Collector David Jung Creates Amazing Sculpture Using Star Wars Micro Machines January 14, 2012
Posted by Jad Bean in Fan Art.1 comment so far
The fan-submitted pictures keep getting better! Here, David Jung has assembled a tribute to the entire original trilogy using nothing but Star Wars Micro Machines and a hot glue gun. Look on, and then start wondering why you never thought of doing this!
Collector Brett McDonald Shares Pictures of His Collection January 10, 2012
Posted by Jad Bean in Fan Art.5 comments
Fellow collector Brett McDonald sent in a few photos of his ever-growing collection of loose and packaged Star Wars Micro Machines toys. What I really love about his pics is that they illustrate how collecting Micro Machines makes it easy to amass incredible armies of heroes and villains. Impressive… most impressive!
The Winner Is: A Tie??? January 5, 2012
Posted by Jad Bean in Custom Figures.4 comments
Collectors clearly love Jabba’s aliens, since our top two finalists are both classic creatures from the Casa de Hutt. Surprisingly, though, we actually have a tie for first place, with both Oola and Tessek each taking 18 votes. While aliens are always popular, the skiff guard Taym Dren-garen made an impressive third-place showing with 11 votes, despite being a human character.
Brian and I never really planned for what to do in the event of a tie, so we have improvised. After flipping a coin, we determined that Tessek is the winner!
Brian will start working on sculpting, with the goal of having these available as a free giveaway at Celebration VI. By the time we get around to Return of the Jedi characters again, I’m sure Oola will make another strong showing!
Vote for the next custom Micro Machines-scale figure from Return of the Jedi! December 13, 2011
Posted by Jad Bean in Celebration VI, Custom Figures.8 comments
The response to Brian Webb’s custom Hammerhead figure has been overwhelmingly positive! Brian is ready to dive right in to our third custom figure giveaway, and just like before, we’re putting YOU in control! Starting today, you can vote for which Star Wars character you’d like to see Brian render in a custom Micro Machines-scale figure.
Our very first figure was Lobot and our second was the aforementioned Hammerhead, so naturally we’re moving to the closing chapter of the saga – Return of the Jedi! This time around we’re giving you ten characters to choose from. Like the A New Hope poll, there are a few heroic humans and a medley of monstrous villains. Voting will be open for TWO WEEKS ONLY, and assuming Brian’s sculpting and production process goes according to plan, we are aiming to give these figures away in some fashion at Celebration VI in August 2012, in Orlando, Florida!
The sultry green-skinned Oola was easy on the eyes, but couldn’t charm Jabba enough to prevent her from meeting an unfortunate demise at the hands of the Rancor. This figure would fit perfectly in the R2-D2 / Jabba’s Palace Transforming Action Set.
Mon Mothma, leader of the ragtag Rebellion, left an indelible impression on Star Wars fans, despite having very little dialogue or merchandise with her image. She’s the mother figure you never wanted to disappoint, and fortunately she succeeded, along with General Madine, in destroying the dreaded second Death Star. An Action Fleet version of Mon Mothma was included in the green A-Wing vehicle, and you can see Madine in the background of the Admiral Ackbar Mini-Head Transforming Playset. Either of these characters would make a great companion to the two Ackbar Micro Machines figures that Galoob produced.
You may remember Barada from the vintage Kenner action figure, and from Action Fleet Battle Pack #6 – Dune Sea. This colorful character is the first of several skiff guards to appear in our poll.
Vizam, a Nikto alien, is best remembered for taking easy pot-shots at our escaping heroes from his perch atop the Sail Barge.
Here’s a fun fact about Jabba’s droid EV-9D9: she was voiced by Return of the Jedi’s director, Richard Marquand! An Action Fleet-scale version of this sadistic character was included in the Micro Machines: Droids multipack, but a Micro Machines-scale figure would be most welcome.
Tessek, or Squid Head to you old-school fans, was Jabba’s accountant, though naturally he tried to sequester some of that wealth for himself. He even conspired with Ree-Yees to have Jabba killed! Both of these iconic aliens appear in Jabba’s Palace and in the Sail Barge, and have only a few action figures in their likenesses. Neither have appeared as Micro Machines or Action Fleet figures.
Our penultimate skiff guard is Klaatu as he appeared on the deck of Jabba’s Sail Barge. With him on the board we’ve completed the classic phrase “Klaatu Barada Nikto” – bonus points for knowing what movie that is from! This alien was for awhile known as Yotts Oren.
Finally, we have a human skiff guard, Taym Dren-garen. He holds the distinction of achieving something no Stormtrooper ever could – he actually shot Luke Skywalker! That one shot to the hand guaranteed that he would quickly meet the business end of a lightsaber. To my knowledge, no toy of Taym has ever been made.
Voting will be open from now until January 2, 2012. Consider your choice carefully and cast your vote below!
Star Wars: The Complete Vader Book Features Micro Machines Artwork December 13, 2011
Posted by Jad Bean in Micro Media.add a comment
After a long delay due to manufacturing issues, Star Wars: The Complete Vader is finally upon us, and what a treasure it is.
The Complete Vader is a comprehensive, detailed, and above-all massively entertaining book all about the premiere Dark Lord of the Sith. Written by Ryder Windham, longtime friend of this site, and Pete Vilmur, this book covers everything Vader. You’ll learn all about the history of the greatest film villain ever, from his genesis, to his cultural impact, to the wealth of Vader collectibles which have captured his dark visage.
This hardcover book features numerous gatefolds and removable paper pieces, much like the Star Wars Vault, by Steve Sansweet and Pete Vilmur, making it a collectible in its own right. This is absolutely a must-have book for any Star Wars fan, but particularly for you Galoob collectors out there. Several Micro Machines and Action Fleet toys are mentioned and pictured, but perhaps most significantly, the book features a lovely reproduction of Ralph McQuarrie’s artwork for the Action Fleet Death Star playset. Aside from a rare art print sold only at a few conventions, this is the only way to obtain this artwork without the packaging graphics.
