Vintage OTC Figures - A New Hope

[Vator]

Much like VOTC Han Solo, I just picked up a VOTC Darth Vader for a little more than retail...not a big difference though. More updates when he arrives.  

[Ben]

How do you really feel, Ben?  

That's a bummer, but not terribly surprising considering it was Amazon.  They usually just throw their figures in a box, and toss one or two of those large "air pack" thingees, and that's it.  I would never go Amazon if I was shooting for something MOMC.  I was hoping that at least the VOTC plastic clamshells would at least be able to absorb most of the shipping truama though.  Guess not.  

That's exactly how they were packed. If they'd have left the stupid air thing out, these might have arrived OK.

Meh. I know I won't order any more VOTC from these putzes.

[Nicklab]

How do you really feel, Ben?  

That's a bummer, but not terribly surprising considering it was Amazon.  They usually just throw their figures in a box, and toss one or two of those large "air pack" thingees, and that's it.  I would never go Amazon if I was shooting for something MOMC.  I was hoping that at least the VOTC plastic clamshells would at least be able to absorb most of the shipping truama though.  Guess not.  

Mine actually arrived in pretty good shape.  Amazon stuffed quite a few of those air pillows in the carton, and they were all snug as a bug in a rug.  No visible dents in the clamshells.

[Jeff]

Another week and still no signs of vOTC 3PO feature at Hasbro's site...

*sigh*

The articulation mystery continues.

Jeff

[Brian]

I know, it seems like they forgot about it.  Hopefully we'll get some pics of him as well next week at Comic-Con, since they haven't put him on their site.  For those of you who have gotten the VOTC Obi-Wan, what do you think of that figure?  I've got one on the way, but from the reviews I have read so far, it doesn't seem like he's really getting glowing comments from people.  Han seems to be a favorite so far, and Leia has sounded like it is a pretty good figure as well, but I haven't seen as much positive about the old hermit.

[SilverZ]

The articulation mystery continues.

I say it's a conspiracy. What are they hiding?   You'd hope now that he'd at least be at ComiCon.

For those of you who have gotten the VOTC Obi-Wan, what do you think of that figure?

I seem to be squarely in the minority but I really like the figure, even with the soft goods. He's fairly poseable, has lots of detail, and is a good likeness. Looks terrible without the cloak, but hey. I have him posed with both hands clasping the lightsaber, which helps compress the bulky cloak around his body and, as a result, makes it look more natural.

I also have faith that we'll get a "living" version of the Dagobah Spirit Ben to cover my plastic cloak/hood down Ben needs, so that may be helping improve my opinion on the VOTC one.




 

[Jeff]

I also have faith that we'll get a "living" version of the Dagobah Spirit Ben to cover my plastic cloak/hood down Ben needs, so that may be helping improve my opinion on the VOTC one.

Uh... no one has addressed my post over in the Dagobah thread yet, so I'll go ahead and post it here in hopes of getting your opinion Jared...

Forgive my ignorance, but I've got a question for you guys...

I've been vocal in my desire to get an Non-Spirit Ben figure, but I may already have one, for it seems that Spirit Ben Kenobi (Dagobah) is... a kitbashed/rehash.

While goofing around with Ben last night, I discovered that the date stamp on his foot reads "2000", and to top it off he has a little tiny hole in his belt just like the PotJ Ben does.  After comparing for a bit, I feel I can sefely say that Spirit Ben's legs, lower body, and torso are all identical to the PotJ version!  

I think that his head may be recycled from the old Lays Spirit Obi-Wan as well.  As near as I can tell, only the arms and cloak are new... but that may be only because we havn't figured out where they came from yet.

So, is he kitbashed?  Or am I just crazy?

Jeff

[Jesse James]

Partly, and partly new.

Arms hands, and possibly the head are new...  Torso, legs, and skirt piece are POTJ Ben Kenobi.

The head I, and others, are having a tough time telling.  

Personally, I'm saying it's the POTJ head for now, but it COULD be new.  It's so tough to tell with the holo plastic.  

EDIT:

Upon closer inspection, the torsos are REALLY different.  The lower torso (legs/skirt) seem to be all that was reused now that I look at it closer.  The upper body's 100% new though.

The head's definitely a new sculpt...  The arms and cloak are also definitely new.

The lower body though, still sports the hole for his saber hilt even.

[SilverZ]

If you look closely at the Spirit version's torso neck and dark "V" section, you can see they've punched up the detail in that area. The POTJ version is much smoother, missing all of the ruffles and texture; it's much flatter.

The head is hard to call. There ARE differences, but they're very similar. I'm going to say its new. It's easiest to tell in the side profile. Then chin is slightly less protruding. The forehead and brow are less curved and higher. From the front, the jawline is much more vertically angled and thinner than before. It's weird, I guess because they are both pretty good. I think the Spirit one is a better likeness though. And it's definitly not the same head as the VOTC one.

The figure was a creative reuse of parts and I really wish they kept the momentum up with more like him, sort of a POTJ mindset resurgence.

[Jesse James]

VOTC is selling out here...  

K-Marts in my area (at least 3 I was at personally, as well as every other one in the area it seems from local reports) got VOTC in...  3 of each figure for the most part, or more.  They're all gone now from what I can tell.

The figures are really just that good I believe...  Top-notch stuff.

