The Action Figure and Toy Collecting and Discussion Thread!

[cooleddie74]

Oh, you had to be Johnny-on-the-Spot with a lot of those Unleashed figures or else you'd never see them. I managed to find the red striped variant of the Episode II Clone Trooper(the one where one of his dead and pockmarked comrades forms the base on which he stands) once and never, ever saw it again. Boba and Han were the same. Blink and you missed 'em. I was just lucky enough to be shopping at Walmart the day they were restocking the Unleashed figures and got them fresh from the shipping case. There were only a small handful in that line that pegwarmed...Unleashed did very, very well. Better than the 3-3/4" line did at times.

[cooleddie74]

Hey, OdoWan...are you familiar with this upcoming Sideshow Collectibles version of Obi-Wan Kenobi?



It's a special release that bridges the 20-year gap between REVENGE OF THE SITH and A NEW HOPE by showing Obi-Wan gradually aging from Ewan McGregor to Alec Guinness. I think it will have two different heads that are interchangeable, one with an older-looking McGregor face where he's starting to wrinkle and get gray hairs(see above) and a second with a younger-looking Guinness face to represent Obi-Wan's slow morph from one actor into the other during his long exile on Tatooine. It's the only collectible that's ever tried to bridge the visual gap between Ewan and Alec by depicting at least part of the character's aging and transition. Whaddya think, man? Pretty cool!

[Stephen!]

Can anyone identify these? A hoth figure, which is either Luke or Han Solo, I'm not sure. A Black R2-D2-esque droid and the other two, I'm definitely not sure about.

[cooleddie74]

Stephen! wrote:

---

Can anyone identify these? A hoth figure, which is either Luke or Han Solo, I'm not sure. A Black R2-D2-esque droid and the other two, I'm definitely not sure about.

1. 4-LOM the droid bounty hunter(2007).
2. Power of the Force 2 Han Solo(Hoth Gear, 1995).
3. Lott Dod, the Trade Federation representative in the Senate(2002).
4. R5-J2, an Imperial astromech droid aboard the second Death Star(2006).

[Shazam!]

The astromech and 4-LOM still hold up.

Got Bespin Han today. Probably the best Han Solo they've made (though shout-out to the VOTC Han).

[cooleddie74]

Yeah, the VC50 Bespin Han is one of the legends of the Vintage Collection...I'm so glad they repacked him because his first 2011 release was harder to find than a tutu that makes a person look badass and manly. The facial resemblance to Harrison Ford is pretty commendable with this figure...some are complaining that he doesn't have the brown holster strap on his right thigh as seen in photos and the movie, but whaddya gonna do. Hasbro's designers wanted the holster to hang free a little so attaching a strap wasn't really possible on this figure. Still, it's an amazing Han with a pretty good likeness to Harrison and probably the best EMPIRE/Episode V Han Solo we've ever gotten. And if not, he's pretty close.

[Mutenroshi]

I still got those:

[cooleddie74]

I've always had a soft spot for the original 1983 Admiral Ackbar. Simple. To the point. Goofy looking. The newer versions are startlingly lifelike and accurate, but they just don't have the fun charm of the very first figure from almost thirty years ago. Remember that black, ribbed baton he came with that made no sense? Ahhhh, ya gotta love the old days of the hobby. Figures didn't really look like the characters and half the time their weapons and accessories didn't even come close to matching the movie props...but we loved them all the same and they were an integral part of our lives. They were rugged, simple playthings that could take a horrendous beating.

As much as I adore the modern figures with their lifelike accuracy and 14 different joints, they're the kind of figures that if a kid plays with them a little too roughly the heads or limbs will pop off and you might have a lot of trouble getting them reattached. There are a hundred and one things that can go wrong with a post-1995 STAR WARS action figure. But the original stuff was the kind of toy you could drive a tank over and you could still play with it. The classic stuff was for playing with. The new stuff is for display.

[Mutenroshi]

Y'know, I had completely forgotten about that stick/baton!
I think I still have the Emperor somewhere but he's cover in mud...

[cooleddie74]

BREAKING NEWS:

The never-before-seen, upcoming Darth Maul Returns Battle Pack based on the conclusion of Season 4 of THE CLONE WARS! This will be a Target exclusive and contain two all-new, from scratch figures(mechno/cyber-Maul and Mother Talzin the Dathomir Nightsister) along with the straight repack of the heavily sought-after and poorly distributed "Armored" Savage Opress from 2011's basic CLONE WARS line.

A unique and brand new Darth Maul with robotic legs? The first Nightsister/Witch to ever get made? The rerelease of a Savage Opress that has attained a near-cult status? This one will sell fast! If you're a fan of THE CLONE WARS as well as Darth Maul, make sure you grab this when you see it!

[OdoWanKenobi]

cooleddie74 wrote:

---

Hey, OdoWan...are you familiar with this upcoming Sideshow Collectibles version of Obi-Wan Kenobi?



It's a special release that bridges the 20-year gap between REVENGE OF THE SITH and A NEW HOPE by showing Obi-Wan gradually aging from Ewan McGregor to Alec Guinness. I think it will have two different heads that are interchangeable, one with an older-looking McGregor face where he's starting to wrinkle and get gray hairs(see above) and a second with a younger-looking Guinness face to represent Obi-Wan's slow morph from one actor into the other during his long exile on Tatooine. It's the only collectible that's ever tried to bridge the visual gap between Ewan and Alec by depicting at least part of the character's aging and transition. Whaddya think, man? Pretty cool!

Yeah, I've seen that one. I like it quite a bit. It's part of a new series they're rolling out called Star Wars Mythos. They're actually pretty decently priced considering the going rate of polystone statues these days. I've got so much else on my plate with the Hot Toys Avengers and Star Wars that I probably won't get it, though.

There's also a Darth Maul from the line that they've got up for preorder:
Mythos Darth Maul

[cooleddie74]

I saw that one! Badass, isn't he? The Mythos line looks like it might be a home run if it's handled correctly. The Maul and "Desert Nomad" Obi-Wan are my two favorites that I've seen so far...I don't know how many they're planning on making but so far they're off to an amazing start!

[OdoWanKenobi]

Those two are the only ones to my knowledge that they've shown so far. Even if I'm not buying, I'm still watching this line. I've been very impressed by the first two offerings.

ETA: Oh wow, I'm wrong. Looks like Vader, Boba Fett, and a Gammorean are on the way too:
Linky

[cooleddie74]

They should do a kid or teenage Luke using childhood photos of Mark Hamill as a basis and guide. We've seen him as a newborn infant and a young adult, but never as a kid or teen. Since the Mythos line is supposed to feature things the characters did off-screen/in the Expanded Universe lore then it'd be really awesome to see what Luke looked like growing up with Owen and Beru.

Heck, we got to see Luke's father as a nine-year-old kid...why not his son? And at least Luke won't be screaming "yippee"!

[OdoWanKenobi]

Aaaaah! Just got notice from Sideshow that the Hot Toys Luke is delayed until October. Nooooooooooooooooo!