Best & Worst in Star Wars collection 2004!!
Posted by: Big_E 12.08.04 12:01am
Another non-movie year comes to an end and we're now faced with the final installment in the Star Wars saga.  The year 2005 will see a huge bombardment from TV with the final chapters of the Clone Wars cartoons, to theaters with Revenge of the Sith, to store isles with collectible toys, clothes, books and food tie-ins. 

So with news coming of all the stuff that's going to be available in 2005, I pause to recap the year that WAS in the world of Star Wars collecting.  This is the good, the bad and the ugly as I see it.

Last year I added the Exclusive category and this year I'm adding another new one as well as revising an existing one.  Previously I had Best and Worst Figure 3 3/4," but with the onset of the Galactic Heroes and Jedi Force figures I'm changing this category to encompass all figural toys.

The new section this year will be Busts and Statues.  This is kind of an offshoot of  the Non-Toy Collectibles section.  I'm leaving that in to hold things like Master Replicas, Code 3 and various other items.

As always, read through the list and agree or disagree with me.  Drop by the forums to discuss (at least until they're shut down).

Best

Figure

  • Rappertunie - This little instrument playing, Jabba's-Palace-living alien has a great sculpt and accessories.  I don't care that people argued over whether or not Hasbro gave him a butt hole, this guy has really nice paint apps, he can hold his instrument and perch on his chair.  There's some good articulation to the figure and he actually looks like he could hop up and dance a jig when your back is turned.  I love figures like this and have to thank the big H for putting him out.
  • R1-G4 - I like droids and this bulky, non-articulated hunk of plastic is beautiful for no other reason that he had 5 seconds of screen time in Star Wars and Hasbro still made him.  Stand him around your computer monitor and behold the glory of Star Wars!
  • Wampa/Luke Hoth - The Deluxe Wampa set that included half of a base to complete the pack-in with Luke Hoth was one of the brightest moves on Hasbro's part this year.  The themed waves of figures, I thought, were cool and this set was the best of the lot.  The Wampa needed to be put out again and the play feature rocks.
  • OTC Luke and Yoda Dagobah -  Individually these figures are pretty nice but when you pair them up, with Yoda in the backpack and Luke ready to run through the swamps of your bedroom (do some laundry!), you have an unbeatable set of figures.  The handstand pose for Luke is impressive with it's extra arms and head and the base he comes with works well.  Well detailed, well sculpted and plenty of play features for the kids and kids at heart.
  • OTC Cloud Car Pilot - I had to wait 24 years for a new figure of this character and I don't feel disappointed.  The sculpt is great with a removable helmet and working holster and he even has a comlink that can attach to his belt.  Bring on the Cloud Car and I may give Hasbro a break for a year or so.
  • The VOTC line minus C-3PO - The figures in this line are top-notch with soft goods, plenty of articulation and more detail  than you can shake your finger at. The reproduction vintage cards are beautiful and the clamshell packaging looked great on the shelves.
  • Galactic Heroes Bounty Hunters - The Galactic Heroes line, started in 2002 with the release of the Saga line, was back in 2004 with 2-packs of  figures.  We got the standard Luke, Han, R2 and Vader figures but the coolest are the three Bounty Hunter packs.  Dengar/Fett, IG-88/Zuckuss and 4-LOM/Bossk are so cute you can't help but smile just looking at them.  Buy them, open them and play with them.  They're great figures.  The Yoda and Clone Trooper set is very cool also, but, Bounty Hunters!!
  • Animated Clone Wars - Technically released in 2003, they weren't out in time for last years review.  This series of eight figures from the Cartoon Network series was a Target exclusive but overall, not hard to find.  Thankfully...because these are some of the best figures Hasbro has done.  Not a lot of articulation in these figures but the likeness to their animated selves is perfect.  The Clone Trooper and Obi-Wan are high points for the line but all of them look great.  With a few more to come in early 2005 expect to see them on this list next year.
  • Kubricks - Medicom keeps making these, I'll keep putting them on the list.  The new set has my all-time favorite figure; AT-AT Driver.  But for those not fascinated with him there are a couple others you might like; C-3PO, Han Solo in Carbonite (with a defrosted chase figure), Jawa, Wickett and Lando. 
  • Honorable mention goes to the OTC line in general.  If you are going to push out rehashed figures this is how to do it.  Great card design, plenty of new paint apps and decoration to spiff up the tired figures, a handful of new and a smattering of harder to find figures (The redone Vader didn't hurt either).  There were some stinkers, but you'll have to read on to find out who.