Even the "worse" of the group are still good figures.  That Kenobi's still the only old ben you'll get in a speeder, and with the right cloak looks really quite good.

I'm expecting GREAT things from the final figures really...

12" are out here now...  12" is something I'm ditching, but if I wasn't I'd be all over the Fett.  It's nice I think.

I'm wondering if these will wind up being really easy to get, or if these will turn into such hot items they sell through everywhere steadily?  This should be interesting.  Disconcerting on some of these later figures too.

[SilverZ]

They're really cool figures but I still don't know how much that translates to 10 dollars cool for the average shopper. I haven't spotted them anywhere since the first time I found them.

The problem with Kmart is they're such a terrible barometer for figure sales. DoctorPadawan summed up their problems well over in the cantina scene thread. I've watched my Kmart like a freakin' hawk the past two weeks after nabbing the VOTC there, and they've had absolutley nothing since. So between JediMAC and myself, that particular store has been selling extremely well, but only to two people. Who knows if they'll ever bother to restock.

I see that they're still in-stock at Amazon.com/TRU. They usually tear through new figures and they're still there. That's a bit strange. If they had Luke I'd order 2 just so I can stop going into that filthy Kmart for a while.

I think its too early to call one way or the other, but my fear is this - the price point completely F's up distribution in a whole new way:

Say Kmart underorders, being conservative, and takes the equivelant of about 1 case per store. They blow through their inventory, think these are hot new toys, and reorder in droves, recieving a heap of Wave 2 - which sell a good, but not extraordinary amount due to the pricepoint, and Landos and Yodas sit on the shelf. Wave 3 never arrives (or wave 2.5 with 3P0).

Now say that at the same time Toys R Us orders a ton of VOTC right up front, in typical fashion, as they did with Saga. Their stores are glutted with Saga toys in the aisles, so those bulks of Wave 1 take a long while to both distribute to stores and make their way to the shelf. As it seams to be by their online inventory, they have plenty of Ben, Leia, and Han to go around. Wave 2 gets passed over while stock slowly depletes, hopefully. Then Wave 3 either arrives en-masse or never at all. Too early to tell, but I forecast doom and gloom regardless.

And I haven't even begun worrying about what will go on with Walmart or Target. I just have a bad feeling the pricepoint is going to cause tons of problems for the line to make it all the way to Wave 3 without some problems.

All I know is that by the time Wave 3 hits, there's no way there will be a Stormtrooper or a Fett sitting on the shelf for everyone that wants one. Sorry for the wordy post.

[Force Guy]

They're really cool figures but I still don't know how much that translates to 10 dollars cool for the average shopper.

Exactly.  The 100% markup rate of $10 retail is hard to swallow, especially when Hasbro has a history of making 'ultimate' figures like the super poseable Clone Trooper or Ephant Mon available for $5 retail.  

[Jesse James]

The $10, I 100% believe, is specialty packaging...  Not the figure itself.

The articulation's considered a "fixed cost" on the overall product, while "limited edition" short-run packaging is a variable cost.  Over the long-haul, both can be lessened should more be produced, but the packaging is supposedly not goiong to be reproduced after this series' first (and thus only) run.  The articulation, should the figure(s) see re-release someday in any format, will be a cost that diminishes over time...  

I like to think Hasbro wise enough that, if they're to re-release a Han ANH someday or ANH Leia, that they use these sculpts...  Of course, what's logical and what actually is to occur tend to vary greatly.

The Han and Leia are, without a doubt, the best of both versions.  Neither figure's perfect though....  Han's damned close though.  I'd say closer than the Clone even, which wowed me bigtime.

Deluxe Durge is up in that running as well.  A truly amazing piece of work...

The packaging on the VOTC arguably increases this to $10 value, depending on how you view the paradox of value for yourself, but it certainly is costing Hasbro more to do this "special" packaging.  I just wish we weren't paying for it.

I think the Basic OTC card is miles better myself.  

[Brian]

That's exactly how they were packed. If they'd have left the stupid air thing out, these might have arrived OK.

Meh. I know I won't order any more VOTC from these putzes.

I had a similar experience with Amazon as well now.  We received a package we had ordered through them yesterday, and while the VOTC Ben, and the other stuff we ordered, arrived just fine....the VOTC Leia was smashed up pretty good.  And like Ben mentioned earlier, even the inside bubble was smashed up.  The "star case" was smashed in on the top and the bottom, and the inside bubble is crushed too.  I guess its ok, it will make it easier to go ahead and open these up (I had been debating), but I think I would say too that if you want a nice, MOC set, you might want to think twice about Amazon.  However, the other two I have received through them (Han and Ben) both arrived in good shape.

[Force Guy]

And like Ben mentioned earlier, even the inside bubble was smashed up.  The "star case" was smashed in on the top and the bottom, and the inside bubble is crushed too.  I guess its ok, it will make it easier to go ahead and open these up (I had been debating), but I think I would say too that if you want a nice, MOC set, you might want to think twice about Amazon.

Actually, the Han I found at retail wasn't MOC.  It doesn't matter to me since I'm an opener, but I couldn't help but notice that both the card AND bubble were not mint.  There was a ding along the side of the card and the bubble was scuffed up.  It's clear that Hasbro didn't take any measures to ensure that 'mint' condition figures were getting sealed up in these special clamshells.  A protector case doesn't do any good if there's a 'damaged' product inside.