THE GRUMPY OLD TOY COLLECTOR PRESENTS: THE BEST/WORST STAR WARS TOYS OF 2010

2010 was a year of ... um, well, it was a year. Kinda like any other year, really. Didn’t seem to suck any more or any less than the one before it, as far as I could tell. But, like most years, there was a butt-load of Star Wars stuff hurled out for us collectors to blow what little discretionary income we had. Now, I don’t get everything that comes out, even in the Hasbro lines, let alone the Sideshow Collectibles 12-inchers and quarter-scale stuff or the Gentle Giant statues, busts, etc. So, I’ve enlisted the opinions of some of the other BanthaSkull members (a.k.a. The Usual Gang of Idiots) to spout off on the crap I don’t buy. (They’ll be identified by screen names throughout the article, so you can bitch and whine at them if you disagree with their brain-droppings.) Now, on to the show!

Hasbro Action Figures
2010 saw the end of The Legacy Collection, featuring the Build-A-Droid pack-ins. Although a lot of people didn’t see some of the final waves at retail until after the first of the year, the only wave released in 2010 was the last official wave in the line, The Expanded Universe wave. That wave caused more heart attacks and strokes amongst collectors, as the geniuses at Hasbro released it as a Toys “R” Us-exclusive that, later, went to various e-tailers at obscenely high prices. As much of a headache as it was to get these figures--especially if you didn’t live near a TRU--they were some pretty awesome characters: “The Force Unleashed” Shaak Ti, K’kruhk, Phase I Darktrooper, “Heir to the Empire” Spacetrooper, Jacen and Jaina Solo, and the Bespin Wing Guard II variant figure. So, I’m giving it the Best Legacy Collection Wave Award, since it was the only damn wave we got! By the same token, it also gets the Worst Legacy Collection Wave Award, for being too damned hard to find! I shouldn’t have to track down my toys like a missing twin, damnit. As to Best Legacy Collection Figure, well, I gotta go with “The Force Unleashed” Shaak Ti. Not only a solid representation of the character, but a hot chick figure, to boot. Phase I Darktrooper gets the Worst Legacy Collection Figure dishonors, mainly because it looked like some reject from the LEGO Bionicles drawing board. It just didn’t feel like a Star Wars toy, y’know?

Then, we got the start of The Vintage Collection last year. This is the one that was causing instantaneous spoogefests all around the interwebnets, because jackamoes that weren’t even born when the original Kenner vintage lines were released suddenly felt as if their lives had validity because they were now going to have vintage figures of their own ... even though the sculpts are modern-style. Three waves were released in 2010, The Empire Strikes Back, Revenge of the Sith, and Return of the Jedi. Each wave consisted of new figures, as well as retooled versions of old figures. For Best All-New Sculpt Vintage Collection Figure, I’m gonna give a shout out to the main Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. That bad boy might have had some questionable softgoods going on, but that wild, open-mouthed facial sculpt and the plastic hood covering his head really captured the spirit of this character. Plus, at last, everyone screaming for a Senate Duel Palpatine could shut up! Best Re-Tooled Vintage Collection Figure goes to Clone Commander Cody, because they finally fixed that damn belt. Worst All-New Sculpt Vintage Collection Figure goes to Bespin Cloud Car Pilot, only because it’s a boring design. It’s actually a decent figure, but I don’t think we ever even saw these guys outside of the Twin-Pod Cloud Cars, did we? Worst Re-Tooled Vintage Collection Figure goes to Hoth Han, because, seriously, how many versions of this figure do we freakin’ need? As forums member sleazy_pancakes pointed out, a new Bespin Han would’ve been the better choice.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars continues to irk as many fans as it entertains, but the figures based on the Cartoon Network series are pretty decent, for the most part. Gotta admit, I’m not a fan of this Galactic Battle Card Game pack-in thing they came up with for the new packaging, though. It just screams, “The ‘90s called, and they want this idea back!” The figure stands they come with, though, are “a good thing,” as Martha Stewart used to say. I tend to judge The Clone Wars figures by how much they hold my interest, apart from their appearances in the cartoon series. If I keep it out on display months after its release, then it’s a good figure. If I put it in storage almost immediately after I get it, then it’s just “Meh.” So, with that in mind, the Best Clone Wars Figure Award goes to Quinlan Vos. As much as I hated the way he was depicted in his one episode (so far), the figure itself is pretty damn cool! It’s actually better than any of the Vos figures released in the Comic Packs in the past several years. That speederboard thing is a little too X-Games for my tastes, but it makes for a cool figure stand. Since getting this figure, it’s been out on the display shelf continuously. Worst Clone Wars Figure Award goes to R4-P17. It’s just another repaint of the R2-D2 from 2008. Yawn. With the exception of the TRU-exclusive Speeder Bike with Biker Scout, all the “Deluxe Figures” have been from The Clone Wars. And, I’ve gotta admit, these things just leave me cold. But, there are some pretty decent ones, and the Best Deluxe Figure Set Award winner is Obi-Wan Kenobi & BARC Speeder with Sidecar. Hey, if you’re gonna have a Speeder, why not have a Sidecar, too? Worst Deluxe Figure Set goes to Anakin Skywalker & Naboo Star Skiff. First time I saw this, I thought of those idiotic POTF2 “Deluxe Figures” from the 1990s, like Crowd Control Stormtrooper.

