I had to go to my parent's home this morning to pick up Mom's famous New Year's Eve dip that she only makes once or twice a year. She also bought us a bag of chips to go with it (Ruffles have ridges!!!) and a bottle of champagne. Wow, whatta Mom. We're gonna stay home this year since I have to work tomorrow, Mrs' GripX has jury duty and possibly work tomorrow, and we're both still under the weather.

So, I stop at Target on the way there to pick up some canned food and treats for Fiona. Naturally, I swing through the action figure aisle to see if there's anything there I can spend my Christmas money on. To my surprise, I found most of the last wave of Star Wars The Anniversary Collection action figures. I picked up the Clone Trooper in Training Fatigues, Voolvif Monn (who I have been jonesing for ever since I heard about him in February), a Destroyer Droid (that comes with half a shield to defend against laser fire), and fire-side slut Padme. Poor Padme, the figure is nice but the face looks more like Barbara Streisand than Natalie Portman. My wife pointed that out to me when I showed the figure to her. I haven't opened any of them yet. I'll probably do that in a little bit, but I like them so far and this also gets me four coins closer to a complete set. If I did the math right, I only need 6 more now.

I was a little miffed that I missed out on the McQuarrie Concept Rebel Trooper as it's the last McQuarrie Signature Series figure I need to complete that sub-group of my collection. I mean, I was in the store by 8:37 and they opened at 8:00. Guess I shoulda left sooner. There's always eBay I suppose.

I was surprised this evening when my wife suggested I go to Fred Meyer and pick up that Transformer toy I wanted. See, yesterday I mentioned to her that they had the Darth Vader/Death Star Transformer on sale for $10 off, a good deal for a $50 toy. So, I hopped into the car and drove out there. The shelves in the main aisle were bare. But, on the bottom shelf of an endcap was one last Death Star. All I have to do now is wait for her to decide if this is for Christmas or not. I can wait. I. Can. Wait.

Dimitri Kaliviotis entered (and won 1st place) Starship Modeler's Wrecks online scale-model contest with one of the most amazing model kitbashes I've ever seen; an abandoned AT-AT refuge. Click here to read all about it and see more fantastic images of Dimitri's work.

The final installment of my "Lookee What I Have!" segment is my Expanded Universe shelf of Star Wars action figures (which share the shelf with my wife's Scooby Doo Barbies). It's the home of some of my McQuarrie Concept figures, some of my Clone Wars figures, and the stuff that just doesn't fit anywhere else. See, I have my own vision of the Star Wars universe that I've been working on (in my head) as to who the McQuarries are and how they fit into the story. It's a compilation of the Original Trilogy, the Prequels, and the Expanded Universe. It's a work in progress, but it helps whittle away a few minutes a day when I have a moment to myself.

So, who are those weirdos in the picture? There's the ARC-170 Clone Trooper, ARC-170 Pilot, Comic Book Clone Wars Anakin, another ARC-170 Clone Trooper, Animated Clone Wars Anakin, Darktrooper (thanks, Criz_Bee), McYoda (thanks, Maxwedge), Assassin Droid, McHan Solo (thanks, Zobovor), Starkiller Hero (thanks, eBay), McObi-Wan (thanks, Maxwedge), Roron Corob, Clone Commander, Pre-Cyborg Grievous, 7th Legion Clone, Hawkbat Clone, Darth Malak, Darth Revan, McVader (thanks Dr. Zoltar for those last 3), and Yoda on his Kybuk. I have a second ARC-170 pilot, but he's piloting my V-Wing (thanks, Criz_Bee) at the moment.

As you can guess, I had a lot of help getting the figures on this shelf. I'm fortunate to know some great people locally and abroad. They're all wonderful friends and hopefully I'll be able to return the favor to them down the line.

This morning's picture is the middle portion of a shelf on my side of our bedroom. On the left edge of the picture you'll notice the left hand and leg of Ultimate Bumblebee from the Transformers movie. That's the end of my movie Bumblebee collection, which takes up the first 1/3 of the shelf. On the right edge, you'll notice larger R2-D2 domes. These are the snack bowls and hat and they take over the right 1/3 of shelf alongside the EPisode 1 R2 carry case (filled with R2-D2 figures right now) and the two AT-STs from the Target Ultimate Battlepacks.

