Week of: April 14th, 2003
Saturday, April 19th
Yoda & Chian Wave
Target west in Madison had one case of these figures on the pegs this morning. Ray H. was there and we split the new figures between ourselves. These include Yoda & Chian, Ashla & Jempa, and a red Battle Droid. Yoda & Chian are packed two per case, but the other new figures are only one per case. Yoda & Chian ('03/15) are nicely done and include a hovering chair for Yoda and a removable helmet for Chian. Yoda has joints at both elbows and his right wrist. Both of these figures and the other two padawans are unileg. Ashla & Jempa ('03/16) are also nicely done and both have removable helmets. The red Battle Droid is the same as the one released earlier on a Saga card except it is red. It is even numbered '02/11 although the pictures on back have been updated to show the figure as red. Also included in the case along with is wave are: (2) Barriss Offee, (2) Aalaya Secura, (1) Padme - Droid Factory Chase, (1) SP-4 & JN-66, and (1) blond Imperial Officer. Today is the last day of Target's 2 for $5 sale making this find all the better.
Boba Fett Wave
Thanks to a lot of help from Ray H., I have been able to put together sets for most of the recent waves. This wave shows how inconsistent Hasbro can be. Mace Windu - Arena Confrontation ('03/02) has a levver sticking out of his back to give you "total control" of his lightsaber. This is the most obtrusive play feature ever added. Anakin - Secret Ceremony ('03/07) is quite nice having one of the better head sculpts of the character. He also has swivel joints at each elbow, a ball joint on his left shoulder and joints at both ankles. Boba Fett - Pit of Carkoon ('03/08) is very nicely done. He has articulated elbows and two points at his right knee. The flame effect is very well done also. The only thing weird is that his rocket is different than the one shown on the card. It almost looks like it may now be launchable, but that doesn't seem like something they would add at the last minute. R2-D2 - Droid Factory Flight ('03/09) is terrible. His legs are molded into his body, the paint job is horrendous, and his head sculpt is just bad. All of this was sacrificed to make the play feature work. Unfortunately, Ray's kid broke theirs even though he was being careful.
Aalaya Secura Wave
I finally got Aalaya Secura ('03/11) today. She has ball joints on each shoulder, two swivel joints on her left arm, and a swivel joint on her left thigh. Lama Su & Clone Youth ('03/10) are nicely done although a little boring. They don't have any extra articulation or accessories. Barriss Offee ('03/12) isn't what I was hoping for. I really didn't want her in such an action pose, but it does match Luminara Unduli's. She does have a ball joint on her right shoulder and a swivel joint in her left arm.
Padme (Droid Factory Chase) Wave
Padme ('03/04) is kind of nice as a figure to use in any Droid Factory conveyor diorama, but wouldn't be good for much else. Luckily, Hasbro has already provided quite a few pieces to make this diorama. She has a small piece of conveyor along with articulated knees. SP-4 & JN-66 ('03/05) are straight out of the cut scenes on the DVD. They look good except maybe they could be more chrome. The Tusken Raider - Tatooine Camp Ambush ('03/06) probably should have been the figure to come with the Massiff. He has a removable head and swivel joints on each arm.
Wednesday, April 16th
Boba Fett Wave
Ray H. continues his run of good luck finding this wave of figures at Wal-Mart west in Madison this morning. To make things better, he was able to price match using Target's two figures for $5 ad. This wave includes: Boba Fett (Pit of Carkoon), Mace Windu (Arena Confrontation), R2-D2 (Flying), and Anakin Skywalker (Secret Ceremony). Also in the case are older figures that many have never seen yet. These are Obi-Wan (Acklay Battle) and Darth Tyranus.
Tuesday, April 15th
Playskool Falcon
Ray H. reports Kay Bee Toys west in Madison had a few of these on the shelf today. This is, I believe, the first time they have shown up at retail in Madison.
Action Fleet Wave 3
Ray H. also reports that Wal-Mart west in Madison got in some of this elusive wave of Action Fleet ships that includes the AT-AT and Snowspeeder.
Monday, April 14th
12" Plo Koon
I picked up two of these from Alliance Collectibles. I have never dealt with them before, but was running out of viable options for getting these. They were a little more expensive than I had hoped at $32 each, but they had them in stock and they arrived well boxed and in decent shape. The figure is pretty nice having an awesome head sculpt. The body is typical 12" with nothing good or bad to say about it.