Star Wars: The Modern 12 Back Part I

Part I

In the Star Wars collecting community there’s a lot of reverence for the first 12 action figures Kenner released. Initially on cards known as ’12 backs’ due to the card art showing illustrations of these original dozen figures, this selection of characters is at the core of any Star Wars collection, and with good reason – Luke, Han and Leia, Chewie and the Droids and Old Ben Kenobi give you all the good guys; Darth Vader, a Stormtrooper and, bizarrely, an Imperial Death Squad Commander round out the bad guys, whilst a Jawa and Tusken Raider give you all the indigenous life you need. Of course, the Star Wars toy line is now well known for quite how wide and deep it goes; but with these 12 figures you’re one Grand Moff Tarkin short of A New Hope prison break.

When I was starting out with the modern line I latched on to the 12 back figures as a collecting focus, and aimed to get the best present day iterations of each. Earlier this year I more or less completed that goal, and now it’s time to finally give these guys (and gal) a stage…

Tusken Raider

Though they may be easily startled, the Tusken Raiders would still be pretty terrifying to encounter when out in the sticks alone. This figure, from 2012’s Discover the Force line is a solid representation of the Sand People as they appeared in A New Hope, resplendent with flowing robes and a gaffi stick. This one also came with a rifle, but that’s more for shooting at Pod Racers than knocking out errant moisture farmers…

With 14 points of articulation this Tusken Raider, originally released in 2006 as part of the VTSC line, is the finest sample you’re going to find – just as long as you don’t want his swivel hips to straddle a Bantha, that is…

C-3PO

Human-Cyborg relations have rarely looked finer than they do here, with 2006’s Saga Collection C-3PO. Whilst this figure is based on Threepio from Return of the Jedi, coming with an Ewok throne, he’s not a character that changes appearance, save for gaining dust or dirt, through the Original Trilogy. With eight points of articulation this Threepio does all that you need him to do, and the shiny gold finish (with silver lower right leg) bring the character fully to 3.75” life.

I was really interested in getting the Vintage Collection matte gold C-3PO, but the lack of availability and exorbitant secondary market price put me off. It doesn't matter though, as this Threepio is a fantastic release, and fits in with the modern 12 perfectly.

Imperial Navy Commander

The Imperial Navy Commander was a slightly confusing release for the start of the line, coming out ahead of Greedo and Walrus Man, and nearly two decades before Grand Moff Tarkin saw the plastic light of day. However he makes good cannon fodder for the Rebel heroes, or as an officer for Darth Vader to boss around. Every Empire needs its underlings, right?

This version is from 2012, and The Vintage Collection. With 14 points of articulation, a removable helmet and a gun with working holster this guy has some serious build quality for a nameless background character. It commands a fair price on the secondary market, so I think I was lucky to get it when I did.

Han Solo

Captain, scoundrel and coolest guy in the galaxy, Han Solo was a lock for the very first wave of Star Wars figures. The pinhead/big head variations of Han Solo were amongst the first variations to happen in the line, starting a long tradition of collectors searching for every running change/factory screw up they could find. Considering you’re here you probably know all about Han Solo, so there’s not much else to say – except for maybe that he shot first.

This Yavin Ceremony Han Solo is from The Vintage Collection in 2011, and comes with the medal he received at the end of the film. Whilst some collectors prefer earlier versions of the character, this is the definitive Han figure to me. With 14 points of articulation (including some very tidy wrists), a blaster with working holster and an absolutely dead-on appearance, you will not find a better A New Hope Han Solo.

Parts II and III to follow!

Photoshop

Gold and Blue Team.

Whilst perusing some toy photography shots on the web, I came across this photo of Bane from El Dave Photography. Reading through the description I decided to mess around with layers in Photoshop with one of my own lightbox images to see what I could come up with...

The Original Image

Firstly I duplicated the image twice, each time into a new layer. I made the top layer blue and reduced the opacity until it simply created a pale blue tint over the image. With the next duplicated layer down I increased the contrast and the brightness, which really helped clarify the details.

Post-Photoshop

Then I pulled the photo into PicMonkey and got to work. After cropping the image I put a gentle vignette over it, which helped to soften the corners, and then used the Orton filter to give it a slight glow. The finished image is a bit too soft for my preference, the compsition's not fantastic and the reflection of my hand in C-3PO's shiny frame is a bit too blatant to ignore; but all the same I'm impressed with the results of ten minutes experimentation.

As an aside, this was the kind of vibe I was going for with the original photo. Probably.

