VC94 - Imperial Navy Commander

(Back to Vintage Collection Basic Figures)

Reference

Wookiepedia entry on Imperial Navy Troopers

Major Variants
*None Reported

Notes
*

Roundtable Reviews!
When the biggest complaint you have about a figure is that Hasbro has made it neigh impossible to buy mutiples of, it must be at least partially decent.  That is the case with the Imperial Navy Commander.  I don’t think there needs to be a tremendous amount of commentary about this figure.  The pictures speak for themsevles.  It’s super articulated army builder that doesn’t have any sculpting eye sores.  Enough said.  The emblem on the sleeve is that of the Grand Army of the Replublic and not that of the Empire, so that’s a bit of a whoops.  The complection is a little fair (which made photographing the black costumed figure against a black background exceedingly challenging).  Other than that there nothing to complain about nor is there anything I feel a particular need to gush about.  It’s just a nice well done army builder. 8 out of 10.

8/10 Bantha Skulls

Jedi Temple Archives Has a Call to Action

Our friends at Jedi Temple Archives are starting a grass roots collector movement to try to rescue the situation many of us are facing at brick and mortar retail with respect to the Vintage Collection.

Click through to see how you can participate.  This comes as interesting timing for us as we’ve had two forum members declare “no mas” when it comes to collecting in part due to this exact issue. 

Entertainment Earth Has Battle Packs Wave 2 IN STOCK

If a lack of articulation is your thing, boy are you in luck. Entertainment Earth has wave 2 of the Battle Packs in stock. These are the ones with nicely sculpted figures with 1995 articulation. If you're the "stick 'em on a shelf" kind of collector, these might be ideal for you. Click through to check them out.

BBTS Has Wave 6 Up for Pre-Order

Big Bad Toy Store has wave 6 (officially wave 3) up for pre-order.  This is also known as the “Grand Moff Tarkin” wave.  Here are the new figures in this assortment:

1x Clone Pilot Davijaan “Odd Ball”
1x Grand Moff Tarkin
1x Nikto Skiff Guard
1x TFU II Galen Marek
1x SW:TOR Female Bounty Hunter (Shae Vizla)

And as promised, it also includes:

1x Darth Malgus

So if you miss out on him from wave 3, don’t worry.  He’s coming back (and coming back soon!).

Wave 2.5 (Wave 5) Found at Walmart in MA

Forum member BosskMR scored wave 2.5 (sometimes referred to as wave 5) at a Walmart in central Massachusetts today.  This is the wave with 4/5 of the Dr. Evazan wave (minus the 501st) plus many difficult to find 2010/11 carry forwards like the Gamorrean Guard and Bespin Han Solo on slightly different card backs.  This may be more circumstantial evidence of our earlier report that the assortment of wave 2 (aka wave 3 the Malgus wave) may be in shorter supply.

You can see the exact contents of wave 2.5 by clicking this link to Big Bad Toy Store. 

Photo Archive Update - VC95 Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit)

Here we have one of those odd main character figures that Hasbro seems to have ignored (or improperly executed) for too long. Can Hasbro finally put Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) to rest? Well almost. Click through to find out why.

VC95 - Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit)

(Back to Vintage Collection Basic Figures)

Reference

TheForce.net’s gallery of the Commander Luke Skywalker prop exhibit

Major Variants
*None Reported

Notes
*

Roundtable Reviews!
What can be said about this figure?  It’s like a would-be 80 yard touchdown run that ends with a fumble at the goal line.  So much of the figure works well.  The articulation an detailing are top notch.  Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) sports ball joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, torso, hips, knees and ankles.  The only swivel point of articulation comes at the wrist.  The detailing and sculpting is nicely done.  The cross hatch pattern of the Hoth thermal wear is captured, and the silver snaps on the pouches and holster add a touch of extra realism. 

