Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,350: Baze Malbus (Deluxe, The Vintage Collection)

BAZE MALBUS TVC Debut
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Deluxe Action Figure
Item No.: No. G2533
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #397

Includes:Heavy repeater cannon, cable, backpack, detonator
Action Feature: Heavy repeater cannon, cable, backpack, detonator connect to figure
Retail: $27.99
Availability: May 2026
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Bio: The harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world has hardened Baze Malbus into a pragmatic soldier and a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon. (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: This Baze Malbus figure walks the line between perfect and eye-rollingly expensive. It's a good figure - Hasbro's best Baze Malbus yet. They did a great job with deco and articulation, did a bang-up job with the accessories, everything in terms of the actual product is above and beyond previous toys - including the very good The Black Series figure (and its improved repaint.) Every artist, craftsman, and nitpicky person should be very proud of the finished product... which is a 3 3/4-inch figure that costs the same (actually, technically more) than the equivalent 6-inch figure. It is better - but a lot of fans don't realize that this is a new-for-2026 figure, and the previous one was a 2017 ForceLink figure. As a 10th anniversary release for Rogue One, I'm particularly pleased that I can't find anything bad to say here - heck, it showed me that I had misconceptions about the costume that even Hot Toys seems to have wrong.

I was under the impression that his gloves were all fingerless - every figure or collectible that I've seen has shown them to be that way, except this figure. Hasbro made this figure with the right index finger on the glove intact, and when I look for reference photos that sure as heck seems to be how it actually was in the movie. Pictures of the costume from various exhibitions seem to show this too, but it's hard to tell given a lot of the mannequins have black hands (or no hands) plus nobody was really focused on shooting gloves. So, kudos to Hasbro for finding something that was wrong, fixing it, and having less ego than I'd have had by seemingly not taking a victory lap about the correction. (Or if you did, I missed it.) Reference on the left index finger seems to vary, so I've got no reason to say that it's not accurate.

Textures look great. Skin is about as good as it gets at this size, with perfectly good plastic wig hair. The plastoid armor has some very subtle panel detail, and the cloth body suit looks great. Textures look different, and that's great to see. The cloth cape is also a very nice touch, as Hasbro's previous Baze capes have all been plastic. (I assume cloth is cheaper, but I don't know this for a fact. I don't get to see their contracts.)

The hip joints are really good. I've come to appreciate the new-and-improved joints, and Hasbro's taking cues from G.I. Joe by carving a little more of the torso out so they can swing forward for any poses you may need in the future - like sitting in a vehicle. Thigh swivels, ankle tilts, and everything else you might expect are about as good as they always are. They took their time making sure the backpack fits, the blaster can be held in both hands, and there's no fighting, or "not quite there" with the elbow bends. This one got a little more time in the oven, which is crucial because every single fan (myself included) will look for an excuse of how to say it wasn't worth the 40% upcharge over a typical The Vintage Collection figure, which is already quite expensive.

But there is a place to nitpick, and it's deco. It's very good for the size, but once we pass $25 I don't think anyone is expecting anything less than perfect. The face paint is very good, but seems a little cross-eyed and the eyebrows are a little thin. The body suit's color is good, but it's lacking some of the stains of the costume, and the off-white armor bits are a little too clean. If it sounds like I'm picking nits, I am only doing it because of the price. If I'm paying for 1.4 figures, I expect 1.4 figures' worth of paint.

The price is the figure's biggest flaw. With "basic" figures at $20, this figure simply doesn't have another $8 worth of value. The part count isn't far off from an Emperor's Wrath Darth Vader, and while this figure does have extra deco I think they really needed to cap this one at $25. $28 is "I've got one at home" price, even though it is very good - but it's not perfect. That's a tall order, but when you're paying twice what The Vintage Collection figures cost five years ago, I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation to be flawless.

Should you buy it? If you don't have a Baze, yes. If you're in the future when it is on sale because people balked at $28 for it? Also yes. If it's over $30 because, for some reason, the future gave it a price increase? No. Hasbro did a real nice job here, but I think there has to be a limit on what you can charge for a single figure before fans need to get bonuses in the packaging (coins, sidekick aliens, etc.) This doesn't meet the standard of good value right now, and I hope Hasbro considers a price cut if it is sitting on inventory. This is a very good figure, and at $25 I'd begrudgingly say you'll feel you got a quality item for the price. But $28 is the price we should be paying on Amazon after it sold out and is now collectible, so vote with your wallet here. Just be aware if you skip it, you'll be missing out on one of Hasbro's best figures.

