It was said that the classic specials range would be discontinued.
I don't see what the problem is, here.
Boys love building armies ... it's what they do and what they've been doing for decades! Unfortunately there are no sets that make it easier to build armies, and I cannot understand why! If you take a look at the new redcoats, for example, you get most of the klickies in expensive sets ... and the single redcoat with the cannon is still too expensive for army building purposes. Obviously there is DS, but DS is known only to fans. People who pop into a shop rarely know about DS.
Is it so difficult to have a set - a normal, shop-sold set - containing for eg 5 red coats and their commander, like the old one from the early 90s? They would be a bit like Lego Star Wars battlepacks, even though with those, now, they have introduced the concept of 'conflict in a box', meaning that you dont get a set containing for eg 4 stormtroppers and another set containing 4 rebel soldiers, but one set containing 2 troopers and two rebels. The idea being that children wouldnt need to buy two sets to recreate a battle.