1. Was there ever a vintage sail barge produced? What is the largest version available now not including the LEGO barge? Is it the Action Fleet version? I guess I was wondering if there was ever a replica or maybe a model produced but I can't seem to find one.
--Brett

The largest toy of Jabba the Hutt's Sail Barge to be produced so far came out of LEGO, and it was about $100 and released a year or two back. After that, your best bets are the Action Fleet vehicle (which is rare), the Titanium Series ship (which is new-ish), and the MicroMachines vehicle (common and cheap). Interestingly, there were no real toys produced of the vehicle until the 1990s, although you could find its likeness in a board game and a few other places here and there.

2. As I attempt to track down the few remaining holes in my collection, I ran into a question. From the Episode I line, are the Sith Speeder with Darth Maul and the Sith Attack Speeder with Darth Maul one in the same? I don't care about the packaging or even the vehicle. I only want the figure(s). I picked up the Legends Darth Maul the other day which claims to be a repack of the Sith Speeder Maul. Is the Sith Attack Speeder Maul the same figure?
--Dan

There are actually three "Sith Speeder" Mauls. Or two, depending on how particular you may be.

1. Sith Speeder (regular). This one has a soft goods hood. It's essentially identical to the Saga Legends version.
2. Sith Speeder Game (Tiger Electronics). This is rare-- like, really rare. It's the same as above, but it has brown dirt deco on it. A few years ago these rarely came up for sale. There are none active or closed on eBay, and while I've got a couple even I haven't open mine yet. (Don't know if I will.)
3. Sith Attack Speeder. Slightly different sculpt, this one has a plastic hood sculpted as part of the head. By my standards, a new head = a new figure, so this is a different one.

So yes, I would say you should get a Sith Attack Speeder. The vehicle, while dopey looking, is a lot of fun to play with as it has a fair amount of moving parts.

3. Now that the comic pack featuring Cade Skywalker and Darth Talon are starting to show up, I have only seen the non-lightsaber edition, but have seen the one with Cade's lightsaber on Ebay. Any idea which will be rarer?
--Brian

The real issue here is will either version be cared about over another. My guess is that in this day and age, the one with the most stuff in it will tend to be the most desirable, or neither will be more attractive as people today are generally less aware of variants than they were in the age when magazines made it a point to do columns just for variations. Since the versions with the lightsabers are shipping now and going forward, I would wager that the with-saber version will be more desirable. As to if it's rarer, it all depends on how long it gets produced.

4. I was wondering which of the (2) Evolutions Boba Fett figure helmets are the most movie accurate? Is it the 30th Anniversary Collection version which has black paint lines on the helmet, yet the figure does not have the chest insignia. Or is it the Legacy Collection figure with the corrected chest insignia, yet the helmet has green paint lines? I realize the chest plate is accurate with the insignia, yet what about the helmet? Should I be purchasing both versions and using the 30th Anniversary Collection helmet with the Legacy collection body?
--Mark

Based on the stills I picked up, it appears that this may be tough to pinpoint. I'd say the second release is the one you ought to go for, but I'm curious if anyone out there has any charts or more in-depth information. Obviously you want the chest insignia body, but what about that helmet? Write in and share, if you would. Personally I'd advise you get both versions just so you have everything, but I don't know what your interest is in space or buying extra stuff. Since you get a spare Jango Fett, I can assume it's worth picking up a spare set so you can have one with his helmet and the other with the comm unit.

5. When we were kids in the 1970s & early 80s, my brother and I shared our set of SW action figures. We both got into collecting the modern line in 1995, but he pretty quickly dropped out. In recent years, I have been picking out one figureÑthe best figure from the years releaseÑto send him for Christmas. It's the only action figure he will get all year. In 2007, I felt there was no question that the figure had to be the Holiday Special Boba Fett. It was clearly the figure of the year for 2007 because (1) it was from the Holiday special (which you never thought you'd see a figure from), (2) it was Boba Fett, (3) it was the very first appearance of Boba Fett and (4) it was well executed. For 2008, I sent him Yarna d'al'Gargan. Can Yarna be the top figure from 2008 when there is stiff competition from the likes of Scuba Trooper and Quarren soldier. I say "Yes!" Why? Because (1) it's the silver anniversary of ROTJ; it took Yarna 25 years to see incarnation in plastic, (2) she's fat and six-breasted, (3) she comes with a swanky first day of issue sticker on her and (4) the execution of the figure is excellent.

These are my questions.

(1) do you agree with my choice for best figure of 2008?

(2) If not, who would you choose?

