How come the 30th Anniversary is such a mixed bag?

[El Chuxter]

Let me start by praising the Galactic Marine. There are not enough good things I can say about this figure. And the Airborne Trooper isn't far behind. These are gorgeous figures, some of the best you've ever produced.

Ambush on Ilum, despite the inaccurate C-3PO and yet another R2-D2, is a beautiful set as well. Not only are there two Chameleon Droids, both given far more detail than I'd expected, but one has a well-done phasing effect. And the Padme--well, I've seen some complain, but this is one of my favorite figures of the line as well. Every figure doesn't have to have 30 points of articulation to be a winner. (And the C-3PO easily transfers to a Hoth display.)

Aside from the flame effects and the resulting holes, the Super Battle Droid is quite nice, too. (Hopefully, you'll consider re-releasing him sans holes in the future.)

But, well, it isn't all good.

I don't think it's going to come as any shock if you read this (or any other message board) that the distribution sucks. It's among the worst distribution periods that we've seen. Stores are sitting on tons of Wave 1, which was heavily weighted toward the "main characters." And, so, we're seeing tons of Obi-Wan Kenobis, with a few R2-D2s and the occasional Mace Windus. I've seen the Galactic Marine only once, and the Airborne Trooper and Lava Miner twice in over two months. And the McQuarrie Stormtrooper? Not only have I not seen him, I've talked to ten people I trade with, and just one of them has seen him, and only once!

Now, let's get into the sculpting.

I was lucky enough to come across part of Wave 2 last night: Han, Luke, and the Death Star Trooper. These dudes may have more articulation than previous versions, but why are they inferior to Gunner Station Han, 1997 Ceremonial Luke, and 1998 Death Star Trooper?

I'm serious. All three are marred by some joints that are far too visible and a major lack of detail. The paint on the Luke was the worst I've ever seen on any SW figure.

I easily passed on the Luke and Han. I was on the fence about the Trooper, but picked him up since he was one who'd be tougher to find in the future. Looking at him now, though, I'm leaning toward returning him. He just looks inferior to the one I have, and given that the first is a 9 year old sculpt in a permanent running pose and who can't stand on his own, that's pretty bad.

More detail in sculpting is good, if it applies. The Death Star Trooper didn't have this weird texture going on on his suit. So why go through the trouble of including it?

And, though it may sound weird, I'm begging you to please cut back on the articulation if you can't include it in a way that doesn't detract from the appearance of the figure. Like the goofy ball joints in Luke's shoulder, or DST's ridiculous knees.

This is the first time I've seen the quality of new figures go down when action features weren't involved. I hope it's a fluke unique to Wave 2. I might still buy resculpts that improve on older figures, but I'm not willing to buy $7.50 figures that are inferior to older versions that I've had for a decade.

[JON9000]

And, though it may sound weird, I'm begging you to please cut back on the articulation if you can't include it in a way that doesn't detract from the appearance of the figure. Like the goofy ball joints in Luke's shoulder, or DST's ridiculous knees.

That is the big dilemma, isn't it? When should articulation give way to the better sculpts of the pre-posed figure? I am usually in favor of more articulation. It may not look as good, but it makes the figure more fun to play with, which is what will keep the line popular with kids. Also, I already have preposed versions of a lot of figures, so I wouldn't really want another.

My problem is more with the leg stance of some figures. the wide stance just isn't very cool. It needs to go.

[Kidhuman]

And the McQuarrie Stormtrooper? Not only have I not seen him, I've talked to ten people I trade with, and just one of them has seen him, and only once!

Yay!!! I got a shout out.


I agree on the DST. His knees are horrid. I would have minded getting a few of them and making them Imp officers with the helmets off, but the knee thing is horrid. Its like Arthritic DST.


I happened to enjoy the Lava Miner, and the C-Troopers from wave 1. The wave 2 offerings are bullocks. IF not for the McFett, I wouldnt even be hunting this wave with a passion.

[decadentdave]

Hasbro can't win. Collectors' berate them for more articulation and when they get it they aren't satisfied and complain and whine. So the knees on the DST are too "baggy." No big deal. Better than the bent-leg of the old Hasbro DST. I love this figure. It's superior to the POTJ DST in every way. The removeable helmet, ball neck joint, well proportioned and super-articulated. I have half a dozen of these guys already and they are perfect for troop building.

The problem with TAC is the assortment breakdowns. We are seeing multiples of Obi-Wan, Mace and Artoo and the most wanted figures, the McQuarrie concept figures, are packed as chasers 1 per case. It's no wonder there is a glut of Obi-Wans Mace and Artoos warming the pegs. The same problem is what killed MOTU for Mattel. They figured they needed more He-Mans and Skeletors for kids and short packed the ancillary characters. When all of the over-produced He-Mans and Skeletors didn't sell, they considered the line to be a failure and that is what we are seeing now with Star Wars. It's damned frustrating. I have not found one McQuarrie figure and the scalpers are already over-inflating the prices on these. Hasbro continues to alienate the collector with this kind of bulls*** which they pulled last year with the UGH promotion. My days of collecting Hasbro Star Wars are numbered. I am buying less and general apathy has set in like rigormortis. If they think they can keep this going another 10 years, good luck. I have no intention to support the line for another decade when they can't even distribute their product evenly.

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Last year's distribution was all fantastic, with the glaring exceptions of Lushros Dofine and Moff Jerjerrod. Even the impossible-to-find Scorch turned up again later in the year in ample numbers.

They obviously screwed up this year. For me, wave 1 has been scarce (save for Obi-Wan and R2-D2, of course) and I haven't even seen the McQuarrie Stormtrooper or any of wave 2. The final few waves of TSC were also fairly scarce, but I managed to find all ot them. The fact that it's already May and I still can't find figures that came out in March (and, to boot, should've come out in January if not for that "production delay").

So far, I like the figures - but then again, I can't comment on anything past wave 1.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

The fact that the TSC is still hanging around is also keeping stores from getting and/or putting out new figures. Wal-Mart has 8 pegs, mostly TSC. They had three TAC figures today. Target is about the same but with a few more TAC. I've actually had the most success with TAC at Fred Meyer. This is partly due to the fact that I live close to one, so I can check there more than once a week like I do with Target and Wal-Mart.

As far as the quality of the figures, I have some issues, but not necessarily the same as others. I don't mind the Death Star Trooper. I think it is much better than the old version. I'm not liking the Galactic Marine as much though. I have trouble getting him to stand on his own. Outside of that, I guess it is a pretty good figure. Luke is a decent figure, if only he had a better head. Better hair and less pale skin would improve that.

I've found all of wave 1, but only Han, Luke and DST from wave 2. I've seen two of the three wave 2 comic packs at Fred Meyer. I've not seen the Obi-Wan/ARC Trooper yet. Target doesn't even appear to have a peg for them.