It SOOoooooo deserves to pass TPM that it's not even funny.  I think I'd be happy with that milestone.  Titanic just seems like it's an unattainable goal for this film...  I think the lackluster performances of AOTC and TPM (as far as public opinion goes) really hurt ROTS's chances...  People sour on a franchise and I think a lot soured on Star Wars after 1999 passed us by.

These actually are something I've never seen in a store, but that doesn't surprise me really...  From what I heard only one WM or maybe two in the area, got this set at all.  Pmundheim was kind enough to hook me up with the set I got.

I'm not wild about the set either...  I agree.  For $30, the price you're paying is for something I'd rather have the actual vintage piece for (no matter the price) than a copy.  It's not the same, and $30 then just strikes me as overpriced...

To me, that's making the argument that "Well $30 is better than what you'd pay for an original" is as ass backwards an excuse as "Well the EE Clones are cheaper than buying the CW single Clones on Ebay!" excuse was for the 4-packs...

Yeah, CW SA Clones are not cheap on Ebay, but how does that have any effect on the pricing of newly packaged/distributed figures, ya know?  But I digress.

The figures are kinda blah...  I'm happy to get the Leia, and to me the Chewbacca is the highlight of the set overall (He's ANH Chewie and ESB Chewie...  And with the VOTC Chewie I'm pretty well set).  Luke looks like **** to me, I'm sorry...  To me, that was a gimmick best left dead...  Anakin Outland didn't do well with it, and while it's a vintage throwback, it's nothing I find interesting to own on a modern figure (again, if I want authentic vintage, I'll buy vintage).  R2...  Not something I needed another one of unless it had the tools...  Even then I'm not one to want another R2 for a bit.

I'm not mad about the set...  It just wasn't good.  To me, the SA Clone from Target was better...  It's overpriced too, so it's not perfect, but at least it's a SA Clone.  Hell, he even has both rifles!  That's better than the basic SA Clone's have been able to pull off.

Astromech Droids are taken to new heights by Hasbro with this latest rendition of the little buggers...  R4-G9 (Sneak Preview) proves that Hasbro can do articulation, features, and accessories all in one little droid, and with little to no drawbacks really!


Yup, Hasbro actually improved what I thought they had pretty much perfected...  Astromechs!  R4-G9 has the aspects I like in these droids though, and which Hasbro has proven works...  Articulation.  But Hasbro also incorporated the a neat method to make the 3rd leg retract and extend by twisting the dome, the lightpipe is better than ever, and he's got an accessory that's sort of innovative...  But how does he measure up overall as a figure?

Well, short of him having more accessories (something all astro's could use to spice them up a bit), he really is quite nice, but just Click Right Here to check out the full review, and as always, share your thoughts on him if you'd like.

He's a must-have for any collection though, in this reviewer's opinion.    I'd buy astromech droid repaints with every wave of figures that came out I think!

I don't know if they were "loaned" though...  I don't recall the game saying that, but rather that they were just the base's collection of pursuit/patrol craft incase of a breakout attempt.

I was thinking that the E3 video game sorta touched on where this scene may have been...  Anyone know that?

For a little background on the ship (the background that I know anyway), the ship was stolen by Jango Fett from a penal colony/planet (ala Kessel) set within an asteroid.  The story pops up in "Bounty Hunter" the video game for Gamecube and PS2. 

There are other Slave I's there and he does destroy them but for fear of pursuit.  I believe I've heard the notion that his is the only Firespray Attack Ship, but other EU contradicts that and the Firesprays are not overly common, but there's more than one.  X-Wing: Alliance for instance features a Firespray in it prominently (a character in the game that is a relation to the character you play has a Firespray as his personal ship for instance).

The paintjob, actually, is exactly as it appears in Episode II (Not to rain on your custom idea...  By all means, it sounds great so I say go with what you want to do).  The color pattern to it in AOTC is that of a Republic "Police" ship (or Republic Standing Military perhaps) which is what it basically is I guess...  Jango just hasn't painted it up yet.  And of course Boba paints his to match his armor.

The planet's dreary, but it's still a Republic controlled instillation so there's an element of military "cleanliness" as well.  It's a great game with the full story that explains Jango's background and how he came to be the choice for cloning....  I recommend playing through it entirely just for the storyline.

EDIT:

BTW, Airbrushing sounds fantastic...  I'm curious to see how the paintjob turns out then...  For insignias, I'd almost lean away from painting (if you're using sorta "known" emblems like the Imperial one or anything like that), and instead print the insignia (often can be found online somewhere) out on sticker paper, or water transfer decal paper...  That way the painting detail is minimized a bit.  Kill markers would be really neat on it too I think (just a thought).

Holy Macarole Matt!

Within an hour of me, I can hit maybe 5 Targets...  That's total.  I'd have to go 5 different directions to hit each.  Not that shopping is bad around here, it's just spaced out.  No wonder you guys find this stuff first.