That is my timeline as well.
- D23 set in 2015 (before Force Friday)
- Single Vader after (not on!) Force Friday on Nov 23, with turbulent availabilty throughout the web and stores, but being the same figure
- unmasked Vader in 2018
I remember it as the D23 set Vader and then a single release that came out at some point AFTER Force Friday 2015 but before TFA. That figure would go in and out of stock on the Disney site as well as Disney Stores throughout 2016- 2017. Then unmasked Vader comes out in 2018.
Hmmm ok.
Maybe we're saying the same thing, but differently..?
I remeber d23 set.
Then i remember six of those figures being released one-at-a-time and one per week in the 6 weeks or so leading up to the release of the force awakens. One to commemorate each movie released leading up to TFA: maul for TPM, anakin for TCW, grievous for RotS, stormtrooper for ANH, Vader for ESB, and Fett for RotJ (or something like that).
At least in my local disney stores, once TFA was released, they shifted to only sell figures from TFA. Then after 6 months or so, when it seemed like interest in the Elite Series figures was starting to slow down a little, they started selling a vader again that was otherwise identical to the ESB early release vader described above. That guy stayed in my local Disney store, in surprisingly high numbers, for at least 3 months. I probably should have bought one (or more) at the time.
Again, maybe we're saying the same thing. I unfortunately didnt take much notice of force Friday back then, so the timing of that really isnt something i remember - which could also be throwing off my description of events.
..or maybe my Disney store wasnt very good at managing their inventory or something, and when i asked what was going on they spun some tall tale that was complete BS.
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