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In Review — insight: Photography and Dioramas by Gianni Lopergolo

Adam_May — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 18:42:54 +0000

insight: Photography and Dioramas by Gianni Lopergolo

A Time For Heroes

First of all, this is a review that is long, long overdue, and its timing—on Father’s Day 2010—couldn’t be more fitting. Gianni Lopergolo has been the go-to photographer since joining the Hasbro family in 2002, and just last year Hasbro and Lopergolo’s friends and co-workers published insight: Photography and Dioramas by Gianni Lopergolo, in part to raise awareness of a terminal disease Lopergolo is living with: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. More commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS causes motor nerves to degenerate over time, eventually paralyzing nearly every muscle in the body. But beyond just awareness, proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit ALS research and a foundation created for Lopergolo’s three sons.

[Editor’s Note: The copy of the book reviewed herein was purchased for review, and not provided as promotional consideration.]

It would be easy to simply say that Gianni Lopergolo’s artwork is stunning, and it is. However, insight shares the artist’s work, philosophy, and even his seemingly unlimited supply of optimism. His body of work at Hasbro seamlessly blends a mixture of Dadaism, Pop Art, and Buddhist “te” philosophy, intentional or not. Lopergolo’s art breathes life directly into the simple playthings that many of us collectors walk past as we set our sites on new and constantly shifting (toy) targets. His art entices us to indulge the inner-child who sees that cluster of our crumpled asphalt world for what it really is: an alien world, a lava planet where good must do battle with greed and corruption to safeguard a better future, a future filled with hope. (The terrain in the Mustafar scene at right was plundered from Hasbro’s parking lot renovations.)

Art, Any Road

Being a “weird” art person, I’ve always enjoyed the experience when an artist, in the fashion of Marcel Duchamp, can point out something right under the viewer’s nose, obvious and overlooked, and convey the artistic value of something that would otherwise be considered worthless or invisible. The materials and the methodology in Gianni Lopergolo’s most basic photos are artistic, but as he says, “anyone can do it.” A collector doesn’t have to be a privileged scion with an overflowing bank account to frame and display these collectibles that have stirred imaginations all across the globe.

Notice the husks of friendly little Astromechs? The Tantive IV must have had some really creative designers when they decked her halls.

(Click the image to supersize. Note – heavy loadtime.)

The virtue of this body of work is its simplicity. Kids, don’t JUST get your parents’ permission to make dioramas, get them INVOLVED. Your faithful reviewer was a latch-key kid whose parents were just too busy to understand what these sci-fi movies and toys were about. That era’s parents were very lucky because the Star Wars universe, as it existed at the time, showed kids principles—good and bad alike—leaving us to choose our own path. (Is that even possible today?) Parents who are reading this (there must be a few), take that precious moment of time that Lopergolo won’t have, and make a diorama, kick up some dust, or simply stare into space together. Lopergolo doesn’t tip-toe around the subject of his own mortality, and that’s something this reader can appreciate. He had a great run, and he has a body of work that most of us couldn’t even imitate if we tried. Don’t let the words of one lowly book reviewer stop you from trying, though.

Browsing HasbroToyShop.com, there are a lot of distractions to spend $29.95 on, but the knowledge contained inside insight is really quite priceless. In this despicable economy, bag some lunches, skip some coffees, and cut whatever corners necessary to get this collection of art into your bookshelves, and more importantly, into your brain. It’s times like these that we, often jaded and bitter collectors, need this kind of inspiration. Assuming that you’re an adult, order the book—that means DON’T DO THIS WITHOUT PARENTAL PERMISSION, KIDS—and take in some of the strength and confidence, that one artist with a fatal disease manages to command, to take on the world.

To Me You Are A Work Of Art

An alien terrain where the head on the Apparition of Darth Vader isn’t the strangest thing you’ll see.
(Click the image to supersize. Note – heavy loadtime.)

The vaunted Jedi Temple ceiling might be on sale right now at your local hardware store. You need to ask at the customer service desk about its vaulted celiing, but they’re probably going on break soon!

