The Action Figure and Toy Collecting and Discussion Thread!

[cooleddie74]

A Prequel Darth Vader based on the final scenes of Revenge of the Sith might be the greatest 3.75" Darth Vader action figure ever made by Hasbro? I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not read the incredible review of the (as-yet-unreleased) new Black Series figure over at Jedi Temple Archives. I mean: a Prequel Vader tops every OT version of the guy that's been made? Who could have predicted that? I can't wait to get my hands on this one!

Apparently even the lightsaber and the deactivated hilt are all-new as well. No recycled parts of any kind in this package.

 

[Saga]

that does look like a really great Vader.

 

[cooleddie74]

It's the first Episode III Darth Vader in the black armor since 2005, and the very first Prequel version that doesn't have a kid-oriented play/action feature of some kind.

 

[SPCTRE]

Wow, that Vader looks really, really well made.

 

[cooleddie74]

This new Vader has a geodesic sphere ball-socket neck joint that allows you to rotate and pose his neck and head in more directions and in a wider variety of angles than any other figure ever made of the character. Even the best previous figures had very limited rotation based on a more archaic swivel joint that allowed only the most basic left-to-right movement or a traditional ball joint that gave you plenty of motion but often left the head and neck at odds with one another and looking a little unnatural. This is the first time I can think of that a geodesic sphere design has been used for a 3.75" Star Wars neck/head joint.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

My my what a fruitful hunt I had today!

First, here's the Walgreens exclusive Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister from Funko's Game of Thrones Legacy Line:

This easily the preferred version of Tyrion. It's what he actually wears for most of the show. It makes me wonder why the heck this one is the exclusive, while the regular release is his far less commonly seen armor.

Then, I stopped by Target and found both of the new Star Wars Black Series Deluxe figures:

I gotta say, $40 is a little tough to swallow on these. This is especially true with Jabba, who has no accessories, very little articulation by design, and is mostly hollow. The sculpt and paint are both great, but I really wish he came with a bit more value. I love the Scout Trooper and speederbike. This is easily the shining star of the Black series so far.

 

[cooleddie74]

Have you noticed and played around with Jabba's opening mouth feature as described on the underside of his box?

Yes, I know that didn't sound right at all.

The Biker Scout and Speeder Bike is my favorite of the two new Deluxe releases. You get more articulation and plastic for your money and in this day and age that really matters. Jabba looks fantastic and is probably the best Jabba the Hutt toy that Hasbro's ever made, but he has no accessories and seems a tad bit overpriced.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Yeah, I've played with the mouth feature a bit. I could take it or leave it. It restricts the already restricted articulation a fair bit. I still like the look of the figure. It's really the cost that stinging with me.

 

[cooleddie74]

Yeah, if you ask the opinion of this collector I don't think Jabba represents $40 worth of plastic. At all. Maybe $30, but without a Salacious Crumb figure, railing and frog bowl with hookah pipe there just isn't much to look at and he's not as huge as some people might think. The Speeder Bike and Biker Scout are much closer to $40 in value, though, given the fully articulated figure and vehicle with the clear plastic stand.

I'm looking forward to the Wampa and Hoth Luke, though, so maybe Hasbro should be sure to pack at least two things in each Deluxe Black Series package. A Salacious Crumb would have made a nice difference with this retail release.

I have to give them credit for remembering to include his yoro root pigment tattoo. Only a few Jabba toys since the '80s have had the arm tattoo and the Walmart-exclusive 3.75" Jabba from a few years back is the only other one I can think of at the moment.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

They remembered the tattoo, but they forgot the wound on his tail. Go figure.

 

[Unicron]

Have you noticed and played around with Jabba's opening mouth feature as described on the underside of his box?

Yes, I know that didn't sound right at all.

Dirty minds... Is the speeder bike a new incarnation of the older mold with distinct pieces, or is it basically a solid piece? I'm curious cause I had an original speeder bike in my toy collection growing up, and I always had a bit of a soft spot for it.

 

[cooleddie74]

It's all-new. They've never before made a 6" version of the Imperial Speeder Bike before and I believe it has some articulated, moving pieces. I don't think it's all one solid lump of plastic.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

You know, it occurs to me that I've never really shown off my Star Wars collection here. I'll admit, it's not amazing. I have limited space, so a lot of it is crammed together inside a single display case. Still, I have some nice stuff.

The very top. There a Sideshow 1/6 scale Jabba, Bib Fortuna, and Salacious Crumb. Also are a few of the Unleashed statues. That was an amazing line that I really miss.

Interior top shelf is all the 3 3/4" figures. I've condensed this down quite a bit. I used to have a ton on display.

Second interior shelf is a more recent addition. This is for the 6" Black Series figures. I'm still figuring out how I like them here, so this is more of a temporary setup:

Bottom interior shelf is my Sideshow 1/6 scale shelf. Ah, these are wonderful. Though I've actually switched most of them out with superior Hot Toys bodies. That's where there's a little bit of skin color discrepancy. It doesn't show up anywhere near as much in person as it does in the photo, though.

 

[cooleddie74]

You have a pretty great collection, man. The second photo is almost a Sgt. Pepper album cover for toy geeks. Needless to say, you have more than a few figures in these pics that are in hot demand and I have to give props to anybody who managed to find both the Vintage Collection Bastila Shan and Darth Malgus. I'm impressed.

Cool pics!

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Yeah, I was surprised when people told me Bastilla was hard to find. I guess that's the one perk to living in a small town. My Wal-mart may be the last to get everything, but when it does I have no competition.

 

[cooleddie74]

To this day the Vintage Collection version of her is expensive on eBay. You can get the multilingual Canadian cardback of the figure, but even that one can cost a buyer $40 or $50. The Black Series repack and repaint might drive the Vintage release's secondary market prices down a little, but seeing as the paint apps are different and each figure is "unique" it may not.

 

[Kira's Mom]

I just bid on a loose Starfox figure from the exclusive SDCC Thanos set. I sure hope Thanos's younger, sexier brother makes an appearance in the MCU!

 

[SPCTRE]

My my what a fruitful hunt I had today!

First, here's the Walgreens exclusive Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister from Funko's Game of Thrones Legacy Line:

This easily the preferred version of Tyrion. It's what he actually wears for most of the show. It makes me wonder why the heck this one is the exclusive, while the regular release is his far less commonly seen armor.

What's the regular version, some sort of battle armour?

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Yeah, this is the regular version. I think he wore this in one episode. Hardly the look I think of for Tyrion.

Picked up the new Earth-2 Batman yesterday. I love Batman variants, and this is a really sweet and unique looking one:

 

[cooleddie74]

I saw my very first 6" Jabba the Hutt today at my local TRU, but since my first 6" purchases are intended as boxed display pieces and this particular Jabba had a dented and crushed upper corner of the packaging I had to pass on this copy and wait for the next ones I see. There were no 6" Speeder Bikes and Biker Scouts left.

My Targets just completed its toy department reset with the brand new, much wider Star Wars section complete with the new Command figurines and toys, Rebels gear and the huge X-Wing Fighters that are just big, solid lumps of plastic with no moving parts except for a removable astromech shell you plug into the droid socket, but no new 6" to be seen and just the same-old, same-old 3.75" figures that were there before the reset. Still, the new displays look pretty cool and it's an exponential improvement over what it looked like before.