(3) What does your crystal ball predict for best figure of 2009? I am leaning toward the bothan in the comic pack! Many bothans died before this one could see plastic! Honor their memory!
--Steve

I originally said I wouldn't take overly long questions, but hey, why not. (Also, my computer died this week and I'm on deadline.)

Taste is really hard to define-- and so is greatness. For example, in 2002, I felt that it was the then-new Bespin Luke Skywalker which was the most impressive figure of the year. After all, it had tremendous articulation, a gun, a lightsaber, a bacta hand thingy, a windvane, an action feature, great sculpting, and generally served as a high point in a year with several very good toys. Others said Ephant Mon, because of reasons very similar to the ones you listed for Gargan. (Note: she was just "Gargan" back in the old days, therefore, she's just "Gargan" in this column.) Back in 2002, it was great to see Ephant Mon. I remember him on a lot of trading cards, puzzles, and non-toy merchandise from my childhood so it was neat to finally see-- oh, and he was big. And detailed. Definitely a good figure, but he had to be-- anything less than what we got would have been a total failure. Luke, on the other hand, showed Hasbro's future in the making with more articulation, better accessories, and a general air of greatness that didn't have to be totally in-your-face.

For this reason, no, Gargan isn't particularly special. As a person who spends thousands of hours writing about these (and other) toys, I can tell why fans are excited for her. Heck, I am too-- she was a figure that was on her way to being a toy during the 1980s, and now, 25 years later, we have her. That's nothing to sneeze at, but the figure itself is actually a sign of Hasbro catering to fan demands over what would make a good-looking toy. I rarely will complain about actually getting articulation, but her arms and knees just don't look all that great. I admire that she exists, and as an addition to my dioramas, she's great. But she's not exactly a fun figure, and for that reason I disagree with your selection as "Figure of the Year," although I totally agree with you that if I were going to send one figure to someone every year, it'd be her.

I think if we look back on 2008, we'll probably not consider this to be one of the better years. With 6 waves of movie figures, it was a little light, and few figures really stand out as being spectacular. We got some great stuff-- a new cartoon series, a new video game that was actually pretty great, and some wonderful vehicles. But as I sit back and look at the year, I'd be lying if any one figure really stood out as being a sign of Hasbro's greatness. We got a lot of good stuff but really, the only new ground was broken in a few figures-- and some of those were kind of not fantastic, either. Sure, Commander Gree is an amazing figure in terms of articulation but the deco is not as right as it probably should be. Considering that's why fans asked for a new version in the first place, well, it's a little disappointing.

Part of what makes the line interesting is its ability to surprise. In 2002, we got Ephant Mon and that Bespin Luke. 2003, there was the first-ever Super Articulated Clone Trooper, and 2004 brought us the nifty Vintage collection. In 2005, we were treated to a collection of wonderful "Evolutions" figures, and in 2006, Hasbro surprised us with Hem Dazon, tons of Clone Troopers, General Veers, and a number of others. 2007 was basically a spectacular year with concept figures, fan-demanded remakes, huge accessories, and more. After all that, 2008 really does feel very by-the-numbers with it being extremely tough to pick out a figure that was astounding. Everything's pretty good, although I will say that the best part of the legacy (HAH HAH) of 2008 is likely the build-a-droid sub-series. This is hopefully the aspect of 2008 that we'll have with us for a while-- and with the 2008 cost increase, falling oil prices, and everything else, we really ought to have them around for a bit.

(Although if you were to ask for a personal favorite, it's a short list involving Sandstorm Luke, Dark Empire II Luke, the Quarren soldier, and a few others.)

FIN

This past week was awful. Last Sunday night my trusty Mac decided to be less trusty and after staying up several nights trying to troubleshoot it, it appears that it's going to be about as expensive to fix as it would be to buy an entirely new iMac. So, yeah, it's been unpleasant. And how are you?

Target is now marking down Indiana Jones Hasbro product, thus cementing its demise in a very real way. Star Wars seems to be largely full price, though, so there's not much action to be had there. It seems the animated figures are doing quite well across the board so hey, there's hope yet for the future. Oh-- and the new Obi-Wan Kenobi Jedi Starfighter from The Clone Wars is totally the best small vehicle in years. Get one. DO IT.

But with that, I bid 2008 a fond farewell. My Q&A backlog is small, about enough for another column, which will go up in 2009-- hopefully by then I'll have a more permanent computing solution rather than the fairly awkward rig I'm finishing this column on before bed on a Sunday night.

See you all on January 5, 2009! And with that, play me out Les Savy Fav. (They're on the iTunes now, you see.)

Got questions? I bet you do. Email me with "Q&A" somewhere in the subject line and hopefully I'll get to yours in the next column!

Click here to read the previous installment of Galactic Hunter Q&A!