The rarest Kenner figure! I don't count Vlix from Droids because that figure wasn't made by Kenner. But Yakface is the final figure made for Star Wars by Kenner until the mid 1990's. Now, this figure only showed up in the Pacific North West in the United States on foreign language cards in Kay Bee toy stores. On the foreign language (aka Tri Logo card) Yakface comes with his weapon. But on his more mainstream release in Europe he doesn't come with his staff. I won't get into the theories on why his release was so limited, but the line was coming to an end, so you can form your own theory about that. The figure itself is like the typical Kenner figures of that era, 1 accessory and 5 POA. Amazingly his head does turn! Most large figures of that era (see my Kenner review of Amanaman) couldn't have their heads turned. In the movie, Yakface is not seen with a weapon but with a drink. But of course Kenner can't give a figure a shot glass as an accessory so givin...

  Another Kenner era figure that would later be remade for POTF2.  The 1st was Amanaman. But this figure is unique, for a couple reasons, which I'll go into in a few moments. But EV-9D9 may be the weirdest figure to be made by Kenner, and not just because she's kinda responsible for droid torture. EV-9D9 has 6 POA! She has the basic 5 plus a lever on the back of her head that allows her mouth to move as you could see in ROTJ. You also may have noticed the use of feminine pronouns, and yes, her programming is feminine so she is the 2nd Kenner female figure in the line. She's also not packed with an accessory, making her an even more unique figure! Her paint job isn't bad. In fact, the paint apps are incredibly well done on this figure. She's very close to being screen accurate. She also stands very well, as you can see in the pictures down below. Well sculpted & well painted, pretty rare combo for Kenner. Plus she hits the Trifecta with the accurate onscreen loo...

  November 17, 1978. A date that will live in Sci-Fi infamy. The Star Wars Holiday Special aired that day! Now, I could talk a lot about how this not only gave us the 1st appearance of Boba Fett, or Hollywood Legends Beatrice Arthur, Harvey Korman, Art Carney & Diahann Carrol adding their presence to the Star Wars universe but enough has been said about that! But what exactly is Life Day?! And why does Disney Canon handle it better than Legends? Well, read on to find out! In Disney Canon, Life Day is still a Wookiee holiday, but it has spread to other worlds. On Kashyyk, the Wookiee's would journey to the Tree Of Life, which would be decorated similar to how we decorate Christmas Trees. But there would also be feasts, and recreating sacred rituals. This concept would spread to other worlds like Batuu, and even the Mythriol who was captured by Din Djarin hoped he would be able to celebrate Life Day before being caught. In layman's terms, think of Life Day as a combination of...

  Honestly, I have to watch Return of the Jedi and remind myself when Amanaman is present. He's only seen for a few seconds, like Yakface in Jabba's Palace. Yet, he managed to get a Kenner figure. Which was a sign of the "good old days" of toy collecting. A weird alien like this would not be made today, especially one that requires single use tooling. But that was the joy of 1980's collecting! Before I get into the figure, a little about his species back story which comes from Star Wars Legends. His species are the Amani, and their skin is actually poisonous. They moved slowly (as seen when Jabba revealed himself to Han & Leia) and caused trouble for the Empire as Luke Skywalker's childhood friend Janek "Tank" Sunber would barely survive an encounter with this species on their homeworld of Maridun. Unlike other figures, Amanaman has only 4 POA (2 arms & 2 legs). His head doesn't turn and honestly if it could it would take away from the f...

  Kithaba may be best known as one of the first individuals on Luke's prisoner skiff to get knocked overboard and into the Sarlaac pit. However he was not the first to lose his life as he would be grabbed and swallowed by the Sarlaac. His Kenner card lists his name as Barada, with his name of Kithaba coming from West End Games in 1987. Kithaba is a member of the Barada species and served as a slave to Jabba. That's his official Disney Canon back story anyway. In Legends he was an assassin! If we're judging back story than Legends > Disney Canon but it's the toy I'm talking about here. As always it's a simple 5 POA figure, but as you'll see in the front and back views in the photos below, there is a LOT of detail in this "simple" figure. The bandana on his head, his "back pack", bandolier and belt pouches also stand out. Compare this figure to a 1978 Walrus Man or Hammerhead and you can see how the detail is much better on the alien fi...

  When collectors unite in a kind way to Hasbro, they will listen. For years, many collectors hoped that Bib Fortuna would come to the Vintage Collection and this year (late 2021 but I got mine this year), Hasbro granted that wish. So the Finish the 96 crowd gets to check one off the list. Now where does the name originate? Allegedly, while working on Star Wars in Tunisia, George Lucas called for a lunch break, and saw a background worker upset about the lunch selection. When GL asked what the worker was upset about, he was told that the worker "begged for tuna". I don't know if it's true or not, but it works for me, LOL!! Bib sports 17 POA, and was made mostly from a kitbash of older figures (he uses Bespin Lando's lower body) with some newly sculpted items like his unique hands and of course his head sculpt. His upper body has no trouble moving at all. You'll be able to see the full range of movement in the pictures. You can pose him in a seated position but...

