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TauntaunScout
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Joined: 20 Apr 2015
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 Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 12:38 pm Post subject: Star Wars Galactic Heroes toys |
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Hi,
So my kids are getting into having their own possessions, and they are more than aware of Star Wars, and want Star Wars stuff. I'm looking at the Playskool line of stuff (my kids are quite young) and I'm a little annoyed. It seems like this line was awesome for toddlers when it came out but has slowly morphed into something that's not designed for little hands. Older products I'm seeing on eBay and the like are a nice solid rubber figure, with smaller vehicles and accessories so that a lot of play value could be crammed under a certain price point.
The stuff in Target et al nowadays has figures with 5 or 6 points of (sometimes multi-direction) articulation, lots of shooting missiles and other such lose-able pieces, and far fewer characters and vehicles in a single pack. These same way better for young grade schoolers than for toddlers. But I'd think that a grade schooler is just going to demand the regular 3.75 inch style figures. I'm just unclear who this line is even made for, it seems like it's slowly become designed to sell better with a splashier looking shelf presence, at the expense of actual play value for the under 6 crowd.
Anyone else have any experience with or thoughts on this toy line? |
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Pel
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Joined: 10 May 2006
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Location: Texas
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| Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:04 am Post subject: |
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My son is grown so I haven't looked at these in a while. Do you have a local comic shop that stocks loose vintage figures? Those were very sturdy and don't present much of a choking hazard if you withhold the blasters & other small accessories. Loose figures also sell for very reasonable prices and are something a child can keep playing with into their school years.
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TauntaunScout
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Joined: 20 Apr 2015
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| Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 1:33 pm Post subject: |
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The oldest ones have no accessories which is great, guns are molded directly to the figure. I'm not concerned about choking, the loose pieces on the new one's are big. But the kids get annoyed when they get lost, get frustrated that they can't snap the pieces into the figures hands without help, etc. The shoulders that both pivot and rotate are a source of frustration too: they constantly accidentally flip the arms into ugly looking odd positions, and track me down to get my help to get them back to a neutral pose.
We have a mix of new and old in our house, and the older figures are way better in our opinion. I just don't get who the newer ones are supposed to be for. A toddler has issues with them, but a gradeschooler would presumably want the 3.75 inch action figures.
I tried eBay but there actually is a collectors market for these and they go for surprisingly high prices, considering. So as it is I just pilfer what I can at second hand stores and flea markets. |
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cheshire
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Joined: 04 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:33 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, I picked these up for my kids while the line was still active, and managed to get a good deal on a few eBay auctions. I loved them for all the reasons you described.
What price per unit were you thinking is fair? I can try to keep my eyes open for any good deals.
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Whill
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008
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Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
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| Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 10:48 pm Post subject: Re: Star Wars Galactic Heroes toys |
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| TauntaunScout wrote: | | Anyone else have any experience with or thoughts on this toy line? |
I never bought any of these figures for my son (and Santa never brought him any), but he received a few of these as gifts from grandparents etc. He hasn't gotten any new ones in a few years (he's 9 now). I don't think he has any articulated ones. I looked up a few of the current sets on Amazon and they came up as being for Ages 3-7, and from what you are describing I agree 3 would be little young for some kids.
My son has a small fortune in loose Star Wars and superhero action figures of 3.75 scale (because I'm a grognard and that is the only scale that should exist beyond the toddler figures). I mean multiple large action figure cases full. I started him on those figures young but just held back all the weapons and accessories at first. One day I just gave him a bunch of lightsabers and he had a lot of epic duels. I eventually gave him all the blasters and everything else. He loved his action figures for a time but unfortunately he is already done with that phase - Now he only plays with them when a friend wants to play with them. Now he is mostly into video games and Legos - He has a pretty large collection of Lego figures he does still play with (along with building vehicles, ships, and bases for them).
Anyway, it's sad if they don't make the no-articulation figures for very young kids. That's dumb.
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TauntaunScout
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| Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 12:32 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah it's weird how not-preschool friendly the preschool line is. Heck the 3.75 inch line now doesn't seem too grade-schooler friendly either.
So far I've been doing alright at second hand stores, flea markets, and finding new-fangled ones that either aren't TOO bad, or are too good to pass up despite their flaws, ie, a character/creature my kids really want. |
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Whill
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| Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:14 am Post subject: |
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| TauntaunScout wrote: | | Heck the 3.75 inch line now doesn't seem too grade-schooler friendly either. |
The vintage figures had less articulation. (Obi-Wan, Vader, and Luke's ligthsabers were inside the figure's arm.) I think I was in 2rd grade when I snuck Han and Luke to school in my pockets, and when I pulled Han out his head popped off. I tried to glue it on with Elmer's glue, but of course that didn't keep. I was bummed.
I probably started my son too young on the modern 3.75 figures, basically as soon as he stopped putting toys in his mouth. Overall he was fine without accessories (and later with all the weapons in grade school), but he isn't your average grade-schooler so maybe you're right in general. There definitely were some tears when a few figures broke and I had to repair them with crazy glue, at a loss of articulation.
| TauntaunScout wrote: | Yeah it's weird how not-preschool friendly the preschool line is...
So far I've been doing alright at second hand stores, flea markets, and finding new-fangled ones that either aren't TOO bad, or are too good to pass up despite their flaws, ie, a character/creature my kids really want. |
You're a great dad to hunt down the best figures for your kids. Best wishes!
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MrNexx
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| Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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I know my mom stopped wanting to get Star Wars figures because of how prone they were to losing their heads.
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TauntaunScout
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| Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:06 am Post subject: |
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| MrNexx wrote: | | I know my mom stopped wanting to get Star Wars figures because of how prone they were to losing their heads. |
A model train show yesterday has a huge vendor hall where I'm hoping to get some. I went yesterday and scored a beat up 41 back X-Wing pilot Luke on card. It has the ESB Logo and an offer for an action figure survival kit. Someone peeled the UPC off, presumably to redeem said offer. This means it wasn't a "serious" collector saving it on the card. More likely a mom who stashed the figure as a future present for someone then forget where she hid it so it lay hidden for years or decades. I love non-mint collectibles because they can really tell a story in a way that pristine things can't.
I thought the same thing, Kenner 3.75 inch ones had less articulation than these things, it's crazy and stupid.
I do recall our own X-Wing Luke lost his head. It was the late 80's, my mom tried Testors model glue, no dice. I've thought of that often over the years and how know I know, you'd have to drill a hole into his head and neck and use a combination of superglue (or epoxy maybe) and a wire pin.
A Darth Vader was the only other figure in our house which I can recall losing a head but was in the early 80's so he was simply replaced. |
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Altobanor
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Joined: 23 Jan 2022
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| Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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I tried to get my daughter, when she was in grade school, to watch Star Wars (Original Trilogy) with me. She of course refused until one day she approached me about it. (Still in grade school) We sat down and watched it and from there, she was hooked! So, when I saw the Galactic Heroes, I jumped on it because they were "Nigh Unbreakable". She eventually got, over the years, 7 Vehicles and 150 figures! We long since sold them. (She's graduating college this spring) But the play stories were epic! 
Brian |
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