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Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Revenge of the Sith => Topic started by: JediMAC on May 16, 2004, 05:25 AM

Title: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on May 16, 2004, 05:25 AM
It's been quite a while since I've really bothered figuring out where we stand on the total number of basic carded figures to date, just in case Hasbro wanted to surprise us with something cool similar to the 300th Fett from the POTJ line a couple years ago.  So I've put together some rough numbers here, with a few debatable figures and sublines, I'm sure.  I'll try to notate some of those issues at the end here, so you guys can comment and maybe we can come to a general consensus as to where we really stand.

But by my count here, it looks like #500 will actually be the very last Saga figure this year - one of the Bespin figures.  Pull out the questionable Star Tours and animated Clone Wars line though, and you wind up with #500 being somewhere in the middle of the OTC run.  Perhaps Hasbro could instead do a #500 for just the modern era though, which would obviously be a bit further down the line.  So without further ado, here's my preliminary breakdown, based on some quick research.  It's by no means dead-on accurate, I'm sure - so feel free to give me your numbers, and answers to my questions below, so we can make any adjustments to this list, as necessary.  I'll try to break these down as much as possible, just to help further isolate any potential issues or inconsistencies.

Basic Carded Figures:

Vintage - 96
Droids - 13
Ewoks - 6
POTF2 - 82
SOTE - 5
EU - 9
Flashback - 11
Commtech - 9
Episode 1 - 50
POTJ - 58
Star Tours - 9
Saga - 121
HOF - 12
CW regular - 11
CW animated - 8
VOTC - 12 (upcoming)
OTC - 38 (upcoming)
----------------------
Total - 550

Here's some notes on what I did and didn't include.  Feel free to discuss them!

- Episode 1 - included all 4 Battle Droid variants (clean, dirty, shot, slashed)
- POTJ - included clean and dirty Biker Scout, plus the 300th (boxed) Fett
- Saga - included both head variants for the RFT and IO
- Clone Wars (regular) - includes Red ARC Trooper
- Exclusives - I didn't include any of the Silver anniversary figures, or Jorg Sacul
- I suppose the inclusion of both the Star Tours and the animated Clone Wars figures is up for debate, but I've included them for now.  I also hate to include the stupid vintage Ewoks and Droids lines, but since Hasbro included them for the 300th Fett figure count, I suppose they should be in here too.

Speaking of #500, what would you guys want to potentially see as a figure for this special occassion, should Hasbro actually do something?  Me, I'd say it's got to be an "ultimate" figure, with the most amazing detail, accuracy, articulation, and accessories.  I'm probably thinking either a Tatooine or Jedi Luke, with ALL the fixin's.  Yeah, I know we've had a million Tatooine Lukes already, and we also just got a couple Jedi ones too, but I'd love to get some cool $10 box set here, with a ton of stuff.  A Tatooine Luke similar to the special 100th 12" figure Luke, that came with like a bazillion accessories, pretty much covering him from the entire ANH movie.  Or a Jedi Luke, with enough removable clothing parts, interchangeable hands, and accessories to cover his entire ROTJ role.  Either one of those would be very cool with me.  Rumblings of a 500th Vader are also floating around the net as well.  I think I could handle that figure too!

So, what do you guys think?  What are your numbers on where we stand, and who would you like to get as a figure?  Think Hasbro will actually do something again, or just blow it off?  I think I recall GH running a poll on this topic this last month, so hopefully they're on to something over there, and that a commemorative 500th carded figure is indeed on the way!   8)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Coming in OTC?
Post by: Scott on May 17, 2004, 09:10 AM
Should be close, I had read somewhere that the Episode III figures would be about the time of Mister 500.  Vader seems like a lock
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Coming in OTC?
Post by: SilverZ on May 17, 2004, 10:42 PM
Vader sure seems like a shoe-in. But man, that is the last figure we honestly need another of at this point. The VOTC version is pretty close to locking an ultimate version, except for a removable helmet.

How about an ultimate Biker Scout with Speederbike in a nice windowbox?

I’d like an SA Clone style figure that can look good in a neutral standing position and still be able to ride a speeder. If that can happen, and the bike is an OT paintjob with the updated (correct) handles, I’d be pleased as punch. As happy as a clam. Like a pig in…
Title: 500th Vader
Post by: Scott on June 9, 2004, 09:21 AM
If the rumors pan out what do you want to see in a 500th Figure Special Super Duty Vader?

Me:

Removable 2 Piece Helmet
Ball Joint Shoulders
Ball Joint Elbows
Ball Joint Knees
Ball Joint Ankles
Soft Goods Cape
Wrist Articulation
And....

Meditation Chamber

Go All out on this sucker and make it a mini diorama from ESB

Anything else?  Perhaps light up effects on his control box or a battery operated hissing sound (like the 1st Saga R2 beep)?

(http://www.theforce.net/multimedia/archive/Images/Classic_Trilogy/Characters/Darth_Vader/The_Empire_Strikes_Back/dv_chamber.jpg)
Title: Re: 500th Vader
Post by: Jeff on June 9, 2004, 09:33 AM
I'd like everything Scott has listed PLUS:

Figure Features:
Detachable forearm

Accessories:
A second "clean" Anakin (Hayden) head
full Lightsaber plus Hilt-only saber
Mini-Holo Emperor (like the one with Dooku)

CommTech chip with the following ESB Phrases:
"What is thy bidding, my Master?"
"All too easy..."
"Impressive... most impressive, but you are not a Jedi yet."
"I am your Father"

FreezeFrame slide with Carbon Freeze Vader shot.

Flashback Photo with Vader/Ep3 Hayden

Not too much to ask for, is it?  8)

Jeff
Title: Re: 500th Vader
Post by: jokabofe on June 10, 2004, 10:05 PM
I'd like everything Scott has listed PLUS:

Figure Features:
Detachable forearm

Accessories:
A second "clean" Anakin (Hayden) head
full Lightsaber plus Hilt-only saber
Mini-Holo Emperor (like the one with Dooku)

CommTech chip with the following ESB Phrases:
"What is thy bidding, my Master?"
"All too easy..."
"Impressive... most impressive, but you are not a Jedi yet."
"I am your Father"

FreezeFrame slide with Carbon Freeze Vader shot.

Flashback Photo with Vader/Ep3 Hayden

Not too much to ask for, is it?  8)

Jeff

what, no stand??  ;D
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jeff on June 10, 2004, 10:15 PM
I figured he'd be seated in the Meditation Chamber, so no need for a stand.

;)

Jeff
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: jokabofe on June 10, 2004, 10:19 PM
ahhh.
Title: Re: 500th Vader
Post by: JediMAC on August 30, 2004, 06:08 PM
If the rumors pan out what do you want to see in a 500th Figure Special Super Duty Vader?

Me:

Removable 2 Piece Helmet
Ball Joint Shoulders
Ball Joint Elbows
Ball Joint Knees
Ball Joint Ankles
Soft Goods Cape
Wrist Articulation
And....

Meditation Chamber

Go All out on this sucker and make it a mini diorama from ESB

Anything else?  Perhaps light up effects on his control box or a battery operated hissing sound (like the 1st Saga R2 beep)?

(http://www.theforce.net/multimedia/archive/Images/Classic_Trilogy/Characters/Darth_Vader/The_Empire_Strikes_Back/dv_chamber.jpg)

You guys see the recent rumors hitting the net?  I think it was GH who reported last week that a source of theirs up in Canada says this WILL be coming with the Meditation Chamber, as more of a "Deluxe" type of figure.  Cross your fingers!  That'd be one more highly demanded Deluxe set we could all check off of our lists...  Hopefully the Vader figure itself gets the royal treatment as well.   8)

Not exactly going to be the "500th Figure" by my count though, going by my calculations below (though a few of my figure categories might be debatable):

Basic Carded Figures:

Vintage - 96
Droids - 13
Ewoks - 6
POTF2 - 82
SOTE - 5
EU - 9
Flashback - 11
Commtech - 9
Episode 1 - 50
POTJ - 58
Star Tours - 9
Saga - 121
HOF - 12
CW regular - 11
CW animated - 8
VOTC - 12
OTC - 38
----------------------
Total - 550

 :-\

Not that I really care, as long as we get the figure.  Just jacked up counting.  Again.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: SilverZ on August 30, 2004, 07:05 PM
Considering the VOTC version is pretty spiffy aside from the elbow articulation and non-removable helmet, it's going to take something pretty shocking to get me on board with another Vader. What would really sell me is a good - and I mean better than the trash compactor sets looking good - diorama included with the figure. Not too sure if the meditation chamber does that for me. Vader in an egg just isn't that compelling to me.

At this point I don't see the purpose of keeping track of the figure numbers after so many rehashes, exclusives, and various incarnations of figure releases in the line, either. No one's ever going to agree on the number. They might as well just call it "commemorative".
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: jokabofe on August 30, 2004, 08:02 PM
if you don't count the recards in the vintage line, why count them in the modern? that would probably bring the total closer to 500. oh wait, if we took the recards out, that would bring the total closer to 400  ::)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jeff on August 31, 2004, 12:03 PM
I wish I had more faith, but if indeed the speculation is true and Hasbro is planning on offering up a 500th Vader, well, Hasbro's repack-o-mania leads me to believe that some "new" variation of this is what we'll get:

(http://cargobay.starwars.com/toys/playsets/potf2/completegalaxy/838.jpg)

Take the old Complete Galaxy Chamber, toss in a "new" kit bashed Vader (vOTC body with Rem Helmet Head maybe?) and there's your 500th "special".

Hasbro has given me NO reason lately to expect something new that isn't tied directly to Ep3, so until I see otherwise, I'm gonna have to go ahead and expect the worst from them...  :-\

Jeff

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on August 31, 2004, 12:12 PM
That's the first thing that crossed my mind too Jeff, some kit-bashing of that Complete Galaxy Vader set.  And, like you said, it wouldn't be surprising with the repack-o-rama that has gone on this year.  Hopefully they'll pull something a little more special out for the "500th figure".  Heck they did for the Fett, and that was only 300...seems like 500th would be a little more significant ;).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Morgbug on August 31, 2004, 02:30 PM
That's the first thing that crossed my mind too Jeff, some kit-bashing of that Complete Galaxy Vader set.  And, like you said, it wouldn't be surprising with the repack-o-rama that has gone on this year.  Hopefully they'll pull something a little more special out for the "500th figure".  Heck they did for the Fett, and that was only 300...seems like 500th would be a little more significant ;).

Yep, same thought here, even back in June this is what I thought you were hinting at.  What with the pics and all ::) 

When I was in the states this weekend I enjoyed not buying stuff.  Up here we have cruddy starburst backgrounds (change blue to black on Saga cards and you have the idea) so the opportunity to pick up some 'real' OTC figs should have been great.  But I have all the figures I saw: Bossk, IG-88, etc.  The only one remotely tempting was a Tie Pilot, the background was great.  But I have 6 sitting under my desk here at work on Saga cards.  What, really, would be the point in getting another. 

I'll see what Vader looks like, but like Jeff, don't count me as excited at this point.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: SilverZ on August 31, 2004, 08:30 PM
Trying desperately to write this without spoilers...

So just in case:

I know it seems like a solid rumor that the med chamber is a lock, but wouldn't it make more sense in the new movie year that this be a more ROTS styled figure... meaning a different set piece from a certain pivotal scene? With certain removable or interchangeable parts? It certainly would be deluxe enough, I think.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on October 20, 2004, 06:58 PM
So I guess this must not be happening any time soon, or they're keeping it a pretty well guarded secret.  At this point, if they do it, I'm guessing it's going to be a "500th MODERN figure", rather than like the 300th Fett when they included the vintage line too.  Otherwise, I just don't see how the hell they can call it the 500th, any way you slice it.  Here's where my updated list now stands:

Basic Carded Figures:

Vintage - 96
Droids - 13
Ewoks - 6
POTF2 - 82
SOTE - 5
EU - 9
Flashback - 11
Commtech - 9
Episode 1 - 50
POTJ - 58
Star Tours - 9
Saga - 121
HOF - 12
CW regular - 11
CW animated - 8
VOTC - 12
OTC - 40
"Transition" - 16
----------------------
Total - 568

Here's some notes on what I did and didn't include.  Feel free to discuss them!

- Episode 1 - included all 4 Battle Droid variants (clean, dirty, shot, slashed)
- POTJ - included clean and dirty Biker Scout, plus the 300th (boxed) Fett
- Saga - included both head variants for the RFT and IO
- Clone Wars (regular) - includes Red ARC Trooper
- OTC - included both Dagobah Luke poses
- Exclusives - I didn't include any of the Silver anniversary figures, or Jorg Sacul since they're not "regular" carded figures
- I suppose the inclusion of both the Star Tours and the animated Clone Wars figures is up for debate, but I've included them for now.  I also hate to include the stupid vintage Ewoks and Droids lines, but since Hasbro included them for the 300th Fett figure count, I suppose they should be in here too.