The middle of the shelf is where today's fun lies. It's filled with Astromech droids with a couple R2-D2s from the 30th Anniversary Collection (TAC to us collector types in "the know") thrown in for good measure. You can see the Entertainment Earth sets in here as well as both versions of R2-B1, the blue and yellow droid. The one up front is from the Episode 1 line while the one in the back is from TAC. You may notice I have two R4-19 droids, the mostly black, cone-headed R4 unit. The one on the second shelf was painted by my friend Zobovor as a gift to me while the one on the back shelf was released in the Saga Legends line this year. As for the rest, I couldn't begin to tell you their names outside of that they all begin with the letter R. Well, except for the red-dome, blue-and-white body droid. He's simply called Astromech Droid, so I call him RV-GX. I figure it's the only way I'll get a figure that's any sort of tribute to my fandom.

With tomorrow's homework out of the way, I decided to take some pictures of the way my Star Wars displays are at the moment. They're not perfect or big nor do they contain anything all that extraordinary, but I like them and feel like sharing.

This picture showcases the middle shelf of my bookcase on my side of our bedroom. Above and below are actual books, some of them Star Wars related as evidenced by the shelf decoration hanging from the shelf above. I call this my Original Trilogy shelf as it features characters and toys from or based on Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. Well, except for the VOTC Greedo mold-brother who's name I can't recall.

This shelf is home to most of the toys from Target's Ultimate Battlepacks. The only things not present from those are the AT-STs (which won't fit on the shelf) and the Endor logs (which I didn't know what to do with). So, from left to right we have:

General McQuarrie, Rebel Soldier, Han Solo, Rebel Soldier, Luke Skywalker, Biggs Darklighter (whattastoopidname), Rebel Vanguard Trooper, Torture Rack Han, Snowtroopers (3 regular and 1 McQuarrie Concept), Tatooine Luke, 4-LOM, Pax Bonkik (thank you, Rebelscum!), Romba, Biker Scout, Mcquarrie Concept Boba Fett, Graak, Oochie (not making this up, folks), Biker Scout, Wicket, Hermi Odle, Chewbacca, and Han Solo.

Huh, 3 Hans on the shelf. Weird.

So, there you have it. I'll post another picture tomorrow.

Ever since I started reading the X-Wing Rogue Squadron Omnibuseseses from Dark Horse (gone through the first 2 and am half way through book 3), I've really been jonesing for the Tycho Celchu action figure that's started to hit across the country, including my state. The problem is, I can't find the guy anywhere. I can find all the pegwarming Saga Legends figures that are clogging the stores everywhere, however. Sure, I could order him online, but I prefer to look my figures over before buying them. I'm sure I'll find him eventually. Unlike previous times I've pined for figures with anger over distribution, this time around I'm okay with the hunt. I won't go out on toy runs, but while I'm out I'll keep an eye peeled for this member of Rogue Squadron. For now, the illustrated version will have to suffice.

On October 30th of this year, one of the best (and most expensive) Star Wars books was published; The Star Wars Vault. The price tag, however, is quite high at $85. So, I figured I would probably pick it up with Christmas money that might come my way. Otherwise, it just wasn't meant to be. Or was it?

Last week, one of the other stores in my company had a couple come in. I asked them to transfer one copy down to me and it arrived at my store today. Man, I was happy. For one thing, it's priced at half because it's a currently available book. Also, I get a generous discount at work, which takes care of a good chunk of that. The best part was when I went to buy it and I didn't have to pay one dime for it. "How's that?" you ask. Well, every holiday season, my company puts some money (electronically) into our employee cards which then act as a gift card. Today just happened to be the day they decided to throw money our way. Thus, a free copy of The Star Wars Vault ends up being the deal of the year for 2007.

