Out of pure chance I stopped by my local Target this morning and took a look around for some new figures. Walked straight past the always-cramped VOTCs because a General Lando had caught my eye. Never saw him in Saga, so I grabbed it and quickly plied through the pegs looking for Madine and Han.
Nada. I was happy with finding Lando though, and as I turned to walk away, I realized a VOTC Chewbacca was staring me in the face. And above him was a Boba Fett...
I searched and found Stormtroopers and R2s as well. I wound up buying Chewie and Stormtrooper...(as well as that General Lando and a spare Cloud Car Pilot.
The VOTC pegs were filled with all of the figures!! If I had never seen a VOTC before today, I could've walked into that store and bought all 12 and thought nothing of it. I hope this is the trend for the holiday season. (Not that I need to shop anymore, but, you know, out of compassion for my fellow collectors.)
Chewie's bandolier is NOT[/b] removable. Though it is a separately sculpted piece, it is pegged and glued into his shoulder. A little customizing will take care of that, of course (much easier than grinding down the whole piece like you used to) but it was so close to removable that it hurts. Still, he's a great figure. Main problem is the paint on the "blond" fur highlights tends to go a little overboard, resulting in Chewies that look like they just finished a tub of vanialla pudding. His head is not as movable as the CCCapture version, a disapointment as well. Other than that, everything is perfect. His waist works great--think the Wampa, but more solid. I have a Wookiee that can lean through 360 degrees! I'm really happy with him.
The Stormtrooper, on the other hand, is flawless. I was afraid of the working holster, especially after the Concept trooper from last year, but Hasbro nailed it with a new design I haven't heard mentioned before--the gun fits through a "keyhole" slot in the flat holster piece, rather than plugging into a big square cup. It really works and looks right when empty. These will make excellent bases for customized Han and Luke Troopers, too--the head pops of nice to give you a practically-empty helmet already, all the work will come in getting the big white neck ball down to the size of the other headholes. He looks good mixed in with my CT Troopers,even if he makes them look a little tall and lanky. I think I'm gonna have to stop back on my way to work and pick up a second...it's just that good.
I passed on Boba in the end. His head is too big for my taste, and his gauntlets are really bulky, even in person. The rubber cape sealed the deal--the 300th version looks better to me, so I'll keep the 10 bucks.
Artoo would've had a time convincing me. He looks like Artoo, all right, but the chrome dome is a minus to me, and the tools just aren't worth the ten bucks. So it didn't happen today.