This Week In Your Plastic Crack, Action Figures and Toy Collection 26 26

[Gonzimodo]

Hmmm, I guess I'm wrong, since the chart shows both variations of Yoda's cane and snake, as well as the blue lightsaber for Jedi Luke...  

So I guess it works for how I described but includes the three most common variants.  It would probably be overkill to include the double-telescoping lightsabers.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Gonzimodo

[Broke as a Joke]

Still on the fence about backing the Ghost. Did they reveal what title the packaging will use?  Ashoka?  Rebels?  

[Gonzimodo]

On 8/25/2023 at 3:56 PM, Broke as a Joke said:

Still on the fence about backing the Ghost. Did they reveal what title the packaging will use?  Ashoka?  Rebels?  

It looks like it will be Ahsoka, which is kind of strange considering the stretch goals.

[Buzzetta]

On 8/25/2023 at 12:20 PM, comicwiz said:

Short answer, no.

I know some of the contributors, and I realize they put time/effort into this, but it is pointless. It's a tiny data sample size, and Kenner had a replacement policy and program, which many parents and kids wrote into with letters to get replacement accessories/weapons sent to them after they lost theirs. Sometimes they claimed they were missing. Kenner never looked-up any matrix or list of what weapon went to which figure from which factory. The research is also deliberately exclusionary, because in instances where certain figures were matched-up with different weapon versions, the data sample did not include certain releases like the Trilogo. Because, certain people claimed, Trilogo's weren't always accurate and mismatched figures along with weapons at the factory.

Thanks... I will stick to the basics then with one exception.  I think I will try to match up the double telescoping saber I have with the "right" Luke.  I had purchased that in a comic store as a teenager as it was different and looked cool but the figure was not in the greatest condition.  I swapped it into the best Luke I had at the time.  I think I would like to find the proper figure though and install the right saber again. 

[Buzzetta]

On 8/25/2023 at 3:56 PM, Broke as a Joke said:

Still on the fence about backing the Ghost. Did they reveal what title the packaging will use?  Ashoka?  Rebels?  

 

On 8/25/2023 at 3:57 PM, Gonzimodo said:

It looks like it will be Ahsoka, which is kind of strange considering the stretch goals.

They are adding to the final stretch goal at the end.  Supposedly if it reached 17,000 they will offer up a Chopper figure and Sabine figure on those mural cardbacks to complete the set.   Some have said that there will be an "add on" option for a slight price increase and others are reporting that it will be a bonus at no cost to the final tier.  

This was revealed in some conversation with the Hasbro team but there is nothing yet on the Hasbro site. 

[comicwiz]

On 8/25/2023 at 3:31 PM, Turnando said:

I suspect that some of them are interested in the vintage SW accessories just as accessories.  Not necessarily caring about matching them to the variant fig they go with but just wanting to recognize the accessory variants.

Back in the day I collected loose vintage SW figs and I ended up liking collecting genuine accessories more than the figs themselves. So many fakes out there, it was fun to get good at recognizing genuine accessories. 

I used to buy crappy condition figs that had rare accessories, just for the accessory.  Some of the bigger sellers on rebelscum used to clear out their stashes of common accessories and I'd buy those too.

I have a whole of them and they are my favorite part of my vintage SW collection.

Just to clarify, this has gone beyond the realm of genuine weapon/accessory identification. It is making bold assertions that a certain figure from a factory only came with a certain version of accessory or weapon. What it's causing is this movement to call into question a figures weapon or accessory based on a tiny sample size where someone went through MOC examples, likely within the last 3-5 years, to determine which accessory/weapon matches to which COO and factory. For those who weren't aware, later lines had letters on the footer showing which factory they came from. So essentially, they are using that sample size to determine that Smile, Unitoys or Kader ONLY paired these specific weapons with the figures. I have no issue with someone taking things to a different level, however it is wrong and potentially harmful to the hobby to approach this with a mindset of universality because there will be people monetizing this for their own self-serving benefit. It's already been going on for years. It's an imaginary "rarity" associated to a weapon/accessory ONLY matched to a COO of a character.

