Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,040: Stemzee (Ewok Assault Catapult)

STEMZEE Ewok Assault Catapult
The Vintage Collection Kmart Exclusive
Item No.:
No. A4185
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Spear, hood, Chubbray figure, two rocks, catapult
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $20.99
Availability: October 2013
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: The Ewoks help a Rebel strike team capture the shield generator that is protecting the second Death Star from attack.   (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Commentary: Like Chubbray, I'm fairly positive Stemzee didn't really exist as a character until this exclusive set came to be.  I'm quite accepting of this - it's a remix of existing parts.  Nanta (Corpsey) donated his head and hood, with Wicket (2010) giving his spear and the body has been previously used on the likes of Logray (2011) and Teebo (2012). Add some new paint, and presto, you're done.

Hasbro made sure the molds could easily swap heads between bodies, which works well for customizers and for Hasbro.  This is the first time the Nanta head was used on the Logray body, and it fits perfectly.  The deco and light stripes look very Logray-ish, and the ball-jointed elbows with lateral-moving hips makes this a superior denizen of Endor's Bright Tree Village.   For a race fans supposedly hate, and a character no fan can claim to know, it's a nice figure.  The painted nails look great and the fur color just fits.   If you didn't have Nanta nearby, odds are you wouldn't even notice that it's a reuse of existing parts.

I like Stemzee, despite having zero emotional attachment to the character.  I do like Ewoks, though, and the set was more or less worth the asking price.  I hope Hasbro does another set like this next year, maybe with a mini Battle Wagon or some other bizarre extra piece of equipment.  Isn't it time we got a movie-style Baga?

Collector's Notes: I bought the last one at my local Kmart, which happens to have a store locator function on this item on their web site.  It seems pretty accurate - I went to the Kmart that it said had them, and they did.  And when I went home, it said they no longer had it.   So that works.  The set at $21 has a huge box filled with air, so there's a lot of wasted space in this set.  It's worth it though - the catapult is arguably a $7ish accessory, and each figure in today's dollars is probably also close to $7ish.  I got my money's worth here.  If you think it costs too much, well, OK, wait for clearance.  I'll be buying more then myself.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 2,040: October 22, 2013

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