(Click the image to supersize. Note – heavy loadtime.)

If you would like to learn more about the disease known as ALS, this Wikipedia article can help.

With special thanks to Gianni Lopergolo, Derryl DePriest, and Hayes McCarthy.

Star Wars is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. Any other trademarks used in this text are the property of their respective owners.

Memo To Hasbro — Break It Down 05/24/2010

Adam_May — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:12:24 +0000

Hasbro, as your biggest cheerleader, sometimes I’m forced to point out something that is painfully obvious and hope that someone out there reads it. Out in Los Angeles I caught wind of some information regarding the exalted, beloved Build-A-Droid program. The hope and dream that all of these pieces might be combined to create new droids made my heart leap for joy, but, as I learned, there are unreasonable roadblocks in the way. (Hey readers — sometimes the Hasbro team is just as frustrated by retailers’ fickle tastes as we are!) We live in an alternate universe now where people who don’t make toys (in fact, they don’t even know exactly how toys are made) are the people who decide what toys are made and sold. (Hopefully our friend Mr. Internet will shove these "big box" stores out of the toy business with the same blast of reality that the music business and the movie business have been subjected to.)

OK, so… as far as we (collector types) have heard, the concept of a Build-A-Droid playset fizzled. I know that you (Hasbro as a whole) tried to pull together a set that would appeal to collectors, kids, and parents. For some reason (STUPID RETAIL BUYERS) it just didn’t happen. It has even been whispered into my nearly deaf left-ear (that’s not a joke) that a Build-A-Droid concept was pitched as an "Ultimate Battle Pack" (one as a Jawa-themed set, and one as Jabba The Hutt’s Droid Dungeon). Sadly, Jabba The Hutt’s association (as an exclusive) with another retailer doomed the most promising concept. (It makes no sense to me. I’d piggyback on their promotion with a cool item in a bigger box with more stuff.)

What to do? What to do? Oh yeah… all of those great Build-A-Droid parts can still be boxed up to make a really amazing value-priced gift set in time for the Holiday Gifting Season. Repaint them Astromechs, give the Protocol Droids new shiny deco. Make a new 8D8 out of the new BG-J38 body (since they only have different heads). If you want to go all out and send some love to the dedicated collectors, throw in the prototype "bug head" Death Star Droid. (See mock-up image. Head courtesy of the Star Wars Collectors Archive.) Now wouldn’t that be cool, kids?

Parents LOVE a value-priced set with lots of pieces. Kids love "robots" (droids to us). Collectors (see: Pawlus, Adam) love droids. Hasbro loves using existing tooling to maximize profit (and enhance shareholder value — yes, I read that book). What am I missing? Is it because semi-generic droids lack the push of The Clone Wars TV toon? There are droids everywhere in the Star Wars universe, and we can always use at least a half-dozen more (with options to create even more if we buy multiple sets).

While I’ve got a little rant going, we’ve hosted (on our own bandwidth) two of Hasbro’s super-cool promotional spots (for the AT-TE* and the Turbo Tank, respectively). What’s to stop Team Hasbro from shooting some quick digital video coolness to promote waves of figures, figures with vehicles, mainline vehicles, and (naturally) the amazing monster-sized vehicles. (I can’t wait to see the Big Arsenal Imperial AT-AT Walker super deluxe vehicle promotional spot.)

It’s going to be a very long summer.

*For some reason GooTube removed the AT-TE promotional spot (despite receiving an official copy the commercial). We will relocate it as soon as possible. For the record, I either didn’t know or forgot that it was on GooTube. It was meant to be hosted on our servers. Oy vey!

Toys-R-SCUM!?! — Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never Do It Again (Not Until The Next Time)

Adam_May — Mon, 03 May 2010 05:09:25 +0000

Much like you, most of us (not pointing fingers to those who get freebies months in advance — as if we don’t know) hunt down stuff with the same level of exasperation that most readers have over exclusives and "rare" figures. This weekend, the painful search for the Star Wars — Expanded Universe wave (exclusive to Toys’R'Us stores) left many of us (myself included) empty-handed and exasperated.

