Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,906: Bib Fortuna (The Black Series)

 

BIB FORTUNA shares Dryden Vos' tailor
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Return of the Jedi Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F3417
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #08 - Return of the Jedi
Includes: 3 tumblers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Those attempting to do business with Jabba the Hutt first needed to maneuver past his pasty-faced majordomo, the Twi'lek Bib Fortuna. (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: In 1983, Return of the Jedi kicked off with Bib Fortuna right at the start. When Star Wars relaunched under Kenner in 1997, he was in year #3, almost exactly 25 years ago. When it came to The Black Series, Hasbro has been dragging their feet when it comes to classic original trilogy aliens and Bib Fortuna comes to us a whopping eight years into the 6-inch scale's run. We got Jabba pretty early on, Slave Leia was in wave #2, the Carbonite block was a preview exclusive convention item, and a Gamorrean Guard came out a few years later. And of course we've since got Jedi Luke, Boushh Leia, and Skiff Guard Lando - but creatures and aliens were in very short supply, which is one of the reasons I was super lukewarm about the 6-inch scale Rancor monster. A centerpiece of the scenes in Jabba's Palace, but in a collection, there's not much for him to go with just yet.

I'm glad he's here, but the design feels like the best 3 3/4-inch figure design made as a 6-inch figure. The figure is a mix of old and new elements. His pants come from the Dryden Vos release a few years ago, with new feet. Everything seems to be new - new rubbery outer robes, new chest armor piece, new head, new arms, and some surprisingly good new hands. The fingernail claws are some of the sharpest things I've ever touched on a Hasbro product. The wrist bracelets look great, the fingers are sculpted spread apart in interesting ways - much like the character in the movie - and the arms can move a bit under the rubbery robes. The legs basically can't move at all, and since you'll never see them, reusing existing tooling makes a lot of good sense. (I'd say Hasbro could also just make it a chess piece under there to lower the costs even more. Those double-jointed knees serve no function here.)

The head, elbows, wrists, and more or less shoulders move just fine. To do Bib Fortuna right, all you need are moving arms and the head, and Hasbro delivered. The sculpt is pretty good with lots of nice detail, and a paint job that's good but not great. I like the skin color, the eyes are fine, the robes look perfectly nice. What I don't understand is the blue wash over the skin in spots. It's not like they're visible veins or anything, it just looks like someone tried to add some definition or shading and made a poor choice of color with which to do this. Most other collectibles, official photos, trading cards, or other reference images don't s how blue bits - so why are they here? To give me something to nitpick on an otherwise perfectly adequate figure? Let's say yes.

Accessories can make or break a figure, and Bib's hands don't lend themselves to gear. Heck, in the movie it's not like he had a staff, a blaster, or a knife - but Hasbro gave him something. We get three drink glasses, and the fingers have enough give to hold them. I wouldn't store them there, because I assume they will warp those perfect digits over time. I don't think the cups help anything, so they'll probably go in a baggie so I don't lose them. (I will lose them.) I wouldn't have minded a Kenner-style staff either, but with the film's 40th anniversary next year it's entirely possible Hasbro is planning a brown/red coat Bib Fortua with the requisite accessory. I mean, I'd do it.

For long-time collectors, cool Return of the Jedi alien figures are so scarce that you know I'm going to recommend this one. Hasbro can do better - a redeco would probably be perfection - but this is perfectly good now as the best/only choice. I'm surprised XL Bib Fortuna from The Mandalorian didn't make it out first, but I would assume Disney said to Hasbro "make a Bib Fortuna figure," and Hasbro shrugged at what would seem like a weird request which ultimately made sense. For this figure to be in our hands now, development probably started before he appeared on the Disney+ show in 2020. But I digress - I appreciate a good classic alien, and this is indeed a good classic alien. And much more exciting than the endless video game troopers and metallic repaints. Show Hasbro you care, and buy one. Heck, buy two.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,906: March 10, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,895: Bib Fortuna (The Vintage Collection)

BIB FORTUNA Re-re-redux
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. F4463
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #224
Includes: Cloth robes
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $13.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Return of the Jedi
Bio: Those attempting to do business with Jabba the Hutt first needed to maneuver past his pasty-faced majordomo, the Twi'lek Bib Fortuna. (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: Existing most likely thanks to his cameo and exit from The Mandalorian's second season, Bib Fortuna is the fifth 3 3/4-inch action figure we've received. For those keeping track, they came out on 1983, 1997 (with a repaint in 2004), 2006, and now 2021 - so about every 9-15 years. Each revision tended to offer some minor improvement, like changing his accessories or changing the figure's functionality in some way. This is the first version of Bib Fortuna to have cloth robes in 38 years.

He's good, but not great. The sculpt and articulation is pretty good for a recent-ish figure, using the old bend-and-swivel hip joints. Those are pretty awful under the robes, mostly because they're tough to manipulate if you don't have tiny fingers. The arms have a perfectly good range of motion, which is important for Bib specifically. Most of his communication in Return of the Jedi was done with a lot of arm gestures, moving his fingers, and generally being creepy - and this figure can replicate that nicely. (The previous figure was a chess piece with swivel shoulders, elbows, and wrists - which was also a good figure given all I needed from him was to stand and not fall over.)

Hasbro did a good job articulating the legs, but that sort of thing is kind of worthless given his armor vest gets in the way of legs moving, and his robes cover so much of the figure that you're unlikely to ever want him sitting anywhere. The "salt shaker" figure of 2006 was good, and with new arms and a new head would have been fine - this one allows you to do more. But will you take advantage of those joints, is it worth the 100% price increase with no accessories? That's up to you. The face has a better sculpt this time around, but the eyes are almost crossed and the mouth without the lower teeth looks like he's mocking someone or something. The deco is great, the sculpt is very good, and the personality comes close to what you want - but it's not perfect. I assume a repaint of the head could result in something extraordinary. (The recent 6-inch figure had rubber robes and a better face, we'll get to him soon.)

I love getting new figures from Jabba's palace, but I'd love for them to be new. This is my fifth version of this figure from these scenes, and he doesn't have a knife or staff or blasters like previous releases - but at least he works better as the JabbaMart greeter we need him to be. (2006 Bib will likely remain on Jabba's Sail Barge, though.) If you have a Bib Fortuna that makes you happy, I wouldn't deem this one essential - but it's good if you can find one for a fair price, and this figure's current retail price is still roughly half of what the 2006 one will set you back. Also I should note Hasbro did a good job with the robes - they hang well and seem cut nicely, not too thick, not too thin, and certainly not something that obstructs mobility. Good hunting to you when it comes to this one.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,895: February 1, 2022