Anyway, doesn't look like Hasbro gives two *****, so probably no point in me even discussing it here any further...

But I'd still love that rumored Meditation Chamber Vader figure/set!   8)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Scott on November 19, 2004, 05:28 PM
More rumors...according to a French Website, there is a 500th Vader planned w/ Meditation Chamber planned for July 2005
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Snively Bandar on November 24, 2004, 03:32 PM
So this thing is still happening?  Judging by Jedimac's list above, we're already well beyond #500.  Maybe Hasbro plans on just saying that it commemorates reaching 500 figures in their line, and that it's not actually THE 500th figure.  Or maybe they're just going to exclude the vintage era figures.

I'm really hoping this is going to be an OT version though, and not something related to ROTS, since it's possible he could have a meditation chamber in that movie too.

I guess it doesn't really matter though.  I just want to get one regardless of what they call it!  It's long overdue as a "deluxe" figure.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on December 7, 2004, 04:05 PM
Looks like Action-Figure.com has pretty much confirmed this now.

Quote
July2005
Star Wars 500th Figure - Darth Vader: To celebrate the 500th Star Wars action figure, Hasbro has created an authentically detailed Darth Vader figure seated in his meditation chamber.

It'll be interesting to see how they come up with their "500 figures" number, that's for sure!  They must only be counting the modern line this time, unlike the 300th Fett that counted the various vintage lines as well...  Just glad to see it's definitely coming, since that's one of the "Deluxe" sets most of us have been wanting for quite a while now...   8)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jeff on December 7, 2004, 04:19 PM
I don't know what to make of this 500th Vader rumour at this point.

I guess if you leave out the re-packs from the Saga, HoF, and OTC lines, as well as offshoots like the Animated line, we might be closer to 500 than you think.

BUT, I guess I just think that Hasbro want's to make the Vader during a Vader heavy year and they will cheat the numbers to get what they want anyway.

Jeff
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Paul on December 7, 2004, 04:29 PM
They can call it whatever they want...I've got a VOTC Vader and unless the next one is better(more articulation), I'm done with Darths.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on December 7, 2004, 07:03 PM
They can call it whatever they want...I've got a VOTC Vader and unless the next one is better(more articulation), I'm done with Darths.

Well, it does come with a Meditation Chamber this time...  Doesn't that count for anything Paul?   :P
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darby on December 7, 2004, 08:37 PM
I'll hold out for the 500th.  It sounds cool enough.  And then I'm probably done with Darths too. 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Diddly on December 7, 2004, 08:55 PM
I hope it's a good fig.... and less than $15 too.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on December 7, 2004, 09:05 PM
Since the whole Star Wars universe is going to be revolving around Vader this spring, I wouldn't doubt if this 500th figure turns out to be even more than $15.  Hasbro knows that he's going to be a VERY hot commodity and will try and get as much $$ as they can out of the fans and collectors.  That pessimistic comment aside, I'm very much looking forward to it anyway, I just have a hard time getting tired of Vader releases.   :)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jeff on March 26, 2005, 12:26 AM
Pre-order yours now at EE!

Star Wars 500th Figure - Darth Vader (http://www.entertainmentearth.com/aff-home.asp?id=JE-405087801&number=HS85413):

Not much news, but at least it's more confirmation...  ;)

Jeff
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on March 29, 2005, 08:30 AM
If you click on this link I provided below then scroll down a little bit you can see a very small picture of the Vader with Meditation Chamber. 

http://www.mousedroid.com/
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Morgbug on March 29, 2005, 01:06 PM
Oh my, Australian's are even worse off than we are - $13.50 per figure from casefresh.com :o
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Rob on March 29, 2005, 01:09 PM
That meditation chamber looks awesome!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DSJ™ on March 29, 2005, 01:13 PM
$13.50 AUD = $10.41 US or $12.62 CDN.

I sure like the chamber.  8)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on March 29, 2005, 01:48 PM
Small pic, but it certainly looks very promising there!  Looks to be OT as well, so that's a big relief.  Or maybe Vader uses the chamber in ROTS too...  Either way, as long as it matches the ESB version, I'll be happy.

Nice, reasonable price point as well.  Really looking forward to this one.  It's been a LONG time coming, when you think of the MANY times we've all tossed around ideas for Deluxe figures over the years.  No idea why it took Hasbro so long to catch on, but I'm just glad they finally did.

Still quite curious to see how they're going to get even remotely close to that "500" number...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jim on March 29, 2005, 02:05 PM

Still quite curious to see how they're going to get even remotely close to that "500" number...

How else.  They'll botch things up like they usually do. 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on March 29, 2005, 04:08 PM
Aren't we more at like 800?  Seems like 500 was passed eons ago.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Scott on March 29, 2005, 04:43 PM
On my spreadsheet I have around 700 pre ROTS with that its around 770-780  And I know I've missed quite a few figures I don't own or care about (EU crapola)  So its probably between 800-900 right now :P
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jim on March 29, 2005, 05:40 PM
How about just the basic carded Scott?  We arent nowhere near 700-800 yet.  I wonder if they will consider figs like Sacul, Silver Figs, Battlefront, Different Colored Clones, etc when they tally the numbers. Also what about all the resculpts with the OTC line?  Will they recount these again?  There is a dozen ways to fudge the numbers to add up.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on March 29, 2005, 06:52 PM
Well yeah how many figures are there?  Anyone try to add that up yet?  I do not mean just basic carded.  I mean you count Logray and Wicket seperately instead of one.  That has to be past 800. 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on March 30, 2005, 01:08 PM
Well - if you count ONLY single carded figures let's see:

OTC: 39
CloneWars (movie style): 13
CloneWars (animated): 14
Saga: 135
POTJ: 56
EP1: 50
SOTE: 5
EU: 9
POTF2: 103
Jorg Sacul
Toy Fair Vader
Chrome R2-D2
Silver Fett
Silver Clone
Silver Sandtrooper
Silver Vader
Battlefront Bikerscout

That makes for a total of 432

What I included: the Hall of Fame wave as part of Saga's tally, Fan Club Holo Emperor as part of OTC. I counted the Animated Clone color variants as individual figures, I counted the movied-styled colored Clones that came cared with Anakin, Yoda and the ARC Trooper as three more figures in the Clone Wars tally. I counted the Battledroid variants for EP1 as individual figures. The POTF2 tally includes both the individually carded Vader sculpting variant that was originally a SOTE 2-pack figure AND the Fan Club exclusive Wurher.

So basically I counted RELEASE instead of actual figure.

If you add 58 (for ROTS) and 1 (for 300th Fett) to 432 you get 492 - 8 figures shy of the 500 mark. Adding the 12 VOTC figures to that tally brings the total up to 504! So you could easily "play" with the numbers to make the Meditation Chamber Vader the actual 500th figure - just put that last five ROTS figures AFTER the 500th Vader in the list.

I suppose if you discount EVERY OTC and Hall of Fame figure that is actually just a repack, discount the paint-op variants for things like Battledroids and Clonetroopers, you might get down to a number that you could add the original vintage count of what 76 figures (?) to bring the tally closer to 500.

So believe it or not, if you stick to single carded only then we're actually pretty close.

What amazes me is that there were less than 100 total figures made for the OT in the vintage line. Since 1995 there have been well over 400 figures made. So that averages out to over 40 a year. The vintage line only averaged at roughly 12 figures a year.

Amazing huh? And what makes it more amazing is that this doesn't even include Deluxe, pack-in, Electronic, Millenium Minted Coin, boxed, etc... figures
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jim on March 30, 2005, 02:26 PM
You forgot the Vintage Line.  This is what I get without variations and just basic carded.  Did not include mailaways (Spirit Ben, Han Storm, Mace Sneak, Oola, Kabe & Muftak, B'Omarr) ??? No Cinema Scenes, DLX, etc. ???

Vintage = 96  (not including Blue Snag, Rebo Band)
Droids = 12 (not including Vlix)
Ewoks = 6
Orange Card POTF = 26
Shadows of the Empire = 5
Green Card POTF = 28
Freeze Frame POTF = 27
Expanded Universe = 9
Flashback POTF = 11
Commtech POTF = 10
Episode 1 = 47 (not including 3 variant Battle Droids)
POTJ = 56 (not including Scout variant)
EP2 Preview = 4
Star Tours = 9
SAGA 2002 = 57 (not including IO, RT, BD, ET variant)
Jorg Sacul
SAGA 2003 = 41 (includes Luke, Jango, Han, Leia, 3PO repack)
Clone Wars = 10 (not including Arc variant)
Hall of Fame = 12 (C-3PO only new carded from MM line)
OTC = 38 (includes all repacks and repaints, only 10 new carded in series)
Emperor Hologram
Battlefront Scout Trooper
VOTC = 12
Clone Wars Animated = 11 (not including 3 Clone variants)
POTC = 16 (includes all repacks and repaints, only 8 new figs in series)
EP3 Preview = 4
EP3 = 56 (not including Guard variant)
Silver Figs = 6
EP3 Exclusive = 2 (Holo Yoda, Lava Vader)
300th Fett

Total = 608 ???






Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on March 30, 2005, 02:34 PM
Quote
What amazes me is that there were less than 100 total figures made for the OT in the vintage line. Since 1995 there have been well over 400 figures made. So that averages out to over 40 a year. The vintage line only averaged at roughly 12 figures a year.

Those were the good old days.  Don't get me wrong, I sure do enjoy getting many of the characters in figure form that we never got in the vintage days...and its always nice getting more and more figures, but in times like this (movie years in particular), I kind of long for those days where there wasn't quite as much to get to complete your set.  A little bit cheaper of a hobby that way, and space doesn't become as much of an issue.  Of course, I decide what I pick up, so it is my own fault ;).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on March 30, 2005, 03:03 PM
You forgot the Vintage Line.  This is what I get without variations and just basic carded.  Did not include mailaways (Spirit Ben, Han Storm, Mace Sneak, Oola, Kabe & Muftak, B'Omarr) ??? No Cinema Scenes, DLX, etc. ???...

Yeah - as it turns out I left a lot of stuff out - I didn't include the 4 AOTC Preview Figs, the 4 ROTS Preview Figs, and the entire POTC line. I didn't include the Bikerscount POTJ variant, the ARC Trooper Clone Wars Variant, and the ROTS Royal Guard variant - that's a total of 26 more figures.

So, if you take just modern individually carded figures, my total comes up to 530 which is WAY past the 500 count.

So if you discount painting variants of the same release - that subtracts:
Clone Wars: 4
Clone Wars (Animated): 3
EP1: 3
POTJ: 1
ROTS: 1
So you'd have to minus 12 from my tally bringing the number to 518

So there's still a huge discrepency regardless of whether or not you include the vintage line (which the tally for the 300th Fett DID include).

You only really start dropping the tally when you take the Cantina Han figure that first came out on POTF CommTech and then has been released to death in HOF, Saga, OTC and POTC (for example).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on March 30, 2005, 03:14 PM
Here's my original post in this thread with some of the numbers I put together (quite a while ago now).

It's been quite a while since I've really bothered figuring out where we stand on the total number of basic carded figures to date, just in case Hasbro wanted to surprise us with something cool similar to the 300th Fett from the POTJ line a couple years ago.  So I've put together some rough numbers here, with a few debatable figures and sublines, I'm sure.  I'll try to notate some of those issues at the end here, so you guys can comment and maybe we can come to a general consensus as to where we really stand.

But by my count here, it looks like #500 will actually be the very last Saga figure this year - one of the Bespin figures.  Pull out the questionable Star Tours and animated Clone Wars line though, and you wind up with #500 being somewhere in the middle of the OTC run.  Perhaps Hasbro could instead do a #500 for just the modern era though, which would obviously be a bit further down the line.  So without further ado, here's my preliminary breakdown, based on some quick research.  It's by no means dead-on accurate, I'm sure - so feel free to give me your numbers, and answers to my questions below, so we can make any adjustments to this list, as necessary.  I'll try to break these down as much as possible, just to help further isolate any potential issues or inconsistencies.

Basic Carded Figures:

Vintage - 96
Droids - 13
Ewoks - 6
POTF2 - 82
SOTE - 5
EU - 9
Flashback - 11
Commtech - 9
Episode 1 - 50
POTJ - 58
Star Tours - 9
Saga - 121
HOF - 12
CW regular - 11
CW animated - 8
VOTC - 12 (upcoming)
OTC - 38 (upcoming)
----------------------
Total - 550

Here's some notes on what I did and didn't include.  Feel free to discuss them!

