This past weekend we attended Armageddon Expo, a national pop culture convention held across New Zealand, this time in Palmerston North, on August 3rd and 4th. This event is a 6 hour drive south from our home city, and the first day of the convention coincided with our daughter’s birthday, so it was a special family weekend trip away.

Check out our highlights video from the event –

We always love attending Armageddon Expo events around New Zealand, as there is always lots of Star Wars entertainment to see and collectibles to buy.

A last minute guest announcement two weeks before the event was especially exciting for us – Ivanna Sakhno, the actress who played Shin Hati in the Ahsoka live action series! Ivanna is currently here in New Zealand working on another film project, and was able to fit in an appearance at the convention over the weekend.

Our daughter is a huge fan of Shin Hati, so after gathering costume supplies, we helped her put together a Shin Hati costume, all made in the week before the convention. She had a great time meeting Ivanna in costume, a really special birthday treat for our daughter. Ivanna was absolutely lovely to meet in person, and of course we had to get her autograph as well for our collection.

We attended Ivanna’s main stage panel, which had a few stormtroopers from the local NZ 501st Legion garrison there as supporters. Ivanna talked about her experience filming the Ahsoka series, sharing some great stories, and also spoke about working with the late Ray Stevenson who portrayed Shin Hati’s master Baylan Skoll.

We are always impressed by all the wonderful Star Wars costumers in attendance at every Armageddon Expo, and we love to stop and take a quick photo of as many Star Wars costumes as we can find around the convention.

As usual we spent a fair bit of time at the Star Wars costume club booth, as we are members of both the Rebel Legion and 501st Legion groups. It’s always a great spot to catch up with our friends in the clubs, check out all the wonderful Star Wars costumers gathering for group photos, and groove to some iconic cantina music.

Shin Hati herself Ivanna Sakhno also stopped by the booth to take a group photo with Star Wars costumers, an absolute highlight.

On both the Saturday and Sunday of the convention, a cosplay parade was held on the main stage, where fans can show off their costumes, whether they are bought or made, all are welcome at any skill level, and there’s always a fun variety of Star Wars costumes in those shows.

We had fun browsing the wide range of dealer booths around the convention floor, to check out the variety of Star Wars items available.

At the Retro Nerds booth (previously known as Cameron Percy Antiques), we had fun browsing through their range Star Wars items, and checking to see if they had any figures on our shopping list. From vintage figures to prequel era figures, Black Series and Funko Pop! Vinyl, there was lots to check out, so we always end up spending a while at this great booth.

The Palmerston North convention is a little smaller than our home city Auckland event, but there was still plenty of great booths to browse. We spotted Micro Galaxy Squadron vehicles, Star Wars Shatterpoint sets, Star Wars Unlimited starter sets, lots of Funko Pop Vinyl figures, Star Wars board games, jewellery including earrings and pins, Star Wars comics, and assorted carded figures at several different booths.

We always check out the cool lightsabers at the Kyber Forge booth, I’ve got my eye on a few neat sabers there. In the end, our picks from this event were Funko Pop! Vinyl collectibles. We found the Galactic Convention exclusive Hoth Princess Leia figure, and in a great bundle deal, we got the Luke Skywalker and Han Solo each with TaunTaun deluxe figures – I love tauntauns, so happy to finally add these two to our Funko Star Wars collection.

Palmerston North is a long drive from home for us, but we always have a great time at each and every Armageddon Expo convention. A last minute Star Wars costume project for our daughter came together so she was able to meet a favourite Star Wars actress in costume, an absolutely special moment for her on her birthday.

We are so grateful that Ivanna was able to make time in her current filming schedule to attend the convention. It was a really special weekend for our whole Star Wars obsessed family. While we catch up on sleep from the long drive home, we are already planning for the next Armageddon Expo in October – in our home city this time.

May the Force be with you!

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Today in NZ it is June 9th – Natalie Portman’s birthday! To celebrate her role as Queen Amidala in the Star Wars Saga, I want to highlight a particularly special Queen Amidala item in my collection – the Limoges Queen Amidala porcelain trinket box. A rare piece from The Phantom Menace era, it is one of my most prized Star Wars collectibles.

It is hard to find much verified information about this rare piece. During my research, I found that it was available from FAO Schwarz in the United States, around the release of The Phantom Menace – 1999 or possibly 2000. There was also a Limoges Yoda porcelain trinket box available at the same time, though I do not own that piece.

Limoges is the name given to porcelain items made by manufacturers in and around the city of Limoges, France. This particular item features a logo bearing the text ‘Atelier de Limoges’ and ‘Les Ateliers de Limoges’ – I am uncertain if this seal is specific to the manufacturer of this Queen Amidala item or a general symbol used by manufacturers in the city of Limoges (like the way the term ‘champagne’ is used for sparkling wine made in the region of Champagne, France).

