VC Top 25 in 2025: Numbers 1 & 2

 We're finally at the end. For 3 weeks I've done daily blog posts, finding images, and posting the results. But today I'll show you how I came up with everything for the Countdown. But before I begin, I want to thank everyone who voted, plus Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull for allowing me to post my blog posts in the comments section. It's been a big help. I used Bossk's Bounty's VC checklist as a guide, and getting images from Hasbro, BanthaSkull, actionfigure411.com, eBay and other sites, and I want to thank them as well, a very huge 'thank you'!  I'll be doing my Top 2 figures first, then I'll save the Collector's Choice for the very end. But more importantly I'd like to thank everyone for reading along this journey with me. 

MY VC TOP 25 SO FAR:

25. Ponda Baba ✔️
24. Dr Evazan ✔️
23. Gamorrean Guard ✔️
22. Bom Vimdin ✔️
21. BOBF Luke Skywalker ✔️
20. Rebel Endor Commando ✔️
19. Dagobah Landing Luke ✔️
18. Cara Dune ✔️
17. Reva VC 242 ✔️
16. Clonetrooper (Phase I & II) ✔️
15. ANH Leia  ✔️
14. Sith Trooper vc 162  ✔️
13. Din Djarin (Beskar Armor) vc 181 ✔️
12. Garazeb Orelios deluxe ✔️
11. VC 231 Stormtrooper ✔️
10. Boba Fett Throne Room BOBF ✔️
9. Bo Katan ✔️
8. ANH Luke Skywalker ✔️
7. Ahsoka Anakin Skywalker ✔️
6. Kanan Jarrus ✔️
5. IG-11 ✔️
4. Din Djarin (with Blurrg) VC 335 ✔️
3. Dark Times Darth Vader ✔️

MY 2ND RANKED FIGURE: 

VC 132 SAELT MARAE (AKA YAKFACE)

WHY I LIKE THIS FIGURE: 

While the original was hard to find, this one was for me initially. In late 2018, and early 2019 no brick and mortar stores in my general vicinity got new VC figures. I didn't want to pay eBay prices and Pre-ordering things was a foreign concept to me back then. It wasn't until 2020 and lockdowns that brought me into that. On the plus side, I get what I want. On the down side, I have to trust someone else to pick out the best figure. But anyway, because his Kenner POTF one was rare, this one felt like a must have. He's one of the rare non main figures I have loose and carded. Plus, I liked the story Steve Sansweet told about Yakface and Ree Yees in his action figure guide about being drinking buddies. Who doesn't love a booze hound?! 

WHY HE'S RANKED 2ND: 

Because simply put: Yakface is what the Vintage Collection is all about. He's a background alien, and completes scenes and displays. It's the one advantage the VC has over the Black Series: world building. It's one reason why we collect the Vintage Collection. Will we ever see a Sixer Yakface? Well we haven't so far. As a figure, I love him. I'd love to get another to possibly customize....but no. How did I find mine? Ollie's in late 2019. I went midday and got Yakface and a couple other hard to find figures. At the 2020 NOLA Comic Con I got my carded version just before the world locked down. He'll forever be a special figure to me. And I explained some of why I liked him covering the Collector's Choice at number 3. 

MY TOP RANKED VC FIGURE: 

VC 280 DARTH VADER (DEATH STAR II)

Photo from Hasbro Pulse 

WHY I LIKE THIS FIGURE: 

Any Darth Vader figure is a must buy. But there have been duds. But back in 1997, I read in ToyFare magazine that a removable helmet Darth Vader figure was coming. I raced to Toys R Us shortly after it was released and found it. My dream figure! And it became my preferred POTF2 Vader. Then the Legacy Collection offered a 2 piece removable helmet. Well, 3 piece but I never attempted to remove the 3rd piece. But, after 26 years, Hasbro has finally done the perfect Darth Vader from ROTJ. I do like the card as we see Sebastian Shaw as Anakin on the card. And it may be the only time he's on modern Kenner style card, so have at it. Which collectors did, as he was one of the top action figures sold on Amazon. You can re-enact his battle damage at the end of Jedi, and as he gets ready to toss Palpy down the Death Star's reactor shaft. The sculpt detail is amazing, as he resembles the Vader seen onscreen for ROTJ. Plus, his helmet breaks down into 3 pieces. And they actually stay in place. Something past removable helmet Vader's couldn't do well, especially if you turned their heads. 

