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Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Saga '02-'04 => Topic started by: CorranHorn on December 24, 2003, 02:05 AM

Title: Best/Worst of 2003?
Post by: CorranHorn on December 24, 2003, 02:05 AM
Well someone has to start one of these threads and I figure since this was something I was thinking about earlier today I'd kick things off. A slight disclaimer though, I am including anything that was officially released in the year 2003 from the Saga line and it's Clone Wars subline, whether or not it was meant for 02 and came late, or meant for 04 and arrived early.

Best 3.75" action figure: Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker - I'm just a huge mark for Jedi Luke figs and this looks to be the ultimate Jedi Luke. A great sculpt, a copious amounts of articulation, and great accessories, top notch all around.
Runner-Up: Clone Wars Clone Trooper - If the Jedi Luke would have waited just a few more weeks to be released, the Clones would have definitely been the best to me.

Worst 3.75" action figure: Acklay Battle Obi-Wan Kenobi - A horrible sculpt, pathetic looking action feature and no waist articulation make this the worst of the worst.
Runner-Up: Total Control Mace Windu - Aka Lollipop Mace, while I'm sure a fun little toy to play with, it has a horrible implementation and up to this point they had yet to get an AOTC Mace head sculpt to look remotely good.

Best Deluxe action figure: Durge w/ Swoop - Now this IS a deluxe figure, a splendid sculpt with all the articulation one should expect from a $10 figure, all those bada$$ weapons and a swoop to boot!
Runner-Up: I can't say, none of the other deluxe figs this year struck me as being amazing, some were decent like the Spider Droid, but overall just a paltry deluxe year.

Worst Deluxe action figure: Destroyer Droid Launcher Set - Since it's not technically an army builder set, it has to be a deluxe set, and man does this thing just stink. We get the same old Droidekas (standing and rolled up) from different sets and a poorly functioning launcher. Plus the damn things are still clogging shelves 4-5 months after their release.
Runner-Up: Clonetrooper w/ Speederbike - While I like the concept, the poor sculpt on the figure makes him look like he's a pinada and the cheap plastic used on the Speederbike causes severe warping of the front vane. Hasbro was best left to just re-release the set they had in 2002 instead of resculpting parts.

Best Vehicle: Imperial Shuttle - It's the Imperial Shuttle, the ultimate cool in Star Wars ships. Outside of the issues revolving around its supposed exclusivity and price, this toy is just outstanding, especially as its a direct re-use of the 1984 mold, it shows how great Kenner was and how great toys can still be today. It just looks so great in either a landing mode surrounded by your Imperial troops or flying about as you make those engine sounds we're all prone to making now and then. :)
Runner-Up: Hailfire Droid - This is just a great toy, fun to put together, fun to look at, and most definitely fun to play with and looks true to the model in AOTC. All those rockets launching can be a blast, and the big wheels moving about your dining room floor just harken back to a simpler time of playing with toys.

Worst Vehicle: To me there aren't any, despite several repaints, the offering of vehicles this year from Hasbro was top-notch stuff and proves that vehicles can still sell and get the job done with kids and collectors alike.

Best Subline: Screen Scenes - A great concept, if not a bit high-priced based on the amount of toys received. But where else would we get such obscure characters as San Hill or Yaddle. Mostly great sculpts, with a couple of questions on articulation (namely Mace Windu, but hey at least they got his head sculpt right for once!) and a great set of accessories. Hopefully more will come down the line now that the Xmas rush has cleared most away.
Runner-Up: CW Army Builder 3-packs - Sure the lack of articulation is questionable, but for the average of $10, you get 3 nicely sculpted figures that will look great in any diorama you make. Due to them being placed in the same assortments as the aforementioned Droideka Launcher sets, its been hard to find them for many, but its apparent everyone wants them.

Best Move By Hasbro: Getting rid of the action features and putting an emphasis on detailed sculpts and articulation.
Runner-Up: Adding extra accessories and/or stands to the basic figure line.

Worst Move By Hasbro: Using cheaper and softer plastic on their toys has caused many to become easily warped and damage, i.e. the Clonetrooper Speederbike.
Runner-Up: Continued wackiness in case assortments. Continuously putting out Droideka Launcher sets (yeah I keep harping on it, but it's such a good example) with successive army builder cases had for months covered the pegs with stuff no one will buy until xmas when its a late push for gifts. Same thing goes for the CW Anakins and Yodas.

Well those are my thoughts on the Best and Worst for 2003, what about you? Anything else catch your eye that maybe most others have overlooked?
Title: Re: Best/Worst of 2003?
Post by: Jesse James on December 24, 2003, 02:59 AM
BEST

3.75" Basic:

Squeaking in under the wire it's the Super articulated Clone.  