"My joints are freezing up!"

It was in my ESB folder anyway, so I'm guessing this is what I was thinking...

Thanks for reading!

The Purge: Round Two

Welcome to the second of three posts on the first lot of figures I'm shifting on Ebay this week. It's been mainly Star Wars figures I'm selling so far, is that going to change today? I sincerely doubt it... On to the toys!

Big Millennium Falcon

Mace Windu here is from 2007's Anniversary Collection, and looks pretty neat. The Sith lightning on his lightsaber is a nice touch that's really well realised, but I have zero interest in this figure. I have massive respect for Samuel L Jackson, but I also think that Mace Windu is one of the biggest wastes of space in the Star Wars universe, with terrible dialogue and not much to do but sit around and be a bit of an arse to Anakin. And I never liked the purple lightsaber either. Easy sell!

If only Qui-Gon were here...

On the opposite end of my preference spectrum is Episode I's esteemed elder Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn. Liam Neeson is the best actor in the whole of the PT for me, lending Jinn the nobility and authority the role required, and he's captured here in the plastic for 2012's Movie Heroes line. I picked this up for cheap but as I established before, I have no interest in collecting anything from TPM or AOTC. Also the light-up lightsaber feature actually momentarily blinded me when I looked at it wrong, it's that bright - two good reasons that he's got to go.

With Action Feature!

Qui-Gon's apprentice is next up. This Obi-Wan Kenobi figure is from 2005's ROTS line, and as such is imbued with a 'slash attack' action feature - basically, you squeeze his legs, and his torso jerks left and right, waving the lightsaber around. It's actually a pretty neat feature. I've gotten some alright shots with this figure before, but he's since been replaced by a far superior Kenobi (review and pics to follow).

I am wondering... Why are we here?

This may surprise longer term readers to see these two gone for auction, but I can explain - I picked these up in a POTF2 lot earlier this year, duplicating two of my collection's stalwarts. I love these figures and would recommend them to anyone, but I only need the one set myself.

The Flop Film Cast (John Carter not present)

Today's final lot is a small selection of figures from the Prince of Persia and Golden Compass movie tie-in toy lines. I've highlighted the Lyra figure before, but Prince Dastan (who came as a pack in with a fantastic gate backdrop) and Setam (bought on clearance from Toys 'R' Us) have both been largely anonymous on the blog. I did toy with the idea of picking up discount lines a while back, but ultimately had no real interest and found I was just buying junk. Not saying these figures are junk, but they're no longer items that I want in my collection, and hopefully putting them together as a lot means I can sell them all a little bit quicker.

*

I had planned to tackle sculpt versus articulation today, but that's a debate which is just getting bigger and bigger to attempt to do justice to in one or two paragraphs, so it'll be the subject of a future post of its own. In the meantime I'll be back on Friday with the last of this week's Ebay listings as well as some ideas on custom figure recipes that I never quite gave myself the time to try...

Until then, thanks for reading!

The Purge: The First to Go...

I have my first few listings up on Ebay for the Purge, the catch-all term I'm using to describe the stripping down and streamlining of my collection. Every item is at a 99p start and with reasonable postage, so I'm really not trying to rip anyone off; I'll just be happy to clear out some space (both physically and mentally) and make some pennies whilst I do it.

First up is the Anniversary Collection Evolutions Jango Fett figure, which I obtained in the AOTC Bluray multipack...

The Ultimate Army Builder.

I've highlighted this figure before here, but now it's time to say goodbye. Despite coming from Episode II, an instalment better forgotten, Jango is actually a fairly decent character as a gun slingin', 'simple man' of a bounty hunter.  The thing is, this toy looks awful. I mean, it's in good condition, but look how squeezed that helmet is on the head, and how off-colour the purple jumpsuit looks. I don't watch AOTC with regularity at all, but I remember it well enough to know that Jango looked a lot more blue under the armour than he does here. Regardless of the many points of articulation this version has, the 2013 Saga Legends edition just looks far, far superior.

The Ultimate Penknife

R2-D2 here was a present that came from the previous incarnation of Saga Legends, although research tells me it was originally available in 2005 as part of the Revenge of the Sith line. It's a decent figure, good sculpt and size, but it's one of four R2s I have - the OTC Dagobah R2 is also electronic and is part of a set, the Saga Collection R2 is my standard go to Astromech and the POTF2 version I'm keeping for the sake of sentimentality. This isn't a bad figure at all, but it's a case of being the odd droid out.