I found the Hawkbat Battalion Clone Trooper today. While I'm not usually an advocate for army builder figures, I really like this guy for his 2-second appearance in the first episode of the Clone Wars cartoon. He has nice, white armore with splotches of mud all about his lower legs and his poncho, and comes armed with a rifle. Hawkbat here also has the Omega Supreme of articulation. If he could come to life, he'd have a pretty good range of motion to do just about anything.

He also features a removable helmet.

I don't care about the removable helmet. I know all the clones look alike. I saw the movies and I know what the word clone means. Do we have to have a removable helmet? Is this guy going to say, "You know, the weather here is crappy. I'm going to take off my helmet." Probably not. While on the subject, I dislike that Stormtroopers have been retconned into clones. Seems everywhere you look theres a Biker Scout or a Sandtrooper with a removable helmet. What's staring back at you? Jango Fett's cloned face is what. Blech.

I also bought a High Profile Volkswagen Bus Pickup by Jada Toys for my Brother-In-Law. He collects toys of VW Bugs and Buses and I seem to have better luck than he does at finding the stuff in the stores. I spoil him so.

I was really hoping that some store, somewhere, would have a Black Friday sale I couldn't refuse. In the immortal words of Ben Kenobi, "I was wrong." Sure, I could have braved Toys R Us for Transformers Cybertron Optimus Prime or Metroplex ($20 a pop) or gone to Wal-Mart for Transformers Universe 2-packs ($10 for 2 $10-toys - so a BOGO of sorts) of 2-year old toys. But, I wanted something special. A few years back, Target offered the second version of the Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon for $50, which was a steal, and I'm glad I braved the crowds to get one. But this year there was not so much as a Gungan on sale worth going out for. So, after dealing with our cat issues (see two posts back), I slept in until 9am. That is no small feat. I was impressed.

I did go out later in the afternoon with my wife and we picked up some stuff for her at JCPenny's before the Doorbusters sale ended at 1pm. We swung by Barnes and Noble after that and enjoyed slightly-overpriced coffee and pastries at the Starbucks in there. Man, that was a great Frappucino. Mrs. GripX picked up the latest Post Secret book, A Lifetime of Secrets, and I grabbed the last copy of Star Wars Omnibus X-Wing Rogue Squadron Vol. 2.

See, I picked up volume 1 at work. With my discount it was a great deal and a pretty darned good read. So when I saw volume 2 today, I figured it was a sign from the Force that I should get it. I'm not saying it's a bad book, but it definitely didn't leave me with the same sense of satisfaction as the first book did. I didn't really care for the art in most of it. There were a lot of missed opportunities with backgrounds. I don't mind the occasional speed line here or there or even an occasional panel with no background at all, but this was too much. There weren't originally published 20 years or more ago, so I don't really see why the details were left out. Granted, I don't know much about the comic book industry, so there could be a reason for it.

That aside, the stories were decent, but focused less on Wedge, "Hobbie," and Tycho and more on what I like to call the second-string characters. With the exception of Plourr, and Dllr, I had no real connection to the members of Rogue Squadron in this volume. To make matters worse, the art was so bad in places that I couldn't tell if it was Wedge or Hobbie in some panels. So, when two of the Squadron lost their lives at the end of the book, I didn't feel a whole lot for the loss. Normally, I bawl when some fictional someone dies in a TV show, movie, or what have you. Maybe I'm missing something. Are there more comics outside of what's included with the Omnibus volumes? I know there's a 3rd Omnibus X-Wing book available, but are there more? I'd like to give this series more of a chance, but this book left an indifferent taste in my proverbial mouth.

I wonder if the Kaleesh once known as Qymaen Jai Sheelal dreamed of galactic conquest when he was a little boy, or even as a young man on his homeworld. Regardless of whatever dreams he had, Qymaen Jai Sheelal would one day be known to the galaxy as the dread pirate Roberts... err... General Grievous. Now, thanks to Hasbro, we know what he looked like before he became a sack of organs covered in metal.

