VOTC 12 inch Stormtrooper

Not to be outdone by the 3 3/4 inch Stormtrooper from the Vintage Original Trilogy Collection (VOTC) this twelve inch Stormtrooper came in a package that has to be the most packaging that I've ever seen for a toy. The toy came packed in a box that is a replica of the original, or vintage, trooper from 1978, plus an outer box wrapped around that, and a nice heavy plastic shell on the front to protect that. You would get tired just opening this toy. Which reminds me, has anyone seen what they use to tie your favorite toys to their package? I have, it's a tool from Satan's workshop it is, I'll have to dig out my picture of it...

Released in 2004 - 2005 as a part of the first series of VOTC, the twelve inch figures did not have as an extensive collection at the 3 3/4 inch toys. This set included the Stormtrooper, Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker (Farm boy dress), and a Chewbacca. The last was an exclusive to Kay Bee Toys and was later repacked in the Revenge of the Sith line with a different weapon I believe.

While this issue of "Stormtrooper of the Week" is focused on the package, I would be remiss if I didn't wet the appetite some by addressing the figure. Hasbro couldn't just repack a twelve inch trooper they released earlier (thought that doesn't stop them now), they created a whole new sculpt, and it's really a nice looking piece. If you had to get a great looking trooper, twelves inches tall, at a value, this would be the one. While not the level of detail of a Medicom trooper, this guy will hold his own among the other troopers in your collection as far as detail. One great thing about this trooper is his armor no longer has the rubber boots connected to the shin guards, he actually has a little articulation here now. I plan on showing this guy out of the package in the future, maybe in comparison with the Medicom so keep an eye out.

The New Frontier!

Okay this is a rare time that I will post a video, I like to see videos in blog, just not sure everyone else does, plus sometimes I think it gets abused.

Now that I've said that... Holy Crap! New Frontier coming Spring 2008!

JLU Update

And the roster continues to grow! So this past weekend did not only yield a Sand Man from the Signature Series, but a Dr. Light from the JLU! I had actually been watching her collect dust on the pegs in a TRU (Toys R Us) for a little while, they had a sale, so I moved in. Which is not my normal MO for JLU figures. So I was a happy camper to finally add her to my collection, but the list doesn't stop there! As I was taking a trip to pick up some lunch on Wednesday I decided to stop at a Dollar General on the way, which I'm going to add was quite clean although very unorganized. I noticed the toys were spread all over the store, so I went to hunting and came up with Atom Smasher and Hawk!

Being two that I had passed on before, I grabbed them and checked out. I'm making a note though, that store had a few cool Star Wars Titanium ships I might have to go back for, all from the original trilogy! Better pay the bills first though. So, like I had said this was an extremely clean Dollar General, seeing how I've only been in two in my life, the first being on the other end of the clean scale, I was really surprised at how well they kept the store uncluttered and really well lit. So I guess it goes to show you never know where you'll find cool stuff! Oh and the best part they were both purchased at the bargain price of 2 bucks each!

Signature Series Sand Man!

This is kind of a "I found Something New!" and an "anniversary post" all rolled into one. One year ago today my wife and I were sitting in the middle of the Sony Pictures Lot in Los Angeles enjoying a sneak peek at all that was going to be Spider-Man 3! I just remembered that we made this trip last year at this time. The cool thing is that what ties all this together is we got to mingle with Thomas Haden Church who played Sand Man in the movie, and is pretty funny in real life. This was also the first time my wife said I totally "geeked" out when I got to shake hands with and speak briefly with Avi Arad (don't worry if you are not familiar with the name, true geeks will know and that's all that matters). She said it was a site to see, the inner Fan Boy sneak out and make an appearance. Oh well. I got to meet Avi, we made away with a cool freebie and a few months later Sony sent me a cool Spider-Man 3 Poster, but I'll always remember being able to share the experience with my wife. Okay onto the toy...

I found this during a fluke trip to Target. We actually just finished having a little break from working on the house and ended up at Target with my wife's parents. We were heading out of the store and I noticed a Sand Man in someone's basket so I told everyone I would meet them up front and immediately hoofed it back to the toy isle. There on an end cap being cleared out at five bucks was Sand Man, along with Cyclops from the X-men (which I bought at full price, doh!). I had never even seen these at full price, so I grabbed one and ran back to the front of the store.So now Spider-man has another arch villain to fight.

Compared to the other figures in the Signature Series line he is short on style, articulation, and I found some of the paint applications to be sort of disappointing. Although, he is fairly easy to stand and pose, which amazed me because of his giant sand fist. I am probably one of a very few that actually enjoy this line, and I have gone on record that I enjoyed the DC version of this line as well. I'm really sad to see this Marvel line fade out like the later mentioned DC one, without seeing Iron Man, the Thing, Doctor Doom, Hulk and others join the ranks. I understand that Mr. Fantastic and Johnny Storm have made prototype appearances on the web, so hopefully these will surface somewhere. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an Iron Man in the classic armor, that would be sweet. Oh well, maybe I can go get a clearance Cyclops and do some sewing and modifications and cobble something together. Stay tuned true believer.

Vintage Jedi - Ol' Ben

You thought Yoda was in pretty good condition! This is my original Obi Wan Kenobi from the 1978 Kenner Star Wars line, with original saber I might add. I remember needing to get this figure to train my Luke figure, but that was probably it, he was much too old and frail to combat the evil Empire at the time. I would have to say that at that time Old Ben was not my most favorite of characters from the movie, but as time goes on he has become one of my top ones. Funny how things change when you get older.

He has become so much my favorite that when I sat down to check out the recent Family Guy Blue Harvest episode I was really offended at how he was portrayed in the show. Now I'm not an old stick in the mud, I can handle Family Guy in doses, but a show that's whole gimmick is "that's like the time (insert funny moment in pop culture here)" kind of gets old. Back to Kenobi, as I'm sure to have made some Family Guy fans upset, I think it goes back to what one of my readers has said about respecting our Jedi Masters as little kids, and to me Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda are really the two I think of when you mention Jedi masters.

I will say that I really love the simplicity of vintage toys sometimes, the articulation and paint applications are basic, but just enough to spring board that imagination. I don't think I ever wished my toys could hold numerous poses as a kid, okay maybe it would have been nice if the Stormtroopers didn't look like they were handing you their blaster when you posed them, but that's all part of the appeal of these vintage figures. I really dig today's figures as well, but you can't beat these originals for what they are, fun toys.