Hot Toys - MMS293-294? - Star Wars Episode IV - 1/6th Luke Skywalker & Leia Organa

[Black Label Society]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Anakin was just a sad burnt and middle aged man at the end of ROTJ, who killed the emperor, destroyed the Empire and saved the life of his son, That is it.

fixed it for you.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

fixed it for you.

Touche'...but that was Vader. Anakin was long gone by then. At least by OT standards...to me that is what matters.

 

[Jack Bauer]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

I always enjoy your posts, and I agree that as first world problems go 'my dolly doesn't look exactly like the person it's supposed to' ranks pretty high. And I am grateful for everything the hobby has become in he last 10 to 15 years. But I think a big part of that is down to the online presence of vocal consumers on sites like this - hell, this site in particular - and I don't see why we shouldn't keep putting pressure on Hot Toys to better themselves. At they're best, they are amazing. No one has ever said that the Kenobi prototype doesn't look amazingly lifelike - just that it doesn't quite look enough like the character and actor. Han of course is a long way off. Ditto Chewie - everyone applauded HT's decision to take this on, it's incredibly brave, but after that people should feel free to make comments.

Anyway, it's always a pleasure to read your posts, and especially the titbits you throw our way. Hot Toys Jedi Luke? Fantastic news, and I speak as someone who's just spent £180 on a custom Jedi Luke.

Thank you sir...I will continue to spill what I know...but yeah, first world problems for sure.

 

[DiFabio]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

I don't care what people say, Anakin/Vader isn't the main character of the Original Trilogy, it's Luke. Always has been, always will.

That was some cutesy BS that Lucas tried to pull to connect the prequels to the originals. Star Wars, Empire and Jedi is Luke's story, not Vader's. Just look at the first one, Darth Vader is basically a sidelined villain that everyone talks back to. There's no real focus on him, he's just that cool villain that's doing the dirty work.

 

[Captain Britain]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Yeah, Vader didn't become Luke's father until well into the writing of Empire. In ANH he was basically a very cool henchman who took over the movie (i.e. the villain's side of it). The whole thing about the first six movie's being Anakin's story again only came about well after the OT, and reflects Lucas's obsession with outdoing Coppola artistically and Michael's arc in The Godfather I and II.

I don't care what people say, Anakin/Vader isn't the main character of the Original Trilogy, it's Luke. Always has been, always will.

That was some cutesy BS that Lucas tried to pull to connect the prequels to the originals. Star Wars, Empire and Jedi is Luke's story, not Vader's. Just look at the first one, Darth Vader is basically a sidelined villain that everyone talks back to. There's no real focus on him, he's just that cool villain that's doing the dirty work.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

This was the master pic combo I was trying to achieve (using heavily modded Hasbro junk, so obviously I fell well short...) which I believe is yours from that iforigno auction and the one on the right is a Hurricane. I was using these for proportions and overall look. I assumed both were Hurricane, but maybe it was the robes that threw me. Would love to see pics of your ESB Hurricane - I assumed everything he did was ANH.

Well first thanks very much for thinking so highly of my ANH Vader. That's very kind and makes me reconsider whether I really need an upgrade.

Below are the only pictures I could find of my Hurricane ESB Vader. Again, these pics are from 2005 -- hence the old apartment kitchen in back that many long-timers will remember well -- so keep in mind this figure is 10 years old now. He's a bit crude compared to more modern versions but at the time he was only the 2nd Vader made after Glenn's own prototype and his first Vader to have light up saber, voice action, breathing sounds, light up belt boxes and light up (blinking in sequence) chest box. For me, at the time, it really was THE ultimate Vader.

Hurricane also made a Boba Fett for me a year later -- again, everything that should light up did, and he had voice action (the good voice) -- which can be seen in the last picture.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

I don't care what people say, Anakin/Vader isn't the main character of the Original Trilogy, it's Luke. Always has been, always will.

