GH.com had a couple articles on these neat little premiums:

May The Caps Be With You

Pepsi Bottlecap Arena

Too cool.

Minimates.

I've already had to narrow my field of collecting. I just can't afford the space, time, or money to keep other lines going. I've pretty much given up on LOTR, Trek, and Gundam until this "Star Wars" thing goes away. But in the meantime, I'm concentrating on two other lines: Marvel Minimates and DC Direct figures.

Of the two, Minimates is better. They're wee, they're cheaper, and they've got a ton of variety. Not to mention they've usually got more articulation than your average DC Direct figure. (And I'm a Batman fan!) Every Minimate I own fits in one shoebox. It's great.

DC Direct is hit or miss, but Marvel Minimates are pretty consistently satisfying. I love those little things.

How about this one:



The 2003-2004 Huntington College Foresters: From left to right (Seated) - Lesbian, lesbian, lesbian, lesbian, bi-curious, lesbian; (Standing) - Lesbian, lesbian, lesbian, lesbian, token straight, virgin.

For Christ's sake, even Walter Cronkite gets this man aroused?

There are too many grey areas in this kind of discussion to get a definitive answer.

Clearly original art belongs to whomever possesses it. However, unless its copyright has been assigned - in writing - to the owner, the artist retains such rights.

Therefore, if someone were to BUY artwork without also obtaining the copyright to sell reproductions of it, they would be in violation of U.S. copyright law.

However, in a case like this, where certain concepts are controlled by Lucasfilm, things get a little complicated.

I can draw a picture of Darth Vader and sell it, no problem. I created the art, it's mine to sell. However, I can't copy the art and sell it because, even though I hold the copyright to the original art, I don't hold the copyright to the character.

I would imagine the same would hold true for anyone selling a disc of Star Wars art. The logos, actors' likenesses and such do NOT belong to any Star Wars fan, they belong to Lucasfilm, Hasbro, and the respective performers.

One could argue that custom figures are "art." They are one-of-a-kind pieces that are not mass-produced. As Jesse pointed out, plenty of customizers go from being artists to bootleggers. That's where the problems begin. Once you've made more than one, you're getting into some deep poodoo you might not be able to afford getting out of, right or wrong.

In the case of the Sith Infiltrator auction (a DAMNED fine piece, by the way), I suspect it was stopped because Lucasfilm already has licensees in place who pay for the rights to make such a product, even if they choose not to do so. LFL is protecting not only their rights as licensees, but the Star Wars brand overall. They can't have just anyone watering down the Star Wars trademark. They've got the entire EU for that.  

Palisades. I don't buy any of their products, but based on consumer satisfaction and my own observations, they're the company to watch going forward.

- They've already got their foot in the door with key retailers in the specialty AND mass market.

- They've proven with the Muppets line that they can do authentic variants of popular characters as well as offer more obscure figures hardcore adult fans enjoy.

- Their Muppets playsets not only offer the kind of play value one expects from a toy, but the DISPLAY value collectors truly appreciate.

- The Palisades Collectors Club is a testament to the company's dedication to the consumer base. A one-time, LIFETIME membership fee and you get access to almost every exclusive they offer.

This company has their finger on the pulse of its fanbase, something every collector-driven property deserves and demands.

The only problem I have with them is that they retire their figures. So far, they've yet to reissue Muppets figures, leaving newbies stuck paying secondary market prices for vanilla versions of key characters. But you never know, they might just offer "catch-up" multi-packs sometime down the road if the demand is there, especially for the right retailer.

Make room on that limb, Rob, I'm joining you.

You speak of missed opportunities. That is the most frustrating aspect of the PT. Such opportunities are so obvious to us yet Lucas is oblivious to them.

Yes, Anakin was a kid, but not JUST a kid. He was supposed to be "the Chosen One," yet there was no indication he was special beyond a couple lines we were expected to take at face value. I would have expected an effects lover like Lucas to DEMONSTRATE Ani's raw force abilties during the rigged pod race, not only to exhibit his powers but to reveal his penchant for revenge. But no, any reference to Ani as anything but a sweet little boy was left out, including his fight with Greedo.

Padme IS straight-jacketed as Queen, but why as a decoy? Even in Episode I, Lucas had an opportunity to show two sides of the young Queen; the elected official and the inexperienced child. This duality could have lent itself VERY well to Anakin's ultimate sense of betrayal by someone who was always comfortable being duplicitous. It could even justify his decision to ditch his identity as Anakin to become Vader. Will Lucas use that in Episode III? Doubtful.

Obi-Wan is only an apprentice, but Lucas ignored his own story. When Yoda referred to Luke as "reckless," Ben countered with, "So was I, if you remember." Apparently this recklessness manifested itself PRIOR to Episode I because I see no indication of it in the PT. Instead, Lucas painted Qui-Gon - and later Anakin - as the bold one. It would have made more sense for Obi-Wan to continue be the prideful daredevil while his own young apprentice craves order, especially as a former slave who grew up with no freedom of his own.

The real disappointment in character development is Jar Jar. I can accept Binks as the hapless fool in Episode I, but I expected his character to mature a bit in the ten years between Episodes I & II. While that was ILM's goal when recreating him as a regal senator, Lucas poo-pooed the notion saying he looked stoned. He didn't want Jar Jar to change. So it's official; Jar Jar Binks is retarded, a character stunted by his own creator.

And Lucas is doing the same thing to the movie franchise.