Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,980: Reva (Third Sister, The Retro Collection)

REVA (Third Sister, Kenner Style)
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F4200 No. F5772
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, vinyl cape
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: July 2022
Appearances: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Bio: The Star Wars Retro Collection features design and detailing inspired by the original 1970s Star Wars figures. (Stolen from the marketing copy. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!



Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Given her going rate - and sitting around - this Reva (Third Sister) from The Retro Collection is probably overpriced. Competing, similarly sized figures from Spin Master have more articulation and more gear at a lower price - and given Hasbro has done a poor job assorting the cases and waves so more popular figures can be bought, Reva tends to be one of the ones you see left on the pegs. Which is kind of a shame - she's a neat, if weird, figure with problems but remains weird in a uniquely Kenner way.

As with all figures in this range, she has 5 points of articulation. I once again question the choice to do vinyl capes in this series, but I appreciate both Inquisitors have them. Reva's is the better of the two as it doesn't drag on the ground, but it did arrive wrinkled in the packaging - and so did the Grand Inquisitor's. This is really weird, as they were the only figures I've ever seen with wrinkled capes on their cardbacks. Maybe it's a unique thing to hot climates - I don't know - but it's annoying and ugly. Kenner moved away from new designs with vinyl capes by 1982, and Hasbro should take note of that. Cloth capes are generally better, especially since it can be hard to fix or replace a vinyl one.

The double-bladed lightsaber with one half of the disc is consistent with how she looks in some spots. The Fifth Brother has a full circle hilt, as does the Grand Inquisitor. It's basically the old Luke Skywalker lightsaber with some embellishments, so it certainly looks consistent with accessories from the 1980s Kenner line-up. It's a good enough design that I wouldn't mind seeing it reused with the other retro Inquisitors Hasbro will not make.

The figure itself is good, mixing in what feel like some modern design decisions alongside the clearly retro form factor. I assume the design may have been done before the show filmed, because the outfit looks mostly like the the show. The Imperial Cog on the shoulders is silver, and has an accurate design unlike the old off-model Kenner ones. (I'd prefer it be "wrong" to be consistent with the 1980s figures.) The silver buckle and rank markings are good, and she wears glossy black armor over a gray body suit. It looks good, if a little on the modern side. I assume Kenner would've skipped the gloss, but I appreciate that it looks nice.

Her head is a little strange. Obviously the hair on the side of the heads can't keep the same detail as the actress on the show, but I'm impressed that the same general form was kept while keeping the weird painted doll-esque style. What I found very unsettling at first was her lack of eyebrows. It grew on me from an "everything Kenner did in 1979 was wrong" kind of way, mostly because modern Retro figures are generally not only accurate but made with more reference and stricter approvals than the old days. We used to get Lando figures with the wrong color of clothes and Lukes with yellow lightsabers - at least they got the "black woman with black hair" part right, but the face sculpt doesn't look exactly like Moses Ingram. Maybe it's the mostly unpainted face - back in the day, Leia tended to be light on face detailing but at least she got eyebrows. As much as I would like to rake Hasbro over the coals for skipping the eyebrows, Kenner figures tended to get something wrong about so many of our favorite old figures. While I would very much prefer a better cape, I do like the sculpt and this is a generally good figure - even if it doesn't look exactly like the actress. (It's not like the old Lukes looked exactly like Mark Hamill.)

Due to the fast-fading popularity of Obi-Wan Kenobi as a show, I assume you'll find Reva cheaply for a while - and she's 100% worth "cheap." It's a Kenner figure that, as of my writing this, is $8 on Amazon. I'd be so happy to see the entire line sell for about that, because with inflation that's about how much these figures should be. She can hold her lightsaber, the sculpting is good - but not great, and the head sculpt is off-model enough that I went from finding it upsetting to finding it endearing. She's not the best figure in this wave, but she's not the worst either - get her if you're a fan of the format, but don't expect to be blown away by any specific details or features.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,990: December 29, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,989: RC-1140 (Fixer, The Black Series)

