I'm tired of the bashing of the POTF2 1995 collection

Lots of collectors seem to pick on the 1995 figures released by Kenner. Steroid Luke, monkey Leia, you know it. Yes, they don't measure up to todays figures but back then they were something else.

Maybe I'm a little biased, but I was 11 years old when these figures came out. I had most of the vintage toys handed down to me by my big brother, so the new POTF line got me excited. When I saw the toys I thought they were outstanding at the time. And 13 years later the figures from that line are still among my favorites and the orange cardbacks still are the best.

And besides that, if these figures are so hated, how come they were freakin' impossible to find? Collector stores I went to were selling them at like 40 bucks a piece. They were obviously a hot item. And we sure didn't get repaints and repacks back then. Those were the good ol' days.

If you bought these toys 13 years ago and hate them now, try to look at them from a new perspective. It was the dawn of a new era in Star Wars collecting. This is what really got us back into high gear.

[image=http://www.wheelon.com/swfigures/potf2/darth.jpg]
with lightsaber and removable cape!

Sweet.

 

I loved this toy line. It's what got me started collecting star wars stuff. Granted, Luke did look like He-Man. But at least there was more than Clonetroopers and Stormtroopers in the line. Not as many repeats and re paints.

 

Also, it was after a 10-year period of NOTHING!
Absolutely NOTHING!

And even in 1986, within weaks of the release of RotJ, the SW collection market was pretty dead. No where near the interest that followed the releases of SW and ESB.

So, to suddenly have 10 years worth of technological improvements dumped into your favorite franchise... Imagine giving a PS3 to someone who had only seen Atari 2600s. Or take your computer that you are reading this post on now back to the hay-day of the Apple IIe and Commodore 64.

Sure the sculpts aren't the greatest. And I hate the Vac-formed capes & skirts--give me cloth any day. But at the time it was the best thing we'd seen in years.

 

You like em so much? I'll hook you up with a complete set for $100 or less! One of my friends tried to sell a complete set of POTF2 figs, all variants and mail aways and exclusives on ebay, started the bigging at 200 and got no bids, then he tried to sell them to a collector store... they didn't even want to see the figs. I've seen them at conventions for $1 each. Nobody wants them anymore.

Yeah, in the 90's they may have been cool, but now they're junk. The vintage figures are the most sought after, the new figs have great sculpts and articulation, the POTF2 figs are like the middle children, they just get ignored most of the time.

Don't get me wrong, I was 23 when the first POTF2 figs hit the shelves, I'd had all the vintage figs and had grown up with Star Wars, so yeah, in '95, I thought they were the greatest thing I'd seen since the 80's. But looking at them now... they're just bad.

 

I was 25 years old when the POTF2 line first started coming out. The first time I saw them I hated them. It wasn't until the Phantom Menace figures came out that Hasbro started to restore my faith in Star Wars action figures.

The best argument I've heard in favor of the POTF2 line is that kids can play with them and they hold together well after taking quite a beating. Well then, that's what they should be used for. Give 'em to your kids people, because they ain't good for nothin' else!!

 

"Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

Love 'em or hate 'em, these are the figures that got me into collecting Star Wars. Their street value means nothing to me, but their personal value is priceless.

 

Thank you!

And yes, they are TOYS. They should be for children to play with, not geeks to mount on their walls and ... Oh wait. never mind

Personally, I blame McFarlane for ruining the action figure industry. His Spawn series took action-figures-as-toys and turned it into "action figures are like comic books: they should be collected and horded and kept pristine on their cards, and there should be varients and rares and..."
OK, there may have been some of that before, but he blew it WAAYYYYyyyy out of proportion.

 

Not all of them were that bad. The Admiral Ackbar was cool and several others were good too. Some people just can't get past the few that were Sub-Par. But oh well, we all might love star wars and collecting, but we all have different aspects of the saga that we like.

 

You can't buy toys anymore without them breaking when you remove them from the packaging. I miss the 80s and 90s.

 

There's really nothing not to like about them but they are dated now. A lot of the sculpts seem to match up with marvel comic looks for the characters.

 

I thought they were probably the best playing line in the recent years. TPM line transfered a lot of the POTF2 stuff over. When the Saga line hit shelves the figures had trouble standing or they had little articulation in some areas and lots of it in others. POTF2 wins for being simple and having nostalgic value

 

are the most recent as beefed up as the potf ones, i hadnt noticed that yet... but i always noticed how roid rage luke looked.

 

No, they are much more accurate but also much more flimsy.

 

Amen to the flimsy part.

 

Worst offender for flimseyness: Battle Droids.
Once those legs get to be less-than-100% straight, you might as well toss the sucker.

2nd most flimsey is a tie between Droid Factory Amidalla and Super Battle Droids. Both share the regular battledroids' weekness, but to a lesser extent. It takes longer for the legs to be messed up.

 

It always helps when you have a little nostalgia attached to something. Unfortunately when POTF 2 came out I was in college and had no idea it even existed. Even after the special editions re-awoke my inner geek I didn't know about them.

They are sturdy though I'll give them that much.

 

I still like the old Power of the Force 2 line. While the first figures were buff there were some good looking figures that still haven't had an update today.

