Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,271: Cobb Vanth (The Vintage Collection)

COBB VANTH Unarmed
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. G0919
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #371
Includes: 2 blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $16.99
Availability: July 2025
Appearances: The Book of Boba Fett

Bio: The marshal of Mos Pelgo, a small town on Tatooine, Cobb Vanth has earned the trust of the townsfolk as a capable peacekeeper and leader. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

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: Back in 2024, I predicted this Cobb Vanth would be coming. (I'm not special, we all saw this coming.) The Cobb Vanth [FOTD #3,187] with the armor seemed all set for a quick retool with a few minor changes so Hasbro could sell us a second figure - and here he is! It's pretty much what I expected - same general figure and blasters, no helmet or armor, slightly different scarf.

The good news is you get all of the articulation of the non-armor articulation of the previous figure, a working holster, and a great likeness of Timothy Olyphant. The sculpted texture remains excellent, and the figure's neck appears a little longer, no doubt in part thanks to needing to work with the excised armor piece. The scarf helps hide this pretty well, but it's hard to not notice.

Functionally, he's good! The hands can hold the blasters. The holster can hold the small blaster. He stands, he looks good in a diorama. You can't ask for a heck of a lot more in 2025, where each new mold is probably going to get at least one reuse if possible.

His painted belt buckle remains, and his gloves have painted fingers. That's good! And that's most of the figure's paint outside his head. I wish there was more going on here - it seems pretty simplistic, and a Retro figure would probably have about as much paint. A little boot scuff would be nice, but again, it's basically that Deluxe figure minus a few parts. There don't seem to be new paint masks here. Admittedly there's not much more to add, other than some paint on the boots, or maybe some of the pockets or other areas on the pants. It's always tough to know where to draw the line of "good!" or "good enough!" here, because I would have loved a little more paint for $17 on this particular figure. But, he's probably going to stay on the card, or his boots will be covered by display dirt (or another figure.) And we probably wouldn't want to pay three bucks for a better one... but also, maybe? It's tough to say, some of these guys like R2-D2 aren't making the most use of the budget, while some others like Fennec Shand absolutely were A+ figures with accessories to match.

Cobb Vanth is good - but just not as impressive as the figures with extra gear and alternate heads for roughly the same price. I assume the assortment is averaging out costs, but this is one of the figures with an amazing head, and great sculpting, and so-so deco and gear. It's fine - I understand separate scarves aren't free, but it's not as cool as other swappable bits and pieces. For diorama lovers and Mando-adjacent completists - and maybe movie fans, we'll see - this will likely be an in-demand figure when the character shows up again. Releasing it between things, rather than before (or during) the launch of the new stories. We haven't seen him in a bit, but a good, new story can change everything in moments. Maybe get him now if you see him - after the deluxe figure sold slowly, I assume Hasbro planned the run on this guy accordingly.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,271 August 28, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,270: Luke Skywalker (Rebel Flight Suit, Epic Hero Series)

LUKE SKYWALKER Rebel Flight Suit
Epic World of Action Luke Skywalker's Force Strike X-Wing
Item No.: No. G0768
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Figure, X-Wing, 2 proton torpedoes, 1 blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $29.99
Availability: May 2025 (Target), June 2025 (elsewhere)
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: Luke Skywalker, a Force-sensitive human male, was a legendary Jedi Master who fought in the Galactic Civil War during the reign of the Galactic Empire. (Taken from Wookieepedia. Packaging has no bio.)