Confidential to Hasbro: if you can't bring prices back down, throw us a bone and consider throwing in a cheap unpainted plastic display stand behind the figure in the bubble. It won't cost you much, and it might earn back some goodwill on the cheap. (We got them when figures were $6.99.) That, or maybe some figures just can't be done in the current economy and would need to be reconfigured to a non-super-articulated model. (Super articulated wasn't the standard until 2010 - before that we'd have gimmicks, swappable limbs, figure 2-packs, and other variation on what a figure could be.)

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,350: June 2, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,241: Director Orson Krennic (The Vintage Collection)

DIRECTOR ORSON KRENNIC Yes, from 2023
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6878 No. F7321
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #302
Includes: Cape, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $16.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Bio: Cruel but brilliant, Director Krennic has staked his reputation on the completion of the long-delayed Death Star project for the Emperor. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: There are lots of unopened figures around my desk from 2023 - not because they aren't good, but because I usually review about 2 figures per week (104ish a year) and we got a whopping 36 The Retro Collection figures in 2023. I got excited and prioritized most of those - leaving me to not open Director Orson Krennic until, oh, about two weeks ago. Since I already owned Rogue One Krennic [FOTD #2,300], I dragged my feet to open the new one. My enthusiasm for upgrades can be mixed, but I'm often very excited for downgrades. You may say "that's dumb" and to you I say "start your own review blog."

Hasbro used the same basic sculpt for all the Imperial Officers, so you'll recognize the same pants on numerous other figures like Thrawn and a lot of the folds and wrinkles in the tunic - which is a different tool - are similar between the various British white guys. Thanks to the cape, you're probably less likely to notice this. Hasbro's decision to go with plastic for the cape was the right move, as I assume cloth at this scale would not hang properly. It drapes well, but the more I think about it the goofier it feels. Very few people in the Empire tend to wear capes, so you have to wonder why Krennic and not Tarkin or Motti. Especially since it seems there's a pretty strict dress code. I see no open-toed shoes anywhere! But I digress.

I like the uniform and how it turned out. The white plastic is bright, and the blaster fits nicely in his right hand - but not his left hand. In the movies he's left-handed, but the left hand here isn't really designed to hold the blaster easily. He drops it. But, you can store it in the holster if you prefer. Be sure to have the grip facing forward so he can draw it with his left hand.

The 2016 toy has a good sculpt, but the paint on the rank pin was a little bit rougher as opposed to the 2023 figure which has individually painted rectangles. It also lacks the white stripe between rows - it's better. The face sculpt has printed detail that has that fancy face printing paint we all love, and it's just so good at conveying the sneer of arrogance that Ben Mendelsohn gave to the character. His hair is also vastly improved, with a brown molded plastic "wig" being given a touch of gray on the sides that looks increasingly familiar from my recent glimpses into the mirror.

Hasbro did a good job here. They leveraged their tooling library and existing digital sculpts to spit out an improved version of a figure who, at the time, was probably released both too late and too early. Andor and the upcoming anniversary of Rogue One undoubtedly will make more people interested in the figure if they missed it, and let me assure you it is the best version of the character at this size. However, the cape makes him a statue - the toy does not necessarily benefit from (or need) the articulation in this format. With a cloth cape you might have him kneeling down choking on his aspirations, but this figure's cape will make you want to leave him just standing around. All parties involved did a really nice job here and other than maybe fixing up that left hand, I would say Hasbro would do well to rerelease him with no changes in Andor packaging for season two. Unfortunately, it's too late for that, so go ahead and get this one off Amazon or eBay.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,241: May 15, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,124: Saw Gerrera (The Black Series)