Hero Lot

Luke & Han from TAC are both figures that I acquired in job lots, and I don't really have any need for either. I've photographed this Luke figure once, but generally use the Legacy Collection version as my default whiny farmboy. I would use the Han if I had a Millennium Falcon, but I very much doubt I'll own one of them any time soon...

Hot Wheels? No Wheels!

There's actually a bit of an embarrassing story behind how I ended up owning this Galoob Action Fleet Landspeeder, because when I bought it I thought I was getting a rather cheap Hasbro/Kenner POTF2 version. As soon as it arrived I realised my error, but it was my fault for not asking any questions of the seller and leaping on the purchase at the last minute, however vague the listing was. I still managed to work it into a few shots though and, needless to say, I've been crystal clear when listing it this time around.

Dark Knight in Bright Light!

It's not all Star Wars. This Batman figure from Mattel's DKR line was bought for a reduced and insanely low price, and it's served its purpose for one shot. However I've since acquired the Play Arts Kai Dark Knight Trilogy Bats, and since I'm not picking up any other 3.75" DC heroes, I've hit the end of the road with this one. As a kid I would've loved this Batman, as opposed to all the day-glo versions we got from the movie lines and animated series, but it's now surplus to requirement.

*

And so the Purge has begun. Do I have any second thoughts? Well, Jango Fett is the first figure that really raises any questions for me, because not only is it the only figure I've looked at today that I don't own another version of, but it's also something that I'm in two minds about whether to even replace. I'd like the 5POA Mission Series Jango, and also the Class II Slave 1 ship for him to pilot (toys being toys again!) but as I inferred above, Episode II doesn't hold any huge appeal for me. As collecting is becoming affordable and interesting again with both Saga Legends and next year's Rebels, I think it's important to set parameters - and the first of those is to stick to my stated Star Wars focus of collecting Episode III and onwards only. It felt good remembering this when I came within a whisker of picking up the Geonosis Mission Series pack today.

I'll be back on Wednesday and Friday highlighting and justifying the rest of the stuff I'm selling, whilst also thinking out loud about the 5POA vs SA debate, and why I'll never be a customiser...

As always, thanks for reading!

Shelf Review: Vintage Trilogy Saga Collection Greedo

"I'm lucky I found you first..."

Shelf Review! Not as in-depth as my regular musings, but a look at the equally-deserving items on my toy shelf all the same. Today I'm taking a look at Greedo, from 2006's Vintage Trilogy Saga Collection. The question is, is he as bad a figure as he is a bounty hunter?

Wrong Trade, My Friend.

I'll put you out of your misery straight away - Greedo is much better at being an action figure than he is a hired goon. Coming in at 14 points of articulation, with soft goods, a working holster, a striking colour scheme and exemplary sculpting (particularly on the head), this version of Greedo is as definitive as it gets.

 

All-Round Rodian.

As with all the better 3.75" Star Wars figures, Greedo has a good weight to him, and feels like a solid mass of toy. The joints are stiff on my version, which always helps to make a figure feel robust and well made, and because of this Greedo is easy to stand and pose unaided. The working holster is a treat, and the gun fits securely both in there and in his hand, which should really be a minimum essential for any figure that comes packed with a weapon. I know some folks aren't too keen on the soft-goods coat, but for me it's one of the better examples of soft-goods in the Star Wars line - I appreciate it hangs a little low, but it can be easily trimmed if you're so inclined. Otherwise it has a great colour, it fits, isn't see-through (ahem, Darth Vader) and generally looks great. For me it's the coat which takes the figure from solid to spectacular, which is really saying something for a minor character when it comes to my personal tastes.

Super-Size Greedo

As I'm sure most of you are aware there's a newer, bigger version of Greedo coming in the Black Series Wave 2, due in November, which I think looks ace - but it has some pretty big shoes to fill. If you're after the definitive 3.75" Greedo for your collection, then you should look no further than this superlative VTSC figure.

*****

Thanks for reading!

Back to the Fold

The Best at 6"

I've been pretty slack here for various reasons over the last month or so, the better of those reasons being that I've just started the third year of my university course. Whilst that is (rightly) going to take up a lot of my focus, worry not about my Star Wars fan status - my dissertation is going to be on George Lucas himself, and the many, many contradictions that he presents. If I don't end up hating every word I've jotted down by the deadline, I may even post it up here for your perusal...

Looking for Someone...

