Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,054: Grand Inquisitor (The Retro Collection)

GRAND INQUISITOR (Kenner Style)
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F4200 No. F5773
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, vinyl cape
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: July 2022
Appearances: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Bio: The Star Wars Retro Collection features design and detailing inspired by the original 1970s Star Wars figures. (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: I opened this Grand Inquisitor from The Retro Collection about a year ago and I didn't like it all that much - so he hung out with me on my desk all this time. My opinion of him has improved a tiny bit, but he's still got problems and at under $6 on Amazon the free market has spoken. This is not a desirable figure.

The character's personality and design changed a bunch from Rebels to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the figure reflects that. But, being a retro figure, that's OK - part of their charm were simplified and often incorrect features, as long as the figure itself looks cool. Sure, Hammerhead doesn't match the on-screen Ithorian - but he looks cool. The Grand Inquisitor looks a little odd with a bigger head, a rounder more baby-like face, and a head that says "I was made from concept art" to me. The aliens from Utapau had deep cranial ridges, sharp fangs, and really high foreheads - Grandy here has very smoothed-out ridges and not much of a forehead. (This matches the show.) The eyes and tattoos are all red, and the show has some grays in there. The skin is a pale rosy color - not as ashen as the show - but his expression is good. It definitely reads as being a real, old figure.

The body is pretty good - the major landmarks are there, and some are unpainted or underrepresented. The shoulder armor and gauntlets look great. The boots and pants and belt are fine. Some of the buttons aren't quite as good as the show, but for a Kenner-style figure it doesn't really matter much. The gray parts are a little light, while the black parts are a little glossy. It's striking, but seems a little off. There's decent articulation to be had, although the vinyl cape hurts it a great deal. Unless you want to crease the cape, this figure is unlikely to be sitting any time soon. (Of course given the now-cheap market prices, you can just buy another one.)

His accessories are a cape and a lightsaber. The double lightsaber design is clever - props to them for it - with a round hilt and a double-blade design that borrows from the 1980s Kenner Luke hilts. I can buy that this is what Kenner might have done. The vinyl cape is pretty good in terms of design, but the execution turned out just below what I would hope to get. It was pre-wrinkled in the package and since it can't be removed without cutting off the arms, I don't think you can iron it flat to fix those wrinkles. It's also a little long, so you have to curl it back a bit otherwise he'll fall face-forward. It's a smart design, but a bad practical piece - had it been done in cloth, I think nobody would complain. I also don't know when Hasbro opts for cloth over vinyl, as two figures from this wave went cloth and two didn't. As Hasbro more or less stopped making new vinyl figures about four years in, it's a curious choice.

Because I love Kenner figures, this one is acceptable. The sculpting doesn't have the deep grooves of real Kenner figures, nor does it have a particularly interesting pose - he seems to have copied Bespin Luke's stance, as have most new Hasbro Kenner sculpts. I would love to see slightly bent elbows or maybe some variation in the knees, especially on figures who can't sit well. By no means is this figure awful, but it's probably the worst of the wave. I would recommend grabbing the Fifth Brother first, but given how cheap the Grand Inquisitor is these days, why not just buy one? Five bucks on Amazon is peanuts for something in the "decent" range, and this certainly does meet those standards. At full price - or above retail - I wouldn't run and get one unless you're also a hardcore Kenner fanatic.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,054: August 10, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,709: Stormtrooper with Blast Accessories (The Black Series 6-Inch)

 STORMTROOPER with Blast Accessories
The Black Series Disney Store Exclusive Introduction 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: No. E2258
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #n/a
Includes: Blaster pistol, stand with reversible plate, 3 blasts
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: August 2018
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio:  Stormtroopers are elite shock troops fanatically loyal to the Empire and impossible to sway from the Imperial cause. They wear imposing white armor, which offers a wide range of survival equipment and temperature controls to allow the soldiers to survive in almost any environment.  Stormtroopers wield laster rifles and pistols with great skill, and attack in hordes to overwhelm their enemies.  (Taken from the box.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Despite being a great idea, my Stormtrooper with Blast Accessories stayed in a box collecting dust on the floor in my office for almost two whole years.   It's a good idea - Hasbro took a $20 figure that fans want more than one of, added some improved battle damage, including a perfectly adequate stand, and tossed in three blast effects.  It's worth the $5 upcharge.

