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Messages - Mitsukara

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76
Other Toy Lines / Re: Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis figures
« on: May 18, 2006, 09:33 PM »
Wow! I've got to get some of these someday... but I have no clue where to look for them. I don't see myself collecting the whole line, just basic figures of each team member and maybe a Serpent Guard or something... if nothing else I want to get at least one normal Daniel though- preferably in the normal uniform rather than the exclusive thing.

I can't tell much abou the articulation, but they've done a far, far better job with the likenesses than I was expecting- Teal'c looks exactly like Christopher Judge in these pictures. I'm very impressed :)

I doubt they'll make him, but I'd love to see a season 1-2 Daniel figure, with the hair, and also with glasses. Sadly, it seems they really like to downplay the existance of Daniel's glasses whenever possible, I've noticed- any excuse such as going crazy or dying or ascending seems to work for removing the glasses in the show ;)

Of course... if they don't cost like $25 apiece or something and I ever get good at molding and painting, and using some small clear pieces of plastic, I could forseeably make such a Daniel... hmm.

So many interests, so little money :(

77
Saga Collection '06 / Re: 2006 Wal-Mart OT DVD 3-Packs
« on: May 18, 2006, 09:23 PM »
The more I think about it, the more I like the ESB set. Chewie's bowcaster might be fixable but even if it's not it's still nice to have, and I wanted one of the TSC repaints all along but couldn't justify paying $6 for the thing. But with two other figures I've really wanted and don't have, the whole thing is worthwhile.

I'd love to see the VOTC Stormtrooper out there again in any form, but I can totally see why they wouldn't be here; where they should be is a simple repack in the basic line, released in droves. These sets are predisposed to average-and-worse figures- remember the madness of those ROTS sets, especially the "Jedi Heroes"!- so I can hardly expect anything SA to show up here.

The ANH set really appeals to me too- I need at least one Commtech Luke, and an Obi Wan with the hood up another Obi Wan besides the POTF2, period. Vader isn't great, but he's useable.

That ROTJ set though... I've needed one of those Lukes for a while and the other stuff is essentially what I'd call "swag," which is to say moderately decent stuff I could stick somewhere or customize.

Argh, I sadly want all three sets, but I probably won't buy them all unless they hang around for a while. If I see an ESB set I'm grabbing it though.

78
The Prequel Trilogy / Re: ROTS: one year later.....
« on: May 18, 2006, 01:14 AM »
It was indeed a great movie, and my favorite of the prequels, but a film that I only want to see sparsely because of it's nature- I have to be in the right mood for it.

All I really dislike about the movie is that it failed to explain Grievous' origins, both in his involvement and in his character as a whole, in any way to an audience that largely knew squat about the cartoons and EU material meant to explain him; and the stuff that was cut or simply not done. The Qui Gon scene(s) should've been completed; going halfway just made it kinda weird.

Also, the more I think on it the more Tarkin needed at least one line. Not neccesarily even a closeup- just some offhand comment to a crewmember even. Something to make him noticeable besides a vague, distant walk-on that might never have been noticed. The actor cast to play the character would've been perfect at actually playing him, and it's a shame that he's basically a brief set dressing rather than a true- or substantial, perhaps I mean- cameo.

But what was done was done great. Anakin, Padme, and Obi Wan were all done as perfectly as I could hope for in this movie, in writing and portrayal. Palpatine as well, actually. No part of what this movie did was truly done wrong; there's just a few minor things it could've done and missed, but those don't wreck it or anything.

So, good stuff IMO. :) ROTS and ROTJ really are the pinnacles and epitomy of the Star Wars saga to me, as the way I see it, the whole of it basically comes down to them.

79
Saga Collection '06 / Re: Battle of Tatooine Wave
« on: May 18, 2006, 01:01 AM »
I think I'll buy a Luke and do some pooling of different ANH Luke parts to assemble the stuff in places that make sense on my diorama (I wish- try vague display sitting on a blank shelf with some ships intermixed), rather than keeping the specific accessories all with the specific figure they came from.

I love R5-D4 - I really want to buy one.

The Sandtrooper is too good to pass up and too good for me to probably find- if I see him I'm so getting one (or more- I can dream) though.