Here’s hoping The Complete Vader finds its way into your stocking this holiday season!
The Hammerhead Custom Figures Are Shipping! November 27, 2011
Posted by Jad Bean in Custom Figures.9 comments
I’m once again thrilled to announce that our second custom figure by Brian Webb, the classic Cantina character Hammerhead, is now starting to ship out! Hopefully you were lucky enough to get in on the window of opportunity to obtain this free figure!
Introducing My Latest Micro (Eating) Machine September 27, 2011
Posted by Jad Bean in Updates.8 comments
You haven’t seen much of me online lately, and that’s due to one very big, yet very small, reason. Three weeks ago my wife gave birth to our first child! Allow me to introduce Darcy Grace Choe, who’s currently not much bigger than a Micro Machine.
Both mom and baby are doing great, though our lives have changed quite a bit. I’m not going to be posting much in the next few months; that’s partly due to the little Ewok pictured above, and also due to a major project I’m working on. More will be revealed soon!
Meanwhile, although this has nothing to do with Star Wars or Micro Machines or even babies, check out my latest craft project: The Cat TARDIS!
Star Wars Micro Machines Spotted In New TWiT Studio August 19, 2011
Posted by Jad Bean in Micro Media.add a comment
Chances are good that as a fan, you’re aware of the finest podcast about all things Star Wars – The ForceCast. You’ll remember the ForcCast as the show that has had me as a guest from time to time. While there are plenty of podcasts out there about Star Wars, there are also plenty of podcast about other topics that can’t help but include some references to our favorite galaxy far, far away.
Leo Laporte‘s TWiT (This Week in Tech) network of shows provides a number of excellent audio & video programs about what’s new in the world of technology. They recently completed building an all-new recording studio. Sharp-eyed viewers, like my friend Eric Geller of The ForceCast, have spotted a few Star Wars toys in the studio background.
Behind host Tom Merritt you’ll see the Action Fleet Death Star Playset, and the Micro Machines Millennium Falcon Playset, along with a Hasbro TIE Fighter. The Falcon looks to be missing its cockpit canopy; perhaps it was a garage sale find?
This photo is from ForceCast.Net; be sure to check out the original post for more photos of Star Wars toys in the new TWiT studio.
Jennifer Landa’s Brilliant Death Star Dress Features Action Fleet TIE Interceptor July 30, 2011
Posted by Jad Bean in Micro Media.6 comments
San Diego Comic Con is the annual epicenter for high quality sci-fi and fantasy costumes. It takes an especially clever costume to get noticed among the hordes of Stormtroopers, zombies, and zombie Stormtroopers. Jennifer Landa made a planet-destroying splash at this year’s con as Miss Death Star!
Jennifer created the perfect accessory to her Death Star dress by re-purposing an Action Fleet TIE Interceptor as an adorable hair bow.
Be sure to click the pics and read the full interview with Jennifer at starwars.com for more information and pictures of her formidably fantastic fashion feat! These pictures are from the official Star Wars Blog.
Micro Machines Gold Classic Series July 20, 2011
Posted by Jad Bean in The Toys.8 comments
Around November of 1996, Galoob experimented with a high-end collectible product borne out of their 3″ diecast line. Each of the three Gold Classic Series offered the discriminating collector a handsome display case containing two gleaming gold-plated Star Wars icons. Each set was limited to 5000 pieces, and originally sold for an eyebrow-raising $99. There were three sets in the Gold Classic Series, and they were packed in plain, undecorated white mailer boxes.
Series I featured the X-Wing and Slave 1, and was exclusively available to J.C. Penney.
Series II included an Imperial Shuttle along with an Imperial Emblem, and was only sold at FAO Schwartz.
Series III paired the Millennium Falcon against Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, and was only available by mail-order directly from Galoob.
Galoob had ample experience with gold-plated exclusives; several of their Micro Machines cars were offered in gold-plated mail-away versions. As a cost-saving measure, the Gold Classic Series simply reused vehicle molds from the diecast line, with the exception of the new Imperial Emblem. It’s not known why Series II included that emblem instead of another ship; a Death Star rendered in gold would surely have looked impressive. These sets were advertised in specialty and trade magazines; here is a scan from Star Wars Insider issue 31, offering Series III for $99.
The very same issue includes a half-page ad from FAO Schwartz featuring Series II for a mere $75 – what a bargain!
The market for Star Wars merchandise was booming in the mid 1990′s, particularly for the older Kenner toys. Some of those 1970′s action figures sold for several hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. The Gold Classic Series, marketed through specialty magazines like the Star Wars Insider, was clearly intended to appeal to profit-minded collectors. Obviously, if a common $2 figure could sell for $100 in 20 years, surely these limited, gold-plated treasures would someday be worth THOUSANDS! Such heady dreams would not come to pass.
Even before the Star Wars toy market precipitously declined in the wake of the Episode 1 merchandising glut, the Gold Classic Series found an ignoble end. By the late 90′s, leftover stock of all three wound up in the clearance bin of KB Toys for a fraction of their original cost.
As befitting virtually all high-end collectibles, the package also contained a certificate of authenticity, complete with simulated autograph of . Here’s the one that was included with Series I. The text describing the Slave 1 is remarkably prescient, considering Episode II was still six years away.
The Gold Classic Series was not the greatest commercial success. They look attractive on a shelf, but even during the late 90′s Star Wars merchandising gold rush (pardon the pun), $99 was an extremely high price to pay for what amounts to two repaints.




