- Episode 1 - included all 4 Battle Droid variants (clean, dirty, shot, slashed)
- POTJ - included clean and dirty Biker Scout, plus the 300th (boxed) Fett
- Saga - included both head variants for the RFT and IO
- Clone Wars (regular) - includes Red ARC Trooper
- Exclusives - I didn't include any of the Silver anniversary figures, or Jorg Sacul
- I suppose the inclusion of both the Star Tours and the animated Clone Wars figures is up for debate, but I've included them for now.  I also hate to include the stupid vintage Ewoks and Droids lines, but since Hasbro included them for the 300th Fett figure count, I suppose they should be in here too.

Speaking of #500, what would you guys want to potentially see as a figure for this special occassion, should Hasbro actually do something?  Me, I'd say it's got to be an "ultimate" figure, with the most amazing detail, accuracy, articulation, and accessories.  I'm probably thinking either a Tatooine or Jedi Luke, with ALL the fixin's.  Yeah, I know we've had a million Tatooine Lukes already, and we also just got a couple Jedi ones too, but I'd love to get some cool $10 box set here, with a ton of stuff.  A Tatooine Luke similar to the special 100th 12" figure Luke, that came with like a bazillion accessories, pretty much covering him from the entire ANH movie.  Or a Jedi Luke, with enough removable clothing parts, interchangeable hands, and accessories to cover his entire ROTJ role.  Either one of those would be very cool with me.  Rumblings of a 500th Vader are also floating around the net as well.  I think I could handle that figure too!

So, what do you guys think?  What are your numbers on where we stand, and who would you like to get as a figure?  Think Hasbro will actually do something again, or just blow it off?  I think I recall GH running a poll on this topic this last month, so hopefully they're on to something over there, and that a commemorative 500th carded figure is indeed on the way!   8)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jim on March 30, 2005, 03:38 PM
Did we have an actual lineup to get to Fett 300?  Looking at the back of my Fett you cant clearly see how they got to that point since the numbnuts at Hasbro put 4 freakin pictures covering up the lineup.  Id like to see that lineup and then try to get to 500 from there. 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on March 30, 2005, 03:41 PM
Did we have an actual lineup to get to Fett 300?  Looking at the back of my Fett you cant clearly see how they got to that point since the numbnuts at Hasbro put 4 freakin pictures covering up the lineup.  Id like to see that lineup and then try to get to 500 from there. 

Nope - their methodology of getting to 300 for Fett (or 100 for the Vintage Han w/Carbonite or 200 for EU Mara Jade) was always sketchy at best
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Nicklab on March 30, 2005, 03:54 PM
I for one can't believe the level of thought that's going into counting everything up.  Are we all that anal-retentive?  I'm just happy to get the Vader in Meditation chamber, and screw the number.  Is it really THAT important?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on March 30, 2005, 04:10 PM
No it is not important at all.  I think we were just wondering how many Star Wars figures have been made over the years.  At least that was all I was getting at.  It gets to crazy to have a definitive list with all the variations and reissues etc. 

The world may never know.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Nicklab on March 30, 2005, 04:16 PM
Exactly.  I mean, do we start including the vintage 3-packs as legit variations?  what about pack-in figures?  It just seems like something of a waste of time unless it's legitimately helpful to people as some way to catalog what they have.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on March 30, 2005, 04:23 PM
And let's face it - regardless of release date, Hasbro always has the ultimate wiggle room and can say "Well this is the Xth figure that we conceived" and put any figure they want and any milestone they want. It would be nice to see an all-comprehensive encyclopedia on the Modern line get made so you could (a) fully appreciate the depth to this line and (b) make sure you have everything you want according to your own collecting standards...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on March 30, 2005, 04:40 PM
Exactly.  I mean, do we start including the vintage 3-packs as legit variations?  what about pack-in figures?  It just seems like something of a waste of time unless it's legitimately helpful to people as some way to catalog what they have.

Well, I was just operating under the assumption that it would be a similar calculation to the "300th" Fett, where they were supposedly only going with regular carded figures.  They may have something else in mind, but regular carded figures would indeed give you the lowest potential number, which is their best shot at this point, since we can see they're already over that as well.

I'm sure it'll be pretty entertaining, just like the last go-round with Fett.  The end result with the Fett, IIRC, was that they were "only" off somewhere between 3-7 figures altogether (granted, not if you break it down on a 100, 200, 300 basis).  I have a feeling they won't be anywhere close to such a minor discrepancy this time around.

I was also speculating a while back though, that they may be nixing the entire vintage run this time in their calculation, so maybe "modern line" is going to be the ticket here...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on March 30, 2005, 04:46 PM
Let's try it that way:

With my original numbers, excluding vintage:
Basic Carded Figures:

Vintage - 96
Droids - 13
Ewoks - 6
POTF2 - 82
SOTE - 5
EU - 9
Flashback - 11
Commtech - 9
Episode 1 - 50
POTJ - 58
Star Tours - 9
Saga - 121
HOF - 12
CW regular - 11
CW animated - 8
VOTC - 12 (upcoming)
OTC - 38 (upcoming)
----------------------
Total - 435

Plus Jim's updates:

Emperor Hologram
Clone Wars Animated (new) = 6 (including 3 Clone variants)
POTC = 8 (includes all repacks and repaints)
EP3 Preview = 4
EP3 = 57 (including Guard variant)

Total = 511

That at least gets them down to a point where they can fidget with the numbers a bit, like excluding the Star Tours Droids, or maybe some of the Ep. 3 figures if they haven't hit prior to the Meditation Vader's arrival.  Hmmm...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jim on March 30, 2005, 06:58 PM
I for one can't believe the level of thought that's going into counting everything up.  Are we all that anal-retentive?  I'm just happy to get the Vader in Meditation chamber, and screw the number.  Is it really THAT important?

I agree, weve been hearing rumors of this fig far a good 5 years now.  While I dont care how we get it, it still interests me how Hasbro determines these numbers. 

Another thing that is F'ed up and always pissed me off was that to get to 300, only basic carded figs determined the number,  Then they release the Fett 300 in box display and not even on a card ???

Things were so much more simpler in the vintage days.  8)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on March 30, 2005, 07:12 PM
I for one can't believe the level of thought that's going into counting everything up.  Are we all that anal-retentive?  I'm just happy to get the Vader in Meditation chamber, and screw the number.  Is it really THAT important?

No, it's not important at all.  And yes, most of us are that anal-retentive too.  It's just amusing to see how close Hasbro's getting with their number, especially if they're specifically naming something "500".  Plus, we're relatively bored, and a lot of us have OCD, so we thought we'd do the math.  No biggie, Nick.  :-*
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jim on March 30, 2005, 07:31 PM
I for one can't believe the level of thought that's going into counting everything up.  Are we all that anal-retentive?  I'm just happy to get the Vader in Meditation chamber, and screw the number.  Is it really THAT important?

No, it's not important at all.  And yes, most of us are that anal-retentive too.  It's just amusing to see how close Hasbro's getting with their number, especially if they're specifically naming something "500".  Plus, we're relatively bored, and a lot of us have OCD, so we thought we'd do the math.  No biggie, Nick.  :-*

Sometimes I wonder if there really is another world out there ;D    Its pretty sad to think we need to know how Hasbro gets to the big 500 with so much more going on in the world.  Oh well.  I'd rather just dwell on this a bit longer ;)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on March 31, 2005, 01:03 AM
It just seems like something of a waste of time unless it's legitimately helpful to people as some way to catalog what they have.

Are you kidding me?  I spend half my days going through my xx different versions of checklists I've designed in order to keep track of everything.  How else am I going to remember what I own when I've been doing this for so freakin' long?   ;)

Besides, 500 is just a cool round number, so Hasbro probably figured they must be somewhere around that point.  And based on Matt's list there, they could easily fudge things to get to 500.   Nice job, M.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Nicklab on March 31, 2005, 01:24 AM
I for one can't believe the level of thought that's going into counting everything up.  Are we all that anal-retentive?  I'm just happy to get the Vader in Meditation chamber, and screw the number.  Is it really THAT important?

No, it's not important at all.  And yes, most of us are that anal-retentive too.  It's just amusing to see how close Hasbro's getting with their number, especially if they're specifically naming something "500".  Plus, we're relatively bored, and a lot of us have OCD, so we thought we'd do the math.  No biggie, Nick.  :-*

Maybe I'm just too busy and occupied with the rest of my life to care about the numbers adding up.  I just want the damn figure, not to rain on anyone's OCD parade.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on March 31, 2005, 08:38 AM
Galactic Hunter has a larger preview pic up of the 500th Vader figures.  You can check it out HERE (http://www.galactichunter.com/photo.asp?image=absolutenm/articlefiles/4238-500vader.jpg).  Looks pretty cool to me, can't wait to pick it up.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on March 31, 2005, 09:52 AM
Here's the pic, hosted by me.

If I'm not mistaken, the price is kinda high - $14.99.

Is that the VOTC Vader?  Or is it just the cape that is throwing me off?

Edit:  And am I the only who was hoping for the top of the chamber?

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v342/somber77/4238-500vader.jpg)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on March 31, 2005, 10:04 AM
Well we are just seeing the product itself.  It probably comes in some special box or something to jump the price up.  You know the drill. 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on March 31, 2005, 12:03 PM
now THAT is an exclusive I want to have ;D
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: speedermike on March 31, 2005, 05:10 PM
While I understand that making things to scale is difficult, this this is so small it's funny.  To me, it looks like Vader's toilet, which would be down the hall, and to the left, of his meditation chamber.

I would have paid 25.00 for a good size chamber with a bottem and a top.

Who knows, maybe we can redeem our Jedi Points for a top half!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jim on March 31, 2005, 05:44 PM
While I understand that making things to scale is difficult, this this is so small it's funny.  To me, it looks like Vader's toilet, which would be down the hall, and to the left, of his meditation chamber.

As Uncle Eddie would say:  "$hitters full" :P
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: SilverZ on March 31, 2005, 05:55 PM
I'm guessing that the helmet will be a two-piece deal, right? If it's not, I'm honestly not that excited about this.

The scale of the chamber is just plain silly. It didn't have to be screen accurate, just enough to be believable... which this isn't.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Diddly on March 31, 2005, 07:00 PM
Yeah, I'll probably get it, but the scale of the chamber is hideous. Does it even have a roof?

The Vader looks a little too much like the VOTC Vader... if that's the case, I'm definately passing.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Ryan on March 31, 2005, 07:01 PM
The figure is decent. The chamber is kinda lame. It is way to small it looks like the POTF2 globe thingy with the figures. And it's be nice if it had a top, that part is fairly critical to the cahmber, but I guess that'd probably add another $5 to the price ::)

As for it being the 500th I think they must not count repacks, which eliminates about a year of stuff and Perhaps they go by production # not release #.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CHEWIE on March 31, 2005, 08:43 PM
I will gladly pay $15 for this.  But I would have rather of paid $25 for a better version of it.

 :P
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on April 1, 2005, 10:09 AM
I will gladly pay $15 for this.  But I would have rather of paid $25 for a better version of it.

 :P

Well you're in luck then.  It's $19.99. 

Too expensive for my taste unless it's electronic or something.   >:(
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jeff on April 1, 2005, 10:38 AM
Well you're in luck then.  It's $19.99. 

Too expensive for my taste unless it's electronic or something.   >:(

Keep in mind that while the EE/etailer price is $20, it's likely to be a bit lower (like $15-16) at Target/TRU/Wal-Mart I think...

Jeff
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: evenflow on April 1, 2005, 12:26 PM
I'll pick it up. Its cool, but not the coolest way they could have done it.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: jadesfire on April 2, 2005, 05:17 AM
it's up for pre-order at sws.com for $19.99  :P.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on April 8, 2005, 10:33 AM
Looking at the description posted along with it at SWShop.com, it looks like it indeed has a removable helmet, which is nice.  Here's what it tells us:

"Hasbro has truly outdone itself with the release of their Special Edition 500th Star Wars figure, Darth Vader in Meditation Chamber. Designed with incredible detail and superior articulation, the inspired package design allows for a lever on the back to be raised to lift off Vader's helmet! The packaging actually includes some of the design features of the chamber itself, so collectors might want to grab two of these--one for show and one for play. Celebrate the return of Vader in Revenge of the Sith with this amazing milestone figure available from StarWarsShop.com today! Limit two per customer."
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jeff on April 8, 2005, 11:20 AM
Wooo...

Australia Toy Fair 2005 is this week and the guys at MouseDroid have got a few great pictures:

Head on over and take a look!

AUSTRALIAN TOY FAIR 2005
 (http://mousedroid.com/feature/toyfair2005/toyfair2005-hasbro.htm)

(http://mousedroid.com/feature/toyfair2005/image/hasbro05.jpg)

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DSJ™ on April 8, 2005, 11:28 AM
Interesting pictures all around. Nice look at seeing Vader's helmet coming off.

