Continuing The Discussion On Rebel Pilots

As a follow up to Wednesday's Troop Builder Pack article, I wanted to dive into the topic of Rebel Pilots, specifically the manner in which many of them were released. When discussing the recent Boba Fett's Starship, Hasbro used a great phrase with respect to the included Nomad Boba Fett. They indicated that the figure would likely get a single carded release, saying they wouldn't want to "firewall" it behind a $200 vehicle. I liked that phrase so much that I knew I was going to steal it some day.

Many of the Rebel Pilots released to date have been firewalled behind multi-packs. Now, there is nothing wrong with that because when they were initially released on the primary market, those sets were affordable. The problem is that in the intervening decade or so, they have become inaccessibly expensive. This is why we suggested Hasbro upgrade these pilots to the new VC158 - Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) buck. It's a double win. Fans get access to those expensive figures and the sculpts get upgraded.

For the purpose of this article, we're only discussing pilots that can use the VC158 buck. So even though we will cover a set that includes Porkins, he won't be cited because he needs a HUSKY buck. Let's look at the expensive sets firewalling pilots that could be upgraded using the VC158 buck.

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Who is firewalled:

     Garven Dreis (Red Leader) - Battle of Scarif, Battle of Yavin

Ebay Value: ~$200

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Who is firewalled:

     Tiree (Gold 2) - Battle of Yavin
     Davish "Pops" Krail (Gold 5) - Battle of Yavin

Ebay Value: ~$115

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Who is firewalled:

     Grizz Frix (Red 5) - Battle of Endor

Ebay Value: ~$110

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Who is firewalled:

     John D. Branon (Red 4) - Battle of Yavin

Ebay Value: ~$100

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There you have it. It would cost a collector somewhere around $500 to track down all of these sets. Or Hasbro could upgrade those pilots to the VC158 buck and spread them over a couple of Troop Builder packs which are 1/10th that cost.

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