YEAR 2011 TOP 5 COLLECTIBLES
NUMBER 1
Specification : Hasbro Saga Legends: 2010 - 2011, 3.75" Basic Figures
Date Bought : 24 Nov 2011
Surprise Surprise! Coming in at No.1 is non other than good ol' Hasbro's 3.75" Luke Skywalker Snowspeeder pilot. I chance upon him at a Metro and the series is in clearance and is (yes, still is) at $12.50 a pop. I thought why not? Tore open the plastic blister and you have the best 3.75" Luke pilot out there. The sculpting is incredible and given that small size, it actually has some likeness to Mark Hamill. The mouth sculpt was a dead ringer as can tell from this picture.A figure this small has 14 points of articulation including a ball jointed neck and torso. Sculpting exudes details on the suit and other gear. Helmet fits perfectly and snugly on the head and it doesn't have the huge helmet small head syndrome may older figures suffers from. The paint application was meticulously applied even to the smallest black dot and the lightish grey linings on the boots.
I just brought it to the office and place just beside my PC. Fiddling it as and when I have some spare time.
Luke just win in every department and it deserves to be in the top placing this year.
NUMBER 2
Specification : Medicom Real Action Hero (RAH) 1/6 scale
Date Bought : 24 April 2011
To buy one more Medicom Boba Fett Empire Strikes Back (ESB) version was always on the plan and as soon as I can find one at very cheap price, I'll go for it. Reason being I wanted to customize it to a Return of the Jedi version. But not being a stickler for accuracy, I'm afraid I may spent time on the modification but end up still not being accurate enough. Furthermore, "cheap" and "Medicom Fett" almost never coincide.
Well, a ESB Fett is most commonly distinguished from the ROTJ version by having a pair of green gauntlet while the latter one had maroon reds. ESB has predominantly green rocket pack while the ROTJ ver had multi colored pack. Of course there are finer details that only a Boba Fett connoisseur can distinguished. I'm certainly not one.
But Medicom saved the day by releasing a stock Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) version. Strangely, local shops doesn't seem willing to bring it in as they reckon nobody would buy it since there isn't really much different from the ESB version. Perhaps I'm one of those few who would want it in a heartbeat. Chance upon one on sale at eBay at a sane price and I had to get it even when it was in a displayed condition. Absolutely no regrets at all when I had both Fetts displayed proudly together. Medicom was much chastised for making their 1/6 figure more like 1/7 in actual scale. I agree they probably can improve on the scale accuracy to make it more closer to 1/6. But the details are marvelous and so far, I haven't seen any 1/6 Boba Fett as crisp and detail perfect as the Medicom's ones. Happy to finally had it and ROTJ Fett slot right into the year's No.2 favorite collectible netted.
NUMBER 3
Specification : 3A / Ashley Wood WWR universe
Date Bought : 25 August 2011
"What the hell is this?!" as many who doesn't know much about 3A/Ashley Wood stuffs might exclaimed. Well, this is what the creator called it, a Square. Honestly I doesn't really quite know what these are used for in the WWR universe but it is one of the more difficult item to acquire since I am backtracking on the EMGY colorway, which happens to be one of the most popular color scheme that people are collecting. Hence to find a collector who is willing to let it go is hard and when there is one, they are asking for the sky for it. I was lucky enough to find a trade deal with a Beijing collector and my APTK Oyabun Yama (from 2011 3AA pack) went his way in return for the EMGY MK1 Square. It's a good deal and I'm glad I went with it when the chance arises.
So the EMGY Dropcloth sucked me into this 3A collecting and with this Square, I'm done backtracking on this colorway. Any WWR EMGY stuffs to get will be right from Bambalandstore which will only ask for retail price.
This Square has a ball jointed hip for both legs, articulated knee and a swivel enabled "waist". Not a lot of articulation but with a design like this, these are as good as one can get. Because it is the final piece to plug my EMGY gap, and I did not pay a ransom for it. And knowing you have a much sought after piece of collectibles in my collection, it goes into the No.3 position.
