Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,089: Gamorrean Guard (The Retro Collection)

GAMORREAN GUARD 2023 Remake of 1983 Figure
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Hasbro Pulse/Shop Disney 6-Pack
Item No.: No. F6988
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Axe plus Mon Mothma, Yak Face, Emperor's Royal Guard, Wicket W. Warrick, and Admiral Ackbar
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $72.99
Availability: November 2023
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Star Wars Retro Collection includes Star Wars action figures from the 40-plus-year legacy of the Star Wars Galaxy, including movies and live-action series. (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 eBay now!

Commentary: It's always a little weird to see a figure I got for Christmas as a little kid reissued, but hey, at least it's a sensible set! The Gamorrean Guard is one that dropped on eBay lately, but was going for a decent amount of money (especially with his axe) just a few years ago. I assume this set and Stan Solo axe repros drove prices down, so now you can get a loose original guard for around $15-$16 shipped, or this one in a 6-pack for $73 (about $12.16.) If I were you, and I just wanted pig guards, I'd buy originals - they're better overall, but they don't include a friggin' Yak Face. Or Mon Mothma. It's a really good set and you should get one, at least.

Originally a figure I had as a kid, I can say it worked well in its design as an actual toy. You get one hand which can hold an axe, which can menace Luke or Chewie or whoever you like. The other hand was a fist - unusual for Kenner Star Wars at the time - so it actually gave him a little extra personality. He could punch people! Everybody else tended to have a gripping hand or an open hand, so something this simple gave the brutish guard some real thug energy. It was great! (And it was fun to punch other figures.) He's slightly hunched over, as is his design, with a generously portioned body - the widest in the line - meaning he won't fit in most vehicles. There were special wide slots on the C-3PO Carry Case for him, though. He can't sit like normal figures due to how Hasbro implemented the "skirt" design, which was really clever - the legs were inside and had a "v" crotch, swinging to the sides rather than swinging forward. It's kind of a pity that this design was not tried again with future figures, most of which got an actual skirt or just a t-crotch cut. He can't fit with his legs fully forward, but at least he can kind of, sort of sit a bit. I assume a person in the costume would do the same. It was a good design, even though it lacked some of the pink in his face this green ham (no eggs) was a fun toy figure for kids of the era.

This new Gamorrean Guard looks just like the old figure at first glance, but if you get in close there are lots of weird little changes - this is basically. He's a little smoothed-out, like he got botox and was squished a bit. His belt buckle was a circle, now it's an oval that's been squished a bit - just like Retro Skiff Lando. Sculpted details vary widely from the original, with some elements like his arm veins or dots on his armor seeming more detailed while the wrinkles on his face and sculpted toes seem less detailed. As I've mentioned with other Retro Collection figures, it's not better or worse - it's different. It's the 2023 Vietnam Variant, and the details are more smoothed out and cartoony. The 2023 figure is the one in your memory, whereas the real 1983 deal has a lot of intricate wrinkles around the eyes. The helmet hoodie has lost most detail on the silver element, giving you a figure that seems like it took a trip through the uncanny valley on its 40 year journey to us today. I don't think anyone who never owned the original will find fault with this one - he holds his axe, the arms and legs all feel exactly like the original when they swivel.

Paint on the new Gamorrean Guard is good, and the color matching is excellent. The axe is a little bit lighter, with brown paint and silver plastic just being a bit more vibrant. The same is true for the figure's silver armor, which is a heck of a lot shinier than I remember ever seeing on an authentic 1983 Kenner figure. The browns, blacks, and yellows match closely, with eyes that seem bigger, cuter, more surprised. The 1983 figure looks like Kenner made the best figure they could with 1983 budgeting and manufacturer techniques, while the 2023 Hasbro figure looks like they were trying to copy the aesthetic of that older figure - but not the manufacturing methodology. It's a minor quibble and most people won't notice a difference, but you can see a few alterations that seem like you lost a generation of toymakers and it is a good, but not precise, copy.

Would I recommend this figure? Of course - it's just different enough to make you go "OK sure" if you're an old-school variant fan, and it's pretty cheap if you just want a carded Kenner Gamorrean Guard. Having said that, army-builders have an endless supply of the 40-year-old originals, but the 2023 one has cleaner paint. I can't fault rerunning army builders, so I think this is going to make a lot of people happy. Hopefully Hasbro keeps 'em coming and hopefully puts some in stores - The Retro Collection figures hitting mass tend to sell out immediately if they're remakes of the 1978-1985 Kenner figures, and are very hit-and-miss if they're Disney-era stuff.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse, who seem to have sold out days after shipping. Check ShopDisney for availability too.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,089: December 12, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,510: Gamorrean Guard (The Black Series 6-Inch)

GAMORREAN GUARD Target Exclusive
The Force Awakens The Black Series 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: No. E2502
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 2 axes and a pole weapon
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $29.99
Availability: August 2018
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Burly, pig-like brutes who favored axes and other primitive weapons, Gamorreans were often used as muscle by Hutts and other underworld kingpins. Jabba the Hutt employed a gang of intimidating Gamorreans to guard his palace on Tatooine.  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability:  Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Star Wars has boundless potential in its margins.  The 6-inch line has largely done a good job with the major players, but rarely does Hasbro scratch the B- and C-listers of older movies that make collecting fun.   They should do more, because figures often end up like this gem. A Gamorrean Guard is a fantastic big and beefy brute, appearing in an oversized box with lots of deco and bonus accessories.  It's great - for $30 you get your money's worth.  The super-articulated figure has an exceptional range of motion with three nicely-decorated weapons.  In other words, you might want to buy more than one.

27 point sof articulation build him out, allowing him to menace Jedi or debtors or just about anybody.  One axe matches the 1983 Kenner figure, another matches the 1997 figure.  Both have rusty, bloody blades and wooden handles to give them a great sense of realism.  A third pole weapon looks spectacular, but lacks the extra color of the axes.  It's still pretty awesome.  The figure has armored shoulder pauldrons which are fused to the body, plus extra armor bits molded directly to the green ham flesh.  The sculpting is top-notch, but the deco is even better with painted finger and toenails, a pink snout, and glossy lips.

The figure has nicely engineered arms that allow for tons of great poses, possibly giving the figure more of a range of movement than the guys in the rubber suits had.  The elbow cuts are deep so he can hold a weapon over his shoulder, or even double-grip the pole arm.  The rocker ankles are wonderful to have, and it's really something to see the range of movement given to a figure that has, historically, been chunky and difficult to pose in other forms.   I love the soft, fluffy briefs and the belt is no slouch.  The spiky armor bits are lovely, and the textures all over the figure are the kind of thing I can scarcely have imagined five or ten years ago.  There's a grid pattern on the silver part of the hat that knocked my socks off.  The face is perfect.  The bandolier looks like an old worn belt   I don't doubt a figure sold at a higher price could be even better, but this is stunning and would probably compare favorably to any other competitor made in this medium.

I'm glad to have gotten this figure and I hope to get one or two more to go with my Jabba.  I'd love to see more of the goons from Jabba's palace over time, but given the high price and slow rate of release I assume it might be another few years before we get a Bib Fortuna, a Klaatu, a Nikto, or some of the weirder creatures.   If this figure is any indication, Wooof is going to be off the hook - but until then, go ahead and get this preposterously good Gamorrean Guard, what with his opening maw and ability to carry toy food amusingly.   If you have other small toy things to have him hold and put in his mouth, you're in for a treat.  Get this figure, even if you're not a Star Wars completist.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,510: August 23, 2018