Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,512: Chewbacca (Vandor-1 Playset, Solo: A Star Wars Story Line Look)

CHEWBACCA Vandor-1
Solo: A Star Wars Story Force Link 2.0 Playset Pack-In Figure
Item No.: E2807
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster rifle, bandolier, goggles, Vandor-1 Playset
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: April 2018
Appearances: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Bio: Chewbacca, known affectionately to his friends as Chewie, was a male Wookiee warrior, smuggler, and resistance fighter who fought in the Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War, and the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance.  Porgs were an avian species native to the planet Ahch-To, where Jedi Master Luke Skywalker made his exile in the years following the Battle of Endor.   (Stolen from Wookieepedia.  Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  I really like this Chewbacca.   What I don't like is that it's textbook "just different enough to make you mad," because it's basically the single-carded Chewbacca [FOTD #2,486] from April but with goggles.  If you skipped that release - good, get this playset with the figure instead.  If you already bought it, odds are you want the playset, so now you've got more Wookiee than you need.

It's the same figure with a nice, loose set of goggles and slightly more saturated plastic.   The browns are a little richer, the eyes seem a smidgen sharper, and I think the sound chips are virtually identical roars.   The figure can stand and sit well, and it seems there's no significant change between the two.  If these were from the same tool, I'd believe it - there's really no good reason to own both.

The playset itself is a selling point, too big to fit in my photo studio and surprisingly clever in how it's assembled.  Tabs stack in slots to fit in perfectly, but the instructions don't make it obvious.   The toy shows just how inflation has come in - it's smaller than the Geonosis Arena ($40ish in 2002) and not too far off from the Mustafar Playset (2005, $29.99.)   It has some newly tooled parts - a gate, some supports - but it's not meaty.  It's cool, it looks good, and it's a fine display piece.   It just isn't going to wow you.  I still like it, and if they could either give me a better pack-in figure at the same price, or a lower price with no figure, I'd heartily recommend it to you.  The figure itself isn't bad - it's just not significantly different from what you already may have bought.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,512: August 30, 2018