My Personal Most VIABLE Vintage Collection Needed ALL NEW Figures

What follows is a bit of a different exercise. While I would GLADLY buy each and every figure on this list, it does not represent my most wanted figures. There's a simple reason for that. One or two my most wanted figures probably lack strong retail viability. You can see that list HERE. That does not mean those figures should never be released. It just means they should be released judiciously.

The point of this exercise refers to that question that Adam Pawlus once asked that still haunts me: Would you bet your job on this? These are five figures that I think are both very much needed and surefire retail gold. I would easily bet my future livelihood on the retail success of the figures on this list. They are all OT figures because that is the only source on which I would bet my job. This is not meant as an indictment of other media, but is a statement on what the collectible toy market wants. I have had more than one retailer tell me emphatically that the only safe bet items are from the OT. [Because this is the internet:] That does not mean that ALL OT figures are guaranteed retail successes and it also doesn't mean that all non-OT figures are guaranteed failures. The right OT figures represent the lowest risk. That's all.

If you've been in this hobby since its inception, you're going to find this list exceedingly boring, but remember, this isn't about you. We need to energize the entire market, not just the collectors who have been at this since 1978.

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I'm not going to belabor this point anymore. When you bake in all the factors, this might be the single most overdue figure in the line. That fact that it hasn't been done yet is absolutely puzzling.

To that point, I've made a personal decision: My time at Bantha Skull is on a clock. If a new super articulated Episode VI Emperor Palpatine is not announced by December 2019, I will be leaving the site. This is not a stunt.


This one stretches the title of this article because satisfying this demand might not require anything "ALL NEW", but it fits the spirit. This could be a retool/repaint, but the resultant figure would fill an all new niche. As I mentioned in the re-review of VC08 Darth Vader we do not have a viable Episode V/VI based dueling Darth Vader figure. Obviously one key component of such a figure is the ability to execute the Two-Handed-Weapon-Grip (THWG). VC08 cannot, due to the pre-posed right hand. In fact, that right hand cannot hold a saber...period, which is pretty much a fatal flaw.

We have a decent Episode IV dueling Darth Vader courtesy of the VC93 figure (re-review coming soon). We have a more than decent Episode III dueling Vader via the Black Series #26 figure (which unfortunately has its own fatal flaw). What we need is that #26 figure basically repainted with the Episode V/VI chest box and the ejector head issue fixed. This would also require Hasbro to stop ignoring the fact that rocker ankles once existed in the 3.75" scale.

This needs to be a figure that nails its ability to pose during lightsaber fights. Nothing should compromise that. I feel like Homer Simpson when he was trying to guardrail his turkey sandwich wish from the cursed monkey paw's shenanigans. This means no removable helmet, no scene specific lighting affects and NO SCENE SPECIFIC HAND SCULPTS. The hands' only job here is to securely grasp the saber hilt.

The described figure would have retail viability for years.


Okay, this one isn't quite as egregious as Emperor Palpatine. An Episode IV "white gown" Leia has appeared on a Vintage Collection cardback courtesy of 2004's Vintage Original Trilogy Collection (VOTC). 2004 is a long time ago. A long, long time.

That figure is pretty dated now, and to be honest, it wasn't even a slam dunk homerun touchdown sports phrases in 2004. The swivel elbows, hyper extenable knees, and ankle-less ankles really date that 2004 release. It's not definitive and a definitive Episode IV Princess Leia is overdue. This is such an iconic figure as well as an emotional and nostalgic release. This is the exact type of offering Hasbro needs to be getting into brick and mortar. The Sail Barge proved there are a lot of lapsed collectors out there that are itching for more product to bring them back. A definitive all new Episode IV Princess Leia would bring them back in truckloads.

Incidentally, all the 2004 VOTC figures with the exception of Chewbacca are woefully dated today. We may be seeing more of them. Starting with...


2004's VOTC Luke Skywalker is out of date, but not as egregiously as the Princess Leia figure which is why it lands lower on the list. The good news is that the timing is finally right for a definitive Episode IV "farm boy" Luke Skywalker. The long tunic of the costume had previously been difficult to translate into the 3.75" scale. The soft goods approach of the 2004 figure greatly sacrificed aesthetics in favor of function. Later attempts, such as the figure include in the Resurgence of the Jedi battleback, had the greatly improved aesthetic of a sculpted tunic, but sacrificed some function as well as taking some design liberties.

Thankfully, advancements over time have solved this issue. Hasbro has perfected the pliable plastics approach. We can have a sculpted tunic with a soft plastic lower portion to provide the ultimate blend of form and function.


Okay, I might be playing fast and loose with my job with this one, but they don't call me "good ol' gamblin' man Pete" for nothing. There's some risk here especially since the optimal window for this figure's release has probably passed at this time. Taym Dren-garen is one of the key missing figures from the barge. Since this figure has not been announced to this point, it's safe to assume it won't be in stores when the barge is shipping in March. That's a real shame. In a vacuum, this figure doesn't have a ton of retail viability.

I am still willing to bet my job (non-binding) on this figure's potential as long as it's released somewhere in the afterglow of the barge especially if it can be teamed up with a natural companion piece. If a Taym Dren-garen figure is released in a case with a re-release of the Light Saber Construction Luke on the original "Jedi Knight" card with a proper cloak instead of the incorrect robe, I'm willing to take my chances.

This figure is largely on the list so Randy doesn't yell at me. Also, no one calls me "good ol' gamblin' man Pete." Whoever said that is an idiot.

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