BASTILA SHAN Never Before Made as a Star Wars FigureThe Vintage Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 97568 No. 32240
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: VC69
Includes: Lightsaber hilt, full lightsaber
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: September 2011
Appearances: Star Wars
Bio: Celebrate the legendary Star Wars saga that changed the universe forever! This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. Iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are captured with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Star Wars saga. May the Force be with you! (Taken from the figure's packaging. There is no bio.)
Image: Adam Pawlus' desk.
Commentary: The first and presumably only Bastila Shan has been a few years in the making-- fans have asked for her, and if history is any indication this Knights of the Old Republic character is probably going to be super-hot stuff in a couple of years. Video game collectibles, Star Wars or not, tend to have fans more willing to shell out the cash for things. Oh, and let me get this out of the way: I never played this game and shrugged when I heard she was being made as a toy. There's nothing wrong with the figure but this wasn't a figure I really felt I needed in my collection... but it showed up in the mail, so.
The painting on the cardback looks a little bit like Jennifer Connelly, while the head sculpt looks vaguely like the game-- female figures at this scale are hard to detail properly, while the hair seems nearly perfect the face deco seems a little blah. Her face on the illustration and in the game stills seems to be a little more colorful, darker. There's nothing wrong with the sculpt but I bet Hasbro could refine the paint applications to better resemble the existing illustrations. The outfit matches many of the illustrations nicely, but there are multiple outfits from which to choose. This one is mostly yellow with some brown, the legs are designed in a way where she can swing her legs forward and, were you so inclined, she can sit in a ship. The detail on the outfit is quite good, with lots of folds and wrinkles. It's a nice sculpt, but again, a little improvement on the deco would be nice. There's no real shading or dirt here, so Hasbro clearly cut corners on paint... well, maybe that's harsh. But they certainly didn't go out of their way to add a lot of color.
With 14 joints she has no problems holding on to her double-bladed lightsaber, which is great. She can also plug the unlit version to her belt, so Hasbro just flat-out did a good job designing this one. While she doesn't really fit in to the line as a whole, those who specialize in video game figures will probably just be delighted she exists. The face could be a little better, but the packaging is great and the sculpt is certainly good enough for now. If you want a Bastila Shan figure, get this one-- because you don't have many other options.
Collector's Notes: A new release, she hasn't exactly had a wide release just yet. I don't expect her to last for long. Unless Hasbro decides to reissue Darth Revan, Malak, and Shan in some sort of boxed set I expect fans to be upset and have to live without. (I'm assuming you all got Darth Nihilus.)
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,661: October 26, 2011
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