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The Case For A New VC Mara Jade

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 In case you missed the winner of the SWTVC March Madness:  To be honest, even if Mara hadn't won, I would have made this same blog post, but maybe at a different time. It actually occurred to me while stuck in traffic Thursday evening that this  should be my topic for this weekend. As you may know, Mara was my top choice for March Madness, and with the recent Heir To The Empire 3 pack coming soon, she became even more justified to be my top choice. Now, she has had some 3.75 inch figures before, and currently has a Sixer figure available in The Last Command 4 pack.  Ever since her debut in 1991 in the novel Heir To The Empire by Timothy Zahn, Mara quickly became a fan favorite character. But her absence in the Dark Empire series is almost an unforgivable mistake (she probably wasnt in it to keep the suspense on her fate in the Thrawn Trilogy but could have shown up in DE2 and Empire's End). There were all sorts of web pages dedicated to Mara and Luke, even before th...
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Anakin Skywalker VC 347 Review

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  When this figure was announced, and rumors began to trickle out about him being a new head sculpt on the VC 92 Anakin buck, I said a few expletives that begin with the letters F & S. But, when I saw reviews on YouTube and BanthaSkull, I changed my mind about just leaving this figure on a card. He needed to be opened! And played with! So for my first review back with my BB-8 Playset back up, it's the main character of the George Lucas Star Wars Saga: Anakin Skywalker, as seen in the Ahsoka series. Needless to say, this is already one of my favorite VC figures. Will he be in my VC Top 25 in 2025? Maybe yes, maybe no. But please read on for my review!  Since it's been a while since I've taken photos on this set up, I'm not too thrilled with some photos, especially the 2nd one above, but of the 4 I took, that one was the best. I will compare this figure to VC 92 at the end. This Anakin has the standard 17 POA, and the new barbell hips which allow him to be put into so...
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The Case For & Against A Death Star HasLab

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  When Chris from BanthaSkull comes up with what seems to be a ho-hum article at 6 AM Central time (where I live, anyway) it's usually thought provoking. And this one didn't disappoint. https://www.banthaskull.com/story/news-hasbro-has-a-death-star-sized-haslab-problem-with-me Normally I comment, but I didn't because my response would be quite lengthy. Something only a blog post can do. But, I have my own thoughts as to why a Death Star HasLab can work, but also why Hasbro may be better off making it instead as a retail item. But this quote from the article says it all: ask 10 VC collectors what you want in a modern Death Star playset and you'll get 10 different answers. So, I'll make my weakest argument first.  THE DEATH STAR PLAYSET NEEDS TO BE SOLD AT RETAIL OUTLETS  There is some logic to this. Back in 1995-96 Kenner/Hasbro released some small sets like the detention block hallway and the reactor bridge to recreate Luke and Leia's swing. Nothing really has ...
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Clearance Finds/Preorder Arrivals/Top 25 in 2025 Preview

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A last moment family trip had me out of town all day Saturday, so no review as I hoped. But, as I alerted the BanthaSkull commentors on last Saturday: Wal-Mart has Vintage Collection figures on clearance for $6. And some recent deluxe Black Series figures priced at $9-$15 depending on the location. So, my total haul without tax was $39. Well, actually it was $55 since Admiral Piett wasn't on clearance.  1. Black Series IG-12 This cost me $9. And I have yet to open this, or the Mandalorian Ahsoka Sixer I recently bought. On the plus side, he comes with 2 Anzellans (same species as Babu Frik from Episode 9) and a Grogu that can actually move his arms. The VC version has a removable chest plate for the mini figures to fit in, and I assume this one does as well. But, no blaster. Still a great deal. The deluxe Paz Vizsla is also on clearance for the same price.  2. Vintage Collection Haul This is from 2 different Wal-Mart's. Both within 15 minutes from each other. The only figure I...
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