Figure of the Day: Day 152: B'Omarr Monk

B'OMARR MONK Internet & Mail-In Exclusive
Power of the Force Collection
Item No.: No. 69718
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.98, give or take
Availability: Summer 1997
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: The B'omarr Monks were a mysterious religious order that moved to the planet Tatooine many centuries before the Battle of Yavin. They believed that cutting themselves off from all civilization and distraction was essential to their enlightenment. They built a cavernous monastery on the edge of the Dune Sea, and spent many quiet centuries in meditation. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: The toy shelves of Adam Pawlus.

Commentary: The figure itself is a unique one-- after all, the B'Omarr Monk was one of very few figures that required assembly. The bits and pieces have to be attached to the body, and its articulation is a little hard to pin down. It has six spider legs, a claw that can move a little, and what appears to be a zeppelin for a butt. The sculpt is as good as you can hope for out of 1997, if not a little bit better, as the texture and coloring were a little bit ahead of their time. It's a very large figure, but like many, it's all about atmosphere-- this is a figure you get to flesh out a shelf or a diorama, or maybe a playset. It doesn't do much of anything beyond stand there and look good, and the coloring isn't too accurate. The "windex" blue for the brain jar was altered to red for a 2004 release which also added scuffing and battle damage, but used the same mold. This figure is by no means a bad one, it's just that when you get right down to non-humanoid "prop" figures, there is precious little many of them can do, especially when you're dealing with a design such as this one.

Collector's Notes: The figure was first made available as an offer within an offer. The Spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi figure shipped with 5 different coupons, 2 of which were for more mail-in offers. The B'Omarr Monk was one of them. The figure was later offered for sale via StarWars.Hasbro.com, the first of two exclusives for the site. According to the grapevine, this practice stopped when it was decided the Fan Club would be the conduit for online exclusives of this nature. As to the figure itself against later releases, this blue version is arguably inferior and more expensive. As such, you might not want to get the windex brain version seen here.

Day 152: October 5, 2006