Now comes all the weird sublines, like retailer exclusives, Comic Packs, Battle Packs, and anything else that wasn’t a single-carded, non-exclusive figure in the main lines. (I’m not including Saga Legends, because they’re just straight re-releases of old figues, so, eff ‘em!) We’ll start with the Comic Packs. This was a great idea for introducing Expanded Universe figures into the toy line that might not otherwise have enough support to be produced in the regular toy line. But, with the costs rising and retailer support dwindling, the year ended with the news that the last four Comic Packs would be relegated to Entertainment Earth exclusives. The previous Wal-Mart exclusive sets in 2010 were pretty lame, and I was never a fan of the Marvel Star Wars Comic Packs, because they tended towards garrish, candy-colored repaints of previously released figures. So, the Best Comic Packs Award goes to Star Wars: Legacy #7, Deliah Blue and Darth Nihl. It features my two favorite types of characters: Sith Lords and hot chicks! Really, all four sets in the final, EE-exclusive wave were solid wins. Worst Comic Packs Award goes to Star Wars Tales #4, IG-97 and Rom Moch, a Wal-Mart exclusive that featured two of the worst kit-bashed figures to come down the pike in awhile.

Retailer exclusives were a mixed bag this year. The one that easily impressed the most and wins the Best Retailer Exclusive Award goes to Toys “R” Us’ Kul Teska. This gigantic hunk of plastic depicting a Skakoan mad scientist from the videogame Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes was not only impressive for its shear size, but was just an overall cool design. Conversely, TRU’s Nikto Guard gets Worst Retailer Exclusive. Originally intended as a pack-in with the Jabba’s Palace Battle Pack from 2008, it was pulled to cut costs. This afterthought of a figure is no way worth the $10.99 TRU had the nerve to charge for it.

There were only two mail-in exclusive offers last year, but only one can be Best Mail-In Exclusive, and that’s The Clone Wars’ Sergeant Bric & Battle Mat. The Battle Mat is useless, frankly, but the figure is pretty sweet. Worst Mail-In Exclusive goes to Rocket Firing Boba Fett, and how I wish it weren’t so! But, I honestly think this figure was a great concept that was executed miserably. Once you actually open it up and take it out of the package, you instantly wish you hadn’t. Not only is the rocket-firing feature lame, but it can’t hold its blaster in its hands.

There were several Convention Exclusives last year, and Best Convention Exclusive is a tie between the Bounty Hunters Convention 2-Pack (4-LOM & Zuckuss) from Jedi-Con and Celebration V, and San Diego Comic-Con’s Star Wars: Visionaries Comic Packs, with Darth Maul and Owen Lars. Both exclusives gave fans something they’d been wanting and that really celebrated Star Wars. Hasbro must’ve added the Bounty Hunters 2-Pack to Celebration V to make up for the Worst Convention Exclusive, the Star Wars: Empire #8 Comic Packs with Camie & Fixer. It’s really hard to explain how yawn-inspiring this set turned out to be, so I won’t bother trying.

Battle Packs just aren’t my thing anymore. When they first came out, I picked up quite a few. But, since they mostly feature repacks of figures, I just don’t bother. Most of them in 2010 were centered around The Clone Wars, and the only one I bought was the ARC Troopers set, instantly giving it the Best Battle Pack Award. (The Mandalorian Warriors came in a very close second, though.) The Battle Packs in 2010 were uniformly pretty decent, but if one must be awarded Worst Battle Pack (and one must), then it has to be The Legacy Collection’s Birth of Darth Vader. Repacking 2005’s Deluxe Darth Vader, Darth Vader’s Medical Droid, and 2008’s 2-1B Medical Droid just screams “recycling old crap.”