SAW GERRERA Really, Really Cheap Now
The Black Series 2020 Window Box Line Look Rogue One Packaging
Item No.: No. F4065
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #10 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Includes: Blaster, cane
Action Feature: Breathing mask, working holster
Retail: $33.99
Availability: October 2022
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Bio: Gererra is bunkered on the ancient world of Jedha, coordinating a prolonged insurgency against the Imperial occupations, his ailing health does little to wither his resolve to fight. (Taken from the box 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: Nobody cared about this Saw Gerrera figure. I've seen them at or below $3 - for a deluxe The Black Series figure. Mine sat at the floor of my desk since it arrived in 2022, I just never felt a need to crack the box open - heck, I'm only opening it now in 2024 because it's arguably the most interesting figure within reach. It's kind of amazing to take a step back on the last few years and see that nearly every deluxe price point figure hit a wall - fans said "nope!" and Hasbro made them in quantities big enough that distribution was, for once, not a problem. This figure was also released after what I would believe to be the peak in COVID toy hoarding, which seemed to be over by the end of Summer 2022. The excess builds of that era are still being felt at big box stores and deep discounters, with stuff that amazingly has still not sold. This has nothing to do with the quality of the product - there are a limited number of collectors (or "fans" as the biz keeps calling them, which I think means the eye is off the ball) because there aren't a lot of people clamoring for a figure from a then-six-year-old movie. And it's a nice figure.

At $33.99, fans have high expectations. Hasbro came close to meeting them! The figure doesn't have that much more going on in the way of parts and pieces, but there are straps, a breathing mask with tube, a working holster, a plastic cape, and a ot of paint. But it looks like "deluxe" now means "slightly beefy," "popular enough to break out of the assortment," or "this one probably costs a smidgen more to make than a typical bottom-of-the-budget figure." As of this figure's release, its price means it was a whopping nine dollars higher than a then-typical $25 base 6-inch figure. It's better than a typical figure, but that's a lot of money for things like his many colors of teal on his armor, his awesome retro silver rings on his arms, and a very nicely decorated and sculpted Forest Whitaker head. The little ridges on every strap, the tiny wrinkles and scars on the eyes, the vents and creases in the outfit, someone put their heart and soul into making sure that the sculpt was good, and also that the tooling in China represented that level of detail in the final product.

The paint masks, not so much - but the sculpting is incredible. The head has subtle scarring and really nice hair, proving the persons behind the figure ensured that there was a strong design for Hasbro to work with. The problem is that we didn't get $9 worth of paint on this guy. It's impossible to look at the sculpt and not be awed by the level of detail on his armor, with a robot foot, a sandal with exposed fleshy foot, a nicely sculpted cape, hoses, a mask with clear plastic, and a lot of nicely integrated articulation. If we were leaked an unpainted test shot I'm sure we'd all have just gone "Wow, this is going to be amazing!" plus or minus a level of indifference for Rogue One at the time of its release. Sure, Andor was getting a lot of praise but it did little to elevate the character or the movie on which it was based. As a group, we have no attention span, so fans just ignored this one and you didn't hear a lot of complaints about the lack of white or gray in his hair or beard, or the many unpainted buttons on his gauntlet or the greeblies on the canister on his belt. It's amazingly robust looking armor, round and seemingly like something that could survive quite the blast - but the light-up elements from the movie weren't painted. There are no little green lights or other details that would have brought this figure to life. It looks like an action figure - and it is an action figure! But there has definitely been an expectation for this 6-inch line to be Hasbro's best of the best, and as time went on we saw little details shaved off and the result being perfectly nice if you're not super picky.

Given the reduced price of all the 2021 fifth anniversary Rogue One figures and the Andor figures from 2022, Hasbro probably made the right move to not spend every last penny on deco here. Fans didn't come out for him in a big way (and may have just made too many) which means that you can get this figure with real presence for your shelves for less than what a fast food combo meal costs. Customizers will see a lot of details they can upgrade if they're so inclined, and people like me who are untalented hacks can just squint at this and go "hey, they missed a spot!" At a smaller size, this level of detail would be fantastic and at the current lower price, I don't think fans would be in any position to complain about having an amazing actor in a really creative costume. 

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,1243: April 11, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,974: R2-SHW (Antoc Merrick's Astromech Droid, The Vintage Collection)