The packaging box –

My Limoges trinket box came with a blue cardboard box, with a black and metallic gold seal on the top lid that features the printed logo/seal of Atelier de Limoges – Limoges, France. The bottom of the box has the original barcode price sticker from FAO Schwarz – US$225.00.

The Certificate Of Authenticity –

Inside the box there was also a small certificate of authenticity, with information regarding the history of Limoges porcelain trinket boxes, and how to care for the item. This appears to be a generic card supplied by the manufacturer with all their items, as there is no mention of Lucasfilm or Star Wars on it like we would expect today.

My particular box was filled with blue tissue paper, with the Queen Amidala trinket box inside some bubble wrap – I am unable to confirm if this interior packaging is the original, or whether there was anything additional like polystyrene etc. that had been discarded some time ago by the original owner.

I am especially happy to have the original box for my item, and it is in such good condition as well!

I acquired this piece a few years ago now, and it stills looks as brilliant as it did the day it arrived in the mail. It is absolutely stunning in person – the vibrant colours, the glossy finish, and of course, the fine hand painted details. After spending a few years hunting for it, it was so exciting when it finally arrived in the mail, just as beautiful as I dreamed it would be.

The porcelain trinket box measures approximately 9cm tall (3.5″) and 5cm across at the base (2″) – standing slightly shorter than a standard Star Wars 3.75″ action figure.

Queen Amidala is depicted here in her Throne Room gown as seen in The Phantom Menace. The costume details are replicated here so well in miniature form, from her iconic headdress to her vibrant red gown with oval lights – which of course are just painted here, they don’t light up.

For a small hand painted porcelain figure, it still amazes me at the level of detail – especially around the face and headdress. The iconic white and red makeup, the gold details of the headdress, it’s all here in tiny hand painted form.

The gold pattern down the front of Queen Amidala’s dress here is not completely accurate to the original costume design – but I am impressed with how much detail is included here for a hand painted design.

The underside of the trinket box is clean white porcelain, with the seal/logo of ATELIER DE LIMOGES FRANCE’. There is some hand painted text in French – ‘Peint main’ which translates to ‘Hand painted’ – and the signature of the artist, which I think reads A.F. in script/cursive handwriting. I love the hand painted text for the Lucasfilm copyright mark – it really adds to the unique handmade nature of the item.

When viewing the underside of the trinket box, you can see the clasp is a little off center in relation to the hinge – to be honest I don’t know if this is intentional or not. The clasp is metal, and works via tension, which holds the box closed very well. I find it a little tricky to open my particular box, but I don’t mind – I don’t open it very often at all, and would rather it be tight than loose.

The gold-toned metal bands run around both opening edges of the trinket box section. The metal has a slight antique finish – though I am unsure if this is the original finish or it has weathered a little over time.

I love the use of the Fleur-de-lis symbol for the clasp here. The Star Wars royal Naboo symbol takes inspiration from this classic French symbol, so I love to see the reference used here so clearly on an item made in France.

Once opened, you can see inside the trinket box. The Queen Amidala figure on the top is hollow, and is formed as one piece with the lid, not a separate figure placed on top. The inside has a glossy white porcelain finish.

The dish/tray section of the trinket box is fairly flat, so it won’t hold much beyond a piece or two of small jewellery, like a ring or necklace – though of course I do not use this as an actual box for storage.

On the inside of the lower portion of the box, there is a hand painted red Naboo symbol, slightly above centre. Across the symbol, the text ‘QUEEN AMIDALA’ is hand painted in black.

It took me a few years of searching to acquire this piece – and now it is one of my most treasured items in my Star Wars collection. The unique hand painted nature, combined with the mysterious history, really make it special.

If you have any further information about this item, I would love to hear from you! Did you see it for sale at FAO Schwarz in store or in a catalogue, or perhaps even bought it yourself back in the day? Do you know when exactly it was released, how many were made, or where they made to order? Was the Limoges Yoda trinket box made in similar quantities – or is one rarer than the other? I would love to know more about my beautiful Limoges Queen Amidala porcelain trinket box.

May the Force be with you!

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Today we open up the Hasbro The Vintage Collection Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure 2-pack, which includes Obi-Wan Kenobi (Showdown) VC290, and Darth Vader (Duel’s End) VC291, for a closer look at their details, articulation, and accessories.

We both really enjoyed the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, especially the climactic battle in the final episode. When this TVC box set was announced, we knew we had to add it to our collection!

Check out our unboxing video –

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Showdown) – VC290

The Obi-Wan figure is wearing his dark brown Jedi robes from the end of the series, and comes with three accessories – blaster, lightsaber hilt, and lightsaber ignited with blade. The accessories fit well into their attachment points (hilt on belt, blaster in holster), and the figure holds the lightsaber well.

