While I have pretty much sworn myself off any allegiance to the Funko brand, in general, I am soft-hearted where it comes to one of the two franchises that I grew up with, Star Wars (the other Planet of the Apes, of course). And that includes any/all of its spin-offs, prequels or sequels, cartoons or comics. Now, that said, I do not have my walls plastered with such fancy collectibles, if anything I go for the much more interesting bootleg figure that parodies the less-than-subliminal advertising machine that it is. That said, for some odd reason, when it comes to the basic Funko Pop! Vinyl design and all, they got this one right, spot-on as some might say. I'm talking about the elusive, FN-2187. The figure behind the mask is, of course, the mononymous Finn (otherwise known as "Eight-Seven" portrayed evenly by lead actor John Boyega).
HIT THE TARGET: That may (or may not) explain the absence of these within most of the red big box stores in a major metro area like Dallas. While it is crafted meticulously with attention to every detail - from the 'sand-wash' finish to the blood spatter and finger streaked helmet - my guess is the limitations in availability would only take you a few clicks on eBay for the answer. My guess is this figure, compared to many other 'Target Exclusives' (which are made in the 100Ks one imagines) is being bought up by resellers (some say scalpers) and immediately plastered on to said net giant to turn them around for a couple dollars profit in the end (given caustic 'fees', etc.). Plus, Target was offering a $10 coupon for those spending $50 or more this month - so this would definitely encourage the average joe to buy in quantity, resell and perhaps get a free Pop! with the proceeds (?!).
GO FIGURE: The otherwise repurposed sculpt of Funko's First Order Stormtrooper is a clean and mean lil' figure that would otherwise be nothing to write home about (does anyone "write home" anymore?), though it's the fantastic paint job that has made its exclusivity one of the likely contenders to be one of the figures that will become easily customized, DIY-style. That said we appreciate that Target teamed up with Funko, we could only hope to actually find it at one of your humongous warehouse shops! Did you notice the number on the box, it's 100, nice round number. Maybe this will be the next 501st Clone Trooper which now sells on the gray market starting at around $500. As George Takei might note: "Oh myyyyy!"
It must be the stark white curvature of the simple, modern design combined with the hard robotic anonymity of the helmet streaked in human blood that brings this particular design to instant attention. Funko has also released a t-shirt and a poster that may also be exclusive to the red store, and while you are there pick up one of the newly-released Star Wars: The Force Awakens DVD/Blu-Ray sets with tons of extra bonuses - after looking at the other offerings out there it seems like the most interesting, unless you are like me who wants to wait for the mega-compendium in a decade's time! Oh, and if you haven't seen it by now do check out the teaser just released this week (was the timing not perfect {calculated}?) for Rogue One.
Oh, and this (there will be others).....Thanks Disney!