Star Wars Power of the Force Wave 1 Collection

I've always loved Star Wars. It was something that just always seemed to be a part of my life. I have mentioned before how I was able to benefit greatly from having older cousins who grew out of their need for toys and passed them down to my brother and I. With Star Wars, it was no different. We were given a good 30ish vintage figures as well as a well used Millenium Falcon that was missing quite a few pieces and we loved them.

Just like we did with Masters of the Universe and other toy lines, whenever my brother and I had a chance to visit a garage sale or an antique shop, we looked for more Star Wars stuff to add to our collections. It was the late 80's and early 90's so there weren't really any other options.

Eventually, the Justoys Bend-Ems came out. We bought many of these but preferred the figures that were closer to the 3 3/4 scale. That Leia, 3PO, Yoda and R2-D2 filled some nice holes in my collection. The included Topps cards were very cool too.

Not long after, Galoob began releasing their Star Wars Micro Machines line. We gobbled this up as well but the 3.75 line was still the main toys for us when we wanted to play Star Wars. Then one summer, my Mom surprised me with a mail away figure that I had no idea was a thing: a brand new Han Solo as a Stormtrooper from Kenner. The day this thing arrived changed my life forever as it signaled to me that there were NEW Star Wars toys out there to buy and I didn't even have to scour antique shops to find them! And buy them we did. From 1995-1999, the Power of the Force Star Wars line was pretty much all I bought, besides the new G.I. Joes that popped up and a summer collecting the Lost World line.

As the line began to focus more on the newly arrived Prequels and the figure sculpts began to "improve", I began to shift towards other things. Eventually, I passed my entire collection on to my younger brothers and was able to enjoy watching them experience Star Wars. Now, that we are all adults, our Star Wars toys are safely tucked away in my parent's basement awaiting the day that my niece and nephews discover them.

Recently, I became aware of how inexpensive the Power of the Force line was on the secondary market. I didn't just dip my toes in, I dove head first. I now have the entire first wave of figures and then some. I didn't stop there either as I also now have many vehicles I never owned like the X-Wing and the A-Wing. In fact, I've even begun building my own playsets out of cardboard like I used to when I was a kid! This has been a pretty fun ride this summer. In a way, I feel like I have reconnected with a part of me that I've missed for a long time. So let's see where this goes!

As soon as I opened Leia, her shoulder crumbled! I was able to super glue some parts back into place for the pictures but I will be purchasing another one. Why not? They're cheap!

And of course, the one that started it all.

Comments

Toy Biz DC Superheroes Flash v2, Hawkman, Two Face

I started getting back into the DC Superheroes line early last year. Even though the Kenner Super Powers line is superior in a lot of ways, this line has a nostalgic value for me. Recently, I was able to add three more figures to my collection: Hawkman, Two Face, and the second version of the Flash! Version 2 is a HUGE upgrade over Version 1. V2 Flash doesn't rely on a wind up action feature so it actually has arm articulation. Now Flash can actually do some better posing... let alone throw a punch! V2 Flash also comes with a Quicksilver/Silver Surfer-esqe platform. It even moves forward on its own if you pull it backwards. Toy Biz vs Kenner. The Kenner figure is obviously the better choice. Just one look at his weapon and his head sculpt and that is obvious. However, there is a dumb charm to the Toy Biz figure and I'm happy to have him. I really like this Two Face figure. He has a winding feature for flipping his...

Funko Savage World Thundercats Wave 2

2018 was an exciting time for me because we finally received Thundercats in the same scale as Masters of the Universe! It was a dream come true for myself and, I'm sure, many other children of the 80's. The excitement was unfortunately short lived as the factory that Funko worked with screwed up the plastics used on hip articulation. Many figure arrived with broken or soon to be broken crotches and Funko was dealt a pretty serious black eye. However, they worked hard to fix that issue but that also pushed back Wave 2 of Thundercats over a year. During that time, they went ahead with a mass market retail approach for a DC Comics universe in the Savage World style. While there were some nice toys in this line, especially the Bat Cave, the overall appeal to general audiences didn't seem to be there. A lot of planned Savage World lines seemed to get axed because of the gamble not paying off. Thankfully, Thundercats Wave 2 made the cut and began arriving this past quarter...

Toy Biz Marvel Superheroes The Thing

Christmas time this year saw some great additions to my Toy Biz Marvel Superheroes collection. This time in the form of the Thing. The Human Torch was one of the first MSH's I owned as a kid. Six years ago, I was able to add Mr. Fantastic. This past year, I added the Invisible Woman but now the collection is complete! Ol' Blue Eyes If you can't smash the Yancy Street gang, might as well clobber their sign. The family is finally together! You don't want to be on the other side of this fight. Size comparison of my current heavy hitters.

Custom Kang the Conqueror Toy Biz Kenner Marvel Superheroes

Kang has been my favorite super villain since I got his Secret Wars action figure as a kid. Something about that striking blue mask peeking out of the ominous purple and green has always stuck with me. Growing up, I devoured every Kang story that I could. Citizen Kang always stuck out as it finally showed a Kang victorious, albeit for a moment, hiding in between our realities. However, I have to say that my favorite incarnation of the future warlord came from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes by Christopher Yost. I think he really nailed down the best parts of the character and gave us an arc that not only satisfied you as viewer but left you waiting for Kang's revenge. I decided to take my Secret Wars Kang and combine him the Kenner Super Powers Lex Luthor to make a figure in scale with my Marvel Superheroes. Baron Strucker, Doctor Doom, and Kang Conqu...

Kre-O G.I. Joe Battle Wagon

G.I. Joe has always had amazing vehicles for your figures to interact with. As the line grew, so did the imaginations of the creators, as each year seemed to provide us with something bigger than the one before. After the U.S.S. Flagg and the Defiant, bigger was no longer an option but that didn't stop G.I. Joe from just going big and bold with their designs. The 1990s era of the line is not universally loved but they gave us plenty of big vehicles, including the Battle Wagon. The Battle Wagon was heavily marketed as an essential item for Joe fans of the time, especially in the DIC cartoon. Unfortunately, I never had it as a kid. It was a high price tag item and, honestly, I never remember seeing it in stores. When I was in college, my younger brother bought two of them on ebay. Being able to see them in person, I had to agree it was worth the hype that Hasbro put around it. I've now moved away from collecting traditional Joes. I'm older and I want my nephews and nieces ...

Ubernerd, Beyond Loserdome

Search This Blog