Given the previously mentioned glut of old figures in stores, it's becoming increasingly unlikely that I'll be seeing future waves of Vintage Collection figures in my area any time soon. Life, uh, finds a way, however - so I've been turning to the secondary market in order to get my hand on the latest releases. The beauty of being an 'opener' is that this can be done rather cheaply. I recently managed to find all of the Wave 5 and Walmart exclusive figures on my Hunt List for around $17.50NZ each - considerably less than their MISB price of up to $29.99 at some retailers (I'm looking at you, Toyworld).
Wave 5 consists of repacks of four figures from the very early days of the Vintage Collection back in 2010: VC02 Princess Leia (Hoth), VC03 Han Solo (Echo Base), VC08 Darth Vader, and VC23 Luke Skywalker (Endor Captive). This time around, however, all four figures have been given the gorgeous Photo Real face treatment - providing them with some of the best likenesses we've seen in this scale. Add this to the super articulation and wonderful accessories that we've all come to expect from this line (Vader's three-piece helmet is a particularly magical touch), and you've got one phenomenal wave of classic characters.
While I'd picked up the Vader on his initial release many years ago, the Photo Real upgrade was sufficient incentive to purchase another. The Leia, Han, and Luke, on the other hand, were all figures that I'd missed the first time around. Given this, I was rapt to finally be able to add them to my collection (even more so given how much their initial releases sell for on the secondary market).
Along with this wave, I also managed to nab four exclusives that had no hope of making it to Australian shores: VC21 Gamorrean Guard, VC137 Ree-Yees, VC 143 Han Solo (Stormtrooper Disguise), and VC144 Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard). The Gamorrean Guard is a straight reissue of the exquisite figure first released in 2010. I passed on this the first time, and have regretted it ever since - especially after picking up my 3 3/4" Jabba the Hutt. The Ree-Yees is a repack from the 3 3/4" Black Series line, while the Han Solo and Lando Calrissian figures are heavily modified (and improved) versions of previous Vintage Collection and Legacy Collection releases - now with the Photo Real upgrade. Once again, these represented a handful of gaps in my collection that I was incredibly excited to fill. The trio of Return of the Jedi figures will go especially well with the raft of Jabba's Palace-themed figures I picked up from the last wave!