The others are cool but I don't really need them, and so they're likely not going in my collection. Garindan is way cool as a figure, but it's Garindan- the POTF2 is all my collection truly needs on such a character, considering I already have it.

Even I, who somewhat like the figure itself, can hate that Vader though- no one anywhere will like him but kids who wanted a Vader and happened to find that instead of the Hoth version, and carded collectors.

Has 500th Vader broken Cantina Han and Falcon Mechanic Chewie's repack records yet? ;)

80
Toy Reviews / Re: New JD Review: VTSC Han (Trench Coat)
« on: May 18, 2006, 12:53 AM »
After messing around with him some more, I've realized that a headswap between this guy and Carbonite Han would require some artful customizing to be done in a non-awful way. Carbonite Han's head is somewhat bigger, but the biggest problems are the completely different skin tone- the hands could be swapped but the necks are an issue- and that the ball joints are in completely different places! Carbonite Han has the ball set about halfway into his head, but VTSC Han's ball goes most of the way up in his head. This means a headswap results in a Han with a giraffe neck and bad skin, who's also got a pretty big head to boot.

I like the fact that it matches up to the VOTC in a way, showing age progression and all, but I really would've been a lot happier if Hasbro had just used the carbonite head with an improved paintjob in this case. Not only is the face likeness better, but the hair was accurate- this Han's hairdo really isn't exactly right for Han in any movie, much less ROTJ.

Also, the belt really doesn't fit right- the hips seem to be too small and so the glue is really all that holds the belt on. If you pull it off- I got brave and did it carefully- it simply won't stay on unless you tuck it under the vest, and then it'll fall off the first time you move him anyway. Thus, I re-glued mine :( pulling it off left an ugly spot anyway.

This figure is really great, and I really like it, but it falls short of perfect- though some/many/the public to the point of lynching me may disagree- due to the way the VOTC parts have been reused, and because of some funnyness in the waist articulation. In no way is he bad, and he's easily one of the absolute best Hans out there- but there's room for the bar to be raised, too.

81
Saga Collection '06 / Re: "New Toys" with OT DVD release?
« on: May 17, 2006, 06:26 PM »
If these are $10... count me in on at least one of them. I don't own any of the original versions of these figures... not wild about Vader, Palpatine, C3PO, or R2D2; I find it funny that they're repacking 3PO in such a cheap set, considering the exact same figure with the exact same complete-lack-of-coolness-or-accessories was pushed out for $10 originally.

But it couldn't hurt to own another Vader really, and Palpatine has potential if the hood could be fixed (...or removed along with the head, since I think I might have a spare POTF2 Palpatine head in a few weeks), and I could even find something to do with R2 and 3PO. And I can't frown at another Falcon Mechanic Chewie, either, plus he's got that groovy- even if it is assembled backwards- bowcaster.

But both of those Lukes- I like the look of that lightsaber Commtech Luke has- Han, the stormtrooper, and Obi Wan are all on my "want and don't have" list. So if they hang around I might buy all three one-by-one; I'll probably snap up the ESB set first if I have a choice.

82
Saga Collection '06 / Re: 5 most wanted repacks
« on: May 17, 2006, 04:29 PM »
Great List Darth Slothus! Here's mine:

5. Cantina Han
4. POTF2 Luke Skywalker w/ original accessories
3. POTF2 Rebel Fleet Trooper (for JesseJames)
2. Throne Room Duel Luke Skywalker (everyone wants a DS II Luke)
1. Saga Deluxe Anakin w/ Lightsaber Slashing Action, without the sliced Geonosian

Right then. How about this:

1. VOTC Stormtrooper (if not, how about a retooled Commtech with VOTC arms and headsculpt?)
2. VOTC Chewbacca (alternatively Early Bird would be okay)
3. POTF2 EU Mara Jade w/ Evolutions Anakin lightsaber and new, smaller blaster (it'd fit in okay with the current "Expanded Universe" cards)
4. Saga General Gear Lando
5. Evolutions Darth Vader

83
Don't forget TSC Carbonite Han ;) With a good paintjob he's a dead ringer in some opinions.

But yes, Yoda seems to be tough to get down exactly. One problem is that he never really looks "smiley" enough in most figures... he's usually got this tense look on his face instead of that goofy crazy hermit look he's known for in ESB.