R2-SHW (Antoc Merrick's Astromech Droid)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F7789
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #260
Includes: Scope can be removed
Action Feature: Pop-up scope, retracting third leg
Retail: $16.99
Availability: October 2022
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Bio: R2-SHW was an R2 series astromech droid that served in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War against the Galactic Empire. In 0 BBY, it flew in a T-65B X-wing starfighter with General Antoc Merrick, the leader of Blue Squadron, during the Battle of Scarif, in which the Alliance engaged the Empire above the planet Scarif in order to try and steal the plans to the Death Star superweapon. (Stolen from Wookieepedia. There is no on-pack 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: Since this is probably the only version of R2-SHW that we'll ever get, I'll just say I don't find it to be satisfying. Given what you get, what you pay for it, and what its function in an X-Wing is, you won't get your money's worth here. He needs to be bigger, and since they cut the gear it would've been nice to have something - even a booster seat - in the packaging to make up the perceived shortfall. But it's not like Hasbro made a bad figure here - if you leave it carded, it's nice. The packaging looks good and the figure looks good in it, and I increasingly feel like a crazy person for saying things like "this toy isn't as fun to play with as it should be." If you just want a cool droid, this is it - but if you overpaid for an X-Wing a year ago and wanted to complete it, know that it comes up short.

A figure like this has very little that it needs to do. You and I will no doubt depart opinions here, reader, but R2-SHW need only be a plug for an X-Wing's socket. The utterly stunning paint job on Antock Merrick's X-Wing demanded a droid, and if Hasbro gave us the simple 3-jointed R2-D2 mold in these colors and just plopped it in as a freebie (it was a $5.99 mol) I assume most fans would be satisfied - this isn't a figure that needs ankle joints or a third leg, but we get them. And a sensorscope, and an opening datalink arm thing. And wheels. And ankles. It is surplus to requirements, and a great metaphor for where we are now. These are no longer toys, but preemptive answers to hypothetical complaints fans will have that it wasn't even more tricked-out. And the funny thing is, the figure may suffer slightly for it.

Antock Merrick's X-Wing vehicle mold started life in 1998 and was retooled to have a droid socket around 2002. That means it fits the bigger droid bodies better - R2-SHW uses a shorter, smaller droid body so his dome doesn't exactly pop out over the hole like in the picture on his cardback. It sinks in a bit - and it looks a little silly. If you grab an Original Trilogy Collection-era droid, it's a snug fit and the head goes exactly where it should. This little guy needs a booster seat. I still like the paint job - it's distinctive, and can't be easily replicated with Disney parts. The red body has a silver dome, and the panels seem to be a very dark gray color. You get a painted red dot under the glossy black eye, a couple of blue boxes, and no dirt deco of any kind. 

They did a decent job here, and as far as I can tell this is the first any only full-body reference for the previously nameless character made to the public - so I assume it's right. Modelers seemed to guess on the color based on some comments they red somewhere, so we may be looking at a situations where fans influenced the final product. (It's happened before in some other lines when someone's DeviantArt page gets accidentally used for a deco sheet. If you see me in person, ask me about it.) It is hard to not be cynical since Hasbro has now raised exclusive (and shared exclusive) retail price over basic figures. This figure started life in late 2010 as a $10 R2-D2 toy with a drink rack, a lightsaber hilt, removable drinkware, and a drink dispenser. It was a small figure for the price, but the gear made up for it - now Hasbro removed the gear and marked it up 170%. While I am interested in having this specific droid, and they did a good job making a repaint of a character nobody really saw on-screen, but it hurts to be charged more for less figure. This is the kind of thing we used to get as wave filler when it came time for an annual repaint wave, and that sort of thing - at a regular price - was exciting and fun. We just got this mold as the Droids cartoon deco R2-D2 - with a big metal coin! - for $1 less as a Target exclusive. Rogue One fans will no doubt want this, as will droid junkies, but I can't say I feel good about what it costs.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,974: November 3, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,945: Imperial Death Trooper (The Retro Collection)

IMPERIAL DEATH TROOPER Kenner Style
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F4200 No. F4457
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Bio: Elite soldiers, death troopers are encased in specialized stormtrooper armor with a dark, ominous gleam. They serve as bodyguards and enforcers for figureheads like Moff Gideon. (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: Trying to get in the heads of the current Hasbro designers and how they view "retro" is tough - heck, so is understanding what Kenner was aspiring to do in 1978-1985 - but you can see some of the thought process when you look at this Imperial Death Trooper. I'd love to see more Rogue One guys in this format, but this one is a nice start - clearly the designer was copying the body language of that original 1978 Kenner Stormtrooper action figure. The same stiff pose. The non-articulated neck. Even the blaster integrates the original Kenner Stormtrooper gun in its design - there are just some added greeblies bolted on to it. We know Kenner likes to do things like that for some of their old weapons, and it's a pretty good nod to the actual movie design too.