Figure 12"

  • Boba Fett - I almost left this blank because I didn't really care for any of the 12" figures this year.  They were all released to back up the DVD and although they had the throw-back packaging, they didn't do it for me.  Fett, however, is my favorite just because they finally put out a well articulated, descent looking figure for mass market.  It could have been better, but it is what it is.
  • Honorable mention to Chewy just for his sheer size...and he didn't totally suck.

Vehicle or Playset

  • Millennium Falcon - This ship is pure Star Wars and this re-re-deco of the vintage ship proves two things;  This is one of the top 10 all-time vehicles for any toy line and Hasbro CAN do a   rehash and make it cool.  The added sound features and light-up engines, brilliant.  They re-did the landing gear to do away with the sagging and spiffed up the paint job.  I didn't really need the firing missile and the cockpit leaves a little to be desired, but overall, a winning effort.
  • Slave I - I'll mention this because it uses the awesome AOTC Slave I sculpt but re-colored in the classic ESB style.  Packed with one of the better Fett figures in a nice presentation box just helps to add to it's coolness.

Lego

  • Millennium Falcon - As I said about the Hasbro version, the Falcon is a great vehicle.  This version from Lego is arguably better than the first which came out a couple years ago.  Pricey, as with all Lego, but a very cool set.
  • X-Wing - Much improved over the first offering, though not better than the UCS version, this X-Wing is larger, has great detail and comes with a cool Dagobah playset. 

Busts and Statues

  •  Aayla Secura Unleashed - The Unleashed line has given us some cool figures and this year we got this cool Jedi in all her blueberry goodness.  A great sculpt, cool pose and a lightsaber all make for a must-have collectible.
  • Honorable mention for the Leia Unleashed figure.  This was a 2003 figure that saw little to no store presence.  Released in 2004 with all-new card art makes me happy and you should be too.
  • Greedo GG Bust - The Gentle Giants busts are all pretty cool but Greedo stands out.  With the detailing on his face and hands and the holdout blaster behind his back...pure art!  This could have been a boring bust (no pun intended) but turned out to be one of GG's better offerings.
  • Clone Wars Marquette's - A limited series of five statues, this line perfectly captures the essence of the animated characters from the Cartoon Network series.  Not only did GG give us an Obi-Wan in clone armor but a very cool ARC Trooper and a Padme to die for. 

Non-Toy Collectible

  • Star Wars Miniatures - Finally Star Wars steps into this role playing genre with Rebel Storm.  With a great selection of figures and a relatively easy gaming system this was a cool set to take up some of my collecting budget.  Expansions are already on their way and hopefully this game will not only have legs, but I'll get to play it some.

Best Exclusive

  • Scout Trooper Battle Front - Just a re-packed figure with IG-88's gun you say?  Cool concept figure and exclusive with great packaging, I say.  Not overly hard to obtain by pre-ordering LucasArts new Battle Front game, you could also pick it up from ShopStarWars.com for a limited time.
  • Yoda and Luke Dagobah - The Mexican collectors show had a neat boxed set available that contains the Yoda and Luke Dagobah figures.  Not only are the figures cool but the packaging on this item captures the feel of the set.

Best Events

  • DVD Release - Eagerly anticipated since the inception of DVD's, the original trilogy of Star Wars movies finally saw release in 2004.  Everyone was on board to support the release from Hasbro to Lego, and I have to say, it's great to see the fresh, clean transfer of my favorite movies.
  • Clone Wars Cartoon - Yes, again.  With another 10 episodes airing in March 2004 this cartoon continued to please.  Next spring we'll get the final installments just in time to kick the movie mania into overdrive.
  • Wizard World Philly - Not making the list last year, I had to include it this time.  They had several Star Wars guests signing autographs and spending 2 days this year instead of one gave me the opportunity to really explore and take in different sights than I have before.  Meeting up with PSWCS members was a great side benefit.  Next year, though, I want some Hasbro presence like Wizard World shows have been getting.

