My latest project has been a five-story "playset" Death Star. I'm building it in a modular frame of mind, and I've recently completed the bottom level, which contains the trash compactor and the blast chamber (the only diorama version of it I've heard of.)

First up, here are pictures of the blast chamber:







I used an old CD for the end of the chamber to create a sort of "lasery" effect in the reflection. I found halfway through building that using the dark steel grey color made the whole thing too dark, so I fudged the color a little bit to brighten it up. The interior is constructed of those little craft foamies, which were the easiest way to get it all to fold up into a tube.

Nope, no solid cases in the US, and what really burns us is the fact that most new "waves" have only one or two new figures in them, with the rest being previous releases.

POTJ's biggest figure year (2001) saw about 35 new figures released. Things were slightly bumpy then availability-wise (as it has to be in non-movie years), but what really helped out was the fact that each wave featured four brand-new figures. The classic POTJ pegwarmers (Bespin Guard, Duros, Ketwol) were the result of them being carried over for a second wave.

In all honesty, I look to really see 2003 product start hitting in fall 2004, much the same way the tail end of Episode I/POTF2 hit at clearance prices at the end of 2000. There is just too much '02 backlog in the warehouses.

Maybe I'm just Hasbro-weary (as opposed to world-weary) but I keep flashing back on the sudden death of POTF2 as it tried to coexist with the Episode I glut. Both lines died because of that mess. Splitting Clone Wars and Saga by assortment might very well kill the both of them.

If there's going to be any kind of Star Wars push this year by the retailers, I have to believe it will be focused on Clone Wars,  which will set Saga even further along the wayside than it already is. I can't see both lines getting equal attention, unless the attention is so low that nobody cares either way and CW is forced into the same space Saga has at the stores now.

Either way, I sense harrowing times ahead for Saga in '04.

Whose to say the name Skywalker isn't any more common than, say, Williams or Smith or Chin?

Hmmmmm...what about Yoda's dying words: "There is another Sky...walk...errrrrrrrrr**"?

If it was the most common name in the galaxy, wouldn't Luke's response have been, "Of course there is. There's old Greedo Skywalker, and Boba Skywalker, and Deak Skywalker, and that's just from Kindergarden!" instead of, "Gosh, that must mean I have a relative!"

And as far as Luke's application, even giving you the possibility that Skywalker is a common name, definitely the return address "Luke Skywalker, Lars Farm, Tatooine" would raise a few red flags Vader would notice.

The stormtrooper, who many of you know has knee articulation, can be posed perfectly with the E-WEB tripod cannon. I can't believe this wasn't brought up in any of the reviews on the collecting sites.

I completely agree with you, Lando--it was one of the many positives I pointed out in my own review. Some people look for movie authenticity above everything else, I guess...

I can't get over how much I enjoy this set, nor can I get over how clear Hasbro's thinking was on this one. I look at it like this--the ATST Driver and R4-I9 are both strong enough figures they could've been released on their own cards and I would've eaten them up. This is the way Hasbro needs to handle all rehashes--with creativity and style--using the best molds they have to conjure up new figures. If they could do it here, why not with the (very similar) upcoming Rebel Technician?

As for appropriate accessories, I can see both sides. Would I have loved, say, an old POTF2 Probot instead of the POTF2 Cannon? Sure, but twenty bucks for four different figures is as good a deal as your going to find, so accessories are just gravy to me.

Well, just imagine if Owen had let Luke "transmit his application to the Academy." I wonder if Vader would review the names of the new applicants?

Once again, I think the idea to not hide Luke's identity could have blown up in Obi-Wan's face. (Say, right about the time the Imperial Fleet showed up to collect Vader Jr.)

I just checked, and my Nexu is fine, though to be truthful my nephew did get a lot of play out of him before he went on permanent display; that "toy gods" theory might be right!

Your story was awfully familiar to me though, Jesse. A few years ago in the process of moving I was packing up all my POTF2 that had been on display since I'd gotten 'em. Lo and behold, when I picked up Monkey-Face Leia, her back had shattered and the figure fell apart through the torso. No playing with it, no touching for nearly 3 years, then <pffffffft!>

Yeah, Snively, I think you're right about Luke's "date with destiny:" I think Obi-Wan decided Luke was the only weapon left to undo Vader, (whether by turning him back or out-and-out killing him) and that's why the Skywalker name remained intact.

Otherwise, it would have been too easy to change it to "Luke Lars" or whatever. Luke remained a Skywalker as a goad and challenge to Vader.

(And I don't think Yoda was in on Ben's plan, myself--he seems far too reluctant to train Luke.)