RC-1140 (Fixer, Gaming Greats)
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Blue Star Wars: Gaming Greats GameStop Exclusive
Item No.: No. F5592
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #13
Includes: Backpack, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $27.99
Availability: October 2022
Appearances: Republic Commando

Bio: RC-1140 (Fixer), an elite clone commando of the Galactic Republic during The Clone Wars, served as second-in-command for Delta Squad on missions to annihilate their enemies in Star Wars: Republic Commando. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I love a good figure, but familiarity breeds contempt. RC-1140 (Fixer) does an excellent job delivering on expectations, amortizing existing tooling, and giving us an exclusive that is slightly better than it needed to be. New backpack! New helmet! New deco! That's all you needed, and that's what you got. It's not bad! It's even good! But at $28 for a barely-changed exclusive, and given he's #2 in a series of 4, and that this mold was also used for other figures, it may be a tough sell. If you don't have this mold - which means you're skipping Bad Batch and are late to Delta Squad - it's neat! And if you're a completist, or love clones, this is a great addition to your toy shelves. But I am a little trooper-ed out.

It's a solid design, especially since you actually get some color here. I love they tweaked the helmet to add the antenna on the side. The sculpted blast marks in the armor are nice, but the painted scuffs don't align with the sculpted scuffs. The shoulder armor hangs over the arms so it still looks good when you move the arms around, and the legs are a little tighter than I would like - smooth joints are sometimes tough to get. The figure skips painting the boot soles, but otherwise delivers a good, if by the numbers, experience. This isn't meant to be a slap at Hasbro - but we've had hundreds of Clones in varying sizes, and it's hard to get excited about slightly better/bigger versions of figures we may have already bought. But for the newcomers? This is pretty great.

Not content to only change the helmet, Hasbro gave us a new backpack too - check out the extra frame on top. With no moving parts, the backpack doesn't have anything novel about it. There are no opening bits or places to connect gear. In theory it doesn't need a ton of extra stuff to be a good figure, but also it's $28. He has no problems wearing his backpack or holding his blaster, so what you get here is a perfectly good, perfectly competent release. Something like a glowing or light-up visor, or given the higher price a backdrop or some scenery would be welcome. He looks cool and it's great to be getting figures from games that are nearly 20 years old, but I see GameStop has Boss in clearance so I'll be holding back for clearance when it comes to Sev and Scorch. It's not that they aren't neat, but I don't know if the quartet is $112 plus tax and possibly also shipping and handling neat.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from GameStop.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,989: December 27, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,988: Death Watch Mandalorian (The Black Series)

DEATH WATCH MANDALORIAN Build Those Armies
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Orange The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F4350
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #21 - The Mandalorian
Includes: 2 blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: An extremist clan that attempted to take over Mandalore during the Clone Wars, Death Watch Mandalorians are tenacious warriors embracing ancient traditions of their people (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: After a smaller figure, a 6-inch Death Watch Mandalorian just makes sense. Although, apparently, it didn't sell great - you can find this surprisingly excellent figure on markdown online, or at least you could earlier this month. The mold shares parts with Axe Woves, and I'm pretty sure so does the costume - it makes sense to reuse trooper parts whenever possible and both Hasbro and Lucasfilm are on board. The problem is that it results in action figure lines that are increasingly samey, despite being things people want. A pretty excellent generic Mandalorian trooper is exciting stuff - so why didn't people show up in droves for it?

This is a good figure. When Hasbro started charging more money, the quality of the figures didn't generally improve - but here, you can see some improvements. Hasbro could probably do it for less, but you can see where the money is going. A lot of the figure is molded in color, and what little paint there is matches the molded colors quite nicely. You get white armor markings, a little bit of silver battle damage, a glossy black visor, and some nice metallic highlights on the gauntlets. The boots are nice and dark, the belt has a painted buckle, and there's a flap of armor over his lower back tramp stamp region. No complaints.

Articulation is the new normal - good, but not amazing. Which is funny to say - he's got just shy of 30 points of articulation, but it's hard to get excited about consistency. Joints are smooth and hold well, with a good - but not incredible - range of motion. The elbow doesn't bend as much as I would like and the knees could go a little further. I do love the jointed rangefinder, which has a hint of a HUD screen underneath. The neck articulation is also excellent with multiple moving bits.

