Figure of the Day: Day 47: Wat Tambor

WAT TAMBOR Geonosis War Room
Power of the Jedi Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 84861 No. 84990
Number: 0323
Includes: War Room Console, removable yellow Holographic War Room Model
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $4.99-$5.99
Availability: Fall 2003
Appearances: Primarily Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith



Bio: Wat Tambor is foreman of the Techno Union, a galactic institution that produces many of the weapons and droids for the Separatists forces. Tambor is quick to join Count Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems in their fight against the Republic, and readily commits his army of battle droids to the cause. He also hosts the meeting of the Separatists at one of the Techno Union's droid foundries on Geonosis, where the secession movement explodes into the start of the Clone Wars. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Atop some more shelves, and perhaps Old Smokey. Cheese may or may not have been involved.

Commentary: Gold! Of sorts. While Wat Tambor was created without the crazy awesome metallic look of his movie counterpart, the design is just so striking he can't be ignored. While other Separatists were "Guy With Long Face," "Guy with ugly face and stupid hat," or "Classic Alien in New Robe," Wat Tambor was interesting because he seems to be both a joke and a fantastic design. Not every figure includes TV knobs on his torso. While he does have robes, which prevent him from doing fun toy things-- you know, these are toys-- like piloting vehicles or sitting, he makes up for it by looking great. He has ball-jointed shoulders, jointed wrists, a jointed waist, and a head that kinda moves a little. Unfortunately, this is a figure you buy mostly for looks, but also for the fact that it ties in to the Geonosis War Room Screen Scenes-- also must-buy items. As another added bonus, the Death Star holograph from those sets plug right in to the war console that's included with Mr. Tambor here-- synergy at work, folks! There's not a lot of toy here, but he looks so gosh darn cool, how can you say no? (Note: Wat Tambor is up there with the previously reviewed Power of the Jedi Boss Nass as one of the top prequel figures of all time.)

Collector's Notes: Available only in 2003, and for a fairly short period of time, a lot of collectors say this figure is impossible to get and worth lots of money. This means that "a lot of money" is about $3-$10, which is well worth it for a figure this nifty. Since the Techno Union also appears in The Clone Wars, although I'm not sure Wat Tambor was explicitly identified, fans of that series may want one (or more) of this figure for dioramas or other uses.

Day 47: June 22, 2006