I'll land up getting one or two.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on April 8, 2005, 12:50 PM
It's nice to see that they are including the top of his meditation chamber, but it's a little odd they way they've done it, as shown by Jeff's pic above.  The clear plastic obviously obscures your view of Vader inside.

But I really like this pic, where you can display Vader with his Helmet coming off which is held by the arm above:

(http://mousedroid.com/feature/toyfair2005/image/hasbro09.jpg)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on April 8, 2005, 12:53 PM
That looks pretty damn slick to me.  I like it.  Heard it will retail for $19.99 though.  Oh well, looks like it may be worth it.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on April 8, 2005, 02:02 PM
You may get lucky and find this at WM for around $15 - a lot of the E-tailers run 50% margins compared to WM's markup of 35-40%.

I'll buy one just because it's Vader!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on April 8, 2005, 02:04 PM
Nice to see more pictures of this, and to me, it looks pretty spiffy.  Although I think we'd probably rather have the top of the chamber in "toy" form, instead it looks like it is part of the packaging, which is probably the next best scenario.  That picture of the helmet slightly off really makes the set look cool, and I'll definitely be picking one of these up.  I would guess around a $15 price tag at Wal-Mart too, give or take, hopefully :).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on April 8, 2005, 02:57 PM
Aside from the actual item not having the top portion of the chamber, this piece really appears to be top notch, and very detailed.  I'm definitely digging it now.  Nice touch at least adding the chamber's top portion as part of the packaging though.  I suspect that a few openers out there may be picking up an extra, along with the usual packaged collectors, due to how nice it looks in the package.

Though, it does look a little strange at the same time, almost as if Vader's in a bubble, or something.  But that's only a little weird, and I can probably easily overlook that.

I don't see anywhere on the package highlighting the fact that this is supposedly a "500th figure" though.  Maybe it's on the bottom...?  Or it might just be added as a little stickered blurb later on.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jagdohh_Fett on April 12, 2005, 06:45 PM
I think it looks pretty cool and would definitely like to get one for $15 or so.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on April 18, 2005, 09:38 AM
Edit: Nevermind, wrong pics :).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Scott on April 18, 2005, 09:39 AM
Sweetness, that is what we've all been hoping for since 1998!  Can't wait to get that sucker now :)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on April 18, 2005, 10:34 AM
Some more pics of the removable helmet feature of this figure:

Hang on just a second here...  Isn't that the 12" Medicom Vader there? 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on April 18, 2005, 10:36 AM
Maybe so, I guess I don't know the Medicom line all that well.  I just saw this posted on another forum, and didn't look into it further.  Sorry if it is in fact the Medicom version, didn't mean to mislead anyone.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on April 18, 2005, 11:03 AM
I'm pretty sure it is Brian, and don't sweat misleading anyone.  It was just Scott, so who cares...  ;)

Sure would be cool if that was the Hasbro version though!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Scott on April 18, 2005, 11:07 AM
Yeah that is the Medicom one, too bad as well, now I'm back to being nervously optomistic that they'll do a 2 piece helmet :-\
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on April 18, 2005, 11:34 AM
They will just rehash the removeable dome Vader from that POTF era board game that came with trash compactor Luke.  That or the Galaxy Glove Vader.

Just joking of course. I hope.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediKnight87 on April 19, 2005, 12:18 AM
I'm gonna wait until next month to get this figure. I want to see what other ROTS figures I want to get before the vader.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Aaron_D on April 30, 2005, 03:46 AM
I noticed this figure was on display at the Hasbro booth at C3.  Looked pretty sharp from the pictures I glanced at.  How'd it look to you guys who saw it up close?  Please refresh my memory on the price point and due date as well.  Was it going to be $10 or $15?

Also, did Hasbro ever address how they were coming up with the #500 on this thing?  Looks like they're pretty far off on that number, unless I'm just missing something.  Doesn't detract from the fact that this is a great looking set though.  I just wish the top of the chamber was a real piece of the set, and not just the packaging, but I'll live.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on May 23, 2005, 11:42 AM
From the looks of these pics over at RS (http://www.rebelscum.com/sw05vader500.asp), it unfortunately looks like there is not a 2 piece removable helmet on the 500th Vader, with his mask portion always staying on, and you can just see a peek of his "bare" head in back.  Maybe this was already common knowledge, but I guess I just hadn't realized that the entire helmet wouldn't be removable on this figure.  Still looks cool, but it is a little disappointing.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on May 23, 2005, 12:33 PM
I agree that it is a disappointment.  I am almost getting a bit Vadered out at the moment.  I knew it would be like this though with all the Vader hype.  Eh, I will snap out of it when I see it in a store and buy it. 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on May 25, 2005, 09:45 AM
Is the figure the VOTC version with a new head?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on May 31, 2005, 01:35 PM
It looks like Hasbro has an update today featuring the 500th Vader figure.  Pictures aren't really new, but if you want to read about it, clicky HERE (http://www.hasbro.com/starwars/pl/page.news/newsID.159F56B9-D56F-E112-4BE23E0343A687A2/default.cfm)

(http://www.hasbro.com/common/images/news/starwars/85413_pk.jpg)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DoctorPadawan on May 31, 2005, 09:03 PM
Okay, so I was bored this afternoon and decided to try and figure out exactly how this Vader was the "500th Figure."  While I still don't have an exact answer, I have gotten very close to the number 500 by taking several things into account.

Things to take into account (at least the way I came up with them) are that I did not count repaints (ala the Animated Clones or the Saga BDs), rereleases (Imperial Officers, RFTs, Koth, and Teebo in Saga or most of the OTC), or exclusive figures (Star Tours) in this tally.  Also, I only went with the single carded figures in the basic line to arrive at this.

Okay, to start with, I went from the only other figure we know of that had an actual number attached to him (arbitarily though it may have been): Boba Fett from 2001.  On the back of that figure's box is a list of the first 300 figures, and going by that, figure number 299 was Plo Koon.  Figure 301, by my estimation, would have been Aurra Sing (who was in the first wave of figures that followed Koon that winter of 2001). 

From Sing (301) to the end of the POTJ line (the AOTC SP figures in 2002) gives us 334 figures total. 

Saga 2002 gave us 53 figures total, for a running total of 387.

Saga 2003 gave us 34 figures total, for a running total of 421.

Clone Wars 2003 gave us 10 figures total, for a running total of 431.

Saga 2004 gave us 21 figures total, for a running total of 452.

Animated Clone Wars gave us 11 figures total, for a running total of 463.

Here's where it gets a bit tricky...the OTC:

Vintage OTC gave us 12 figures total, for a running total of 475.  But it's the basic OTC where the trickiness comes in...

There were 7 original figures in the OTC line that were not reissues.  That gives us 482 total.  The problem is that there is a figure that was a basic figure (Holo Palpatine) but it was also an exclusive; and there was a figure that was previously a pack-in (the Scanning Trooper, which theoretically was never released on a card before and would count now since it was) released in the line.  I ended up including both figures in the total for the OTC, bringing our running total to a height of 484.

OTC gave us 8 more unique figures in 2005 for a running total of 492.  There were four ROTS Sneak Preview figures which would bring the grand total to 496 unique figures released on cards including Hasbro's previous 300 figures up to and including the 300th Fett and counting each unique figure sculpt released on a card since then.

So, just prior to April 2nd, 2005, by my estimation, there had been, not counting variants, paint scheme differences, head sculpt differences, reissues, etc, 496 action figures in the SW line.

That's still three short of Vader being 500.  Anybody see something I'm missing, or is Hasbro just going to claim that Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Yoda from the start of ROTS are 497, 498, and 499?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Gregorbian on May 31, 2005, 09:40 PM
Impressive ... Most Impressive
 :o
That's a lot of work you did there DoctorPadawan, good job! ;D  I can't even begin to think of what figures you missed, but I'm definitely impressed
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Ryan on May 31, 2005, 11:10 PM
What about the 25th aniversary sets? It is possible that they count as 1 or even two each. Then there is also Jorg Sacul. So if the count as 2 each that would be seven more, eliminate the 4 sneak preivew and you have 500. I'm pretty sure the 500# refers to when it is produced not when it was released meaning the Vader was made before any ROTS product.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DoctorPadawan on June 1, 2005, 03:39 PM
Quote
That's a lot of work you did there DoctorPadawan, good job!

Thanks, but it honestly didn't take me very long to do.  With Hasbro numbering the figures from 2002 on, it took out a lot of guess work as I could easily look at my database I have of my own collection and say, "That's a repack, that's a repaint" and so on.  I'm actually going to sit down later tonight and type up the full list that I had (at the very least from the 300th Fett on to 500) so I'll know who went where and such.

This is what happens when you have a severe sinus infection that renders you stuck in one spot for hours on end. :)

Quote
What about the 25th aniversary sets? It is possible that they count as 1 or even two each. Then there is also Jorg Sacul.

The 25th Anniversary sets I didn't include because they were not basic action figures sold on cards.  In what would be a "master list" I would definitely include them, but for the purposes of the Basic list, they wouldn't fit.  Sacul, though, I hadn't thought of. 

I've also run into some problems with the Imperial Scanning Trooper based on Hasbro's rationale back in 2001 for Carbonite Han being figure 100 and Mara Jade being 200.  Hasbro claimed at that time that the figures were not counted in terms of when they were released, but when they were developed.  Since the Scanning Trooper existed as a pack-in 7 years before he debuted on a card, I probably shouldn't have included him, or if he stayed, I would have to include the MOTDS Vader and Maul on my list (which I didn't) for the same reasons.  So I'm going to revise my own list and figure out who belongs and who doesn't. 

I'm also going to try and do an honest-to-goodness Master List with every single figure that has been produced in the POTF2 to now era (someone else can add Vintage, as I'm in the dark almost completely as to the Droids and Ewoks lines) at some point, but that's just a dream I have of killing some free time one day.  :)

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on June 1, 2005, 03:42 PM
Hey, what about my (old) efforts here?!   :P  Of course, I counted all the rehashed crap here though, and would be WAY off once the POTC and ROTS lines get added in...

It's been quite a while since I've really bothered figuring out where we stand on the total number of basic carded figures to date, just in case Hasbro wanted to surprise us with something cool similar to the 300th Fett from the POTJ line a couple years ago.  So I've put together some rough numbers here, with a few debatable figures and sublines, I'm sure.  I'll try to notate some of those issues at the end here, so you guys can comment and maybe we can come to a general consensus as to where we really stand.

But by my count here, it looks like #500 will actually be the very last Saga figure this year - one of the Bespin figures.  Pull out the questionable Star Tours and animated Clone Wars line though, and you wind up with #500 being somewhere in the middle of the OTC run.  Perhaps Hasbro could instead do a #500 for just the modern era though, which would obviously be a bit further down the line.  So without further ado, here's my preliminary breakdown, based on some quick research.  It's by no means dead-on accurate, I'm sure - so feel free to give me your numbers, and answers to my questions below, so we can make any adjustments to this list, as necessary.  I'll try to break these down as much as possible, just to help further isolate any potential issues or inconsistencies.

Basic Carded Figures:

Vintage - 96
Droids - 13
Ewoks - 6
POTF2 - 82
SOTE - 5
EU - 9
Flashback - 11
Commtech - 9
Episode 1 - 50
POTJ - 58
Star Tours - 9
Saga - 121
HOF - 12
CW regular - 11
CW animated - 8
VOTC - 12 (upcoming)
OTC - 38 (upcoming)
----------------------
Total - 550

Here's some notes on what I did and didn't include.  Feel free to discuss them!

- Episode 1 - included all 4 Battle Droid variants (clean, dirty, shot, slashed)
- POTJ - included clean and dirty Biker Scout, plus the 300th (boxed) Fett
- Saga - included both head variants for the RFT and IO
- Clone Wars (regular) - includes Red ARC Trooper
- Exclusives - I didn't include any of the Silver anniversary figures, or Jorg Sacul
- I suppose the inclusion of both the Star Tours and the animated Clone Wars figures is up for debate, but I've included them for now.  I also hate to include the stupid vintage Ewoks and Droids lines, but since Hasbro included them for the 300th Fett figure count, I suppose they should be in here too.

Speaking of #500, what would you guys want to potentially see as a figure for this special occassion, should Hasbro actually do something?  Me, I'd say it's got to be an "ultimate" figure, with the most amazing detail, accuracy, articulation, and accessories.  I'm probably thinking either a Tatooine or Jedi Luke, with ALL the fixin's.  Yeah, I know we've had a million Tatooine Lukes already, and we also just got a couple Jedi ones too, but I'd love to get some cool $10 box set here, with a ton of stuff.  A Tatooine Luke similar to the special 100th 12" figure Luke, that came with like a bazillion accessories, pretty much covering him from the entire ANH movie.  Or a Jedi Luke, with enough removable clothing parts, interchangeable hands, and accessories to cover his entire ROTJ role.  Either one of those would be very cool with me.  Rumblings of a 500th Vader are also floating around the net as well.  I think I could handle that figure too!