WHY HE'S MY FAVORITE FIGURE: 

I like reusing a great buck for a Main, and this one saved Hasbro some money while raking in beaucoup money. A removable helmet Vader will always be something I want to get, but finally it took 2023 technology to do it justice. Besides, in the George Lucas Star Wars Saga, Vader, aka Anakin Skywalker is the main character. As a kid, I always wanted a Kenner Vader but never found or got one. So instead I painted a 1987 Cobra Commander in Battle Armor all black and also used a gold headed Destro as a bad guy for my Luke figure to fight. Once the line returned in 1995, I finally got my first Vader figure. And I've gotten almost ever Vader since, except for the ESB Vader from the 3.75 Black Series and the Emperor's Wrath Vader from VC 1.0. That's it. Vader is my VC obsession, and only Luke Skywalker comes closest to Vader for me. I hadn't intended to originally make this my top choice, but after opening him up, shooting pictures for my blog, I played with this figure for close to 3 hours. One benefit being that playing around with my figures (moving around joints, lightsaber battles, etc) helps ease stress and helps with some of my nerve issues in my hands. I haven't had this much fun playing around with a toy like VC 280, ever. 

COLLECTOR'S CHOICE TOP 25 SO FAR: 

25. VC 68 Echo Base Rebel Soldier ✔️
24. VC 227 Kuiil ✔️
23. VC 152 Vedain ✔️
22. VC 287 Taym Dren Garen ✔️
21. VC 129 Dr Aphra ✔️
20. VC 175 Jedi Luke BanthaSkull ✔️
19. Deluxe Krrsantan ✔️
18. VC 53 Bom Vimdin ✔️
17. VC 307 Count Dooku ✔️
16. VC 23 Endor Capture Luke ✔️
15. VC 332 Sabine Wren Mural Card ✔️
14. VC 334 Darth Vader ✔️
13. VC 24 Woof  ✔️
12. VC 286 Tessek ✔️
11. VC 301 Darth Revan ✔️
10. VC 318 Kanan Jarrus ✔️
9. VC 300 Hera Syndulla ✔️
8. DELUXE ZEB ✔️
8. VC 224 Bib Fortuna ✔️
7. VC 186 Boba Fett (ROTJ) ✔️
6. VC 316 Leia ✔️
5. VC 231 Stormtrooper ✔️
4. VC 280 Darth Vader (ROTJ) ✔️
3.VC 132 Yakface ✔️

Now, how did I get to this point? I had 17 responses for 170 total votes. I had to delete all the Snowtrooper votes as they weren't eligible since they shipped out after my April 1st, 2025 deadline. So here's how the breakdowns went: 

44 figures got 1 vote each. 

12 figures got 2 votes each (24). 

6 figures got 3 votes each (18).

6 figures got 4 votes each (24). 

2 figures got 5 votes each (20). 

3 figures got 6 votes each (18). 

1 figure got 7 votes. So did the Snowtrooper, but I couldn't count that figure. 

1 figure, the winner got 8 votes. Add up the numbers, and the total is 163. So I had 163 votes. To calculate the votes, I wrote on several sheets of paper and numbered it 1-350, like I said, I'm low tech. I took the lists and converted names to VC numbers and counted all the votes. This took up most of my day on May 2nd, and when I got home from the St Tammany Collector's Convention on May 3rd. But in the final calculations, despite not adding deluxe figure totals into the Collector's Choice initial Countdown I corrected the problem. But another problem emeged: ties. I had intended to count tied figures as one, but in getting 25 it would have taken me over a month to do and well, I didn't have time. So, I came up with a coin toss method. And here is the coin I used: 

Photos from Rebelscum. The Millennium Mint C-3PO coin, since it was gold. Heads has Threepio, and Tales was the Star Wars logo. Here is how the votes broke down for ranking purposes: 

1st: 8 votes

2nd: 7 votes

3rd-5th: 6 votes

6th and 7th: 5 votes

8th thru 12th: 4 votes

13th thru 18th: 3 votes

19th thru 25th: 2 votes

To settle ties, especially with 19th thru 25th, I used the old NFL playoff format. The 2 lowest numbered VC figures got byes and it was the lower numbered figures in a wild card round, then adding in the bye round figures until winners emerged. I coin tossed using lower numbers as heads, and higher numbers as tails. In the 2nd round, lower numbers got tales, higher numbers got heads. Once I got the the final 2, it became a 2 out of 3 coin tosses with higher number being tales and lower numbers being heads. It wasn't perfect but it worked. And it saved me anxiety like you wouldn't believe. But as you can see, there wasn't much that separated 1st from 25th. BanthaSkull commentor Aqualish Doug told me Hasbro's Steve Evans was looking for a list of 25 figures to start with for a VC collection. Today, the Collector's Choice wraps up their Top 25, and gives Mr Evans his Top 25 figures. 

COLLECTOR'S CHOICE 2ND RANKED FIGURE: 

VC 21 GAMORREAN GUARD (7 votes)

Photo from actionfigure411 

WHY I THINK COLLECTORS LIKE THIS FIGURE: 

He's a troop builder, and he's excellently sculpted. Plus he comes with an extra weapon, a staff, something the Kenner version didn't, although that one came with his axe. This figure can recreate the scene where Luke Skywalker enters Jabba's Palace, and even when Threepio and Artoo arrive. He can be displayed anywhere in Jabba's Palace and if you have the Sail Barge, he can fit in there too. He's a figure Collector's have loved ever since he came out, and based on the secondary market prices many collectors would love a chance to get this figure for the first time, or add to their totals. Troop builders are popular, and just another advantage of the Vintage Collection over the Black Series as smaller figures mean smaller prices, which offeres more display options. 

