Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,359: Ahsoka Tano (Peridea, The Vintage Collection)

AHSOKA TANO (Peridea)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. F9798
Number: #338
Includes: Two lightsabers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $16.99
Availability: October 2024
Appearances: Ahsoka

Bio: Ahsoka Tano's quest to stop Grand Admiral Thrawn brings her beyond the galaxy once more to the World Between Worlds, where she gains newfound wisdom. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: A good figure that people decided they didn't want, Ahsoka Tano (Peridea) is "Ahsoka the White," which makes her previous live-action costume her take on "Gandalf the Grey." Disney-era Star Wars seems intent on keeping people in the same clothes day after day after year, so a new costume (and new toys) can be pretty refreshing. Poor Fennec Shand wore the same armor since her The Bad Batch appearances, which is just kind of ridiculous - Ahsoka had numerous costume changes during The Clone Wars, so it's good she has yet another one. It shares parts with the previous The Mandalorian and Ahsoka live-action The Vintage Collection figures, with a new head, hew belt, and new boots.

I don't know that her lekku are a big improvement, the stripes are a different layout and it's not a perfect match for the show. Does that matter? Good question, I'm glad I asked it - not really. Unless you hold this up to the TV screen, you won't notice - but in the era of $17 (now $20) figures, plus the fact that the figure lagged the show by a year, I think accuracy is fair to expect. The face is improved, with a better paint job and skin color to more accurately match the show with a darker, more saturated color. The white markings are very similar, and there's a new "hair band" to mask the transition from the face to the head tails. For the improved face, I would say this is the kind of thing that makes the purchase worth it.

The body is functionally the same as previous releases, which is good. Hasbro did a really great job with the pants. They're not quite as baggy as on TV, but that's good - if they were, the figure's legs couldn't swing forward. The ball joints let her sit well, so if we ever get vehicles for her? She's all set. The arms have the standard amount of movement, her wrists bend and swivel, and the knee joints are just superb. The knees are hidden in the pants! How great is that? The ankles rock, and that's good - but they're stiff, so you have to get it just right or she just might face-plant. The new belt has a separately sculpted braid - with paint! - that looks better than the previous one, and the painted metal ring also looks great. Her shins and forearms have armor, and the silver has a decent shine to it. Despite being a retool, I can't knock Hasbro for taking shortcuts. They improved her where it was needed to authenticity, mostly, and didn't fix what wasn't generally broken.

I would have liked hilts for her belt - we didn't get those. Instead she just has the same two milky-white lightsabers she's had before. There isn't anything wrong with them, but again, for $17? I'd like some hilts or removable blades. I assume a cloaked version of Ahsoka the White will come in 2027 for the show, unless Hasbro has decided it has tired of seeing this mold on markdown shelves. It's not a bad figure, but the edition size for the Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. She's sold out, and about $10 on the secondary market - get her before the show returns next year.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,359: July 2, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,309: Ahsoka Tano (Force Masters / Epic World of Action)

AHSOKA TANO Force Masters Pack
Epic World of Action Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. G0363 No. G0778
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 2 lightsabers, 4 other figures with accessories
Action Feature: n/s
Retail: $34.99
Availability: July 2025
Appearances: Ahsoka, probably

Bio: Jedi Masters take on Sith Lord Darth Vader in this 5-pack of Star Wars action figures inspired by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Force Ghost Yoda, Ahsoka Tano, and Darth Vader. (Taken from the Target's web site. Package 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: While I'm incredibly fond of Epic Hero Series and Epic World of Action, I think I can safely say it's the best figure line with the worst sense of timing. None of the figures were on time to be "on shelf" when any of the streaming series were near their respective debuts, although SM-33 was just late enough to make you mad. They're popular characters, but last year's - and now this year's Ahsoka Tano came out when her show was too far away from being new or recent. This one has some minor deco changes, and will be most likely marked down and out of Target before the second season trailer for Ahsoka makes its debut. This is unfortunate, as the figure collection is decent for the money.

This 2025 release is similar to the 2024 Ahsoka Tano [FOTD #3,117] on a single card, but with some extra paint. The paint doesn't make a lot of sense, but it looks cool. The 5-jointed figure added some "Force lightning" crackles to her gloves, lightsaber hilts, and oddly lightsaber blades. It's actually kind of cool on the lightsabers - it looks like she's absorbing Sith lightning. This would look super cool if they could integrate this kind of deco on specific collector figures, too - but here it's just kind of a head-scratcher. It makes the figure look new and different if you pay attention to this sort of thing, but given how many were sitting on shelves in Q4 last year I think people just overlooked it. Individually carded figures are in short supply, and nobody is supporting the cheaper vehicles - so people are ignoring the gift sets.