  Return of the Jedi debuted 2 cool new Rebel starfighters. But have you wondered how they got their names A-Wing and B-Wing? Well in pre-production George Lucas saw the designs and said well here is A Fighter & B Fighter. The rest is history. So that's how the A-Wing & B-Wing fighters came to be! Now, the A-Wing fighter only came on a Droids box, not a ROTJ one. So naturally you would think that the A-Wing Pilot would come out on a Droids card, but no. Instead he comes in the POTF line. Why? Nobody really knows why. At this time in Kenner's run, they did a better job in sculpting and painting. You can see the details on the pilot's uniform stand out, as does the back of the figure. His 5 POA (head, 2 arms and 2 legs) easily move and can fit in not only the A-Wing but all other vehicles made at that time. The paint apps are also fairly clean. If there is a gripe it's that the helmet seems smaller than it should be, but I'll chalk it up to the limitations of...

  Since 2022 is wrapping up, what do I have in store for future Sunday blog posts? Well next year the obvious is ROTJ's 40th anniversary which will be a big chunk of what I do. But 2022 isn't over yet! So here is a rundown for the rest of the year, and then for 2023. NOVEMBER 2022 -VC reviews will be slowing down, I'll do Bib Fortuna later today, but when you read the next post you'll find out why. Plus taking pictures while fun can be a bit of work. -I had wanted to do all of the POTF figures but have decided to focus on those from only ROTJ. All of the Ewoks will be in 1 post, but expect Carbonite Han, Kithaba, Imperial Dignitary and Anakin Skywalker to get reviews. Amanaman, Yakface, EV-9D9 and A-Wing Pilot (coming later today) will lead into my 1st ROTJ figure I'll review which will be Admiral Ackbar! DECEMBER 2022 -I'll be reviewing my Top 5 VC figures of 2022! I may have already reviewed them, or have yet to review them. One I am eagerly awaiting for t...

  I write this having just found out that Kevin Conroy, best known as the voice of Batman, even appearing as a live action Bruce Wayne has passed away at the age of 66. Of course his Batman went up against Mark Hamill's (Luke Skywalker) Joker in many memorable episodes of the 1990's Batman: The Animated Series and the best ever Batman movie Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Of course as an actor he played many other roles, but his work on Batman made him an icon in the fan community. Looking at his imdb page, Mr Conroy lost out on the lead role in Wings to Tim Daly, who would go on to voice Superman, to KC's Batman. He had a roommate named Robin Williams, you might have heard of that guy too. He was on the show Tour of Duty and made a lot of TV movies as well. But on the convention scene, he was a true star. He'd greet his autograph lines by yelling "I am vengeance! I am the night! I AM BATMAN!" which would get audience applause. I was fortunate enough to meet hi...

  Retail exclusives are necessary evils. Wally World and Target need incentives to keep customers coming in, and well, this figure is one of them. Although lately Target exclusives miraculously show up in stores, unlike Wally World who sometimes gets theirs picked up by Entertainment Earth (thank you EE! Now I can get that Deluxe Ahsoka!). With Boba Fett, as seen in The Mandalorian on the planet Morak, he was a Target exclusive who sold out in 5 seconds once he went up for preorder and so I chalked him up to a figure I wouldn't get and left it at that. Until he actually showed up in stores that is. Now there are some differences in this and the deluxe one from BOBF. You'll notice he has different pants, a different skirt and his armor isn't exactly polished. He has the same 17 POA and as you'll see in the pictures he can achieve some cool action poses thanks to the new ball jointed hips. Now the fraying on the skirt does concern me long term, will it fall off at some ...

  I hate ordering from Wal Mart. Especially when it's their exclusives. They sell out in 3 seconds, and often BEFORE THE TIME THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO GO UP FOR PREORDER!!!! I had ordered a couple of Endor Luke's because I wanted 1 on card and one to keep on my Kenner/POTF2 Speeder Bike. Then Wal Mart cancelled the order. Wal-Mart is okay ordering groceries from, well for the most part, but collectibles? Hell no! But a trip to Ollie's shocked me. In a sea of 3.75 Black Series and 6 inch Black Series General Lando's I found a rack of mint to near mint Endor Luke's! Looks like I'd get my display Luke's after all! Now this figure is the same as VC 23 Endor Capture Luke from the head down. He has 14 POA, and can do a THWG (two-handed weapon grip) of his lightsaber easily. The paint apps are simple on this figure, gloss black boots, and belt and flat black outfit and gloved right hand. Those are all clean, and the eye paint isn't smudged. Always a plus. This Luk...