For example —

• The central Atlanta Toys’R'Us store (Buckhead/Lenox Store 8886) received NO shipment for the endcap.
• Suburban Toys’R'Us Store 8807 (Tucker/Northlake) sold all 12 cases (@ 12 figures per case) to one man for $560+tax [which would be $1231 without the sale and discounts]. Way to go TRU # 8807!!!
• Another suburban outpost, Toys’R'Us in Lithonia, GA Store 8812 received NO shipment for the endcap.
• At Toys’R'Us Store 8803 in Morrow (Southlake) an employee named DEREK called Toys’R'Us store number 8802 and spoke to PAM who told him that the store did not have them in stock, but DEREK —such a funny guy— sent us 30+ minutes out of our way to Toys’R'Us store number 8802 in Fayetteville, GA where he claimed they had them, but PAM in the back room already told him they did NOT have them. (As you’ve already read, they didn’t! DEREK — such a trickster!)
• When I asked GENA at the front desk of Toys’R'Us 8802 in Fayetteville, GA for a manager, district manager, or regional manager’s phone number, she refused. (At Toys’R'Us 8802 in Fayetteville, GA, the customer is NOT always -or ever- right.) But thanks to the Intermess, I have all the numbers I need!
• I opened a case by calling 1-800-TOYS-R-US [that's 1-800-869-7787] and I hope that Toys’R'Us will phone me — I’d especially like to talk to them about that trickster DEREK at Toys’R'Us Store 8803 in Morrow, GA (Southlake).

Ultimately, many of us went home empty-handed. My partner and I drove around for three hours to no avail, and I don’t get out of bed to have a whizz at 7am on a Saturday unless someone is waving a BIG check (cheque) at me.

However, this has awakened me (a savage beast) and if I have to go rogue, I will. I consider this whole fiasco nothing less than a slap in the face to collectors, and ALL CONCERNED should be ashamed. (Hey, I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years, so I know where a few bodies are buried.) Oh yeah, and remember to TAKE NAMES and COMPLAIN. COMPLAIN A LOT. My good old friend Bill from Yakface.com taught me the value of a well-phrased certified letter, and I pass that on to you.

Now it’s your turn SOUND OFF if you missed out on this wave because of Toys-R-~~SCUM~~-Us.Tell your story here. Tell your story in EVERY forum. Let these corporations know that they missed out on your dirty, unwanted collector dollars because of pathetic distribution and CORRUPT EMPLOYEES.

I guess that collectors will get more FU this summer than expected.

POP QUIZ!!!

Adam_May — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:31:14 +0000

Please note that this is not a blog post — we just need this format for responses.

[EDIT: Yes, we have a winner, and details will be forthcoming tomorrow. Stay tuned!]

The PRIZE is pretty big. It’s an AT-TE courtesy of the HunterPR team (thank you Joe and Danny) and Hasbro (thank you to the entire team — even the people we don’t see, the elves). The math won’t be easy, but the reward is worth it!

The new Hasbro "Big Arsenal" AT-AT measures "more than 24 inches tall, nearly 28 inches long, and 12 inches wide". By contrast, the Super Star Destroyer Executor is enormous… many times larger than an American football field.

For the purpose of this pop quiz, let’s assume that Hasbro’s new "Big Arsenal" AT-AT is exactly 28 inches tall. If Hasbro‘s new "Big Arsenal" AT-AT were able to move at the same relative (scaled) speed as its full-size counterpart, how long would it take to walk across the entire full-size Super Star Destroyer Executor, if walking at maximum speed? (Why not?)

Calculators are allowed, but show your work (explain how you got to the answer). You must include citations to any sources of size information; Web links allowed.

Yo! Wookiepedia people! Stormy Sevenspire and his bio were APPROVED by LFL, so it’s not "fan fiction" — so when someone posts it, quit being so hateful. (Sorry, had to rant.)

