Vintage Collection Darth Vader (VC-93)

For me and my collecting, I really just don’t need a ton of any one character. It really depends; certain characters like Luke, Leia and Han wore a bunch of interesting costumes, so that’s different. But characters like Darth Vader who for most of the films looked practically the same, I really only need one good version of.

Naturally, this isn’t the best Darth Vader that will ever be made, nor is it the worst. It’s a good toy that fits my needs as far as Darth Vader goes. His cape is a little on the simple side, and he doesn’t feature an unlit light-saber, but that kind of stuff can easily be overlooked for other reasons. The ball-jointed hips he features adds so much more, and on a figure that needs those dynamic, dueling poses it goes a long way. The sculpt and details are also really good on this one, and that coupled with the articulation is really what made this figure worth getting.

Still though, at the end of the day it’s just another Darth Vader figure among so many. The new Black Series figure looks pretty good from what I’ve seen of it, but with this figure I definitely don’t need it. They’re both good in their own ways, so are some of the older Vaders, but again, one good Darth Vader is all I need. It’s not got anything to do with Darth Vader himself, it’s just that collecting as a hobby gets very dull once you’re in the cycle of buying the same thing over and over again.

TVC Widdle and Wunka

Last year was a big year for the Ewoks, with around eight new bears. For a fan of the little guys this was a pretty good thing, although the exclusive nature of many of these was a small frustration. In the case of Widdle and Wunka, they were K-mart exclusives. Now, my last K-mart closed just before these were released leaving me no option to get them myself. Thankfully a good friend helped me get both of these K-mart sets.

Starting with Wunka, he features a new head, new hood, and new weapon. I like the look of this one, the teal/green hood helps him stand out among the other Ewoks. His head is the source of criticism from some fans that dislike his cartoonish face, that has bigger eyes and more stylized teeth than the other Ewoks. I tend to not mind this, but I do see how it might irritate some. His axe is a nice weapon too, and is a nice change from the typical spear.

Widdle is the orange bear in the set. This is a nice color for an Ewok given their usual shades of gray. Widdle’s hood and club are new, but his head is reused from Leektar in this case. There’s enough of the modern Ewoks that this head reuse can be forgiven as it’s not really noticeable. A club also seems like a pretty strange weapon, but again, I like it for being different.

In ROTJ, Widdle and Wunka are the two Ewoks that help Chewbacca hijack an AT-ST. This was a pretty cool scene in my eyes, so it’s nice to finally own these two in action figure form.

TVC Wicket

Thought I’d introduce the Ewoks to the blog, and there’s no better place to start than with good old Wicket! Ewoks are a part of Star Wars I’ve always had a fondness for; they’re cute, and well contained mostly to one part of the story.

The Vintage Collection’s take on Wicket is highly impressive for a figure of this size. He’s got a lot of movement, though not as much as Logray, and comes with a cool extra hood as well. The hood is the green one he wore in the Ewoks cartoon, which was a clever pack-in on Hasbro’s part.

Star Wars toys of today are highly impressive to me most of the time, but for the quality they provide they are priced to match. This is the problem with Wicket here. Sadly, it feels hard sometimes to pay $10 for such a small figure that still doesn’t come with much, even as a collector. Although Wicket is a must have for someone like me, the prices of figures today makes me feel very choosey.

Prices aside, Hasbro’s done a great job with the modern Ewok figures, and I’m just glad they’re making as many as they are.

Modern Snow Troopers

From hot to cold and old to new, or newer at any rate. When I started back to collecting Star Wars figures this dude was one of the first I sought out, and I’m glad I did since it’s a rather righteous figure. As mentioned I’m a big fan of cold climates, so of course a modern update of the Empire’s infantry on Hoth holds some appeal with me.

There’s something cool about the bellowing look of this guy, I think the fabric coat/skirt they gave him really goes well with that. Under his helmet is a clone head which I’m not a big fan of, but I also don’t believe there’s any need for me to take his helmet off so no biggie. This mold is also the newest and most articulated version of this character, so he can do all he needs to kick some rebel butt.