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: If you have any sense of decency, you should buy a Star Wars Epic World of Action Luke Skywalker's Force Strike X-Wing Fighter. For what it costs, and what you get... it's crazy. A Speeder Bike is $20, and $30 gets you a whole X-Wing. The ship itself compares favorably to the POTF2-era X-Wings of 1995-2004, where the first release had electronics and the 2004 encore did not. It's roughly Kenner-sized, very Kenner-colored, but the mechanisms are largely gone. You do have a firing rocket - and a spare - but the wings are now manually s-foiled. It is a toy, but it looks and feels a lot like a Kenner offering. The paint and coloring are great, as is the articulated R2 dome. What's less great are the blue energy blasts in the engines (if you dislike whimsy) and the red blasts on each cannon tip, which as far as I can tell are not easily removed. If Hasbro reissues this with retro-style Kenner figures in 2027 for the 50th anniversary (and they should), I'd like to see them retool the ship to leave off the blasts and nix the energy things. But otherwise, it's great... and as a toy collector, I love it as it is with no changes. I just assume y'all won't want the energy blasts, as some of you are not fans of whimsy and imagination. But for $30, it's so perfect and we haven't had a good, sturdy, 3 3/4-inch-ish X-Wing (for kids) in nearly 21 years. It's worth noting the Epic X-Wing cockpit is big enough to fit a 1978 Chewbacca figure without a hitch.

But wait, we're here to talk about Luke. Interestingly, this may well be the first figure in the Epic line specifically from the Original Trilogy. Vader's configuration indicates he's (probably) from Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Stormtroopers are up for debate. Everybody else is from a Disney+ streaming series, even Jedi Master Luke. Luke has only appeared in his orange flight suit on-screen in Star Wars or Return of the Jedi, and I assume they're aiming for Star Wars here. It's a shame they didn't put more OT stuff in this line - I think people would like it. I absolutely adore the toy ship, and the figure is very good.

Luke feels very close to a reimagining of the 1979 X-Wing Pilot figure. The key difference is that his visor is down - but the helmet is still very simple, with a few sculpted ridges and painted red Rebel logos on top. he has a chin strap, and a red stripe down the top. There's not much to it, so I can't complain about it. I feel like this was being done at me, sort of "Hey Adam, you want a Kenner head? Here you go." They got it right.

The body is good, but not amazing. The white vest remains as usual, and Hasbro painted the straps on the torso and legs. That's good! The gloves and boots are painted black too - that's great! You can see a couple of cut corners, though, and for the price it makes sense. The back of the figure is completely undecorated. The flight buttons and switches on the chest are all painted grey, to match the cable and some straps. It's admittedly very plain, and consistent with the (lack of) deco on Darth Vader. If you're going to cut a corner, though, that's the one I'd cut. The various silver cylinders on the arm are also unpainted - but Hasbro frequently leaves them undecorated, even on The Vintage Collection. They should paint them there, but here? It's fine.

Articulation is very good, better than any non-The Vintage Collection sculpt of Luke as a pilot. It does come up short in the hips - I'm surprised they restricted movement here. They can't swing forward very much, but can move just enough to fit in the X-Wing. The shoulders, elbows, and knees have bend-and-swivel joints, with no wrists or ankles. It's actually pretty perfect and exceeds what you need to put in the Epic X-Wing. He stands easily and can hold his blaster. But, he towers over non-Epic 3 3/4-inch scale figures, so keep that in mind.

I was curious if he fit in other vehicles. This Luke is too big to fit in the 1999 POTF2-era Y-Wing or the 2019 TVC X-Wing, but can fit in the 1995 POTF2 X-Wing and 1996 POTF2 Snowspeeder with no problems.

This figure (and vehicle) push buttons. This makes me happy. I'm sad that there are practically no examples of Original Trilogy-specificness in this line, because this is so neat. If you have $30, go get one. If you see it on sale for $15 or less, maybe get two. I liked this line's version of the N-1, but I really like Luke and the X-Wing. I would consider suggesting this set to fans of The Retro Collection too. While the clear red and blue parts are a little odd for that era, it is sized to fit Vintage and Retro figures.

Hasbro, if you're reading - I'd love to see Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, a Millennium Falcon, or a Landspeeder in this format. If you're feeling saucy, pretty much anything from the Disney+ era of ships... that aren't bikes or swoops would also be very exciting. For $30 you get your money's worth.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,270: August 26, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,269: Asajj Ventress (The Vintage Collection)

ASAJJ VENTRESS Vintage Debut
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6878 No. G0932
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #364
Includes: 2 lightsabers, 2 hilts
Action Feature: Hilts connect to belts
Retail: $16.99
Availability: July 2025
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: Trained in the ways of the dark side by Count Dooku, assassin Asajj Ventress longed to be considered a true Sith. Durig the Clone Wars, she fought for the Separatists with her twin red-bladed lightsabers. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

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: Back in 2011, we got a 6-inch version of Asajj Venturess. Of course, I wrote about Asajj Ventress (The Black Series) [FOTD #2,786] and in the beginning I wrote this: "If you love The Clone Wars you should be buying this figure and demanding that Hasbro make a matching 3 3/4-inch version for you."

