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.

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.

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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Welcome to 10 Star Wars Things – a regular series highlighting a variety of Star Wars items from our collection. Today’s theme is – Han Solo!

Today is Harrison Ford’s birthday, so in celebration we are highlighting his iconic Star Wars character Han Solo. From the original Kenner vintage action figure, to collectibles from Gentle Giant, Hasbro and more, we highlight 10 Han Solo items from our collection.

Watch the full video on YouTube –

Check out our gallery below – which one is your favourite? May the Force be with you!

• Hasbro Unleashed Han Solo Figure

• 2. Vintage Kenner Han Solo Action Figure

• 3. Funko Pop! Vinyl Han Solo (Snow Gear) #86

• 4. Han Solo At Star’s End paperback novel by Brian Daley

• 5. Hasbro The Black Series Archive The Force Awakens Han Solo Carded Figure

• 6. Gentle Giant Ltd 2011 Premier Guild Exclusive Han Solo (Bespin) Mini Bust

• 7. Funko Pop! Han Solo Pocket Keychain

• 8. Hasbro The Black Series ROTJ Han Solo (Endor) Carded Figure

• 9. Gentle Giant Ltd 2010 Convention Exclusive Han Solo (Stormtrooper Disguise) Animated Maquette

• 10. Vintage Kenner ROTJ Han Solo (Hoth Outfit) Carded Figure

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An exciting mail call – our LEGO Star Wars May 4th order has arrived! As usual LEGO had a great promotion for Star Wars Day, with special free promo sets – the perfect time to grab some of the new sets that we had seen on display at Star Wars Celebration Europe.

We picked up three LEGO Star Wars sets, which qualified us for two Star Wars Day May 4th special ‘free gift with purchase’ sets. There was also a third Star Wars Day promo, a Death Star coin, but we suspect NZ did not get a lot of stock of that one because it was gone by the time we were able to place our order. We don’t mind – we were most excited about the two promos we did get, as they are actual LEGO sets.

Check out our LEGO Star Wars haul video –

First up, the new LEGO Star Wars Brick Headz Battle Of Endor Heroes (set 40623). This was originally released as a ‘first to market’ item at Star Wars Celebration Europe, where we got to see it in person. As it was not a convention exclusive, we preferred to wait and buy it at home rather than try to get it home in our suitcase. It was great to see the set built up in person at the convention, so we’ve been eagerly awaiting the moment we could get our hands on it.

The set includes five Brick Headz figures, all from Return Of The Jedi – Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, Lando Calrissian, Wicket, and Princess Leia. I have a few LEGO Star Wars Brick Headz figures already, including the classic white dress Princess Leia from A New Hope, so I’m excited to add five more to my collection.

Next up, another new set celebrating Return Of The Jedi – the Endor Speeder Chase scene (set 75353). This set features a Biker Scout on speeder bike racing through the trees on Endor, being followed close behind by Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia on another speeder bike. I can’t wait to build this set – so many great little details.

The third set we picked up was from Attack Of The Clones – Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Jedi Starfighter (set 75333). I first started collecting Star Wars during the prequel era, so I’m very fond of collectibles that really take me back to that time. As well as Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter, the set includes three mini-figures – Obi-Wan Kenobi, R4-P17, and Taun We.

Those three sets qualified us for two exclusive giveaway sets – the first, and the one we are the most excited about, is Death Star II (set 40591). The box for this is bigger than we were expecting for a free giveaway set!

The Death Star II set includes a little plaque for the 40th Anniversary of Return Of The Jedi, which is a great match for the other two ROTJ sets we picked up.

Our second ‘free gift with purchase’ promo set is the polybag X-Wing Starfighter (set 30654). Not as exciting as the boxed Death Star II set, but hey, you can’t go wrong with a cute little X-Wing Starfighter! While X-Wing Starfighters are seen throughout the Original Trilogy, this polybag also features the ROTJ 40th Anniversary logo.

We are very happy with our LEGO Star Wars haul for May the Fourth – five sets in total, with a focus on Return Of The Jedi – very fitting as we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the film this month. I can’t wait to get stuck in and start building – now I just have to decide which set to build first!

May the Force be with you!

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This 1:6 scale Jabba the Hutt figure is huge. Place him on a regular human-sized chair, and it just looks like he’s sitting on a slightly large throne. He’s a fantastically fun display piece because of his size and detailing.

We received him as a Christmas present from family members… who managed to find him in a local second-hand store, all by his lonesome and looking for a new home. He was released in 2007, and at that time Sideshow chose to make his throne a separately purchasable accessory… so even though he came into our collection via a thrift store, he is effectively complete (there was a Sideshow exclusive version that came with a glass drinking vessel).

This giant green slug is nearly 60cm long, and nearly 30cm tall. His paint application and detailing accurately captures the likeness of the immense puppet from Return of the Jedi – it’s very easy to imagine him sitting in the dimly lit audience chamber of his Tatooine palace, surrounded by slaves and sycophants.

As passionate Star Wars collectors, we stay constantly up-to-date with Star Wars product and collectibles available locally, and aboard. Unwrapping this huge Jabba figure on Christmas Day genuinely had us quite surprised, in a wonderful way. It took us several minutes to figure out what the figure was, who made it, and when, as it was never available in local stores, and it was released so long ago.

We smile every time we see him, a great reminder of a wonderful time with family on Christmas Day.

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Excited to receive this 1983 Return of the Jedi jigsaw puzzle in the post last week, generously donated by a friend clearing out their collection. It completes my set of three in a series of ROTJ puzzles, made in New Zealand under the the Creative Crafts brand, which was a General Mills company that had a relationship to Toltoys NZ back in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

It’s a simple puzzle, very similar to Return of the Jedi jigsaws released overseas, but I’m a sucker for vintage collectibles that were made locally, and denote their country of manufacture on their packaging, even if they were just kiwi versions of international/US products.

You can read more in the SWNZ, Star Wars New Zealand article about the Creative Crafts and Toltoys Star Wars range in New Zealand.

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I used to love it when childhood fandoms intersected, like when you’d pick up your weekly issue of 2000AD, and it had Star Wars inside it too! Issues like this 1983 installment sometimes had movie reviews (of Return of the Jedi in this case), but there were also a lot of advertisements for action figures (including mail-in offers), and contests.

Over on SWNZ, Star Wars New Zealand, we take a look at a lot more issues with Star Wars content, from the ’70s and ’80s.

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