Still standing by to get back to work, waiting for the seasons to change (and the gas bill to go down–way down). Despite that, there’s a piece of clothing I need to secure to at least get started on a new custom. For my current stuff, I’m getting a bit apprehensive. The wig I bought for my wizard custom looks like…well, it looks like a wig, and I don’t like it. I really want to glue hair to the head and see how that works. I bought some small doll heads with hair so I could do that. Every time I think I’m getting close to doing the deed, I get scared. You know, “what if I mess up?”, stuff like that. I will have to repaint the hair first because it’s blond and the hair I want to put on it is brown.

This had the potential to be another “we’re getting Vader!!!/got Praji ” kind of scenario with Toy Fair going on right now. Last year’s rumor-milling left a bad taste in my mouth, so I refrained from posting anything here until I was absolutely sure about the Lando rumor.

So, confirmed proof:
ESB Lando Calrissian

Maybe not “had to”, it’s just that I’ve lost interest in collecting SW figures, at least the ones from Sideshow. Money is tight, so I didn’t want to see any surprises on my bank statement or be shocked when try to use my bank card because I was charged for something I had forgotten about. And it’s been a long time since I pre-ordered SS Darth Vader. So he’s canceled, along with a wait list item I’ve been “waiting” on for nearly three years. That leaves me free to pick up stuff for customizing that I didn’t get last year for whatever reason (if the gas bill will allow it).

Starting off 2009 with a number of packages winging their way across the country. Today I just got a Triad Hero Type suit for a future custom, plus a few odds and ends. I wasn’t happy with the swords I bought for my wizard custom, so I bought some more interesting ones yesterday and they should be arriving next week. They look like Chinese swords (one-handed, straight blade, tassels) and are kind of ornate. I was looking to give him a curved bladed sword, but I couldn’t think of how to make it work without looking like a samurai sword (which it is). The long tachi I have won’t work, either. So we’ll see.

I finally figured out what to do with the catsuit I bought last year. I’ve been on a Star Trek kick lately, so I’m leaning toward doing something Borg-ish. Like somebody has been rescued from the collective, has had most of their implants removed and is beginning to look like themselves again. But this is way off in the future.

Also, I don’t think I’ll do anything else for Agent Prime. I was going to cut the hair and repaint the eyes, but I’ve been too lazy to do it. There’s nothing that says I can’t revisit her in the future, so I’ll take some pictures when I’m not lazy and formally present her to the world.

Yeah, long time, no see. But before I get anything going I updated the Wordpress install. The only thing not working are the comment quicktags. WP broke it, so I have to look for a replacement. Blah.

Episode II Obi-Wan Kenobi

Sideshow’s actual words were “on hold”. Stuff that gets “temporarily shelved” don’t get taken down from the shelf 99.5% of the time. The line proved problematic from the start. R&D was more involved for a single LOTR figure than it was for the average SW figure. Much of the costuming for the SW figures is fairly repetitive with some tweeks according to character. Each LOTR figure has to start from scratch every time out. More R&D, more money into the project, and, in the end, more money out of your pocket. And then there’s the QC bug that bites SS more times than is conceivable, with Faramir being the most notorious example. I can’t say if that was the knife in the heart of this line, or simply the beginning of the end. Either way, it wasn’t a good thing. The long waits between announcements also did nothing but harm. Problems with the new smaller body for the Hobbits added another strike against the line.

What did it for me was the jump in price from the Hobbits on. That was mostly R&D talking again, but I still had a hard time justifying $140 for two characters I weren’t super excited about getting, no matter how good they came out. I had this nagging feeling that SS wouldn’t complete the Fellowship, so why should I shell out money for a set that would never be complete? Just pick what I want and go on. Then Gandalf came along and threw me off the LOTR bandwagon for good. $90 was not what the figure was worth to me, so I refused to pay it. Apparently, a lot of people refused to pay, because you can still get him from SS in either exclusive or regular versions.

I have absolutely no hope that SS will pick up this line again. It’s just as well; I’ve moved on to other interests in the 1/6 world.

I guess some folk are not satisfied with just having clone armor Obi-Wan represent him in AOTC. Several folk have put the head on another body and made a more than decent version of him. (It helps that the headsculpt is probably one of the best SS had done, at least from a paint standpoint.) Anyway, rumors are flying that the next SS SW figure will be AOTC Obi, and probably will be announced on or near Black Friday. Where does this come from? From a plucky visitor to UK dealer Forbidden Planet sighting a premature pre-order page on their website, as well as murmurings circulating around the Freaks board.

What do I think? Meh. If it’s true, it’s no biggie. I would like a AOTC Obi, but not as much as I would like a TPM Obi to go with my Qui-Gon. Probably something I’d snag from an etailer at a slightly lower price. If he’s on the Buck, then all bets are off.

Until I decide how to handle things, “Off the Shelf” will be posted here. And maybe I’ll have a snazier logo.

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