Spider Maul, Spider Maul, does whatever a spider does, y'all!

Love or hate Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, almost everyone is on the same page when it comes to the badass tattooed Sith Apprentice Darth Maul.

Maul was idiotically killed off in TPM, but was later revived in the Star Wars: Rebels animated series. First with a six legged insect body, and later with sweet sweet robot legs. Because SCIENCE!

I don't watch Star Wars: Rebels. I also could care less about the Hero Mashers toyline Hasbro has been Hero Mashing down our throats for the past couple years.

However I simply could not pass up this Hero Mashers Darth Maul  (especially since I found him on clearance)...

...which includes both is spider-body and his chicken legs! The 'spider body' is a simple hollow shell, but it's effective.

The chicken legs are solid, but only move at the reverse-knee. Hero Mashers are more visually impressive than they are articulated. This figure looks like he should have joints all over the place ("Hey, it's medicinal! I'm a paraplegic for cryin out loud!")  But it's all in the sculpt, and there's not much actual engineering going on. That';s fine, as this guy would probably be double or triple the price if that were the case.

I have to admit, I'm curious now to see what another Hero masher would look like with Maul's robot-chicken legs! Maybe this Hero Mashers concept isn't so stupid after all.

Nah, it's pretty stupid.

"You lost your legs? Cry me a river."

Star Wars Action Fleet Rancor

Another flea market find: a 1996 Star Wars Action Fleet Rancor!

The Rancor has long been a favorite Star Wars monster. I had the original and loved every minute of him when I was a kid,

Like with the original, this mini Rancor can 'swallow' an in scale Gammorean Guard or whomever is unfortunate enough to fall into his pit.

Move his arm up and down and his mouth moves to match.

Mini Rancor also has a rear...umm...trap door...to release the figures. Not as graphic as it sounds, his hinged tail merely acts as a hatch and you can remove whatever folks he's swallowed.

The only other Action Fleet anything I own is the Slave I, but I gave that to my daughter, so I didn't have it on hand for this photo shoot. Fortunately a Galaxy Laser Team Buck Gordon was around to join in the fun! PEW PEW PEW!

Yodas, you seek Yodas!

Well, not anymore!

Two more Yodas for my daughters collection via my recent flea market Star Wars haul! An Episode I and an Episode II Yoda. The first came with an exciting chair to sit in! Sadly (not sadly) unlike the Force, the chair wasn't with Yoda when I found him. Yoda part deux from Episode II originally had a lightsaber and a stand that elevated him and some electrical doohickeys. It would have been nice to have at least found him with his lightsaber but whatyagonnado?

I had both of these guys when they were new, so it's nice to see them again. Attack of the Clones Yoda is a bit cooler, as was his action scenes in that movie, but there's something endearing about static puppet Yoda from The Phantom Menace too. I should have taken a pic with an original Kenner Yoda but I always think of these things after the fact, so you'll just have to settle.

You can get anything you want, at Dexter's restaurant

Dexter Jettster's role in The Clone Wars was ridiculous but I liked it in spite of myself. Why in the world would anyone, a Jedi or otherwise, consult with a short-order cook in order to solve a mysterious murder, and how would said chef have all the answers by looking at one random projectile? Oh Star Wars, your ridiculousness knows no bounds.

I have never owned this action figure before, so I have no idea if he came with a gun or a frying pan or a set of falsified 'A' cards in spite of the wamp rat feces found in 'Today's Special'. But I do have plenty of Playmobil stuff around so I may have to give him some cooking pots or utensils to hold on to.

I do like the stained apron details, and the tattooed knuckles too! Dex is just plain silly, and I am glad I found him and will be passing him over to my daughter for her growing Star wars collection.

Djas Purh, the Friendly Alien

The Star Wars Cantina scene is one of my all time favorite movie scenes. The seventies moderate budget upcycled fright mask moment is one of pure and utter joy and I love it when I find an action figure of one of the scum and villainy that frequented that wretched hive.

During Kenner's original Star Wars run, only a few characters were made of the denizens of that den of ill repute: Hammerhead, Walrus Man, Greedo (and, technically, Han and Chewie) but in modern times many more have been created by Hasbro whether you remember seeing them during their 0.4 seconds of screen time or not.

"Al Jolson? Never heard of him."

Djas Puhr is one of those 'blink and you'll miss him' aliens. He was seated next to that big multi-eyed alien with the penis for a mouth (Muftak) so you may not have ever even noticed him. You tend to get overlooked when your friend has genitals on his face. But that probably goes without saying. This action figure was originally released in 2002 and came with dual pistols and laser blast effects for the pistols. Mine only came with one of his pistols, but that's better than none and for the less-than-a-dollar I spent on him I can't complain.