There were some Deluxe Battle Packs in 2010, and I avoid those things because I just don’t have the storage room for them. So, according to those that contributed opinions, Greg gives the Target-exclusive Attack on Hoth set the Best Deluxe Battle Pack Award, based on its “Chicken walker with three figures. New AT-ST driver. For $40. It’s awesome.” Toys “R” Us-exclusive Rise of Boba Fett gets the Worst Deluxe Battle Pack Award, because it’s “Overpriced, with exclusive items. Slave 1 should’ve been sold with Bossk and Boba for $40-$50, and the rest of the set should’ve been scrapped. Definitely a weak value compared to the Hoth sets at Target.” BIGJIM agreed with these assessments and, based on the pictures I saw of these sets, I’m standing behind them.

I collect very few of the Hasbro Vehicles. Again, it’s an issue of space. But, the hands-down favorite of just about everyone in 2010 was the new AT-AT. Easily the Best Vehicle since the Big Millennium Falcon, and Greg says, “Lots of features, and an awesome way to display and transport your army of Snowtroopers. I personally like it better than the [Big Millennium Falcon]. It might be the best Hasbro toy ever.” Worst Vehicle seems to be a tie between the all-new Clone Swamp Speeder ("a glorified Speeder Bike” that feels like something from 2005, says Greg) and the Wal-Mart exclusive TIE Bomber (over-priced considering there’s no pilot included, says sleazy_pancakes).

Star Wars Transformers ... I really thought these things would tank, but they’re still going strong. Our resident expert on these things, Skippy1972, has decreed the Best SW Transformer to be Anakin Skywalker to The Twilight. “It looks fantastic in both modes, lots of cool little surprises with this one. Love how R2-D2 becomes an engine.” As for Worst SW Transformer, he says it’s Ahsoka Tano to Jedi Starfighter. “It just looks rather retarded. Skinny little arms and legs, and a big torso.”

And just so Galactic Heroes collectors don’t feel left out, Duke scoped out the year’s worth of oh-so-cutesy crap for little kids and decided that the Best Galactic Heroes Award goes to the GH AT-AT ("f**ing hilarious"). Worst Galactic Heroes Award goes to “Cinema Scenes, any of them. For too long they’ve been packing a single new figure in a multi-pack, forcing you to buy it for the one new figure.” Yup, I hate that crap, too ... especially when they do it with Battle Packs.

Role Playing toys might be mostly aimed at the kiddies, as collectors tend to go for the high end stuff when it comes to lightsabers and blasters. Still, the new Darth Vader Electronic Lightsaber gets Best Role Play Toy, based on the new, scaled-down hilt. In fact, all the new electronic lightsabers have hilts that are closer in size to the actual props, and hopefully we’ll see some new ones soon, like Darth Sidious’ Revenge of the Sith lightsaber and, for the kids, Ahsoka Tano’s lightsaber. Worst Role Play Toy easily goes to the new Boba Fett Blaster. I know these things have to be painted so they can’t be mistaken for real weapons, but yikes! This thing looks like it was painted by color-blind circus clowns!

Sideshow Collectibles
Now, on to the high end stuff. Sideshow Collectibles took over the 12” figures from Hasbro not long after Revenge of the Sith came out. In 2010, they produced ten new figures: Phase I Clone Trooper, Phase I Clone Lieutenant (SDCC exclusive), 501st Clone Trooper, Corescant Clone Trooper, Sandtrooper Squad Leader, Sandtrooper Corporal, Blackhole Stormtrooper, Greedo, Emperor Palpatine, and Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker. Our experts, Jack_Victory and Lord_Scumbag, couldn’t agree on a clear winner or loser in this catagory. So, based on comments they both made, I’m awarding Emperor Palpatine Best Sideshow 12” Figure. Judging by the pictures I’ve seen of it, it’s probably the only figure out the ten I’d have even considered buying. There was one figure that neither of them even bothered commenting on, so it gets Worst Sideshow 12” Figure, and that’s Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker. The indifference towards it was deafening, really.

Sideshow’s Premium Format quarter-scale figures are big bastards, literally. These large, museum-quality statues have been wowing collectors since their debut. This year, the Best Premium Format Award goes to the Yoda and 501st Clone. “This iconic piece will be a collector’s centerpiece for years to come. It captured an amazing scene to a T. The detail accuracy to the clone is definitely Premium-worthy, from the armor to the weathering. A rare moment with Yoda dropping the proverbial hammer on someone is now captured perfectly forever. The light up feature works well enough to illuminate Yoda’s lightsaber all the way through the clone,” says Jack. Worst Premium Format Award goes to an icon of the Saga, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. “They did a great [Mark] Hamill likeness, I just don’t care for the pose at all. I would have wanted to see something either pensive with full Jedi robes, or something very intense and dynamic from the Death Star II duel with Vader. We got neither ... just a very base action pose, where Luke is doing nothing of consequence. Again, the sculpt and costume are what you would expect from this line - amazing - but the pose falls flat.”