Worst

Figure

  • Hoth Rebel Trooper - Okay, it's not that bad, it's just not that good either.  Too short, goofy look...Try again, Hasbro.
  • VOTC C-3PO -  There is no real reason that the VOTC line needed a stinker in its midst, but it got one and Goldenrod was it.  From the face sculpt to the crappy pose, this figure not only qualifies for the worst list but possibly is the worst C-3PO to ever be released!
  • OTC Han Solo - Because he's been released again, and again, and again, and again, and...
  • Jedi Council - The first two Jedi Council sets were very cool and well packed with many new figures.  The new sets, TRU exclusives, have rehashed and sometimes crappy looking figures.  "Cheaper," at $19.99, they really aren't worth it even with the new floor piece that will help you diorama builders complete the council room floor.
  • Jedi Force - I'm a huge fan of the small Playskool figures and when I heard they were doing a larger size figure, about on par with the Fisher Price Rescue Heroes, I was kind of psyched.  Then I saw them.  For the most part they don't look bad but the fact that most of them have an electronic feature with non-replaceable batteries killed them.  I find it hard to believe that they sealed in the batteries for safety when the ability to take them out would ultimately be better than junior sucking on the end of a corrosion covered lightsaber.

Figure 12"

  • Luke - The VOTC Luke Skywalker looks more like he belongs in the Pink Isle trying to get a piece of tail than kicking ass across the galaxy.  The goofy smile breaks this figure for me.  The outfit and packaging looks great but that head sculpt...

Vehicle or Playset

  • Jawa Sandcrawler - As exclusives go this is par for the course; rehashed vintage mold with new paint apps.  Even though it looks okay and comes with a couple of figures it makes my worst list for the sole fact of price.  This is not a $40 and up toy, no matter how you slice it.  The hype behind this getting made still boggles my mind.
  • Dishonorable mention goes to the Vader TIE Fighter and Y-Wing rehashed vehicles at TRU.  Both are okay vehicles but much better at the $19.99 price they came out at in the POTF2 era.  Not worth $29.99 for the fancy packaging and figure this time around, however.

Lego

  • Mini Sets - Don't get me wrong, the AT-TE is a cool model but this outing for the Star Wars mini sets left one thing out; the fifth vehicle.  The previous two sets of mini ships all included extra parts that, when put together, created a fifth vehicle to go in the set.  This year the sets at the $6.99 price needed the extra parts to help them move.  I'm still finding MTT sets from Wave 2 on shelves but the rest have long sold out...not so with the 2004 sets, they're shelf warming everywhere.

Busts and Statues

  • Chewbacca Unleashed - As cool as the Unleashed line is, Chewy is the stinker in the lot.  It's not that they didn't try, it's just that the fur sculpt makes Chewy look like a pissed off dog that just escaped the bathtub.

Non-Toy Collectible

  • Vader Voice Changer - I saw one out of the package at a PSWCS meeting and it kind of looks cool as a costume mask but this, I fear, is doomed to be the Hulk Hands of '04/'05.  Plan on seeing this thing everywhere leading up to Episode 3 in May.

Worst Exclusive

  • Master Replicas .45 Lightsabers - Although the .45 scale lightsabers are very cool and affordable, the hoops that MR put people through with exclusives at conventions, overseas and retailers is out of hand.  I'm glad I'm not into their line of products.
  • eBay - For the first time eBay is actually selling items outright including some exclusively numbered Jedi Force figures and an X-Wing vehicle.  eBay is a person-to-person auction site and should stick to what it knows, it has enough problems there to keep it busy and no need to horn in on the collectibles market.
  • Cup and Figure - Target's nod to the vintage glasses that Burger King put out fell short.  Glasses from the original trilogy, as well as The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, packed in with re-released figures in a year of re-released figures didn't fly well.  I got sucked in only because I scored them all at half price or less.  Thankfully it appears the second round of these has been nixed.

Worst Events

  • Retail in general - This year saw a bunch of re-released and rehashed figures packaged in the regular Saga line, the Hall of Fame line and the Original Trilogy line.  Combine goofy distribution through the first part of the year (eerily similar to early 2003) with financial troubles for KB Toys, K-Mart and Toys-R-Us, mix in a ton of product for an off year, sprinkle in the exclusives and you get a year that almost made me give up the good fight.  Although there were cool items to collect and play with, the fight to find them and keep current was not fun in 2004.