Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,259: Grand Admiral Thrawn (The Vintage Collection)

GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN Epauletted
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Hasbro Pulse/Shop Disney Exclusive Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. G1283
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #360
Includes: 3 figures with accessories, Thrawn has a blaster and ysalamiri
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $49.99
Availability: May 2025
Appearances: Heir to the Empire, etc.

Bio: The last of the Empire's warlords, Grand Admiral Thrawn has made vital discoveries that could compromise the future of the New Republic. (Taken from the cardback bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: Hasbro is master at getting me to buy things I don't want. I didn't want another Grand Admiral Thrawn unless he was either Retro Kenner style... or had epaulets, a Ysalamir, and a nutrient frame. I guess two out of three ain't bad. This is very similar to The Vintage Collection Rebels Thrawn [FOTD #3,167] from last year, which itself is almost identical to the Ahsoka live-action un-dad-bodded version. There are changes, and they are precariously close to being just different enough to make me mad - but they're actually what I wanted in the first place.

Since 1991 fans have wanted a Thrawn figure, and this is more or less what they wanted it to look like. The 1998 version had no gold epaulets. Neither did the comic pack version, or other subsequent versions - but they were on the book cover. They weren't in the comic. This figure is a mishmash of all the versions, giving you a Ysalamir like we saw in POTF2 and The Black Series (no nutrient frame), the head from the live-action Rebels version, the epaulets from the early 1990s art, and - surprisingly - the collar ornamentation from Rebels. We've never seen quite this particular mix of parts and pieces before, which mostly eschews the Dark Horse comic elements but trades heavily on the recognizable parts of the book jacket and streaming appearances.

Normally I'd say "well of course the collar was left like Rebels, did you think Hasbro would retool it?" But here's the funny thing - Hasbro changed the mold! The torso has canals for the gold epaulets, which are (for now) flexible gold plastic. I think they may become brittle with age, so be super careful 10-20 years from now. Since Hasbro remolded the figure, I'm surprised they didn't remold the collar too - I assume this was an editorial decision and I really wonder why the decision was made. If this were the first figure we got, the pastiche of multiple versions is precisely what I would want too - cover a lot of bases, nobody's going to be 100% happy, nobody's going to be 100% disappointed. For a book specific set, it's an unusual choice and I bet there's a story we don't know yet.

The blaster is the same as the Rebels release - gray, fits in the holster - but the critter buddy is unique. It's flexible, but not too rubbery, and he hangs over Thrawn's shoulders with no added assistance. Hasbro did a better job than I would have - you get four tiny black painted eyes, and a white painted belly. (I'd have left it unpainted, you'd never know.) It seems to be derived from the same sculpt as The Black Series release that came with Luke, making it about as good as we should reasonably expect given the resources at hand. The leathery skin looks cool, with tons of little folds and ridges. It's very detailed for a tiny creature sidekick, and is far better looking than necessary to make me happy. Hasbro deserves a pat on the back for this one.

As the lesser of the three figures in this set - or at least the most redundant - Hasbro did a good job here. They added elements to this figure which we don't always get, and Thrawn is still a popular fellow despite being kind of a dud in Ahsoka. Maybe Hasbro will come up with a way to do another figure in Ahsoka season 2, but at this point I don't think I need another 3 3/4-inch The Vintage Collection release. I will, however, happily buy Heir to the Empire figures for The Retro Collection if Hasbro ever does them. If you can make me happy you made something I was grousing about, you're doing a great job. I hope Hasbro cranks out more of this set since fans seemed to miss it in spots.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,259: July 17, 2025