Author Topic: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?  (Read 15593 times)

Offline Brian

  • Jedi Sentinel
  • *
  • Posts: 11749
    • View Profile
Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« on: September 28, 2004, 09:44 AM »
Although the majority of us have likely not found the entire VOTC line quite yet, it does appear they are starting to make their way through the retail system.  This was probably one of the more anticipated and talked about Star Wars lines in quite some time, and from what I have read it seems to have brought a lot of casual or old collectors back into the game.  Of what you have (or have seen pics of, in person, etc.), what are your impressions of this line?  Did the figures meet your expectations?  Are they the "best ever" incarnations of these figures, in these particular outfits?  Which were hits, and which were misses.  Also, if you don't think the VOTC versions were the best of what we've seen...which previous versions top them?

A New Hope Wave Found: 4 of 4

Luke Skywalker - not too bad, but probably not one of the stronger figures.  The cloth cloak seemed unnecessary, but at least it was a different take on the farmboy Luke.  The articulation was nice.  I wouldn't say it was worlds better than previous farmboy Lukes overall though, but parts did seem pretty good.  Maybe a wee bit too short.

Obi-Wan Kenobi - again, not terrible, but not particularly impressive either.  I think I've gotten mine into a position where the bulky cloak at least looks decent, and the additional articulation is nice (no knees though?), but I wouldn't say that it is that huge of an improvement over the POTJ or recent Spirit version from the OTC.  Also, the fact that he has the "old style" lightsaber with no "flame effect" at the base kind of bothers me.  Minor quibble though.  Average figure, probably not worth $10.

Princess Leia - Pretty good figure.  Sure, the face sculpt isn't 100% accurate, but its probably as good as any past ones have been.  Better articulation than all previous versions.  Otherwise, not a huge difference between this one and the Commtech versions.  That said though, this is probably my favorite version of the New Hope Leia, pretty easily.  A solid figure, not spectacular, but solid.

Han Solo - Wow.  My favorite figure of all time I think.  Han and Chewie are my favorite characters, so that might have something to do with it too, but this figure to me is pretty much perfect.  The vest isn't a seperate piece, but that is really the only minor quibble with this figure to me.  I think this is easily the best Han Solo figure we've seen, and makes a solid Commtech Han Solo look quite dated.  A template for the future of well articulated figures.

Empire Strikes Back Wave Found: 4 of 4

Yoda - Another favorite character of mine, so I was really looking forward to the figure.  It is a nice figure, and I really like the vintage "nods" of the soft goods cloak and snake, but the soft goods doesn't sit quite right on mine.  Plus, as has been pointed out by Jesse I believe, the belt isn't on the outside of the cloak, like the vintage figure.  I do like the VOTC Yoda overall, but I almost think the OTC version is a better overall likeness.  My VOTC Yoda just looks a little....chubby or something.  Good figure though...$10?  Not sure.

C-3PO - Although I can appreciate the vac-metallized work on this, I was fairly unimpressed with this figure when I found it.  As with all of the VOTC, I am happy to have it, but it definitely isn't worth $10.  I think the part that bothers me the most about this figure is the face sculpt (at least on mine).  He almost has a "puckery" look to his face/mouth, if that makes sense.  I guess I was more impressed when I finally found the repack of the MMC version this year, I thought that figure was a more impressive 3PO.  Plus, the obvious flaw of more articulation too.  Again, some of the other areas of sculpting, as well as paint/metallize work, are impressive...but this figure could have been much better I think.

Lando Calrissian - I was happily surprised with this figure.  I guess it wasn't one I was really psyched and thinking about a lot, but when I found it I thought it ended up being one of the best of the line that I have seen.  The cape is a little better detailed, the articulation is very well done, and overall it is a solid figure.  Some minor complaints would be the head sculpt (POTJ one seems a little more accurate), and the lack of ball joints on the elbows (which is a running theme in this line).  They did it with Han, and it worked great, would have liked to see it here.  Otherwise, this is a very good version of the "other" smuggler, and capable of more than one pose (like the POTJ version)

Darth Vader - Another favorite of mine, and a great figure.  I like how it turned out.  The only problem I really have with it is again the ball jointed elbows, but I guess it doesn't hurt this figure too badly.  The sculpt is nice, the soft goods worked pretty well (at least on mine), and the fact that we got a lit and unlit saber was a nice bonus.  I would say this is the best Vader we've seen so far, but it could probably still be improved upon a little bit.  A terrific figure though I think.

