Photography (loose sample only) by Bret

Not rated at time of publication.

I don’t really like delving into the “behind the scenes” of Bantha Skull that often because I feel it smacks of arrogance; as if the inner workings of this site are at all of interest to our readers as opposed to the subject matter we cover.  But with all due humility, I must go behind the scenes in this case for no other reason than to meet my contractually obligated word count.  Mr. Nomadscout and I had an internal debate on how to handle the two SDCC mini-figures as part of this Vintage Collection retrospective.  He felt that the figures themselves are so boring that the should be reviewed in tandem.  Aside from the technical problem that Braniac’s idea presented, I felt the “story” of these figures were compelling enough that they should each get their own moment in the sun.  Where I was shortsighted was that the “story” is essentially same for both figures.  They are both part of a completed numbered Vintage Collection set, but were very difficult to acquire.  As I started to write this, I found myself just re-writing the VC66 - Salacious Crumb review.  Please don’t tell Mr. Nomadscout.  He already thinks he’s a Mr. Smartypants.  And Mr. Fancypants too.  There’s a lot of “pants” in his courtesy titles come to think of it. 

The figure itself is nothing more than a repack of the accessory from 1999’s POTF2 Freeze Frame Death Star Droid (which is photoed above).  It’s essentially something that you would get out of one of those plastic eggs from the vending machines at the front of a grocery store.  (The NFL mini-helmets were the best.)  Alas, in 2011, Hasbro put it on a piece of cardboard and released it with 13 other figures in the Revenge of the Jedi Death Star set.  That piece of cardboard had the number VC67 on the back, and the collecting community erupted into utter anarchy the likes of which haven’t been seen outside of ESPN during their Y2K test. As Marge “Son of a” Gunderson would say, “All that angst over a just a tiny little number.”  But if we were sane, well-balanced people, not having a completed, numbered, carded Vintage Collection set wouldn’t bother us.  We’d go about our days, free to pursue lives of religious fulfillment.  No, we’re insane, obsessive-compulsive driven accumulators for whom the concept of “incomplete sets of arbitrary things” makes us want to smash CRT monitors with a baseball bat.  I would have it no other way.  Seriously, I’m not trying to mock or disparage the idiosyncrasies of being a collector.  I embrace them and I’m merely trying to acknowledge them.

As with the Salacious Crumb figure, I’m including an Ebay link in this review, but it’s largely for decoration.  At the time of this review, there isn’t a single sample up for offer and the last one sold on June 20th (as part of a set with Salacious Crumb).  Of note, there is a confirmed sale of a carded VC67 Mouse Droid on May 26, 2018 for $500!  FIVE HUNDRED!  To put that in perspective, at the time of this review there are over 100 carded unpunched vintage Kenner Star Wars figures (sponsored) listed on Ebay for under $500 with a majority under $200 including some very nice samples.  As Regis Philbin would say, this is bonkers! 

As I sated in the Salacious Crumb review, I’m not bothered by this stunt.  I think it’s good when collectible things have these buzzworthy rarities we all talk about.  I think we prefer if they come about organically like the POTF ‘85 Yak Face and not as a designed rarity as these two mini-figures are.  But to be honest, they’re such a gimmick that I doubt Hasbro thought for a second they were contriving these “chase” items at the time.  If these were released in stores, I bet they would have pegwarmed even if they were produced at these same limited production levels.  Collectors are weird, man. 

Verdict: No Action 

Editor’s Note:  In another peek behind the scenes at Bantha Skull, I insisted we do our regular verdicts for both the Mouse Droid and Salacious Crumb, while Chris didn’t want to bother since these are clearly special items that shouldn’t be released again.

While we never want to see either this or Crumb re-released in the mainline (we’ll chalk these up as a footnote to collecting history), it is important to note that Hasbro significantly updated the Mouse Droid a short while later as an accessory with the VC98 Grand Moff Tarkin.  That one was much improved, with rolling wheels, a more accurate smaller size, and some metallic weathering and detailing.  As such, it’s too bad that mold wasn’t developed in time to be released here.  Otherwise, leave it alone as a special collector’s item.  Do not ever revisit in the main line as a single carded figure.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.