Sculpting is good, but again, not incredible. It's funny and sad to get to a point where you can look at armor textures that look ralistic, cloth textures that look almost like material, great metallic elements, and so much that's spot-on that it's normal. If you had this figure in the 1990s - a super-articulated 6-inch Clone Wars-era Mandalorian supercommando of your dreams - you'd flip out. There would be people lined up outside the store trying to get them. But today? It's just a normal, generic figure. He's got articulated jets on his backpack, and it's de riugeur. This is a good figure and I have no notes to improve it, but a 6-inch, $25 figure needs to be excellent just to be worth the asking price. And I would say this one is worth the asking price, but poke around for deals.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,988: December 22, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,987: Clone Captain Rex (The Bad Batch, The Vintage Collection)

CLONE CAPTAIN REX Poncho
The Vintage Collection Amazon Exclusive
Item No.: No. F2886
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #208
Includes: 3 more clones, helmet, blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $62.99
Availability: January 2022
Appearances: The Bad Batch

Bio: Rex, formerly designated CT-7567, was a veteran Clone Captain, Clone Commander, and Advanced Recon Commando who commanded the Grand Army of the Republic's famed 501st Legion of clone troopers during the Clone Wars. Rex later served as a captain and commander within the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. (Taken from Amazon. There is no bio on the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This set was packed with drama - you could order it, then you couldn't for months. Then there was a price drop, a price increase, a price drop again, and Clone Captain Rex probably makes a good argument for occasionally waiting if you can't find something. Is it worth the infinite hassle to keep reloading a page over a few months? Maybe, maybe not. This Rex gives you the 2011 Clone body (again) with a repaint of an existing head in blonde. The poncho is new. The helmet is new as it has the nifty visor connected to the rangefinder, but the visor wasn't on the actual episode. You could probably just throw this poncho on an existing Rex figure and have an overall more satisfying figure - especially since Hasbro removed the Pauldron for this release.

It's kind of amazing that Hasbro was still using this body this year given its advanced age. It would seem almost ridiculous for Kenner to still be using 1970s bodies in the late 1980s and in the 1990s, especially since a new and improved Clone body could give them an excuse to revisit dozens - heck, hundreds - of characters with minimal investment. It really shows its age especially in this era of ever-increasing prices, because what you could do for $10 11 years ago doesn't really hold a candle to what Hasbro can make for $15 and up today - and this set was expensive as it was! Sure, you get a poncho, but you lose an accessory and there aren't any cool new battle damage dirt or scuffing. It's pretty much the same as the Clone Captain Rex [FOTD #2,776] figure that got reissued in December 2020 - about a month before The Bad Batch version, which was obviously made before the episodes aired. Maybe the visor is a spoiler for season two? We'll find out soon!

The figure itself - other than the weirdly hairier head - breaks no new mold ground. I just re-checked The Bad Batch and Rex didn't have that much more hair growth, so we can just pretend that this is his Billy Idol fan period or some such. At no point did Rex have both the helmet and the poncho, so this figure does raise a lot of questions about how much changed during preproduction, or if Hasbro made a figure that was meant to preemptively cover future bases. It's certainly cheaper than a single Rex was at its peak, but since you will likely want his pauldron you'll still want to chase down that earlier issue. I appreciate that this figure exists because it's a bit off-model and generally weird, with a nicely decorated cloth poncho featuring a hood and some really good printed detailing. Whoever designed it did an excellent job.

Canonically this figure is a little useless, and I wouldn't be surprised if Hasbro reissued it with changes to make it true to the show. I'd almost prefer they just make a new kid's line in 3 3/4-inch and do him right, but that's probably going to require the team to change over once or twice before it actually happens. (I really do think a full-blown kid line for The Bad Batch and/or The Mandalorian could be a good thing if it is done with a modest amount of respect for price points.) I'm not going to recommend this figure for you unless you like the weirder, off-model figures or just really need the poncho.

