# 49 : Star Wars, Clone Wars - 501st & BARC Speeder

Another repaint of previous figures but this time a welcomed addition.
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Packaging
Like the SW Crab Droid, it's basically the same type of display box but with a different diorama. I'm guessing its Felucia in the background.
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D.S.A.
|Details|
"Clone troopers ride Biker Advanced Recon Commando (BARC) speeder bikes on scouting and escort missions. BARC speeders give the troopers greater range, speed, mobility and firepower than foot patrols. They prove so useful to elite units like the 501st Legion that they are soon made available to the entire clone trooper army."
|Sculpt|
Hasbro decided to make a correction in the sculpt of the helmet to resemble the animated C.W. series. I think they started making this correction with the 212th Clone trooper in Wave 4.
The blue decals on the trooper has also been made to match Captain Rex's colors(about time). I had 2 of the Wal-Mart exclusive 501st trooper issued last year. The color(see pic below) is nice but it just looks so out of place with their captain. The new helmet sculpt is the inclusion of the small gap at the 'chin'. This is supposedly where the breathing apparatus connects for space missions.
|Accessories|
DC-15 Blaster rifle
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Articulation
|Clone Trooper|
No changes to the articulation. It's still the same as previous basic white clone trooper.
|BARC Speeder|
It still has the same retractable landing gear and 'exploding' bike gimmick(trust me, just leave it at that. It's not worth asking)
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Fun Factor
I currently have 3 BARC speeders from the ROTS Treachery on Saleucami battlepacks. So it's really sweet to have it all lined up. Plus I can use Rex for the blue BARC speeder and the other 3 501st for the red speeders.
I didn't have a pic of them on the bikes mainly because of their leg stance. Their articulation(swivel hips) aren't exactly the best to use unless you want to permanently ruin your figures. But there is a solution to this problem(I think). The ARF trooper has a sort of ball-jointed articulation in the hips. So if you could swap these with the 501st, you're good to go.
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Overall
I'm glad I decided to pick up this deluxe figure. The BARC speeder is nothing new but the 501st trooper with correct helmet sculpt and with the matching blue decals to Rex is a worthwhile addition. I just hope Hasbro will decide to reissue the trooper in a single pack.

Score: ****

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Ravage and Soundwave by Gogdog

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Stormtroopers in Brunei

These guys rock! Long live the Empire!

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# 48 : Star Wars, Clone Wars - Crab Droid

The LM-432 or Crab Droid is not the most sophisticated piece of machinery within the Separatist Droid Army. It's design is pretty straight-forward. Get a laser cannon and attach legs to it so it can move over uneven terrain.
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Packaging
This is one of the new deluxe figures for 2009. The box converts into a diorama or so I've been told. From the looks of it, the diorama is a picture of the planet Christophsis.
Once you've open the packaging there's not a lot of assembly and best of all, no stickers!!
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D.S.A.
|Details|
"LM-432 crab droids are armored infantry units that easily move over rough ground. Their legs work independently of one another, allowing them to move with agility and speed as they track their targets and take aim with their blasters. Also known as Muckracker droids, they threaten Republic forces on many planets during the war."
Personally I don't really recall seeing the C.D. in either the C.W. animated series or movie. Maybe I wasn't paying attention enough. I do remember that the first time I saw this droid in the ROTS(a bit smaller) and in the 2003 CW Series(twice the size).
|Sculpt|
The sculpt and paint is good. No real problem there. I especially like the scratch marks or paint scrapes on the legs. It looks as if the paint was really scraped off and the metal underneath was showing.
|Accesories|
No accessories though I thought a battle droid would have been nice. There is a push button at the back of the C.D. to launch the laser cannon projectile. Standard Hasbro stuff, no surprises there.
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Articulation
None of the legs are articulated despite the description as "Their legs work independently of one another". There is a button on the side that if you push continuously will make a sort of movement of all the legs.
A sort of crawling type movement. A decent attempt but it WOULD have been better if each legs had movable joints.

