To paraphrase Armando Iannucci:
"Do you know what the two best feelings in the world are? Opening a brand new Star Wars figure, and watching other people fail."
Thanks to the internet, I can watch people fail whenever I want, but the figures aren't always available to hand. That said, if there's one thing that years of collecting has taught me, it's buy the bargain when you see it. Now, as I'm always in the mood for buying toys, I inevitably end up with figures I've bought but saved for opening (oh come on, you ladies have all got shoes you've never worn, and you blokes have Scart leads you've no intention of ever using). And I am 'an opener'. With very few exceptions, I'd rather have my figures loose in a stackable box than taking up 10x more room carded. Anyway, I can't set them up in cool dioramas if they're packaged, can I?
Anyway, it turns out I'd built up a few figures of the last couple of years that'd been taking up precious cupboard space.
So last week I had an open day.
Y'know. A day where you just open toys all day. Actually, you probably don't know. Understandable.
They're not all classics, but they were all cool enough for me to buy, and I'd like to share them with you now.
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NOTES ON OPENING: Please bear in mind, you can't just tear the bubbles off the cards unless you're five years old. Where's the joy in that? Like opening a bottle of whiskey, it has to be done properly to get the most out of it. You can use a craft-knife, but since my design education, I've been a scalpel-wielding maniac, so that's what I use. The plus side of this is that it leaves the design on the card intact. Ideal if you want to scan it and use it as a basis for customs (oh, is it just me that does that?).
Click on any of these pics for a bigger version.
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So, without further ado (because that was quite an ado there), here are the figures I opened:
Darth Vader (Vintage Collection)
Purchased from: Woolworths, Didcot.
Yes, Woolworths. This figure is that old. He came free with the DVD release of the Original-Original Trilogy. I'm not a massive fan of the Vintage Collection as I'm an opener anyway, and they're just regular Star Wars figures after that. There's a lot of articulation on this figure, so he's fairly flimsy. Soft-goods cape, too, which I'm not a lover of. Still, he was free, and it's always good to have Vader mashing things up.
Stormtrooper
Purchased from: Woolworths, Didcot.
Bought when the figures were on 2-for-1, during the 30th Anniversary Collection in 2007. Classic Stormtrooper. The legs are great for standing in parade, but not so hot for action poses. Still a beautiful figure, though. You can never have too many Stormtroopers.
Ironmonger
Purchased from: Alworths, Didcot.
Would. You. LOOK. At this BADBOY! The baddie from the first Iron Man movie, this 3¾" figure didn't come out until the second movie was released (the original figures were 5" scale). He's on par with the Star Wars EU Darktrooper in terms of awesomeness. His poseable clawed-feet mean he stands on most surfaces (not that he's got peg-holes in those feet anyway), and he's an all-round badass, towering above 99% of figures in this scale. A definite choice for mash-up dioramas.
Mola Ram
Purchased from: Toys'r'Us, Reading.
The short-lived Indy line from 2008 was proof positive that even though the same people who like Star Wars generally like Indiana Jones, you can't market them in the same way. The sculpts on the figures were variable, and some of the articulation a little off, but the main problem is that I.J. just doesn't have the range of characters that S.W. has. So you get excellent figures like Mola Ram from Temple of Doom, then a load of mediocre army-building troops. I just didn't work, sadly. But I love my Mola Ram.
Terminator T-R.I.P
Purchased from: Play.com
Bearing in mind, the Terminator is meant to be a big bastard, this line was just under-scale for a 3¾" line (although the Harry Potter figures have been fluctuating around it for years). This one is the best of a bad line. A lovely sculpt, just a little too small. Point of interest: The manufacturers couldn't get the rights to reproduce Christian Bale's face, so his figure had a cloth over his head. I'm not kidding. Anyway, this is another figure that's ideal for mashup dioramas.
Jawa 2-Pack (Clone Wars)
Purchased from: The Entertainer, Reading.
You can never have too many Jawas. The more sculpts the better. These mix well with the SW Saga figures, so top marks. Utini!
Jawa (with Treadwell Droid)
Purchased from: Alworths, Didcot.
See my notes on the Clone Wars Jawas. New Jawa sculpt, excellent Droid counterpart, what's not to love?