Personally I'm kinda dissapointed with the lack of Lando figures over the years... I don't know why but I really kinda like the character, and he's a weak spot in my collection I'm trying to improve. Besides collecting some of the cool ones I've missed- new General Lando and VOTC Lando especially- I'm actually planning like 4 Lando customs long-term (young Lando, Nkllon Lando, DFR Lando, ESB Smuggler Gear Lando). So if Hasbro makes another Lando anytime soon you can bet he won't pegwarm in my area :) Of course, you can also bet he won't even show up in my area... alas...

84
First off, I'm sorry if this thread is a bit out of left field/ in the category of "okay, who cares?," but I was surprised to find it out and wanted to know if anyone else had tried/discovered this.

Chewbacca's neck articulation has traditionally been in most figures, well, not really all that articulated. In every Chewie since the Vintage Chewies he's had a seperately molded head, but the hair usually keeps it from being adjustable at all, except in a few cases such as one Saga Chewbacca that had a hinged neck joint.

So, I was removing the paint from my effort-gone-awry to customize/improve the paintjob of my MFM Chewie, only to discover that with a little careful pushing, his head turned to the side. I'm pretty sure this hasn't damaged the head or neck joint at all; and he doesn't need to be warmed to do it. The hair that hangs down on his shoulders is pretty soft, and with a little effort his head is indeed simply a working articulation point. This doesn't work on POTF2 Chewbacca- I've tried numerous times with him before, I think his head might be actually made of styrene (the hard plastic used for torsos until the last couple years).

A little bit needs to go a long way when a figure has simple articulation, and this neck articulation makes Chewie's right arm a lot more useful for shooting poses and such. I'm pretty happy it's there now that I realize it can be used.

As proof, I offer this horrid-quality scanned picture:


So, has anyone else done this? Do newer Chewbaccas, like VOTC Chewie maybe, also do this?

85
Err... with the new DVDs containing both the original theatrical versions and the new versions, I'm pretty sure what we'll have is the theatrical versions containing Sebastian Shaw along with all the other unmodified content (apparently Lak Sivrak/Wolfman was cut from Episode IV- who knew?), and the new version containing Hadyn Christiansen and the Jango voice for Boba Fett and such.

So in theory, it will have a clear widescreen (I think- they'll probably do widescreen and formatted versions again actually, in which case sign me up for widescreen...) version of this scene on the theatrical DVD. And the old Ewok song set to the scene, as well.

86
Saga Collection '06 / Re: Terrible Previously Released Figures
« on: May 14, 2006, 11:15 PM »
Quote
We did get some cool aliens out of it.  Even with the lack of articulation some aliens have good scultps.
Admiral Ackbar, Nien Nunb (although his vest kinda sucked), and Walrusman come to mind. Mon Mothma wasn't bad either, and she's human...

I can't really hate POTF2 at large because some of it was pretty decent when it was new, and the articulation was enough to make the figures playable and able to pull off a few different poses... I just hate certain horrible bits of sculpting, namely the super-mega-hyper-steroid buffness, and the occasional horrific action features like R5-D4 had.

The suckiness of a figure is in the eye of a beholder; I loved Buff Luke when I first got him, having never owned a Star Wars figure before. But the bottom-line suckiness, I think, is if it really failed to be what it could've been for the standards at the time. The Rebel Fleet Trooper didn't need to be Mr. Universe, R5 didn't need to expode and fire a titan missle from his core, Saga Deluxe Anakin with sliced Geonosian didn't need to exist, VOTC C3PO didn't need to be worse than several previous C3POs, and so on.

To continue the thread though, here's a picture of everybody's favorite $10 pal, with his horrible sculpt and articulation style straight from 1977:

And what's funny is, everybody's pal Rebelscum describes him as such: "This new version of C-3PO may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts. With improved details than any other version, this figure looks good translating languages, taking an oil bath, and even falling off a cliff! "

"Improved details than any other version", huh? Maybe they meant the paint or something? ??? In fact, I could swear that I read this description once and they uttered the phrase "The Ultimate version of C3PO," but I either imagined that or someone sensibly removed it.