Gone ones from POTF2
Admiral Ackbar- the figure is like how old and still no update
Piett-pretty darn lucky to even have this guy for the POTF2 line
Aunt Beru
Uncle Owen
Wuhrer
Ponda Baba- well he was updated for Saga I think but that was about it
Special Edition ASP droid that showed up in one scene in the Special Edition version of New Hope
Ugnaughts- been no update since POTF2

 

Great thread! I agree that the POTF2 figures are very underrated and are, overall, very memorable (in a good way). My enjoyment of them had a lot to do with the time that they came out as much as the figures themselves:

After ROTJ came out in 1983, the SW figure line continued for 2 more years. However, by 1985, kids like myself who grew up with the movies were getting older, and, with no new films, interest waned and the line was cancelled.

Flash-forward to 1995. The new POTF2 figures came out and sold out almost everywhere on their intial release - after a 10-year gap of no new figures, fans were eager for these - both the time and the market was right.

Granted, the early "bulked-up" figures like Luke, Vader, Leia, and Han didn't really look like the characters did in the films, but so what? Luke looked a lot like he did in the early posters that were done to promote the film, which was interesting. Even the original "monkey-faced" Leia has some charm, and it's worth noting that her figure was incredibly hard to find when it was first released (those that have collected POTF2 from the beginning know what I'm talking about).

Also, I feel that even the intial 1995 POTF2 figures were much improved over their vintage ('70's/80's) counterparts. Gone were the lightsabers sticking out of arms, cheap plastic capes, and lack-luster sculpts.

And, it should be noted that the POTF2 line gave us, among other things:

* The first Grand Moff Tarkin action figure
* The first Sandtrooper action figure
* The first Uncle Owen (in the cinema scene) and Aunt Beru
* An awesome AT-AT (1997), which was a huge improvement over the '80's version
* In addition to the AT-AT, great updated versions of the TIE-fighter, X-wing fighter, and Landspeeder
* A great line of 12" figures, which are also very underrated (especially now that they are unfairly compared to the Sideshow 12" figures).
* A very hard to find, but still good line of "Expanded Universe" figures, like Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, etc.

 

Yeah, I remember seeing her in collector stores for up to 50 bucks. Back then I wondered why she wasn't on the back of the cards with the rest of the line when they were released. I still remember finding her at Walgreens and running to my mom.

You are so right. I loved the 12 inch line. I'll admit the humans didn't look that great but troopers and aliens looked outstanding, even if their heads were a little large. Oh, and they were about 40 bucks cheaper than Sideshow dolls. Geez.

 

I'm feeling nostalgic, so just to add to my last thread:

- The POTF2 Boba Fett was incredible (by mid-'90's standards). I remember a toy magazine at the time voted this the #1 action figure of all time!
This figure was also very tough to find at first.

- The DV Tie-fighter (1997) was great, and much better than the vintage one. It was cool that instead of a variation on the normal Tie-fighter (like the vintage), it was a completely new mold. I also liked the green laser guns that came out of the front (and could be pulled back inside).

- The A-wing fighter (1997) was awesome - I remember that the 1985 original POTF A-wing was impossible to find (and very expensive in later years), so having this re-done was great. The A-wing fighter pilot was a great addition, also.
This was also tough to find in the stores when it was first released.

- The T-16 skyhopper was a surprising choice for a vehicle, but a welcome one. Though this was never in action in ANH, you could see a glimpse of it in Luke's garage - and, Luke was playing with a toy of this in the same scene.

- The Bantha (1998) was a want of mine from back in the day, so having this finally made as a toy was great.

- In the same wave as the Bantha, the updated Rancor (with leathery skin) was a great improvement over the 1983 version.

 

It seems a lot of mixed opinions, i myself thank POTF2 line
for coming out and getting me back into collecting.

I ended up too much into other things (teen years) missing the
POTF line, but when POTF2 came out, my mom bought a bunch for
my nephew, whom i helped teach about star wars.

Needless to say , i made sure he didn't lose any of the figures or
parts (still missing leia as boush's helmet) and kept them for my
displays today! I mix the vintage with these figures for display.

Favorites are definetly that boba fett and i hope to get that bantha!

 

I have a lot of respect for the POTF2 line. Very sturdy figures with high play value. Not like today, where the limbs fall off before you get it out of the package.

 

you've noticed that too! why are the limbs coming off the items. i have seen it so much i am wondering if it is done for a reason. aotc anakins arm fell off and wouldnt go back on. c-3po's limbs are all removeable from the pack that has the escape pod with it.

anyone know?

 

Partially because of the cheaper, flimsier plastic Hasbro is using. The fact that collectors want 2,000 points of articulation in a 4-inch figure doesn't help the situation either.

 

I was 16 when POTF2 was released. I wasn't into Luke and Leia anyhow so their ugly figures didn't bother me.

I liked the bulked up Vader and Boba Fett. And of course got my 'droids C3PO and R2D2. Those I thought were sculpted well.

I still think Star Wars would benefit from having a line on par with Marvel Legends or DC's new line in terms of size and articulation and leave the small figures more sturdy.