TAYM DREN-GAREN First, probably only figure
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F6986
Number: #287
Includes: Blaster, hat, 3 more carded figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $72.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Return of the Jedi
Bio: Protected by Skiff Guards, Jabba the Hutt's sail barge bustled with court members, henchmen, and dregs of the galaxy who attempted to curry favor with the grotesque crime lord. (Taken from the figure's set's box.)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Availability:
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Commentary: It's easy to take good things for granted - I got this awesome
Taym Dren-Garen figure in 2024 and didn't get around to cracking him open until
last month. There's so much inbound stuff that it can be easy to lose focus when Hasbro actually delivers something not merely good, but seemingly impossible to imagine actually existing. We've gotten precious few all-new characters (with recycled bits) in the past few years for
Return of the Jedi, so getting Obscure Human Extra from a movie 40 years late is something of a miracle. Is it perfect? Well, it's close enough. I'm still salty about the Bespin Guard not being quite right, but this guy? Hasbro was 100% right to reuse molds as needed.
The upper legs and hands seem shared with Velken Tezeri, a character I did not know by name. For some reason I saw a trading card for Taym and the moose antler hat is easy to remember, and also Vest Bare Arms Guy, but this really shows you the power of merchandising. If you put out books, comics, trading cards, Dixie Cups, or other things people may actually learn all the names eventually! His arms seem to be recycled from a Nikto, and given his relative obscurity and the fact that it looks very close - if not exact - I have no complaints. Maybe I'm a hypocrite, but I look at it like this: if you're updating an old action figure, the new one needs to be perfect. If you're making a background guy on a budget, getting the broad strokes right - colors and such - that's absolutely good enough in my book. Hasbro gave this guy the ball-jointed hips and thigh cut (oooh) and bend-and-swivel wrists (ahhh) as well as excellent chest deco. There's some weathering on those leather panels, plus a painted belt loop. He has plenty of pouches - presumably correct ones, I have no idea - and an amazing hat. Maybe it's not perfect, but given it's a human head with some scarves and antlers, it's perfect for my needs.
This figure is surplus to requirements. If they just gave us a new head and hands on an old body, I'm sure most of us would go "yeah, good enough." But sometimes Hasbro reminds us that they love us, and they love these 40+year-old-movies as much as or more than we do, and this is one of those utterly absurd cases. You can pop the helmet off - that's amazing. But underneath, they separately molded some random guy's hair, and it looks like some random guy from the 1980s. According to Wookieepedia, his name is Larry Holt, and if you look around on Google you'll see pictures of him and damn if he doesn't look just like the figure. It's amazing - for a guy who you weren't meant to see, this level of detail reminds you of why you still collect these things. Sure, new "classic" figures are super scarce but when Hasbro knocks one of them out of the park it's hard to not be incredibly impressed.
Given unlimited budgets and time, I'm sure Hasbro could have made a 100% new sculpt... but I don't think it would've done much here to make a figure that in any way gets the job done any better. He stands, he aims, he looks like some random pasty guy in the desert with a hat who killed a moose thing. It takes some work to get his ankles just right, but you can do it, and it's amazing that he exists. I would be willing to bet you money we'll never see a toy of this guy again... maybe a reissue some day. You'll be sorry you missed this one, or at least, I would be. Figures like these are why I'm glad The Vintage Collection still exists, but the slow-drip release of "new old guy I don't have can be hard to deal with when you get four versions of the same Disney+ guy in as many years. So yes - get this one. And if Hasbro ever makes a Kenner-style one, get it too. I'd buy two of them. Thanks Hasbro, for reminding me what a twerp I am for not enjoying the great stuff you already made and I pre-ordered and didn't immediately crack open. Figures like this are what this is all about.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,223: March 13, 2025
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