Top 7 “Never Before On Vintage” Repacks

Here are seven figures we really want to see make a return in the Vintage Collection, but there's a twist: These are characters that have never appeared on a Kenner vintage styled card. Some obvious choices like the Jawa, Ree-Yees, and the AT-AT Driver, are missing, even though they all deserve to make an appearance, as well as a host of figures from the first TVC run. Also, the figures themselves must be Vintage Collection worthy, so under-articulated figures like Darth Talon don't make the cut. We tried to limit this list to our usual five, but it was too difficult trying to figure out which figures should be cut. So you get a bonus two!

Please comment on what you want to see, but remember the rules (or don't). Also, click on the card mocks for the full sized image. They will embiggen. So "without further dudes", let's get to the list making.



You couldn't possibly cram more misery for fans of The Knights of the Old Republic into one figure. HK-47 was released as a Build-A-Droid in The Legacy Collection, and in an Attack of the Clones wave, to boot. Right off the bat, that's just mean, man. KOTOR fans who were screaming from the mountain tops that they wanted an HK-47 figure would have to buy a complete wave of AOTC figures, which they may not have wanted, to get this figure. To make matters worse, that Attack of the Clones wave suffered from the dreaded "Last Wave Syndrome." It was difficult to track down, and even the repacked Boba Fett figure was fetching a premium on the secondary market for a while (until supplanted by the more desirable TVC version).

An HK-47 BAD re-release in the Vintage Collection would be the kindness of all kindnesses from Hasbro. It would save collectors from having to pay a premium for loose samples on the secondary market, and would look great on a vintage styled card. Our lists don't necessarily follow priority order, but this one is a clear number one.

The card mock to the left uses the "Legends" banner in keeping with the SDCC display for Dr. Aphra. Update: According to Vas'rod in the comments, Hasbro addressed placing Dr. Aphra under the Legends banner as a mistake, but it is an accurate designation for the cards in this feature.




We all call this the Scarif Stormtrooper. The Black Series packaging calls this the Scarif Stormtrooper, but in the spirit of the vintage "Snowtrooper" that simply won't work for the Vintage Collection implementation. This needs to be the "Imperial Shoretrooper (Scarif Outpost)". When we had internal discussions about this repack theme, the Scarif Stormtrooper drew frequent mention. This figure definitely has not met retail demand (at the time of this article).

As we know from the SDCC presentation, the Rogue One Death Trooper will be repacked in the Vintage Collection. In the Victoria's Cantina / Jedi Temple Archives SDCC interview, Hasbro explained that of the two Rogue One troopers who do not belong with the Assault Tank, the Death Trooper does not belong a little less. This is no sarcasm: we really appreciate the explanation behind the thinking to elect the Death Trooper over the Scarif Stormtrooper. We just happen not to agree. Collectors are a sick bunch. They don't use their imagination, and only display items together in their collection if they also appear on-screen together. The upcoming Assault Tank won't appreciably help move those Death Troopers, so the decision should have been based on whether or not retail demand has been met, and the Scarif Stormtrooper is more deserving. This isn't meant to knock the selection of the Death Trooper. That will do fine at retail and move on its own merits, but the Shoretrooper should be close on its heels.




Also in the Victoria's Cantina / Jedi Temple Archives SDCC interview, Hasbro mentioned that part of the push to bring back the Vintage Collection is for cantina aliens and skiff guards. My response to that statement was THIS. I personally couldn't be more excited. While I would gladly pay to have the Post-OTC cantina aliens of Myo, Dannik Jerriko, and Feltipern Trevagg ported over to Vintage Collection cards, those figures lack modern super-articulation and might not make the cut (even thought they are some of the finest figures produced to date).

For modern super-articulated repacks that have never before appeared on a vintage styled card, Hrchek Kal Fas is the best suited. The red card Legacy Collection figures are some of the scarcest releases in the modern line and this figure commands a hefty premium on Ebay (SPONSORED). Re-releasing this figure makes tremendous sense. The same could be said for its TLC wavemate Leesub Sirlin, but there doesn't seem to be the same collector urgency behind that figure. Other notable super-articulated cantina candidates are the blue carded TLC Pons Limbic and Trinto Duaba, but it's unlikely that the prodigious accessories that those figures were originally packed with could be included in a Vintage Collection bubble.




Yes, you're reading this correctly. We've plumbed the comic packs for a repack candidate and it's not Exar Kun (or Ulic Qel-Droma). Why would we bypass Exar Kun in favor of Darth Nihl? First, much to my surprise, the secondary market on both figures is pulling even with loose samples of each fetching over $100. Second, the Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma Comic Pack was not a fast seller when it was released at brick and mortar. We've had multiple "if I had only known" reports in our forums about members routinely passing up that set when it was in stores. The feeling here is that those figures are only collectible because they're rare. So once that rarity is lessened by a re-release, our fear is that the collector interest would proportionally lessen.