I think the facial sculpt does a good job at capturing Ewan McGregor’s likeness, and the hair is styled just like Obi-Wan. The figure has good articulation, and can hold a variety of cool lightsaber combat poses – though I will put this figure on a stand for extra stability.

Darth Vader (Duel’s End) – VC291

The Darth Vader figure has unique battle damage from the series finale – a slashed open helmet revealing Anakin’s face inside, burn/slashes to the chest box, a slashed hole across the back of the cape, and a weathered cape edge. The figure comes with two accessories – lightsaber hilt, and lightsaber with blade (though the peg for the lightsaber hilt didn’t fit into the attachment hole on this figure’s belt).

I really like the unique battle damage on this figure – but the best feature is the broken helmet. Inside we can see Anakin’s yellow Sith eye and scarred head, and the top of the helmet is removable to see the full head sculpt underneath. Really great detail and painting here!

I wish the Darth Vader figure in particular stood up better (my figure will definitely need a stand), but overall, I really like the details and sculpting of these two figures. That slashed open Vader helmet especially looks amazing! What a great way to add that climactic fight scene to our action figure display!

May the Force be with you!

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This past week we had the most magical time on board the Disney Wonder cruise ship for the inaugural New Zealand sailing! The ‘Magic At Sea’ cruise was the very first cruise that Disney has ever offered from New Zealand, spending four days at sea (no port stops) where guests on board celebrated all things Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars!

The 4-night cruise started in Auckland on Tuesday 21st November 2023, and arrived back on Saturday 25th November 2023. We have always wanted to go on a Disney cruise – we just never imagined we would be able to go on one, and from our own city. It was everything we could wish for and more!

We will be writing up our full cruise adventure here on our blog, starting with day 1 –

Tuesday 21st November 2013

Our day started at 4.00am – we wanted to go down to the harbour to see the Disney Wonder coming in to New Zealand for the first time ever. We were tracking the ship position online, and found a great spot to see the Wonder in person! The ship looked beautiful with all the lights, and of course those iconic Mickey Mouse funnels!

After watching the Disney Wonder sail into Auckland, we headed back home to quickly finish our packing. We live pretty close to the port, so we still had plenty of time to pack, and double check we hadn’t forgotten anything. Our boarding time was 12.30pm, so before we knew it we were loading our luggage in the car and driving down to the port – and there she was, the Disney Wonder!

We quickly found our way to the boarding area, after taking a few photos of the Disney Wonder in port. We’ve never been on a cruise before, so we were expecting a lengthy boarding process – but it was quite quick really, lots of lovely helpful staff.

Before we knew it, we were stepping on board the ship and into the atrium. We were welcomed aboard the Disney Wonder! Goofy was there greeting guests from the stairs.

We were a bit overwhelmed, and didn’t know where we wanted to go first! So we sort of followed other guests, and wandered down the hall, where we were welcomed straight into Tiana’s for lunch. We were definitely hungry and excited to have our first meal on board.

We got our drinks and bread service, and lunch menu to order our meals.

• K – Leafy House Salad, Vegan Pennette Pasta, Raspberry Sorbet
• M – Beef Empanadas, Chicken Cesar Salad, Welcome Aboard Sundae
• J – Beef Empanadas, Pennette Pasta, Welcome Aboard Sundae

Kristy’s lunch –

Matt’s lunch –

At lunch, we were told our room was ready, so we decided to go drop off our carry-on bags. After a bit of navigating, we found our room – our checked luggage was already waiting for us outside the door. We dropped off our carry-on luggage, did a quick tour of the room, and set off to explore.

4pm – We attended the mandatory safety briefing on deck 4 (section G). Took a little while, but after being reminded about life vests and life boats, it really did sink in that we were on a ship about to sail out to sea.

4.45pm – Found a spot on deck 10 to watch the Sail-A-Wave deck party. This was our first time seeing Mickey Mouse and friends on our cruise, which was so exciting! We finally heard the ship horn tune, which brought tears to my eyes – we had heard it in videos many times, but we finally got to hear it in person, which was simply magical.

We wanted to see the ship leave port, but after waiting a while we still hadn’t started moving (the ship was still moored to the dock), so we took a few deck photos then went and saw the characters in the atrium.

In the atrium, we met Pluto! We got hugs, photos, and autographs (I got an autograph from Pluto in the back of Juliet’s book, as I didn’t have one yet). While in line, we noticed the water moving past us out the windows – we were finally on our way!

We went up to the deck and took photos of Rangitoto Island, as the ship was finally sailing out of Auckland and out to sea.