Return of the Jedi Wave Found: 2 of 4 (Missing Chewbacca, Boba Fett)

R2-D2 - A nice little figure, and Hasbro did a little extra with things like the pop-up sensorscope, removable third leg, and the "gadgets" panel to make it something different.  The "chrome" dome might not technically be accurate, but it looks nice, and is another nice nod to the vintage figure.  We've seen quite a few nice R2s over the years, and this is another nice take.  The recent Jabba's Sail Barge figure might be a better R2 overall, but I don't have any complaints about this one personally.

Stormtrooper - One of the best of the line.  It took the very popular and well liked Commtech version, and improved upon it.  Finally, a super articulated version of the best army builder in the Star Wars saga.  Ball sockets everywhere you look, the stormie blaster, and a good sculpt.  Best version ever.  Only drawback (as with the whole line), $10 a pop.  Tough to justify army building with that pricepoint.

Chewbacca - I haven't found this figure yet, but outside of Han it is my most anticipated of the line.  From the pictures that have come online within the past week or two, it looks amazing.  Likely the best Chewie ever.  The Cloud City version is also nice, but this one looks like it will be even a little better.  Although it seems to be missing peg holes in the feet, i do like how they gave him the "sasquatch" feet.  I don't have it yet, but judging from pictures, it is second only to Han with me.  Really hope I can find one (and that everyone else can too).

Boba Fett - Haven't found Fett either, but from the pictures it looks to be a great figure as well.  We've been wanting a "super articulated" version of this character for quite some time, and it looks like Hasbro has delivered on that.  From the pics, the color of the jumpsuit seems a little bit off, and overall the accuracy of the figure might be beaten by the great 300th Edition Fett.  But, that figure is pretty much stuck in one pose.  In some pics online, the head looks a little big, but I have seen that people who have found him say that isn't the case.  He'll probably be a bugger to find int he stores though.

Sorry for the excessively long post, I was just curious to see what everyone thought of this line overall.  Do you think they were worth the $10 a piece?  I'm not so sure.  Although I think the line is great, and I really like the vintage packaging, I think we've seen somewhat comparable figures at the $5 price point, and in some cases better figures at that price.  The packaging (star case) was neat too, but I would have gladly given it up to get these figures for $5-$7.  Overall though, this is definitely the most excited I have been about a Star Wars figure set in quite some time, and overall Hasbro seems to have delivered.  The $10 price point really hit me though, and it did seem like a lot to pay for the figures.  That said, I'd like to see more figures done in this style (well sculpted, well articulated, at least close-to-definitive versions), and hopefully we'll see more of this in the future.  It does seem like these could be done (minus the spiffy packaging) for a lower pricepoint though.  I really like being able to have definitive versions of the main characters, who can be posed either neutrally, or in action poses, determined by us...not by the sculpt.  Figures that either are, or come close to, being the best versions ever of the characters to me are: Han Solo, Darth Vader, Stormtrooper, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia, and Boba Fett.  The latter part of the list could still be improved upon a little, but they seem pretty close.  Anyways, what are your thoughts?  Did the VOTC live up to expectations?

Offline Muftak

  • Jedi Apprentice
  • *
  • Posts: 1229
  • Cardboard Entrepreneur
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2004, 03:21 PM »
An interesting idea. I'm game. I typed mine up after reading Msonab's premise, but without reading his reviews (to keep my reviews clean). A lot of my analysis lines up with Mosnab's, but htere are some interesting differences

From the beginning, a line of ten-dollar action figures was a hard sell to me. I thought, packaging aside, they had better be some darn nice figures to warrant the 100% markup. I'm an opener, the packaging means nothing to me whatsoever--even the OTCs, I just rip 'em open and throw 'em away. I have seen all of the VOTCs (At one time, in one store, even.) and I have come home with seven of them. First, I'll go through the ones I didn't buy, and why:

Obi-Wan--I really liked the looks of him at the store, I still pick him up and look at him when I see him. He looks great in the package. But the pictures I've seen of him around have turned me off to buying him at the ten-dollar price--he's just not as fully posable as he could've easily been, and the soft goods didn't work well. If there's a clearance/deal/repack somewhere down the road for cheaper, I may yet get him. There aren't any great Obi-Wans, he's as close to the best Obi-Wan there is, but still terribly flawed.