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Fun Factor
I'm not sure if kids will enjoy this figure. It's as dull as a figure can be. Don't get me wrong. I still like it 'cos I get to display the C.D. being attacked by my clone troopers.
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Overall
I don't really recommend this figure. It's nice to have if you're a clone army builder and you want to add to the Separatist army. 'Cos lets face it, the Clone Army needs something to shoot at while you're displaying them on your shelves. Still the lack of articulation really bugs me because it means we can't display them doing gymnastics and stuff. Lastly, there is the issue of price. This cost about AUD 30. Twice the price of a regular SW figure and less the satisfaction. If this had been a vehicle where you can put a SW figure in than I would recommend getting it. For now if you really want to add this to your collection I suggest you wait it out for a clearance sale or grab one off ebay.

Score: **1/2

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Get ready for something, something, something...dark side

I'm really looking forward to the release of the sequel to Family Guy: Blue Harvest. The sequel entitled Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side will be a parody of Episode V: Empire Strikes Back.

A kick-me-in-the-nuts kinda funny. Expected release date is 22nd December 2009. Just in time before I go back to Brunei.

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Pic of the Day : Public Service Announcement

Public Service Announcement by Lobo

"Remember kids, don't do crack!!"

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# 47 : Astro Boy, The Movie: Astro Boy, 3 3/4"

Some things are better left on the shelves. Some things are best shot out of a cannon. Some things are meant to be praised But I'm not sure where the new Astro Boy figure based on the new movie falls into. I picked up this figure yesterday at TRU for AUD 10. I haven't seen the figures anywhere else except TRU.
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Packaging
The front packaging is your normal blister card with pics from the A.B. movie I guess.
They were 6 figures on the shelves and I picked Astro Boy with the black short-shorts and the red boots(damn, a man shouldn't have to say stuff like that). The back of the packaging is a bit too plain for me because there's no info about Astro Boy.
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D.S.A.
|Details|
A.B. is in the 3 3/4" scale. These line of figures are from Jazwares Inc., the same people who brought us Sonic the hedgehog figures. A.B. is also available in 6" and 10" but I have yet to see those at TRU. Maybe I'll pick up the 6" because it looks promising. For some strange reason I find the figure is lacking in terms of quality. I just can't pinpoint what it is. Whether its the paint app or the plastic used but I felt cheated and a little violated. Ok, maybe not violated.
|Sculpt|
The sculpt is decent. Frankly, I don't know how they could've gone wrong with the sculpt anyway. A.B. is as simple as you can get when it comes to design.
The face is slightly different from the 80's cartoon that we know and I think they made him a bit taller in the movie. But the iconic hair style remains the same minus the eyelash...remember his eyelashes back then???
|Accessories|
Interchangeable boots. You can swipe the normal feet for the flamed-in-mid-flight boots.

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Articulation
Here is where I'm a bit dissapointed. Just a bit. The figure has a ball-jointed neck, Swivel-hinged shoulders, hinged elbows, Swivel waist, Swivel Hips, Hinged knees and swivel ankles. I'm dissapointed there's no articulation in the hands(swivel hands? or maybe interchangeable hands? him flipping us off? anything man)
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Fun Factor
I wished they had provided a stand so we could display A.B. when he is in flight mode because I really like him displayed like that. In terms of having fun with A.B. I found that I couldn't find the right figures for it to go with. Its too big for the S.W. or G.I Joe figures. It could go with my M.L or DCU but the size of the head looks a bit off. I'm tempted to get the rest of the figures in this line but the price is a bit of a let down. We'll see how it goes.
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Overall
While I thoroughly enjoyed the cartoon series in the 80's I find this figure is lacking in terms of value for money. At AUD 10, its normal considering you pay more for a S.W. or Joe figure. But the thing is that THIS is Astro Boy. Even in the 3 3/4" size I was expecting cannon arms. To be fair they have another version in the wave with the cannon arms. But that A.B has a different outfit. In my opinion, this line has potential. The Peacekeeper and Soldier looks very nice and those might be in my list next. I'm just hoping TRU will have them on sale soon. Anywho, the new movie will be released on the 23rd in the States but here in OZ for some reason it hits the cinema yesterday. I'm not sure if this figure will be received well by A.B. fans. But for me, I got it mainly for nostalgic reason. Plus, when I go and see the new movie and it turns out to be really good, I can say to myself "I got the figure at home".