Earlier I described how the Kenner replacement policy nullifies this was by intent or design, however an extension of this is that not a single ex-Kenner engineer, designer, NOT ONE has ever corroborated or confirmed that this was a measure, process or policy of the company. To further complicate things, the Asian factories that were producing these were pairing these figures with whatever part bins they had available to them, so to suggest foreign licensees are not relevant to incorporate into the research proves a bias and flaw inherent in the methodology. I used the Trilogo example, but I feel it should be explained in a little more depth. So take for instance the Luke Stormtrooper. The V1 is the blaster this figure supposedly came with, and it needs to be "black." The European collectors will argue that there are examples of "blue" and I've seen them personally.

Because Trilogo's have had a history of having errors, the blue blasters are not seen as being correct. Despite sealed examples showing the contrary. As such, the only examples that have been used to push this V1 black blaster is the POTF, Trilogo Luke Storms don't count. Now, consider that a friend of mine just bought a collection with a US Kenner Stormtrooper with a Chewbacca bowcaster sealed inside of it. I didn't ask for which Asian factory, and this is far from being the only error MOC I've seen or heard of, so does that nullify all US Kenner, and all Asian factories subbed by Kenner as well, because they couldn't even put the right blaster, nevermind the right version, with the Stormtrooper?

If I suggest it's pointless, it's mainly because I see it creating more ambiguity and confusion, with the added downside that there will be people finding ways to market these as "rare" varieties. Down the road, they may claim that this level of granularity will help with identification as fakes become more accurate, but this is a red herring because counterfeiters will simply wait until profiteers drive the values up, and begin knocking off those exact COO weapons/accessory combinations as well.

It's definitely important to know whether your weapons/accessories are genuine, but this takes things to a whole different level, with a potential to be useful in one-off cases, but; i) sample sizes need to increase exponentially; ii) there needs to be more backers who were involved in the toy-making realm (and the silence thus far has been deafening); iii) time - and I mean, a reasonable ratio at bare minimum, where we are seeing graders getting lobbied by "special interests" pushing/advancing these a "true", a TPG caving, and essentially going back on over 15 years of grading something a certain way because 5 years of submissions shows a pattern to support it; iv) original documentation from Kenner would be nice too; and maybe only then, is there a possibility there may be some validity in some on a case-by-case situation. The notion of applying this methodology as a wholesale, one-size fits all approach to "more precisely" identify weapons or accessories to a certain factory has thus far demonstrated too far a deviation from the standard or norm, with the added downside of opportunists in-waiting forming lines to discover the next hobby ATM from which to withdraw copious amounts of cash.

Edited August 25, 2023 by comicwiz

[whisp]

Been working on my book case.  I took the Hotwheels of the wall and attached it to the book case.  I did other side as well but need more drywall jstraps.

[F For Fake]

Some recent pickups. Grabbed this DC Icons Supergirl at a garage sale today. For my money, this is the best Supergirl figure ever made, and according to eBay prices, I'm not alone in that thinking. I really loved the Icons line, really wish DC had continued it. I liked the Essentials line that followed it well enough, but Icons had accessories, great sculpts, and great character selection. The fact that we were robbed of that solicited Blue Beetle and Booster Gold two pack still chaps my hide.

In other DC toy news, I am on record as not being a fan of Todd's DC Multiverse output. By biggest gripe is the character selection and designs. I understand that Batman sells, but I have no interest in modern characters, art-inspired designs, etc. I don't know anything about Dark Knights Death Metal or any of that stuff, nor do I desire to. I just want vanilla sculpts of classic DC characters designs. 

So, Todd hasn't had much to offer me, but things have been changing bit by bit. It started with that Blue and Gold two pack, which I had to have. Now there's a new Blue Beetle single pack figure with a different deco, and other classic characters coming. So, I have decided I will grab the classic designs as the come out, and that should be managable, since he still seems to want the line primarily focused on stuff I don't care about. So this week I picked up Captain Atom at Walmart, and Flash and Beetle at Target. I've got a couple of Knightfall Batman on their way, as well as Catman and Riddler. If I pick and choose, this could be a decent toy line.