In our research, we had read that the merchandise stores usually open an hour after leaving port – so we went to see if they had opened or if people were lining up yet. We could see all the fun inaugural sailing merchandise through the windows, but the doors were closed. A crew member said they needed to wait until the ship reached international waters, which would be in the middle of the night, so the stores would open at 9.30am the next day.

The stores were right next to the Walt Disney Theater, so we waited for a few minutes before the doors opened and we found seats for the Golden Mickeys show at 6.00 pm. The 1 hour show was awesome, there were so many great characters included – a great celebration of Disney films for the first day of our cruise.

After the show, we headed back up to see the view from decks 9 and 10. We could see Auckland shrinking into the distance behind us as the sun was setting.

After admiring the view from the the top decks, we headed back to our room, to get changed for dinner at the second seating.

8.15pm – Dinner at Animator’s Palette!

This was the rotational dining restaurant we were the most excited about, as we had heard so much about it. As we sat down at our table, we were given our drawing sheets – and we suddenly remembered we hadn’t practiced any figure drawing before our cruise! Oh well, we grabbed a marker and got stuck in, having fun with our character drawings.

After handing back our completed drawings, we got our menu for the night.

• K – Arugula Leaves Salad, Black Bean Chipotle Cakes, Dark Choc Mini Cake with Strawberries
• M – Chicken and Walnut Salad, Lemon-Thyme Marinated Chicken, Warm Sticky Date Pudding
• J – Sliced Serrano Ham, Lemon-Thyme Marinated Chicken, Lemon Icebox Pie

Kristy’s dinner –

Matt’s dinner –

We went back to our room to put our Animator’s Palette drawings away, where we found our first towel animal (Kangaroo). We then ran back to see Goofy and Rapunzel in the atrium but they were just finishing their meet and greet, so we went for a wander around the ship.

Another trip back to our room for a quick pitstop and rest, and we checked the itinerary to choose our next activity. We decided to head to Azure for the Silent DJ party. We each got headphones with three channels to choose from, with lights to indicate the channel (red, blue or green) so you could see what your friends were listening and dancing to. This was really fun – we all danced past midnight!

Once the party wrapped up, we decided to go for a bit of a wander, before finally heading back to our room (with soft drinks from the self serve machines), and ordered fries with ketchup from room service – it came quick! Fun end to an awesome day. After writing down my itinerary notes from the day, we finally got settled for bed at 1.30am – what an amazing first day of our first Disney cruise.

Our day 2 blog post will be up soon – check out all our Disney Wonder blog posts here

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My recent order from Oasis Scents arrived today and I was so excited I just had to unbox it straight away. Based in New Zealand, Oasis Scents has a wonderful range of fandom inspired scented products, which includes Star Wars. They have Star Wars inspired candles, room diffusers, lip balms, perfumes, and more – and I’m trying to collect as many as I can!

• Oasis Scents – https://oasisscents.co.nz/ (ships internationally)

MADE IN AOTEAROA
We create our products with love and passion in West Auckland, New Zealand. Each month we release limited collections inspired by the things we love – Movies, TV Shows, Books and Games.

We create scented products with passion and love, perfect for setting the atmosphere while consuming your favourite media, or for adding a little bit of nerdy goodness into your life.

Check out my unboxing video –

I always love getting items from Oasis Scents in the mail, they take such care with their orders – especially important with items like glass jars. I love the little touches like Oasis Scents printed tissue paper, and generous amounts of bubble wrap, so my orders always arrived safely.

The new item I was the most excited about was the Kanan Jarrus candle! We have been rewatching Star Wars Rebels episodes (in the lead-up to the release of the Ahsoka series) so we have been really enjoying Kanan’s story arc recently.

The Kanan Jarrus soy candle comes in a few different sizes – I choose the 120ml glass jar version.

• Scent: Orchid, Bergamot & Snow
• Topped with gold glitter and a brown drizzle

Of course when ordering candles online, one of the best moments is when you first open it up and inhale the scent – and this one is so nice! I don’t know they capture the scent of snow, but it’s amazing.

The other Star Wars item I picked up was the Carbonite room diffuser. I’m quite nostalgic about the Carbonite scent – it was the first candle I ever bought from Oasis Scents. It is part of their permanent collection, so it will always been restocked, which is good – I can always buy another when I use one up.

Knowing we really like the Carbonite scent, I wanted to grab the matching room diffuser to use in a different room where we can’t light candles.

• Scented in: Vanilla, Lychee & Black Tea

Both of these Star Wars inspired products smell amazing – and the stylish packaging always look so great on display around our home. Some of them are so pretty I just have them on display, I haven’t used them yet!

Oasis Scents is also celebrating 5 years since they launched, and are including a free gift with each order this month to celebrate.

