http://jediinsider.com/index.php?catid=8&itemid=13595

This will be fun to acquire.....they look good.

MODs, this is a thread that will touch lightly on some political aspects but not does attack any specific party or "public servant", it's a blanket issue. I feel it's an important subject that over time will become more important to Star Wars collectors as this becomes more prevalent. It directly affects all toys and I will explain how it's currently affecting the Star Wars line. If this is the wrong place my apologies, but I truly think this is the right spot and should be discussed so this can be fought.

Have you noticed that all of the recent SW figures have numbers on them, many in non discreet places that kills the aesthetics? Have you noticed some of this:







I can shed some light on this now common occurrence. I think it's important to let the community know what's going on and what WILL/IS affecting the aesthetics/prices of our beloved action figure line. Overregulation and frivolous trial lawyer impacts are no longer a behind the scene aspect of what the industry deals with on a daily basis. I have worked in the toy industry for over 10 years I can tell you as a Designer my first priority was to always make sure the toy is safe. The worst nightmare of any Designer is to have a product you designed harm a child in any way. We have superb safety standards and toys go through a tremendous amount of testing to ensure safety. No company wants to harm a child.

That said, some unforeseen issues do get through. You will all remember a few years ago the lead paint recall at several companies, including Mattel, which had the biggest recall of all. No one was harmed during this recall but the paint used was unacceptable and the factories in China used materials that they should not have. To prevent this from happening again a new layer of third party checks and balances were put in place to ensure that the proper materials on the factory level meet safety standards. This has added a lot of cost to all products, including longer development time lines as it takes time to certify the product by the third party safety groups.

As I mentioned earlier, no one was harmed by the lead recall. It did not stop trial lawyers from filing frivolous lawsuits claiming kids were harmed anyway. After all of the settlements the extra layer of testing I mentioned above was implemented. While it added more cost and longer development lead times, it really is good to prevent factories from going around the system. It was a reasonable measure that no one fought against. The problem is that it did not stop there. Congress grandstanding and so called private Advocacy groups got in on the action too. They proposed even more regulations that had little clarity of what to implement in addition to the new safety rules. They want even more regulation that is getting to the point of insanity. It's becoming so cumbersome and so unrealistic that it's seriously affecting the industry.

In an effort to protect their businesses Toy Companies are taking proactive and preventative steps to shield themselves from law suits. Worst of all these bills have been passed BUT the rules in them have not been made clear or have been even finalized. So as usual they did not read them, passed them and will make it up as they go along.

No one is against strong safety standards, however we are now at a point where it's beyond reasonable. Prices, delays and aesthetics are being affected. Star Wars figures relies heavily on the aesthetics of the figure. The numbers that I showed above are the production batch numbers. So if a recall happens on a particular product you can know exactly if the product you have is part of the recall. Sounds great, but the problem is in most cases there is no room under the feet to hide this anymore.

When I was a kid I played with (the very dangerous) lawn darts, painted LEAD Ral Partha D&D figures that I handled for hours, did not sue when I fell off my bike because of my own clumsiness, and my parents actually parented watching what I played with. I turned out fine. I am all for safety We are getting to the point where it's getting so ridiculous. As a community I think we should push back because if we do not you will have more numbers on your figures on glaring places like Uncle Owens boot, more delays and cost.

Hopefully some of you found this insightful. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Courtesy of Sandtroopers.com:

We are getting a more up to date & adequate version of our favorite impostor exclusive to K-Mart of all places: link

I am really happy to see this one, this is a nice surprise! I hope we see more of cool repaints exclusives like these.

Some exciting news on two larger sized Hoth BP's via Q&A from the German site lichtgeschwindigkeit.de (Say that 10 times)

http://www.lichtgeschwindigkeit.de/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6521

1) Will we see a return of the Ultimate Battlepacks this year? If so, can you share any information of what to expect? And how about a different Hoth Battlepack in the future that includes an Ion Cannon?