The figure itself is very similar to the individual boxed and carded figures you've seen before, as well as the various repaints.   What makes this figure unique is that Hasbro dropped the rifle and added deco.  The helmet, shoulder, and chest have some great damage on them, setting this trooper apart from the many other figures squeezed out of this mold over the last seven years.   The articulation is just as good, the white plastic is still great, and the mobility is good enough to keep you happy.  I assume you just want another one to add to your stash, and if you do, it's nice to build your armies with slightly different figures.   It's also not too expensive, despite being long sold-out.

What makes it distinctive are its accessories.  The stand is a grey block with a Star Wars logo that pops out and can be reversed to show a pattern that looks like a wall on an Imperial installation.  Options!  It has two foot pegs, but interestingly also has hooks to connect to other stands.  As of my writing this, there are no other stands - this is it.

The more visible accessories are three fire blasts.  Japanese figure companies have been selling things like this to companies for years, but they're uncommon in Star Wars.  (Notably, Hasbro now includes them with many Transformers.)   These seem like a great fit to plug on the tip of the blaster, but the big explosions are harder to use - if you don't have some  big battle diorama, they do kind of get in the way.  They're nice, with lots of paint and color cast over translucent pieces, but where do they go?

I think sets like this are great.  Keep the figures in circulation, make some changes, add some gear - but maybe other accessories would be more fun instead.  Variant helmets, weapons for other figures, or more fireblasts for blasters - like a stun setting! - could be a lot of fun in the future.  Hasbro did a great job here, it's just that it's a good value and a great idea that's not immediately useful unless you're constructing a battle at home.   The stand is fine, but is ultimately not great - bigger, heavier figures require more support up top, otherwise they sag with time and fall over.  Having said all that, at the right price, I'd strongly recommend getting this to add to your armies - and maybe the fireblasts can be used if you do figure photography.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney's web store. 

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,709: July 21, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,588: Grand Moff Tarkin (The Retro Collection)

GRAND MOFF TARKIN Vintage-Style Debut
The Retro Collection Board Game Pack-In
Item No.:  No. E6172
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, Escape From Death Star Game
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: May 2019
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: After Supreme Chancellor Palpatine transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire and proclaimed the Jedi as fugitives, Tarkin became the Empire's first Grand Moff, and regional Governor of the Outer Rim. With this responsibility, he was also given oversight of the Death Star which he took command over after removing Orson Krennic from the position once it was operational. (Stolen 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!

Commentary: This is kind of a big deal.  To date, Hasbro (and Kenner) have largely ignored vintage-style figures save for a rocket-firing Boba Fett (a big deal) and a handful of remakes from the 1978 debut series.   Boba Fett is arguably a new entry to the line, but everything else is just a rerun - seeing Grand Moff Tarkin in plastic decades after his proposed inclusion around 1986 is something if a bizarre miracle.

At Toy Fair 2019, Hasbro said that this was one of the most difficult sculpts they've ever had to do, as it is a real challenge to capture the flavor of a figure from 40 years ago.  While that statement of the challenge is true, Hasbro left out that much of Tarkin was "borrowed" from the 1980 Imperial Commander action figure.  The torso and arms are brought over to Tarkin with minor changes, you can see a couple of added folds, a smoothed-out belt buckle, an updated rank badge, and added code cylinders - but the hands are very, very close to the Commander's right down to the glove wrinkles on the back of the hands.  Similarly, the legs are different but there are enough similarities in the wrinkles and general look that I assume Hasbro got their mitts on Gentle Giant's jumbo figure scans and modified them to make Tarkin.  Kenner very rarely cannibalized old sculpts to make new figures in the Star Wars line save for a couple of droids, so this is kind of a cheat.  It's totally a cheat, really.  I don't think most fans are going to make a fuss over it but it's hard to ignore the similarities.

The figure also improves on his ancestors.  Tarkin's legs can swing forward better than the Commander, allowing him to fit in vehicles and sit very nicely.  The blaster, at first glance, isn't different at all - the same patterns and landmarks can be found here as you can find on original blaster pistols.   He has no problems standing, The shoulders seem to be seated oddly on the torso, but presumably that's due to the digital development of this one.  Sometimes it doesn't sit quite perfectly.

With the relative decline of newness in the 3 3/4-inch line, this is certainly a welcome injection of something new, fresh, and interesting.  I fear it may be a little late as the target market for this figure is probably in his late 40s or even early 50s, but I see this and I also now see no reason for Hasbro not to slide Vlix, Gargan, and other sculpted-but-never-released real-deal Kenner action figures from 1983-1986 in the marketplace.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,588: May 23, 2019