With my order I received the gift of the ‘Nina Zenik’ Whipped Soap, which looks so pretty, and smells even better! And as usual, I also received a small wax melt sample with my online order – this one is ‘The Shadow King’. It is so lovely to include gifts like these for customers – one of the many reasons I love Oasis Scents.

We love being able to enjoy some beautiful Star Wars inspired scents everyday. Supporting a wonderful local NZ business and bringing some Star Wars joy to our home – I can’t wait to see which Star Wars inspired products they release next!

May the Force be with you!

The post Star Wars Mail Haul from Oasis Scents appeared first on Villa Varykino.

Today’s unboxing features The Black Series Revenge Of The Jedi Darth Vader 6″ figure. This figure was originally revealed as a Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023 exclusive figure, so we were very keen to add this Hasbro collectible to our collection.

For our very first overseas trip together, which was Star Wars Celebration III in 2005, the Hasbro exclusive figure was a Revenge Of The Sith Darth Vader 3.75″ figure. It feels like a full-circle moment to have another special convention exclusive Darth Vader figure from our most recent Star Wars Celebration convention – we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary during our trip to London for the convention.

At the time of writing, this figure is available to buy from Hasbro Pulse for US$33.99 each.

Check out my unboxing video –

The packaging for this Black Series figure is similar to other convention exclusive 6″ figures from Hasbro, in a large black cardboard box, very different to the regular Black Series boxes. This packaging is part of Hasbro’s recent ‘plastic free packaging’ initiative, which has both positives and negatives. I think most people will be keeping the packaging for this figure, so any plastic used wouldn’t be thrown away.

I would have preferred a little more sturdiness to the packaging, as the cardboard used here is quite thin in places and easily damaged. In our case, the box we opened arrived with a tear in the front cardboard frame – the photos of the box here are of our second figure which thankfully arrived undamaged.

When removing the front poster art card, the figure is revealed behind. There is no plastic window, so you can see the figure clearly, but it is a little ‘tucked away’ – I would have preferred a little bit more of a posed presentation, especially for collectors who will keep this figure boxed. He looks like the figures that come bundled up inside the ‘blind box’ plastic free packaging of the recent Black Series, not like a special figure to display inside the box.

The front of the box is a removable card poster of the original Revenge Of The Jedi artwork by Drew Struzan. The artwork is on both sides of the card, which is helpful, as it forms the front of the box – if one side gets damaged, you can display the other side. Speaking of display, in the back of the box, there is a small little cardboard stand that you can remove, to display the poster card on.

The recessed box housing the figure is made from red cardboard, meant to accentuate the red colour tone of this figure, but I think in some ways it drowns it out. It almost looks ‘too red’ and the figure is a it lost in the strong colour. Once I took the figure out of the box, I personally liked the artistic paint scheme a lot more.

Here we can see the Darth Vader figure out of the box, posed in front of the box with the poster inside the front frame – and it looks really cool!

One of the reasons why I think this Darth Vader figure looks better out of the box – his cape. The cape is all tucked behind the figure in the box, it almost looks like it is missing! Darth Vader just doesn’t look right without that flowing cape – and this figure is no exception. It looks so much better with the cape visible and displayed.

The dark burgundy colour of the figure is accented by artistic red brush strokes. In some places, this almost looks hand applied, like across the top of the helmet, but in other places it is clear this is printed on.

The burgundy/red colour scheme is used throughout the figure, including the lightsaber hilt and fabric components. It’s quite interesting to see a Darth Vader figure without anything in his iconic black.

This Darth Vader figure has no removable components, so he has a fixed helmet and hand poses etc. The right hand is perfect for holding the included lightsaber, while the left hand is good for ‘force choke’ poses.

Here is the Revenge Of The Jedi version next to the Obi-Wan Kenobi series version – you can really see the difference in colour here. The convention exclusive figure is made from a dark burgundy/brown colour plastic, while the standard Obi-Wan Kenobi series figure is a true black colour plastic.

The sculpting for these two figures appears to be mostly the same, with the main differences being the gloves – as the quilting lines on Darth Vader’s gloves changes direction between the A New Hope era and Return Of The Jedi, so this is accurate. The other painted differences in Darth Vader’s costume (like the details on the helmet, chest box, and belt) don’t really apply here as the stylised red colour covers all of that.

Overall, I actually like this figure more out of the packaging. When it was first revealed, I admit I was a little disappointed, but now that I have actually seen it in person and held it, I like it a lot more now. I’m glad we have two, so we can keep one boxed and open one – personally I think this figure looks better out of the box. A cool artistic addition to our Black Series collection, and a fun memento of our trip to Star Wars Celebration Europe.

May the Force be with you!