They're missing out. Ahsoka still has great face paint with nice blue markings on her lekku. The sculpting of her outfit still looks great, and all the joints move smoothly. Her pose isn't too extreme, or too generic, so you can have some fun posing her or putting her in unrelated vehicles. She stands, she sits, and she can hold her gear well. There's a hole in her back for expansion accessories, but for whatever reason Hasbro didn't take advantage of their various pegs and holes.

If you got last year's figure, you're probably a completist and will want this one too. It seems silly to buy another copy of a figure that Walmart blew out under $3, but it's well-made and I don't mind a weird deco variant if it's interesting. This one is barely interesting - skippable for some, but Hasbro rarely does energy deco on its figures. It's kind of a shame we don't see more of it, because Quantum Surges or Emperor's Wrath lightning can look really good as two-dimensional paint applications rather than blue twigs or boogers. Ahsoka's a good figure, and this set is interesting enough at its regular price that I would certainly recommend it at a discount. I just don't expect the line to have much of a future, so go get the set and backfill the line while you still can.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target on sale for $24.49. If I didn't overpay for Walmart's exclusives last year, I probably would've bought this one at full price and not complain. I needed that karmic price adjustment.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,309: January 8, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,188: Ahsoka Tano (Ahsoka/Jedi Robes, The Retro Collection)

AHSOKA TANO (Second Release Kenner Style, with Hood)
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6874 No. F6874
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Cape, Lightsabers
Retail: $11.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: Ahsoka

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 Amazon now! 

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I dragged my feet opening the second version of Ahoka Tano from late 2023, because I thought - incorrectly - that this was just 2022's Retro Ahsoka Tano [FOTD #2,943] on a (barely) new cardback with a new cloak accessory. That's certainly how it looks - and that's kind of a problem for consumers and collectors. Hasbro put out some very nice The Vintage Collection and The Retro Collection Ahsoka Tano figures for The Mandalorian and what was especially funny is both showed up at Ross for $3.99 a pop at the same time.  I put them side by side and realized that Hasbro had two packaged toys that, at a glance, were identical but one was originally $17 and one was originally $10. You and I are savvy enough to know the difference, but not everybody is.  Now with this second at-bat for retro Kenner Ahsoka, with a new logo and different cardback photo, the figure still looks the same. She's packaged with one new accessory behind her, and she had her hands fixed, but that is not at all obvious from the packaging. Also, the previous figure was at Ross before the cloaked version came out, so a lot of fans probably would have left her on the pegs had this new 2023 edition appeared in stores other than Target.

American brick and mortar retailers by and large skipped The Retro Collection late in 2023. Target got a little bit of the Ahsoka wave, and nobody big seemed to stock The Book of Boba Fett - but you could get them online. (Or now, for some, at Ross.) And I hate to say it - Kenner fans will want this figure. The base figure looks identical but it turns out Hasbro actually fixed her hands so they can grip the lightsabers more easily. The 2022 figure had a very loose grip, and she dropped her weapons when I picked her up off my shelf. I can shake the 2023 figure around and she holds them tightly. If you can only pick one version of the figure, obviously, get this one because she has an added accessory and is visually identical.

She stands and sits just as well as one might hope, and the cloth cloak rests well on her head. Hasbro always had a habit of making very large hoods, and in this case, it's a good choice - it fits! It looks and feels a lot like the old Return of the Jedi Luke cloak, and easily slips over her body. There are cuts so she can raise her arms a little, but she doesn't look good with both arms up - it's best to display her with her cloak on and arms down. You don't get to see the painted robe detail, but if you're a completist you've got the other figure already and can see that one. At least this way, it looks like you have two "different" figures.

Depending on your perspective she's just different enough to make you mad, but I'll throw down a few bucks for a Kenner figure with new gear and improved functionality. The hands work better - that's a reason to throw down a few bucks. If/when she shows up at Ross or Ollie's for $3.99, I would recommend you buy her even if you have the other one. If you actually open and handle these things, you'll be pleased with the improvements. Also, $3.99 isn't real money when it comes to retro-style figures. If Hasbro could make more figures from other lines in this format - not unlike Marvel - at lower prices, I'll get money. I can skip meals if I don't have money. I hope we get a few more of these guys before they finally decide this line's audience is too old, but let's be honest - if they could actually get the original trilogy guys on actual store shelves (even/especially reissues), they'd be selling. Unless they're The Emperor and it would be just as cheap to buy an actual 1984 figure instead.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,188: November 12, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,117: Ahsoka Tano (Epic Hero Series)

