The Great Purge Has Begun!

First for the Chop

I've written before about my need to pare down my collection, which has grown incredibly bloated and in all sorts of unfocused directions over the last few years, and this weekend I've finally been able to sit down and start the process. It's been a case of going for the low-hanging fruit to begin with, as I'm getting rid of all of the odds and ends I've accumulated through bulk purchases, discount impulse buys, and older versions of characters that I've since replaced. Still, at least it's a start!

I'll be profiling the different figures over the coming week as they await their fates on eBay, and giving some insight as to why they no longer make the cut for the collection. Hopefully from this I'll have a clearer idea of which direction my collecting focus is taking as well, which would be nice...

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!

Ackbar!

Life on Home One

Sorry for the lack of updates; between an extremely poorly relative, client work and another film entering pre-production the last 10 days have absolutely flown by, and I've had no time to post anything. Even this is a fly-by blogging - I just wanted to show off a shot I took of Admiral Ackbar last night...

On a collecting note, I've finally spotted the Mission Series two-packs in the wild (at Forbidden Planet Sheffield), and they look good, particularly the Utapau Clone Trooper set. I also saw the ROTS Obi-Wan Kenobi in hand as well, and it looks much better than any pictures I've seen of it online. As I already have an Anakin on pre-order (scheduled to arrive with the good Black Series Luke X-Wing and Sandtrooper), that may be a final 3.75" temptation.

On that note, I've also started to reach some conclusions about my collection, and the direction I'm taking it. The Purge is coming... As soon as I get a free day to sit down and actually do it! For now though, I'm all about dealing with what's immediately in front of me; and that's a house in mid-sort, and a film that needs a production office. None of these things are mutually exclusive, but at the moment collecting is fairly low on that hierarchy. Hopefully though it won't be too long before I'm back with more regular updates, and maybe even a Black Series review... 

Until then, thanks for reading!