I'll say this much for him, his looks improved when he became a cyborg. Take Qymaen's bone mask off and you'll be treated to one of the ugliest mugs in the Star Wars universe. While I'm not a huge fan of the over-articulation action figures have received over the past few years, Qymaen Jai Sheelal could use some help. He has swivel joints at the elbow, waist, and hips and ball-socket joints at the neck, hips, and knees. What he could use is straighter arms. They're bent at about 90 degrees at the elbow and they rotate at the joint instead of bend. WTF? Way to drop the ball on what could have been a great figure. He could use a narrower leg stance and ankles joints too.

That aside, this is a very nicely sculpted and painted figure. There's some nice weathering on the cape and some holes too to fit him in with the "used universe" George Lucas envisioned. Qymaen Jai Sheelal would look at home in any Tatooine display, maybe beating up some moisture farmers or raping Tusken Raiders. He comes with a rifle, which mine can only hold in his right hand, and a short-sword that can be sheathed on his back that either hand can hold.

I've never seen this figure at retail. My friend, the great Dr. Zoltar, was kind enough to pick him up for me. So, thanks Dr. Z! You da man.

Roron Corobb was one of three Jedi characters that people could vote for to appear in the last episode of the first season of Clone Wars. He lost to the wolfman-like Voolvif Monn. Not only did he lose, but he was featured in a much larger role in the second season alongside the other loser, Foul Moudama. From the figure's card back: "Roron Corobb takes on the duties of a Senior General during the Clone Wars. Along with his Jedi compatriots, Shaak Ti and Foul Moudama, Roron is assigned to protect Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from General Grievous. But despite his skill and bravery, Roron is killed by the cyborg general in his unrelenting push to capture Palpatine."

When I heard Roron would get his own action figure, I thought Hasbro would go the route they took with Foul Moudama. Take an existing figure, in Foul's case it's Muftak, and slap on some different paint and give it some new accessories. I mean, Hasbro did just release a really great Momaw Nadon figure last year, so it seemed like an easy way for the Big H to make a buck off of existing product. I'm happy to say that I was wrong.

Roron is, so far as I can tell, an all-new mold. He has a swivel neck (though it's on a ball-socket), ball-socket shoulders, knees, and ankles, and swivel waist, hips, elbows, and wrists. He wears the traditional, light tan, robes of the Jedi and comes with a lightsaber that shares the same mold, I believe, as the McQuarrie Stormtrooper. He's just about perfect. I say just about because I'd love to see ball-socket joints where the swivel joints are.

So, the lesson here is, don't win Star Wars contests. Why? Well, we've yet to have an action figure of Voolvif Monn and he also has maybe 1/10 the screen time of his contest contemporaries. Serves him right. I voted for Roron.

Yahoo! started a new Entertainment site called The World of Star Wars. I'm not sure what the point of it is, but it seems fun. There are pictures, blogs, videos, and more. I've started my own profile there that you can view here.

So, I had my procedure on the veins in my right leg done this morning. I was in the doctor's office for an hour with only 1/2 of that being time under the knife. It was a local anesthetic and I came through it all fine and dandy, but not without some share of pain. That came mainly when the doctor was injecting whatever it was into my leg so it wouldn't hurt once he actually put the catheter into my bad vein to close it up. I'm glad I went through it if it will help me live a healthier life. I just hope this will the last time I have something like this done.

So, when we got home, I plopped down on the bed and plugged in Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron to the PSP. I needed to be off my legs for most of the day, so this seemed like a perfect way to pass some time. I turned it off 3 hours later. Where did the time go? Man, this game is a blast. It took a bit to get used to the different controls from Star Wars Battlefront II though. You get to customize your own character for the Republic, Empire, CIS, and Clone Army including weaponry, accessories, and other cool stuff like jet packs and character emblems. So, I was playing through the story mode as a Bothan with a rifle, grenades, and rocket launcher, occasionally swapping out grenades for detpacks and the rocket launcher for a grenade launcher.

So, if you own a PSP and are a Star Wars fan, you owe it to yourself to buy this game. If you don't own a PSP and are a Star Wars fan, you can get both in a bundle for $200.

In my opinion, the best Star Wars video game, the best RPG, heck, the best video game ever made is Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, released back in 2003. This was the first Star Wars video game that wasn't too hard or suck. It was the first one I played over and over and over again and I still never got around to doing every storyline (mainly because I could care less about pod racing). It's the only reason I wish we still had an X-Box.

