If you follow me on social media, or in my comments on BanthaSkull, JTA and Yakface, I don't like much about Disney Star Wars. There are exceptions (1st 2 Mandalorian seasons, Rebels, Rogue One and Andor S1, I haven't seen S2 yet). For me, I grew up on the old expanded universe, now known as Star Wars Legends (aka Star Wars Truths). But when and where to begin? It's not as long and complicated as you think. But I can't overwhelm you with a massive list, so I'll break it down into eras. Today, I'll offer a short reading list for the Prequel Era as far as the novels go. I'll do a separate blog post on some of the comics and young adult books which really aren't bad, and enjoyable. So get ready for my 3 must reads, plus 2 suggested books you might want to consider reading. I'll be doing these books in time line order. So start with the 1st book, read then the 2nd, etc. None of the images are mine, and come from doing online searches of the novel title...

  A somewhat controversial decision by Hasbro to put Greedo into the Cantina HasLab was the one thing I found to be questioned about the campaign. Why? Because he's an Original 96er. However he's not on the classic Kenner style card image. So there's that. But, he is quite an amazing figures, and the first one from the HasLab that I opened. And as I've hinted, he's one of the best figures of 2025. So, find out why I have high praise for this figure, and how he compares to his POTF2 version which had some extra articulation.  Greedo should look familiar. If you collect the Black Series, he was one of the first figures released in that line, and he had a bonus feature: a holster. Here's how he looked:  Image from Galactic Figures. In the movie, Greedo didn't have a holster. His Sixer figure has one, as does his VC version. While he isn't exactly onscreen accurate, it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of this figure. This was the first figure I opened...

 It all came down to these 2 figures:  Arliel Schous, who was a missed Cantina Tier, and Luthen Rael, the breakout star from the Andor series. Who won?! As of this writing (November 14th) I do not know. But, I'm going to go into why both figures deserve to win, and why if they ever get released, they need to be in a fan channel wave.  I just don't see either character's figure being something that if it made it to brick and mortar retail would sell out.  THE CASE FOR ARLIEL SCHOUS  The Cantina HasLab was nearly doomed when it began. A reduced time frame, and in my opinion, unreasonable Tier numbers. But, he is someone who has some visibility, even in the 1997 and beyond editions of ANH. He's not poor Lak Sivrak, who was deleted in the Special Editions. Plus Arliel is the same species as Captain Brutus (I could be wrong but they look very similar), and he could be used to make Brutus. While there may not be a physical sculpt he has a digital one. Besides, Arliel ...

 I am in the process of doing photo shoots on Greedo, Han Solo and Chewbacca, and since they aren't done, and LoSerU is likely to be shredded by the Gumps (writing this on Nov 5th; update: boy were they), I thought now would be the time to publish a post I had planned on a while back. As a collector, we all have our own rules, and opinions. Some of my rules are simple, some of my opinions are unpopular. Which is the fun thing about collecting. Plus I'll give insight as to why I still collect, although the price increases are going to limit what I get. So I'm just going to dive in, and it's not all Star Wars related.  MY COLLECTING RULES 1. Caped super heroes need cloth capes. One reason why I didn't buy any McFarlane DC figures was the vinyl capes. Batman and Superman need flowing capes, and this was also something Mattel didn't do. Which is why I like what Spin Masters has done with their 4 inch line, and McFarlane Toys has started doing recently with both the ...

 I haven't talked much about the new price increases in any detail. And that's for several reasons: 1. Everyone has different reasons why they think prices are up (tariffs, labor, etc) and 2. I don't regularly deal in theories much on this blog. I may not be the first to cover something, but I strive to do it the best a rank amateur can do. And that's what I am, compared to the creative team of Chris and Nomad at BanthaSkull and Jayson at Yakface. But just because I'm an amateur, it doesn't stop me from saying what I think, although I do censor myself on those sites, and here to a point. But every now and then, I talk theories, and now is the time to step into that.  The Black Series is up to $27.99. The Vintage Collection is up to $19.99. I've already admitted that the VC is at my maximum price, as far as regularly collecting. I'll never fully quit, BUT I'm more selective now on what I'm getting. But the questions that come with price increases ...

Sometimes you see a review of a figure and think to yourself:  1. Why did I preorder this?! And.. 2. This figure looks great! Why didn't I preorder this?! Well, I did preorder this. And after reading reviews on JTA and BanthaSkull, I regretted not ordering more than one. I felt this had possibilities as a troop builder. Then I got this figure in and...my opinion and thoughts changed.  Big time.  As you can see in the photo above, Darktrooper Gideon is slightly taller than the original Gideon. The big advantage the armored Gideon has is barbell hips, as the previous Gideon (this one is from The Rescue set) is basically a statue below the waist. The helmet isn't removable, and there is no extra Gideon head to swap on. That isn't a complaint.  He's got the standard 17 POA, but I have only had issues with moving his knees. Sometimes it feels like the knees will pop off and break the figure. Fortunately, that hasn't happened. The sculpt and paint apps aren't too bad,...