Collector's Notes: I got mine on Amazon. Interestingly the price has been going up and down, but is back up to going up again.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,987: December 20, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,986: George Lucas (in Stormtrooper Diguise, The Black Series)

GEORGE LUCAS (in Stormtrooper Disguise)
The Black Series Shared Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5373
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Helmet, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $26.99
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: n/a

Bio: We pay homage to George Lucas and his remarkable accomplishments in film with a likeness of the director himself, clad in the distinctive armor of Imperial stormtrooper.  (Taken from the cardback.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This George Lucas (in Stormtrooper Disguise) is arguably a nod to the 3 3/4-inch mail-in version as much as it is a 50th anniversary release. Packaged on upsized 6-inch scale Vintage-ish packaging, it's the 2020 Stormtrooper body with a new head. I thought that meant this would be great and an easy, bland review to write - but a chunk of his arm flew off within seconds after opening him. And his helmet doesn't seem to fit. Perhaps you should not bother to open this one if you buy it.

This concept is perfect for an anniversary figure. Utterly brilliant, had it shipped in 2021 instead of nearly a year late. I have other troopers using this mold and they're all superb, but for some reason a shard of the white plastic on the lower arm flew off when I moved his elbow for the first time. That's a first - I've never had this kind of defect on a The Black Series figure, and I've had guys take a nosedive off a shelf. I might reglue it, and I am happy it's not on the front - but when I pay $27 for a figure I expect it to not shatter until I do something stupid, you know? Articulation is no big surprise with the pinless articulation and nice bright shiny armor. You've bought this mold before and know what to expect, down to the "wrong" blaster from the Disney era, with the extra scope, and molded in a dark gray. It's distinctive, but it's weird. Similarly the Stormtrooper helmet has black lenses, which are my preference, but I know some want movie-accurate green.

Maybe it's just because it's cold - I took a while to open this guy - but the helmet won't fit over Mr. Lucas' prodigious mane. It's possible a warmer day would give the helmet a little more flex, but I doubt it - it's super tight and I don't want to risk something else shattering with normal use.

I should have left this figure on the card. I can't put the helmet on, the arm got damaged, and do I even need another Stormtrooper at an upcharge? Probably not. It would have been an excellent convention exclusive and it's the kind of thing that should be a special item because, let's be honest, my experience with it wasn't very good. It's probably also going to be a nail in the coffin of which figures I buy going forward, so don't be surprised if we shift away from 6-inch new purchases (outside 1970s and 1980s and maybe Mando) over the coming years. When you open a new toy and it cracks, and you just laugh and you're out a few bucks, at least for me it's time to move on. But You can rest assured that George Lucas' head is a weird mix of young and old, with the current white to gray hair, no glasses, and a generous amount of retouching for his chin. It makes him look good - just leave him in the package, you're unlikely to get any fun out of that helmet.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,986: December 15, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,985: Boba Fett (Droids, The Black Series)

BOBA FETT Droids XL
The Vintage Collection The Black Series Droids Target Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5301
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Jetpack, rifle, pistol
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $26.49
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: Droids
Bio: With his customized Mandalorian armor, deadly weaponry, and silent demeanor, Boba Fett was one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy. (Taken from the box flapcopy. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This Boba Fett from Droids brings complicated feelings, and many of you know many of the reasons. None of those reasons are that we're in a Boba glut. For years, Boba Fett (like Deadpool) was generally under produced and fans were left unable to get any version of the bounty hunter unless they were at a store the same day the case got unpacked. Target has offered at least four exclusive Bobas Fett this year alone, even though some of the pre-orders kicked off last year. I am not one to say it's overkill because I think each version offers something interesting, but the fact that this figure came out a couple of months ago and is still available at regular price shows that the fever broke. People are over Boba Fett figures that aren't based on the original movie designs.

This figure is pretty vexing because, as you know, I've been needling Hasbro to make it for years - along with R2-D2, C-3PO, and Vlix, all of which appear on the packaging. I know I'm being silly, as I'm pretty sure the current Hasbro team has no idea who I am after generations of turnover and my descent into irrelevancy, but Vlix is on the friggin' box - and my "I will consider going away if I get an official Vlix" campaigning, it is astonishing to see him put on the box not once, but twice. Does Hasbro know they simply must make a Droids Kenner-style Vlix? I hope so. I've only been waiting since I found out he actually really existed way back at an antique show in 1989. (Brazilian figures were making the rounds, he was on the back.) But I digress, we're here to chew the Fett about Boba.

