It became the stuff of legends. Back in 1979, Star Wars fans mailed-in proofs-of-purchase in anticipation of receiving the first action figure based on the upcoming sequel film The Empire Strikes Back. But when the mysterious bounty hunter Boba Fett arrived in the mail, he came with a note explaining that, due to safety concerns, the promised spring-loaded rocket had been glued into place. A generation of disappointed children–myself included–grew up to make the handful of working prototype figures among the most expensive collectibles.

This year, toy maker Hasbro has been on a “vintage” kick, releasing Star Wars toys in packaging very similar to that seen in the late ’70s and early ’80s. What’s more, plastered onto the cardbacks are stickers offering–at long last–a honest-to-Jabba rocket-firing Boba Fett!

Mine arrived in today’s mail…

Nice use of the old marketing copy:

Boba Fett…

• A fearsome interplanetary bounty hunter.
• A threat to the Rebel Alliance, especially Han Solo!
• A new character in “Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back.”

Best of all, they didn’t just slap a rocket launcher onto a modern-styled Fett. They actually reproduced the old-school figure with its decidedly inaccurate color scheme and generic laser pistol.

I don’t know that it was worth the 31 year wait, but somewhere a disappointed 15-year-old is feeling rather good.

Dave Toys action figures, Boba Fett, satisfaction

ToyFare magazine is conducting a “fan poll” to determine a Star Wars character to be immortalized in Hasbro’s action figure line. And, against all odds, among the final choices is one I’ve been wanting for many years: Jaxxon, the Lepus Carnivorous!

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of him. He’s part of what is known in fan circles as the “Expanded Universe,” and known elsewhere as merchandising spin-offs.

Back in 1977, if you wanted a regular Star Wars fix, there was only one place to get it outside of a movie theater: Marvel’s monthly comic book. The first six issues adapted the original movie, but issue #7 began a whole new series of adventures that spanned the next decade.

That first brand-new story arc featured Han Solo and Chewbacca on a trip to the planet Aduba 3, where they found themselves in a thinly-disguised Seven Samurai rip-off. Fair enough, since George Lucas himself had admitted to being influenced by director Akira Kurosawa’s other films in constructing his space saga.

As it turned out, one of the seven eight heroes left to save the local villagers from raiders was a six-foot tall, green rabbit named Jaxxon, the Lepus Carnivorous.

Yes, it was as silly as it sounds, and I’ll admit that at the time I thought it was kinda stupid. But time and nostalgia have changed my feelings toward the green galoot. Besides, considering some of the characters that were later deemed good enough to feature in the prequel films, Bugs Bunny with a laser pistol fits right in.

So, here’s what I’m asking. Even if you couldn’t care less, please visit the web poll and cast a vote (or three) for Jaxxon. Do it for the children. (Or rather the fortysomething man-children.) You have my thanks!

Dave Toys Jaxxon, killer rabbits, Star Wars, voter fraud

Some Japanese toy company has apparently made a highly-articulated Obama doll. The attention to detail and the interchangable hands/heads are typically superb, but what really sells it are the “action” poses. Keep scrolling until you reach the bottom! (And what’s up with the lap full of oranges?)

Updated: Darn, the link is down. Presumably the site was being hammered so badly by people trying to get a peek at Obama vs. Vader that they disabled it. Hopefully it’ll be back once everyone’s attention is drawn away to the next shiny object.

Further updated: The photos have been reposted to Gizmodo.

Dave Toys action figures, Barack Obama, Japanese weirdness

Way back in February, I pre-ordered Hasbro’s super-deluxe collectible “Cloverfield Movie Monster” action figure. Seventy points of articulation? Interchangeable heads? Comes with ten “parasites” and the head of the Statue of Liberty? I was so there!

In October, my order (in fact, all orders) were inexplicably canceled. After checking with Customer Service, it appeared that Hasbro’s computer automatically killed them once the toy’s original October release date had passed. However, I was told that it would indeed be coming out in December, and that I should place a second order. Which I did.

Sometime between now and then, my original order was just as mysteriously reinstated. Long story short, TWO of them arrived on my front porch on Friday. And trust me, at 14″ tall and a hundred bucks a pop, two is definitely one too many.

Two, two, two giant shipping cases!

I contacted Customer Service again, and was told that it was all okay. All I had to do was to affix the included return label to one of them and drop it off at the FedEx office.

Guess what wasn’t in either box? I called again yesterday and asked them to e-mail me one, but apparently they can only do it by “escalating” my claim and sending a return label via snail-mail. Bleah.

As for Clovey himself, damn, he’s impressive. They weren’t lying about the 70 points of articulation. Dude’s got joints everywhere. I’m sure that there are still some I haven’t found yet.

The box is equally impressive, though in hindsight I’m finding it a problem. As a high-end collectible, it comes in a super-fancy, full-color box (featuring the decapitated Statue of Liberty image from the movie poster) that lifts off to reveal a 3D cityscape. Clovey really wants to be displayed there, but damn, it’s big for an already crowded toyroom. And even storing it away somewhere safe may take some doing.

I was a bit disappointed in the accessories. The parasites and Liberty head are apparently in scale, which means that they are tiny compared to the creature. I would’ve thought Liberty’s noggin was bigger, but apparently not.

Hobbes says “What the what?”

On the plus side, there’s the scary, second head with its open mouth. Pushing its tongue activates its eerie roar, which my cat does. not. like. And did I mention 70 points of articulation? I remember when “16 points of articulated evil” was enough to impress me.

Dave Toys action figures, Cloverfield, customer service, reviews