Year End Roundup - Best of 2006

[Tycho]

We always do those year-end round ups in January - and while that's more than 2 months away right now - we know the figures that will be shipping.

General Veers still stands out as me getting exactly what I wanted from a figure (remember our lists we voted on?)

But a few others give me pause:

Leia Boussh was a nice resculpt. I didn't need her and didn't buy her, but I did admire her.

SunFac was interesting - even if we're sick of seeing him at Toys R Us.

The Clone Commando was inarticulate, but nicely sculpted.

The Firespeeder Pilot was random and obscure, but seriously cool.

Cody was long awaited for - yet feels like ANOTHER Clone. (Well, technically he is one)

Momaw was a nice resculpt!

Hem Dazon was once my most-wanted figure since Vintage days. But he's alright - I'm just glad to have gotten him done.

R5D4 was another nice resculpt - but one I really didn't need to use.

Chief Chirpa turned out awesome, but I have trouble seeing him even when he's in the palm of my hand. Can I borrow your microscope?

C-3PO proved what they said was impossible to do, was just another excuse manufactured in Rhode Island. I didn't need to buy it, but it did turn out nice.

Luke Endor is exactly what I wanted for a long time and I really like the figure. Funny that the vintage figure from 1985 has a better poncho though. And the gunbelt and holster is clearly a KENNER interpretation of the character, as Luke stopped carrying a gun by ROTJ.

The Podracer 2-pack adds value, plus Dud Bolt was one of my favorites amongst these guys.

Gragga is a great figure along the lines of Dexter Jettster, though not quite Ephant Mon.

The Endor Rebels are cool. I didn't really look them over too carefully - but they might be a reuse of the Saga 1 body. I'm not sure.

In the final 22, which we'll see between X-mas and 1st Quarter next year, I don't find anything too exciting. I'm buying some Clone Sergeants (ATOC) and 5 Kashyyyk troopers - that's it (2 types out of 22 possibilities - miserable waves....)

So what are your thoughts about all this?

[Blue2th]

I would have to say that General Veers was my favorite this year and was the figure I have been wanting all these years. I really got mad at the TRU Battle-Pack that had the POTF2 AT-AT commander, labeled General Veers. I think Hasbro was listening to the Fans, and a few months later, came out with a decent Veers (or is that Quentin Tarantino? )

[pbarnard]

That Sandtrooper was nice (albiet a resculpt). Veers and Jerjerrod were essentially the same figure with slightly different toolings, accessories and heads, so I don't rate them as high as others. The one figure that's missing on these lists that I rate higher (and I held off on till just now) is the Imperial Gunner. Armor, removable helmet, holster, all nice touches. Beyond that another outstanding cantina set of aliens. The other thing is the redone Garindan was excellent. The final thing is just minor, but despite a repack, the chest with the latest Luke is probably one of the bes suprise accessories.

[JediTricks]

I can't wait to dump on Tycho for that Veers figure come January.

I liked Leia Boushh, showed how out-of-date the '96 version is, the standout figure of that wave for sure, but somehow not that memorable and doesn't sell well.

I liked Sun Fac a lot, I just wish his paint had been better - it didn't match from piece to piece. This is a body I want to see them recycle into a generic Geonosian warrior down the line.

Tycho, the "Clone Commando", you mean Republic Commando's Scorch? I expected a little better from Scorch, the sculpting, paint, and articulation feels a few years behind the times, he's good but should be a little better.

Firespeeder pilot seems like a good figure but not much of a Star Wars guy.

Cody disappointed me because they didn't ball-joint his shoulders (real ball-joints, not universals, ball joints would be limited but have enough movement to give range) and didn't articulate his ankles, even with the articulation he DOES have he feels preposed and limited. Plus, Cody and the Utapau Clone have paintjobs that are way too bold and LOOK like paint jobs.

Momaw was indeed nice, now he's a pegwarmer for his troubles. Somehow this one felt like it was mistimed and should have been released elsewhere, the 30 anniv line would have been perfect.

Hem Dazon I really wish they had done something more imaginative with, the body is just a "regular guy" with alien extremities. Also, the head sculpt is a little off in part due to accomodating the ball-jointed neck.

R5-D4 was great to have, I only wish his body panels were sculpted on instead of just glued.

Chirpa is a total ripoff sold alone and without major accessories, plus they didn't even universal-joint his friggin' shoulders???

Endor 3PO rules, I wish they could do a 3PO that wasn't chrome so he was built sturdier and had even more articulation, but this will do for now.

I can't speak about any of the figures from Endor2/TPM on, haven't seen 'em in person.



Additions beyond your list:

- AT-AT Driver took a figure I considered to be "done" and took him to the next level, very nice work indeed even if he is misassembled.
- Hoth R2-D2 improves on the short paint work of the VOTC figure which is good, but I still want better.
- Lushros was pretty good work for what it was I suppose.
- Garindan was a very good update.
- Everybody seems to love the Death Star Gunner, he's a really nifty figure, his vest is wrong but oh well.

- Should we mention the VTSC?


