May 17, 2011

SUPER DEFORMED WINDUPS

There's a bunch of characters depicted in this set of super deformed windups. "Super deformed" refers to an artistic portrayal of someone, sorta like a caricature, usually with a big head. I know at least some of these toys were individually packed in clear, little, plastic bags that were sealed with a piece of tape, although I don't know if that's the case with all of them.

These toys can be split into two sets: Episode I and Original Trilogy, with the Episode I figures tending to be just a bit taller and having an overall higher quality appearance (in my opinion). First I'll show the Episode I windups I have, starting with a battle droid still in the bag.

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Here's two Darth Mauls, each in a bag. One has his lightsaber while the other one is armed with nothing but his knowledge of the force. And his mad karate moves!

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Next up is Episode I small head C-3PO. I say "small" because the droid also came in a large head version.

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Darth Maul with lightsaber and brown robe.

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Jar Jar Binks.

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Mace Windu.

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Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's giving this line of toys his thumbs up of approval.

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Qui-Gon Jinn.

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Back in the day I was at a collectibles toy store and I saw this Qui-Gon Jinn windup. I noticed he had a red lightsaber, and for a long time after that I joked with a friend saying Qui-Gon must be a Sith Lord, which would explain why he didn't disappear when he was killed, just like Vader and Dooku.

Now to kick off the good 'ol Original Trilogy with C-3PO.

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Chewbacca.

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Darth Vader. Take a look at those silver gloves!

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R2-D2.

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Stormtrooper.

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And green Yoda (as opposed to the brown version).

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I've read that these originally sold in Asia. Some of these super deformed figures have CHINA marked on the bottom while others don't, though it's a possibility that they all come in both variety. In the comparative shot below, Jar Jar Binks is blank while Obi-Wan Kenobi says CHINA.

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Below's another comparison, this time of the same character with and without CHINA. The bagged Darth Maul on the left says CHINA while the bagged Darth Maul to the right has nothing written on the bottom of him.

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There's no other differences between the two figures that I could see. Here's the CHINA Maul all by himself.

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I was at a toy show when I found two weird looking all-white windups. They were in a display case, so I couldn't get a good look at them. They looked like glow-in-the-dark toys to me and got me intrigued, so I asked how much they were. The dealer gave me a price higher than I wanted to pay for a windup, but then he told me the toys were prototypes. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford the higher price tag, so I passed them up. Besides, I'm not a big fan of collecting prototype pieces because I'm just no expert in that field (well, I guess I wouldn't call myself an expert in any field of collecting, really). Anyways, at the same toy show booth, I found three other windups just laying in a bin. I bought the trio, and guess what...

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One of them looks just like the prototypes the dealer was selling! Did he not notice that this one was thrown into a bin marked only three for ten dollars? Maybe the glowy all-white appearance didn't look too out of the ordinary since it's a Battle Droid instead of, say, Anakin. Oh, and I checked when I got home, it doesn't glow in the dark.
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"CONFIRMED TO EXIST" CHECKLISTS (I'll update these if I come across any more variations)

EPISODE I
- Anakin Skywalker podracer (big head)
- Anakin Skywalker podracer (small head)
- Anakin Skywalker Tatooine outfit

- Battle droid (hands down, sliced) (no CHINA)
- Battle droid (hands down, dirty)
- Battle droid (hands up, shot)
- Battle droid (hands up, colored all silver)
- C-3PO (big head)
- C-3PO (small head) (no CHINA)
- Darth Maul without saber (with and without CHINA)
- Darth Maul without saber (colored all gold)
- Darth Maul with saber (brown robe)
- Darth Maul with saber (black robe)
- Darth Maul with hood up
- Jar Jar Binks (no CHINA)
- Mace Windu (no CHINA)
- Obi-Wan Kenobi (with CHINA)
- OOM-9
- Queen Amidala (small head)
- Queen Amidala (big head)
- Qui-Gon Jinn (no CHINA)
- Sebulba
- Watto

ORIGINAL TRILOGY
- C-3PO (no CHINA)
- Chewbacca (no CHINA)
- Darth Vader (no CHINA)
- Emperor Palpatine
- R2-D2 (no CHINA)
- Stormtrooper (no CHINA)
- Yoda (green skin) (no CHINA)
- Yoda (brown skin)

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