I went into this year's Star Wars toy launch - dubbed Triple Force Friday - with no small sense of foreboding. Between the lacklustre launch of Solo's line of Star Wars toys and the systemic distribution problems ever since, there were a lot of reasons to think that things wouldn't go all that well. Calls to my local brick-and-mortar toy retailers (which here in Sydney comprise Kidstuff, EB Games, Kmart, Target, and Myer) didn't do much to alleviate the sense of impending doom. My inquiries were met with a variety of different - though universally discouraging - replies, from complete ignorance about the new releases (Kidstuff), to uncertainty about the release date (shipping delays mean Kmart's stock may be up to two weeks late), to somehow thinking I was a merchandiser who "worked for Star Wars" and would be bringing new stock myself (thanks for that particularly bewildering conversation, Target). Nevertheless, I did my best to stay positive - helped largely by my relentlessly optimistic wife and collecting-partner-in-crime. Fortunately, it paid off.
While every other retailer was bereft of new stock outside of the Star Wars Lego line, EB Games came through with a smattering of Hasbro's wares - including a single unopened case of the latest wave of The Vintage Collection. As an exclusively 3 3/4" collector, that was all I was after. In a a few short seconds I was able to get my hands on all five new Rise of Skywalker figures. And with that, my Triple Force Friday was over.
Sadly, this may very well be my last big foray into brick-and-mortar toy hunting. While I hope to see future waves of The Vintage Collection on shelves, it'll all depend on how well this current wave sells. If past sales and distribution problems continue, this is likely to be the last restock we'll see for some time. Given this, I'll be turning back to the online secondary market as a way of securing the latest releases. But it'll always be a poor substitute. There's obviously a lot of joy to be had in getting your hands on a figure, but there's nothing quite like that satisfaction of tracking it down in person. If action figure collecting is going to become an exclusively online affair, then I'm really going to miss the hunt...
Tonight, we're finishing up Triple Force Friday with some blue milk and a rewatch of The Last Jedi Stay tuned over the next few days, however, as I'll be posting some deeper dives into the items I picked up today!
How did your Triple Force Friday hunt go? Be sure to let us know via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!
Tonight, we're finishing up Triple Force Friday with some blue milk and a rewatch of The Last Jedi Stay tuned over the next few days, however, as I'll be posting some deeper dives into the items I picked up today!
How did your Triple Force Friday hunt go? Be sure to let us know via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!