Harley Qwednesday: Bud & Lou, The Star Wars Edition

These twin Massiff were found at the flea market and will be going to my oldest daughter, a new (but now lifelong) Star Wars fan! I had one of them back when it was originally released (they came with a Tusken Raider), but had no idea my then infant daughter would grow into a huge Star Wars fan, so most of my prequel Star Wars stuff was sold off years ago. I'm glad I found these guys again as the Massiff are fun monster/beast figures to have around even if they only appeared on screen for about two seconds.

I've dubbed these two guys 'Bud' and 'Lou' after Harley Quinn's Hyena (who were named after Bud Abbot and Lou Costello, natch).

Massiff are of course pets of the Sand People (Tusken Raiders). I also found at the flea market during the same trip a female and child Tusken Raider pair. I also had these two when they were released, in conjunction with Attack of the Clones' theatrical release.

They are cool figures; a neat, deeper look at the lives of the mysterious lives of the Sand People, but kind of morbid too as their only function in the movie was to be slaughtered by Anakin Skywalker.

The kid fits into the mother's backpack/basket and is also removable. Mom originally came with one of those Sand People sticks they wave around in A New Hope, but mine didn't have hers when I found her. At least she had her kid! Priorities!

The Massiff have actual metal chains connected to them. QUALITY!

They also have movable jaws.

I love these guys and had a lot of fun shooting them. I need to do a shoot with an in scale Harley Quinn before letting my daughter take possession of them! Or I need to figure out which Star Wars action figure could/should be modified into a Harley Quinn mash-up custom in order to pair her up with them.

Seeing Star Wars as a whole (Eps 1 thru 7) through my daughter's young eyes lately, I have to admit to gaining a new-found appreciation for the prequels and all the stuff they brought to the mythos. I'm bummed I gave up so many great toys over the years. I would have never done so if I thought my kid would someday care about it all! Thank the maker for the flea market and the fact that most of this stuff is not hard to come by today!

Empire Strikes Bossk

Brian of It's Trash Culture gifted me this sweet Bossk that he scored as part of an even bigger Kenner Star Wars score he, well, scored.

SCORE!

Bossk was one of my favorite Star Wars action figures when I was a kid. I also had a Y-Wing that I received for my birthday or Christmas around the same time I got Bossk, and I always used it as his go-to spaceship. The Y-Wing was one sweet vehicle, it even dropped a bomb, which is ridiculously impractical because, you know, they are in space!!

I got rid of all my original Star Wars action figures sometime in the mid eighties (stupid stupid stupid!) and although I've picked many up since then via garage sales, flea markets, trades etc etc, Bossk has for some reason always eluded me. Getting him again brought back a flood of joy and memories! I love him all over again - reunited and it feels so good!

And what's a Bounty Hunter without a Bounty? Bryan also sent along this super articulated Chewbacca who is apparently playing air-bass. Bring da funk, Wookie-o!

Thanks again Brian! You rock!

Flea Market Finds - Think of the Children!

My kids scored off my flea market trip today - my oldest daughter is big into Star Wars thanks to The Force Awakens, so I grabbed her a handful of modern era Star Wars figures, mostly consisting of characters from the prequels: An Episode 1 Yoda and an Episode 2 Yoda, that chef alien from Episode 2, a female Tusken Raider and child and two of their dogs (I love all of these, I even had them back when they were new; I'm glad to have them again to pass them on to my daughter!), a Cantina alien named Djas Puhr (I might keep this one for myself as I love everything about and everyone in the Cantina scene!) and a Boba Fett with removable helmet. Sadly Boba Fett is missing his jet pack but he does have Jango Fett's jetpack in it's stead.

I also picked up that wacky bootleg Spider-Man on a parachute, which is supposed to fly like a kite...we'll see, I can't wait to try it out with my youngest daughter who is excited about kites lately.

And lastly I picked up the three disc set of Darkwing Duck Volume 1. That will be a lot of fun to watch with the kids next Saturday morning!

Who's the Bossk?

'You're not the Bossk of me!'

Bossk has always been a favorite OG Star Wars (Empire, to be precise) character of mine. His original Kenner action figure was pure plastic perfection; the mystery level of this lizard man in a flight suit similar to the Rebels, but on a Bounty Hunter, surpassed even Boba Fett's clouded origins, leaving him wide open for all sorts of imaginative playtime fun.

