The Case of the Missing Lightsabers in Hasbro TVC Star Wars Action Figures

Hasbro Luke Skywalker action figure sealed but missing lightsabers.

Y and I drove the car to Valley Springs, New York yesterday to do some shopping. One of our stops was the Wal-Mart Supercenter. While taking a look at the Star Wars action figures, I was about to buy Luke Skywalker (Jedi Academy) and Ahsoka Tano until I noticed that their lightsabers were missing!

Hasbro Luke Skywalker and Grand Inquisitor action figure sealed but missing lightsabers (Inquisitor did have his unignited saber).

Hasbro Luke Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano action figures sealed but missing lightsabers.

As you can see in the photos, all of the action figures on the pegs there with lightsabers (Luke, Ahsoka, Ahsoka (Corvus), and Grand Inquisitor) did not have lightsabers in the packaging.

Evidence that Ahsoka Tano action figure had been opened and resealed.

At first, I thought it was a manufacturing mistake, because all of the packages are sealed. However, if you look closely at the Ahsoka Tano on the right, it’s evident that the bubble has been removed and glued back misaligned. If all four of these action figures were opened for the lightsabers and resealed, perhaps this one was their first attempt and the culprit improved their technique on the other three.

After recognizing the problem with the Ahsoka action figure, the creases apparent on the cardboard around the plastic bubbles on some of the other action figures with missing lightsabers seem less about handling and more about opening the packages surreptitiously.

It seems like such a strange thing to do–stealing action figure lightsabers and returning the apparently unopened merchandise for a refund.

In any event, be sure to check your action figures carefully before going through checkout.

“Move, ball.” LEGO BB-8 Set 75187

LEGO BB-8 75187 set on display stand facing forward

The LEGO model of BB-8 (set 75187) is cleverly designed. It has a well-designed ball shape and a couple of special features. First, the right side disc can be turned to rotate and wobble BB-8’s head. Second, the left side disc can be turned to extend his “thumbs-up” torch from The Force Awakens (2015). While I’m partial to R2 astromech units, BB-8 ain’t so bad.

LEGO BB-8 75187 set head rotated 180 degrees

LEGO BB-8 75187 set head rotated to side

LEGO 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer Built with Spare Bricks

LEGO Millennium Falcon is fleeing a pursuing Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer

Thankfully, LEGO provides digital copies of their set instruction books online. This means that if you have the bricks, you can build anything in the LEGO catalog. Of course, it might take time and energy to hunt down each individual brick and element that you might need to assemble a given set if your collection is as disorganized and binned as mine is. Nevertheless, it’s satisfying being able to build something new with what you have instead of having to go out and buy it.

In this case, I assembled a set that didn’t buy when it came out in 2010: 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer. It took a considerable amount of time to find all of the bricks that I needed to complete it, and I had to cannibalize some other sets to get all of the parts. Eventually, it came together. However, I did have to make one off-color substitution deep within and hidden from external view.

LEGO 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer front view

LEGO 8099 Midi-Scale Imperial Star Destroyer rear view

LEGO R2-D2 10225, a Reliable Desktop Companion

I picked up this faithful R2 unit from LEGO when I began my position as a Brittain Fellow at Georgia Tech in 2012.

It’s the 10225 R2-D2 set that was released in 2012 (shortly before I moved back to Atlanta).

It features a turning head, a little bit of wobble, arms, saw, data port interface, and a retractable third leg. It’s blockier looking than the 2021 R2-D2 75308 set, but its the blockiness that makes it endearing.

Though, be warned that R2, when left to his own devices, might try to hack your computer . . .

Star Wars the Exhibition, London, 26 Jun. 2007

Almost ten years before I went to the Star Wars and the Power of Costume Exhibition in New York City, I attended Star Wars the Exhibition in London, England on 26 June 2007. It was held in County Hall, Westminster, which is across the Thames from Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster and near the London Eye.

I had a half day for sight-seeing, so I made the most of it–riding the Tube, visiting 221B Baker Street, walking through St. James Park, passing Buckingham Palace, paying respects at Westminster Abbey, and ending up at Star Wars the Exhibition.

Star Wars the Exhibition was held in an old building with fine wood detailing and fireplaces throughout the smaller rooms. It was tight in places and open in others. It was dark and the lighting produced shadows and a variety of dramatic colors, which created challenges for my camera. As you’ll see in the photos, it had some amazing life-size artifacts from The Phantom Menace (1999).