This mold made its debut in 2013 as an SDCC exclusive, then as a single figure, as a white "prototype" figure, as a black "comic" figure, a 40th anniversary figure, a Carbonized figure, an Archive release, and it's all a little ridiculous just how many Boba Fetts we've had from just this one mold. And it's an acceptable base for what is most likely the only Droids version we'll get, but he could have benefited from some revisions. His belt and holster are a different shape and different colors, he doesn't have any pouches on his thighs or belt in the packaging art, and the helmet has no dent. The colors seem to be a pretty good match otherwise, with a desaturated brown and blue in most low-quality screen grabs from back in the day. There's a little more blue in the shoulder armor and codpiece on the figure than in the toy, but that's OK. I mean, it exists - and sometimes all you can say is that you're happy they bothered to try. When making the transition from 2D cels to 3D plastic, there is room for toyetic license and not everything will translate 1:1. The slight changes in color are fine, and I like the cape with the painted orangey stripes on the back.

If you didn't get this figure a dozen times already, it's neat. The armor on the wrists swivels and so do the wrists. The double-jointed knees are a delight, the backpack plugs in well, and the hands can hold the blasters. He stands acceptably, but those earlier figures have ratcheting joints that can make it harder to find a "sweet spot" to avoid toppling over. The range of movement was pretty good for 2013, but today elbows that can't bend 90 degrees (or more) are kind of dreadful. This is a mold you buy because you love the colors, not the quality of his joints. You can still get a lot of poses out of him, but the mold was a little clunky nine years ago and today you know Hasbro can and has done better. Had they used the Return of the Jedi mold, you might've been able to do a little bit better with how he can be posed. A new belt and that newer mold would have been fantastic, but this is a repaint with an "exclusive tax" upcharge. It's about as good as we're going to get, but I really do feel Hasbro needs to step up the game and include a little something extra - an upgrade, an accessory, anything - when a $20-$25 mold is being sold as a $27-$28 exclusive.

With three 3 3/4-inch "cartoon" Boba Fett releases and one 6-inch release, you might think Hasbro is done forever - but there are still more possibilities. We never got an official Kenner retro Boba Fett, either from the Holiday Special or Droids cartoon colors. That would make a great exclusive for someone, perhaps in a 2-pack with Vlix, for $25-$28, and it'd sell because all right-thinking people just want the Boba Fett and will take a Vlix too. (Do it, Hasbro.) A Holiday Special Boba Fett would be a fun 6-inch toy with a giant dragon, but probably wouldn't be a commercially viable product given it would probably be over $150. A simplified Kenner-style Panna Dragon with a trap-door for Boba Fett would be cheap and fun, but again, not something that will happen because they're not fun.

I'll still buy Droids C-3PO or R2-D2 6-inch figures if they ever make any (or Vlix) but I assume the days of buying $27 repaints are coming to a close for me. There are still good ideas and some are incredibly clever like "Santa" Range Trooper or any given robot repaint, and some are things that tug on your heartstrings if you're an old toy dork - Kenner deco is meaningful. But, such things are fleeting, and as we get older such a thing may be truly wonderful for a day before it goes on the shelf and gets covered by even more toys over time. I love this one because of the Vlix connection and my unending love of 1980s Star Wars animation weirdness, so I'm glad to have it. I hope they consider giving him a couple of friends, but if they don't, at least we got this one very weird, very cool action figure that cannot escape the gravity of being biased to love it.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,985: December 13, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,984: Koska Reeves (The Vintage Collection)

KOSKA REEVES Target Exclusive
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5565
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #230
Includes: Helmet, blaster
Action Feature: Removable helmet, holster
Retail: $13.99
Availability: August 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: A master of hand-to-hand combat, Koska Reeves is loyal to Bo-Katan and is a member of a band of Clan Kryze Mandalorians striking back at the Imperial remnant. (Stolen from Target. There is no bio on-pack.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Unless Hasbro cranks out a Kenner-style version, this Koska Reeves is a shoo-in for my favorite version of her so far. She's basically similar in deco to The Black Series, but with the engineering of a good The Vintage Collection figure - specifically, Bo-Katan Kryze [FOTD #2,893]. While many of Hasbro's recent high-priced old-mold repaints have been feeling more and more like we're being squeezed on the line's way out, Ms. Reeves is pretty much as good as we can expect. Not perfect, but at least worth the asking price.