I'm sure the Star Wars novels have delved deep into Bossk's backstory by now, and I'm doubly sure whatever they came up with isn't as bad as Baby Fett, but I am currently completely ignorant of all that and unless someone can recommend a great book on the subject I shall blissfully remain so.

'Bossk-a-nova!'

I lucked into finding this LEGO minifigure Bossk at the flea market last weekend, for a buck! One buck Bossk - Brilliant!

'My first name is Hugo. Hugo Bossk. GET IT?!?!?!'

LEGO Bossk is the only version of Bossk I currently own. I didn't hold on to my original Kenner action figures past oh, the fifth grade or so, and although I did at one time have a more modern version of Bossk (POTF or whatever it was branded as in the early 2000s) I purged most of those from my collection a few years ago. Regretfully, as I now have a 14 year old daughter who is mad for Star Wars! THIS IS WHY I DON'T GET RID OF STUFF!

Anyways, I keep expecting to find a Kenner Bossk somewhere someday for cheap, and really haven't actively pursued getting him via the standard means of eBay or asking around for a trade (is that a Bossk in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?). But if a LEGO Bossk has to be the only Bossk I have, there are worse positions to be in as a toy collector!

Now I need to build Bossk a LEGO spaceship. He's got some bounty hunting to do!

'I need you to find my brother Dumbo.'

Ephant Mon Fans' Choice Figure No. 3

If you've collected toys for half as long as I have, you are certain to have amassed your share of toy regrets. Toys you've gotten rid of, toys broken by the cats, toys the kids got a hold of and lost the accessories to, toys chewed on by the dog, and toys you didn't buy when you saw them only to never see them again.

Ephant Mon was a long time toy regret of mine: a figure I passed at retail the one time I saw him at Target way back in 2002 and have never seen since. Not sure why I passed on him then, but it was likely due to having already met my toy budget for that month, or perhaps because I was only a casual Star Wars collector at the time and I may have even been thinning the herd, and had a hard time justifying one more (massive and ugly) addition.

I'm sure I at least hid him behind something to come back and buy him later, only to find him gone upon my return. I figured I'd probably see him again at retail and never did.

Years have gone by, and I couldn't even watch Return of the Jedi in that time without thinking 'Damn, I wish I had bought that Ephant Mon!' Sure, I could have chased after him on eBay, but that's just not how I roll.

"No regerts."

So when I found Ephant Mon at the flea market today I...walked away.

Really.

I saw him at the very first vendor as I walked in. The vendor is there all the time, with different stuff depending on whatever his sources are (my guess is that he generally buys abandoned storage sheds but who knows). Not always toys, but often, and he's generally fair (but not overly cheap). Still, I didn't think I'd get Ephant Mon for less than what he costs on eBay from this guy (especially considering the fact that Star Wars is a hot property now and most sellers are convinced everything Star Wars is gold again. And all the guy had today was Star Wars stuff.) I don't even know what Ephant Mon costs on eBay, but it's safe to say it's more than I am willing to spend.

I also generally hate spending money at the first vendor I see when I walk into the flea market. I always fear I'll end up a buck short when I find some real gold later in the day.

So I walked away, went through the whole flea market, spent a couple dollars, and hit the vendor on the way out to see if Ephant Mon was still there.

Obviously he was. And obviously he was fairly priced. When I asked the vendor how much his figures were, he said '$5 to $7', I picked up E.M. (he was on card but the card had been opened. But he's mint and complete so who cares, I was going to open him myself anyways!) and said 'would you take five for this one?' and the rest is history. (For those wondering, I probably would have passed on Ephant Mon at $7. I know I know, but at that point it becomes more about principle. And yes, I would have regretted passing on him. )

Geez, enough rambling. What about the figure?!?! Oh yeah, he's awesome. Massive and heavy, Ephant Mon comes with a cane and a vibroblade that plugs into the end of his cane or to his belt under his cloak. He only has one point of articulation at each shoulder and hip and is tough to stand (thus-far impossible without his cane to assist.) He also has one point of articulation at his tail, neck, and jaw, which is just too fun.

Ephant Mon is a beautifully ugly background character from the Jabba's palace scenes in Return of the Jedi. Not surprisingly, even though so many Star Wars characters have had thirty different releases over the years, Ephant Mon was only released this once back in 2002 as a 'Fans' Choice' figure (#3 to be exact). And it only took me fourteen years to find him a second time!

The Force is Strong With Playskool

Ever since my oldest daughter saw The Force Awakens she's been a huge Star Wars nut. And I couldn't be prouder! I never thought I'd regret thinning my Star Wars collection down a few years back, but now I really wish I still had all those Force Awakens and prequel action figures for her.