My apologies if you came back here expecting Black Series 6" reviews - whilst I have three out of four of the first wave, I've not gotten around to objectively collecting my thoughts on them yet. From my limited 'playtime' I would suggest that the Sandtrooper is the best of the bunch, but it's difficult for me to judge, with X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker being one of my favourite versions of the character in any action figure line anyway; even the times when he's actually a Snowspeeder Pilot!

Lightsaber Duel? I Maul For It!

Other than these guys I have no recent purchases to highlight, vintage or otherwise, which should allow me the opportunity to catch up with some of my backlog a little bit. University deadlines or not, I'm sincerely hoping to give you many more reasons to return for the next couple of weeks at least...

Thanks for sticking around!

Star Wars: The Black Series - Top 5 Wants

The Black Series is finally hitting over here, and it is good. I had planned to stick to the OT with this line, but I think Hasbro really knocked Darth Maul out of the park - review to follow shortly - and with Wave 2 looking solid as a rock there's now no telling where my collection might end.

In light of that, and inspired by The Fwoosh's Five Characters (That We Won't Get!) article, I thought I'd put together a top five of my own, for the unannounced (but hopefully likely) figures that I'm really looking forward to in this line. I double-checked my original post on the topic over at Rebelscum (find me under TJapes) and saw that three of my six choices have since been revealed; in light of that, let's see who else I'm hoping for before Episode VII commands the limelight...

5. General Grievous

With ROTS Obi-Wan coming in Wave 3, there's no Separatist I'd rather see than the good Jedi-hunting General. As long as he's made to the correct size (and if Hasbro have to change the box size to accommodate him, I'm OK with that), with all the multi-limb twirling articulation possible, a soft-goods cape to the same standard as the 3.75" Blu-Ray figure and multiple stolen lightsabers, then the big H will be on to a winner. Throw in a burning heart alternate chest piece for ultimate screen accuracy and you'd have my favourite Prequel figure ever.

4. Yoda

And with that, we leave the Prequels entirely alone*. This is how Yoda needs to be done - no pristine robes, no lightsaber, no debate over which shade of green - Stuart Freeborn nailed it first time around, and this is the only Yoda I want to see. Pack in Luke's lamp and flight cases for Dagobah scene setting and the release is perfect. And then we can forget Yoda was ever in any of the Prequels.

N.B. I would have put Dagobah Training Luke on this list, but with the Bespin Luke and R2 already coming, Yoda here is all we'd need for some swamp planet action...

3. Endor Luke Skywalker

Given the amount of accessories we're seeing with the Black Series figures so far, there's the possibility that we might see an 'ultimate' ROTJ Luke, with new lightsaber, three right hands (flesh, damaged and gloved), a vest robe, helmet, poncho, gun belt and final duel tunic flap. This would be fantastic, but whatever happens I want to see Luke in his Endor get up. This is one of my favourite of Luke's looks from the trilogy, and as I've touched on before I live in an ideal part of the world for taking Endor-esque woodland shots. There's also the small matter of the Speeder Bike and Scout Trooper having already been announced to sweeten the deal further. Bring him on!

2. Princess Leia in Boushh Disguise

To me this is Leia's coolest costume in the trilogy, and I'm not even a huge bounty hunter fan. It's so detailed and worn that I can't help but think it'd look fantastic at this scale, and for the limited screen time there are enough accessories to merit the price - the staff, thermal detonator (possibly with a swappable hand to hold it better), and either a removable helmet or alternative head for pre and post-reveal posing. With the Han in Carbonite possibly seeing a wider scale re-release (which I'm really hoping), this is all we'd need to get crafting our 6" scaled Jabba's Palace alcoves...

1. Darth Vader

Unless something very strange happens with the Black Series, this figure is a no-brainer. Regardless, I cannot wait to see it! I'd like to see two different heads, one with a removable, three piece helmet and the other with a fixed, iconic Vader look that doesn't fall off all over the place (also, it should go without saying, but Sebastian Shaw likeness, please). A removable hand with wires sticking out of the wrist joint for some father/son revenge action and a wire laced, heavy material soft goods cloak would also be ideal. Stick him on a shelf with next year's Bespin Luke, and watch the sparks fly!

*Not entirely...

Bonus Wish!

I'm not stopping there, however! With the Speeder Bike, Jabba the Hutt and either a Tauntaun or Wampa coming down the line in the not-too-distant future, there is one more creature I'd like to suggest...

What can I say? I'm a fan of the Battle of Utapau...

Thanks for reading!