ONCE A GREAT
CONCEPT
When the first exclusive silver figure was introduced at New York’s
Toy Fair in 2002 (Darth Vader), most people went absolutely crazy
over it. Now that four years have passed and a handful of silver
figures have been produced, will there be another silver figure in
our future? Do collectors event want another one, since so many of
these have been made? More than likely the answer to that question
is “No.”It’s hard to
understand the reasoning why Hasbro decided to keep pumping silver
figure after silver figure out of their manufacturing facility. One
thing is certain though. If they decide to bring back another silver
figure, they’re either going to have to get creative instead of
using the recent silver spray paint applications, or they need to
simply slow down the release of “exclusive” figures.
 The
Toy Fair Darth Vader figure was an exceptional figure, one that I
was lucky enough to have only paid twelve dollars for from the Star
Wars Fan Club website. I don’t recall seeing another figure that had
the same kind of wow factor that this one had when I first saw it.
The dark chrome silver vacu-forming to the dark bluish-gray cape to
the dark red metallic lightsaber. The second I pulled this out of
the brown cardboard box that it shipped in to me I was blown away.
What looked cool as an image on the Internet turned out to be even
better looking in person. This has to be one of my favorite pieces
in my entire Star Wars collection. Not because of it’s current
value, but more because it was purchased solely based on its unique
look and how it stands out in my collection.
The next silver figure to come into
play was the Toys ‘R Us exclusive R2-D2. Now, this was a sweet
figure, but not as much as the Darth Vader from New York’s Toy Fair.
Instead of the vacu-forming that was done on the Vader, R2 was spray
painted in a shiny metallic chrome finish. It did almost look as if
it had gone through the same process as Vader had, but you could
tell that it just wasn’t nearly as good as Vader. Someone in
Hasbro’s Quality Assurance department must have been sleeping on the
job, as the majority of the R2 figures had their side legs attached
backwards. Now how could Hasbro have let such a major mistake like
that happen? To the day it still puzzles me, but aside from that
stupid mistake it’s another figure that I love having in my
collection.
WHAT
HAPPENED?
From here on out, the rest of the silver figures were poor in
quality and creativity. Again, I’m not sure why Hasbro decided to go
the route of simply using silver spray paint to make these
“exclusive” and “hard-to-find” items, but it’s pretty obvious that
they had no intentions to keep making such incredible action figures
as the Toy Fair Vader and the TRU R2-D2. My guess behind their
reasoning is that since Vader and R2 were high-sellers, then why not
just add a touch of silver to some of the already made figures that
are stocked in abundance, and see if retail outlets will sell these
as exclusives? It actually seems like it could have been a
successful plan, but because the paint application was so poorly
done this whole scheme was doomed for failure.
 Wizard
World Chicago in 2003 had the silver Boba Fett figure, which was a
great figure. I still clearly remember standing in that long line
waiting to get my hands on one, and because I wanted to make sure I
got the best looking one I bought two of them (the one that was less
perfect was opened to be displayed loose). Yes, I know I said that
the Vader and R2 were the only silver figures that were terrific,
but I have take that back since Boba Fett was nicely done. Hasbro
chose an already terrific sculpt (probably the best one to date),
the cape was cool with the silver and gray colorings on it, but that
crappy silver spray paint application is what made this not a
perfect figure. It really could have been the best figure of all
time if it was done like the Toy Fair Vader, but Hasbro chose to
skimp with one of the most recognized characters ever conceived.
 Other
silver figures that were produced were the Sandtrooper, Clone
Trooper and yet another Darth Vader. The Sandtrooper was cool for
the mere fact that I work for one of the best Star Wars sites on the
Internet that just happens to be called Sandtroopers.com, and the
other reason is that I own sandtrooper armor. The Clone Trooper
figure was nothing special to me, but the cardback is really what
sold me on this specific figure as it just looks cool as hell to me.
And then there’s that second attempt at Darth Vader which was a
total bust. When you put that second version side-by-side to the Toy
Fair Vader it almost makes you laugh out loud. What was Hasbro
thinking? They could have at least made an attempt on a totally
different character, but instead they were persistent on going with
the biggest character in all six Star Wars films and failed
miserably.
A
POSSIBLE COMEBACK?
Since the Star Wars Saga is now complete, what types of exclusive
items will Hasbro come out with next? Wizard World Chicago is coming
up in a few months, and even though Hasbro hasn’t made an appearance
there the last two years, perhaps this year will be different. If
they do decide to show up would they bring an exclusive Star Wars
figure? Would it be silver again? Would you want it to be silver,
and if so what character would you like to see made?
I, for one, am sick and tired of
seeing these silver figures. I would feel pretty comfortable saying
that most of the Star Wars collecting community feels the same way.
Hasbro really needs to come up with something totally different,
something that hasn’t been done before, something that will help
bring the wow factor back into exclusive figures.
 I
have been a fan of the Fan’s Choice poll that’s been run by Hasbro
on a number of occasions in recent years, and I think that it would
be a good idea to get some feedback from the collectors on designing
a new exclusive figure. Instead of it being a poll, maybe Hasbro
should let all the Star Wars customizers out there have the
opportunity of submitting their best custom work to them, and then
allow all the collectors to vote for the next exclusive action
figure. I’ve seen some really good customized figures before, and
Hasbro would easily have collectors’ best interest in mind if they
were to run with something like that. I know I’d be interested in
submitting one of my customized figures, if the opportunity would
ever happen.
So Hasbro, please don’t make anymore
silver exclusive figures. Thanks!
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