Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,548: Grizz Frix

GRIZZ FRIX X-Wing Fighter Pilot Red Five
The Legacy Collection Battle Over Endor
Item No.: Asst. 97639 No. 21452
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #2 of 2
Includes: Pistol, helmet, 3 additional figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: January 2010
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Bravery. Skill. Loyalty. These are defining characteristics of the starfighter pilots on both sides of the conflict at the Battle of Endor. Whether they are Rebels or Imperials, these elite pilots are all focused on the same goal: victory. They are deeply aware that they are deciding the future of the galaxy, and will do everything they can to complete their mission. (Taken from the figure's packaging. Note, there's no character-specific copy on the packaging.)

Image: Adam's TBD.

Commentary: Back in the 1990s, magazine articles had headlines like "The Cult of Wedge," focusing briefly on the cult following that a minor character in the original trilogy had gathered since the films were originally released in theaters. Having burned out on the obvious minor characters, fans started to salivate over the really minor characters like Grizz Frix here, a figure fans have been requesting off and on in the past few years and, all of a sudden, Hasbro delivered. Based on the 2006 X-Wing Luke body (complete with lightsaber mounting hole), the figure is about as good as you can expect a pilot to be these days. Basically, some fans pointed to the character on screen and said "WANT" while another writer concocted a back story for the character around 2005. Frix' cult following is pretty recent, and like many minor characters these days seems to be thanks mostly due to the lack of new things to get excited about in the movies themselves-- there's a lot of fun nuggets to dig out of those films, and Rebel Pilot figures seem to be one that really took off since Hasbro began cranking them out heavily in 2008.

The sculpt is good-- 14 points of articulation, lots of detail, and so on. The only thing Hasbro could have done to make it better was to use the revised, taller torso rather than Luke's. The colors are even more vibrant than some other pilots, so I think if you buy this one, you'll be pleased to see all the off-white and silver over the orange jumpsuit. Also, it's worth noting the helmet's visor is more opaque than most, and there's no communicator microphone on the helmet either. But other than that? Awesome.

Given how little reference exists for the character, he may as well be perfect. I don't know for sure, so I'm going to assume this is as good as we'll get and Hasbro did a great job. The silver straps really pop, and the helmet deco seems to match the stills I've dug up. It seems that Return of the Jedi gets precious few orange-suited pilots made as figures from it, so I'm pretty happy to have this one. It's also nice to have a figure in these two Battle over Endor sets with a name I knew before buying the toy. While obscure, people have heard of Grizz Frix. Fans saying they knew about or were excited about Sila Kott, Palso Thern, or Ekelarc Yong are damned dirty liars.

Collector's Notes: Still available at retail, and arguably worth the asking price. At a higher price it seems kinda pricey, but $25 or so for 4 figures is a bargain these days. Get it if you dare! (Dare, dare!)

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,548: May 20, 2011