Well, here we are, four years later!

This figure is very much a slightly re-engineered, shorter take on that very good release. The colors are about the same, the articulation is pretty much the same. She's got the mummy-wrapped pants under her skirt, but the skirt isn't quite as shiny as the last one. The top has a metallic hint to it, with striped, long arm wrappings that would be at home in Beetlejuice. Her make-up is very similar in both releases, just a little lighter and fairer at the smaller size. Her lips, eyes, and other adornments look amazing to the human eye and Hasbro continues to lead the industry in doing a good job with teeny-tiny details. All her painted elements look very good. If you enjoy The Clone Wars, I think this is a must-have figure.

Her belt is pretty much the same, ust scaled down. The pattern on her tabard is a little different, oddly enough. This one is more in line with the 3 3/4-inch figure we got in the cartoon line around 2008, albeit with more saturated colors. (That, too, was a very good figure.) The belt buckle has the same squared off holes to place the pegs on her lightsaber hilts, too - just smaller. She's pretty easy to pose, and the soft goods skirt doesn't get in the way of having her stand or fight. She has no problems holding her lightsabers, and the hilts fit in her belt relatively well.

Whenever Hasbro does an all-new 3 3/4-inch The Vintage Collection figure, I'm generally very happy. This is no exception. Even though they effectively scaled down an existing product, I literally asked for it. It's what I wanted, and I like how she was executed. If you can find her, or order her online, I'd recommend picking her up. This figure in particular is kind of where I like Vintage to go - new and highly improved versions of characters I haven't had a new figure for years, and/or all-new figures nobody has. Unfortunately we have to swallow a lot of leftovers to get here.

The rest of this wave has the very good Carson Teva, the not-open-yet Agent Kallus, plus reproductions/variations of Dengar and Ponda Baba. While I would prefer themed waves, this ratio of new and old figures scratches all the right itches for me. My compliments to the chefs.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,269: August 21, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,268: Carson Teva (The Vintage Collection)

CARSON TEVA Figure Debut
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6878 No. G0931
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #363
Includes: Blaster, helmet
Action Feature: Removable helmet
Retail: $16.99
Availability: July 2025
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: Based out of an Adelphi outpost, Carson Teva leads New Republic reconnaissance in the Outer Rim, including patrols over distant worlds like Tatooine in an effort to maintain order. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

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: He's one of very few Star Wars characters to have a helmet prop replica before an action figure. A massive hit of new The Vintage Collection just hit last month, and hey it's Carson Teva! Modeled after his season 3 appearance on The Mandalorian (in 2023), the character debuted on the show way back in 2020. There was a time where Lucasfilm gave Hasbro enough of a lead to get a figure on-shelf for a movie's debut, and now? Five years. If we're being generous, his last appearance in this specific version of the costume was in 2023 - that's two years and three months. It usually takes about 18 months to get an item from "we should do this" to market but we have seen a lot of recent evidence that it can be done in about a year.

Accessory interaction is excellent. He's got a big blaster, and it fits in his hand nicely. The helmet fits perfectly over his head. Short of a drink accessory, there's not much else I can ask for. Also I'll be getting a lot of little glasses from Hasbro very soon. No notes on the included accessories.

The head sculpt is very good. We haven't seen Hasbro do a lot of figures with this much variety in facial deco. It's a bald man, with a mostly white beard, and somewhat black hair. His lips are painted and glossy, as are his eyes. I wouldn't say the color fades are perfect, but it's close enough that you immediately know who it is and probably wouldn't realize it was off without holding it up to a photo from the show or Kim's Convenience. Maybe he's just got really good sculptors, or has a good noggin for plastics, but it's amazing to see what Hasbro can do for a face painted on a piece of plastic the size of a peanut.

