KRRSANTAN SDCC and Pulse Exclusive Version
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Deluxe Action Figure
Item No.: No. F6980
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Bowcaster, regular hands, fists, really open hands, meiloorun, stein, swords, 3 energy effects, rifle,
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $39.99
Availability: July 2023
Appearances: The Book of Boba Fett
Bio: Santo is just this guy, you know? (There is no bio.)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!
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Commentary: I had no intention of buying this
Krrsantan figure - which I had no idea would be
at San Diego Comic-Con this year - because of the price. I know I bring it up a lot, but it's a real concern that we're paying $40 for a figure that costs $27, and all you get are a variant face, two swords, a bowcaster, and some energy blaster (with blast effect.) All the alternate hands, rifle, tankard, meiloorun, and knuckleduster blue energy effects are in the standard release. I just happened to be at the
Hasbro Vault after I heard they had some items for sale - only two exclusives, off-site, about a half mile away from the convention. Even though I don't have the standard release in hand yet, I can pretty safely say that if money is no object, you'll probably want both, and if you're a sensible person, the standard release should prove sufficient. It is an excellent action figure in the "we now exist in a world where collectors accept nothing less than super-articulation with gear they will never use" paradigm that I guess we shall never escape.
This figure's head is arguably its best selling point - standard issue has a closed mouth, exclusive has a screaming, open mouth that works well with the fruit and the drink in the set. He could use a little more gray, but the hair does have some nice shading to it along with distinctive lip, teeth, and tongue. There's a tiny hint of gloss in his eyes, plus he has really good hair. The sculpting is and he's really expressive - but for the price, I would've liked both heads included in the package. The angry head and knuckle duster energy go together well, and you're getting Expensive Japanese Toy levels of detail and quality, or at least, something very close to it.
In terms of the body, it's great! We haven't had a new 3 3/4-inch movie-style Chewbacca figure since the
Original Trilogy Collection, as someone decided that was as good as it gets and we just keep getting head and deco variants. (And the sandstorm one.) This all-new Wookiee technically has less articulation in the body, but overall it has a much better range of movement. The bend-and-swivel wrists don't bend so well, but the mid-torso joint is well-hidden and functions nicely. You get deep cuts on the elbows which work well, great shoulder movement, and decent hips that swing forward well enough considering there's a hairy "skirt" up there. The figure has what I assume are Wookiee Scalps hanging off his belt, plus spiky armor connected to his bandoliers. Also, all six of his hands have knuckle dusters.
The fists are easy to pop out and replace with open hands or
very open hands. Sadly the energy bolts aren't great for the fists - those hands are closed and hard to get the energy around - but they work well with the others. The fruit can be held in the very open hands, the accessories are mostly easily held by the regular hands, and everything looks like it fits.
His other gear is also decent - the swords fit in his hands. The bowcaster can sling over his back, or just fit in his hands. The exclusive energy weapon - it looks like something out of Halo and I don't know its name - is the only one that doesn't seem to fit in his fists very well. It looks awesome, it has nice paint, and the energy is a nice touch, but it's just too dang much gear and you're being charged accordingly for it.
When you look at the price differences between standard Vintage ($27.99), 6-inch Black Series ($33.99), Retro (estimated $11.99), and this exclusive Vintage ($39.99) it's extremely hard to know what Hasbro even wants you to buy. No one scale has emerged as the best-for-collectors, a few years ago Hasbro definitely made it seem like
The Black Series was the go-to ultimate expression but even the cheaper release of
TVC Krrsantan has a ton of stuff in the box - and you're being charged for it. He's only slightly bigger than an average (increasingly expensive)
TVC action figure, but I am hard-pressed to complain about any shortcuts. Other than the alternate head, there's not much Hasbro could do to increase the value. If anything, it has
too much value - perhaps going the other way and putting the base figure with one accessory on a blister cardback for $27.99 could have been a more compelling and desirable SDCC exclusive than a big bulky deluxe box. People do love that style of packaging, after all, and the only Hasbro Santo figure coming on a cardback should be the retro one.
Because I'm a goofball in the tank for aliens,
The Mandalorian, and
The Book of Boba Fett, I like this figure. I feel like I'm an abused partner here, but we get so few all-new characters in this scale that I still treasure getting something that's genuinely new and exciting, instead of "yeah it's a new version of a guy I have 10 of that were all cheaper." At this time, I think it's safe to say this is the most deluxe-packaged figure ever made at this scale in
Star Wars. And it's just too dang much - where am I supposed to store all this excess gear? He has extra hands and he still can't hold it all. It's an amazing effort, and I assume unless the run is cut short Hasbro may be stuck with some supply. They did an excellent job and you can see they went to town with whatever budget they had to ensure you got a ton of extra gear. Given that a basic
The Vintage Collection was $10-$12 not too long ago, though, nothing about this figure makes me think it's worth $40.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from the Hasbro Vault store in July, 2023. I'm still wincing at what it cost me so don't feed the scalpers.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,053: August 8, 2023
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