The Vintage Collection (2010-2011) In Summation

No matter how frustrating it has been to find figures that make up The Vintage Collection, there is no denying how great of a collection it is. 2010 and 2011 have brought us some of the greatest figures yet out of Hasbro. 2012 seems a bit murky at the moment and hopefully that will change with the 2012 Toy Fair presentation. But let's take a few steps back and see just what goodness came our way in this splendid line. You won't want to miss this, so click through!

Here it is all in one place for you, figures VC01 through VC70 (minus the delayed wave that is coming in April 2012) of The Vintage Collection. Click any thumbnail to be taken to our Research Droids Review of each figure.

Figures sourced from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones

Attack Of The Clones may be the most despised film by Star Wars fans and to be fair, we see your points. The "Titanic love story in space" was brutally harsh on the eyes and it seems as if Hayden Christensen just walked out of beginner's acting classes. (Thank goodness he shined in Episode III.) Despite its faults, it contained one of the most exciting battles in Star Wars history, the beginning of the Clone Wars, and introduced us to the fact that all clones were derived from Jango Fett. We also learned that our favorite bounty hunter of all time was an unaltered clone of Jango Fett too. (Oh well.) Hasbro continues to make some of their best action figures from this weaker film and figures like Fi-Ek Sirch (Jedi Knight), Padmé Amidala (Peasant Disguise) and Zam Wesell prove that Hasbro can still knock out some amazing sculpts. Oh, and let's not forget about the wonderful retooled versions of Jango Fett and Mace Windu. What amazing updates those figures are indeed! You may still not like the phase I Clone Trooper either, but give it a chance because it rocks.

Figures sourced from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith

It's hard to say that Revenge Of The Sith was "arguably" the best Star Wars prequel film, because it was the best. There is no need to qualify it with that adverb. Fans finally started warming up to the clone troopers and their commanders and the use of bright color flashes on their armor tickled our senses and made us want a clone of every color in our collections. Kit Fisto got a face lift and Anakin Skywalker grew his hair out and subsequently becomes Darth Vader before donning the black iron lung. Hasbro revisited some of their best sculpts from the past for reissue in The Vintage Collection with wave 2. Some required small tweaks, some were straight repacks and others were completely revisited. The bottom line: not much needed fixing and Hasbro really got some great updates to the cast of characters into the line additionally. The standout Darth Sidious and Kit Fisto action figures are just mind blowing and the corrections to Clone Commander Cody and Commander Gree are much appreciated. And Revenge Of The Sith was the first prequel movie to appear in The Vintage Collection and softened our hearts for the others.

Figures sourced from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

If we had to fault Hasbro about something with The Vintage Collection, we would have to say that they're neglecting characters from A New Hope in a very egregious manner. While the first four figures released were complete sell-outs (inaccurate costumes, coloring and packaging), Hasbro started stepping up to the plate with figures like Rebel Fleet Trooper, Ponda Baba (Walrus Man) and Bom Vimdim (Cantina Patron). Fans have been clamoring for more of the original 12 Star Wars figures to see release in The Vintage Collection and it seems as if Hasbro is actually starting to hear our noisy wishes. They've already developed a new Imperial Navy Officer and an Episode IV specific super-articulated version of Darth Vader which we are praying make their way onto Star Wars card backs in 2012. Even more figures from Episode IV are on their way to us and we hope that no matter how long the line lasts that they work their hardest to focus on the original 12.

Figures sourced from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

When The Vintage Collection made its debut at Toy Fair 2010, fans were so eager for the line and Hasbro probably could gauge that they were exceeding the expectations of collectors. Cleverly opening up the line with figures based on the fan favorite The Empires Strikes Back film, we were drooling for these figures from the get go. Jaw dropping updates like Dengar, Leia (Hoth Outfit) and Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues) taught us it was possible for an action figure to never need a revisit again. And then novelty figures like AT-AT Commander and (Twin Pod) Cloud Car Pilot reinforced the fact that Hasbro was sensitive to hardcore collectors' needs. Figures from Episode V keep coming strong and we got our definitive updates to Han Solo (Bespin Outfit) and the 1980 Rebel Soldier (Hoth Outfit) figure who is now called Rebel Soldier (Echo Base Battle Gear). We just cannot wait to see what other figures Hasbro has up their sleeves for us in 2012! But we're excited for sure!

Figures sourced from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi

Who didn't do cartwheels when wave 3 of The Vintage Collection hit retail? It's rare when production figures look significantly better than the prototypes shown at Toy Fair or even in the promotional photography. But collectors knew that there were some true gems from this wave in The Vintage Collection. And many more much-needed updates to figures that hadn't been visited since the 1990s came our way as well. Magnificent miniature sculptures may be the more appropriate term for some of the figures that showed up at retail. Admiral Ackbar, Luke Skywalker (Endor Capture), Wicket, Wooof and Logray (Ewok Medicine Man) are masterpieces and exciting additions to the basic figure line. And let's not forget about the greatest action figure of all time: the Gamorrean Guard, who didn't even come close to meeting Hasbro's projections and is thankfully getting a special reorder in 2012 to 'help' meet demand. (Don't even think of passing him up if you see him in 2012, it's doubtful he'll ever 'fully' meet demand!) Oh, and Wedge Antilles is cool too (we guess) and he'll be making an encore appearance in 2012 as well! Look for many figures from Return Of The Jedi on Revenge Of The Jedi card backs too!

Figures sourced from the Expanded Universe

There is quite a bit of debate on whether Expanded Universe figures should be released in The Vintage Collection. We're of the opinion "not really" but to each his/her own. You might be asking why See-Threepio (C-3PO) and Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) are here since they were both carded on The Empire Strikes Back card backs. Well, we can't source See-Threepio (C-3PO) anywhere to be quite frank with you. While he has some features that are from Episode V, we've never seen C-3PO with gold armor and a removable face plate. This is semantics to many of you, but for now, we'll consider him an EU take on our favorite protocol droid. And Boba Fett (Prototype Armor) just makes sense. One EU figure that we're thrilled was released was ARC Trooper Commander. We've personally been rallying for a phase II version of Captain Fordo and here he is. Even his armor was designed with the phase II look in mind first with the phase I look as an afterthought. But we couldn't imagine The Vintage Collection without him.

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