That was some cutesy BS that Lucas tried to pull to connect the prequels to the originals. Star Wars, Empire and Jedi is Luke's story, not Vader's. Just look at the first one, Darth Vader is basically a sidelined villain that everyone talks back to. There's no real focus on him, he's just that cool villain that's doing the dirty work.

Yep.

 

[Black Label Society]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

I don't care what people say, Anakin/Vader isn't the main character of the Original Trilogy, it's Luke. Always has been, always will.

That was some cutesy BS that Lucas tried to pull to connect the prequels to the originals. Star Wars, Empire and Jedi is Luke's story, not Vader's. Just look at the first one, Darth Vader is basically a sidelined villain that everyone talks back to. There's no real focus on him, he's just that cool villain that's doing the dirty work.

the entire story, conceptionally anyway, was written before episode IV came out. its not like lucas had to scramble to figure out the story of 1-3. its easy to argue that luke was the main focus but he was only the focus of the story and with good reason, to redeem his father. luke may be the main character but anakin is the main story of 1-6. anakin was "foreseen" to be the chosen one, and as it turned out, he was.

its all out the window now with disney making 7-9. but to me, in the big picture how can anyone not say anakin was the main story? put your childhood aside and episodes 4-6 aside. episodes 1-6 were about the rise and fall and redemption of 1 man. thats the true story of SW. i think episodes 1-2 were terrible. I'm not a fan. I'm looking at the entire story. you can disagree, but you'd be wrong.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Lucas says himself the story was always about the twins & their father, not just the father.

He has been known to contradict himself though, so..

 

[TaliBane]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Well first thanks very much for thinking so highly of my ANH Vader. That's very kind and makes me reconsider whether I really need an upgrade.

Below are the only pictures I could find of my Hurricane ESB Vader. Again, these pics are from 2005 -- hence the old apartment kitchen in back that many long-timers will remember well -- so keep in mind this figure is 10 years old now. He's a bit crude compared to more modern versions but at the time he was only the 2nd Vader made after Glenn's own prototype and his first Vader to have light up saber, voice action, breathing sounds, light up belt boxes and light up (blinking in sequence) chest box. For me, at the time, it really was THE ultimate Vader.

Hurricane also made a Boba Fett for me a year later -- again, everything that should light up did, and he had voice action (the good voice) -- which can be seen in the last picture.

Thanks, that ESB Vader looks awesome - I've blown up and enhanced those pics as best I can. That's amazing he did lights ten years ago! And interested to hear how well his light-up saber worked - that guy was before his time. I was going to put the Hasbro voice chip in mine, but it didn't turn out good enough to warrant the effort. I'm also working on an ESB Fett and yes, I found pics of what I believe is your Fett (or close in era) on Hurricane's photobucket some time ago.

 

[nexus]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Well when ANH was originally released the story was about Luke Skywalker and his band of friends and rebels fighting against the evil empire. Vader was the "Big Bad" hitman for the shadowy unseen, but no doubt even badder, Emperor. When ESB hit that entry was still very much about the heroes and their continuing struggle, as they are hounded by the relentless Vader and the resources of the galactic Empire. We meet Yoda and we get our first peek at the Emperor. When Vader's helmet was off and that ugly scar on his noggin could be seen, it certainly hinted at a backstory, and there had been Ben's mention in the first movie that Luke's father, Anakin, had been betrayed and killed by a sith named Darth Vader. Then of course there was the big reveal at the end. It is only at RotJ that the story becomes about the twins and Vader/Anakin and the circle closes. Yep still a great trilogy that set the trend for numerous franchises that would follow.

