May The Force be with collectors

Strolling the aisles of a local toy department earlier today, I couldn't help but do a double-take when I came across this.

Seriously, how could I not take notice of this ugly mug?! Yes, that's Darth Maul, the fearsome foe of the Jedi Knights during the first of the "Star Wars" pre-quels, "Episode I: The Phantom Menace," but more important is the deal his face represents. This logo was on specially marked "Star Wars" action figures, plugging the latest chase for rare figures which are only available through a mail-in promotion from manufacturer Hasbro.

In short, if you buy five "Star Wars" action figures, send in the UPC codes and $6.99, you get two figures (a Jedi Master and the animal he rides around on) that you can't get anywhere else. While not interested in this promotion in the least, I did take part in what I believe was the best such mail-in offer they've ever had.

Three years ago, Hasbro had its "Ultimate Galactic Hunt," in which you had to buy five specific "Star Wars" figures and similarly send in the UPC codes. The catch here: I couldn't find all five figures in the same store! No, instead I had to spend an entire Saturday covering about 40 miles, round-trip, to find and buy the five figures at three different stores: Two at one store, two more at another and the last one at yet another store.

Seems like a lot of work, right? (Particularly for a guy in his early 30s.) Yes, but it was soooo worth it!

That's 'cause for all my hard work, I received what I believe to be the most amazing "Star Wars" action figure ever produced: Yes, that is "Star Wars" creator George Lucas himself, immortalized as a 3.75-inch action figure, disguised as an Imperial Stormtrooper just like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo when they escaped from the Millenium Falcon inside the Death Star in the original "Star Wars" film, "Episode IV: A New Hope." (Yes, I do know how geeky I sound, thanks.) Seriously, how do you top that?! Such a payoff was more than worth a day's worth of traveling from mall to mall, following by snipping UPC codes and mailing them in.

To this day, I cherish this collectible: It's still in the box in which Hasbro mailed it to me, and it only comes out once or twice a year, when I glance at it (still in its protective plastic case) only for a minute or two until I return it to its dark, cool hiding place.