I must say, 2006 so far feels like a year without a true standout figure or group, that's both good and bad - good because there weren't too many turkeys that felt like the line was dragged way down by them, but bad because there was no shining achievements.

[sebillba]

- Should we mention the VTSC?

With all the other rehashes and resculpts, surely we should include the VTSC??

My vote for figure of the year goes to VTSC Greedo - a perfect figure that totally rejuvenated my enthusiasm for the hobby. I totally love this guy - it's not just my pick of the year, but my absolute favourite figure ever!!

Apart from him, I was most psyched to finally get Hem Dazon - he's been top of my most wanted list for years.

[Tycho]

I must say, 2006 so far feels like a year without a true standout figure or group, that's both good and bad - good because there weren't too many turkeys that felt like the line was dragged way down by them, but bad because there was no shining achievements.

So true, JT: So true!

The fact that we're only discussing a handful of figures in a 70-some figure year suggests things were pretty lackluster.

Yeah, Cody could have been something awesome, but they dropped the ball a little with him.

Hem Dazon might've even been a little more than what he was, too.

So could that R2-D2 as a matter of fact.

In Jaff's year-by-year, wave-by-wave poll, I haven't seen such enthusiasm for figures save for 2001's Power of the Jedi waves. That was a good collection.

Now I think the ROTS figures were very good too (many but not all). Saga 2 sort of disappoints and to be honest, I'm skeptical about the 30th Anniversary figures although the Lava Miner will be awesome and if they do something great with Elris Helrot (if it's true), that will be a cool figure. The Galactic Marine is a new sculpt, as is the Airborne Trooper, but I'm not doing cartwheels over them.

[DarthBrandon]

My favorites of the year:

1.) All the VTSC figures, they rock big time, all should be made like this.
2.) Death Star Gunner: nicely done & worth every penny I spent last night.
3.) At-At Driver: like someone else said, they took it too another level so I bought two plus the two others that I got with both Walkers.
4.) General Veers (Q.T.): enough has been said about him already, very nice to have finally.
5.) R5-D4: kicks butt to finally have one that is better than the piece of carp that was released years ago. (Still trying to figure out what to do with the old one.)
6.) Endor C-3PO: been waiting for this for a long time & I was not disappointed last night.
7.) Commander Cody: nice to have, but my re-tooled version that I put together kicks Hasbro's version all to hell.
8.) Sandtrooper: didn't think they could improve this one but they did, great job with the extras.

There are some others like the Jedi Sora Bulq, Garindan, Moff Jejerrod, Firespeeder Pilot, Naboo Soldier, & the Cantina Aliens. So far I'm just waiting for the Naboo Soldier, the 501st Clone Commander, some clones & Possibly Mace's R2 unit.

Next year it looks like I'm interested in only 10 figures so far from the list /rumour list & the rest will be chosen wisely as the price rises unless my son wants something then I have no choice.

[figrin bran]

my personal favorite was the AT-AT Driver.

Veers was nicely done BUT what about that half tailed job they did on the armor?

there were a lot of great figures that fell short of perfection for one reason or another...

R5D4 - they didn't paint the panels on the back
Firespeeder Pilot - IMO, the head is too small and out of proportion with the body
Sora Bulq - could've used articulated knees

[pegger]

I'd like to add Bren Derlin to the mix. I know he peg warmed, but he is a very nice rebel hoth fig, the scultping was good, as was the likeness.

[tagmac]

There were quite a few good ones in this wave, although the large number of re-packs was pretty disappointing (although it did save me money).

Major Bren Derlin may be a peg warmer, but I have to agree that it was a great figure. The likeness of Cliff Clavin was pretty good, and IMO, this figure covers the original "Rebel Commander" figure from the vintage line.

General Veers was a cool figure, worth buying two of these just to have him with and without the armor.

R5-D4 finally gave us the figure we'd been screaming for since that abomination back in '97.

Sora Bulq was a great looking figure. An EU character, but one that did see movie action. Now if only we could get Quinlan Vos to go with him.

Commander Cody ranks among the best of the year for me. The complaints logged by people here never really bugged me about the figure, which I was lucky enough to actually find very early on - a rarity for me with popular figs.

Chief Chirpa was long overdue, and well worth the wait. Awesome sculpt, and the removable knife was a nice touch.

C-3PO w/Ewok Throne was another long-awaited figure thast was well worth the wait. 3-PO looked cool, and the bendable legs completely kill the vintage version that didn't have the articulation, thus looking pretty dumb on the throne that came with the Ewok Village.

Rep Been is another great-looking figure. The sculpt and the costume on this figure are amazing.

There were also a few turkeys in the bunch. The holo figures all seemed like unneccessary re-hashes, with only Ki-Adi Mundi really making any sense movie-wise. The Naboo pilot just seemed unneccessary, considering we already got Ric Olie, unless they're planning on re-releasing the Naboo fighter. Hem Dazon was OK, but the humanoid body just didn't seem right. Scorch also seemed unneeded here - I only bought him because I was thrilled to finally find this rare figure. Foul Modama also semed pretty lame. I also had Kabe and Muftak, and so this re-hash just didn't seem worth getting, especially for a character that never appeared in the movies.