Star Wars Action Figures Doing What They Do Best.

Rescue Plan, Step 1.

ratherchildish — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:44:18 +0000

Rescue Plan, Step 1. (Vintage Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard Disguise))

Metal on Metal.

ratherchildish — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:54:36 +0000

Metal on Metal. (Vintage C-3PO, Vintage Rebel Commander)

This is an outtake from a very old setup that deserved to see some daylight.

Contest Entries Are Up!

ratherchildish — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:28 +0000

First Annual Photo Contest Entries are up!

Ladies and germs, an excellent 10 entries have been assembled from Star Wars fans around the globe. Alongside work spanning all over these United States we have represented France, Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands and Australia.

Please take a moment to bask in the glory of this stunning collection and by all means vote on your favorite. Come back early and often – you can vote up to once daily until voting finishes on Feb 13.

You decide the winner!

CLICK HERE TO REVIEW THE SUBMISSIONS AND VOTE!

First Annual Photo Competition.

ratherchildish — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:40:44 +0000

Panicked action figures walking out on strike upon learning of outside submissions.

If you only look at the pretty pictures on this website (I couldn’t blame you) well you might have missed some important details in the last post.

What’s all the hub-bub you say? I’ll tell ya! We’ve got ourselves a geniune compy-tition underway!

Now accepting submissions for photos of any vintage figure or figures in the cockpit of any vintage ride (I prefer Star Wars of course but if you’ve got a compelling reason to bust out, be my guest).. I’ll post all worthy items on this site and we’ll put it to a vote. Obviously it has to be your own work to qualify. Deadline is Feb 1.

Note that this is the first call for submissions ever on this blog. Don’t miss out on this chance to take part in history! Plus it’s winter, what the hell else are you gonna do? PLUS there may or may not be a special prize at stake for the winning entry! Holy shit!

The deadline for submissions has passed. Check back on Feb 3 to review the entries!!

Boba Fett, Pt. 2

ratherchildish — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:20:58 +0000

Boba Fett, Pt. 2 (Vintage Boba Fett, Vintage Slave 1)

It’s been on my mind for a while to capture a dramatic shot of the vintage Boba Fett behind the wheel of his Slave 1. The photo posted earlier this week is exactly that (and it’s one of my recent favorites as well) but it really doesn’t tell the story of how well Boba Fett and his cockpit work together.

Turns out getting that done isn’t so easy.

With the awkward angle of the Boba Fett figure while he’s sitting in the pilot’s seat (and the dark-tinted plastic he’s behind while sitting there) the challenges abound for both composition and lighting. I shot a bunch of different angles but it really came down to this one. It’s not my favorite work but it has something to offer just the same.

Has anyone else seen a good shot of the vintage Fett fully loaded inside his Slave 1 cockpit?

Maybe this should be a submission challenge for anyone inclined to take it on. Lord knows someone out there must have the chops to come up with something better. Hmmm… yes…

Boba Fett, Pt. 1

ratherchildish — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:17:43 +0000

Boba Fett. (Vintage Boba Fett, Vintage Slave 1)

This struck me as an interesting profile of the vintage Boba Fett action figure. Unusual because his trademark body suit and armor is completely obscured. It’s all about the helmet which, let’s face it – even at 3 3/4″ scale – is completely badass.

Snowspeeder Deconstructed.

ratherchildish — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:55:10 +0000

Snowspeeder Deconstructed. (Vintage Snowspeeder)

A few weeks back I had some spare time on a Friday morning so I decided to have a go at taking apart my vintage Snowspeeder in order that I might fix the electronics inside. I mean, it’s winter after all. Every self-respecting Snowspeeder owner should be able to shoot laser beams if the occasion calls for it.

As is often the case with taking apart old toys, the exercise turned out to be much more about cleaning than actually fixing. After I finished removing the dust and grime I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the parts looked. Clean, yes, but more than that the disassembled lot of parts almost seemed to come alive. Decades-old secrets finally revealed.

So it goes without saying: if you collect this stuff and have ever thought about getting under the hood to see what’s inside, I say go for it. It’s a rewarding experience on many levels. And specifically if you want to pull apart your vintage Snowspeeder to fix the lights and sounds, chances are all you need to do is get down to the tiny motor and assist it in turning a few times while you hold down the button. Once it’s freed up a bit you’ll be amazed how quickly it returns to its original action.

Oh, one last thing. After I took this photo I noticed that one part did not make it into the frame. Are you Star Wars geek enough to know which part it is? Be the first to name it in the comments below and you just might win a cool prize. (One guess per person please.)

Darth Vader.

ratherchildish — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:56:28 +0000

Darth Vader. (Vintage Darth Vader, Vintage Stormtroopers, Vintage Death Squad Commanders)

Leia’s Midnight Ride.

ratherchildish — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:54:33 +0000

Leia's Midnight Ride.
(Vintage Luke Skywalker in Battle Poncho, Vintage Princess Leia in Combat Poncho, Vintage Han Solo in Trench Coat, Vintage Paploo, Vintage Wicket W. Warrick, Vintage Speeder Bike))

This marks the first time I’ve photographed the vintage Speeder Bike.

As toys go it’s a fairly genius design that features a tension bar for holding the action figure’s legs into place, steering flaps on the rear that articulate in conjunction with the bottom struts, and of course the best – a secret button that explodes the whole shebang.

Those Biker Scouts never see it coming!

Not Easy Being Greedo.

ratherchildish — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:42:48 +0000

Not Easy Being Greedo. (Vintage Greedo)

It’s too bad Greedo gets extinguished less than one minute into his epic role in Star Wars. I thought he was a pretty rad guy. He didn’t quite have the snappy outfit of, say, Boba Fett, but for entertainment value he was the hands down winner. His dialogue opposite Han Solo revealed without a doubt that he was indeed equal parts scum and villainy; the consummate lackie for El Jabba. It makes one wonder as cool as Boba Fett ~~was~~ looked, how much more so could he have been if he’d actually been given some dialogue beyond the arrid and utilitarian quips he’s known for:

“As you wish”
“He’s no good to me dead”
“What if he doesn’t survive?”
“He’s worth a lot to me”
“Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold”.

In truth Boba Fett comes off as a pretty boring dude. I’ll take my beer with Greedo any day.