Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,112: Tusken Chieftan (The Black Series)

TUSKEN CHIEFTAN Big Retool
The Black Series 2023 Window Box Line Look The Book of Boba Fett Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F9984
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #06 - Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett
Includes: Staff, cloak
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: December 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett

Bio: The leader of a tribe of Tusken Raiders, the Tusken Chieftan captured Boba Fett after his escape from the Sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon. (Taken from the box packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: Despite having a very small line, The Book of Boba Fett for The Black Series is mostly made of old molds and/or figures from other shows. The Tusken Chieftan hides it well - but you can't hide the C2142 on his foot. And I know you know what it means - it's the SKU for the 2017 Tusken Raider [FOTD #2,382] figure. The arms and legs are reused, but the head, cloak, skirt, torso, necklaces, and accessories are new. And that meets my standards of "new figure." While I would vastly prefer Hasbro treat its "premium" line as such, I know tooling is expensive and sales on action figures seem a little rocky. (That's no secret, check Amazon or eBay to see what the free market decides what new releases are worth.)

As of my writing this, it's still selling for SRP - which means Hasbro probably made a hair too many for the needs of the market, which is largely par for the course for a lot of figures lately. I'd go as far as to say this one feels a bit better than a lot of recent rleeases, with painted robes, extra neck accessories, and a very nice staff. They sculpted new lower robes - honestly, they didn't have to - you can tell because they're nice and clean, not tattered like the 1977-style figure. The chest is new, without the bandoliers. The painted elements look superb, but the sculpting seems a little soft and the brown plastics on the chest and feet are just the tiniest bit opaque. It would work great for skin, but for clothing, you don't want there to be any indication that light is passing through meat. Still, it's dark, and it more or less works great except under bright light.

The head looks great, better than the 3 3/4-inch one and painted well to boot. The painted wrappings look good, and so do the faux metal and leather bits. They did a nice job - the textures on the head are excellent overall. The breathing tubes hang on his neck strangely, but the necklace looks acceptable. I think it could look better, but I also assume someone is making an argument about "value" and may not be taking into account that a Tusken Chieftan without the lady warrior or the prisoner Rodian or Suns-bleached Boba may not be a compelling argument, regardless of relative quality. You can really see that they made a figure with shortcuts that doesn't feel like they took the cheap route, which is great, but I think we all get to a point where you want to see some savings when you see reused parts so often. That ship has likely long since sailed, so the real question is... can this guy be worth the $25?

I'd say "yes but." I love aliens, and things related to Tatooine and adjacent to original trilogy stories - and I love building alien cultures out in the toy box. This ticks all the boxes for me, but if we didn't get a new body I'd be a little grumpy, and if they didn't give us a new staff I'd be furious. If it were a $20 figure I'd be singing its praises and its cleverness, and at $25 I'd say I like it a lot more than many recent arrivals. (It takes me a while to get through these things as I write them up as I go.) With so few figures from The Book of Boba Fett I can't say it's a rewarding line to collect, but if you accept that you're just going to get a few and have an anemic collection? This is a good one, this is one to get. You should get it.

He can stand, he can hold his staff, but he can't sit and it's not like you were going to put him in a ship anyway.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,112: February 29, 2024