The costume is also very good. We've had so many orange flight suits that there's not much of a challenge here for Hasbro. The color matches well, the straps are here, and this particular sculpt - when combined with the leather jacket - hide a lot of the joints. He's got a waist pivot under his flight computer and vest, and normally I'm not a fan of those. But, again, you can't even see it - it's perfect. The arm joints are good, with shoulders that are generally hidden and even a tiny patch tampo on the left arm. Elbows and wrists are as good as always. The hip joints are cut nicely, clearly someone made this going "he has to be able to sit in a vehicle cockpit." I tested him in a couple of X-Wings, and sure enough, he fits fine. Thats great!

The jacket is one place you might pick some nits. It's mostly good - the patches are very good for their tiny size. It's worth noting a few characters are missing from the white patch on his chest, and they're - obviously - a little underdetailed. I don't think it's a huge deal. It's definitely close enough, if they reissue him for a movie I'd love to see them find a higher-resolution printer but they're still generally excellent. I wasn't expecting any kind of pad printing on a jacket, and Hasbro did a very good job with the three patches. Given the lack of sculpted detail under the chest patches, I have to assume this jacket piece is planned for reuse on another figure soon.

The good news is that the figure is worth the wait - but it's also an example of the very real problem of fans losing interest/patience by the time things come out. This figure would probably also do well next year as a movie tie-in, but we'll see how big of a role (if any) he has. I recommend getting him for retail price because he's new, he's cool, and the actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee very much seems to be one of us. When it comes to higher-priced figures I'm always looking for something to complain about, and all I can say here is that he might be hard to find. Hasbro didn't disappoint here, so go get this one if you can find it and like the show.

Future mold reuse predictions: a first-appearance no-jacket Carson Teva would require alternate arms. Jek Porkins could probably also be made from that retooled mold. Given 2027 is just around the corner, I would probably place a bet on the latter being made for the 50th anniversary of Star Wars. I would be very surprised if Hasbro had neither planned, and semi-surprised if one of them weren't packaged with an X-Wing repaint for $130.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,268: August 19, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,267: Luke Skywalker (Yavin, The Retro Collection)

LUKE SKYWALKER (Yavin)
The Retro Collection Target Exclusive 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. G1082
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Defender sporting blaser pistol
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $59.99
Availability: April May 2025
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: The Star Wars Retro Collection features design and detailing inspired by the original 1970s Star Wars figures and features original figure design and detailing! Continue your collection from a galaxy far, far away. (Stolen from the marketing copy. Packaging has no bio.)

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: The Retro Collection Rebel Fleet Trooper and Luke Skywalker (Yavin) were kind of oddballs in 1997 for The Power of the Force (POTF2), and they are here too. For 2025, the Kenner-style figures both have similar poses from what I assume are the same sculptor. On a shelf of 100 different figures, the RFT and Luke's colors and gear look like they belong. But when you get in close, these guys have a different flavor. I'm being nitpicky here - it's basically a good figure, and I have gotten into long, drawn-out arguments with people over some other retro-style action figures over the years. Everybody interprets the Kenner "style" differently, and we don't always agree with what we see before us. You won't be sorry if you get one, but it might take some getting used to if you have a very specific idea of how these figures have looked historically.

In an odd coincidence, I'd say the same about Kenner's 1997 figures of the same characters - Luke's really bad hair and super-wide stance come to mind, and the Rebel Fleet Trooper was one of the tallest figures in the range, towering over Chewbacca and Darth Vader. Here they just seem made by a different sculptor, probably using different tools or techniques. If you look at what other retro toymakers are doing, you can start to see what seems to be someone who relies more on digital tools cloning things and flipping a part around to save time (psst, we notice.) If you change the bend in an elbow or maybe add a slight shift to which foot Luke's weight is on, with new wrinkles in the clothes, maybe we won't notice. In this case, it seems a rough arm and leg were copied, flipped, and pasted with additional detailing added later. It doesn't feel right - it's close, but the personality of this style of figure came from asymmetry, being a little off, being (for lack of a better word) hand-made. When someone makes a thing out of clay (or maybe wood for droids), little imperfections give it an interesting personality - look at Hammerhead, or Han's bent elbow. This particular design choice with Yavin Luke doesn't save Hasbro proper any money, but it might have saved the sculptor (possibly a freelance sculptor) some time. I wish they spent more time on it, because it's unlikely we'll ever see a version 2.0 of any Retro figures.

