Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,683: Cat Miin

CAT MIIN Separatist
Revenge of the Sith Collection 1
Item No.: Asst. 85173 No. 86700
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #III-62
Includes: Mustafar display stand
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $5.24-$6.99
Availability: Late 2005
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: As adminstress and chief aide to Commerce Guild President Shu Mai, Cat Miin oversees the distribution of raw materials to the Separatist Droid Army. She accompanies Shu Mai when the council is instructed to go to Mustafar and await the arrival of Darth Sidious’ new apprentice, Darth Vader. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's desk.

Commentary: You know it's a good sign when you do one of these and draw a blank. Cat Miin is a figure from one of Hasbro's token repaint waves-- for several years between 2005 and 2007, we were treated to one or more assortments where all of the new figures were effectively just repaints with different accessories. It was a great way to get some weird characters in a hurry, but when you get right down to it nobody wanted Cat Miin and her lowered production proved it. She may be one of the shortest-run figures from the Revenge of the Sith era, and today commands seven bucks. Give or take a few pennies.

The figure is based on a 2003 Shu Mai mold, painted in far less colorful clothing but with one really neat added feature-- a chest wound. It's subtle, but there's a yellow burn in her chest which I believe has to represent Anakin's little killing spree near the end of the movie. I like the idea, but I don't know how many people were buying these figures to use as corpses. Her outfit is painted well, and the silver looks pretty good. There's even a paint wipe on her wrinkled head, which is nice because the figure isn't much to write home about.

Cat has three points of articulation: the neck, and the shoulders. The original sculpt came from when Hasbro was just starting to put ball jointed necks all over the place, but the arms merely swivel and with no weapons, there's not much she can do. The plastic skirt and legs are a hard plastic, and there's zero chance of her standing. Due to her own unique leg design, getting her to stand is difficult without assistance, and this is one of the main reasons articulation can be really important. Those hip joints aren't just there so she can pilot a ship, but they help a figure balance so she doesn't faceplant and effectively serve zero purpose on a collector shelf or toy box. I'm glad she has a stand, but even as a collector figure it somewhat disappoints. Hasbro did a nice job dolling her up, but ultimately it's sort of a snooze.

Collector's Notes: She's scarce but cheap, because nobody cares. That's an interesting side effect of this line: it's so vast, that just because something is rare doesn't mean it's expensive.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,683: November 25, 2011