Everyone 13 and older is eligible to enter. Kids, get a parent/guardian’s permission before entering (or doing anything these days). The prize will go to the first correct answer within a reasonable margin. It’s all out there, you just need to do some math. (On a FRIDAY – I am pure evil.)

2009 — A Year In Refute, Too (Mea Culpa)

Adam_May — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:29:35 +0000

First off, this should have been posted on SATURDAY (because of the rich heritage of cool Star Wars action figure and toy commercials) but AT&T decided to have a day of digital schizophrenia (i.e. home connection went up and down and all-around).

After writing a brief and not-too-kind rundown of toys from The Clone Wars action figure line, by Hasbro, I read and re-read the piece. It felt like a summary dismissal. So I busted out every ‘toon toy that I could find, and I had a blast with them. Since my motto is, "DisPLAY with your toys!" I started setting up a cool display for them, and — as we slide into American International Toy Fair 2010 — I’m going to feature the fun that I found just by taking the time to have some fun with a pretty incredible (and vast — it’s Clones-A-Go-Go around here) toy line. Just ignore any obvious hot glue, please.

So… to kick things off, here’s the official Turbo Tank commercial from the coolness-makers at Hasbro. [Please note that this commercial was produced by Hasbro, and is presented here by GalacticHunter in HD resolution for your viewing pleasure.]

Here’s a short link to share this with your friends: http://bit.ly/9oMBkF (kids get your parents’ permission, etc. etc.) and have fun! Why the heck didn’t I find an HD version of this on YouTube???

Best Of… Most Of… Satiate The Need…

Adam_May — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:03:14 +0000

Behold… (a still at least) of Han Solo in "unique attire"! (Notice the welding accessory, which we’ve seen a time or two.) Will this be the Han Solo for 2010?

Click To Enlarge — Thanks To Shabby Blue

Dégueulasse, Tes Jours Sont Comptés!

Adam_May — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:42:51 +0000

Merci, Mssr Truffaut, éternellement…

Tying up some of 2009′s loose ends, I think we’ve seen the last of Q&A until Toy Fair 2010. (Save the date — all the sites — will be working hard for you on/around/through St. Valentine’s Day.) I bit my tongue holding back (and hoping) that Imperial Scanning Crewman #2 would miraculously appear, but eventually Hasbro relayed the bad news. Sometimes in passing one of those non-Q&A questions will be answered.

While not part of the Q&A itself, because, frankly, it would be a waste of a perfectly good question, I asked about the extra ports/holes on the Build-A-Droid Astromech body (rumors had flown through about a Battle Pack that would come with add-on pieces and/or a Droid Factory Playset that would do much the same). So what were those ports/holes for?

What are the extra side holes/ports for on the Legacy/Build-A-Droid Astromech body? I’ve been puzzling over it for a year.

The answer — as obvious as snow, as if we didn’t know —

"On the Astro body, the side holes were sort of inspired by the other (non-R2) parts in the original [Blogger's Note: Vintage-Era] Droid Factory – extra places you could put additional appendages, if you wish. So you could have your Astro walk like a puppy, for example…put legs in the rear slot, or in upright mode move the legs down and add arms."

So there you have it. If you’ve wondered… go forth and be creative. Feel free to send in photos (adam@galacticblogger.com) to show your support for the BEST pack-in we’ve had in the entire run of Star Wars toys. [By sending in photography, you permit GalacticBlogger.com to use photographs in the capacity of this Internet blog/column. You retain your ownership and copyright.] Extremely creative Astro-modders may be picked for nifty prize-like things that are cluttering up the GalacticBlogger.com toybox/home-office. [Kids get your parents' permission before doing ANYTHING.]

A Critique of Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker (and Suggestions for the Future)

Adam_May — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:07:41 +0000

by Shabby Blue
(GuestBlogger)

The new Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker figure is now showing up in stores along with the rest of the Empire Strikes Back wave. I’ve wanted this particular version for years, but until now Hasbro has always come short of offering an accurate quality version of this figure.