Could the same exact things also be said about Darth Nihl? Could the interest in the figure stem from its relative scarcity as an Entertainment Earth exclusive? Sure. But Darth Nihl has "Darth" in his name, and one of the Bantha Skull core beliefs is "Siths sell, baby!" Once the scarcity bloom is off the collector rose with this figure, it should still move at retail simply because it's packed with a red lightsaber. Siths sell, baby! It's science. An even more compelling Legacy comic-based Sith to release here would be Darth Talon, but unfortunately, that figure is not super-articulated. Darth Talon needs an update, not a re-release. Other Legacy honorable mentions for this slot would be Darth Maleval and, of course, Darth Krayt.




Here's another figure that checks off a lot of boxes. Skiff Guard? Check. "Last wave" scarcity? Check. Secondary market heat? Check, check, check. If you've jumped straight here and didn't read the intro, you might be saying "hey, what about Ree-Yees?" Ree-Yees is probably one of the more important repacks to accomplish in TVC 2.0 due to its vintage Kenner analog, but the theme of this article is "never before on vintage". Therefore it does not qualify here precisely because of that vintage Kenner analog.

Brock Starsher, and his black jump-suited clone, Doallyn, were heavily requested figures before the Phase I Black Series anonymous "Jabba's Skiff Guard" was released. As mentioned in that review, I feel like Hasbro went with a nameless release due to the swirling Starsher/Doallyn confusion. By re-releasing that figure in the Vintage Collection, Hasbro can satisfy some underserved demand and also correct a wrong by giving the character its proper name. Also, the accessories in the previous release are starkly unadorned. Some highly quality Vintage Collection paint applications all around would incentivize some to re-purchase this figure.

As with Darth Nihl, a lot of honorable mentions for the skiff guard category could go here. Both the Nikto Gunner (Nysad) and Giran from the red carded Legacy Collection could be considered. I wouldn't complain if the Black Series Vizam resurfaced on a Vintage Collection card, but sadly, that figure flirted with peg warming status for a little bit during its last retail itteration.





I'm going to be honest. Aside from Luke, the "ceremonial" figures have very little excitement for me. Han buttoned a button and Leia put on a different white dress. Alert the townsfolk! But that's just me. The community, however, seems to embrace the Yavin ceremony figures. The princess Leia figure was delayed from the end of the general release, blue-accented Black Series line, and relegated to the Walmart Exclusive red-accented Black Series line. It was released in one case assortment and not carried forward. Collectors, being the hobby-wrecking jerks that they are, took a wait-and-see approach to this figure. Well guess what, butthead, this figure is even difficult to find on Ebay now (unless you're willing to buy one from a country that looks the other way on bootlegging). Was it worth it to try to save a dollar? At the time of this article, this US based Ebay seller has 3 available (SPONSORED) for a relatively reasonable price.

Even though this figure doesn't exactly thrill me as an addition to my collection, I have to admit it feels like it belongs on a Vintage Collection card. Also, TVC 2,0 should look at every opportunity to pay tribute to the late Ms. Fisher.



The Black Series Snowtrooper Commander was the only salvagable figure from wave 4 of the orange-accented Black Series Phase I. This figure saved that wave from becoming a complete misfire. This is potentially the riskiest retail figure on our list for reasons we can't really explain. The original release has zero heat on the secondary market. In fact, with a little diligence and patience, you can probably get one shipped to your house for less than the original $10 MSRP. It's hard to imagine a Stormtrooper figure generating such tepid interest. Maybe it's because you technically only need one or two. Because of this, it presents a "4-LOM" risk.

Despite this and our belief that the Vintage Collection card is not some magic elixir that can move even the most undesirable figure (Malakili is going to peg warm...again), we feel there is some vintage magic here. An OT trooper on a vibrant Vintage Collection card just feels like it will have massive shelf appeal. I personally want one to hang on my wall of vintage carded figures. Add to this that the previous release suffered some quality control issues that were common during the early Black Series. Upgrading this figure to Vintage Collection standards would be more justification to purchase another one. Or three.




Usually this is the space where we vent our desire to make jokes so you'll like us. We're going to have to risk you affection this time. We're serious about the Vintage Collection. In fact, the return of the Vintage Collection is the only reason we decided to re-fire the Bantha Skull reactors and bring this old girl back online. Just so there is no confusion in the (unlikely) event someone from Big H is watching, we're stowing the jokes. If you click on the first thumbnail you can "right arrow" or swipe through the honorable mentions:




Credits:

The basis for the Star Wars and Return of the Jedi card templates come from Star Wars CD Updates.
The basis for the Empire Strikes Back template comes from Kap's Custom Universe.

Resources:

I couldn't find a suitable Star Wars card transparency on the internet, so I had to "carve" my own out. It's far from perfect, but if you'd like to use it, the PNG can be downloaded HERE.

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