Koska Reeves mostly shares parts, but there's a new head and a new belt. Given that the figure is based on a character whose armor comes from a mold, this is more or less exactly what I would expect and want. The same awesome leg articulation is still here. You still have the superior elbow joints, the surprisingly dainty-yet-good ankles and wrists, and the double-jointed neck to get even more great poses out of a surprisingly lifelike pea-sized head. You get one blaster that fits in a holster, and the helmet is a swappable head - so there's no worry of it being too big, or rubbing the paint off of her face. I am still living that we're being charged $23 for a Boba Fett repaint, but this repaint/remold at $14 takes something good and changes it enough to be different, yet worthwhile, while not making me feel like a chump for having bought it.

Her armor deco paints the blue on the chest, rather than molding it in blue, and the results are hugely better. It looks like painted metal, complete with scuffs and scrapes. Her other armor follows suit, being similar to the 6-inch figure yet somehow looking better at the small size due to how it was painted. I have no complaints, except the Night Owls logos on the shoulders are still a little ugly. The same was true of Bo-Katan, so I assume this process still has some refinements. Thankfully you're unlikely to see them, but at least everything else is excellent. Her eyes are great, the hair looks good, the details are almost all exactly where they should be. Given recent weird price spikes, there's no excuse for anything to be subpar, and she's great. I wish there were more vehicles for her or maybe flame accessories, but at $14 I wouldn't expect any given Hasbro's higher-priced action figures relative to the competition in the marketplace.

I think she's worth it, and she went to clearance almost immediately - in under two months you could get her for about five bucks. It's a pity because this is a very good figure, but between Target's impatience and Hasbro's floating (or non-existing) release dates on exclusives, it is what it is. At $14 I'd say she's going to give you your money's worth, so grab one if you see her. I think this figure would have done better business had Hasbro kept pushing it to season 3 of The Mandalorian, but we'll see how that goes next year.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,984: December 8, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,983: IG-88 (and Dengar, The Retro Collection)

IG-88 and Dengar, Amazon Exclusive
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5561
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Two blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $27.99
Availability: November 2022
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: Dengar is an effective bounty hunter preferring firepower and destruction to finesse and style. And IG-88 is a chrome war droid turned bounty hunter who answered the call to capture the Millennium Falcon. (Taken from the figure's outer packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: When I saw the announcement of this retro Kenner-flavor IG-88 I was dying to know if it was just a co-tool with the 2011 IG-11 [FOTD #2,818] and of course, now we know. It was! It's a Droid of Theseus. Or See-Theseus. Or something clever. Just pretend I wrote something witty here. This new 2022 IG-88 is based on the 2021 IG-11 tooling, which itself was inspired by the 1980 Kenner IG-88.

2022 IG-88 has legs and feet that seem to be identical to the 2021 IG-11. How can you tell? The ofter head details remain intact, with shallower, rounder grooves and lights. The legs and feet are the same, and still have IG-11's SKU stamped in them - F2021. Also the year on the foot is 2021, as opposed to the 2022 on Dengar. The torso is unique tooling first seen on this figure, and the arms are very similar to IG-11. They might be the same mold, but if they were, they are clearly retooled. The clamps aren't as thick as IG-11, yet somehow they have a better grip on the blasters and 2021 IG-11 and 1980 IG-88. Hasbro did a good job updating the tooling here. I'd love to know if the to IG droids were developed at the same time or not. It's also worth noting that this means not only do both the Boba/Bossk and IG/Dengar sets reuse existing tooling, but Hasbro and/or Amazon upcharged you $4-$8 per set for their corner-cutting.

