My Top 5 Vintage Collection Figures Of 2022

So...I was going to start this list off as a Top 10 list, but in retrospect, I can't say that I find the 2022 Vintage Collection lineup all that great. On paper it looks good, but they don't play football on paper. Finally getting an upgrade to Figrin D'an should have been an epic moment, but I can't get past the partial tool half measure that resulted in inaccurate cargo pockets on the pants. Accuracy is so critical to the modern day Vintage Collection. I would have preferred to wait until the Bith band could have been done accurately. I feel small, nitpicky inaccuracies can be overlooked, but those blasted pockets are like a red dot on a cashmere sweater. I can't NOT see them. Then we have the 332nd Ahsoka's Clone Trooper which should have been another highlight of the year, but it uses the godforsaken VC45 mold with a ridiculous oversized bucket for a helmet. I still haven't even opened one. I don't care about it.

You will notice that the title is "my" top 5 list, meaning this is a subjective list. I'm not attempting any subjectivity here. For that reason, you won't find the otherwise outstanding Ahsoka Tano (Corvus) figure. I have absolutely nothing for that figure to "fight". Boring, boring, boring. I said that I don't think the 2022 line up is that great, but the newly sculpted figures are. They just don't excite me. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Wandering Jedi) is an astounding figure, but what am I going to do with it? Put it in my whopping six figure Obi-Wan series display (two of which are Obi-Wan figures)?


I still haven't opened my Obi-Wan Kenobi Multipack, and I stuck the Reva and aforementioned Obi-Wan figures in a drawer somewhere. If I get around to setting up a "miscellaneous" shelf sometime, I can take them back out. You'll notice one of the Obi-Wan figures wasn't roped into my dismissiveness (spoiler alert).

This all goes double for newly tooled figures like The Mythrol and Kuiil which I would gladly sacrifice at the altar for just ONE definitive update to an OT or PT main character. If you've followed Amazon's pricing on those two figures, it seems they have similar appeal with the rest of the community. Another reason for reducing the list to 5 is that if I did a Top 10 list, 3 of the figures would have been essentially the same. It's better to condense them into one spot. Finally, I'm going by what is my best understanding of the 2022 budget year, so the Bo-Katan wave is considered 2022 despite some of us getting it in December of 2021.

Now that I've started this "best of" article off on a sufficiently depressing note, ready to get to it (in reverse order)?

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Gallery: VC226 - Bo-Katan Kryze

Here's how to make an exciting release. We have oodles of world-building figures compliment Bo-Katan, from both before and after it's release. By mid-year, we had all the figures required to recreate the assault on Moff Gideon's Light Cruiser. Combine that with an outstanding sculpt, and that's the magic that cracks my Top 5 list. And, yes, I realize that this could mean that I will find appreciation later for the aforementioned Obi-Wan figures if that particular subset gets fleshed out better.

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Gallery: VC224 - Bib Fortuna

I have a habit of...umm...compulsively ordering the same figure from multiples places. They don't ship at the same time, so the deliveries are spread out over weeks or months. Sometimes this ends up with an eye roll when another Emperor shows up at my door, but every time I opened a box containing Bib Fortuna, I got a mild sense of collecting butterflies. This is in large part because Bib is one of the last figures I can vividly remember buying during the vintage era (I didn't get any figures after 1983). This is a great figure, but even if it weren't, it probably still would have cracked my list for the nostalgic euphoria.

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Galleries: VC243 - Mandalorian Super Commando, VC246 - Mandalorian Super Commando Captain, VC247 - Mandalorian Death Watch Airborne Trooper

Remember when I said I was burned out on all the Mandalorian tweaks when I reacted to the Super Commando Captain reveal? If you do, do you also remember when I wrote in my review of the Mandalorian Super Commando (non-captain) that I said I was wrong about that? These figures have it all. Two of them are army builders, and the captain deserves a squad. They are outstanding figures, and they go a long way towards completing scenes from the Darth Maul Mandalore arc from Season 5 of The Clone Wars. Chef's kiss.

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Gallery: VC241 - Darth Vader (Dark Times)

Yes, I eliminated other Obi-Wan series figures from the list for their lack of complimentary figures, and the same reasoning should apply here, BUT THIS IS MY LIST! I'M ALLOWED TO VIOLATE MY OWN INTERNAL LOGIC. Sorry for shouting. It's preemptive. This is simply one of the best figures of all time and it's based on the greatest cinematic character of all time. If it had more display versatility, it would be numbers one, two, and three on the list.

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Gallery: VC231 - Stormtrooper

The Stormtrooper is the figure that defined the term "army builder.” For years I have been begging for a definitive version. We circled the target with the VC140 - Stormtrooper figure, but just missed hitting the bullseye. It lacked rocker ankles and a holster; the latter was required to bring it into acceptable compliance for the OT. It is here. End of list.

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