AHSOKA TANO New Kids Line
Epic Hero Series Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. F9405 No. G0103
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 2 lightsabers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: January 2024
Appearances: Star Wars: Ahsoka
Bio: Once a Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano now forges her own path in the galaxy. (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: Whenever a new line comes out, I'm never sure if it's going to immediately click with me or if I'm going to roll my eyes. Those $80 8-inch figures - while impressive - just didn't seem to serve a purpose. I liked the quality of the Mission Fleet vehicles, but the scale seemed destined to be incomplete, despite being generally neat. Epic Hero Series 4-inch figures are starting off super slow, but they're generally good. Ahsoka Tano - a figure I absolutely do not need more of - tuned out particularly well. While she lacks the personality quirks of vintage and POTF2-era figure sculpts like bent elbows and poses that give them a little more life, she's not a boring fixed-posed soldier either. The colors are good and the results may be a little simple for $10, but you know what? She's good. Hasbro did a nice job here.

I'm sure most fans would rather have the super-poseable ones we've had multiple times in other packaging styles (or the Retro Kenner one), but this one occupies a lower-cost middle ground. In an alternate timeline where you might not see the Vintage Ahsoka at Ross for $3.99, I would steer you toward this one. She may be a hair taller, but the detail is good and she's sturdy. She holds her lightsabers well, and stands easily, and has no problems sitting down either. There aren't any vehicles for this line as of yet, but if there were I assume she would easily fit in whatever you had handy.

In terms of texture and sculpting, they did a nice job with pants that look like cloth, armor that looks like armor, and skin that looks really close to Rosario Dawson. The nose is right on, the facial markings look good, the blue highlights look great. The eyes and lips look good, and she generally looks like what you would imagine a modern "vintage" Kenner figure to be. If anything, I think - minus the lack of waist joint - she might push a lot of the nostalgia buttons of the 1990s kid. Those lightsabers remind me a lot of Kenner's revival offerings with a silver hilt and a clear blade with no flourish at the base.

If you take a look at all of Hasbro's figures at their retail prices, this is on the lowest end of Ahsoka toys and turned out well. She also came out a little late for her TV show, without any vehicles, and is in a line that doesn't really have its footing yet. A figure is just a figure - it's nothing, it needs a vehicle, or playset, or more pals to hang out with before you can usually say "this is the line for me!" It's a great demo of what Hasbro can do, and it has my hopes up for more figures of this style. Having said that, you may find $3.99 Ahsoka figures at Ross or Ollie's right now too - and this one has yet to get much distribution outside the Walmart Easter bins or online shops. I'd recommend it for fans of Kenner figures from the 20th century, especially if you got ten bucks in your pocket. Hopefully this line clicks with kids and fans at a more fair price than Hasbro's other offerings, but these figures are not necessarily better than what competitive toy makers crank out for similar price points.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,117: March 19, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,080: Ahsoka Tano (Padawan, The Black Series)

AHSOKA TANO (Padawan)
The Black Series 2023 Closed Box Line Look The Clone Wars Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F7100
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #13 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Includes: Lightsabers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Bio: Ahsoka Tano, a young Togruta, was the Padawan learner to Anakin Skywalker and a hero of the Clone Wars. (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!

Click here to buy it at Walmart now!

Commentary: I can't complain about Ahsoka Tano (Padawan) as the figure is a great "live action" recreation of the season 3 cartoon costume, which also appeared on the Ahsoka TV show, and looks more or less like that. But maybe older. This is what the figure should look like - for long-time fans of the cartoons, this is pretty much what you would have in your head and the people at Hasbro did a nice enough job that you'll see this at $25 and go "OK, I want that."

The costume looks like what you saw on TV over ten years ago. She lost the tube top for a sleeveless number with gloves, arm bands, boots, and ventilated pants - which I guess may not seem Star Wars-y, but having left my house and seen airports I can assure you that the young people still do wear pants with rips in them. Functionally, it's probably pretty similar. How it works out for sword fighting, I have no idea. I sit at a computer for a living. Much like The Vintage Collection figure, she has two lightsabers. You can plug them into her belt if you like! Her belt fits well, the sculpting all turned out well and it seems multiple molded color pieces were stitched together to keep her looking her best for the longest possible time. You want things molded in color - paint scrapes. If the head is white plastic and pink plastic, at least those parts will stay nice if it falls and dings on the ground.