So, what do you guys think?  What are your numbers on where we stand, and who would you like to get as a figure?  Think Hasbro will actually do something again, or just blow it off?  I think I recall GH running a poll on this topic this last month, so hopefully they're on to something over there, and that a commemorative 500th carded figure is indeed on the way!   8)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Vator on June 1, 2005, 03:49 PM
Shouldn't the card say 500th Figure as opposed to 500 Figure? That for some reason is really getting on my nerves.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Famine on June 1, 2005, 03:55 PM
Freakin SWEET! :o

Kevin
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on June 1, 2005, 04:09 PM
When this subject came up at the Hasbro Q & A at C3, they were talking about it being the "500th figure" (including vintage), to which I hollered out from the front row something to the effect of "not even close".  Then several of the Hasbro reps kinda gave me/us an odd smirk as if to say "yeah, we know".

It'll be very interesting to see if they stick another figure list on this set (like on the Fett), and if so, how in the hell they're possibly going to justify the 500 number.  They don't have a shot in hell, to be honest, so this should be quite amusing...  :P

Unless they go with that "500th figure developed" nonsense, in which case they'd probably have to ditch the whole ROTS line, which will look equally stupid.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Matt_Fury on June 1, 2005, 04:19 PM
Did you count droids that were repaints/different colored plastics as new figures because they came on separate cards?  What about figures like Oola, Muftak and Kabe, which were only promo/mail in items?

Just curious, because that could change your numbers too.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on June 1, 2005, 04:26 PM
I think both Michael and I are including only basic carded figures, since that's what Hasbro originally did in the 300 Fett count.  So any type of boxed figures, or exclusives, shouldn't be counted.

I included any droid repaints if they were offered seperately on basic cards (like the various 3POs, astromechs, and BDs).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 1, 2005, 04:28 PM
Well - going back to Matt's numbers, they can "wiggle" their way out of things by simply making this the 500th "Modern Era" figure. If you subtract out the Vintage, Droids & Ewok lines you are reduced 435 "modern era" figures up to that point. Add in the five more Animated CW figures, the eight POTC figures and the four preview ROTS figures - that brings you to a total of 452. It could be debated as to whether or not you want to include the OTC figures that were re-packaged as POTC figures or not. I'm going to say no.

If you add EP3 figures 1-44, plus holo Yoda, Lava Vader & the Target Clone you get: 499

This squarely can put the 500th Vader figure as the modern 500th figure. Granted ROTS figures #45 - #47 are already out, but that's a minor nit. Heck - if you want to include them simply remove the three exclusives I mentioned above and then replace them with the #45 - #47 figs instead, you'll still get the same result.

Personally, I wish they had just called this figure "Ultimate Darth Vader" and made the figure so g-d articulated and detailed there wouldn't or couldn't ever possibly be a better incarnation of the Dark Lord.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jeff on June 1, 2005, 04:29 PM
Personally, I wish they had just called this figure "Ultimate Darth Vader" and made the figure so g-d articulated and detailed there wouldn't or couldn't ever possibly be a better incarnation of the Dark Lord.

That woulda been nice... as would the WHOLE Meditation Chamber, not just half with a lame cover.

Jeff
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 1, 2005, 04:31 PM
That woulda been nice... as would the WHOLE Meditation Chamber, not just half with a lame cover.

Jeff

Yeah - I would have gladly paid another $10 - $20 just to have the meditation chamber be COMPLETE, not completed by the packaging, which IMHO is just a cop-out.

- Peter
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on June 1, 2005, 04:34 PM
Well - going back to Matt's numbers, they can "wiggle" their way out of things by simply making this the 500th "Modern Era" figure. If you subtract out the Vintage, Droids & Ewok lines...

Yeah, I think a few pages back I took a stab at it that way as well Peter, and hypothesized that Hasbro could come pretty dang close using that method instead.  But I'm almost positive that they said at C3 that the 500 number included the vintage line again, as it did with the Fett.  I can't remember if I blurted that question out to them at the Q & A when I was getting on their case about it, or if I asked them later on at their booth, but I'm fairly certain that they addressed it at some point and said the vintage figures were in.

P.S. - Big "ditto" from me on wanting the ENTIRE meditation chamber instead.  :-\
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DoctorPadawan on June 1, 2005, 05:05 PM
Quote
When this subject came up at the Hasbro Q & A at C3, they were talking about it being the "500th figure" (including vintage), to which I hollered out from the front row something to the effect of "not even close".  Then several of the Hasbro reps kinda gave me/us an odd smirk as if to say "yeah, we know".

No kidding.  I remember the ordering on the back of the Fett package being really arbitrary (Han Carbonite being 100 was the first clue that something was way off), but the more I try to figure out what figures they have included in their 500, the more confused I get. 

Actually, I'd just say that "500th Figure" is something Hasbro slapped on the package to sell a special Darth Vader figure to everyone who already has 500 Darth Vaders.  After all, what is so special about "496th/523rd/747th Figure?"

And yeah, to clarify, Matt and I apparently used the same strategy of not counting repacks, but I also left out paint variants (the different Episode I Battle Droids were counted as 1 instead of 4) that did not make a new figure (as such, K-3P0 was included on the list).  I also stuck with figures available on the mass market, meaning that exclusives like Sacul and (in reviewing my own list) the Holographic Emperor were excluded.

I think it would be funny, once we could all figure out which figure was figure 500, if we printed up stickers that said "THE REAL 500TH FIGURE: MON MOTHMA" or something like that (just an example) and stuck them on all of that figure at retail.  Naturally this would have to be a pegwarmer, but still, it would be funny.  To me at least.  ;D
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on June 13, 2005, 01:59 PM
So how many of you pre-ordered this guy online vs. waiting to see what retailers will carry this item?

I'm assuming this item will hit the shelves once the big dogs reset their planograms in July.

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on June 13, 2005, 02:13 PM
I was tempted to preorder it at Amazon when I preordered the evolution sets, but I've held off so far.  I'm hoping that all the major retailers will be stocking this one, and he won't be too tough to find.  Vader does seem to always sell though, no matter what, so hopefully he won't be too tough to find.  I'm holding out hope for now though :).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on June 13, 2005, 04:05 PM
I have to wait for retailers and a time when I can smuggle it past my wife :)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth_Anton on June 13, 2005, 05:57 PM
I try to order off line sparingly, so it's retail for me.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on June 19, 2005, 06:26 PM
As a few of my Canadian brethren can likely testify, it's looking like our retail sources are drying up faster than Tatooine after a rainfall.

Since I decided there's likely no chance to see this up here, I bit the bullet and ordered Mr. 500 online.  More expensive?  Yes, but only $2 more, so at least I know I'll get it.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Ben on June 20, 2005, 12:13 AM
Since retail space for this line is shrinking faster than me in a cold pool, I think I'll need to order this and the Evolutions sets online. I think I'll also need to order #45 and up since I'm now two waves behind.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: knashdx on June 20, 2005, 04:06 PM
Over the weekend as I was checking the Target computer listings for Star Wars toys I came across a couple different DPCI #'s for upcoming toys. I found the 500th Darth Vader and Evolution Sets. Here are the DPCI #'s for them.

500th Vader - 087061124
Evolution - 087061357
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Scott on June 20, 2005, 04:28 PM
I'm passing on this one...if it was a two piece helmet or a full meditation chamber...then I'd bite.  But with the superior Evolutions Vader, I can live without this one methinks unless I get one in trade or JD gives one away, then I'd take it :P
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Morgbug on June 20, 2005, 04:59 PM
I'm passing on this one...if it was a two piece helmet or a full meditation chamber...then I'd bite.  But with the superior Evolutions Vader, I can live without this one methinks unless I get one in trade or JD gives one away, then I'd take it :P

But you'll still pick up the first one you see for your friend that's getting you drunk before Pearl Jam.

lovingly,

parasite
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Scott on June 20, 2005, 05:03 PM
I might have to take some penicillin :P

Yeah, I'll get you one :-*
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: evenflow on June 22, 2005, 05:35 PM
Well according to reports on RS & Yakface people found it today at the TRU I go to. I was there today and didnt find anything. :-[
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jesse James on June 23, 2005, 09:36 AM
I'm passing on this one...if it was a two piece helmet or a full meditation chamber...then I'd bite.  But with the superior Evolutions Vader, I can live without this one methinks unless I get one in trade or JD gives one away, then I'd take it :P

I'm torn, but I have the same beef with it that you do Scott.  Had it been the full chamber I KNOW I'd be very interested in the piece, but Hasbro cheaped out and made it a less than stellar figure.  And I agree also that the Evo figure is superior anyway...  So I'm contemplating why I would bother with this.  It looks nice packaged, but I'm not much of a packaged guy...  I dunno. 

I may get it just to leave boxed (like the 25th sets), but I'm still very disappointed in the execution of it.  All it needed to be was the complete meditation chamber for me to change my opinion on it though...  I could stand a "lesser" figure if we got a nice item to display OUT of the box. 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on June 23, 2005, 10:44 AM
I'll probably get it and leave it as a display item. From the looks of the package, you can still use the arm to raise/lower the helmet on vader. yeah I wish they'd made the complete meditation chamber but oh well - they didn't.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on June 23, 2005, 10:59 AM
With the already nice VOTC Vader, and now what looks to be an even better Evolutions Vader on the way...I'm leaning towards leaving this packaged as well.  I very rarely keep anything "in box", but this looks like it might display better that way anyways...since we're not exactly getting the top portion of the chamber.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on June 23, 2005, 11:07 AM
I think it's a neat piece - allbeit overpriced, I'll still pick one up to leave packaged (next to my 300th Fett).

Would've been nice if the helmet was a removable two piece design...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DSJ™ on June 23, 2005, 12:04 PM
Here's some pic's of mine I got in the mail the other day.

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Front.jpg)

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Front%20Off.jpg)

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Side%20Up1.jpg)

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Side%20Down.jpg)

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Top.jpg)

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Bottom.jpg)

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Front%20Close%20Down.jpg)

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Front%20Close%20Up.jpg)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jim on June 23, 2005, 12:13 PM
Any insert in the package telling how those clowns got to no. 500?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DSJ™ on June 23, 2005, 12:31 PM
Any insert in the package telling how those clowns got to no. 500?

Nope, no insert. The only thing that is in the cardboard base is a small clear baggie with Darth's cloth cape, red lightsaber and a right glove.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on June 23, 2005, 01:09 PM
Ooooh.  I have a package waiting for me at the post office, and I'm hoping it's my 500th Figure Vader. 

Crossing my fingers...   :)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DSJ™ on June 23, 2005, 01:13 PM
Time for an early lunch break Jesse.  ;)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on June 23, 2005, 01:22 PM
 :'(  I can't leave the pharmacy while I'm working... 

but I'm done early today, 4pm.   :D

The countdown begins.  4 hrs, 40 mins...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DSJ™ on June 23, 2005, 01:25 PM
(http://www.smiling-faces.com/smilies/fingerscrossed.gif)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth_Anton on June 23, 2005, 01:38 PM
I held one in my hand today! But alas, it belonged to the guy who new they were there and was waiting for them and grabbed them all. :-[

The annoying part was that Managment was considering making him give up his extras, but whimped out. The only saving grace is that they only had one case worth, and there's only three to a case.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: knashdx on June 23, 2005, 01:49 PM
Darth_Anton - Where was this?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Famine on June 23, 2005, 02:05 PM
I held one in my hand today! But alas, it belonged to the guy who new they were there and was waiting for them and grabbed them all. :-[

The annoying part was that Managment was considering making him give up his extras, but whimped out. The only saving grace is that they only had one case worth, and there's only three to a case.

Throw a right hook, and make your way to the register. ;D

Kevin
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on June 23, 2005, 02:56 PM
I can't believe those Hasbro chickenshits whimped out and didn't "attempt" to explain the 500 number they labeled this thing with.  That likely means that they knew they were SO far off from 500 that they just glossed over it altogether (as their reactions at the C3 Q&A would suggest).  Whimps.  I'm gonna grill 'em on this down at SDCC next month, and hold their dumb butts accountable for false advertising!  ;)

Darth_Anton - Where was this?

Van Nuys TRU, in SoCal.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on June 23, 2005, 03:46 PM
I can't believe those Hasbro chickenshits whimped out and didn't "attempt" to explain the 500 number they labeled this thing with. 

I agree!  I'd kill to know if there really is a 500 figure list in Hasbro's dirty little hands.  It was the one question I was hoping to ask them at the C3 QnA.  As a guy who needs everything in checklist form, I really wanted to know this.

