Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,348: Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios (HasLab, The Vintage Collection)

GARAZEB "ZEB" ORRELIOS (The Ghost Pack-In Figure)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Pack-In Figure
Item No.: No. G0040
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: HAS 006
Includes: The Ghost ship, expanded bo-rifle, compressed bo-rifle, 2 energy effects, 3 additional figures
Action Feature: Store staff on back, plug energy blasts on staff
Retail: $499.99
Availability: December 2024
Appearances: Star Wars: Rebels

Bio: During the time of the Empire, the Ghost served as a mobile base for General Hera Syndulla's small band of rebels working to aid the people of Lothal and other planets in need. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: While I opened The Ghost immediately, I dragged my feet opening the pack-in figures. I wanted to see if we'd get retail versions, and I guess technically we did. This version of Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios was based on his end-of-the-show costume from Star Wars: Rebels, making it a desirable addition to a collection of toys from a pretty good show with a pretty good toy line. I dare say Rebels was one of the two best toy line-ups since Disney took over, the other being Solo: A Star Wars Story for its pretty decent vehicle selection which mixed "amazing" (TIE Fighter, Han Solo's Landspeeder, AD-DT Walker) with "trash" (Kesssel Run Millennium Falcon, don't argue, I'm right.) If you liked The Clone Wars you have hundreds of great LEGO sets and Hasbro figures to buy. If you loved Rebels, it's a smaller collection - but pretty rewarding. The 6-inch figures? Good. The kiddo cartoon line? Wonderful sculpts, plus some of Hasbro's best vehicles since the line returned in the 1990s. Even The Vintage Collection delivers the goods, just not a lot of them. These guys were handled with care - even a retool like Zeb.

And with The Mandalorian and Grogu opening over the weekend, why not look at Zeb? I'm writing this before I see the movie, so if he does anything weird I am currently unaware of it.

As a figure that shares parts with a season 1-specific version [FOTD #3,161], this Zeb is still a solid figure with nearly identical accessories which, by modern standards, make it seem preposterous that the first release was sold as a "deluxe." You get bo-rifles in extended and packed-in modes, plus desaturated pink energy nodules. If you mixed them up in your personal collection, you might not easily be able to tell the difference - they were good before, and they're good here.

The figure itself has an all-new head, no shoulder armor, a new belt, and new neck armor. It looks different, the colors are a little different, but it's functionally the same figure. That is to say, Hasbro did a good job with articulation and wisely said "don't change it!" The legs swing forward nicely, the knees bend cleanly, the ankles rock, the wrists bend and swivel, and there's a rocking waist pivot joint too. With thigh swivels, knee joints, and elbow joints, plus the obligatory neck joint, I have no reason to make one complaint about articulation. He stands, he sits, he crouches, he's pretty much perfectly engineered and one of those figures you could hand someone as an example of Hasbro doing what they do well. I'm sure you can thank Lucasfilm too - with no skirt, no coat, and no unsightly dangling fabric, everything just works.

But how does he look? Great. Hasbro did a nice job here. Unlike the previous release, there's no "cartoon" version of this costume as an action figure. This is it. He has the red stripes on his shoulders, the yellow lights on his belt, the revised communicator colors on his wrist, and even that blue circle with a white triangle in it. He even has what seems to be Sabine Wren artwork in the form of the Big Bingo from earlier in the series - a nice detail, to be sure. The colors are all in line with how the cartoon model looked, but maybe not the brightness or contrast. The purple fur all seems darker, so the stripes are harder to see. However, this seems to make the smirking, sneering face look better. His smile really pops and his eyes are posed perfectly so he can elbow Ezra and needle him in your dioramas. It's a little bit of personality, but it goes a long way and makes this figure way more fun than his peers. It's rare that a modern The Vintage Collection figure has real personality - photorealism, yes, but not personality - and it really was a good choice here. It's kind of a shame they locked him behind a crowdfund, because I believe fans would clear this guy off the pegs if they ever put him out in an assortment in stores. At a reasonable price.

 While those colors aren't perfect, I'm always going to give Hasbro more of a benefit to the doubt when making realistic figures out of a stylized design, or a retro figure off of any design. So maybe his shoulder paint isn't as bright as the cardback art - that's fine. It still looks cool, and the figure has plenty of detail and articulation. The only thing missing is a "Rebel" version of Kallus with the nicer hair and jacket from the end of the show, and maybe Hasbro will get to that someday. It's been a slow clip of new releases from Rebels, but at least when we look back at the run it's mostly very good. Get this one if you see him at a fair price, and if you don't, ask Hasbro to reissue him. I'll support you.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse. The set hasn't really held its value over time, which may be good news for you - you might be able to pick up the vehicle and all the figures for $100 or so more than I paid for mine as a pre-sale. And others may be willing to sell just the figures, or just the ship, if they're so inclined.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,348: May 26, 2026