Since this figure is $25 I'm always torn between "do something to get the prices down" and "maximize the quality to make it worth $25." Ahsoka seems to be the latter. She has an extra joint to allow for extra arm movement, so inside her torso is an extra purple piece that connects to her arm and leets her have a bit more room. The figure's pose is pretty good too - her left hand has fingers extended in a "Force user" pose. The designers sculpted her to have a good center of gravity, so she actually stands on my desk while I hammer out this review. I didn't have a problem getting her into some neat poses, and I had no problems getting her to hold her lightsabers either. Hasbro even snuck in a surprise bonus joint - not only do you have rocker ankles, but the top of the boot is a swivel joint. I assume it was done because it helps keep paint costs down, but you can rotate that boot if you want. I don't think it's necessary but it is wonderful Hasbro budgeted it in there so nobody can complain that they didn't.

As I keep writing, I'm cutting my pre-orders for the 6-inch line and probably won't be buying a heck of a lot more - but I like this one a lot. I don't know if I'll keep her (and indeed them) forever, but she'll be one of the last to go. It's a pity the Anakin and Obi-Wan were really hard to get, because it would be great to have them to go with her - but maybe there's still room for Season 3 redesigns as figures, to keep things going. Hasbro did a nice job here, and if you are a fan of Ms. Tano I highly recommend getting this figure and watching The Clone Wars. (The Ahsoka show, well, if you have some time on a plane, sure.)

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,080: November 9, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,071: R7-TN0

R7-TN0 Droid Cosplay
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $14.99 $10.98
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. This droid is optimized to function in the idyllic and lush world of Kiros among the local artisans. Join R7-TN0 on their adventures throughout the galaxy! 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 Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!   

Commentary: I got R7-TN0 last year and it's one of sadly very many figures not opened for a very long time. I ripped it open about a month ago and checked eBay to see what it's going for... and apparently it's $80 now. What the heck, man? That's pretty pricey for a weird concept. Disney seemingly said "let's make droids colored to match popular characters," which is what we've seen for Christmas and Halloween for years. It doesn't seem like the concept had a lot of traction at Disney, and Hasbro did a couple of similar character-themed droids that matched their style, if not their actual appearance. Also there's a swell Stan Solo B0-B4 [FOTD #2,958] that looks like a Kenner Boba Fett. It's actually kind of a brilliant idea - R2-D2, to match characters? You can make a new droid, while kids can see a figure and go "I want the Ahsoka robot!" Everybody wins here.

This particular droid mimics the Rebels-era Ahsoka pretty nicely. The dome and shoulders mimic her skin, with some white stripes on the legs that sort of nod to her head markings and white panel lines that recall her armored costume. There are white stripes on the feet which I assume have no significance, but maybe they're here to match her white lightsabers. The big central orange eye looks great, and the gray dome topper vaguely recalls the former Jedi's head, with a surprising amount of painted panels around the orange dome. This one looks more complicated in terms of paint when compared to other figures, and while I am not pleased with the rising costs on old molds based on old molds that have been repainted dozens of times I can't deny they did nice work here.

I like this one enough where I could see Hasbro or Disney doing an entire line of astromech repaints to match other popular characters - it's a little silly, but so is this entire hobby. I paid a lot for a Boba R2-D2. I'd probably throw down more than a few bucks for an R2 unit in Sy Snootles or Chewbacca colors, too. If you can find this one for a reasonable price, I'd recommend it as it looks like something you'd see on-screen while also being a blatant nod to a main character. It's a superbly clever idea and I think the designer should get a pat on the back... and assignment to do a lot more of them.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney with a help from a friend.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,071: October 10, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,949: Ahsoka Tano (The Black Series)

AHSOKA TANO Corvus, but not labeled as such
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Orange The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F4349
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #19 - The Mandalorian
Includes: 2 lightsabers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: A Clone Wars veteran and now wandering Jedi, Ahsoka Tano forges her own path in the galaxy fighting injustices that she discovers. (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!

Commentary: As time moves on, The Black Series gets better and better at making good medium-tier collectible action figures. This Ahsoka Tano from The Mandalorian is pretty good - I like her white lightsaber blades and clever articulation, although there's a bit too much dark paint around the eyes compared to the 3 3/4-inch figures. Having said that, I'd recommend her if you're into figures that look good posed on a shelf or a desk. I'd say "I can't imagine Hasbro will ever make a better Ahsoka than this!" but they seem to discover new paint techniques or joints every few years, so I'll just say this is as good as Ahsoka gets for now. Get her if you can find her, order her online if you can't.

