399 replies to this topic

[Tortle]

According to GalacticHunter.com, these vintage-style figures will cost $10 each! Sure, you're paying for the packaging (they also report that the cards will come in an external protective commemorative packaging similar to the TRU He-Man rereleases). But come on... ten bucks for a tiny 3 3/4" figure that doesn't even come with any large-scale accessories? What a rip!

At this price-point, I'll only get a few of these figures, probably Yoda, Vader, and Chewie. Man... what a let-down.

Fortunately, the normal figures are still at the $5 price point.

-Nathan

Edited by Tortle, 17 February 2004 - 08:24 AM.

[Tortle]

Hasbro is running another Fan's Choice Poll, this time asking...

Which one of these old outdated figures would you like to see rehashed in this Fall's Original Trilogy Collection basic figure packaging?

* R2-D2 with holographic Princess Leia
* Admiral Motti
* Ree-Yees
* Death Star Trooper
* Han Solo in Stormtrooper Disguise (from 2001 Trash Compactor Scene Pack)
* Imperial Scanning Crew Trooper (from Millennium Falcon Carrying Case)


Here's the results so far:

R2-D2 with holographic Princess Leia: 20%
Admiral Motti : 21%
Ree-Yees : 14%
Death Star Trooper : 9%
Han Solo in Stormtrooper Disguise (from 2001 Trash Compactor Scene Pack): 30%
Imperial Scanning Crew Trooper (from Millennium Falcon Carrying Case): 7%


Those who chose the Scanning Crew Trooper are among the stupidest people alive. In fact, if the Scanner wins this poll, I'm going to give up Star Wars collecting FOREVER because it would be obvious that the fan base is insane.

Anyway, I voted for Han Trooper, since he was never available on a single card and I didn't have a chance to get him considering he was in an expensive multi-pack. I would also like R2 Holo, though.

-Nathan

[Tortle]

I thought that the choices are appropriate for the purpose of the poll. All these figures are good quality figures but were always difficult to find at retail. Except the Scanner, that is.

But I agree with you, I think this poll sucks. Truthfully, I'm not sure what the purpose of it is. Most of these figures go for dirt-cheap on eBay, including R2 Holo. Then again, I guess I would also question the purpose of the Original Trilogy Collection. We can easily and inexpensively get all of these figures on eBay, why offer them again?

-Nathan

[Tortle]

Some re-issues are ok. I think kids should be able to get main characters anytime they want.

Yeah, I guess Hasbro is trying to appeal to the kid market again with the release of the films on DVD. I'm just tired of seeing the same crap on the shelves.

Check out the results now...

R2-D2 with holographic Princess Leia: 15%
Admiral Motti : 17%
Ree-Yees : 12%
Death Star Trooper : 6%
Han Solo in Stormtrooper Disguise (from 2001 Trash Compactor Scene Pack): 24%
Imperial Scanning Crew Trooper (from Millennium Falcon Carrying Case): 25%!!!

What the eff?! This HAS to be some kind of hacking job. I can't believe that not only is the Scanner popular enough to jump 20% in two days, but also that this many collectors are so utterly moronic in their tastes.

But then again, maybe everyone wants a Scanner... and therefore, maybe my Star Wars collecting days are numbered.

-Nathan

[Tortle]

Yeah, for the most part. The Scanning Trooper was primarily constructed of POTF2 AT-ST driver parts with slight adjustments to the forearms. At first, I thought its head was taken from the vintage Imperial Commander, but after "further nalysis", it looks like the Scanner head is unique to that figure, albeit so poorly sculpted that it looked vintage-style.

If Hasbro is trying to appeal to kids, why even offer such an obscure and boring character for rerelease?

-Nathan

[Tortle]

Well, all of my suggestions are from the original trilogy, which is what I think most fans are interested in. I would go with:

Ewok Hornblower / Ewok mom with cub two pack
Ewoks have been scarce, which is a shame since I love the guys. I think the hornblower would be great, since he's one of the few Ewoks that did something distinctive. Also, the Ewok mom with cub would be nifty since a bunch of cubs had a nice, big close-up in the movie.