WHY HE'S RANKED 2ND: 

He's popular. When I first came up with this idea, I felt that Collector's would value this figure more than I did. And I was blown away counting the votes and seeing this figure get 7. As many as the Snowtrooper got. I was totally blown away by that. But, I knew outside of my room, he rules many Collector's rooms. He checks off the Original 96, and he just is a good looking figure. Even if I think he's a kooshball with a head, arms and legs. Like Yakface, he's an alien weirdo. Like the Stormtrooper, a troop builder. He's the best of both worlds in the Vintage Collection, and may be the one that most collectors probably think is fine as it is. Hopefully Hasbro makes him available again soon. 

THE COLLECTOR'S CHOICE TOP RANKED FIGURE: 

VC 344 LUKE SKYWALKER (8 votes)

Photo from Hasbro Pulse 

WHY I THINK COLLECTORS LIKE THIS FIGURE: 

I've gone over some of what I liked about this figure, but we have waited for a new Luke Skywalker from the original film since VC 1.0 began. There was a VC 1.0 Luke from ANH, but it was that terrible 2004 VOTC Luke that suffered from being too short, and was from the Death Star Escape. There was the VOTC Luke from 2004 that did come on the Kenner card, but it wasn't an official VC figure, but that line paved the way for the VC to come into existence. When the updated ANH Leia came out, fans went into a frenzy. When ANH Luke came out, it was a fever pitch of epic proportions. Luke is a popular character, and the wait seemed to be worth it as Collector's made this their top choice. 

WHY HE'S TOP RANKED: 

Despite the lack of weathered paint apps, cloth skirt to sit and as I pointed out the wrong hair color, this is a damn good figure! He's got an all new sculpt, head to toe. No reused parts here! Plus he interacts with old accessories like his poncho, floppy hat and blast shield helmet, the latter of which you should only briefly keep on his head so that it doesn't damage the helmet or the figure's head. But, he was well worth the wait for collectors. He checks off the Original 96 ANH Luke, and now we just need Han, Chewie, Ben Kenobi plus a hopefully updated C-3PO and can they update R2-D2 as well?! When Hasbro makes all new sculpts for Mains, especially from the OT they sell. Big time. More of this please Hasbro! Luke interacts well with his lightsaber, and his unlit hilt plugs into his belt, as does his droid controller. He just came out, but would he come out on another Top 25 list? Only time will tell. 

And now Mr Stevie, here's your official Top 25 VIntage Collection figures that new collectors should get: 

25. VC 68 Echo Base Rebel Soldier ✔️
24. VC 227 Kuiil ✔️
23. VC 152 Vedain ✔️
22. VC 287 Taym Dren Garen ✔️
21. VC 129 Dr Aphra ✔️
20. VC 175 Jedi Luke BanthaSkull ✔️
19. Deluxe Krrsantan ✔️
18. VC 53 Bom Vimdin ✔️
17. VC 307 Count Dooku ✔️
16. VC 23 Endor Capture Luke ✔️
15. VC 332 Sabine Wren Mural Card ✔️
14. VC 334 Darth Vader ✔️
13. VC 24 Woof  ✔️
12. VC 286 Tessek ✔️
11. VC 301 Darth Revan ✔️
10. VC 318 Kanan Jarrus ✔️
9. VC 300 Hera Syndulla ✔️
8. Deluxe Zeb ✔️
8. VC 224 Bib Fortuna ✔️
7. VC 186 Boba Fett (ROTJ) ✔️
6. VC 316 Leia ✔️
5. VC 231 Stormtrooper ✔️
4. VC 280 Darth Vader (ROTJ) ✔️
3. VC 132 Yakface ✔️
2. VC 21 Gamorrean Guard ✔️
1. VC 344 Luke Skywalker ✔️

As I wrap this up, I will admit I'm worn out. This has been fun, but also exhausting. I do hope either BanthaSkull or the SWTVC fellas do their own all time VC Top 25 one day. I do hope this has been something you've enjoyed because without you reading my blog posts, and voting, it really means a lot to me. This is more a thank you for allowing me to be in this community, and this community has helped me relax and de-stress from all going on in the world. And for a few moments, talking about Star Wars action figures brings out the reasons we all love Star Wars. And that's why I'll collect as long as I'm breathing. It's still fun. I hope it's still fun for you as well! 

Now that this is wrapped up, I'm taking off a week, maybe two. I'm getting some new figures in, plus I need to take photos of The Ghost to wrap that review up. I have plenty of posts up, so just click on the magnifying glass and do a search, there's a good chance I've talked about it. Thanks for reading, and if you could share this on your social media accounts, it would be great as I could always use more readers. And thanks to Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull for allowing me to post my blog links in the comments section, and I'll have another post coming soon!