Like you said, Matt, they sure rolled their eyes when there was a question about the 500th Vader.  But I think they just used this title as a way to say, "hey, we've made a lot of figures, must be at least 500 by now."

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jeff on June 23, 2005, 03:51 PM
I still go with the fact that this item was originally planned for the OTC/DVD run. 

So, if it would have come out last year when the rumors first popped up during the late Saga / early OTC stuff, it probably would have been a lot closer to 500.

For whatever reason (probably the RotS Vader hoopla they were expecting/planning), Hasbro decided to hold Vader over until now and as a result there is no way it is #500.   ::)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on June 23, 2005, 03:53 PM
I'm sure you could play the fuzzy math card in regards to getting to 500 - meaning excluding/including rehashes, unleashed, deluxe, etc.

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on June 23, 2005, 07:14 PM
Woo hoo!

My 500th Vader showed up today.

I like how the helmet can be lifted off of Vader without opening the package.  Neat thinking by Hasbro.

(http://www.telusplanet.net/public/djustus/Darth%20Vader/Darth%20500%20Front%20Close%20Up.jpg)

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth Broem on June 23, 2005, 08:52 PM
I can't believe those Hasbro chickenshits whimped out and didn't "attempt" to explain the 500 number they labeled this thing with.  That likely means that they knew they were SO far off from 500 that they just glossed over it altogether (as their reactions at the C3 Q&A would suggest).  Whimps.  I'm gonna grill 'em on this down at SDCC next month, and hold their dumb butts accountable for false advertising!  ;)

Darth_Anton - Where was this?

Van Nuys TRU, in SoCal.

Yeah, but the 677th figure does not have the same ring as 500th :)
Just kidding, I have no idea what they are really up to now.  I assumed it was far more than 500 but I don't really know.  At least they acknowledged the milestone.  Can a 600th figure be far off?  Probably. 
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Nicklab on June 24, 2005, 01:54 AM
I was fortunate enough to pick one of these up tonight.  It's still in the car and I'm still at work, so I've yet to open it and give it a good looking over.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Diddly on June 24, 2005, 02:33 AM
If anyone opens theirs, could they compare the Vader with the VOTC version?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: SilverZ on June 25, 2005, 01:39 AM
Does anyone who's purchased this at TRU have the SKN# by any chance?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JayDouble on June 25, 2005, 02:09 AM
Does anyone who's purchased this at TRU have the SKN# by any chance?

653569013648
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: SilverZ on June 25, 2005, 04:50 PM
Thanks!

One of the employees at my TRU was actually totally helpful yesterday and asked if I knew the SKN, and was more than willing to track it down if it was in back. I was pretty impressed.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jesse James on June 27, 2005, 12:57 AM
Thanks for the # Jay Double, as it may help quite a few people out (hopefully).  Currently no word on these showing in my area but perhaps soon.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 28, 2005, 10:52 AM
The TRU near where I work has the shelf tag but alas NONE of them in stock.   :-[

This is a piece I will proudly display on my desk for quite a while so I am seriously chomping at the bit to get two of 'em so I can open one of them up!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: bobafett1121 on June 28, 2005, 12:30 PM
For some reason where I live(winter haven,florida) with all the Targets , Wal-marts and toys R us near me. I still cannot find one on the shelfs. I might just have to purchase one off line.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth_Anton on June 28, 2005, 12:39 PM
For some reason where I live(winter haven,florida) with all the Targets , Wal-marts and toys R us near me. I still cannot find one on the shelfs. I might just have to purchase one off line.

They just started hiting last week, and only at TRU. Give it a few weeks for them to actually start hitting in force and at other stores.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 29, 2005, 12:10 PM
Well - I had quite an adventure this morning when the TRU near where I work opened up at 10 AM....

Yesterday I went there at lunch and asked if they had any in stock. They said that they didn't but the computer system indicated that they were coming in on that day's truck and to come back or call back around 6PM. I did come back at 6PM and I was told that they were behind on un-loading the truck and to check back in the morning.

At this point, this really isn't a problem, I'm very appreciative of their assistance since hitting this TRU isn't a big deal at either lunch time or after work.

Fast forward to this morning, I am the first person in the door and to my surprise, there are no 500th Vader figures on the shelf. In fact the shelf tag that had been there was now gone.

The Hasbro rep is in the store on Wednesdays so I went up to her and with a smile said "Hey Kathy, where are the 500th Vaders? They got a truck in last night with them on it" - to which she replied "I know, but all I found this morning was an empty box - the same thing happened last week."

So I go to the front desk and ask what's up and where they are. The manager of the store is there and says "We only got one case which has three pieces in it and they were purchased by the employees, that is one of the perks of working at TRU" - this infuriated me - I have always known that the employees grabbed stuff, but here is a manager advocating the practice.

So I asked him - "what's the name and number of your district manager, I would like to speak with them and have them tell me that TRU advocates that practice" - he refused to give me the name or a number explaining that TRU did advocate this practice and there was no need for me to bother a district manager.

So I headed back to over where the Hasbro rep was to tell her what happened and while I was telling her an elderly gentleman who has seen me come into that TRU regularly for over five years now came up to me and said "The district manager and her assistant district manager are having a meeting in the break room in the back, if you want to talk to her wait for the meeting to be over"

So I did.

While I was waiting, a manager from another store who was coming into this store for the meeting came past me and asked if I needed assistance. I told him what happened, what the store manager had told me about the policy and I told him I was waiting to speak with the district manager. He then told me that the store manager had lied to me, that TRU does not advocate the policy and that he would go get the district manager.

A few minutes later she came out and she allowed me to tell the story. Shortly after we were joined by her assistant who had investigated whether or not the store actually got them in and had found out they did and confirmed that all three were "purchased" by employees.

While I was standing there talking with the two district managers, who both told me that the store manager should have never told me that they were sold to employees and that was a perk of working for TRU, the manager came up and decided to chime in, his comment was "what is the difference between you (referring to me) and I (referring to himself) buying the item? you're just going to resell it on the internet" - this made both myself AND the district manager mad.

I raised my voice really loud and pointed my finger at him and said "That is where you are wrong, this toy is going to become part of a large collection that my step-son and I have been building since 1995, I don't know what YOU are going to do with it, but since you think everyone who buys stuff re-sells it on the internet, that must be your motives"

Needless to say, one of the three Vaders was put in the store manager's office for him to purchase later. The district manager got it out and gave it to me for purchase, so I was able to walk in and buy at least one. I'm of the mindset that employees should come LAST, not FIRST. I told the district manager "Make me a TRU employee, so I can come in the building at 8AM - I'll help stock the shelves and I'll buy the stuff before the door opens at 10AM and you won't even have to give me a salary - how's that for a perk?"

Some employees were smiling at me, 'cause obviously this is what this manager does - grab all of the hot toys to resell on eBay or wherever, but there was two younger guys who must have been the other two who bought the rest of the case who were giving me nasty looks. I really don't care, if I get hassled from employees at that store, I'll definitely be giving the district manager a call, she gave me her card.

I also said to the district managers - "If the store manager had said to me, 'We didn't get them in, even though the manifest said they were on the truck' - even though that's a lie, I would have believed him, thanked him for his assistance and left the building. It was the fact that he had the stones to BRAG that he and two other employees snatched them up before the store opened 'cause it was a perk of being an employee." To which the district manager replied to me, "I will be having a conversation with him with regards to how he communicates with customers in the future."

Whether or not that's a scolding or just a remark to "lie" in the future, I don't know - but I hope he gets his ass handed to him.

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth_Anton on June 29, 2005, 12:41 PM
That is an awsome story Pete!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 29, 2005, 12:50 PM
That is an awsome story Pete!

Thanks - I just got done opening up the figure and I absolutely LOVE this thing.

I'm pleased that the plastic dome that goes over the figure for the packaging is so sturdy, I was planing on throwing it out, but I've decided I'm going to keep it with the dome cover over it. Kudos on Hasbro for giving us a piece that even after you open it, it can still have some of that "MIB" display-ability.

I think it's also great that they gave us a spare right hand/glove and the lightsaber. They really didn't need to give us either, but the fact that they did makes all the difference - since it means you can display the figure in the chamber or out, whichever your preference is.

Since we're getting the Evolutions Vader soon as we already have the VOTC Vader from late last year - this Vader will spend most of his life sitting comfortably in his chair!  :)

Definitely worth the $17 IMHO!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on June 29, 2005, 12:52 PM
I usd to work TRU in the late 80s and that's true, we put stuff aside to buy all the time. though back then, there wasn't an 'ebay' to sell stuff one.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 29, 2005, 12:58 PM
I usd to work TRU in the late 80s and that's true, we put stuff aside to buy all the time. though back then, there wasn't an 'ebay' to sell stuff one.

You know what - I know that is done and I know that is just part of collecting. It's sort of like a dirty little secret. It's done, TRU management knows it's done, they know they really can't do much about it, but if the employees are going to do it:

(a) you don't make it obvious

and more importantly

(b) you don't BRAG about being able to do it to customers and claim it is a perk advocated by the company you work for

In retail you just don't do that - you treat the customers with respect, even if you are telling them a lie, you do it with a smile on your face and with a plesant tone so the customer leaves the store happy. You don't infuriate them even more because you have a pre-conceived notion of what type of person I am.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Diddly on June 29, 2005, 01:17 PM
Nice story, Pete. Stick it to the man!

Anychance you have the VOTC Vader? If so, could you compare it with the Chamber Vader? They look almost the same to me in pics...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 29, 2005, 01:20 PM
Nice story, Pete. Stick it to the man!

Anychance you have the VOTC Vader? If so, could you compare it with the Chamber Vader? They look almost the same to me in pics...

I can dig out my VOTC Vader when I get home tonight and make a post about the two tomorrow - fair enough?

I'd post from home tonight except that the new house still doesn't have cable so my cable modem is down for the count at the moment.

But I will definitely be comparing the two. In setting up my office I've decided to decorate my desk with Vader, Clones and Wookies - so I've been wanting to drag out the VOTC Vader anyway.

- Peter
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: knashdx on June 29, 2005, 01:34 PM
I have a friend that use to work at TRU and he informed me that TRU's official policy is that the toy has to be on the floor 24 hours prior to a TRU employee purchasing it. Obviously we all know that is crock of ****. This just proves it.

At least the District Manager, and the other store manager did the right thing. Personally if I was that stores direct supervisor I would have fired his ass on the spot.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Diddly on June 29, 2005, 01:42 PM
Sounds good Pete. I can wait as long as needed, I just want to read a review of the thing that compares the two.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 29, 2005, 02:05 PM
I have a friend that use to work at TRU and he informed me that TRU's official policy is that the toy has to be on the floor 24 hours prior to a TRU employee purchasing it. Obviously we all know that is crock of ****. This just proves it.

At least the District Manager, and the other store manager did the right thing. Personally if I was that stores direct supervisor I would have fired his ass on the spot.

The Assistant District Manager kept stressing things to me like "we can't/won't hold a toy for anyone" and "we can't personally prevent EVERY employee from buying stuff when the store opens at 10AM"

He said that to me like five to six times. I kept responding to him "Yes, I understand that, but the difference between what you're stating and what ACTUALLY happened is that at 10AM when the doors opened there wasn't even a CHANCE for customers to buy this item, the employees didn't even STOCK IT - they just hid all three of them to buy later on."

I also told him, "Look, if they actually PAID for the item, I don't want you to take it away from anyone, just STOP that practice from happening." - the one he got for me was the one put aside by the manager of the store who hadn't plunked down his money yet, he was planning on doing it later in the day when he got off shift.

When they do things like that it tells me that TRU does indeed have a policy and that policy is that they don't want employees buying toys when they are on the clock. If I ran a retail chain, I wouldn't want to allow my employees to be "shopping" when they should be "working" either. So a policy like that would make sense.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on June 29, 2005, 03:33 PM
Quote
You know what - I know that is done and I know that is just part of collecting. It's sort of like a dirty little secret. It's done, TRU management knows it's done, they know they really can't do much about it, but if the employees are going to do it:

(a) you don't make it obvious

and more importantly

(b) you don't BRAG about being able to do it to customers and claim it is a perk advocated by the company you work for

In retail you just don't do that - you treat the customers with respect, even if you are telling them a lie, you do it with a smile on your face and with a plesant tone so the customer leaves the store happy. You don't infuriate them even more because you have a pre-conceived notion of what type of person I am.
Quote

yeah I don't how widely employees buying stuff before customers still goes on but we did it to some extent. our manager didn't let us buy everything, stuff still had to be put out for customers.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: MetalJedi on June 29, 2005, 11:46 PM
This is one of the reasons why I hate TRU. The one back home in Idaho is a scalpers paradise. The managers read of the manifest what they are getting to the scalper and the scalper just has them save the whole case.

