Oh, absolutely; there is nothing that Kirby touches that doesn't automatically get better, including the war of stars. Another of my favourite adaptions - which sadly remains very unrated or unknown - is Kirby's 2001, which, in addition to making full use of Kirby's brilliance in the space opera genre, gave us the amazing Machine Man. So much beyond a simple adaptation of the Clarke story/Kubrick film. This image just strikes me in so many places of feels. The Kirby homage is probably my principal attraction to Ragnarök. @rattanicus Ha! It is sad how I remember chasing rubbish like this, after the dearth of the dark years of Star Wars, even with as bad terrible horrible as Phantom Menace was.
David, this is automatically how I read your post today in my mind (for whatever reason), and now I just have to share it, so that everyone else can suffer along get it stuck in their head too.
Surprisingly, that has been making the rounds for a couple years I think (I might even have shared another image of them here). The customiser (Sillof) has been working on a large number of Star-Wars themed character lineups done in several different interpretations, including steampunk, Doctor Who, Samurai, pirates, and many more, of which the MOTU-universe is just one. If anyone is interested, you can see some more details close-ups of the above figures on his website. As far as appeal goes, for me, like any custom, they do have some moderate appeal and I view them as quirky. The idea is a really great one though, and only because my personal taste doesn't go towards the level of detail and construction these toys are (much more statue-esque/ultra-realisation, which, in fairness is in line with all action figures these days, and is probably just a generational thing), doesn't mean I don't appreciate the artistry in the vision and skills involved to bring them to this state. It is a great homage/crossover, and a lot of his Star Wars 'worlds' would make wonderful stories in and of themselves. The figures are really cool, and I have no doubt I would be tempted to buy a few of them if they were ever done as a special release in the line (which Disney would never approve these days, hence the loose 'naming' licensing). Anyway, without going on and on, I like them, think he did a really great job on them and his other re-imaginings, and think it would be cool generally to live in a world where such things were available; but I am also happy to just admire the photos of them and appreciate them as one-off sculptures.
A lesson for the intense collectors out there. Wow, for anyone that doesn't know, Steve Sansweet is, without equal, the greatest Star Wars collector in the world. His name is synonymous with the hobby. So much so that - beyond the books/columns he has written, and serving as a direct consultant to Lucasfilm - he now has opened his own 'museum' offering tours to the public of his items on display, Rancho Obi-wan, all the proceeds of which go to charity. Basically he has sustained and given so much back that that community, his contributions to Star Wars collecting as we know it today is probably incalculable. Well, apparently he was robbed sometime back in March unbeknownst to him, by someone he has known for 20 years. Many of the items have reportedly already been sold (or re-sold) on the aftermarket, for hundreds of thousands of dollars (we're talking prime Star Wars collectables here, this is no meagre hobby), and he (and I presume the authorities) are now in the process of trying to track the stolen items. It is pretty sad that someone took advantage of the collection in this way, purely for profit of course. And probably there are some people purchasing some his items without knowledge of where they came from (again, for no small amounts of monies), and that is a real shame to everyone involved. So, people, take care of your collection; I think this type of story is something we could all relate to, even if the scale/scope might be something different altogether. More story info here.
Man I heard about this poor dude. I read that he had lost like 200k worth of stuff or more. That's such a shame.
New Battlefront II trailer. Unbelievably excited for this. Already looks a million times better than the first.
As part of the Toy Collectors Bill of Rights, there will be a section on Insuring your collection both from theft and damages, sad to hear of the theft but great news for those who insure Collectibles. Need an agent, I am your man.
Glenn - Ok, bye bye al la GM style - cry cry cry all the way to the KR Forum - LOL Go visit the Art Whore Cult, ask Josh about me, and realize I am a friend but you and your team of SB Playa's want to always troll the new guy. I am not NEW Glenn, nor do I care where you want me to go on the interwebs. I am headed to Australia to visit with Matt and design another pair of kicks!! Want to met for a Tail and a Brew?
Let's keep this Star Wars thread Star Wars, guys. You're killing my Leinenkugel shandy and paint fume buzz.