Darth Krayt & Sigel Dare (Comic Pack)
Purchased from: Forbidden Planet, London.
I'd been after getting the Darth Krayt figure loose on Ebay, but that was proving ridiculously expensive. If I'm going to pay £15, I may as well get the other figure and the comic, right? As with most of the Comic Packs, there's one figure you really want and one you're barely bothered about. Sigel Dare's a decent sculpt, but I'm not fussed about collecting the Imperial Knights, so she's strictly a background character. As both of these folks occur at around 120 years after Return of the Jedi, Sigel stands out as being out-of-place. Krayt, on the other hand, fits in anywhere. He's a badass. You'll need a figure-stand for him, though.
Clone Palpatine & Luke Skywalker (Comic Pack)
Purchased from: TK Maxx, Torquay.
Nice renditions of both characters from around 5 years after Return of the Jedi (Yes, yes, Palpatine's dead. That's why this is a clone. Don't ask.) A good Luke figure is always worth a punt, and this one doesn't disappoint. Palpatine seems a little short, but he was never exactly Stephen Merchant anyway, so never mind. Palps needs a stand, Luke manages without.
Clone Trooper (Utapau)
Purchased from: Sainsbury's, Didcot.
Bought as customisation-fodder, I never did get round to chopping him up. He goes great with Captain Cody and the other Utapau-style troopers. Still, he needn't think he's safe just because I've opened the packaging...
R2-D2 (Electronic)
Purchased from: Wonderland, Ramsgate.
Surprisingly, I don't own that many R2-D2 figures. I've got plenty of other R3,R4,R5 units, but only two others of this character. This one makes different noises than my other electronic R2-D2, and has a different colour light. He's excellent. Fantastic sharp detailling on a great sculpt.
Wall-E
Purchased from: The 99p shop, Didcot.
I only got him because I thought he'd look cool with the droids from Star Wars. Which he does. There's shades of The Black Hole about him, too. It's a great figure in itself, but looking at the cardback, the rest of the range seems pretty uninspiring. It's difficult to market a line of toys when you've only got two standout characters.
Boba Fett (Holiday Special Appearance)
Purchased from: Sainsbury's, Didcot.
Bought as a double during a 2-for-1 offer in 2007. The awesome Boba Fett as he appeared in the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. A sweet addition to the two or three other Bobas I have.
Hondo Ohnaka
Purchased from: Sainsbury's, Didcot.
The Clone Wars' very own Ricardo Montalban here, he's a literal translation of the space-pirate theme. A good character on the show (if a little invincible. Well, for now.), he's an interesting looking figure. Great for Clone Wars dioramas, and passable for mixing with the SW Saga line as his stylisation's fairly minimal. Plus he comes with a Kowakian Monkey Lizard, and that's always good.
Chewbacca (McQuarrie Concept)
Purchased from: Woolworth's, probably.
An odd one. As part of the 30th Anniversary Collection, Hasbro released 12 concept figures. Three-dimensional sculpts of two-dimensional concept paintings by Ralph McQuarrie in the 1970's. The first two (Stormtrooper and Boba Fett) were like rocking-horse shit to find, but I managed to get them. The third one was Chewbacca. Expecting the same kind of rarity, I bought three of these, thinking I might sell two on Ebay. Alas, Concept Chewie turned out to be the pegwarmer of 2007, and a delay in the third-wave meant stores started piling up on these. You can't army-build with specific characters, so people buying multiples is going to be strictly limited. I ultimately got all 12 of the Concept series, and I've got them in the packaging still (because those ones do look good), so this little fella was up for opening. It's a great figure, but you kind of get sick of walking into toy shops and seeing 20 of them...
Quad Bike
Purchased from: Tesco. For 99p, no less.
Much like the BMX last year, I only got this because it's 3¾" scale, and looks great in mashup dioramas.
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So... let's get 'em all together!
Oi! Pick on someone your own size!
Hats off to the bad guys...
Biker Scout v0.7 BETA
We-Buy-Any-Droid... DOT COM!
...because EVERYONE looks good in black.
Remember, folks: Toys are for life - not just for childhood.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
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