The original POTF2-era “X-Wing Luke Skywalker” released in 1995 was actually his Empire Strikes Back Snowspeeder outfit with the cold-weather jacket with puffy collar sculpted onto the upper body, but it had a terrible POTF2-era buffed-up body sculpt and limited articulation compared to the current Hasbro aesthetic.

The next incarnation of Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker was in 2004 as part of the Collectible Cup with Figure releases, but this version was just a repaint of the POTF2-era “X-Wing Luke Skywalker” with a new puffy jacket collar piece added to his upper torso. Still not 100% accurate, and it definitely did not live up to 2004 standards.

In 2006, Hasbro produced a new improved Snowspeeder Pilot when they gave us the Target-exclusive Snowspeeder with Zev Senesca figure. Zev Senesca had an accurate cold-weather pilot’s jacket which looked much better than the POTF2 version, but he still had limited articulation and an inaccurate style of boots, so his body wasn’t quite perfect when Hasbro re-purposed it for a new Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker kit-bash in the 2007 Target exclusive Battle of Hoth Ultimate Battle Pack. The shade of orange on the legs didn’t match the upper body, and the boots were not the Hoth style, making this a lackluster upgrade. They also used the Vintage Original Trilogy Collection Luke Skywalker headsculpt, which doesn’t fit the look of the post-Wampa attacked, scarred likeness.

Following that in 2008 we finally got a 100% accurate Snowspeeder Pilot sculpt for Wes Janson and Kesin Ommis in the Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker sets. Upon seeing those, it was only a matter of time for Hasbro to re-use the new body sculpt and give us a real Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker.

Surprisingly, they chose to sculpt a brand new body from the ground-up rather than re-use the already flawless Evolutions Asst. body. So now after more than 14 years Hasbro has finally given us the perfect Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker. Or have they??

The new figure has an accurately sculpted Snowspeeder Pilot’s outfit with plenty of articulation, and it works well enough for Skywalker when he’s on Hoth taking on AT-AT Walkers both in and out of his Snowspeeder. However, they overlooked one important detail – a peg hole for his saber hilt. Why include a lightsaber hilt with a peg on it when you can’t attach it to his belt (as seen in the film)? Since this Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker figure is a new sculpt, it’s disappointing that he’s missing this one small detail which would have perfected the figure.

Now moving beyond the idea of a perfect Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker, let’s consider the possibility of Hasbro re-releasing him in the future as the version we see crash-landing on Dagobah in his X-Wing Fighter. What’s the difference? Well he’s in the same Snowspeeder outfit, but now he’s added his brown utility belt with blaster holster strapped to his leg (the same belt/holster we see on his Bespin outfit later in the film). A Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker sporting his gun holster with a lightsaber clipped to his belt would be a nice upgrade from what’s already a great looking figure. In fact, I was so eager to have this version that I spent an hour customizing my own soon after picking up the new Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker at Walmart this week.Here’s a few pictures to give an idea of how Hasbro could turn a great figure into something even better:

Putting it together was not as simple as it looks. The easiest part was putting the 2007 Vintage 30^th Anniversary Collection Bespin Luke Skywalker head on the body and repainting the neck to match his face’s skin tone. Next I drilled a hole in his belt just above where the saber clip should have been so that the lightsaber hilt could easily plug into it (as seen both on Hoth and Dagobah).

After that, I cut the Vintage 30th Anniversary Collection Bespin Luke Skywalker gun holster and leg strap away from the rest of his belt so that I could glue it onto the current Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker belt just behind his right-sided belt pouch. Before gluing, however, I repainted the belt and holster a matching shade of brown to resemble the belt he wore on Dagobah.

The final step of this custom project was to swap the Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker gloved hands with those from an extra Evolutions Wes Janson figure because for some reason the current Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker hands are sculpted at a downward angle that makes holding a blaster gun look awkward. I assume Hasbro sculpted his hands more for holding the grappling hook/harpoon gun than actually wielding a blaster. The Wes JansonHoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker gloved hands are more suited to hold a blaster and are easy to swap onto the arms with a quick boil-and-pop.