Hasbro: While we will not release specifics, the Hoth packs coming later this year will be bigger than the current Battle Packs, but not quite as large and pricey as the original Ultimate Battle Packs. So in general, you are hunting in the right area, although the Ion Cannon is still way too big for us to execute.

2) We are still waiting to see the release of the non-bearded Hoth Rebel Trooper. Will he make it onto the new Vintage style cards or are you holding on to release him in a battlepack? He would make a nice addition on a single card considering the 30th Anniversary of ESB.

Hasbro: He will be released in one of the new Battle Packs mentioned above, later this Fall. At some point we do not rule out a release on a Vintage card, but that would be far out in the future if we did.

I'm very  excited about the news of two larger sized Hoth BPs. Hopefully the one pack will have several Troopers maybe even a Torynn Farr, Hoth Transport cart, Reikean computer console, and other Echo Base goodies. Very cool news indeed!

evilanimation is a great trader. He paid fast and was very on top of the deal! Hope to deal with him again! I am also happy to be able to start his FB thread!

Updated 12/6/10

The Back story:
After a year of my collection being packed away as we sold our condo, moved into my in-laws then bought a house I wanted to create the collection room I always wanted! My last Star Wars room was nice but I wanted to take my collection display to the next level this time around to show off my years of collecting in a much more impressive fashion.

Creating the new room vision:
I bought all new shelving, new carpet & gave it a fresh coat of paint that would give me the consistent set up I always wanted to have. I wanted to do something different with the shelves that has not been done yet (at least I have not seen it done to this degree). I chose the dark shelves to replicate a wide screen movie feel as the decoration inside each shelf is what would bring my collection to life:. I called it “Shelfpaper”.
Using some official artwork & screen grabs from the films, I created individual background images for each shelf. It was a very tedious process as I had to plan out everything that I was going to display, set it all up and most importantly be happy with it. Once that was all done I had to take it all down so I could size and create/alter the art for the “Shelfpaper”. Once printing and installation was complete I then had to set up the figures all over again. It was well worth it and I am very happy with the results so far. My collection now “lives” on the shelf instead of just sitting there.

Key notes about my collection:
- I only collect 3.75’’ scale figures, I am a focused collector; it builds a better collection in my opinion. I collect the realistic line with a few & far between animated figures if it looks real enough.
- Older sculpts of figures & ships are phased out of my collection. I only want the best of the best and I want them to have a consistent look for fleets & army builders. (I have gone as far as upgrading my A-Wings with the modern cockpit and my Y-Wings with the modern front cannons to keep them up to date.)
- In regards to my Troops I primarily focus on movie troops. Outside of a few EU battalions my army is comprised of 85% “real screen Troopers”. All of my standard Troopers must be an SA version. You will find no other type outside of a SA style. I am also not into too many “Skittles” Troops.
- All Prequel Clones Saga style DC-15 blasters have been replaced with the more accurate Evolutions DC-15 Blaster style. Yes, all have been replaced. Both versions of the DC-15A Rifle are still in my collection as they still look great.
- I swap out certain weapons and even heads to create the best version of a characters. (All of my ANH Lukes have the Resurgence head, All of my Chewbaccas have the Legacy Pilot Bowcaster with the weathering detail, etc. I go that far to be perfect!)
- I was able to display about 85% of my overall collection. I have two 45 gallon storage bins of figures and ships that I just could not display. (Not shown)
- One corner of the room is the “Calrissian Custom Corner” where I make custom figures and have a dedicated section for the smoothest smuggler in the Galaxy and my favorite Beer!
- Want some tips and tricks? Want to see some cool customs?
Check out my blog here:
http://jackoftradze.blogspot.com/

ENJOY!!!

Pan view of the room shots:
<img src="http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w298/jackoftradze/Jackoftradze%20Star%20Wars%20customs/DiBartoloSWCollectionRoomDec2010Wide1.jpg">

Visit the Blog and you can see super large images of all of the pictures above plus close up shots!
















As always I will continue to update the pictures as I finish the uncompleted shelves and update displays.
Thanks for looking stop back and LMK your feedback!