A Chance Encounter

I walked into Target the other day, not expecting to find anything good, because most days I don't.

I walked past the spot where they have the Droids cartoon tribute figures. It's a set of three figures, Artoo, Threepio, and Boba Fett.

They're made to look like the way they were colored in the old eighties cartoon, and they're not terrible, but they're not great. I've considered buying them, because they look like astromech and protocol droids that are similar to, but are not, Artoo and Threepio.

I'd be even more likely to grab the Boba Fett, because he's the same. He looks like a Mandalorian that is similar to, but is not, Boba Fett. And I kind of really like the pastel coloration on him. I could dig on that.

Mostly, though, I figured I wouldn't buy them, because they are Target exclusives, and Target wants $15.99 for them, which is several dollars more than any other Vintage Collection figure costs, and I've seen Vintage Collection figures on sale for as little as $9.99. Why would I pay so much more for a goofy paint job?

Didn't seem to matter, because the only one they ever had was Artoo anyway. The peg has always been full of Artoos, about ten of them, from front to back. No Threepio, no Boba Fett.

So, as I walked past, I looked up to see if that had changed, and it hadn't. All Artoos all the way back. There was one figure down below that someone had left on the shelf instead of hanging it back up on the peg, and a peculiar thing that toy collectors tend to do is putting things back where they belong. I don't know why we tend to do that, but we do.

So, I grabbed that Artoo and went to put it on the peg with the others. Then I looked closer at what was in my hand and saw that it didn't match. It had the same Droids logo at the top, but this was Boba Fett.

I was surprised. I didn't see any Threepio anywhere. It was still just Artoos...and one lone Boba Fett. Weird, but, despite the fact that they were going to gouge me for this guy at the register, I decided I would buy it.

I took it out to the car and ripped it open, which is my tradition. I put its gun in its hand and put on its backpack, and set it up on the dashboard in a cool pose and took a picture to send to Rish.

In my old car, the space on the dash was flat, and sometimes the figures would stand there for a long time while I drove around. The new car has a slanted space on the dash, though, so they always fall over immediately, but I still set them up there and start driving.

When I got him home, I got a couple nicer pictures.

It's a good looking figure, but it really needs a blackwash to look more like a real figure and less like a figure made to go with a cartoon.

I put him with his Mandalorian friend that I bought a week ago.

My Mandalorian collection is already growing. 

I also posed him with the other figure that I got last week.

These guys will look pretty darn good walking the streets of Ankletown Station. I love it.