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!