Its ridiculous that we have to go through so much ******* drama for a toy. Just so some jackass can make a couple of extra dollars off of.

Im glad you got to get your Pete. I'll be getting mine online I think.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 30, 2005, 01:23 PM
Nice story, Pete. Stick it to the man!

Anychance you have the VOTC Vader? If so, could you compare it with the Chamber Vader? They look almost the same to me in pics...

Ok Diddly - here you go...

Accessory Differences:
The VOTC Vader came with a cape, lit lightsaber, and unlit lightsaber.

The 500th Vader comes with a cape, lit lightsaber and an interchangeable set of right hands - one right hand holds the saber, the other is the one the figure is shipped with - an open, relaxed hand that "rests" on his right knee when sitting in the chamber.

Articulation Differences:
The VOTC Vader features a ball joint neck, shoulders, and knees. Rotating joints for the elbows, articulation at the wrists, hips, wrists and waist.

The 500th Vader features ONLY ball joined knees. The neck and shoulders have reverted back to SW Standard rotation only joints. The elbows, hips and waist are all articulated the same.

Sculpting/Design Differences:
The two figures themselves are completely different pieces. I really couldn't tell that any VOTC parts had been reused on the 500th Vader figure. The closest items are his legs, which have been modified/re-tooled to offer Vader a wider stance in the 500th figure.

The torso, arms and head are all new, particularly because the head of course now features a partially removeable helmet and because how all of these pieces come together now with rotating joints instead of wide range of motion ball-like joints.

The belt looks the same, but is new, it does not feature a hole to insert an unlit lightsaber, probably because the figure doesn't come with one. This IMHO was a mistake, his lightsaber should be holstered while he is sitting in the chair.

The cape of the VOTC is supposedly removeable, but I have never tried to remove it. The cape of the 500th figure looks to be identical, but you can remove it - in fact it is not in the figure in the packaging, but folded into a square in a plastic bag underneath. The cape still suffers from the awkwardness of the silver cloth "chain" that doesn't hang right on the figure no matter what you do.

The shape and sculpt of the helmet on both figures differs - the 500th Vader head is wider and the removeable dome piece is shaped differently than with the VOTC version.

Both figures, as I mentioned, have that lousy rotating elbow joint which should have been replaced by the same type of joint used in the elbows of the SA Clonetrooper.

Final Thoughts:
For being the 500th figure, Hasbro presents a nice display piece. A piece that will display well either in or out of the packaging and they provide a protective shell for the packaging that even openers of their toys may want to keep simply because the plastic it's made out of is so sturdy.

If they were going to have this figure stand out from the VOTC version instead of decreasing the level of articulation they should have increased it. I would have started with the VOTC figure as a base, changed the head and then added ball jointed elbows and hips to provide the ultimately articulated Vader. The ball joint elbows on my SA Clonetroopers and ball joint hips on my AT-TE Gunner are sturdy and while they may cost a bit more since this figure wasn't going to be at the $5.99 price tag, if it means another $1, they should have taken this opportunity to add to the articulation.

Do I like the piece? Yep. I know it seems like I said more negative comments then positive ones, but as a stand-alone piece, not comparing it to the VOTC version, it's nice. It really only starts to loose it's appeal when you compare it to previously released items and then you start to wish they had done a bit more.

That's my thoughts on it. Now I just need to find a MIB one for my packaged collection!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DoctorPadawan on June 30, 2005, 01:41 PM
Pete, just another quick question about the loose presentation of Vader.  Does he sit well/steady in the seat of the chamber on his own, and how is he "held down" there, if at all?

I ask because I have the Complete Galaxy Vader and even though there is a footpeg on the base of that toy's chair, the figure is sculpted in such a way where he's sitting at an angle and doesn't appear all that steady.

Oh, and is the figure easy to replace in the packaging once you've opened it up?  I'm definitely going to open it, but the way it looks in the package is cool too, so I was wondering if it could be "stored and displayed" without any weirdness with seams in the packaging or rips/tears/dents/etc.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on June 30, 2005, 01:58 PM
Pete, just another quick question about the loose presentation of Vader.  Does he sit well/steady in the seat of the chamber on his own, and how is he "held down" there, if at all?

The figure sits REALLY well in the seat of the chamber. In fact the chair "pad" itself as been sculpted with "butt" and "thigh" indents, like you would see if you sat in a really cushy chair and then got up - a "mold" of your butt would be left behind. There is nothing that physically restrains or holds the figure down unless you have the helmet armiture at the lowest level - it does "click" into place there and since that means the helmet is fully on the figures head, that does serve to hold the figure in place. I found that even with the armiture all the way up though, the figure still sits nicely in the chair, doesn't wobble, lean or fall out of the chair.

Oh, and is the figure easy to replace in the packaging once you've opened it up?  I'm definitely going to open it, but the way it looks in the package is cool too, so I was wondering if it could be "stored and displayed" without any weirdness with seams in the packaging or rips/tears/dents/etc.

If you discount the base cardboard this piece can definitely be pseudo re-packaged after you open it. The outer shell plastic that forms the "top" of the chamber is REALLY thick and sturdy. So don't go cutting into it or anything - not only will you kill your hands, but you'll also ruin a really nice display piece.

In fact, the plastic shell is covering the piece on the top of my monitor at home right now - I don't have any intention on throwing away that piece of the packaging. Also since the figure comes with a "try me" type packaging the knob to raise and lower the armiture for the dome of the helmet is still accessible with the shell in place - so there's no loss to the motion of the helmet being raised or lowered.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on June 30, 2005, 03:04 PM
this is sounding really really cool, I will have to get one ;D
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Diddly on June 30, 2005, 08:32 PM
Thanks for the review Pete. Looks like I won't be playing with the Vader I'll be using the Vader as a display piece. ;D
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on June 30, 2005, 08:56 PM
Yeah, great review there Pete.  Feels like I've got one already, after reading that.  And I assume there's not a single mention on the packaging anywhere of exactly how Hasbro actually reached that magic 500 number, right? (forgive me if I missed that)

- M
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DoctorPadawan on June 30, 2005, 10:21 PM
Cool, thanks so much for clearing that up for me Pete; it is very appreciated.  I can't wait to find one of these now.  ;D

Have they started showing up at non-TRU retailers yet?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: SilverZ on June 30, 2005, 11:12 PM
Haven't heard of any other sightings around here except for online at kbtoys/etoys.

I ended up grabbing mine online since I'm otherwise caught up. I figure I've got a snowball's chance in hell of fighting off the employees and other collectors for the pitiful numbers these seem to be arriving in. Saves the time and frustration. I really don't need the stress.

And EE has them in now.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Pete_Fett on July 1, 2005, 10:28 AM
Yeah, great review there Pete.  Feels like I've got one already, after reading that.  And I assume there's not a single mention on the packaging anywhere of exactly how Hasbro actually reached that magic 500 number, right? (forgive me if I missed that)

- M

The packaging itself merely has a statement on the bottom of how this figure commemorates the 500th action figure produced by Hasbro and how iconic Darth Vader is. Blah blah blah. No effort whatsoever is made to illustrate how they arrived at the number 500 and what 499 figures came before this one.

So we're just going to have to take this for what it is - a nice display piece, with a pretty decent figure inside.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on July 1, 2005, 11:01 AM
Cool, thanks so much for clearing that up for me Pete; it is very appreciated. I can't wait to find one of these now. ;D

Have they started showing up at non-TRU retailers yet?

Still too early to find them at other chains, IMO.  They don't reset til the second week of July.

Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CHEWIE on July 8, 2005, 12:38 AM
Came home tonight from vacation, and my 500th Vader was waiting for me at the door.

Opened it (what a pain with the twisty ties) and it's a definite winner.  Not quite as good as the VOTC Vader (doesn't have ball jointed shoulders) but other than that, it's great. 

He has an extra right hand that can hold his lightsaber (other set of hands are to be resting on his knees in a relaxed position) and his cape is removable, and has an odd extra elastic piece to keep it on (but it's not really a bad thing).  His helmet piece though doesn't want to stay on the head too well.

When sitting down, this is one hell of a display piece.  I am happy with it and want to see a few more figures done in this fashion.

It is a little overpriced, but to get cool environments like the meditation chamber are worth it to me.

 :P
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: TheBlackDog on July 18, 2005, 07:23 PM
I picked one up today and am really thinking about taking the figure back. For $19 it just seems like it is way over priced. That and I have the Death Star Mediation Chamber with a similiar Vader that I think fulfills the need. I am really going to have to think about this. I have the 300th Fett, so I figured I'll get the 500th Vader, but I am thinking for the $20 I can hold on to it and get some rehashed/repointed clones (3 of them) instead of one figure. Thougths to help me deicide would be appreciated.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jesse James on July 19, 2005, 02:04 AM
I've seen him at KM and I can't bring myself to pick him up for their routinely over-inflated price.  $20 is highway robbery.  $16-$17 is just painful.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Gatillo on July 19, 2005, 10:33 AM
I'm going to pay $10 for it.  Either on sale, on clearance, on ebay, or somewhere else and if I never see it for 10 then I will not have it.

I think I can go on living without it.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CHEWIE on July 19, 2005, 11:06 AM
I paid about $20 for mine online.  I think it's worth it... just love finally having a meditation chamber.  Though I do think they should have made a real top for it.

 :P
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: jedipurge on July 19, 2005, 05:28 PM
blackdog where did you get yours?  chewie where'd you order yours?  all shelves are bare out in my neck of the woods unless you want an army of Bails'.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: TheBlackDog on July 19, 2005, 08:42 PM
Found mine at a Kmarrt here in Utah. I hid one for a friend who picked it up today. I am thinking about returning it for the Anakin 3 pack that I have hid (money is tight). IF I decide on that and IF you want it I would sell it at cost plus shipping, IF I decided to return it.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Ook on July 20, 2005, 10:46 AM
Found it at Kmart yesterday. They had two, both marked $7.99. Somebody forgot to add a 1 before the 7. Saved me 10 bucks! :)

money is tight

I know how that feels. If these weren't marked wrong, I wouldn't have gotten one. :-X
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: SpudTrooper on July 20, 2005, 01:54 PM
if anyone has any trouble finding this figure, go to your nearest KM, i've seen 3 500th at 3 Kmarts intact!!

i guess no one wants to pay 17.99 for it  >:(
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: speedermike on July 20, 2005, 02:27 PM
I saw them yesterday at KB also...didn't even look at the price.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Ook on July 20, 2005, 08:01 PM
Has anyone snapped a shot of their Evolution Vader sitting, unmasked, in the meditation chamber? I'd like to see that. I can't wait to get Anakin Evolution so I can stick Vader in there.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: TheBlackDog on July 20, 2005, 09:30 PM
Decided to keep the 500th Vader and the Anakin Evolutions (my 11 year old son WANTS the Anakin Evolutions bad!). Oh well, just money. I go back to teaching next month and will have about $200 - $300 out of pocket expenses for starting the year so that is why my spending/collecting money is tight.  I might have to sell some of the dups I have of the AT-TE Gunner and the SA Clone #41 to get the other clones coming out.
I did sell a green 3 pack (had 1 extra) so that will help.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DoctorPadawan on July 21, 2005, 01:21 PM
I found two Vaders sitting on the shelf of the local Wal-Mart earlier this morning.  I got one of them and a kid came by right behind me and took the other one.  The good news is that they rang up at 14.88, which is better than both TRU's and K-Mart's price.  So, I guess the watch is on for these at WM now.  :)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: ruiner on July 21, 2005, 01:52 PM
Great find DP!

I guess this means that WM's are finally starting to implement their resets!

$15 is much more palatable than the $17-20 reports from other stores...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DoctorPadawan on July 21, 2005, 07:33 PM
Well, after trying to figure it out for several weeks now (no, it hasn't been the only thing I've been doing), I think I may have nailed how Hasbro came to their magic "500" number with very little fudging on their part, but a lot on mine.  Here's a little backstory:

When the 300th Fett came out in 2001, the back of the package had a list of the 300 figures to that point.  The list included the figures from the Droids and Ewoks lines and its pre-300 ended with Plo Koon from the POTJ wave just before the Fett was released.  It was with that in mind that I started to modify 301-500, but I had to do something interesting to get it down that far.

First of all, I pissed all over Hasbro's list and removed the Droids and Ewoks figures.  I've never considered them a part of the basic action figures line, due to the stylistic differences, so they both went out the window, as did the Animated Clone Wars figures.  Given Hasbro's selective attention, I figured they wouldn't be above forgetting the Ewoks and Droids lines when coming up with 500 either.  :)

Now, on the 300th Fett packaging, Luke was 1, Carbonite Han was 100, Mara Jade was 200, and Fett was 300.  Since Hasbro counted Luke as 1, I went with that, but the ditching of the Ewoks and Droids figures brought Han out of 100, leaving it wide open for... the POTF2 version of Darth Vader.