Yes, let's get this back on track. I am not sure if one ought to be disturbed by the prospect of using these or not, but one thing is for certain, they do make you question about the marketing/creative department at Disney/Lucasfilm, and all the random things they come up with. Obviously it's cool that they allow come creative slack for original product designs and concepts, but if stuff like this was approved, makes you wonder what was rejected. How did the proposal discussion for these go? "I think we need even more Star Wars-themed random housewares. Hmmm, how about bowls. we haven't done bowls , right?" "What about this. So, it's like heads of characters, where you get to eat your food, but out of their mouths!" "Well, food goes in mouths, right?" "Sold." "We'll just market them as for snacks, that way we don't have to show any images of how they would look with normal food inside." Anyways, silly as they are, I kinda like them. My major complaint is with the cartoony interpretation (and prequel Jabba, ewwwww....). Plus I think they missed a massive opportunity here to use some other characters - tell me this is not crying out for a Sarlacc or space slug instead! I get that they wanted to avoid going full 'uncanny grossness' with the normal characters, but by that same token I would have most definitely left Chewie out of the lineup. As a extra slight suggestion, I probably would have done them in plastic too. These ceramic versions offer less practicality as snack bowls, and if they wanted to aim at higher price point/nice usable collectables, they ought to have mined the styles of Rumph or other realistic interpretations. These versions just look sorta cheap, and having them be ceramic emphasizes that, whereas plastic might get an much easier pass. Anyways, here is the link for anyone that is interested. Warning: US shipping only on them (of course!). http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/jqkq/?i=50962
^^^ Reminded me of a souvenir I picked up two trips ago while in Disney World. Sort of the same vein.....err.....Large Star Wars food holding object... Worth every penny, I might add!
I actually like these versions. You'd have to be big fans of the original Kenner line or remember them from being a kid, but once you make the connection it is pretty fun. I like it; you can enjoy these by themselves as a new line of WORST figures, but it is more of a subtle nod/sort of an Easter Egg to the figures, rather than being just another in-your-face SW bandwagon merch (which, believe me, we see far too much of... and which is probably one of the reasons Robert started this thread). So, in that sense, David is hitting it right on the nose, haha, if not maybe sharing the sentiment that we have seized this thread with.
So, pH... Subtle? I find that notion wholly perplexing here, as those wonderful paints and plastics SCREAM what it is that they are. Heck, four of the sculpts almost seem as if the tribute project was baked into the designs at the sketching stage! Let me be clear - I have no problem whatsoever with these guys - I was, much to my surprise, drawn to this line from the first, and the deeply overt Warsification of this run is fabulous: Rather than the nod being subtle in any way, I'd say these toys achieve something as rare as hen's teeth in the overly vast sea of SW inspired buyables --- they're tasteful! The funny part, to me, is that the self-proclaimed 'punk rock' makers of Teething Toys for Toddlers™ over in SF have made so much of their nest on an SW license, and now it's even crossed over into their latest 'original' franchise. Make no mistake, though - if these pretties could be had for $36 a set via post, rather than $90 plus muleage fees, I'd be setting an alarm for the drop time just as soon as I finished posting this screed. Batula's cane FTW. EDIT: Missed me an 'an' in a sentence. Inexcusable!
I get what you are saying David, but that is because you are aware of the original versions. My whole point was that, okay, maybe not subtle is the right description, but these are a far cry from the blatant in your face Star Wars ripoffs that seem to flood the market, when 'artists' lack any sense of personal creativity. Agreed that it would be nice to have action figure pricing on a set like this, rather than collectible set, but that seems to be the way with toys these days. And which is why these will remain window dressing for me, cool things out there I am aware of, but will likely never have on my shelf.
Here is a spoiler for the POP listed in the Smugglers Bounty Funko subscription box theme dealing with droid's. If your a big fan of droid's in general or the specific character in general i highly recommend you get it. No telling how expensive it will get once it hits Ebay. Spoiler It was really cool listening to the guy in the video talk about all the issues and hurdles he had to go through in order to get this figure out to the public.
I would have it no other way. However that does not mean i don't appreciate all the SW bootlegs and rip offs that pop up. As far as the new SW version of the Worst figures id have to agree on ether a price reduction or at the very least make them individually available for consumption rather than have them bought in a bundle only.
