REACTION:  Pulse Con 2021 Star Wars Vintage Collection (TVC)

Yesterday gave us the much-anticipated Pulse Con 2021 Star Wars panels. Personally, I'm not one to make a big deal out of the pre-con hype and making predictions on what I want to see. I try to save myself the disappointment and leave room to be pleasantly surprised by Hasbro. For me, Hasbro came through nicely.

The Mandalorian and Grogu (Maldo Kreis) Build Up Pack

Positives: This was a great looking set and a surprise for how loaded it is. The Mandalorian is a re-tooled update, with a new thigh armor and rocker ankles. The ankles were one of the few disappointments in previous Mandalorian figures, so this is a welcome upgrade. Grogu appears to be the same sculpt as VC184, but both he and Mando come with an amazing looking snow application that blows away the simple white spray paint that we would see on figures of yore. Also included is a large articulated ice spider, along with two small ones, and a hatched egg. The set is worthy of army building those spiders, and adds a new option for spicing up the upcoming Razor Crest. I'll likely pick up the TBS version as well, so I can have Spider, Big Spider, and Way Bigger Spider.

Negatives: For some reason, the set doesn't include the Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster, but it's not a deal breaker. People may not like the price of $26.49, but the VC177 Din Djarin and Child was $17.99, so another $8.50 for the spiders and egg accessories seems reasonable. Collectors will definitely have an issue with it being a Walmart exclusive, and carded collectors might as well hold out for the in store finds, since shipping may crush those minty dreams.

Nerd Talk: I'll probably never understand Hasbro's naming standards. They opted for "The Mandalorian" here instead of "Din Djarin." And from a certain point of view, we didn't yet know Grogu's name at this point in the series, so "The Child" could have been more appropriate. Also, the rocker ankle update gives me hope that Hasbro could do the same for the otherwise almost perfect VC140 stormtrooper. We specifically asked Hasbro to do this in a previous Q&A. While the recently announced stormtrooper builder pack didn't include this update, we hope Hasbro acted on the feedback and that we'll see a rocker ankled stormtrooper soon.

Rebel Fleet Troop Builder Pack

Positives: A big surprise as it came so soon on the heels of the announcement of the stormtrooper set that kicked off this new format. The set elevates the format a bit, as the stormtroopers only add one pauldron accessory to differentiate one of the 4 as a different rank. Here, Hasbro went all out by giving us two new RFT headsculpts and skin tones, on top of the previous "Scrambas" version, to help diversify our armies. The icing on the cake is the totally new paint job, jacket, and head sculpt on the 4th figure to give us a modern update to Captian Antilles. The set is a nice release along with the stormtroopers and the Tantive IV. Hasbro also didn't put a limit of 2 per order, so it seems you could go crazy with these.

Negatives: My only concern would be that the existing helmets fit the new head sculpts, so we don't have a problem like we did with Luke's X-Wing helmet fitting on Antoc Merrick's head.

Nerd Talk: Captain Antilles gives us hope that Hasbro might reuse this sculpt and paint palette to give us more Rebel officers, like Dodonna, Hudsol, and Draven, among others.

Navarro Cantina

Positives: A great looking set that helps tie together a bunch of figures we now have. Hasbro seemed to go all in on this particular scene, even though TVC was quite slow out of the gate with regard to The Mandalorian. It's a nice choice, after the first 3 sets in this format came from each of the OT films. The wall are configurable, and also modular to connect to other sets. The details on the bar are particularly nice, especially the barware accessories. The cantina comes with cardboard inserts to give you a window that is before and after the battle. The Death Trooper is a nice troop to include in set, and offers the plain variant which is different from the specialist that we previously have.

Negatives: I have some concerns about the choice of using cardboard for the window cutouts and the door, but we'll see how well it's executed.

Nerd Talk: Since we have Mando, Cara Dune, Greef, The Child, IG-88, Gideon, Stormtroopers (clean and worn), death troopers, and incinerator troopers, we have almost all we need to complete the scene, especially since we have the ITT. We also have older speeder bikes and E-Web cannons, although Hasbro is welcome to offer Mando-specific versions. All we really need is Gideon's Outland TIE Fighter.

Fan Channel

Positives: Pretty decent selection of figures that provide some PT-era love. I'm happy with Mace, as I could use a few extra. Ahsoka is pretty popular at the moment, and along with the recent Season 7 figure and the inevitable Roasario Dawson version, we'll have plenty of options. Anakin is probably the least exciting of the bunch, but not a terrible option. Obi-Wan is somewhat disappointing, as many collectors were looking for an upgrade. The figure is good, but is pretty long in the tooth at this point. The release of this figure throws some cold water on the chances of a full modern upgrade. At least the new robes and PhotoReal should make all 4 worthy of consideration.

Negatives: Nothing really, as these are just opportunities to catch up on some older figures that people may have missed acquiring.

Nerd Talk: It's likely that Hasbro will revisit Obi-Wan when the Disney+ show comes. That body will possibly do well as a base for an upgrade to the ROTS figure. The series headsculpt is probably some blend of ROTS and ANH Obi-Wan, but a new ROTS headsculpt could give that body some extra mileage. Too early to tell, of course.

Pipeline Reveals

Positives: As a 501st nut, I'm already happy with the re-release of the 501st from the last pipeline, but the 332nd is very much welcome. I'll be getting many of those guys. It will be nice to pick up a Jesse on a card, and a lot of collectors were iced out of the 501st ARC convention exclusive. Even though we all knew this was coming because we have Echo and Fives, it's still looking to be a nice addition to the basic line. The Mandalorian Super Commando Captain will also be a popular figure, and helps flesh out that Season 7 arc (one of the best things in the entire Saga). And collectors should be very happy with the Din Djarin in Morak Trooper disguise. This could lead to a simple retool for a Migs Mayfield, or even generic Imperial troops.

Negatives: Pipeline reveals are fun, but we're still a while off from seeing the figures themselves, and then further distanced from the time we can order/get them. Pipeline reveals are a bit of a double-edged sword in that way, especially if you're impatient. But I like seeing these reveals in advance.

Nerd Talk: I'm not positive of this, and someone can add their knowledge to the comments below, but the Din Djarin figure body might also be suitable for a Solo Mudtrooper.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed the reveals, even though I personally predicted just about none of them. Along with many others, I am awaiting word of much-needed updates to the OT main characters, and we didn't get any news on Razor Crest delivery times.

There was one painful disappointment, which Chris wanted to make sure I mention. It really hurt that TBS is getting an Endor Leia. TVC is in dire need of an update to this figure. We have two versions, but both date back to last century's POTF2 line. As you may know, I'll take a new character 99/100 times over a resculpt of something I already have, but just like the mains from A New Hope (Leia, Han, Farmboy Luke, and Obi-Wan), Endor Leia should come to TVC very soon. Seeing her as a TBS pipeline reveal was a kick in the crotch.

One interesting note is that Hasbro revealed a TBS version of the Mando/Grogu/Spider pack. The difference is that the TVC version skipped the Fork Rifle in exchange for 2 baby spiders. Since we already have the Amban rifle from other Mando figures, I'll take the additional spider variants. But people have been asking for Hasbro to start lining up identical offerings in TBS and TVC so we can compare apples to apples as far as demand. We'll see how that goes.

---

comments powered by Disqus