NUMBER 4
Specification : 3A / Ashley Wood WWR universe
Date Bought : 06 November 2011
The very first time a Dropcloth was represented was through this Peaceday version back on Christmas Eve of 2009. That probably speaks why a "24" was stenciled on it's body plate. And it is exactly that number "24", that coincides with my birth date, and that original pink scheme for a robot that got me hooked onto this. Wasn't into 3A back in 2009 therefore I had to hunt it down in the secondary market. Clinched a deal at eBay.sg and needless to say, paid a high premium for it. But for something I've been wanting, it is a one time pain and get it before the price go even further north.
The Dropcloth design didn't really gets to me initially but it has been steadily growing inside me. There is a Peaceday Square MK1 that came with the EMGY Dropcloth that I got last year and just gotten a Peaceday Square MK2 from Bambaland this month, I have a nice little Peaceday squad and this colorway is going to be a mainstay in my WWR collection. Hope more Peaceday Bots will be release in time to come.
NUMBER 5
Specification : Lego Star Wars Series
Date Bought : 19 April 2011
*Picture by Dave Keehan* - I didn't manage to take any at the moment.
There were a couple of months this year that I was putting my attention back to Lego. All self proclaiming Star Wars fan need to have an AT-AT in their collection regardless. Not to take anything away from this beautifully designed beast, owning an AT-AT is like owning a Millenium Falcon or an X-Wing, it just represented Empire Strikes Back completely whether you like it or not.
Lego made several versions of this behemoth mecha walker but mostly Lego fans thought the very first version, the 4483, has the best likeness and proportion. As this version was released back in 2003, they are no longer available on retail outlet shelves. Gotten mine at eBay at a very cheap price and the auction states it as complete. When I got it in hand, noticed almost 40% of the parts are not there though those that were there were in sealed bags. Contacted the seller and got half my money back. Went Bricklink afterwards to try to find the missing parts and unknowingly, though expensive, that is where the fun is. Scouring through each seller to buy the missing parts, receiving it and eagerly mount it onto the incomplete model is a lot of fun with added anticipation. Along the way, I modify a little here and there to make this AT-AT even better but 95% of it is still original 4483 version.
With this "quest", I also learned that Lego had used a different shade of light grey previously which are not used in later sets anymore. Today, light grey bricks are replaced by light bluish grey and so is dark grey being replaced by dark bluish grey. Hence I have to make purchase a couple of times on the same part as I learned it the hard way. That adds to part of the fun actually... though expensively fun.
I'll probably look into acquiring a second 4483 if I have some spare cash. In the ESB Battle of Hoth scene, there were 3 of them if I remember it correctly. But 2 is good enough for me though. The AT-AT sit snugly at No.5
YEAR 2011 COLLECTING SUMMARY ROUND UP
2011 is coming to an end pretty quickly, another 2 more weeks and we are off to 2012. I had my toy funds almost totally dedicated to a toy company named 3A. It introduces me to a brand new way of buying collectibles - all through their webstore and only through this webstore. It had me intrigue because each toy are now "exclusives" in their own rights even if it is a regular release, coupled with a very affordable price tag. And each toy is only on for order on a 24 hr window on a given specific date. Missed it and it is off to secondary market with crazy prices. It is the perfect recipe for me. Always loved non-realist sculpted figure (aka designer toys) and 3A stuffs has all the right ingredients - sculpt I wanted, affordable prices and it's exclusivity. 2012 may jolly well be ruled by it once again.From March - May, Lego caught my attention once again. Updated some of my Starwars minifigs collection with new characters and some Lego sets. Notably, I finally bought an AT-AT. Always want one in my collection and made up my mind to go for it when one pops up at eBay for a good price.
And some sporadic stuffs - mostly 1/6 stuffs or accessories - on and off, as and when. With the arrival of my second kid, he really affect on the amount of toy fund I can set aside each month. But not complaining. Less funds means I'm more careful with what I spent on. Perfectly suited since there are practically no more space left in my toy room for much things else.
2012 maybe the year where some of my things got to go before I can bring in new stuffs. Sell it, donate it, throw it. Somehow something needs to be done. Until then... lets look forward to another happy toy collecting year ahead.
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