[TheBlueMarvel]

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Originally Posted by MeLikeJinx

Weren't some of you stressing about Galactus last week or something... and now you are getting 3 addition figures maybe... nice turn around I must say.

Yes, I was quite concerned about whether the stretch goals would meet muster and still feel very much the same way looking back at the process:

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Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

They are going to have to scramble and throw Firelord in, or face an embarrassing failure to even hit one stretch goal. I know there are a lot of fans/apologists for "The Big Three" (I really hope they didn't crown themselves with that name....ohhh, the hubris), but this was botched pretty badly. It wouldn't have killed them to make the first tier a 2 herald unlock considering the number of choices. Additionally, the insertion of a Surfer retread was a straight dummy move reeking of both greed and laziness. And I don't want to hear about the costly construction of bucks/molds as this is an earmarked project and any additional costs pale in comparison to whatever the price tag is/was for tooling Galactus. How any well-heeled toy project-manager who presumably follows toy-media doesn't have even a cursory understanding that Nova and Firelord are atop almost everyone's list is simply beyond me.

....and this from someone that really, really, really wants this to happen. Someone that has already signed on for 2 and is still willing to potentially pick up more, IF they come correct.

Meh. As it stands, I'll still get a mighty impressive toy out of it all, but it appears I'll still be waiting to scratch those herald itches.

EDIT To Hasbro...show me Firelord and I will get another. Extend that tease list to Redshift, Morg, Stardust, etc and I'll follow up accordingly.

My disappointment was because I had higher (unrealistic, apparently) hopes than most for this project as I'm a significant fan of Surfer and Galactus:

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Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

^^I'd prefer Red Shift, Stardust, Morg, the Fallen One, the Destroyer, Alpha Ray, Tyrant, Anti-Man *snip*

And even though I'm very happy to eat crow, there are still ways in which I would like to see this handled differently if Hasbro moves on to a REAL Surtur, Ymir, Foom, Giagnto, etc:

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Originally Posted by TheBlueMarvel

Agreed. The silly stretch-goal secrecy represents counterintuitive marketing to the extent that it almost smacks as amateurish. As you point out, the whole coy nature of the 'Easter-Egg' approach to reveals and 'oh boy, what's on Ryan's shelf/mind today???' is beyond infantilizing. Without being privy to the numbers, I'd hazzard to guess that the people that love this sort of thing don't buy in 'waves'. Instead, they're likely buying one-offs here and there, which is fine as there's room for all. However, for collectors that still buy nearly everything, speaking for myself only, this shit has long since become tedious. Just tell me what I can expect, leading me around by the nose with glimpses of a foot here and a hand there will only have the opposite effect. The fatigue inspired by this tactic is bleeding through on this thread, if I take the comments I've read at face value. I only visit the Ark for toy news now and no longer frequent other sites like TheFwoosh, but I imagine a similar exhaustion is developing in a more global sense.

I'd always intended to buy at least as many Galactus sets as I did Sentinels because I view these projects as truly lasting investments for the action figure collecting crowd. I've read many people remark over the years that investing in MLs as collector items was foolish due to a fickle market featuring frequent fluctuations; statements that I agreed with, until HasLab. After seeing Jabba's skiff sell for $1400, I realized that these projects will not only retain their value, but they'll likely appreciate exponentially. All Hasbro had to do with Galactus was clear a fairly low threshold (in comparison to my extended herald wants) in order to win a significant investment from me because HasLab has proven itself to be a fairly safe bet - the cost for multiples will pay for itself on the secondary market. I don't even intend to buy and hold beyond Christmas of the corresponding delivery year outside of the things I want for my personal collection and planned gifts.

In any event, I'm happy with how things turned out, if not fully satisfied. Galactus is incredible, Nova's finally here, and at least I got one of my most coveted herald longshots and he looks stupendous. Nice job Hasbro!

Get me my other heralds STAT and deluxe that Tyrant and Alpha Ray!!! ...it never ends.