Arcona with Cantina table
The first Cantina alien seen on screen, I always thought this guy deserved a figure. Some artistic license might need to be taken with its body, though, since I don't think it was even conceptualized.

R5-D4 with Jawa
For God's sake, fans have been clamoring for a new R5-D4 since the first horrible rocket-firing one was released. But the astromech droid alone wouldn't be worth the $5, so a new Jawa should be tossed in for good measure.

Hermi Odle
This dude is butt-ugly, but he would make a nice and distinctive addition to a Jabba's Palace diorama, and a nice companion piece to Ephont Mon.

Toryn Far with Hoth Base console
I usually wouldn't go for human background characters, but I think this figure would go well with General Rieekan. Also, it would give fans another sorely-needed female character.

Out of the list, I would probably go with the Ewoks since they've been largely ignored. Also, it would be nice to get something other than a Wicket rehash.

-Nathan

[Tortle]

1. The Tonnika Sisters
2. Biggs in his Cadet uniform

Ah, good choices. I was thinking of Academy Biggs, too, and I think that figure would be especially pertinent if the cut Biggs scene is included in the DVD.

3. Alien Rebel Pilot in an Orange Uniform

I think this is a cool choice, but I would like to see an alien other than a Twi'lek since we get Twi'lek figures all the time (of the top of my head, we've gotten Bib, a senator, a Podrace Box girl, Oola, a Nightclub girl, and two Jedis). I would like to see something more exotic, like a Hammerhead or an Ishi Tib.

5. A Holiday Special figure

Although I would love figures of Chewie's family, I think the possibility of us seeing figures from the Holiday Special is zip. Even though Chewie's family could technically be from other EU sources (like that Chewbacca comic miniseries), I think George will forever shun anything from the Holiday Special. Except Boba Fett that is, if he could be considered to originate from the special.

-Nathan

Edited by Tortle, 26 February 2004 - 11:42 AM.

[Tortle]

TheJawa.com has posted pictures from an article in Lee's Toy Review, showing the second wave of "vintage" figures!

Lando
Although this is probably the best Lando and definitely has some great articulation, the figure just doesn't do anything for me.

Threepio
Again, probably the best Threepio (although, to me not really noticably better than the Millenium Coin Edition Threepio). Unfortunately, articulation looks limited, which is a shame since I've always thought that Threepio's leg design would be perfect for hiding knee articulation.

Yoda
We're getting two great Yodas this year! I especially like this version because it comes with the same accessories as the vintage one: soft goods, a cane, and a snake.

Darth Vader
By far the star of this assortment, this Vader looks like it's far superior to the others in terms of sculpt and articulation. This guy is a must-buy for me.

Overall, this stuff rocks! I'm disappointed that the unreasonable price will limit how many of these figures I will buy.

-Nathan

[Tortle]

So, can I have all your SW stuff?

Sure! Just as soon as I'm finished burning it in a bonfire reminiscent of the Nazi book-burnings.

This HAS to be a hack. The Scanner is arguably the worst Star Wars figure ever made. I can't imagine people would want it. I think a new Scanner based on the new Imperial officer sculpts would be pretty cool, but this figure has the "He-Man" POTF2 style!

Truthfully, my main complaint from the start of this thread (over a year ago! ) is returning: rehashed, repetitive figures and concepts. I was encouraged by the coolness of the scene-specific waves, but I guess that can't last forever.

If the Scanning Trooper IS rereleased, he might become the star of the next 4th of July Celebration.

-Nathan

Edited by Tortle, 05 March 2004 - 08:15 AM.

[Tortle]

I'm curious to see if there are rumblings about hacking, so I sent Adam at GalacticHunter.com this message:

I am baffled by the results of the last Fan's Choice poll.  I was surprised when the Imperial Scanning Crew Trooper was included in the poll since it's arguably one of the worst Star Wars figures ever produced with its horrible POTF2 muscular proportions, rehased parts, and inherently boring design.  Besides, a Falcon carrying case with Scanning Trooper can be easily and inexpensively obtained through Ebay. 

I was astonished to see it so quickly overtake the other figures in the poll, and finally win the poll outright!  Why would somebody vote for this figure?  Surely this is another hack, right?

Let's see if he addresses this in his next Q&A. These Fan's Choice polls are such a debacle!