IG-88 has the same basic weapons as his 1980 figure. They're the 2021 IG-11 black blaster tooling, just now in Kennerian blue. The Stormtrooper gun has the rounded ammo clip and they look pretty much the same as the originals but aren't as glossy. It's as good as one can expect - just different enough so you can tell them apart from the genuine article.

My figure came with a deformed leg - one foot was bent at the ankle. I thought it was a tooling error at first, but the boiling water trick (dip it in boiling water, pull it out, run it under cold water) straightened it out without a problem.

Is he worth it? Well, you can get a complete unpackaged 1980 original for about $26. This 2-pack is $28 and you also get Dengar. For those wanting a loose figure, I'd say the price difference is negligible and it would certainly be more interesting just to buy the 1980s originals so you have a cool old toy. This new one is pretty good and has much more vibrant orange paint. Most original Kenner IG-88 figures are still in amazing shape due to the lack of paint to wear down, and the fact kids probably didn't play with it much. If you don't want to dabble in old toys, Amazon's exclusive is very good - but the original one has a sharper sculpt with sloppier paint. If I could have the old figure with the new paint job, it would be the best of both worlds. (But that's either a completely different franchise or a title of another kind of movie we won't discuss here.)

Collector's Notes: I got mine at Amazon. It was supposed to be released last week (December 1, 2022) but arrived about three weeks early.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,983: December 6, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,982: Dengar (and IG-88, The Retro Collection)

DENGAR and IG-88, Amazon Exclusive
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5561
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $27.99
Availability: November 2022
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: Dengar is an effective bounty hunter preferring firepower and destruction to finesse and style. And IG-88 is a chrome war droid turned bounty hunter who answered the call to capture the Millennium Falcon. (Taken from the figure's outer packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: A nice quality figure that may cost you more than an actual original from 1981! Right up until I opened Dengar I was planning on panning him for using a faded face color, which a lot of the old Kenner figures had. Some Dengar figures have a peachier-colored flesh face, and another is pretty darned yellowed. The 2022 one is somewhere in between. It's definitely not as glossy, and it lacks the sculpted detail of the originals, but it's a pretty decent overall update of a figure that you could buy a 40-year-old sample of on eBay for under $10 with no blaster and under $20 with a blaster. It isn't mint, but the genuine article can be had for less than an Amazon reissue. People sell "lots" of the Bounty Hunters with and without weapons pretty cheaply too. My main interest in this Dengar is as a new object, but he can grip his blaster much better than my original Dengars ever could. For that reason, Dengar 2002 is arguably worthwhile.

A lot of the retro reissues look perfect but feel a little off. Dengar looks a little off but feels perfect. The depth of sculpted detail seen on the original is gone, so wrinkles and scars and other elements are pushed up a tiny bit. The right shoulder folds have vanished, and some of the deep cuts aren't so deep anymore. There's a box of buttons on the chest armor, but the 2022 figure looks more like a boxy mouth with teeth - the buttons aren't separated from the border like the 1981 figure. Details on the original figure are much crisper and, for lack of a better term, full of life. You can almost see where the stylus probably nudged the wax, whereas the 2022 figure looks a little rounded-off. If you told me this was a cleaned-up 3D print of a 3D scan of an original figure, I'd believe you - it almost looks like we're seeing some sculpted generation loss from a copy of a copy. This isn't to say it isn't good. At a glance, the silhouette is the same and everything is basically where it should be. Any toy getting released a few years (let alone four decades) after the original is going to have a few changes, so the face being not quite like either of my original Dengars is no big deal. Had Kenner kept this figure in production for 40 years I have no doubt the head would have worn out and needed to be replaced a few times.