The post Black Series 6″ Revenge Of The Jedi Darth Vader appeared first on Villa Varykino.

In today’s Retro Review, I take a closer look at the Star Wars x Barbie limited edition dolls. Of course with all the excitement around the release of the new Barbie movie and all things Barbie, now is the perfect time to take a look at the Barbie dolls in my Star Wars collection!

The first Star Wars x Barbie doll collection (released in late 2019) was inspired by three classic Star Wars characters from A New Hope – Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Darth Vader. Released in May/June 2020, the follow-up second collection also included three characters from A New Hope – Stomtrooper, C-3PO, and Chewbacca, as well as Rey from The Force Awakens.

Each doll wears a full head-to-toe ensemble inspired by a Star Wars character. The outfits not only reference the design of the character, but also the feel – it really shows that a lot of thought went into the design process. Princess Leia is elegant, confident, and stylish, R2-D2 is quirky, fun, and friendly, Darth Vader is powerful, imposing, and severe, and Rey is optimistic, graceful, and independent.

The Star Wars x Barbie collaboration is an homage to Star Wars: A New Hope. This eponymous collection, inspired by the film’s original concept art, re-imagines iconic characters through a distinctive Barbie high-fashion filter.

Each doll is wearing a couture outfit, complete with matching hairstyle and accessories, all packaged in a display box. The presentation is just gorgeous, complete with strong plastic display box and artwork on the cardboard surround. The dolls are secure in place, and protected from dust and marks. Each box has a plastic slip band that simply slides off to reveal the side panels that open up to display a backdrop of artwork.

Check out my full video –

So let’s take a closer look at the four Star Wars x Barbie dolls in my collection, starting with Darth Vader.

Darth Vader looks ready to march into a board room and take control. While her black hairstyle and glasses were intended to represent Darth Vader’s helmet, I can’t help but see a reference to Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine for over 30 years and a powerful figure in the fashion world.

This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll captures Darth Vader’s Sith armor silhouette in a head-to-toe shiny-black ensemble. Metallic details at her collar and waist, dark glasses and an emblematic black cape finish the look.

Princess Leia looks like royalty, in a full length white ball gown with huge draped sleeves and stunning silver accessories. The outfit looks red carpet ready, the perfect fit for the Princess of Alderaan.

This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll captures Princess Leia’s iconic look in an elegant white gown with dramatic, floor-length sleeves. Details include a silvery peplum belt, cuff jewelry and an up-do inspired by her signature bun hairstyle.

R2-D2 is portrayed as youthful and fun, a fashionable best friend. This is my daughter’s favourite design from the collection – the long blue ponytail gives the look a slightly more younger vibe compared to the other designs.

This collectible Star Wars R2-D2 x Barbie doll captures the lovable droid’s look in a geometric ensemble with a dome skirt, bomber jacket and thigh-high boots over silvery tights. A vibrant blue ponytail and “radar eye” detail complete the look.

Later, Mattel released four more Star Wars x Barbie dolls for ‘Star Wars Day’ May 4th 2020, with dolls inspired by Rey, Stormtrooper, C-3PO, and Chewbacca. There is always a lot of new Star Wars merchandise released on May 4th each year, so I was only able to pick up my favourite design from the second collection – Rey.

Like the Princess Leia doll before her, the Rey doll outfit is in a red carpet style. The outfit design closely references Rey’s Jakku scavenger outfit but in a longer flowy gown. The outfit is a more direct translation of the original costume, especially compared to some of the other dolls in the range (like R2-D2), but it works really well.

This collectible Star Wars x Barbie doll takes design inspiration from Rey’s legendary look to capture her adventurous spirit in a runway-ready silhouette. Star Wars Rey x Barbie doll wears a crystal pleated chiffon gown with a crossover neckline and draped hood, inspired by Rey’s gauzy crosspiece. A slit reveals ombre boot-leggings in gold and copper hues, and accessories with a hammered gold look complete her heroic ensemble.

The Barbie brand is founded on dolls wearing fashion, so this concept was the perfect approach for a Star Wars collaboration. This collection feels thoughtful, evident that the designers really wanted to create outfits that represented the characters and that fans would really appreciate. I absolutely love my Star Wars x Barbie dolls, and someday hope to track down the ones missing from my collection.

May the Force be with you!

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Today’s unboxing and review features the Funko Pop! Vinyl Wicket With Slingshot figure. This is a Funko 2023 Summer Convention Limited Edition release, for San Diego Comic Con. I try to collect Wicket and Ewok merchandise when I can, so I’m really happy to be able to get my hands on this one!

