The Amazon-exclusive Emperor Palpatine (with Throne, The Black Series 6-Inch)  is pretty cool. With better paint and more gear than the 2013 release, it also costs about twice as much - but with the alternate heads and hands, it's worth it.  Read on!

New this year - and probably gone soon - is this glow in the dark R5-BOO19 (Droid Factory Line Look).    It's a black droid with white glow paint, so you'll want to get it if you missed the previous, now expensive glow astromech.  Read on!

Debuting at Disney Stores last year, the Zuckuss (The Black Series 6-Inch)  is around a few more places now - and it's pretty great.  It might also be on clearance if you can find it.  He has a blaster and a nifty "coat" over the plastic body, and of course he's a little bit shorter than some other Black Series releases.  Read on!

The new exclusive figure in the vintage 3-pack, this Vedain (Skiff Pilot, The Vintage Collection)  is pretty cool - and a mix of new parts with old Weequay and Nikto bits.  The end result is something that looks totally new and absolutely worth a look.  Read on!

Surprising probably no one, R2-D2 (Galaxy of Adventures 5-Inch)  is great. It's hefty and sturdy. It has ball-jointed ankles - a first for R2-D2 figures, as far as I know. Also his "bald spot" returns - the circle on top of his dome was left silver rather than painted blue.  Again.  But it's a good figure and the centerpiece of a nice 3-pack - so read on!

The First Order Driver (Galaxy of Adventures 5-Inch)  is infuriatingly good. "But Adam," you say, "I don't want a new scale." These figures are basically the line you thought we'd get in the early 1990s - bigger, lots of articulation, and stylized.  They're good! They're not as good as the 6-inch line, but articulation is above and beyond a lot of what we get for 3 3/4-inch figures.  Read on!

Fresh from SDCC, the Sith Trooper (SDCC Debut, The Black Series 6-Inch)  is like the one you can get in stores in a few hours, but costs more and has a little more gear.  You should probably get one of these and more of the cheap ones. Read on!

A Disney Store debut sold later at Entertsinment Earth and elsewhere, this Captain Phasma (Quicksilver Baton, The Black Series 6-Inch) has one of the gnarliest cracked helmets I've seen on an action figure of this size. There are also significantly cool burn marks and a cloth cape, plus two toothpicks of varying sizes.  It's an old figure with new parts, but is that enough? I think so, especially now that it may be on sale in some stores.  Read on!

It's not an original, but it is a lot cheaper.  The Princess Leia Organa (The Retro Collection) is either in a store near you - or for sale online at a shop you may like - right now.  Her grip is loose, the cape feels different, and on my sample the face is a little off-center. It gives her a different personality, and if you just want an old-looking Kenner Leia to keep around you can do worse. Or yellower.  Read on!

The hottest thing 1978 had to offer came back with Han Solo (The Retro Collection)!  And it sold out. But there might be more coming.  Should you get one?  He doesn't like holding his blaster, but otherwise this is pretty great. Read on!

This nifty Commander Pyre (The First Order, Galaxy's Edge, The Black Series 6-Inch)  is pure gold.  Well, gold, black, a little grey... it's a Stormtrooper redeco.  Read on!

The Kenner-style Stormtrooper (The Retro Collection)  is a lot like you remember from 41 years ago, but with some minor changes.   The hands are a little different. The neck still doesn't turn.  It's pretty good. Read on!

A First Order trooper that uses some Empire parts, the Mountain Trooper (The First Order, Galaxy's Edge, The Black Series 6-Inch) is pretty nifty - but basically looks like a Scarif trooper if you squint.  He comes with Kylo Ren, Commander Pyre, and a Mouse Droid.  It's a decent set. Should you get it?  Read on!

It's OK. The Kylo Ren (The First Order, Galaxy's Edge, The Black Series 6-Inch) is by no means a bad figure, but if you're a completist you'll be annoyed that you likely have one or more figures just like it.   The Last Jedi Kylo Ren body has the plastic helmet head, and odds are you'll have a crack at another figure like it in a few weeks.   Read on!

Everything old is newish again! The DJ R3X (Droid Depot, The Black Series 6-Inch)  takes the 1987 design and adds some new stuff and a fresh coat of paint to it - it's also the only Rex droid in this scale so far.  Is the three-armed wonder worth tracking down?  Read on!