Yoda--I passed on Yoda at first sight. The robe is ugly, the face is ugly. All he has going for him to me is the accessories--the snake and the flute necklace are nice, but not enough. I don't need a Yoda with sculpted little green legs to feel like I have the best Yoda. OTC beats him on everything, so I bought two of that instead.

Threepio--I don't like the Coin/Hall of Fame/OTC version of this figure that a lot of folks tout as the best Threepio, but I like the VOTC one even less. It simply doesn't look like Threepio. The detail is there, but the proportions are lacking. The lack of articulation on the "ultimate" version was a let down (I almost wrote a smack in the face, but that's a little overboard I think.) that my view of the figure never recovered from. I still have not seen a definitive Threepio action figure, but I feel it's only a matter of time.

Boba Fett--This is another figure I've gone around and around with myself about. On the one hand, I really want a good posable Fett, and this is it. On the other, the buckethead is just too big for me, it's not good, it doesn't please my eye. The gauntlets, also, are too bulky for my taste. and, in the end, he has the ROTJ colors. I'd prefer correct proportions in the ESB colors, and so I'll stick with the 300th version as my "definitive" Fett.

Artoo--Let's face it, asking ten dollars for Artoo is always going to be a tough sell. Sometimes asking five dollars for him is a bit of a stretch. Hasbro did what they could with him (removable 3rd leg, removable tools that look accurate) but in the end the chromedome and lightpipe eye just turned me off. It doesn't beat Bartoo as the Artoo in my collection.

Okay, so that's the misses. Here are the hits:

Han--The first figure I picked up. I did not like the ultra-realistic look of him when I first saw pics last winter, but the figure came out much better than it looked. This Han beats the Commtech version so easily, I almost wince when I look at that old version now. This is the high-water mark for human characters thus far.

Leia--At first I passed on Leia, but reviews and pictures on the web brought me around. The cloth skirt is a bit of a distraction, but the fact is it allows the figure to use the leg articulation to the fullest. The cut elbows could've been a failure, but her shoulders are sculpted so that you can swap shoulders and armpits to effectively straighten out the arms or bend them to cradle her gun. The face is good--the least ugly Leia we've gotten (to be as harsh as possible--I actually think it looks kind of cute.)

Luke--I never planned on buying Luke. I don't like the soft goods. They always fail to please my eye. But when I saw this Luke at the store, I realized it could work. I had to bunch the tunic way together in the back, and tuck his collar under, but he looks good. Again, it was necessary to use the soft goods this way to include the articulation. Luke can lean, squat, sit, and pretty much contort to any pose you want, even more than Han, really. About the hardest thing to have him do is put his arms up over his head, the sleeves kind of shrink up on him (though I guess the costume would flop down like that too.) I don't expect to ever get a more posable Luke.

Vader--Ah, Vader. I knew I wanted Vader as soon as I opened Han. All this articulation would work for Vader. And even though his ankles don't bend, his elbows are cut joints, and his cloak is cloth, I still love Vader. The cloth cloaks are the best soft goods of the line, they have a nice flow to them. Vader's arms look okay either bent or straight. The removable saber hilt is something I want to see in all Jedi figures, and really takes this Vader from great to outstanding, even with the glittery chain not working well.

Lando--I thought I would pass on Lando as well but wound up buying him. His arms don't go straight like I'd like, but otherwise he's Han's match as far as articulation perfection. His cape is better that the POTJ version (something I would've doubted was possible a year ago.) But the best thing about Lando? His shoes. Man, I love Lando's shoes!!

Stormtrooper--I have a large army of CT Stormtroopers (thanks to the fan club store, who sent me double my order and promptly went out of business) so I wasn't really looking forward to an upgrade, just based on the fact that I had a large army already. Add on top of that I didn't expect ot ever see one of these, as I've yet to see a SA Clone, and my interest was middling. When I found it I was happy, and became only more so when I popped it open. This is the top of the line for Star Wars figures, it really is. There is no real flaw, even the unorthodox holster tickles me in its look and uncompromising design. You can't beat this Stormtrooper. I, who had hemmed and hawed about ten dollar figures, who already owned so many stormtroopers some of them haven't found there way out of the little white mailer boxes, I wound up buying a second one. Because it was that good.