Check out my unboxing video –

This particular Funko Pop! Vinyl is marked as a ‘ 2023 Summer Convention Limited Edition’ as noted by the purple sticker on the front – in the US, this is a ‘shared retailer exclusive’ for San Diego Comic Con. Here in New Zealand, most US exclusives are available from our regular Funko retailers, sometimes $1 or $2 more than a standard pop vinyl, but totally worth it.

As well as a being a summer convention exclusive, this Pop! Vinyl is also part of the Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary collection – and it has other figures from the collection pictured on the back of the box. Interestingly, the recent ROTJ wave already included a regular Wicket Pop! Vinyl, holding a spear – this limited edition variant features Wicket holding a slingshot instead.

As collectors, we often prefer to pick out our Funko Pop! Vinyl figures in store, so we can see the paint job and box condition in person, but for this summer exclusive, we had to buy online. Thankfully, it arrived quickly, in great condition, and with a really nice paint job too!

I love the sculpt and pose for Wicket – slightly leaning to his left, ready to let his slingshot fly towards an Imperial opponent. There is subtle paint weathering to highlight his fur texture, and also on his hood.

While I don’t yet have the standard ROTJ Wicket version yet, I do intend to add both to my collection. Perhaps not all collectors will feel the same way – some may prefer one pose over the other, or just choose to get this exclusive version and feel no need to get the regular one. I do like it when companies choose a variant (like glitter/flocked etc) as an exclusive, rather than a unique character not available in the regular line, as fans who can’t get the exclusive still have the option of the standard version.

Overall, a very cute version of Wicket in battle mode that I’m happy to add to my Funko Pop! Vinyl collection. I like the pose and sculpting, his expression and stance, and the paint job is tidy. Now I really need to hurry up and add more from the Return Of The Jedi wave to my shelf.

May the Force be with you!

The post Funko Pop! Vinyl Wicket SDCC 2023 Summer Convention Exclusive appeared first on Villa Varykino.

Today’s unboxing features The Black Series HK-86 6″ Figure from The Mandalorian series. We were a little slow to jump into Black Series collecting, but it was The Mandalorian that really hooked us in, so we’re trying to collect as much as we can from the show in the Black Series 6″ range. HK-87 was a fun new droid design from the show, so we’re really happy to add him to our collection.

Check out my unboxing video –

This figure is part of Hasbro’s recent ‘plastic free packaging’ initiative, which means it has a windowless box. You can’t see the specific figure you are buying – which is not an issue if you predominately order online, but we mostly get our figures from local store shelves. Personally I like the opportunity to see the figure I’m choosing, and comparing the details, especially the paint job, with other figures on the shelf.

The windowless box also causes some headaches for collectors who keep their Black Series figures boxed – you can’t ‘display’ the figure anymore, it’s just a picture on the front. For the most part, we open our Black Series figures, but we appreciate the option for those rarer/collectible/exclusive ones we would choose to display sealed in the box.

Apart from the front missing the classic window, the rest of the packaging matches the modern Black Series boxes, with artwork on the right side slanted panel that forms a wider picture when displayed alongside other figures from the same series – in this case, The Mandalorian series. The colour scheme for The Mandalorian series packaging is orange, which we see in the stripe across the front with the series name, and used to accent the side panel artwork.

As the box notes, the packaging is free from plastic, with the exception of tape and glue. Inside, the figure is wrapped in ‘The Black Series’ branded tissue paper, held in place in a brown cardboard insert with some thin cardboard bands taped closed. The accessory (blaster) is stored inside a waxy paper pouch that is sealed closed, so it doesn’t fall out. All in all, this holds the figure well, and is easy to open – similar to how starships are packaged, but of course this only works in boxes without windows.

I was really keen to get my first in-hand look at this HK-87 droid figure – and I’m quite impressed. There is something quite striking about the colours, and that cool fabric half-cloak, it all really comes together in a neat design. Droids in particular often translate really well into action figure form, and this HK-87 is no exception.

This figure has all the standard articulation points you would expect from a Black Series 6″ figure. I was a little surprised to find that the grey shoulder ‘armour’ pieces are actually made from a soft plastic, so they can bend to allow you to pose the arm upwards without limiting movement.

Most of the different colours of this figure come from being made in different plastic colours, so there is very little paint application. The most notable painted details are the silver at the limb joints, the gold belt buckle, beige/grey stripes on the upper right arm, and some small silver details on the face – which are all quite tidy and well done on my figure.

This figure also includes a soft goods component – a dark brown fabric ‘half-coat’ worn on the left side, and held in place with a plastic bandolier-style strap. Some fabric cloaks look a bit awkward when scaled down to toy size, but the fabric used here is a good thickness and folds well when posing the left arm. The neckline edge of the half-coat is painted neatly in red, which helps to keep the fabric straight and tidy.