-Nathan

[el midgetron]

"most ranting post by el midgetron ever"
AKA " what the hell is he talking about" and "don't bother reading this" (really, - el)

When it comes to SW figures no one did it better than Kenner. Their ground breaking toy line revolutionized the toy industry. Before Kenner released the initial 12 SW figures, the term "action figure" had been toy industry code for "dolls for boys." The term was penned in the early 1960's by some visionary employees of a small toy company called Hasbro. The then ceo of Hasbro had no interest in manufacturing dolls, let alone dolls for boys. And teats just what Don Levine had in mind. With his vision and the success of the "doll hating CEO" friendly term, GI Joe was introduced to the world and was a huge success. However by the late 1960s Joe become another victim of Vietnam. Forced to grow his hair fuzzy and find employment with an organization know only as the Adventure Team. Joe's exploits in the early 1970s included stealing priceless artifacts from underdeveloped countries, killing rare and endangered animals*, scoring dime bags and the rape of countless Barbies. About this time action figures shrank 4 inches thanks to another company called Mego. Mego produced 8 inch figures based on dozens of popular properties including Marvel and DC super heroes, POTA and the Dukes of Hazzard. Mego became the undisputed kind of action figures for a short time. It lost its title when it passed on producing a line of figures for a somewhat obscure forth coming movie called Star Wars. The license was eventually given to Kenner who produced the figures in a compact inexpensive 3.75 inch format. If mego had taken the Star Wars contract, the figures would have been the standard 8 inches tall. With the huge success for the movies, Kenner's small figures became the standard for action figures and the format was followed by both Mego and Hasbro (Hasbro had already shrank GI Joe to an 8 inch shell of his former glory). Kenners smaller sized figures aslo made another industry standard obsolet. Until then most action figures were produced like many lines of dolls were. With one generic body disguised by clothing and topped with a head. This was good news of the thousands of young boys who didn't care what outfit GI Joe was wearing while he burned villages and tortured Charlie. The new action figures were more inexpensive, more durable, allowed for more elaborate play sets and vehicles and they didn't need to get dressed in the morning. For me this is when modern action figures were born. I have heard lots of criticism of the old SW figures in that they had no articulation and were posed as if they were laying in a coffin. Believe it or not it didn't matter. We gladly turned our backs on the more articulated larger figures for these new smaller solid plastic figures. No other toy company has had more of an impact on action figures than Kenner has. And no toy company with a large license like SW is going to do something that will come close. There is to much money at risk. Hasbro will make full use of its 15 year contract. Star Wars is the toy line franchise equivalent of McDonnalds. Lucas may say he's not making any more Star Wars movies but he will milk SW until his dying day. I am sure, that deep in the evil labs of Skywalker ranch there are dozens of plots being developed to keep selling SW to the masses forever. After all why would Hasbro accept a contract for 15 years if there was no new media planned. Cartoons, TV shows and maybe even daytime soap operas are likely being developed as we speak. And as for "no more movies" sounds a lot like the Rolling Stones Farewell tour. Or, when they said "no more Star Trek movies" and then made STNG movie(s). I can easily see them making more movies dealing with the Star Wars Universe. Lucas is a big fat money hungry pig and who ever gains control of the SW property after he dies will continue to prostitute it in full. Beside without making any more movies, Lucas could continue to reedit and re-release the existing Star Wars films until they tell the story of the civil war. Anything really new in the way of action figures is not going to come from the major toys companies. New ideas and innovations will come from the same place they always have, small independent companies who have nowhere to go but up. Hasbro will continue to put out the same type of SW crap they have been. I quit buying it years ago and won't again until they make the Luke and Leia incestuous play set.





*another thing that tears my hole is the creeping political correctness of toys. Most notably is the demonetization of toy guns. As a child I owned several realistic toy guns and never got shot by some lunatic who mistook me for an 8 year old homicidal maniac with a REAL M16. Are toy guys the problem or is it the trigger happy people who shoot children?
The original Adventure Team play set was "The Hunt for the White Tiger". When it was re-released a few years back it was renamed "the Rescue of the White Tiger". Lucas is PC freak as he displayed by making Greedo Shoot at Han Solo first in the redo of the original SW movie.
Soon the only acceptable toys will be the likes of "the organic farmer" (with composting action) or "the Honors club gang" (with practice SAT questions).

