Figure of the Day: Day 883: Qui-Gon Jinn

QUI-GON JINN Tatooine Showdown
Episode I Cinema Scene Collection
Item No.: Asst. 84115 No. 84158
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, display base, CommTech Chip
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: Summer 1999
Appearances: The Phantom Menace

Bio: After enduring heavy damage during their escape from Naboo, the Naboo Royal Starship is forced to land on the desert planet of Tatooine. Returning from Mos Espa with Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon is ambushed by a figure in flowing dark robes - it is the evil Darth Maul. Ordering Anakin to the ship, Qui-Gon matches his awesome Jedi skill against the Sith Lord's sinister power. Both escape with their lives, but it would not be their last meeting. (Taken from the toy's packaging.)

Image: Adam's toy room floor.

Commentary: While not as awesome as the incredibly awesome Darth Maul from the Tatooine Showdown cinema scene set, this Qui-Gon Jinn is pretty awesome-- even by todays standards. He has a good pose, a decent plastic poncho, and oh yes-- a very angry face. While essentially a statue, the figure managed to impress because it just looked so darn good. It's not like he was too tall and thin, or had poodle hair, or sported a terrible face paint job. Hasbro just did the job right here, producing a solid action figure that holds together nicely, can duel with his lightsaber just fine, and managed to capture a decent (although far from perfect) likeness of Liam Neeson. For its era, it was the best. Overall, it's still up there as one of the finest, and I daresay I like it more than the recently released "Evolutions" version, at least in terms of the face. The only real downer here is the figure was designed to be in one pose pretty much all of the time, and he only has 7 points of articulation. This makes him below average by today's standards, but he's still decent. That is, if you feel like you want to buy more figures from the first prequel.

Collector's Notes: Like the vast majority of Episode I product, this set can be had cheaply. How cheaply? You can usually get it in a small collection of toys, all boxed, for less than this three-pack's original retail price. I've just checked eBay for the boxed set, and you can get a sealed one for $1 to $3 before shipping. The set is simply wonderful for $20, and I can't imagine not getting one at today's crazy prices. Unless, of course, you have bad taste and your feedback to me in some of these articles shows that this may well be the case. Prove me wrong, buy this set. It's worth it for the Darth Maul alone.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 883: October 31, 2008