I love the Vintage version of this figure - it's one of Hasbro's 10 best of all-time for super-articulated action figures in this size. I love the Kenner-style one even more, because I am old, and I accept their attempts to pander to me with "yes please, more please." However, not every collector is in their upper 30s, or 40s, or 50s, and the up-and-comers tend to want something bigger and more impressive - and they're probably going to like this Ahsoka figure a bunch. The first thing I looked at was the arm articulation. The shoulders are a hoot, because they have that extra forward-and-backward joint where the fleshy part of the arm meets the costume for even more movement. The elbow articulation is above par, the wrists move just enough to get cool dueling and pointing poses, the boots move nicely at the ankles, and her knee joints are hidden inside pants that would make Hammer ca. 1991 blush. She's got a great mid-torso joint that lets her twist and bend in all directions too, plus the neck moves pretty well considering she's got lekku in the way. It's also worth noting her legs swing forward quite nicely given the "cloth" plastic pieces hanging over her waist - you can probably fit her in a decent 1:12 scale chair, if you have one handy. She can kneel, she can duel, she's great. The only thing they could add is more gear, and for $25 I wouldn't have minded robes or a sidekick or a lamp. I love lamp.

I love her lightsabers! The hilts are a bright silver that make me a bit nervous - I would not be surprised to see the paint molt off with time, but we won't know until it's too late. She can hold them well, and the white blades look really good. Each blade has a loop on the pommel, so she can hang them on the small and very subtle belt hooks. Hasbro did a great job integrating them in the design. I wish you got more in here, but you don't - and they're good enough that you probably won't feel like you got shorted because the figure is pretty bulky.

But how does she look? Also pretty perfect. The skin's a little more desaturated, with that Photo Real printing on it. The facial details don't pop quite as much as the 3 3/4-inch figures, except for the eyes - the extra dark shadowing really brings them out. It also feels a tiny bit like Anakin's Darth Vader Sith eye make-up, but hey, we know Ahsoka's on our side. The lekku painted details are superb, and her costume's blue/gray/silver look is good too. I appreciate some painted belt detailing. The textures on the pants are amazing with detailed pleats and teeny tiny wrinkles and folds that capture what the actual costumes must look like up-close, plus she has smooth greaves and vambraces to complete the outfit. It's a very The Clone Wars-by-way-of-reality look, meaning she has way more armor than any original trilogy-era heroes. I should also note her arms, which have exposed shoulders and laced-up sleeves with little windows with skin poking through.

Given I don't have access to Hasbro's budgets, I can't say for sure but it looks like we're seeing more money put in to tooling and developing the figures. 10 years ago, the body near the shoulders would not only be unarticulated, but painted a close-but-not-exact color. Here, all exposed skin matches. Here, we've got a face molded in that orange color and lekku molded in white - and it's fantastic. In the old days, they'd just be painted. The clever integration of knee joints in the pants just makes me happy, and what appears to be a few more molds and colors of plastic used result in better figures. Also, more expensive figures. If the world wanted $10-or-less 6-inch figures with minimal deco or articulation, Hasbro could deliver. Having said that, I don't think it would serve this particular character well - some figures you want plussed up and jointed to the best of Hasbro's ability, and this is one of them. I wouldn't mind a soft goods cloak or a different eye deco variant down the road, but given I'm getting a little worn out over deco variants I'd probably be happy with this one.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,949: August 9, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,943: Ahsoka Tano (The Retro Collection)

AHSOKA TANO Kenner Style
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F4200 No. F4459
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 2 lightsabers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: A Clone Wars veteran and now wandering Jedi, Ahsoka Tano forges her own path in the galaxy, righting injustices that she discovers. (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!

Commentary: It's kind of funny, just a few weeks before I got this retro Kenner-style Ahsoka Tano action figure, I got Hasbro's The Vintage Collection Ahsoka Tano (Corvus) [FOTD #2,927] which is one of the very best Hasbro 3 3/4-inch action figures we've ever seen. I'm also more than a little obsessed with demakes (Namco's Famicom/NES port of Pac-Man Championship Edition is a hoot, as is Eden Pixels' Alwas Awakening, also for NES.) Since I was a kid during the 1980s seeing figures like Ahsoka in this style brings to life a visit to Lionel PlayWorld that never took place - each batch of these is a rare treat. It's my hope Hasbro continues to bake a new batch or two every year. Eventually it won't be profitable to cater to Generation X kids (and Xennials) that refused to grow up, so I take this kind of toy as something you have to either treasure, or ignore.