[Tortle]

Well, I must admit that I'm not sure what is the point of the history portion of your post, Midge. But anyway...

When it comes to SW figures no one did it better than Kenner.

No one has made SW figures OTHER than Kenner/Hasbro. I think that's my main problem with the line. We have had no variety with the figures. Mego Star Wars toys would have been awesome!

Hasbro will make full use of its 15 year contract.

It certainly will, but Star Wars is not an invincible line. It ended in 1986, and it almost ended with the Leia Hoth/Pote Snitkin wave. Collectors are the only ones keeping this line afloat, and eventually, with no movies on the horizon, they will lose interest.

At this point, I'm loosing interest, too. I was a HUGE Star Wars collector "back in the day". But with the crappy quality of the prequels and the repetitive toys, Star Wars is losing me and I've been looking at other toy lines to collect, like Transformers. I suspect I'm not the only one. In fact, with this quote, I think you agree:

Hasbro will continue to put out the same type of SW crap they have been. I quit buying it years ago and won't again until they make the Luke and Leia incestuous play set.

[Tortle]

Oh yeah, and Adam @ GalacticHunter.com answered my question:

1. I am baffled by the results of the last Fan's Choice poll. I was surprised when the Imperial Scanning Crew Trooper was included in the poll since it's arguably one of the worst Star Wars figures ever produced with its horrible POTF2 muscular proportions, rehased parts, and inherently boring design. Besides, a Falcon carrying case with Scanning Trooper can be easily and inexpensively obtained through Ebay.

I was astonished to see it so quickly overtake the other figures in the poll, and finally win the poll outright! Why would somebody vote for this figure? Surely this is another hack, right?
--Nathan

Actually, funny you should ask this. For the longest time, this figure was going on eBay for about $40. And as you may have noticed as a recurring theme on this column, fans as a whole-- myself included-- are often unaware of just how much the prices on the secondary market change for these toys because there are hundreds of them and, frankly, it's really hard to follow everything. So, I did us all a favor and looked him up on eBay.

A mint loose complete one-- without the case-- went for $18.99. Of course, this one had the figure listed in the auction title. Several that did not received no bids and could have been had for $15, and a few actually sold for about the same price. Oddly enough, the loose figure got a whopping 11 bids, probably having something to do with the fact the buyer didn't have to pay for the ultimately disposable carry case. The case, I should add, that is one of the two worst Hasbro has ever produced. As such, I cannot see a single one that can be had more inexpensively via eBay.

As this figure is an army builder that was pretty tough to find in stores and could only be had with the purchase of an expensive toy you most likely already had and did not want, this is an ideal choice for a figure to package and sell as part of the Original Trilogy Collection. I myself only have one of the scanning techs, and would probably buy at least 2-3 more if given the chance. It's not a great figure, and for all we know Hasbro might make some changes to it before it gets released. It is hard to get, though, and as it was never available on a card before, I'd be happy to see it put out, especially in the OTC since those cardbacks actually don't suck.

Frankly, Hasbro can reissue every pack-in pilot or bonus figure on a card that they want, as far as I'm concerned, and I'd line up to buy the lot of them. (Except maybe the Swoop Trooper and Biker Scout from 1996.) A lot of us didn't want or need multiples of the vehicles or cases, and frankly, I can't think of anybody that got excited at the prospect of the Millennium Falcon case being refreshed with a new action figure. I mean, the case sucked the first time, and if you bought both Wedge variations, you probably already had two...

This brings me to another interesting point. (At least I think so.) Hey Hasbro, why not card us a Wedge Antilles figure finally?

Hm... it seems like the demand for this guy is very sporadic. I wasn't aware that a Scanner with Falcon ended up selling for $40, and another with the Scanner alone for $19! But since other auctions with the Scanner and Falson ended with no bids for $15 (which was about retail price, if I remember correctly), it seems to me that he can still be had for cheap.

He gives some good reasons for voting for the figure, but man... come on! Talk about a huge step backwards. And the total lack of backlash from the collecting community shows that this poll is probably not hacked.