So with that, we have a nearly perfect “Dagobah Crash Luke Skywalker”. The only thing that would make it 100% perfect is glove-less arms since we see Luke removing his gloves almost immediately after crashing on Dagobah in the film just before he climbs out of his X-Wing. I didn’t want to attempt this type of custom, but the solution would be to repaint the 30^th Anniversary Collection Celebration Luke Skywalker yellow jacket arms and put them on the Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker body. The ribbed design on the yellow jacket sleeves are identical to the orange sleeves on the Snowspeeder Pilot cold-weather jackets, and therefore requires no new sculpting.

Anyway, enjoy this friendly customizing tip and hopefully Hasbro will take notice and consider it for a future upgrade to their wonderful Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker! [Kids get your parents' permission!]

2009 A Year In Refute, Too

Adam_May — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:07:56 +0000

— Figures & Vehicles —

This piece started with just a straight rundown of figures from The Clone Wars, but you were there. You know what came out, etc. etc. You can read on, or you can just go be yourself somewhere. Clone, Clone, Clone, Clone, Clone… they’re versatile and ubiquitous. I don’t feel the need to go over markings, skirts, or pretty much any of that. I should also note that when I pick up a figure from The Clone Wars, I open it, look it over a bit, and then put it into storage. I’m a "passive" collector, I guess.

The Clone Wars Y-Wing Bomber was a triumph in the art of toy-making. (I’m pretty sure we know who oversaw it just based on its supreme coolness.) Sadly, the ARC-170 Shadow Fighter got pushed out (at $70) to hold the space for the Y-Wing Bomber. When we puzzled about it at Toy Fair 2009, we were told flat-out that it was just coming out in minor numbers to hold the "footprint" for the Y-Wing Bomber. If the Deluxe Vehicle Asst. tanks, there’s more to the story than most of us know.

The massive Octuptarra Droid, the Corporate Alliance Tank Droid, and the new Jedi Starfighters all astonished me, and they blurred the line between the animation and the "real" segment just enough to pique collector interest. Then there was the Turbo Tank (Juggernaut).

That picture is worth a thousand words, but I have one niggling problem with the whole damn thing. My "non-animated" Clone Troopers really don’t fit inside. For all of its glory (and it is a magnificent toy) it was clearly made with the "manorexic/petite" animated Clone Troopers in mind. (Would someone, anyone explain to me how/why/when Phase 1 Clone Troopers attained armor with the classic "O||" strike? Is there some retcon that I missed?)

One newly hatched Clone Trooper, the ARF Trooper stood out as a spectacular piece. I liked it so much that I popped its head onto a proper Stormtrooper body. Actually, twice, because then I was able to place a "real" Phase 1 Clone Trooper head on its body and wedged the waifish animated body into my Republic Gunship Gunnery Pods. If you’ve found a better method, please enlighten us! The animated Yoda 2.0 was, well, comparing him to the first one, Yoda 2.0 was a work of art. (Once again, and say it with me, "ACTION FEATURES DO NOT WORK!") I actually liked the kitschy "bubble dome" space helmets (as an homage to many of the great sci-fi serializations that paved the way for all of this). Luminara Unduli translated nicely into animation (but besting the Revenge of the Sith version would be a very tall order).

Asajj Ventress‘ deceptive protocol droid, 4-A7 had a call-out feature "with glittering eyes" that never quite glittered. (Adam Lambert and I had a case of the sads because we love glitter in all its forms. It is the currency of my people. I stockpile glitter in case there’s a shortage – you never know when those Twilight people will try to corner the market!) Credit where credit is due, 4-A7 and many of the non-Battle Droids actually blend in fairly well with the movie-based (i.e. "real") figures.