But falling off a cliff is about what he deserves ;)

Oh, and speaking of Saga Deluxe/Ultra figures, here's another I love: he's grinning because he just learned the hadoken and he's going surfing. He's one bad mutha!

87
Vintage Kenner / Re: Vintage Star Wars Commercials
« on: May 14, 2006, 02:37 AM »
Wow- I hadn't really seen any of these famed Vintage commercials before, and I have to say they're quite interesting.

They're pretty cool and considering that the kids in them were mostly teenagers or 20-year-olds when I was born, I have to view them in a certain respect, but dang they had some cheesy background music ;)

I like the FX-7 commercial- they got pretty creative with the dialogue there, with the snowtrooper. :)

And that C-3PO's ad is great, and pretty flashy- a lot flashier than the cereal itself looked. Good stuff, there.

Hmm... I remember that scene in the cantina, where Walrusman went "Oh no, it's Ben Kenobi and his lightsaber, let's get outta here." Yep. ;)

88
Saga Collection '06 / Re: Terrible Previously Released Figures
« on: May 14, 2006, 01:17 AM »
Call me crazy, but I don't seem to recall R2's third leg being as big as his head, much less Luke's acrobatic feat- and R2's non-melting feat- of firing the lightsaber ignited...



I mean, that just can't turn out in a non-messy fashion. Speaking of which, was R2 rolled in black pepper prior to the skiff scene?...

Okay, this figure is cool in concept, and it's an action feature I can actually appreciate, but they could've made it so, so much better by having R2 fire a handle instead of a whole ignited saber, with a slightly-deformed blade at that. This would've let R2 be sculpted in something resembling a normal fashion, and it'd give you a handle to play with, and it would be scene-accurate... the only complaint would be that you'd lose it, but as long as the firing mechanism was pretty weak and you were relatively careful it'd be fine. Better than "whoops I threw my saber across the room" Mace Windu, at any rate.

89
Saga Collection '06 / Re: 2006 vOTC (or vTSC) - now with pics!
« on: May 14, 2006, 12:57 AM »
Oh, I totally forgot! I couldn't find any trace of the mail-away sticker in my VTSC Han. This is okay because I'm most likely not buying a whole set- or at least no time soon- but it is noteworthy. I bought him at Target, but the case was taped shut. There's a shall piece of tape on the inside of the "The Saga Collection" insert on the clamshell- is that where it's supposed to be?

Nothing on the card or anywhere else in the case. ???

But whoever was lame enough to steal it can have it, I guess :P I'd almost rather have a normal Commtech stormtrooper than a George Lucas stormtrooper anyway...

90
Wow! Glad to see these reviewed here, and the reviews are excellent as usual. Truth be told I've only sat and read Lando and C3PO so far, but I'll get back to the others soon.

I need to get one of those Landos at least- he's totally awesome, and this review just reminds me again. Too bad I've never seen any VOTC or VTSC figures besides two of the VTSC hanging in Target once so far... that's what I get for having to go out of town to shop anywhere better than Wal Mart, but also my Toys R Us is sadly bereft of this "pegwarmer" I hear everybody for some reason grumbling about.

I love the level of detail in the review of the, well, details- it brought out some points I wasn't noticing, like the way you get a sense of the texture in the shirt's sculpt and the gloss on the eyes.

Now, C3PO- there's a great figure. I actually laughed at the joke- "Go buy one now, it’s great!" ;) Fortunately Hasbro made the ROTS "Apology C3PO" the next year, and are actually furthering the innovations some with a shiny new Endor C3PO with knee joints and good sculpting. Yes, the casual collector can forget VOTC C3PO as quickly as possible, now.

I agree that the POTF2 is better- he's lame but he at least was average in his lameness. What's really funny to contemplate is that the vintage C3PO might've had a better headsculpt, and definately better leg posture, than this dude.

BTW, have you considered displaying 3PO next to a buff Rebel Fleet Trooper? All you need is a buff or Saga ROTJ Death Star Duel Vader, some buff stormtroopers, and, I dunno, firing-ignited-lightsaber R2D2, and you can have one happenin' Tantive IV display.

Yes, I mean to inflict nightmares. :)

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