This isn't to say it's bad - it's just a series of design choices. Luke's jacket in 1997 had ribbed sleeves all the way down. Later figures stopped just below the elbow, which is accurate. Hasbro decided to go with "accurate" for the Retro figure - which makes sense, but I think it was the wrong choice. "Wrong" is always right for that era, as there weren't good resources or style guides - as we saw in 1997. The rest of the jacket is molded in yellow, with some sculpted wrinkles and pockets but no painted trim. This is good. The wrinkles are generally good, but the jacket feels a little short and it seems like it could have been longer, perhaps just barely hanging over his hips. It needed to be fudged a bit more. The belt buckle is silver, I assume Kenner might have left it unpainted or white but we'll never know. The black shirt is perfect. No notes.

His pants are pretty good, but like the Rebel Trooper a) the pose is weird, and b) the butt is weirder. Most Kenner and Retro figures have a little more definition down there, and this one is lacking. It's a weird round cylinder. It's a bit more defined than the Rebel Trooper, but Dr. Evazan actually got a real seam for his pants. I'm not asking for anything fancy, just maybe a bit more of a hint of a sculpted fly, or some wrinkles in the seat. The leg pose is odd as the legs seem to be going in, rather than out. If the hips were the same, but the feet were maybe a fraction of an inch apart (with ankles tilted accordingly and maybe some more wrinkles in the boots) it'd be perfect. Again, I'd point to Bespin Han. Luke's non-working holster is also good, and is unpainted - just like Bespin Han. It doesn't look like much, but the design is OK. I'd like a little more definition, but I'm nitpicking. The yellow stripes on the pants seem perfect for the era.

His accessories are pretty good. The medal is just a little too big for him, but it doesn't fall off. Coincidentally it fits Han just fine, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was made to use with a new Han down the road. (Confidential to Hasbro: you can just rerelease Small Head Han with a medal and a retooled right hand to better grip the blaster, we'll buy it again.) Luke has two hands ready to grip accessories - which is not how Kenner did things with very few exceptions like Ewoks, Bespin and Jedi Knight Luke figures - but here we are. Either hand can grip Leia's pistol (included) just fine. I like that they just reused the old blaster and didn't make a new one. Kenner would've done the same thing. Luke's foot pegs work well with the stands I had around my desk.

I complained a lot, but that's taking this figure out of every possible context. In 2025, he's weird. In 1982, he'd fit right in with everything else because Kenner was still developing the style. If you put this Luke (Yavin) next to a Chewbacca and a Han Solo, they look like they belong together. Even Luke's head sculpt - a surprise that it was new - looks fine. The eye on mine is a smidgen off, but it's OK. It's not the 1978 lemon head, but it's a nice noggin. The hair is very good and matches the scene nicely, and I'd be lying if I said this didn't look like an old Kenner head. You can argue all day if it's good for Luke or not, but it completely captures the spirit of the original toy era if not the literal identical melon.

This isn't my favorite figure, but it's fine. I'll get used to the jacket, but the pose of the legs and arms seems weird. Legs close together, arms apart? That just doesn't feel right. But the colors are good, the style is right, and the personality seems generally pretty close to a good early draft of the figure. I would like to see more detail in the jacket's wrinkles and the texture of his garments, but it is what it is. It's not perfect, but if it were perfect it wouldn't be Retro.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,267: August 14, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,266: Imperial Officer (Generic Human Male in Gray, The Vintage Collection)

IMPERIAL OFFICERS Gray Generic Human from 4-pack
The Vintage Collection Shop Disney/Hasbro Pulse 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. F8302
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #309
Includes: 4 figures, 6 blasters, 3 hats
Action Feature: Removable hat
Retail: $59.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: n/a

Bio: Imperial officers fought against Rebel forces in an effort to maintain the Empire’s stronghold over the galaxy. (Taken from the set's product copy. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I opened the Imperial Officers set in 2023, and this unnamed Imperial Captain now exists in our collections. Huzzah! On one hand, I'm happy this set exists with Motti and Piett and two other guys who can fill out scenes. But also, it would have been nice to have somebody from the movies or TV series. I'd love to know if this is a specific person, or just a face Hasbro sculpted. It looks specific enough to be somebody, probably an employee of the toy/entertainment complex, but his face is not known to me.