This particular Ahsoka Tano brings the ex-Jedi into live action and then puts her through a hypothetical Kenner fun factory. The pose and colors are great, and I'd argue she's probably a little better than Kenner would have squirted out in 1987. I think they nailed the shoes, but the pants are a bit rounder and much less sharp in their folds than I would have expected. Take a look at the 1978 Obi-Wan Kenobi or 1983's The Emperor or 1984's Anakin Skywalker. Or the Imperial Dignitary. The cuts around the hips are usually incredibly sharp, and the sculpted layers of fabric are similarly stark. Ahsoka's are rounder and softer (as are all modern Retro figures), giving her a less harsh appearance. Maybe the idea was to make her seem like the molds were showing some signs of age, but that's not my concern. Her pants look like her pants, and some details are a little softer. The painted finger gloves, painted silver armor, and the sleeves opted to not show any exposed skin in the holes - exactly as Kenner would have most likely done. (Heck, some small Kenner figures didn't even have painted eyes as the 1980s went on.) It's a little surprising that her belt has brown, blue, and silver paint given most figures of that era had little or none. Han Solo (Endor Trenchcoat) had a crotch that was totally blank, but the coat generally covered that up. It gives what would have been a very blank gray field of nothing a little more variety - and that's good. Her top has a little blue, too.

The head may be too good for the old Kenner era, but for all I know this fantasy 1987 Kenner Star Wars line raised prices for the extra accessories and said "hey, let's give her white face markings, painted lips, painted eyes, that ridge on her brow, and oh yeah - let's give her blue and white tails, too." Humans very rarely had painted lips in the original line (Hoth Leia comes to mind), and an injection molded head with two colors of plastic was generally unheard-of. I think Hasbro made a smart decision to focus on representing key landmarks of the character's face rather than dialing back the paint to mimic what we may have seen back in the day, particularly because Ahsoka without those blue stripes would just be disappointing. Despite these upgrades, she still plays a lot like an old toy with jointed hips and shoulders, plus a jointed neck. Hasbro's current sculptors graced us with a jointed neck featuring only slightly restricted articulation. A lot of old Kenner figures didn't have a big range of movement, so I appreciate that they made a figure that captures the flavor of the original while probably breaking more than a few rules of how limited those old toys would have been. Also she fits in my old Kenner vehicles (and my one Adventure People vehicle) without a hitch, which is really what matters most.

Her two lightsabers are modeled after the 1980-1983 Luke Skywalker model (Bespin/Jedi, later Hoth Pilot and Gideon's Darksaber.) Both have curved hilts but basically look just like what Luke had, other than length. She can hold them but the grip isn't too tight - this is also like a lot of old Kenner figures. Some would just drop the weapons. (Look, I loved those old figures but they're not infallible.) Hasbro absolutely made the right decision with their design, but I really would have loved her to have had a better grip on them. It's perfectly fine, but it's not perfect.

I've seen a handful of these guys hanging around Walmarts and Targets, which always kind of surprises me - but it also shows I might be out of touch with what some fans want. (My assumption is we're pretty starved so everything looks good.) Hasbro's retro Marvel figures are perfectly nice but don't scream "1980s Kenner" to me like Hasbro's retro Star Wars. There's a flavor that has to be captured. If you put Ahsoka on a big cardback in a line-up with the other 90+ originals and recent new sculpts, I think she'd fit in well enough. (Confidential to Hasbro: please make us a big poster checklist and hand it out at a convention, preferably one I am at.) Figures like this retro Ahsoka are probably not going to please fans who demand mega-articulation and authenticity. I assume they're not going to delight people who just want a top-notch figure of the character as seen on their TVs. Figures like this are primarily for old toy fanatics, and considering we're all getting a lot older I can't imagine we're going to enjoy this kind of thing forever. Like the NES homebrew scene, I recommend you enjoy her for what she is, and for as long as Hasbro continues to make this kind of figure.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,943: July 19, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,933: Ahsoka Tano (& Grogu, The Vintage Collection Deluxe)

AHSOKA TANO & Grogu
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Deluxe Walmart Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5576
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Two lightsabers, cloak, rock, shifter knob, Grogu, Morai, lantern
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $20.97
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian
Bio: Now a wandering Jedi, Ahsoka Tano forges her own path in the galaxy, righting injustices that she discovers. Grogu, a mysterious alien, is being pursued by bounty hunters. (Taken from marketing copy. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: We just looked at the Corvus version of her, which is basically the same as Deluxe Ahsoka Tano & Grogu. (We'll look at her little green friends later.) We looked at Ahsoka Tano [FOTD #2,927] a few weeks ago, and she's incredible - and skippable, if you decide to buy this Walmart-exclusive set. The very same figure with two lightsabers and a lot more, and for an extra $7. So what comes in the box to justify a 50% upcharge for a figure you just purchased last month?