The hands on this figure are quite rigid for holding an accessory, but once you do get the blaster into place, HK-87 holds it well for poses. There is only one singular blaster accessory for this figure, but it looks good.

Overall, I think this HK-87 is a great figure – and now that I’ve seen it in person, I’ll definitely be on the look out for a second to build a cool Corvus scene with Din Djarin and Ahsoka Tano. Speaking of Ahsoka, I was really excited to see one of these assassin droids in the recent Ahsoka series trailer, so I’m sure we’ll see a variant figure from that show released in the future.

May the Force be with you!

The post Black Series 6″ HK-87 Figure appeared first on Villa Varykino.

A new addition to our TVC collection – the Darth Vader (Death Star II) action figure from The Vintage Collection line by Hasbro. This is released as part of the Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary, and features Darth Vader with his helmet off as seen towards the end of the film.

We also took the opportunity to compare this figure to the Darth Vader (Dark Times) VC241 figure from the Obi-Wan Kenobi series – it was interesting to see the similarities and differences when holding them side by side.

Check out our unboxing video –

Scroll down for our full photo gallery –

This Darth Vader figure comes with several accessories –

• an additional right hand/glove (to swap out for the severed mechanical hand)
• helmet in 3 pieces – neckpiece (attached to the figure), face plate, and dome
• lightsaber hilt (with peg to attach to the belt)
• activated lightsaber with red blade

As expected, there is a great level of articulation in this figure, which means he poses very well, but I found him a little unsteady when attempting to stand him without an additional base stand (not included). There are articulation points at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist, waist, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles. Most of the joints feel nice and tight, but quite loose at the hips for my particular figure.

This figure has two soft goods components – a large flowing black cape, and a lower “skirt” robe. The soft goods are made from the same material, and suit the scale well. The edges are not sealed, they are left raw, so do be careful not to cause any fraying with handling.

I really like the cape in particular – there is a lot of fabric here, which was all tucked behind the figure when packaged. The cape opens up for a full wide shape, like when Darth Vader strides down hallways.

The unmasked Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker face here is quite good. I have seen some speculation that the likeness is a bit of a halfway point between the original Return Of The Jedi actor Sebastian Shaw and later Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen – I can see a bit of that, but at this scale, it’s pretty hard to tell.

The helmet for this figure is in three parts –

• neck piece (attached)
• face plate (removable)
• dome (removable)

All three parts are made from a softer plastic, that can bend a little when squeezed. I was a little worried about the shape of the helmet parts, as they looked a little misshaped when I got them out of the packaging, but they fit over the head well and hold in place.

The top dome also fits nicely into place – again, I was worried about the softer plastic giving a bit of a distorted or squished shape to the round flared edge of the dome, but it looks good. It wasn’t hard to get the dome nicely into place, that soft plastic slides over the head well.

The helmet almost looks like one complete sculpt when fully on and assembled, except at one spot – underneath the breather section. Those two pieces didn’t quite fully meet seamlessly, so there is a small gap here on my figure. This may be more or less visible on other figures – but of course it’s impossible to tell how well a particular figure will display until you open up the card/bubble and assemble it. Of course it looks very noticeable in these enlarged photos, so it’s less of a gap in person, but still visible.

This figure comes with two options for lightsabers – an activated blade lightsaber that can be held for action poses, and an unlit hilt that can be held or worn on the belt with a small peg on the hilt that fits into a hole on the belt.

Now to compare with the Darth Vader ‘Dark Times’ VC241 figure from Obi-Wan Kenobi – the main difference is of course the helmet. Darth Vader’s helmet has subtle differences from film to film to series, and action figure sculpts have also changed a lot over the years, and some are better than others!

The first obvious difference is the small gap under the ‘breather’ section of the helmet, where it can be removed – though perhaps some figures may have less or more of a gap than the figure I have here.

To my eyes, the rest of the helmet does look very similar. The Death Star II figure has a removable helmet with head underneath, while the Dark Times figure does not have a removable helmet. Usually a removable helmet results in a slightly larger overall scale, to fit the head inside, but here it is not very noticeable at all. I am quite impressed!

• Death Star II VC280 on left – Dark Times TC241 on right

Comparing them in hand, it is obvious that many of the same parts of the ‘Dark Times’ version have been reused here. To my eyes, the main different part is the ‘gloves’ which is accurate, as they are different between Return Of The Jedi and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The paint application on the chest boxes and belt boxes is also different, to be accurate to the film and series, respectively.

• Death Star II VC280 on left – Dark Times TC241 on right

While this figure might not have many differences to the earlier Dark Times version, I do still think it is a worthwhile addition to our collection. We intend to display this figure alongside our Return Of The Jedi action figures, with the options as seen when carded – cut off hand, and helmet removed.

May the Force be with you!

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