His black hair is super glossy, and fits under the naval cap. The cheek bones are sharp, with painted lips and eyebrows. The eyes are clear, and I can't fault Hasbro for putting out what looks to be a fine original character. I just couldn't tell you if it's accurate or not. Some day he'll stand around on a fancy Death Star or Star Destroyer playset, even if I have to 3D print it myself. But that would be a massive undertaking, and I'll probably hold off for a couple of years to see how HasLab projects shake out.

If you have a lot of officers, you'll recognize the gloved hands from their use with other figures like Krennic or the IBS officer. The right hand is good at gripping blasters. The left, less so. The holster can hold the smaller pistol, and the articulation is effectively the modern standard. Most of the joints tuck away nicely, and the range of movement is mostly only impeded by his tunic's skirt element. The hip joints were designed to have a wide range of motion, though, so it's about as good as this costume is likely to get at this scale with these materials.

If you specialize in Imperials, you need to get this set. But if not, maybe you'll be fine with your other officers. He's unique - nobody else has this face - so I'd steer you to adding him to your stash... just in case you'll need figures to fill seats later. I feel silly saying that 30 years after the modern line kicked off, because I would say that thinking has only paid off a couple of times. Boba Fett's Palace made good use of all the Jabba stooges and henches since 1997, and the upcoming Cantina also benefits from 1996 onward. I guess you could use these guys with the Imperial Light Cruiser diorama, but I'd sure as heck like to see a Star Destroyer bridge some day.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,266: August 12, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,265: Moff Gideon (single card, Epic Hero Series)

MOFF GIDEON 2024 Kids Line
Epic Hero Series Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. F9405 No. G0144
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Cape, Electrostaff
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: July 2024
Appearances: The Mandalorian   

Bio: Clever and formidable, Imperial Moff Gideon is fiercely determined to capture the child known as Grogu. (Taken from the 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: I put off opening this Moff Gideon until recently because it's a lot like Moff Gideon from the 2-pack with Bo-Katan Kryze at Walmart [FOTD #3,175] from last year. The figures are the same - but the accessories were changed. (Also, the first one I got had a half-painted belt, so I left that one carded and bought another one to open later.) It's a nice figure. I'm just irritated that the 2-pack has a flame blast and a jetpack, while the 1-pack has an electrostaff, so you'll want to buy both. It's peak Just Different Enough to Make You Mad... or maybe you'll just skip it. This Gideon was also blown out at Ross last December/January for about $3, but naturally I bought mine at full price because life is unfair. The figure is still good. The design from the show matches the figure well - it's a black armored figure that looks sort of like Boba Fett painted black with Maul helmet horns and a cape. You can see that it's a pretty cheap figure deco, with a silver chest nub and belt buckle with a couple of red highlights. The pole is given some purple flourish, and it probably was a cheap figure to manufacture. Retail price was around $8, which is cheap by modern standards. He has a ball-jointed neck, plus swivel shoulders and hips. The cape connects by a peg, and fits very well.

Given the lack of a painted human head, it makes sense that the figure looks great. The armor shines in spots with some red highlights, and no eyes or eyebrows to worry about painting poorly. Sculpted details are nice, with sharp paint masks giving you a perfectly nice toy figure. What's particularly interesting was that this was the first fully-armored Gideon figure with the helmet - The Black Series was 2025, and The Vintage Collection still doesn't have one. While slightly taller than 3 3/4-inch scale figures, this 4-inch scale release does look pretty fantastic. Without a super-poseable figure against which to compare him, it looks great. It shows Hasbro can make a satisfying figure at a low price, with smooth joints and feet that don't cause the figure to topple over. It's simple, and functionally perfect.