Chewbacca--Again I didn't think the Saga CCC Chewie could be much improved upon, short of adding the ability to straighten his arms. I prefer the ESB slicked back Chewie hair-do over the Mechanic "blow-dryed" look as well, so a ROTJ Cheiwe was of low interest. How wrong I was to doubt what more could be done. With my VOTC Chewie, I have been able to pose him like no other--I've even had him standing on one foot, punt-kicker style (and without peg-holes, that's saying something for this figure's ability to balance.) To top it off, this is not "ugly" articulation, it's well hidden. Again, the best done alien figure ever. Period.

So, at the end of the day, I have to say the VOTC line won me over against all my better judgement. At this point, if Hasbro said they were cutting back Star Wars figures to only doing twelve of these types of figures a year, even at ten dollars a pop, I would be happy. Getting these ultimate versions has really been worth it.

« Last Edit: September 28, 2004, 03:57 PM by Muftak »

Offline Scott

  • Staff Member
  • Jedi Guardian
  • *
  • Posts: 18701
  • Get Some
    • View Profile
    • JediDefender
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2004, 11:19 AM »
I'm going to wait until I have all 12 before giving my overall thoughts, there are some definite hits and misses though

Offline Darth Broem

  • Jedi Knight
  • *
  • Posts: 3001
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2004, 11:43 AM »
I only have the first wave Luke, Han, Kenobi, and Leia.  I think Han is the standout of course.  Kenobi's cloak is too puffy.  Leia would have been better with a hood up feature.  I would have liked to have had her own gun seen in the film.   Luke is pretty good for the most part.  They can never make a good head likeness but it will do. 

Overall I really like them despite a few negatives.  The articulation puts them over the top for me. 

I can't wait for the others! Well except maybe C-3PO, but I'll still get him.

SilverZ

  • Guest
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2004, 05:42 PM »
My opinion on the 12 figures falls right in line with what you guys have been saying. I'm pleased overall.  Even when you consider the duds, if I were to think about VOTC as a "new" line of Star Wars figures, it's a great lineup that is very well executed. To me, 3P0 really is the only one that outright fails as a figure of the caliber they aimed to achieve. So I'm not redundant, I'll just summarize my opinion into three categories:

Definitive:
Chewbacca
Han Solo
Stormtrooper
Boba Fett
R2-D2

Good with Faults:
Lando
Luke
Leia
Darth Vader
Obi-Wan
Yoda

Failure:
C-3P0

And the differences between a Definitive figure and a Good one are minor, like the color of Yoda's skin, the lack of ball-socket joints on Lando's and Vader's elbows, missing pegholes on Leia, and Luke's height. Pretty good, if you ask me, for a new line.

I'd like to see them move ahead with this concept in the future and drop all the extra packaging to try to get these to around a $7.99 pricepoint. Ditch the Starcase idea, and even the vintage card, and do new OTC-like retro packaging, maybe in a smaller plastic box instead of a standard card.

If we got 12 figures a year at this high of a quality I'd be really, really happy.

Offline Force Guy

  • Jedi Apprentice
  • *
  • Posts: 1306
  • Nom nom nom
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #5 on: October 1, 2004, 02:03 AM »
For me, VOTC was about having ultra-articulated, definitive versions of our favorite main characters.  And at 100% markup in price, should you expect anything less?  For me, only 50% of Hasbro's VOTC lineup met that criteria.  Here's the beef I had with some of the VOTC figures:

Luke - Terrible likeness, mostly because of the head sculpt.  He certainly wasn't modeled after Mark Hamill.  And why is he so short?  The articulation is definitely a plus, but the piss-poor likeness is hard to overlook.

Leia - The likeness is a bit off.  She looks more like Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island than Carrie Fisher.  I'm also not a big fan of quasi-soft goods figures where half of the figure is plastic and the other half is cloth.

Ben - Would've been nice if he came with a fitted Jedi robe instead of a tent.  It's a shame....without his robe on, his arms look awkward and skinny. 

Yoda - He'd look a lot better if his soft goods robe fit better and if he was the right color.

*C-3PO - Biggest blunder of the VOTC line.  Okay, so he doesn't come with loads of articulation.  Fine.  But why does he look so funky?  The likeness is HORRIBLE.   

R2-D2 - Looks more like a slightly glorified POTF2 version of R2 with the shiny dome.  No thanks.  And the wires on his feet look more like sausage links.