This figure proves Hasbro is capable of much MUCH more with their modern line then they have been putting out, and hopefully the Super articulated Clone is a sign of good things to come for "action figures" in this line.

Close second are the Imperial Officer Head variants.  I love thems army builders.

3.75" Deluxe/Ultra:

I'm going with the General Riekean figure on this one...  Not because of any great attributes to the figure itself, and honestly I think this could've been a regular carded figure for all the more you get, but I am just happy to get Riekean and his tactical screen finally.  I mean, I'd buy t he screen alone in bulk I think.  $10's pricey but for something you REALLY want it's worth it.  Even if it's not even an eye-popping figure or accessory.

Vehicle:

Easily the A-Wing Fighter...  This Target Exclusive came in at a low $20 pricetag, and it was made WIDELY available initially as an online exclusive throught Target.com, and later released to mass retail.  A smart move by Target as they were able to estimate their needs better on this toy.

To top it off, the ship is a wonderful EU repaint, and it accentuates one of the few vintage molds that truly held up over time as accurate.  It's one of the only to-scale vehicles in the entire line, and that's not shabby for a 20-ish year old mold.

The pack-in even added variety to our pilot ranks, and this was a no-brainer to buy.  I got 3 myself and will buy a 4th or 5th if I see them drop in price.

WORST OF 2003!!!

3.75" Basic:

Jedi Throne Room Duel Luke...  Good God, this thing is everything WRONG with Saga's early incarnation all rolled up into one craptastic figure.

-Terrible action feature that DOES ruin the figure
-Terrible action pose that equally helps ruin the figure
-Terrible face sculpt that takes its share in ruining this figure
-Terrible accessory (the base) that doesn't work, typical of the features of the Saga line

His only redeeming feature was a nifty metal Jedi Luke sabre.  That's it.  

CRAP!

3.75" Deluxe/Ultra:

Not a whole lotta Deluxe's out really, but I'm going with the Escape Pod C-3PO.  

The Pod sucks because it's so underscaled, and an item this size really should have just been done properly scaled and pay the extra $5 it would've taken to make it that way.  I'm not fond of underscaled things, and the pod 3PO comes with is just way too small.

3PO himself is also a rehash, and while I like that sculpt, I think for $10 you should get a little better than a rehash they couldn't vac metalize due to the plastic used, and an escape pod accessory that sucks.

Bacta Tank Luke is how to do an ultra accessory.  The Escape pod however, is not.

Vehicle:

Hmmm, t his one's tough since not that many vehicles have been put out really.  

I'm going to go with the re-release of the Republic Gunship and Jedi Fighter though.  Even with the popularity of Clone Wars, this re=release duo suck.  Both still sit stagnant, though the fighter moves somewhat.

They just weren't needed so soon after their original incarnations shipped and some even sat on clearance still in stores like KB (I can still get their exclusive Obi/Fighter set for like $10 there I think).

A close second though is the TIE Fighter.  A true kick to the collective balls of the Star Wars fans, this fighter featured a corrected cockpit rear-end, but the solar panels were left untouched (The one thing most everyone WAS asking to see changed).

Sure, we wanted a cockpit change too, but WTF was up with screwing us on the solar panel issue?  And now ANOTHER TIE is rumored?  WTF again!?  Bit of a crappy deal on that one.

Hell, I'd almost put that TIE above the Clone Wars rehashes now that I think about it. :(
Title: Re: Best/Worst of 2003?
Post by: Muftak on January 4, 2004, 12:14 PM
This thread deserves a little more attention. I'll try to spice things up with my Annual Muftak Awards for 2003.

Winners are highlighted.

Best Accessory 2003: A category I love, this year had a great new wrinkle with the inclusion of bases. This year's contenders are:

Best Vehicle 2003: A category usually dominated by rehashes, this year there were quite a few brand-new standouts. The nominees are:

Best Multipack 2003:A new category, as the deluxe line was dropped in favor of multipacks. I'm including all multipacks to heighten the competition:

Best EU Figure 2003: another pet category of mine. With the Clone Wars, things really broke open here this year:

Best Basic Figure--Resculpt: I break the Best Figure category down some to highlight the updated figures, as opposed to those we've never seen before. A very tough field this year:

Best New Basic Figure: The prize of the Muftak Awards. This year's nominees are:

And there you have it!!
Title: Re: Best/Worst of 2003?
Post by: hansolo_506 on January 9, 2004, 06:04 PM
Worst figure in the 3 3/4 line has to be EMPEROR!!!!!