(Playmobil tree not included.)

The two clear colorless lightsabers don't bring anything new, but her lantern fits in her hand quite nicely. It's the long model with a shiny metal painted frame around a clear yellow core, and it's fine. It's the kind of thing you want in a set like this. The real highlight is Ahsoka's cloth cloak, which is cut very nicely with a thin fabric that hangs surprisingly nicely. There's a hood, and the fabric looks used, but not ratty. It's good. And I assume a fan-made garment would set me back at least $5 before shipping.

Hasbro has put out a few toys with bonus accessories at a higher price, like a recent Studio Series Transformers Starscream with a cape, a chunky throne, crown, and some other gear. It's $20 more than a regular Starscream - but if you look at third-party, fan-made (unlicensed) gear it's quite a bargain. Just the accessories would probably cost you more than that, and they'd be unlicensed to boot. The whole package is, arguably, a good deal if you were going to buy all that stuff... and a waste of money to double-dip if you don't care. Ahsoka is pretty much the same thing. If you just want an Ahsoka figure, she's perfectly good - but do you need two? Probably not.

Since the unique Grogu is pretty cute, and the Morai bird is new and unique, and the shifter knob and floating Force rock are pretty cool, I assume you'd happily pay $7 for just those parts if a fan-made booth at a convention offered them for sale. I think they should be cheaper - this whole set would be great at $17 or $18, particularly since the gorgeous box (a waste of cardboard packed with lots of empty space) denies you a look at the toy you bought. If you're going to open it, it's great - because you can keep the box without ripping anything.

Had Hasbro thrown in a small toy tree or branch for the Morai, or maybe a plastic rock accessory for scenery, I'd say this set is absolutely worth the asking price. For those who want the very best Ahsoka figure, right now, this is it - she has the best articulation, the best likeness, the best gear, and two little buddies. If you don't have a live-action Ahsoka figure, and you open your toys, buy this one. If you don't open your toys, I might suggest buying it anyway because the retro box artwork - admittedly a little weird since they clearly went out of their way to leave text off the fornt - have lavish photography and presents the product in the best possible light. I don't feel ripped off, but if I knew there would be absolutely no difference from the regular TVC release I wouldn't have bothered to open the single-carded one.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,933: June 14, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,927: Ahsoka Tano (Corvus, The Vintage Collection)

AHSOKA TANO (Corvus)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. F4478
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #222
Includes: Two lightsabers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $13.99
Availability: April 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian
Bio: A Clone Wars veteran and now wandering Jedi, Ahsoka Tano forges her own path in the galaxy, righting injustices that she discovers. (Taken from marketing copy. There is 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!

Commentary: The new stuff is good - Ahsoka Tano (Corvus) continues to show Hasbro can make great things when they aren't content to extrude a repainted reissue of a figure that's old enough to be a teenager. I'm really happy with these new ones, because - and this isn't meant to be back-handed - they aren't disappointing. We've had a lot of super-articulated figures that tend to fall over, or are hard to get to stand up when you put them in a slightly interesting pose. Ahsoka stood easily, right out of the packaging. I put her in a combat pose, put her on my desk, and she didn't fall over. I used to think that these figures just had to fall over if you did that - and apparently, I was being too kind. I just posed her with her sabers swinging in separate directions, legs apart, knees slightly bent. She's not wobbling or anything. I don't know what kind of alchemy they used to engineer, nor what kind of human sacrifice was made to make it happen, but it worked.

Leg articulation is good - the new-style hip joints have a good range of motion, but mine seem to have a little less tension. They're held in place well by the "skirt" piece though. The knees have joints hidden behind the pants, which work fairly nicely. The ankles also do their thing with no problems. Her legs do swing forward, but not as far forward, or as well, as other recent figures. But it's still more than a fair bit better than just about everything Hasbro has sold (and re-sold) you over the past decade.

Her interaction with the lightsabers was better than expected, with a grip that's tight enough to not drop them, but loose enough to allow her to give them a bit more direction than "runs perpendicular to arm." It's cool to see her thrust the blade out for a duel, and depending on the orientation of the hilt in the hands, you can get some interesting variations on how she grips them. Hasbro did great here - and of course, the wrists are jointed too. When I was a kid, the Kenner figures were really good but some held their weapons better than others. And with Hasbro, some of them were a fight to get them in the hands. This figure just works, and works very well.