Anyway back to Luke and Leia figures, I'd guess we'll see something in the next month or so. Maybe a couple more characters as well. However, given the choice I would prefer for HT to get the Han head sculpt spot on and work out the issues with Chewbacca rather than just cough out a bunch of "very good but not absolutely great" figures. The are charging a tidy sum for these figures, so each one should be like a 1:6 scale work of art IMO.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Thanks, that ESB Vader looks awesome - I've blown up and enhanced those pics as best I can. That's amazing he did lights ten years ago! And interested to hear how well his light-up saber worked - that guy was before his time. I was going to put the Hasbro voice chip in mine, but it didn't turn out good enough to warrant the effort. I'm also working on an ESB Fett and yes, I found pics of what I believe is your Fett (or close in era) on Hurricane's photobucket some time ago.

Yeah, the Fett on Hurricane's PB account is likely mine (if its 2005-2006). It's a great figure too, maybe better than his Vader. Not sure how many Fetts he made, far fewer than vaders that's for sure.

The Vader light-up saber was the one thing that didn't work so well. The LEDs back then weren't that powerful and the light didn't get all the way through the plastic blade. It looked great in pitch black, but sot so good in daylight. Also, the blade didn't hold in the hilt too well and had a tendency to tilt or fall out. Thus, no pictures of my Vader holding it. Glenn was suppose to fix it for me but I never pursued it. But the other lights were amazing, especially considering the time... this is the time of Sideshow Anakin and Bespin Han being high-end figures. The mask always looked great, and Vader was the correct height; the cape collar was oversized, but because of it there was no question about the back of the helmet not meeting the shoulders. It has its pros and cons based on the sourced materials -- Kaiyodo (good) and Hasbro (bad). Anyway, thanks again for the compliments. I admire my Hurricane Vader now more for its representation of a time gone by.

 

[The Mike]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

I don't care what people say, Anakin/Vader isn't the main character of the Original Trilogy, it's Luke. Always has been, always will.

That was some cutesy BS that Lucas tried to pull to connect the prequels to the originals. Star Wars, Empire and Jedi is Luke's story, not Vader's. Just look at the first one, Darth Vader is basically a sidelined villain that everyone talks back to. There's no real focus on him, he's just that cool villain that's doing the dirty work.

My only regret is that I can only rep this comment one time.

 

[kiwiatlarge]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

the entire story, conceptionally anyway, was written before episode IV came out. its not like lucas had to scramble to figure out the story of 1-3. its easy to argue that luke was the main focus but he was only the focus of the story and with good reason, to redeem his father. luke may be the main character but anakin is the main story of 1-6. anakin was "foreseen" to be the chosen one, and as it turned out, he was.

its all out the window now with disney making 7-9. but to me, in the big picture how can anyone not say anakin was the main story? put your childhood aside and episodes 4-6 aside. episodes 1-6 were about the rise and fall and redemption of 1 man. thats the true story of SW. i think episodes 1-2 were terrible. I'm not a fan. I'm looking at the entire story. you can disagree, but you'd be wrong.

It may be Anakin's story, now that 6 episodes are out, and the original 3 have had scenes changed, but during the original cuts of the 70s/80s it wasn't. At best, Vader's redemption story was just a subplot to help aide the feel-good ending of ROTJ, and there was no 'chosen one' (that is a PT concept).... Lucas tries to convince the world that conceptually he had the whole thing in his head before ANH was written, but much like his movie screenplays, his own statements over the years have been filled with retcons and contradictions. The first two movies (ANH and ESB) were never made as a stepping stone for Luke to redeem his father. They were about ultimate good guy beating ultimate bad guy while his friends helped defeat the Empire after getting their butts kicked in the sequel (most sequels are usually quite dark, to set up the heroic comeback in the third)... The idea of Vader still having good in him came up when ROTJ was being made. Look how much Vader's characterisation changes in all 3 movies... He is a powerful henchman in the first, ultimate ruthless baddie in the second, and then was made sympathetic in the third so he could have a change of heart and save his son after the plot twist of the second.