There were cute little Jawas (normally "disgusting creatures") on one end of the spectrum and clunky Super Battle Droids and Droidekas that will be put in the "shame space" when/if I get around to displaying The Clone Wars. (Once again, and say it with me, "ACTION FEATURES DO NOT WORK!") Cad Bane and Whorm Loathsom (people, try to get creative with the bad-guy names) haven’t exactly rocked the boat on the show very much. General Grievous has not had an update yet. (Once again, and say it with me, "ACTION FEATURES DO NOT WORK!") In my imagination General Grievous is still the raging monster from Gendy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars series (which seems to be non-canon now).

There’s a LOT of fertile ground for Hasbro to work with in 2010, and, based on their time-table, they have about nine months to shove The Clone Wars line into the spotlight practically solo, and see what it can do. (Three words: Little Miss Sunshine!)

Now we come to "Mini-Rigs" (they opened that door, not me, well, not exactly). The Freeco Speeder and Turbo Tank Twins being the exception, they’ve been, well, retreads. (I apologize for calling those jetpack Clone Troopers ‘Pixie Troopers’. Who knew Clone Troopers could be so touchy?) I actually like the use of the Desert Sport Skiff, but I’m having a hard time justifying the decades-old Speederbike to, well, everyone.

I know ya gotta make the money where you can, but with recent revelations, it’s getting to the point where I’m calling that show Intervention so we can all sit down and work something out. Hey! That craptastic movie Titan A.E. had some cool Mini-Rig-esque toys. I’ll buy them on the proviso that we get an all-new Endor Speederbike before, say, that live-action TV show comes out. It can be like Robin Hood hijacking the Ewok Village pretending that it was Sherwood Forest. Mini-Rigs really were awesome little toys, and there’s plenty in the existing toybox to mess around with. Just ease up a little, and remember that some of us bought the STAP With Battle Droid for $1.24 (or less!) when they cleared them out. We don’t want that to happen again, really. We want to give Hasbro money for cool toys.

I definitely don’t want people to think that I’m sour about The Clone Wars. Just for the amazing wealth of vehicles (the AT-TE, the Y-Wing Bomber, the Turbo Tank, and on and on) I will happily pick up the whole rainbow of Clone Troopers. (I still reserve the right to gripe until an all-new Return of the Jedi Endor Speederbike is in my grubby paws.) The show is great fun, and it’s fantastic seeing kids excited about Star Wars.

Just remember: "ACTION FEATURES DO NOT WORK!" Something old, something new. (It doesn’t help to paint it blue.)

Also, see what you can do about that whole "Glittering Eyes" situation. Me and Glambert are waiting to exchange the non-glittering 4-A7 Droid for a properly glittering version.

Retail FAIL: Walmart #3709

Adam_May — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:55:00 +0000

Atlanta is home to some pretty creepy places, like our notorious "Murder Kroger" (as seen many times on Cops). "It’s a grocery store with a deadly twist —
you’ll get shot in the head for your shopping list!" Someone SHOT MY HOUSE when we moved in.

So when Walmart #3709 starts slashing (prices?) get the hell out of the way! I have watched this Padmé Evolutions set with its splash of blood (and, YES, it is REAL blood) waft around the store since its debut. It has been outside to soak up the warmth of the Garden Department, and it has made the trip from Toys to Clearance (without ever being marked down) repeatedly. Back and forth it swanned about, too good for a mark-down.

So when I saw a clearance sticker on it today, I knew the time was right for us to be together. (Jokes about Queens should be saved for my FaceBook, kthxbai.) I was so entranced by the beauty and gore that I forgot to scan the damned thing. I get to the register, and it buzzes up at FULL PRICE. I actually had to haggle the price down, and to top it all off (and seal the deal) I had to exclaim, "And there’s BLOOD SPLASHED ON IT!" I got the hook-up.

I’m cheap, but I’m not about to soil Padmé Evolutions‘ reputation by telling you how cheap she was. How much or how little would you pay for a toy with blood splatter on it?

Walmart #3709 — for bloody, messy shame! Retail FAIL!