1. I don't know if anyone else has had this problem, but all of a sudden, the wings on my Vintage Collection TIE Fighter (Walmart Exclusive from last fall) will no longer stay attached to the posts on the TIE cockpit. I've just had it on display on my floor since November, and I noticed it "leaning" to one side. Unfortunately, the wings will just not stay attached to the posts. Nothing appears to be broken at all. This is really frustrating, as this is the only standard TIE I have from Hasbro, and I had waited years for them to release this item. I contacted Hasbro Customer Service, and they are going to send me a postage-paid return label to return the vehicle to them, after which they will mail me a refund check for the purchase price. Of course, this leaves me without a standard TIE Fighter in my collection. I haven't seen it in stores for a long time, and even if I could find another one, would the same thing happen? I suppose I could TRY to glue the wings in place, but am not sure that would actually hold up. Do you know of anyone else that has had this problem?
--Greg

I had a similar problem - my first one had a bum wing because it was missing part of the connection! The mold wasn't completely filled and it refused to latch shut - but at first glance, it looked like a complete wing. It literally couldn't click. My solution? Replace it.

It's possible a Walmart near you has a clearance one right now - or you can buy one online. Some toys do get delivered to the stores broken, while I'm not at liberty to say how many of these get made I can say the percentage of defects is usually pretty tiny.

In your position, I'd say take the check and you can absolutely get another one. It might even be cheaper in your neighborhood stores - take the money and run. To the store. To get another TIE Fighter. You're absolutely worth it.

 

Ad: New Hasbro Toy Fair Toys at Entertainment Earth!

 

Become a Patron!

Special thanks to our generous Patreon patrons, especially: JT, Sean, Shawn, Jayson, Matthew, Stephen, Marco, Robert, Christopher, Timothy, and David! Thanks for helping us keep the servers on!

FIN

Just the one question, eh? Hm. Maybe I need a summer vacation after all. I'll need the time, I'm working on a Special Thing for San Diego Comic-Con this year. If you're going, stay tuned, it may be of interest to you.

This week we've seen some amazing things in the world of video games - Limited Run Games announced plans to make new production of physical media of Star Wars NES, GameBoy, Nintendo 64, and PC games. Not to be outdone, Arcade 1-Up will be making a .75-scale replica of the original stand-up arcade Star Wars game with its sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi on board. While the old NES and PC games may have been within your budgets back in the day - and I hope the reissues will be as well - arcade cabinets have been hard to locate and transport. Making consumer-level ones is kind of a big surprise, but the arcade cabinet was a shocker. Star Wars is also expected to be included in AtGames' 350-game cabinet, although it will lack the yoke or fancy graphics.

It's fascinating to see - back in the 1990s, the Rhino catalog and Sharper Image and the like were pushing jukeboxes on the dads and granddads of the day. Today? Arcade cabinets. Much like the jukeboxes, these games may have been available somehow in other, more portable formats - but it's about the icon. The furniture.

The problem is that the fans who lusted over owning one of these cabinets in the 1980s are getting older, with less room, and may have already allocated their resources and space to things like Sail Barges. Or kids.

As the action figure line seems to steadily slow down, Star Wars 3 3/4-inch fans have looked elsewhere in many cases. Maybe 1:6 figures, maybe other toy lines, but whatever it is, it's probably taking up more room in a collection that's already taking up a lot of room. I can't help but wonder if we're going to get into a buyer's market as a lot of us get older and jettison more stuff, be it to simplify our lives or to make room for the bigger, cooler, singularly more interesting collectibles.

--Adam Pawlus

Got questions? Email me with Q&A in the subject line now! I'll answer your questions as soon as time (or facts) permit.

I'm on Instagram! All Pictures from a GameBoy Camera.