Score: ***

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# 46 : G.I. Joe, Rise of Cobra - Steel Crusher AVP

I have a secret. I have not seen the movie. The good thing is, this is not a movie review.
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Packaging
There's a small window to display the 'bonus' figure, a Nitro-Viper. Typical Hasbro packaging.
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D.S.A.
|Details|
"The Steel Crusher Armor Plated Vehicle (A.P.V.) tears through the Paris streets on a mission of destruction: To release the Nanomite weapon and destroy the Eiffel Tower! The Nitro-Viper blasts through traffic at top speed and smashes past obstacles in his way, but he can't shake the G.I. Joe team that's determined to stop him!"
The vehicle comes with stickers(oh how I hate those) of Cobra logo and whatnot. This was aimed for kids of course. We all know how silly it would be for an actual Cobra vehicle to have have its logo on the hood and driving around Paris(ermm...right?). That would be like Cookie Monster announcing his arrival at a bake sale.
|Sculpt|
This vehicle is a licensed product from General Motors so it should be fairly accurate to the real deal. Since I said it 'should', the scale is a bit off me thinks. Just a tad smaller. Then again maybe I'm wrong. Overall the paint looks spot on. It still looks plastic-ish though.
There's a small issue of the door handles not being painted like the one in the box. It's minor but it got on my nerves. I might try to paint it but the handles are so small I might end up with a mess.
|Accessories|
If you can count the bonus figure as an accessory.

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Features
Opening doors, sliding roof canopy, removable 'iron plow', missile launcher, fits 2 figures in the vehicle and 5 - 6 figures outside.
Slide back the roof to conceal the missile launcher and take off the iron plow to get a regular Hummer.
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Fun Factor
How can a collector NOT have fun with this vehicle? Let alone a kid. When I first bought it I didn't plan on getting any other G.I. Joe figures. Then it looked kinda plain on its own so I got a Baroness and Snake Eyes figure. So that I could do this
and this.
This vehicle is just superb for playing and display.
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Overall
A value for money purchase. Kids will have hours and hours of fun with it and collectors will be glad for a functioning vehicle for their Cobra figures. When it first hit the shelves this was AUD 50. That was a few months ago. I bought it for less during a sale last month. AUD 30 and the extra figures were AUD 10 each. Sweet right?

Score: ****

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Why Do You Collect?

This question was Tagged by Double H. I did a similar blog post about this here. But lets give his questions a go shall we?

Why Do You Collect?
To balance between the forces of good and evil on my shelves.

Do you collect to play or decorate?
Last I checked it was to fill that missing gap in my childhood. At the moment, I buy, open them up and display. There are times when I find my figures in fighting poses and I don't know how they got that way. So I could be sleepwalking and playing with them in my sleep.

Do you get a new one just for something to review?
I GET what I can afford at the time. Reviewing them is just a bonus and my excuse to the powers-that-be(Mrs. Lobo) to fiddle *ehem* touch *ehem* play with the figures.

Are you collecting to complete your collection or will always add on to it?
It's just financially impossible for me to complete my collection. Honestly for me, trying to complete a collection is the equivalent of getting hooked on crack. You're happy when you get it but the next day you want more. So I try to just be happy with what I have. Plus I'm already on crack.

Do you collect something just since it is valuable and will sell for a lot of money one day?
Another subjective question. Ever since I started a year ago I have been buying and selling my action figures on ebay. My valuable figures are usually those that have a special meaning to me personally and not necessarily reflect the overall demand of the market. These would be(amongst several) my first custom Wolverine figure and the AT-AT Walker I stumbled on for a damn good bargain.

Do you ever think you will stop collecting?
Yes, eventually I will outgrow it(again). But I'm hoping my kid will pick up where I left off.

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Toy Society Collector on Facebook

For all Bruneian Toy Collectors. Spread the word. Join the group now.

(Click on pic to go to the group page)

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