VC Top 25 in 2025: Numbers 8 & 7

 The Collector's Choice has 2 figures tied at the 8th spot. I'll explain why that is when I get there. And if you read this next line in Casey Kasem's voice it will sound a lot better: now on with the Countdown! 

MY 8th RANKED FIGURE: 

VC 344 LUKE SKYWALKER 

Photo from Hasbro

WHY I LIKE THIS FIGURE: Luke is my favorite character, and this is the best one, despite some lack of paint apps. His articulation is excellent, as is the sculpt from head to toe. His unlit hilt fits on his belt, as does his droid controller. I have been able to get this figure to sit down, but the deluxe version of this Luke that comes with a cloth skirt will be able to fit in the Landspeeder, which is the only way to get that figure. He's also screen accurate on his outfit colors, and that's a bonus. Older accessories like the floppy hat, poncho and blast shield helmet fit too, with latter being almost too tight. 

INTERESTING FACT: I'm looking for another version to do a head swap. If only I could find one at a store for a change...

WHY HE'S RANKED 8th: The lack of paint apps, and frankly the hair color. It's a bit too brown. While a Kenner Brown Haired Luke is a Holy Grail for me, his hair should have been blonde here. On the Ahsoka Anakin, he got Luke's correct hair color. But it's still an outstanding figure. 

COLLECTOR'S CHOICE 8th RANKED FIGURE: 

DELUXE GARAZEB ORELIOS 

WHY I THINK COLLECTORS LIKE THIS FIGURE: 

I covered what I liked when he was ranked 12th in my Countdown. Great articulation, sculpt, paint, etc. Certainly worthy of a Top 10 choice. 

WHY HE'S RANKED 8th: There are 2 ranked figures at 8. Because when I counted the votes, I broke things down, and forgot to add the deluxe figures. Coin tosses with the low and high winner put Zeb at 8th. So that's how he got here. On the top 2 I'll show all the numbers. 

COLLECTOR'S CHOICE 8th RANKED FIGURE: 

VC 224 BIB FORTUNA 

Photo from eBay. 

WHY I THINK COLLECTORS LIKE THIS FIGURE: 

He's an alien weirdo, and essential for any Jabba's Palace display. He's a good looking figure, great paint apps, great sculpt. And he checks off the Original 96 since it's the same card he had back in 1983. 

WHY HE'S RANKED 8th: 

Honestly, I have no idea. He got lucky in the coin toss. I underestimated how popular this figure is. He's a good figure, but didn't come with an accessory. His previous figure came with a knife, the POTF2 one came with a blaster and the Kenner version had a staff, which fat Bib came with in Boba's, whoops, Jabba's Palace Playset. Was Bib an attempt to rig the votes? Doubtful. But winning coin tosses helped. That's why he's here. 

MY 7th RANKED FIGURE: 

VC 347 ANAKIN SKYWALKER 

Photo from eBay

WHY I LIKE THIS FIGURE: 

Hasbro hasn't done a great Hayden Christensen head sculpt, except for VC 13 (an opinion of mine that's unpopular), but here, they really did a great job! Based off his appearance in The World Between Worlds from the Ahsoka series, Anakin is ready to lead Rex and the 501st into battle. He's a slight redress of VC 92, but has new barbell hips and a new cloth skirt. He can better hold his included lightsaber than VC 92 could, so I suspect he got new hands somehow, or mine just stunk. 

WHY HE'S RANKED 7th: 

If he didn't have ANH Luke's hair color, he'd be ranked higher. While the head sculpt is the best Hayden Christensen they've done, it isn't exactly perfect. Like father, like son. Hasbro hasn't quite gotten Luke right yet, either. But it's still a great figure. 

COLLECTOR'S CHOICE 7th RANKED FIGURE:

VC 186 BOBA FETT 

Photo from actionfigure411 

WHY I THINK COLLECTORS LIKE THIS FIGURE: 

It's Boba Fett. Enough said! Well, not really. This was the first time he got a modern update. Yes he got ball socket hips, but they move well. He had some concern over the color of the namepill, chest indentations...but he still turned out quite well. He was first released with the orange namepill before it got corrected to the yellow. He checks off a 1983 Boba Fett card, so technically it's an Original 96 figure off the checklist. On card, or out, it's an excellent figure. All the Target exclusive Boba Fett figures over the past few years (comic colors, Droids colors, Kenner colors) versions used this buck as the base. But he's accurate to how he looked onscreen from ROTJ, and that's what puts him at the top of all Boba Fett figures, according to the Collector's. 

WHY HE'S RANKED 7th: 

He has it all, really. Great sculpt, great paint apps, all the details, etc. Plus he can hold his blaster very well, even in a THWG. But besides, he's Boba freaking Fett! When a new Boba Fett figure debuts, collectors will race to preorder entire case (8 figures) or even double or triple that, if possible. This figure is great either on or off the card, and while he could use barbell hips, he still moves, poses and looks cool. And I bet he'd look even better getting knocked into the Sarlaac Pit by a blind Han Solo. 

INTERESTING FACT: Both the original Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics brought Boba Fett out of the Sarlaac Pit. In Marvel issue 81, Boba had no memory of who he was as he was found by Jawas, who thought he was a droid. For the Dark Empire miniseries, writer Tom Veitch brought back Boba to confront Han Solo and Leia Organa-Solo while they were on Nar Shadaa. The stories weren't connected, but the Legends Canon chose to go with Dark Empire over Marvel Star Wars 81. Issue 81 came with the Boba Fett and Jawa Droid Comic Pack. 

Thanks for reading! The 6th ranked figures will be revealed tomorrow!