-Man, the Helicarrier, and the upcoming Spidey bridge You might be able to toss a couple more on to either list based on personal preference but the rest are all just basic trucks/cars/planes and assorted filler. The Star Wars line is a different situation - the figures are even MORE desirable, but the vehicles actually do matter. Almost all the characters in Star Wars are significantly enhanced by their vehicles - Poe needs his X-wing, Vader is better with a TIE, Palpatine looks great with a shuttle, etc. The vehicles, unlike almost anything in the Marvel films, are also iconic on their own - the scream of TIE fighters, the creak and clank of AT-ATs - these don't even require important characters to be inside, it's about the vehicles themselves. Nothing in Marvel or DC short of perhaps the Batmobiles can really boast the same. I agree with some of the general assessment on the recent discussion here that this isn't the strongest wave we've seen - we had some great small/medium kits in early 2016, none of the summer sets are without some kind of significant flaw, even though most of them are still for the most part good sets. The best of them, Vader vs A-wing, is a definitively great set, but even that is notched by the Tarkin uniform debate and Sabine's lack of a s2 helmet, still-incorrect skin tone, and bad-as-ever hairmold. To my mind, the summer wave probably is receiving the least of the effort of the 2016 waves - with the majority of the attention going to prepping for Rogue One.

So, based on these images, I think that the ideal Rogue One battlepack that we could hope for would be either 1x Tanktrooper (the Tank Driver stormies) 1x Deathtrooper 2x Stormtrooper OR 1x Beigetrooper (on the far left of the Imperial ensemble image with the big forehead helmet) 1x Deathtrooper 2x Stormtrooper OR 2x Deathtrooper 2x Stormtrooper I'd be fine with either, to be honest. As long as any battlepack has at least 2 basic Stormies. The new Tanktrooper/Tantroopers(until we get a better canon name). However, if the First Order battlepack or 2014 battlepacks are any indication, I wouldn't be surprised if we get something more like 1 of each of the four types (Basic, Tank, Beige, Death) or simply 2x Death and 2x Beige. As for the 2016 sets themselves, I anticipate 2-3 Tanktroopers in the Tank set, probably a few Deathtroopers scattered through 2-3 of the sets (TIE Striker and the big Imperial one, perhaps AT-ST as well), and at least 2 of those Beigetroopers somewhere (AT-ST seems plausible). The Director himself I only see appearing in whatever the big one is. I doubt we'll see any non-unique Rebels, just the core crew of heroes. If we have any luck, we'll get a Mon Mothma with the U-wing as that's now the only contender for largest Rebel kit in the wave.

Silver Centurion acquired. Still have lots to trade and lots to acquire. Let's make a deal!

+1 to retrotaco, thanks for the Silver Centurion!

It's the dvd promo. The theme is dead, which is too bad. I had actually hoped for a Scrappy-Doo. Maybe we'll see a UCS Mystery Machine someday, I'd certainly buy one.

So we've reached the end of the initial Dimensions release cycle - any idea when we can expect all that stuff with the leaked names like Harry Potter and A-Team and stuff?

Mouse headpiece is extremely easy to feel for, ears are large and unmistakable. Ducks are always betrayed not only by their unique head with bill but by the rubbery tail attachment and their headgear, though you need to be vigilant to catch the headgear sometimes.

I checked the high-rez minifig pics of the summer wave and unfortunately this is a no, lip color doesn't really match well and the vibe just isn't right.

Secured a couple things, have a finalized trade pending of Pre V. Silver Centurion still the priority!

That's a great Imperial officer head. Currently I haven't bothered making any of my officers specific imperials, just swapped in heads that look good to diversify. One head I found that looked interesting was the Karkaroff head from the Goblet of Fire kits, makes for a rather EU-looking angry Imperial.

It's baffling. At least with Ezra the Aladdin figure is a perfect, seamless substitute, I swapped in his head and hands onto an Ezra body and it looks right on. Hopefully we'll get lucky enough to have something similar happen for Sabine... almost anything would be better than her current white-bread soccer-mom face.

Update, some GOTG pending out and Pre Viszla pending in. Silver Centurion is still the #1 priority!

Another huge update - FINALLY got the chance to post a large list of my loose minifigure Haves from the more popular themes. Many more yet to do from other themes but those are the big ones.

HEAVY updates, lots of new stock available. Wants list next on the docket to be overhauled, most of it is still accurate though so keep the offers rollin'!

J2G's intel on next year being Batman, 17, Ninjago is quite exciting - didn't expect to see a Batman series. However, no Disney series 2? That seems like a slam dunk, much more than Ninjago, which I can't see being anything less than the dullest mainline CMF series ever.