Thank goodness for the Flea Market, where I can still find her all sorts of fun Star Wars goodies from every generation!

This last weekend I scored for her a POTF Hoth Luke, a handful of Playskool Star Wars figures, and a  Sandtrooper from the earlier Super Hero Squad styled Star Wars Playskool line.

I love the little chibi R2-D2, and I'm tempted to keep the general Kenobi figure for myself. But since I've already been giving my daughter all the figures I had from these lines, I probably shouldn't start backpedaling now.

LEGO 75034 Death Star Troopers

I love the clearance aisle at Target. They tend to toss stuff there all the time just to make space for more new stuff, and you can get some amazing deals on things all the time. I picked up this LEGO 75034 Death Star Troopers set which includes four minifigures, and at a price comparable to buying BootLEGOs!

The set includes two Death Star Gunners. These guys are iconic characters from the original Star Wars movie that everyone will recognize immediately even if they don't recall their specific function. Those helmets are just so otherworldy! LEGO included quite a bit of detail too, and even painted those tiny lights on the side!

A  fun and unexpected detail: each gunner has a different expression. NEAT!

The main build itself is impressive as well. A Death Star gun, for blasting those pesky X-Wings running down the trench. A little lever on the back fires the topmost missile, and the gunner has a rotating seat. NEAT!

The gunners come with the new standard for Star Wars  LEGO weapons - little LEGO pop-guns. They fire pretty well, launching little LEGO pieces across the room, and LEGO is kind enough to include almost a dozen 'bullets' since you are bound to lose them in the couch or behind the bookcase. But they certainly aren't movie accurate.

The set also included two Imperial Guard minifigures!

Four minifigures in one little set - I think LEGO is catching on that the minifigures are the stars, and army building is easy and fun when you get a pair of these relatively generic troopers at a  time.

The Imperial Guards come with their 'force pikes' which resemble lightsabers but I don't know what good they are against them. In fact, The Imperial Guards literally didn't do anything but stand there in The Return of the Jedi, so your imagination is all you have when playing with these guys!

I never had a Death Star Gunner or Imperial Guard action figure as a kid, so these characters are completely new to my collection, LEGO or otherwise. It's fun to add their iconic visages to the ranks of my LEGO Stormtroopers, Snowtroopers and Speeder Bike Scouts, and that sweet LEGO Death Star Gun will look great on my desk at work!

Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle

The first Star Wars: The Force Awakens toy to enter my collection is this Mattel die-cast version of Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle!

I received this spaceship for Christmas from my parents, and that alone makes it incredibly awesome. The very first Star Wars die-cast toys I ever owned (an X-Wing and a Tie Fighter) were given to me by my parents way back in the late seventies. And here it is (was,) Christmas 2015, and my parents are again giving me a Star Wars spaceship. We live in awesome times indeed.

Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle really doesn't do much in The Force Awakens, but it sure looks imposing (more like something the Romulans might fly around in than a Sith shuttle, to be honest). This tiny version doesn't have any moving parts, but the movie version's wings fold down like the original trilogy Imperial Shuttles.

The stand is a great design, serving as both a very stable place to display your ship and a sort of 'ring' to place your finger in for hyper-drivin' fun!

Random Toy Pic :: Batman Meets...Batgirl?

'Hello, sexy. Want to find out if the Batmobile has a back seat?'

I picked up this Star Wars alien Kabe from the flea market the other day. Kabe was originally released as a Power of the Force Star Wars fan club exclusive along with Muftak (a version of which I already own.) Kabe is a girl, and a bat-headed Chadra-Fan girl at that, who appeared in the original Star Wars Cantina scene! How could I pass on her for just a dollar? I couldn't, that's how.

LEGO Obi-Wan Kenobi

My wife is far more fond of garage sales than the Flea Market, so yesterday I didn't go to my usual Saturday morning haunt and instead went with the Mrs on the garage sale route. I like garage sales too, don't get me wrong, it's just the constant attempt at parking, getting in and out of the car (and getting my intern in and out of the car), following weeks old signe etc etc that wears on me. Thankfully the morning wasn't a complete loss as I found a young Obi-Wan Kenobi minifgure as well as a couple Star Wars prequel/expanded universe troopers for a buck each!

I am not even going to try to figure out who or what these prequel troopers are. I know someone out there will tell me, at which time I'll update the blog post here:

Thanks to (YOUR NAME HERE) I now know that these guys are in fact .....

Now I have a young Obi-Wan to go along with my LEGO old Ben, which I found (lacking hair) a few weeks back at the flea market. Has LEGO made a spirit of Obi-Wan yet? If not, why the hell not?!?!