The shoulders seem to protrude too much.  It’s a minor negative and not worth dismissing the figure over.  The elephant in the room is the scarf.  First, Luke only appears with the scarf wrapped around his head for all of three seconds of the film.  No exaggeration.  Pop the movie in and see.  Second the scarf wraps across his face once.  It doesn’t wrap around his head several times as the accessory does.  Almost immediately, Luke unhooks the scarf and lets it dangle from his thermal hat, which is how Luke appears for the majority of the time in the “Hoth Outfit”.  The scarf is exactly like the scarf Zam Wessel uses in The Attack of the Clones.  The Vintage Collection Zam Wessel figure was designed so that it could be display exactly as described.  With the scarf across her face or hanging from the side.  It’s a shame the Luke Skywakler (Hoth Outfit) didn’t have this type of flexibility.

Here’s where the train really jumps off the tracks.  If you remove the scarf and goggle accessory, the figure almost doesn’t work.  Part of the scarf is sculpted onto thermal hat.  So, for lack of a better, word, it looks stupid without the lower scarf.  It’s a sin this figure wasn’t planned out better so that it wasn’t so limited in its application (again about three seconds of screen time).  You can easily modify this figure with a bit of cloth or the scarf from the Saga Luke Hoth plus a pair of goggles from another figure, but you shouldn’t have to start customizing figures the second you open the package.  An otherwise good figure undone, but a fairly silly mistake.  6 out of 10.

6/10 Bantha Skulls

10% Off And Free Shipping at Hasbro Toy Shop

As reported by Yakface.com, the code QVNLFNS will get you 10% off and free shipping on orders over $25 at Hasbro Toy Shop

Click through to check out their wares. One item that may pique your interest is the Deleted Scene wave case. 

Wave 3 To Be Shorted?

We’ve received word that wave 3 (officially wave 2) otherwise know as the “Malgus wave” may end up being shorted.  Don’t let this be cause for alarm.  No need to succumb to Ebay prices.  At least four of the five figures in the wave appear to be slated for re-release later in the year, so like a pair of Jedi trapped in a ray shield, patience.

Three of the figures (Vader, Hoth Luke and CW Anakin) will be released in the very next case show here at Big Bad Toy Store.

Unfortunately for many of us, the Malgus and Imperial Navy Commander figures are the most in-demand out of the five, and we’ll have to wait a bit longer.  Darth Malgus appears to be slated for the July Grand Moff Tarkin case:

1x 49687 Luke Skywalker (Jedi Origin, Episode VI Deleted Scene)
1x 37508 Darth Vader (Episode IV)
1x 37511 Luke Skywalker (Hoth, Episode V)
1x 37513 Darth Malgus (The Old Republic)
1x 98692 Rebel Pilot Wedge (Episode VI)
1x 98534 Bariss Offee (Episode II)
1x 98536 Bom Vimdin (Episode IV)
1x 37514 Clone Pilot Davijaan (Episode III)
1x 37516 Grand Moff Tarkin (Episode IV)
1x 37517 Nikto Skiff Guard (Episode VI)
1x 37518 Galen Marek (The Force Unleashed II)
1x 37519 Female Bounty Hunter (The Old Republic)

There are rumored fall cases that include the Imperial Navy Commander, so hopefully that will work out as well. 

JTA Has A Wave 2 (3rd wave 2012) Preview

The good dudes over at Jedi Temple Archives have announced that wave 2 (3rd wave of 2012) has hit the Philippines meaning it won’t be too long before it starts showing up on US shores.  They even have a preview pic of the wave carded, so head on over to check it out.

This news is personally bitter sweet to me.  Between left over wave 1 Phantom Menace figures and a glut of AOTC wave returns from the $5 sales at discount stores, my local Target stores don’t have a lot of peg room for the only 5 new figures in this case.  Plus the moronic case assortment carries forward seven totally unnecessary wave 1 figures which will only further gum up the retail pipeline.

Hasbro, honestly did you learn NOTHING from 2011?  Start up your Q&A’s again so you can be held accountable for this.  Would combing wave 1.5 and 2 into a single case assortment so we could have 10 new figures to 2 carry forwards have made too much sense?  This really is pathetic on your part.  STOP STICKING STORES WITH MORE INVENTORY THEY CAN’T SELL THROUGH ALREADY JUST SO THEY CAN GET 5 FIGURES THAT WILL SELL OUT IN UNDER THE FIRST 30 MINUTES OF BEING PLACED ON THE PEGS.