Her sculpting, unsurprisingly, is great. The face sculpt looks just like the made-up Rosario Dawson, the headdress piece looks superb, and the painted facial features look great to my eyes. The stripes are excellent, and the headtails don't get in the way of her neck being able to turn... which would have been all but guaranteed had this been made in most eras of this line's history. Proportionally she looks great, her shoulders are excellent with mostly covered joints. If I knew we'd get figures sculpted and painted this well in the 1990s... well, I probably would have skipped buying a ton of other figures to wait for this one. We certainly wouldn't be staring down 3,000 reviews here.

I sound like a broken record, but this Ahsoka figure is yet another one of Hasbro's best. You should get her. I'd go as far as to say all the new new figures - which can be hard to easily spot among the reissues and repaints - are shaping up to give this line a very bright future between now and the time Hasbro deems it unprofitable.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,927: May 24, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,857: Ahsoka Tano (Mandalore, The Vintage Collection)

AHSOKA TANO (Mandalore)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. F1893
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #202
Includes: 2 lightsabers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $13.99
Availability: July 2021
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: On Mandalore, Ahsoka Tano faced Darth Maul, clashing Lightsabers in the throne room of the capital city. Ultimately, she was able to turn his own weapon against him. (Taken from marketing copy. There is 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!

Commentary: Sometimes good things come to those who wait. While The Black Series figure was partially recycled parts, this 3 3/4-inch scale The Vintage Collection Ahsoka Tano (Mandalore) is new parts. This matters - so many of Hasbro's releases in The Vintage Collection have been something of a snooze since the 2018 revival, with almost no new classic characters and a whole bunch of rereleases. Themed waves are scarce, which makes collecting something of a chore - if you can't buy figures that go together nicely, it's just clutter - it's not a collection. Thankfully this wave pairs Ahsoka with a matching Darth Maul, and while I would like some other figures to go with them, at least we got a Rex reissue a couple of waves back. This is one of the better waves that isn't The Mandalorian figures, as she shipped with an Offworld Jawa and king of dad jokes Echo, too. Hopefully this wave gets wide release - I assume Jawas will be snapped up by army builders and the rest will just plain sell.

The first Vintage Ahsoka - who needs another rerelease - was put out almost ten years ago, and she's been consistently popular as soon as the old fans started leaving and the kids grew up who loved her as a kid. That's the point of Star Wars - you kind of have to grow into it. This figure is a marvel of Hasbro engineering, she's been open on my desk for a couple of days and she hasn't fallen over. That's a huge deal - most humans will eventually flop over and she's had no problems standing up thanks to her massive 25 points of articulation. In my day, we had four or five. An excellent figure in the early '00s had 22, but some come and go - Ahsoka has no bend-and-swivel wrists, but you do get a thigh cut as well as double-jointed hips. Also a bending knee joint as well as a swiveling joint. I gripe a lot about $14 reissues, but the $14 new figures have been generally superb - the engineering works great, she can stand, she's easy to get action poses from, and she looks ridiculously good. The waist has a lot of good movement in it, and the double-jointed neck gives you a lot of extra personality too.

Her costume is wonderful with dark grey and silver trim. It makes sense given the tone of the show - she's gone from a colorful child to a drab adult with the encroaching Empire. Her lekku are nicely painted, her eyes are glossy, and her lips - to human eyes - are perfect. Her hands and wrists have painted armor and gloves, it's difficult to fault this one. She's great - the stock photos looked so good, I couldn't believe them. The final figure is about that good, too. There's a reason people are overpaying for her right now. (Be patient, more are coming.)

Her blue bladed lightsabers are based on the ones Anakin hands her near the series' final episodes, and again they're great. They look good, the colors are nice, and it's the kind of figure that should make you mad because it shows just how amazing Hasbro of 2021 is. So many of the figures we've been reviewing here are based on engineering from 2010-2013, it's just such a drag. Ten years is a long time in toys - in 1985 Kenner made Duloks, and in 1995 they made ultra-buff Luke and Han and Darth Vader. Goofy, yes, but with much better painting and sculpting - this figure is really good stuff.

We've only had about 10 figures this year that I could remotely call "new," and at least two of those look like they're using some old bits. (Bespin Escpae Leia just mostly looks like an older figure.) There's painfully little new to buy in a sea of Carbonized and Credit Collection repaints, so figures like this ex-Jedi Ahsoka are a real treasure. Get one.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,857: September 21, 2021