Also grabbed this Hawkeye with Sky Cycle, because how could I not?

[F For Fake]

Finally got around to unboxing these Grimlocks...or Grimslock, if you prefer. I think I prefer.

The Shattered Glass and G2 decos hit pretty close together, it was a surprise. They look great. I love the metallic teal on the G2, and the Trypticon deco on SG body looks terrific. Thought about pulling out my SS86 as well to take a pic, but was ultimately too lazy. These are big chonky boys, and hold the distinction of being one of the few modern TF molds that I can transform without having to resort to a Youtube tutorial!

Edited September 5, 2023 by F For Fake

[Cocomonkey]

On 9/5/2023 at 9:35 AM, F For Fake said:

Finally got around to unboxing these Grimlocks...or Grimslock, if you prefer. I think I prefer.

 

Grimlox maybe? Or does that sound too much like an angry bagel?

[F For Fake]

On 9/5/2023 at 10:02 AM, Cocomonkey said:

Grimlox maybe? Or does that sound too much like an angry bagel?

Oh man, I could go for a shmear of lox right now!

[Cocomonkey]

On 9/5/2023 at 10:06 AM, F For Fake said:

Oh man, I could go for a shmear of lox right now!

 

[Cat]

On 9/5/2023 at 11:35 PM, F For Fake said:

Finally got around to unboxing these Grimlocks...or Grimslock, if you prefer. I think I prefer.

The Shattered Glass and G2 decos hit pretty close together, it was a surprise. They look great. I love the metallic teal on the G2, and the Trypticon deco on SG body looks terrific. Thought about pulling out my SS86 as well to take a pic, but was ultimately too lazy. These are big chonky boys, and hold the distinction of being one of the few modern TF molds that I can transform without having to resort to a Youtube tutorial!

Love the G2 deco. Definitely my favourite out of the capsule line. 

[fantastic_four]

Looks like the Ghost Haslab will be fully funded within the next few hours.  I bet it goes above 20K before it ends.

Friday the Marvel Legends team will reveal their next Haslab.  It's almost certainly a comic Giant-Man.

 

[Buzzetta]

All tiers unlocked.  I want to see what happens with the chopper and Sabine wren figures that were also promised on the mural cards if we reached all tiers. 

[Broke as a Joke]

On 9/6/2023 at 1:03 PM, Buzzetta said:

All tiers unlocked.  I want to see what happens with the chopper and Sabine wren figures that were also promised on the mural cards if we reached all tiers. 

I backed it today once I saw the final tier was met.  They might release those other figures but apparently it won't be included with the Ghost.  

[fantastic_four]

Haslab comic Giant-Man just revealed.  Great price at $199.99, and he looks spectacular.

[SpineTic]

On 9/8/2023 at 11:32 AM, fantastic_four said:

Haslab comic Giant-Man just revealed.  Great price at $199.99, and he looks spectacular.

More...

Inventing the Inventor

When it came to concepts for the next Marvel Legends HasLab, we knew that what fans needed was to complete the most iconic and mightiest team on Earth -- the Avengers. In honor of the 60th anniversary, we looked to the original team of Marvel Comics Avengers. This figure is inspired by Giant-Man's first comic appearance in Tales to Astonish #49 (1963), with details that pay homage to his long comic history and history with the Avengers.

Edited September 8, 2023 by SpineTic

[Broke as a Joke]

After the Sentinel and Galactus this seems rather redundant for another Haslab Marvel product.  

[F For Fake]

On 9/8/2023 at 12:52 PM, Broke as a Joke said:

After the Sentinel and Galactus this seems rather redundant for another Haslab Marvel product.  

It's not an exciting choice for sure, but it's a choice that makes sense. When EOV didn't fund, they listened to some of the fan complaints, and went with a wide appeal, classic character, at a good price point, and no popular 6" figures locked behind pay tiers. So, he may not have many bells and whistles, and the tiers don't really do anything for me personally, but there's no question he's a dramatic improvement on the TB version. For that much plastic, $200 seems fair. I backed him.

Edited September 8, 2023 by F For Fake