Man, at the height of my playing KotoR, I really jonesed for action figures of the entire cast. I think that, had they been marketed at the time of the game's release that they would have done well. But, it's four years later and there's no chance of getting figures of any of the KotoR characters, right? Wrong! Thanks to a Toyfare poll, both Darth Revan (Lord of the Sith and the player character's original identity) and Darth Malak (Revan's apprentice who betrayed him) are now immortalized in plastic.

This has been too long a time coming, but worth the wait. Both figures are fantastic, well articulated, and represent their video game counterparts well, right down to Malak's removable metal jaw. Now, can we get Bastila Shan and Carth Onasi? I'd be happy with a Jolee Bindo or Canderous Ordo. Heck, why not the whole cast? I'll buy as many as it takes to get Hasbro to make 'em.

The McQuarrie concept Vader is in the pic for a trifeckta of Dark Lords of the Sith. All were bought from a friend of mine who happened to find them last Thursday. Thanks, Dr. Zoltar!

I was at Target this morning where I almost bought this Optimus Prime head/flashlight thingie while talking to another local collector. I mentioned how I was looking for the newer Star Wars figures since wave 5 especially was excited to me with all the Clone Wars and Knight of the Old Republic figures in it. He told me the Wal-Marts in the area had got them in.

So, I rushed to the closest one and lucked out mostly. I scored Yoda & Kybuk, Roron Corob, tattooed Anakin, Han with the Torture rack, General McQuarrie, and 4-LOM. Just yesterday I found the Ultimate Galactic Hunt version of R2-D2 and bought the McQuarrie Obi-Wan/Yoda set from another local collector.

Not only that, but yet another local collector found the McQuarrie Vader, Darth Malak, and Darth Revan for me. I'll likely pick those up next week some time.

I'll write more about the figures after I get a chance to open and play with them. I'm just excited my hunt is over so quickly.

I didn't buy the Optimus Prime head/flashlight thingie.

My Star Wars 30th Anniversary Vintage coins arrived in the mail yesterday. I like them. They're nice. They were well worth the $5 shipping and buying all 6 of the 2007 Vintage figures at clearance prices to get them. I kinda want to put them in the folder with the rest of the coins, few that they are, but the case these came in is rather nice. So, I'll leave them for now. Makes me wish I could find the new figures I want from waves 4 through 6 to fill out my other coin folder some more. Patience. Patience.

This here video is a mock-up of the never-produced White Witch vehicle from the Droids line of action figures from the '80's. The audio is that of the Millenium Falcon commerical, which threw me off at first, so I figured I'd warn y'all 'bout it. Enjoy!

The preceeding is a rant borne or frustration at trying to spend money on product I cannot find.

So, the 2nd wave of the 25th Anniversary G.I.Joes are out as are waves five and six of the Star Wars 30th Anniversary collection. Do you think I'd be able to find any of them? Hah. The one Wal-Mart that's easily accessible for me to check on my trips between school and work has two pegs for the Joes, both filled with the hooded Cobra Commander. The other Wal-Mart that's closer to home doesn't even carry the non-8" Joe line. The three Target stores I go to regularly always have empty pegs. There's also been no sign of few Star Wars figures I want; McQuarrie Vader & Starkiller Hero, Yoda on Kybuck, to name a few.

What's even worse is that the Transformers section is also completely barren except for the occasional Robot Replica or arm blasters. What's the deal Hasbro? Can't keep up with demand? China lead paint woes? Don't care that kids, parents, and collectors can't find your products? Seems like in a year where two of their major toy lines are celebrating anniversaries and another has what is arguably the biggest blockbuster films of the year, it would be a no-brainer to rake in the cash by having lots of product on the shelves and pegs. Maybe they should have left the damn Marvel license alone so that the resources behind the abysmal-selling Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, and Fantastic Four lines could have been utilized by Star Wars, G.I.Joe, and Transformers.

Good job on dropping the ball, Hasbro. Good job.