As of late, it's been slow going as a Star Wars collector. The last few years saw the return - then ultimate demise - of my favourite line of Star Wars collectibles. My wife and I have tried to dabble in some newer lines, specifically Micro Force and the Xcavations Creature Crates. Sadly, the first of these proved impossible to find after the first two waves, while the latter was cancelled outright only shortly after hitting stores. There's always been the stalwart 3 3/4" line, however - at least, until recently. Apart from one lucky sighting of a single case of Wave 4 figure in my New Zealand hometown, I've seen nothing but racks of Wave 1 figures since the line's relaunch fourteen months ago. This same glut of stock also meant we never saw the third (and arguably most interesting) wave of Solo figures. With nothing new in stores, then, my attention has instead turned to filling gaps in my collection - specifically, super-articulated Original Trilogy figures from the Vintage Collection and Black Series 3 3/4" lines.
In recent weeks, I've managed to stumble across some great deals on eBay, picking up the Vintage Collection VC04 Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues), VC55 Logray (Ewok Medicine Man), VC57 Dr. Evazan (Cantina Patron), VC88 Princess Leia (Sandstorm Outfit), VC111 Princess Leia, VC 112 Sandtrooper, Stemzee (from the Ewok Assault Catapult set), as well as the Black Series Princess Leia Organa. I also managed to scoop a Power of the Force IT-O Interrogation Droid to complement my cadre of Imperials.
Here's hoping that Hasbro will soon fix its distribution issues. In the meantime, however, I'm incredibly grateful to have the secondary market as a way of scratching my collecting itch!