On the flipside, I think Hasbro pretty much mastered the versions they made of Han, Chewie, Vader, Fett, Stormtrooper, and Lando.     
Binders full of astromechs...

Offline DSJ™

  • Staff Member
  • Jedi Council Member
  • *
  • Posts: 22380
  • Bouncy! Bouncy! I'm An Insane Kubrickaholic!™
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #6 on: October 1, 2004, 02:45 AM »
I only have 5 thus far, Luke, Leia, Ben, Han, & Yoda. I'm like Scott, I'll wait till I have them. 

Offline Mister Skeezler

  • Jedi Knight
  • *
  • Posts: 2815
  • Now with winning smile!
    • View Profile
    • misterskeezler on Instagram
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #7 on: October 1, 2004, 03:26 PM »
*C-3PO - Biggest blunder of the VOTC line.  Okay, so he doesn't come with loads of articulation.  Fine.  But why does he look so funky?  The likeness is HORRIBLE.

Seriously! I was trying to like this figure before I realized that I shouldn't have to try to like a figure that I paid $10 for.
-------------------------------------------------
(Formerly LandotheScoundrel)

misterskeezler on Instagram

Offline Deanpaul

  • Jedi Apprentice
  • *
  • Posts: 1123
  • open for interpretation
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #8 on: October 3, 2004, 12:37 PM »
Overall, I'm really happy with all of these figures.

The only real disappointment for me so far is Leia not coming with her Tantive gun, and Lando as well. Both have Stormtrooper blasters, not what I expect for "nostalgia" or 10 bucks.

R2's accessories are a little bit of a let down as well. Nice concept, not all that well executed. The sensorscope is alright, but the arms are a poorly executed revisit of a previous R2 figure. I'd almost rather had a blue led eye light with sounds.

However, I do really like them. I did buy all 12, and that wasn't the plan when I first heard about these.
"Regime change, like charity, begins at home." - Ira Glass, This American Life

Offline Scott

  • Staff Member
  • Jedi Guardian
  • *
  • Posts: 18701
  • Get Some
    • View Profile
    • JediDefender
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #9 on: October 4, 2004, 01:33 PM »
After having sufficiently fondled the figures this weekend...here goes

ANH

Han Solo:   Great figure, one of the best ever, the likeness, the articulation, every thing about Han is greatness.  The vest thing is a minor quibble really

Luke Skywalker:  Not a great figure by any means, I like the Articulation and how they were able to try some new stuff on him but his face likeness sucks and the tunic is awful.  I would have been open to a plastic tunic with a Outer Poncho...didn't get that though and wit Bobb's fixes the tunic works

Princess Leia: Well, another miss to me.  I don't like the mixture of softgoods with plastic, it ruins the overall asthetics of the figure.  Not sure if the could have pulled off a full length cloth robe though with the figure without getting into some nudity problems.  I agree on the likeness on the face, its close but not quite there.  Not like Obi, Lando or Han are...which is weird they could nail two or three and miss on the others

Obi-Wan Kenobi: The robe is the only thing wrong with the overall figure.  What would have been nice is something Jesse has been saying all along, use the cloth used on the Total Control Mace for cloth Jedi Robes...they didn't and in the end its way too big.  Something that a VOTC Emperor would suffer from horribly unless they would make it all out of a silky material like the capes are on Vader.  The other dissapointment is his look with the robe off...not good and not a good sign of a figure, all of the accessories need to work both on and off.  Missed the mark big time on this one

ESB

Yoda:  Paint color, face likeness and the robe make this another miss.  In fact I think I like the OTC version better.  Its frustrating that they keep doing great figures of Yoda that just miss the mark.  Why the continue to screw up the color and the face likeness is baffling as well

Darth Vader:  Ball Elbows is really the only thing lacking on this.  Could they have made him with those and with a removable two piece helmet?  I think so, why they didn't?  Because they want us to continue to buy Darth Vader figures.  The cloth chain sucks too but its a pretty easy fix

C-3PO:  An overall embarassment...seriously, could possibly be the worst figure of 2004.  Add to the fact that they want $10 for them and that the MMC figure is so far superior to this one is a big eye-roller.  Nice effort and the pining for a definitive knee bending shiney 3PO continues

Lando Calrissian:  I like this figure quite a bit, his cape and articulation are great.  The lack of ball elbows again are a bit of a mystery and as such he looks a little awkward, especially when the POTJ Lando is basically from the same scene of him firing an Imperial Blaster...small quibble, Lando Rocks

ROTJ

Boba Fett:  I really liked this one too, not really anything bad I have to say about Boba.  I had a question about the color of his Jumpsuit but I think its close to ROTJ era Boba.  I think  I will buy a couple 3-4 of extra to paint as a McQuarrie, ESB Boba, Cartoon and Poppa Jango. 

