++mod notice++
You can disagree with someone without mocking their position. Do it.
Thanks, Weirdo.
To borrow a phrase, it's not just the thing, it's also the story behind the thing. OK, yes there are others. But this one was picked up at [convention] where I had a really good time, and was the envy of others. Doesn't matter how many releases there are, nothing is going to take that away.
I hear you, dgorsman and while yes I agree with both you and Weirdo in his first reply to me that IT IS great that after all this time, there's been this special opportunity for others to get their hands on a highly coveted model, in your own way you actually validate the core of my point as Cache also does ...
The popularity of collectable games speaks to the reasoning. Obviously rarity means something to some people.
I agree that there should be something on the actual miniature to distinguish it from the previous limited release. If not, what was the point of a limited release in the first place? Now it's just special packaging, not a special miniature.
There is a history to this model. It's not just a limited run, but something that had original significance.
Despite the fact that his post was not in support of my position, Scotty (perhaps unwittingly) even helps to validate the point for me:
Exclusivity is its own reward to some people. GOTHIK mentioned 'value', too.
Altogether those posts fully capture exactly what I was saying. That given the history of the miniature, the exclusivity of it's procurement (e.g., a prize for participation in Trial of Retribution events in 2003), and it's extreme rarity (e.g., there were only 120 made) I believe it would be an understatement to say that mine or anyone else's disappointment that there's nothing to distinguish the original from the re-released miniature is justified. Clearly all the reasons that have been discussed so far by us as a community illustrate that this miniature holds value for reasons that are not limited to being merely monetary which cannot be diminished.