When ANH was released, the movie was 'Star Wars'. Nothing more, nothing less... Episode IV and A New Hope were added later. Vader and Anakin being the same person didn't even come until ESB, (which was only written and shot because Star Wars was so successful).... Possibly it wasn't even settled on until some time during the shoot. One thing is for sure, is that very few people knew the twist. David Prowse didn't even know when the scenes were being shot (all his dialogue of course being James Earl Jones and added later)

Ignoring the bad dream that is the Prequel Trilogy, and OT rewrites... even the original trilogy changed direction as each movie was shot, just as LOST and most similar TV series are. (The writers had no idea what the smoke monster was in Season 1.. nobody had settled on who the killer was when the pilot of Twin Peaks was made).. That whole 'from a certain point of view' dialogue that came in ROTJ was for our (the viewer's) benefit. It wasn't that Luke had caught Old Ben out twisting the truth. Lucas had to flub over what we had already seen to try and make it make sense when he added the idea of Vader and Anakin being the same man. When Star Wars was made, Vader did indeed betray and murder Luke's father. And let's not go near Leia passionately kissing her own twin brother. Did Lucas have written up in 1975 that Luke and Leia were twins? I think not. She is the 'Princess', the damsel in distress and love interest (admittedly one who could always look after herself)

As others have said, Vader was just a nasty henchman with 'mystical type powers' in Star Wars. He was such a hit, he was made the lead villain of the sequel. Vader was the 'breakout star' of Star Wars, like Fonzie, Steve Urkel, Sheldon in TBBT. The Captain Jack Sparrow. (If Lucas made Pirates of the Carribean he would try and convince us 20 years later that it was always his intention for the series to focus on Captain Jack from the beginning).... There was no Sith Order, rule of two, nor did every sith baddie have the Darth title. Darth Vader was a 'name'. (Old Ben even uses it)... The Dark Lord of the Sith' just a cool title like the 'Duke of Cambridge'. There was no 'chosen one'... There was a good side and a bad side, and The Force.

The OT was about Luke... The PT was about Anakin.... All six movies together, now that Lucas has changed so many key scenes and lines of dialogue to reinforce this idea that Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker are the same person, are I suppose about the 'Chosen One' bringing balance to the force.. To believe otherwise is to believe C-3PO was always constructed by a 10 year old Darth Vader, and Leia's mother was always intended to die during child birth, even though Leia has memories of her when she was young! lol...

 

[cokebabies]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

I have confirmation that they are in development, but have been delayed due to needing a new size of Truetype.

 

[MyenShi]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

I don't care what people say, Anakin/Vader isn't the main character of the Original Trilogy, it's Luke. Always has been, always will.

That was some cutesy BS that Lucas tried to pull to connect the prequels to the originals. Star Wars, Empire and Jedi is Luke's story, not Vader's. Just look at the first one, Darth Vader is basically a sidelined villain that everyone talks back to. There's no real focus on him, he's just that cool villain that's doing the dirty work.

Vader was just some ******* in a suit that was the Emperor's enforcer. I'm actually surprised people think he's the main character of the OT when it is so very, very clearly a classic hero's journey based on classic storytelling and mythology.

Lucas's over emphasis on the importance of Anakin and his fall is arguably one of the PT's worst failings from a writing perspective, because he was so unlikeable and it wasn't a properly written character story.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Well said Myenshi.

 

[Mr Walker]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

What I want to know is where's Han, because HT "Ham Sandwich" isn't it.

Oh, and anything GL did after 83 re SW is automatically invalid and rubbish. He surrounded himself with too many "yes men" like Rick McCallum, who, despite eyeball evidence, seem to think Greedo shooting first was awesome, even though it looks absolutely woeful.

 

[Captain Britain]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Really papagaio?

Empire Of Dreams - give it a whirl.

Oh, sorry mate - I just realised you probably thought I aimed that video at you - not at all, it was aimed at Lucas! My apologies.

 

[anwe]

Re: Where are Hot Toys Luke and Leia?

Question is, do we really want a Leia with the fugly looking rubber body that Hot Toys seems to have hired the designer of Barbie to design for them?