Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,064: Tala Durith (Imperial Officer, The Black Series)

TALA DURITH (Imperial Officer)
The Black Series 2023 Closed Box Line Look Obi-Wan Kenobi Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F7096
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #13 - Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: June 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Bio: Obi-Wan Kenobi is set years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where Kenobi faced the corruption of his friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned Sith Lord Darth Vader. (Taken from the packaging. It's still this not-specific.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

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Commentary: Tala Durtith (Imperial Officer) was released pretty recently, and the free market has spoken. For some reason she's packed two per case - an honor usually reserved for the more popular characters - but she's around $16 on Walmart.com and $21.58 on Amazon as of my writing this just before Labor Day. In short, nobody cares - which was also the feeling I had when she went up for pre-order. I wouldn't necessarily blame the character or the quality of the figure, but at $25 fans may need to have a stronger relationship with the character and I am going to predict that at some point in the next 2-3 years you'll find her for sale for $5-$10 at a collectible toy store near you, if not Amazon or eBay. There was nothing wrong with the costume, there was nothing wrong with the actress, but when fans do not truly love a show, and then you start making figures of lesser characters that look a lot like other figures they've bought in the past, it's not hard for people to go "I don't want to give you my money for this one."

And it is important to point out that Hasbro did a good job. The waist joint cut at the belt? Excellent. The thigh cuts under the "skirt"? Great. The knee joints tucked behind the very, very wide pants? Good job. The articulation offers nothing new, but she is expressive and while the elbows are only able to bend 90 degrees it's still pretty good. She has a working holster and a non-removable (but separately molded) hat above a perfectly printed face of Indira Varma.

Hasbro did a nice job with the body sculpt here and when I look at it, I assume we got it so they can use this body for other figures later. (I'm OK with that for 3 3/4-inch figures, but for $25+ premium figures, not so much.) I assume Dedra Meero (or Tobbi Dala, or Ysanne Isard) will be made using this buck in the future because the textures are excellent. She stands well, she doesn't flip over while I type on my desk, the feet are nice and flat - a problem that's been coming up, round-foots fall over - and the joints move smoothly. It's so odd to have a figure like this where I have no real complaints over how they did it, but at $25 I just don't feel like there's any level of measurable excitement despite a high level of quality for what was delivered. Is it me? Am I depressed? Am I just finally out of touch with this hobby enough that I need to be put on the ice floe and shoved off?

I'm finding my fandom is tied to the figures a lot more than I thought, the 6-inch line and a lack of comics or good guide books left me cold and I skipped all of the exclusives for this show because they started off at $27.50 or higher each - it just wasn't worth it for a variant of an existing mold, and that saved me over $300. Looking on the secondary market, most of those figures that came out last year can be had below retail quite cheaply and I still don't want to give them the money - and Teeka is right up my alley. (I did buy the 3 3/4-inch retro and vintage ones, though.) Tala is just too far removed from the formats that got me collecting in the first place, even though she turned out nicely I have zero connection to this figure. I bought the wave, opened her, wrote this review, and at some point I will probably end up giving her away or selling her at a loss just to get the shelf space back. My complaints may be less for the figure itself than the "system" - I got playsets, ships, stands, and other accoutrements that make even the dullest of 3 3/4-inch figures a valuable addition to a collection. But 6-inch figures, the figure has to exist and be of value in and of itself - so unless there's something intrinsically awesome (or rare) about the figure, it's not going to hold its retail price and fans are going to spend their money or efforts elsewhere.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,064: September 14, 2023