Basically, figures 1 through 96 is the vintage line (with C-3P0 with Removable Limbs and R2-D2 with Periscope and R2-D2 with Lightsaber all included).  97 begins the POTF2 line with, again, Luke Skywalker, and after that it's in alphabetical order by wave.  Darth Vader is the third non-Luke figure in POTF2 alphabetically, so he's number 100.

Now, funnily enough, using this logic, figure number 200 is no longer Mara Jade, but...the POTF2 Flashback Anakin Skywalker.  Even in alphabetical order, it still wound up that way without any of my tinkering.

Which brings us to figure 300, which I kept as Boba Fett, but in doing so, I had to move the formerly 299 Plo Koon back a bit, and 299 is now the end of the Fan's Choice Ellors Madak wave, and that figure is Sabe.  Boba Fett still comes in a "break" in the sequence of basic action figures, but he comes a bit later in the game.

Strangely enough, we keep the Skywalker tradition going with figure number 400 who is, again, I'm not fudging things, Padme Amidala (Lars Homestead) from the 2004 Saga lineup.  At that point, things were just too eerie for me, but I pressed on nonetheless.  :)

And figure 500 is, of course, Darth Vader, but who was just before and who was just after him?  Figure 499 is the ROTS Destroyer Droid (figure number 44) and Figure 501 is the ROTS Tarkin (figure number 45). 

Now, as for what was and wasn't included:

Now Included:  R2-D2 with Sensorscope, R2-D2 with Lightsaber, C-3P0 with Removable Limbs (Vintage)

Not Included:  Variations of the Battle Droid (Episode I), Scout Trooper (POTJ), Battle Droid (Saga 2002), Rebel Fleet Trooper (Saga 2002), Imperial Officer (Saga 2002), any recard of a figure without major changes for any reason (e.g. 31 of the OTC line), the Droids and Ewok vintage lines, and the Animated Clone Wars lines.

Is it accurate?  Probably not, but it's the closest I could come after about 25 different tries to get things to match up.  If there is interest (and the mods don't mind the massive list), I'd be more than happy to post it here.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Diddly on July 21, 2005, 08:29 PM
Went looking for one at TRU today, and an employee looked in the back but came up empty. He told me to check their website for one. Little does he know that you can't order it on Amazon.

Now I'll have to check out Wal-Mart. I'm glad its cheaper there, as I don't want to give Philip Wise TRU any extra cash.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: bobafett14 on July 21, 2005, 08:41 PM
Love this figure, kind of dissapointed in clear packaging as mine is rather hazy, not quite a full clear package.  I like the small mechanism that lifts his helmet.

My Kmart had him at the $20 mark.  A little steep, I'm hoping to find one for $15 so I can take it back.  $15 is a good/reasonable price for this fig.  $20 a little steep.



Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: T16skyhopp on August 2, 2005, 08:46 PM
jsut picked him up. im an opener but his packaging is damn cool. is there a way to preserve the packaging so i can put him back in it?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: DoctorPadawan on August 2, 2005, 09:04 PM
Quote
is there a way to preserve the packaging so i can put him back in it?

Okay, this is going to be a long one, but it might be worth reading if you're an opener that can't bear to part with the actual packaging on this (like me).  There is a way to remove the figure and the top of the chamber from the packaging, but still leave the bottom half of the chamber attached to the cardboard base.  And since I'm such a nice guy, I'll tell you how to do it. :)

First of all, you'll want to cut the tape that holds the four corners of the cardboard base (henceforth referred to as "base") together.  Some of the tape might run off onto the bottom of the base, so be very careful when cutting the tape.  To be safe, only cut along the edge of the cardboard where the two sides meet and the tape overlaps. 

Once you have the tape cut, carefully pull the tabs, one by one, that hold the bottom of the base to the sides of the base.  The tabs are kind of like the ones that hold most boxes together nowadays (a tab in slot type of thing), but the cardboard on the base is not as strong as those boxes, so be very careful not to tear the tabs off completely.  There are two tabs on three sides, with the fourth side being hinged to the bottom and top of the base itself.

When you have the tabs out of the slots, you should now be able to open the bottom of the base on its hinge.  Looking at the inside of the base, you should be able to see a smaller cardboard square inside, with a baggie that holds the cape, lightsaber, and extra hand.  Get the bag out of the way.  There will be two twist ties along with plastic guides that hold the meditation chamber itself in the packaging.  Carefully untwist these ties (DO NOT REMOVE THEM FROM THE CHAMBER AS YOU WILL NEED THEM LATER), and gently pull the shell and the chamber from the cardboard base, being careful not to rip the cardboard when you do so.

Once you have the chamber itself off the base, you can turn the chamber upside-down.  The shell and bottom of the chamber are held together by several (smaller) twist ties like the ones that hold the chamber to the cardboard base.  Gently untwist these ties as well and straighten them out as best you can.  Once you have them all loosened, go along the outside of the shell/chamber top and lightly pull on the twist ties and they should easily come out of the shell and you can pull them through the chamber. 

This takes the clear shell off the chamber itself.  The next step is to remove Vader.  On the bottom of the chamber, there is a twist-tie in the very center (note: the two twist ties that hold the chamber onto the cardboard base should still be visible; do not remove these; again, you will need them later).  Untie the center twist tie and straighten it out as best you can.  Turn the chamber right side up again, and carefully pull the twist tie (and Vader if it's easier for you that way) and remove them from the chair.  Vader has a small clear plastic piece that holds him on the chair, but you can discard that.

Now, you should be looking at just the meditation chamber itself with the two twist-ties (making for four ends of twist-tie) on the bottom.  At this point, you reattach the chamber to the cardboard base.  Carefully reinsert the four ends of the two twist ties through their original holes in the cardboard base.  Once the ties are through, you can replace the black plastic guides (the little pieces with all the holes in them that hold the twist ties on the cardboard) and tie them back.  The twist ties are now once again secured to the cardboard base and the chamber.  This will keep the chamber from sliding around once you put the clear shell back on.  Carefully reinsert the tabs on the cardboard base into their respective slots, and there you go.

Okay, now that that is taken care of, you can put Vader back in the chair of the chamber.  There are foot pegs on either side of the chair which (thanks to his great leg articulation) Vader can fit on securely.  As described earlier in this thread, there is a butt imprint on the chair so Vader can stay seated there in addition to the footpegs.  Position Vader however you like him, seated in the chamber, and adjust it if it's off kilter so you can lower the helmet on him without difficulty.

The last thing is, of course, the clear shell, which slides securely back onto the base and the chamber.  Oh, and the little peg that raises/lowers the helmet armature can be rotated 360 degrees, so you won't scuff or mark up the shell when you put it back on.  Personally, I keep the accessories in their original baggie and store them inside the "hollow square" inside the cardboard base, but you can keep them out if you like. 

Now, after about 10 minutes of careful work, you can have all the fun of the 500th Vader loose, while maintaining the cool packaging that makes him look so special.  :)

Hope this helps you and everyone else out!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: T16skyhopp on August 2, 2005, 11:12 PM
thanks a bunch! ^_^
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on August 12, 2005, 01:27 AM
I  finally got one yesterday and will probably leave him in the package. I'd like to see him   without the top piece but we'll see. Got him at TRU for $16.99
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Brian on August 12, 2005, 01:51 PM
I don't know if a lot of people are still looking, but I did notice that Amazon has the 500th Vader (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007A2H0Y/wwwjedidefend-20) in stock, $16.99 (plus shipping).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: CloneF13Y35 on August 15, 2005, 11:23 PM
saw 3 at wallyworld for $14.99  >:( :'(
I probable should ask tru to price match or refund but i know I won't bother with it
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: tonphanan on July 9, 2006, 12:07 AM
He's big, He's bad, he's been re-released more times that I can count and at my Super Target today, yes today, The commemorative 500th Vader sits in the new reset for $15. So if you missed it the first time, and didnt get it in the numerous repacks check your local stores for the original.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jesse James on July 9, 2006, 02:54 AM
Wow I haven't seen one at Target in ages.  I wonder if that means he's reshipping for the reset?  That's nutty.

Considering how manyb asic Vaders sit and fester at retail I question the 500th making a reappearance.  It's a nice display piece but really who doesn't have one at this point that needs it?
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Ook on July 10, 2006, 07:57 PM
I saw one a couple weeks ago for about $9. Don't remember which store.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Diddly on July 12, 2006, 06:38 PM
I also saw the dreaded "Pyramid of 500th Vaders" return at Target. This is really crazy since this particular Target is waist deep in both Hoth wave and Tatooine wave Vaders. Looks like they're selling 3 variants of the same Vader now.

Also, the price was $14.99... never going to sell at that price... just like last year.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Gatillo on July 12, 2006, 11:14 PM
I have to admit that the Vader presence at my local Targets is also very frustating.  Right now they have several Hoth and Bespin Vaders.  At least they do not have any 500th Vaders.  What takes the cake is that I have yet to buy and open this bad boy in any of his incarnations. ::)
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JediMAC on July 13, 2006, 07:16 PM
...and at my Super Target today, yes today, The commemorative 500th Vader sits in the new reset for $15. So if you missed it the first time, and didnt get it in the numerous repacks check your local stores for the original.

Yeah, I saw about 8 of these suddenly re-emerge at my local Target store a week or so ago, full price, and with no shelf tags and everything.  Very strange...  Even more strange is that they seem to have sold through pretty quickly.  Haven't seen anymore since, so I'm wondering if Hasbro, or Target, found a couple lost pallets full of 500th Vader cases recently or something?  Oh well, good riddance, again, hopefully...
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: tonphanan on August 14, 2006, 12:16 PM
Vader is on clearance..again... at Target for 10 and some change they only had one on the shelf.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Darth_Anton on August 16, 2006, 10:05 AM
There's been one on clearance at my local Target for a few weeks now.
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JangoTat on December 9, 2006, 08:40 PM
got one for $3.99. clearance at winners lmao
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: tonphanan on April 26, 2007, 08:51 PM
From the dark depths of Wal-marts stockroom comes the figure that haunts the pegs to this day. On an endcap was a case worth of 500th Vaders. Yes the Vader with the dome the Vader that has been clearenced out and repacked in more ways since the Commtech Han. They were dusty and they were $15. Will this figure ever go away, evidently not any time soon
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: Jabba the Slug on June 29, 2010, 01:31 AM
I know it's been AWHILE(!!!) since the debut of 500th Figure Vader (which, to this day, in 2010 has seen countless repacks), I joined the boards in 2009, and I would very much like to post my story as to when I got my figure.

I was 10 (or 11?;D) when 2005 hit and so did 500th Figure Vader, and I remember going into a video store and seeing a whole stand dedicated to these Vaders. Now, there were at least 2 Targets and 1 Toys R Us in the same area around that same time in 2005 (that Toys R Us has since closed down :(), and I remember that I had NEVER seen them at those 3 stores. This being in the day when I had no computer access, I didn't even know this Vader existed! When I first saw it in November (around that time), I begged my mom and dad to buy it for me, but it was pretty expensive - this place sold it for like $24!

But when Christmas came, guess what Santa (;)) had left for me? 500th Vader! I was so excited - I had gotten both this and a "Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide", which was also preeetty pricey. That was an insanely happy, memorable Christmas!      
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: morrison2951 on July 13, 2010, 10:17 AM
I removed the cardboard base from my 500th Vader and it is a really cool display piece with the cloudy globe removed.  I've never been able to find one that had a clear globe to this date.   
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on July 14, 2010, 12:06 AM
I've still got mine in its packaging, but would like to have a second one so I can remove that cloudy cover you mention.  I'm sure it would look pretty sharp.

BTW, welcome to the forums!
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: morrison2951 on July 14, 2010, 08:11 AM
Thanks Jesse!  Long time lurker and finally got around to registering.  Through the years I've acquired a pretty good POTF2 carded collection mostly.   
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: JesseVader08 on July 14, 2010, 04:18 PM
Through the years I've acquired a pretty good POTF2 carded collection mostly.   

You are a rare breed my friend!  There aren't many fans left of the POTF2 line (though I'm happy to say it's still one of my favourites, likely due to the nostalgia associated with the return of Star Wars figures to stores  :)).
Title: Re: 500th commemorative figure... Vader?
Post by: morrison2951 on July 15, 2010, 03:12 PM
Yep-  I still remember chasing after all the POTF2 variants- long sabers, open and closed hand Han, half-circle Fett, brown vest Luke, etc.  I've got them all and although they may not be worth that much now, the memories of the chase still remain!  Who knows, someday their prices may surge!