Figure of the Day: Day 1,013: Dr. Evazan

DR. EVAZAN Mos Eisley Cantina
Original Trilogy Collection Mos Eisley Cantina Screen Series 1, Kmart Exclusive
Item No.: No. 34516
Number: n/a
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Includes: Bar equipment, glasses
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99, part of a gift set
Availability: Summer 2004
Appearances: Primarily Star Wars

Bio: On the planet Tatooine, the Mos Eisley cantina, also known as Chalmun's cantina, is the hot spot for entertainment and intrigue. Many species intermingle there, spying and conducting shady business. Bounty hunters frequen the seedy joint, hoping to catch their prey in an unguarded moment. obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker went to the cantina to find transportation off the planet, which led to their first meeting with Han Solo. (Taken from the figure's box.)

Image: Adam's desk.

Commentary: If you released a recognizable character from an iconic scene in cinema history as a toy, and it sucked, what would you do? If you're Hasbro, you would take Dr. Evazan and give him new legs and a fresh coat of paint. The 2004 release of one of very few Cantina characters to speak was a great improvement over his predecessor, but he's still not pudgy, or balding, or really ugly enough. If anything this looks like a younger version of the character, but with one major change: his new legs allow him to sit down just fine. This is handy since he comes with a bunch of stools. Hasbro's revised paint job brings out the figure's detail in ways the 1997 release didn't, so if you had to pick one over the other, get this one. He has eight points of articulation, while this is not fantastic it's certainly good enough for now. I am of course assuming Hasbro will some day make a 100%-new version of the character, but the rumblings out of Hasbro as of late make me think this might be a ways off.

Collector's Notes: Today is FOTD's 3rd birthday! This figure lingered briefly, but you can probably chalk that up to Kmart not being the retail monster it once was. This is arguably the better of the two (so far) Dr. Evazan figures.

Day 1,013: May 1, 2009