Week of: Dec. 20th, 1999

Sunday, Dec. 26th:

Clearance Sales

Not as many clearance sales as I thought there would be. But then again, most everyone has already had stuff on clearance. Hallmark has the ornaments for 50% off, and Shopko has lowered some of their prices. Shopko had the Pod Racers down to $9.99 along with the Theed Hanger Playset.

Christmas Stories

I got a lot of Star Wars stuff for Christmas and would love to hear what you got. Things ranged from Hallmark ornaments to duffel bags, and dishes. Somehow my Mom found some lip balm packs that I have never seen before (and I look constantly). It was a lot of fun to say the least.

Friday, Dec. 23rd:

Soft Goods Wave

This is turning out to be a pretty good week for me. Today I found the Soft Goods Wave at the Madison area Wal-Marts. The west side store had 1 case, the east side store had 2 cases, and Sun-Prairie had 3 cases. This wave includes Darth Maul Sith Lord, Obi-Wan Kenobi Jedi Knight, and Anakin Naboo Pilot. These figures are all very similar to already existing figures and it is odd that they include 3 Darth Maul Jedi Duel in the case while the new figures are all 2 per case.

New Classic 12"

TRU east in Madison had some of these this morning, but no Han Endor to be found. I guess that I will need to keep on looking.

Armored Scout Tank

Wal-Mart Sun Prairie had these in this morning.

Wednesday, Dec. 22th:

Armored Scout Tank

These have been reported at Targets, but I found them at Wal-Mart east in Madison. Wal-Mart's price was $9.96 making them less expensive than the Sith Speeder & STAP. They come six to a case and are in a .0000 box the size of the STAP. The Battle Droid looks nice at first, but then you realize that its arms are not articulated at the elbows. This means that they are permanently bent 90 degrees at the elbows, although good enough to pilot the vehicle, not good for much else.

FAO Fambaa

I then came home to find two huge boxes from FAO. I was worried that since I ordered two that FAO would try to cram both into one box. I was pleased that they didn't and mine arrived in good shape. The Fambaa is pretty large and comes in a nice window box (.0000). I have heard that the Gungan soldier seemed small, but I think that is an elusion caused by how he is placed in the box. I put a Battle Droid next to him and they are about the same size. Pictured on the back of the box, and not out here yet, are Darth Maul Sith Lord, Anakin Pilot, Ammo Wagon, and the Tank. My only complaint is that the Fambaa doesn't have any articulation.

Tuesday, Dec. 21st:

New Classic 12"

TRU east in Madison had in some more (at least two cases) of these today. When I stopped by, there were 4 Chewies, 3 Leias, and no Hans. Well, I only missed one. These are the two figures that are getting criticized the most, but I'm not sure why really. The Leia is no real surprise since she is a re-release of the one shipped last year as an FOA exclusive. Granted, if she were a Barbie the price point would be $10 and not $20-$25. I still think that it is the best 12" Leia released in the '90s. The Chewy isn't as bad as I thought. I wish that they wouldn't have sculpted him with his mouth open and his torso does seem a little long. Still, I think that he is better than the other 12" Chewies out there, but they could still do better.

Monday, Dec. 20th:

Classic Darth Vader & Stormtrooper

Well, I didn't find them at any local store, but I did get them from BigE. I had read some bad reports about the place, but decided to take a chance since these two figures don't seem to be popping up much. Plus, at $6.39 each, no tax, and free shipping, it seemed like it was worth the chance. As with any mail order place, you get what you get. Because of this, I ordered three of each. The Stormtroopers all came pretty nice and the Darth Vaders all could have been nicer. All in all, not too bad though. Both figures were on .0000 cards, for those variation hunters out there. Now if I could only find that damn R2-D2.

Fan Club Foreign 2-Packs

The Fan club is now taking pre-orders for four foreign 2-packs. These are the ones that have a regular figure along with a cheaper version of the Battle Droid. They will be sold in sets of two for $19.95 plus shipping. The sets are Queen Amidala Coruscant & Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul Tatooine. You have to call the Fan Club at 800-TRUE-FAN to place the pre-order.

New Amidala Dolls

eToys has the new 12" Queen Amidala Return to Naboo Travel Gown and 12" Beautiful Braids Padme. The Amidala is pricey at $69.99, but the Padme doesn't seem too bad at $17.99.