Epic Hero Series would be a great line, if it had a little more support and were a smidgen shorter. Adult collectors poo-poo kid stuff, but I think they're wrong to do that here. This is a good product, but a small slice of adult fans online would rather pay more for articulation they probably won't use. I understand why - but I feel it's costing the larger market of kids and impulse-buyers entry-level lines. Epic has been running almost two years and is still quite small, with a disjointed array of characters that don't all play well together. They're still well-made, and not a bad line to get and bounce off since it won't take up your whole house. Even with all the vehicles, you wouldn't fill an IKEA cabinet (so far, anyway.)

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,265: August 7, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,264: B5-R4 (The Book of Boba Fett, Droid Factory)

B5-R4 The Book of Boba Fett Set
Star Wars Droid Factory - Shop Disney/Park Exclusive
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: #361
Includes: 4 figures, drink harness, drum harness, salad harness
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $44.99
Availability: May 2025
Appearances: The Book of Boba Fett   

Bio: All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. These droids can be found in Garsa's Sanctuary on Tatooine. May the Force be with you... and your droids! (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: Fwip your lid with B5-R4. While not fully appreciated, Disney's droid game has been pretty good when they decide to make something neat on TV - sometimes they translate well to toys. Sometimes not. This one's in between. I find The Book of Boba Fett a show that excelled in the craft of Star Wars, if not the art of storytelling. Each episode is loaded with cool creatures, amazing sets, wonderful droids, and the alien costumes were very realistic.

White with the most desaturated green this side of Naboo, B5-R4 looks pretty good and has some similarities on other R4 units you've seen before. Usually they're greener, and instead of the slightly rounded lines of R4-J1, it's a little more straight. But similar. I had to check because the little guy seemed pretty similar, but upon closer comparison you can see they're merely just very, very similar. The coverage is unique - it's a new paint mask - with some unusual patterns like a circular notch taken out of one of the white trapezoids on the dome. The white eye box looks great, as does the gold around the silver on the holographic projector. The robot has the silver on the shoulders and generally does a great job of looking like the prop on the show. Maybe the gold/bronze band around the head could be a bit more pronounced, but aside from that? This is very good.

I don't like the drink harness as much, but again, it's probably as good as we're going to get. It's not the same one as R2-S4M or the other drink bots, but it's similar and it's gold. It comes with eight removable glasses and two silver plugs, plus has two empty indentations that aren't being used. It does not have the clear windows on the sides of the drink tray, plus the drinks don't have the green garnish seen on the show. Is it reasonable to expect this? Probably not. The fact that the little glasses have any texture or paint is pretty remarkable, and speaks to the low expectations I have from repaints of repaints of repaints with the occasional bit of remolding. It's good we got a new part, and I like the little silver greeblies sticking out of the front. If it were a little darker gold overall, I'd say it was very good - but it's fine. We don't have an official Garsa Fwip figure, much to my chagrin, so I doubt a lot of fans who aren't customizers with 3D printers will ever get to build out Garsa's Sanctuary anyway. I find this vexing - "scene building" gets thrown around as a reason some fans collect, but it's hard to do when you're missing the main key players. And the minor players. But the low-hanging fruit, the background droid repaints? Those you've got.

I hope Hasbro or Disney keep building out The Book of Boba Fett in 3 3/4-inches, mostly because there are just so many wonderful designs that make great action figures. This droid turned out acceptable for what all parties were trying to do... minus, you know, making enough of them to meet demand. For something that's a few years late it's a good set. 4 droids for $45 is a steal in 2025. I'd recommend the set to those with an affinity for automatons, but I wouldn't say to pick it up to future-proof yourself for that Garsa Fwip Playset. I don't think Hasbro is going to revisit this show much.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney. It was posted on May 4, and abruptly sold through. Check the theme park or eBay for this one. I hate directing people to eBay, but given the cost of admission (and parking, and a plane ticket, and a hotel) it might be your least worst option. At this point in my life I'd pay a small mark-up just to not lose 1-2 days of my life across state lines for a shopping trip with paid parking.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,264: August 5, 2025