Chewbacca  Awesome likeness, awesome articulation awesome paint job, awesome, awesome, awesome.  Really love this one, probably my favorite of the 12

Stormtrooper  This is my second fav and really the only problem I have is they didn't fix the crotch/hip area as it does the same thing the SA Clone Does...it sort of rubs there when you try and put him in a crouching or squatting position.  The holster also sucks but you rarely saw Stormies with blaster in holster anyway so not too big of a deal.

R2-D2  The stinker of the Wave, Chromed Dome and an attachment that doesn't really work too hot.  A lite up eye port like Deanpaul suggested and a swiss army attachments would have been preferrable but maybe not doable with the size and scale of R2.  Sail Barge R2 kicks VOTC R2's robot ass with a vengance.

So...if I had to rank them 1-12 with #1 being the highest I would go:

1. Chewbacca
2. Stormtrooper
3. Boba Fett
4. Darth Vader
5. Lando Calrissian
6. Han Solo
7. Yoda
8. Luke Skywalker
9. Princess Leia
10. Obi-Wan Kenobi
11. R2-D2







12. C-3PO

Offline Brian

  • Jedi Sentinel
  • *
  • Posts: 11749
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #10 on: October 4, 2004, 04:19 PM »
One thing I was wondering in regards to the overall VOTC line, do you think that the second and third waves will ever show up in greater numbers?  Now I realize that they may have awhile to ship yet, but as far as around here...I've only seen any of the figures from ESB or ROTJ once or twice, and never, ever again.  The "New Hope" wave is sitting at basically every retailer in town, but not the others.  Of the latter two waves, here is how I have seen them, personally:

Empire Strikes Back Wave
Darth Vader - Once, at TRU, gone the next day...never saw again.
Yoda - Twice, both times at TRU, gone within a day or two...haven't seen for about a month.
Lando - Twice, once at TRU, once at Target...both gone quickly.
C-3PO - Once, at TRU, I bought one of the two that were there.  Gone the next day.

Return of the Jedi Wave

Stormtrooper - Once, at Target, bought the only one I saw.
R2-D2 - Once, same Target, bought the only one there.
Chewbacca - Never, missed at that Target.
Boba Fett - Never, missed at that Target.

Like I said, there is probably still time (are we getting more waves of these?), but I was just curious if many of you have been seeing the same things.  The later two waves have at least been in town, but sold out quickly never to be seen again.  I would think there has to be more in the system, as the latter two waves haven't ever shown up at our Wal-marts or anything, but do you think we will see more of these?  Each day I become increasingly anxious to try to pick up the last two I am missing (especially the Chewie) via ebay (or online if they show up again).  Anyways, wondering how things were looking in your neck of the woods.

Offline chuckles

  • Jedi Padawan
  • *
  • Posts: 685
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #11 on: October 4, 2004, 04:23 PM »
So far, I've yet to see any of the ROTJ wave. And have only seen the ESB wave on 2 occassions. And I believe both were at a TRU. The same TRU. The other TRUs I frequently hit, have not recieved anything past ANH that I've seen. Quite sad really.  :(

Offline Brian

  • Jedi Sentinel
  • *
  • Posts: 11749
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #12 on: November 22, 2004, 01:15 PM »
After reading various posts/opinions, etc. about the VOTC line, and seeing a few comments in various Q and A's that "Hasbro knows it was a hit with collectors", and it does, in fact, seem to be pretty well received across the board...it got me curious.  If this is a concept revisited in the future, would you like to see Hasbro go the exact same route they did with these?  I mean, what made these figures so special.  Was it the figures themselves?  Was it the retro packaging?  Was it the clamshells?  Maybe a combination?  If this line is revisited, would you like to see it done the exact same way?  To me, the figures were the big draw to the line.  The Chewie, Han, Stormtrooper, Fett, Vader were all great IMO, and the line overall was pretty spiffy with a few misses here and there.  The vintage repro cards were cool, and I'm glad they did them, but I think if it continued, I'd be just fine with a different cardback and/or losing the clamshell (which was also nice) if it meant saving a few bucks.  How would you like to see it done?