Gentle Giant
Gentle Giant has been doing statues and busts for quite awhile now. At one time considered one of the best manufactures of high-end collectibles, the bloom seems to be off the rose in 2010. Product delays and quality control issues seemed to be a theme last year. However, they did get some things right. Their 1/6-scale Ralph McQuarrie Concept Darth Vader gets the Best Bust Award. “GG really gave us bang for our buck here,” Jack opines. “Not only was the pose dynamic, but they went the extra mile by giving us all three concept heads to swap in and out on the bust. Their paint apps were superb on this, as well.” Worst Bust Award goes to the Slave Leia Mini-Bust. “This bust debuted with an amazing life-like sculpt. It was even better than the Slave Leia 1/6 statue they put out a few years back, and that was very well-received. Then this bust hit production, and what we received was Mr. Ed in a metal bikini. Leia’s face was thinner and elongated. All the pictures prior to collectors getting their finished producted indicated we were receiving the dead-on [Carrie] Fisher likeness everyone hailed as the best. Even the box had the original sculpt all over it. Inside ... no dice. This was a very, very disappointing effort, and the lack of quality control, response from GG, or any information up front that what we were going to receive looked nothing like what we were sold on, seemed to be the breaking point for many GG collectors. All this happened after the bust had been delayed by as many as 6+ months to begin with. Poor job all around by GG.”

In the area of 1/6-scale statues, Gentle Giant really impressed with the Best Statue Award-winning Blue Snaggletooth. “In another nod to vintage Kenner, GG released the first of what looks like potentially a line of Cantina statues, with none other than Blue Snags. This was a surprising move, but the results were amazing. The detail on the statue was great, and the paint apps again were superb (makes you wonder why GG has failed in that department so much this year). If this is the measuring stick for the Cantina line, I’m all in!” Unfortunately, the iconic Bespin Luke Skywalker tucks his tail in shame at the Worst Statue Award. “Bespin Luke is my favorite incarnation of the character from my favorite movie in the series,” Jack says. “The sculpt here is the real problem. The pose is decent, and the paint didn’t come off poorly, but this looks absolutely nothing like Luke Skywalker. I can’t even tell you what GG was going for here. The hair was just as bad as the face. I am sure GG was going for the sweaty, matted-down look of Luke while he was dodging Vader’s assault on him, but it just came off poorly. It looks like a helmet more than matted hair. I know that hair is difficult to sculpt, but I also know GG is capable of much more than what we received. This statue was also delayed many months, adding to the overall disappointment.”

Jack_Victory didn’t nominate a Best Diorama Award candidate for Gentle Giant, so that award remains in stasis. Worst Diorama Award infamy goes to the Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite Diorama. Jack was clearly disappointed by this effort: “This should seem like a slam-dunk. Boba Fett? Check. Stormtroopers? Check. Hansicle? Check. All are big Star Wars sellers, and high in everyone’s popularity rankings. You would think GG would want to have their best foot forward when releasing a piece that was bound to draw a lot of attention. Firstly, we have the common 2010 theme with GG: severe, almost year long delays. Next, we have the pose. While I like the scene (Boba walking ahead of the floating carbonite block, with Stormtroopers escorting), it isn’t entirely accurate. There were Bespin Security guiding the block, and the Stormtroopers were flanking them. No security in this dio at all. The carbonite block also is not completely parallel to the ground as it should be. GG did a good job with their hovering effect (perfected with their Scout w/ Speeder Bike dio), but the way the block connects to Boba, it sits at a noticeable angle, and thus looks like it may crash into the ground at any moment. Boba’s sculpt was fine with me, but the Stormtroopers came out terrible. GG’s Stormtrooper mini-bust is hailed as a perfect Stormtrooper by those who fancy themselves as experts on the subject matter. I do not fancy myself as such, but these troopers are clearly off. Their helmets are severely elongated, almost like a 5-year-old sculpted them. The Stormtroopers, as a result, look like they are sad and need a hug. Too bad, because I needed a hug after setting this one up. Very high hopes were dashed by GG’s lack of QC, or factory oversight, on their products.”

Well, there you have it, gang. All the goodness of the best, and all the badness of the worst. Everything in between, well, I’m sure you’ll vent your opinions in our forums, won’t you?