The figure absolutely feels like an old figure. There's nothing fragile about him, each joint is sturdy and everything moves smoothly with nothing sticking. I picked up the figure and swing the limbs forward to cram him in a mini-rig, and absolutely everything feels like a fresh 1980s figure. The original figure had shinier paint and shinier plastic. Everything is certainly close enough that if you didn't grow up with these toys in your toy box, you would be unlikely to notice a big difference. The left hand still rubs against his leg when you swing the arm down, and the backpack and back of the figure seem to have slightly sharper detail than the front. How odd. The sculpted copyrights on the legs are also a little strange - "2022 LFL VIETNAM" is incredibly soft and hard to make out, but "HASBRO SA" on the other leg is super sharp. Why? I have no idea.

The blaster looks almost exactly like the original, with slightly less sharp detailing and a less-glossy plastic. If you don't have an original to compare it to, you'd probably confuse it for an original. It's very good. One of my favorite things about the figure is the retooled right hand, so his blaster can be held facing forward without any weirdness - it's a perfect fit. It's a good quality-of-life improvement, something Han and Leia didn't get in their 2019 reissues.

Of all of the figures Hasbro brought back from the dead, this is one of the better ones. It does a good job improving on the original while also combining parts of existing variants to make something that's close to how you may have remembered Dengar. It also highlights a problem. Hasbro has been marking up its exclusives by a couple of bucks, so this $10-$12 reissue is $14 (in a $27.99 2-pack) as sort of an unspoken "exclusive tax" which we've been seeing a lot more as of late. You can get an authentic original Dengar with blaster on eBay for under $10 shipped if it's a little played-with. What would you rather have - a mint replica, or a played-with piece of toy history at a lower price? Hasbro should probably reconsider its price point for these figures because $14 is a little ridiculous when similarly sized figures from its competitors have more gear and more articulation at a sliver of the price, and they even have other figures that are similarly constructed at lower prices. If the price drops, this is a great quality figure. It's just a little hard to justify when the genuine article (or competing products) can be had for a much lower price.

Collector's Notes: I got mine at Amazon. It was supposed to be released today (December 1, 2022) but arrived about three weeks early.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,982: December 1, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,981: Axe Woves (The Vintage Collection)

AXE WOVES Target Exclusive
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5566
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #228
Includes: Helmet, blaster
Action Feature: Removable helmet, holster
Retail: $13.99
Availability: September 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian
Bio: A skilled warrior, Axe Woves is loyal to Bo-Katan and is a member of a band of Clan Kryze Mandalorians striking back at the Imperial remnant (Stolen from Target. There is no bio on-pack.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Not yet on clearance, but abundant, this Axe Woves is pretty much the most sensible exclusive, distributed well, and sold at what is a pretty fair price. It was $14 and came out about a month before pre-orders for Vintage hit $17.99 - but just after his capsule companions Migs Mayfeld and Koska Reeves were nearly instantly blown out at 75% off. Why the quick clearance? Why isn't a new Mandalorian just selling like hotcakes? I'm not sure, but given that the original Kenner kids are all around 40, maybe the generation of collectors is starting to move on to more adult pastures. (No, not smut.)

At least one other figure uses elements from this mold, the excellent Death Watch Mandalorian [FOTD #2,926] which is the better figure. The bodies are the same, but Death Watch has a non-removable helmet, and Axe Woves' removable helmet seems to have what the kids used to call "fivehead." The dome above the visor is a little high, and it's a little smooshed. It's still a good figure, though.

Like the costume on the show, the figures share a lot of parts and a lot of colors. A lot of the blue armor is blue on both figures, except the area surviving the visor and the chest armor. Other than that, and a blue body glove, they're very much alike. And that's good! It's a mass-produced suit from a mold, so it makes sense that you get the same great ab joint, the superlative holster, and the great arm and leg movement. He stands without too much fuss and other than somewhat stiff ankles, is super easy to pose. Hasbro future-proofed the mold with holes in the jets, so you can pose him on as-of-yet not-existing stands or flame jets. Hopefully we'll see such parts down the road.

Other than the helmet's big blue sea on top, I really like this figure. The face portrait is good, articulation is great, painting is better than average, and it's the kind of figure that makes you say "I don't need the 6-inch one... sure I might buy it, but this is good enough." I'd say get it if you still see it out there at a fair price because it shows a lot of precision work went into it. The painted (not molded) hairline is one of Hasbro's best.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,981: November 29, 2022