Offline Morgbug

  • Old
  • Jedi Guardian
  • *
  • Posts: 16232
  • mmm. pemmican.
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #13 on: November 22, 2004, 01:46 PM »
For me it's the cards.  The clamshell is a nice addition to get it to you mint, but not so imperative, IMO. 

I have yet to see a number of these figure, in hand, as yet, so I can't make too many opines about the figures themselves.  Being the contrarian I am, I'll offer the following thoughts:

Stormtrooper is great, but is it really that different from an SA clone at half the price?  If not then the packaging is the difference.  I know people would snap up the SA stormtrooper (which is what this is) at $5 a piece.  Hell, they could put out solid cases and people would buy them no problem. 

Lando: as Scott indicates (and one of the figs I've seen), the POTJ Lando wasn't that far off, if not exceeding it's doubly priced cousin.  For me, it's funny, but POTJ was tremendously expensive (around here), so the TRU price point on POTJ and VOTC Lando differs only by a dollar :o  Success equals packaging.

Leia/Luke/Ben - packaging, no doubt about it.  The figures themselves are well done, but as Scott indicates, the soft goods don't quite cut it.  Off the top of my head I can't think of a better Leia, but it could have been better.  I still prefer the flashback Ben, hard plastic and all.  Luke is, well, Luke.  He seems too short relative to the other Lukes, the robe looks like he should be off to a Geisha house, if not a big short.  He was the first I opened and I must say, I wasn't all that excited.  Fortunately (unfortunately?) for Canucks, the price is only $5 different, not a doubling ($10-15). 

Chewie/R2/Boba I have yet to see in hand, but we've got the 300th Fett to compare with (same price point though).  Everyone seems resoundingly happy with Chewie and that's great, but there are other good Chewbacca's out there.  R2 (and 3PO) sucks, apparently.   

Han.  Is he that good, or is everyone really tired of the Cantina/Commtech Han?  Well, both I suppose.  Still have yet to open this as he's one of my big hopes for a clearance price, so I only have the one right now. 

Yoda - see: Pearson, Scott - comments. 

If they're going to continue, IMO, they should realize what went wrong (softgoods, R2, 3PO >:() and fix that in the future figures (no, not fix those and re-release them).  The key point is the packaging though, more specifically the cardback.  I'd love to see them finish out the first 12 original vintage figures.  Jawa, Tusken, Death Squad Commander would all be great. 

Move away from the movie theme as well.  It was a decent concept, but now would be restrictive. 

That said, I have precisely zero desire to see them try and pass off the PT stuff in a VOTC line.  Though I wouldn't put it past them.  They could re-release the SA clone as enhanced PT figure (EPTC?); Jango could be done by repainting Boba; Yoda could be subtley changed; Anakin could be done.  Basically that scares the crap out of me. 

I (personally) feel the VOTC concept should be limited in some sense.  I really have no desire to see a VOTC Zutton.  The following I wouldn't mind seeing:

Death Squad Commander
Jawas
Sand People
IG-88 - not sure how well this would work (maybe an Emperor instead?)

Bossk
Zuckuss
Dengar
4-LOM

Snowtrooper
Tie Pilot
Royal Guard
Biker Scout



A pop up saber R2 would have rocked, but I don't really want to see this line head into rehashing characters.  A single release is all that needs to be done, no Endor Han, Bespin Han, taking a dump Han, etc.  I wouldn't be opposed to them re-releasing the stormtrooper in future waves, but wouldn't that counter the advertising about this series being somewhat limited?

I guess I'm suggesting the packaging is critical and the cool figures I can't afford on real vintage cards are what I would like to see.  Ramble much?
Minivans: a sign of the apocalypse.

Offline Famine

  • Noderator
  • Jedi Master
  • *
  • Posts: 5050
  • Who watches The Famine?
    • View Profile
Re: Vintage Original Trilogy Collection: Overall Impressions?
« Reply #14 on: November 22, 2004, 01:57 PM »
A single release is all that needs to be done, no Endor Han, Bespin Han, taking a dump Han, etc.

Hahahaha! :D Ive not laughed out loud like that in a while.

Kevin
The picture kept, will remind me...