This trooper has a torso about the same size as the original regular Stormtrooper, but much longer legs. It's a little weird, but hey, whatever, fine. Many of the lines and details are definitely inspired by the old Kenner toy, with two functioning hands this time. There's even the silver guns, which I assume Kenner would've left unpainted but I'm not complaining they're decorated here. The green lenses are also an interesting choice, as the lenses of troopers are largely depicted as black in the older toys regardless of the accurate coloring. (I would've gone with black lenses, but that's me.) The figure's armor also lacks the holster or the unique buckles over the shoulders, but I would argue that the Kenner house style is to get some of the details wrong - as long as it evokes the figure, it's close enough to be acceptable. If you disagree, I assume you also don't like Kenner R2-D2. If you do, well, there's no hope for you.

 I find the details to be a little softer and rounder than I would like, but it's still a nice, glossy figure that looks like someone did their homework when making this figure. This figure is almost unpainted, and I assume Kenner would have done something similar. I like it, even if it seems to be a little too wink-wink to the fans of old Kenner figures. I might buy a few more if I see them. I doubt you need an army of Kenner-style Death Troopers, but I might. I admire their devotion to such a niche product and I can't wait for the supposedly not-too-far-off Kenobi wave. (Which, I admit, looks a lot less consistent with their design cues. Lots of vinyl capes and no telescoping lightsabers, what's up with that?)

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,945: July 26, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,918: Baze Malbus (Photoreal Redux, The Black Series)

BAZE MALBUS Second Edition
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Packaging
Item No.: No. F2898
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #05 - Rogue One: A Star War Story
Includes: Belt plug-in gizmo, backpack, blaster/cape, cable
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star War Story

Bio: The harsh reality of his Imperial-occupied home world has hardened Baze Malbus into a pragmatic soldier and a crack shot with his heavy repeater cannon. (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: When it comes to reissues with improved portraits, I'm always a bit torn - on one hand, this Baze Malbus has a stunningly good portrait and it's one of Hasbro's best. On the other, Hasbro is asking you to spend another $23-$25 on more or less the same Baze Malbus from 2017 [FOTD #2,349] that offers little beyond giving you a head that actually has some life to it. His previous release had a head that was good for 2016 and 2017 - nice sculpt, everything is where it should be. You couldn't begrudge it for being pretty much as good as Hasbro could do at the time.

The new version comes to life with much more painting and shaded detail. The eyes seem to be gazing with purpose, the facial hair seems a bit more realistic, and the skin tone is much more like that of a person. If Hasbro had a bit more time in 2016, I bet they could've done a much better job the first time, but not quite as good as this one. If you're looking to buy a 6-inch Baze and you don't know which one to get, this is the one you should get. The other one? Not worth keeping around unless it's valuable to you for some reason, because the new aesthetics are what you really want.

Accessories are more or less the same, except I noticed the grey on the blaster is a bit darker and the body suit is more saturated. (More accurately, some of the parts of the 2017 Baze are more saturated - the 2021 model seems more uniform.) Articulation is the same as before, but mine did have issues getting him to pose standing up. He kept wanting to flop over.

If you simply must have the best, this is it. If you bought the original version and never gave him a second thought, consider that with the realistic face repaints, Carbonized figures, Credit Collection, and so forth, you've potentially paid several hundred dollars to re-buy different versions of characters you already own. It's inevitable with long-running properties, but even though I can't stop singing the praises of Hasbro's Rogue One rereleases in terms of realism and life, it's also about a hundred bucks to re-buy figures that I didn't really have any reason to buy again until Hasbro said "here's take two, check this out." And that makes me feel bad. But at least I now have something in my hands that I can look at and say this is so good, I have no reason to buy another Hasbro 6-inch Baze Malbus figure for as long as I live. Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,918: April 21, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,916: Imperial Stormtrooper with Pauldron (The Vintage Collection)

STORMTROOPER with Pauldron (4-pack)
The Vintage Collection Hasbro Pulse / Shop Disney Exclusive
Item No.: No. F5321
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 3 more Stormtroopers, 2 blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $44.99
Availability: January 2022
Appearances: Solo: A Star Wars Story, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Mandalorian

Bio: Stormtroopers are elite shock troops fanatically loyal to the Empire and impossible to sway from the Imperial cause. They wear imposing white armor. (Taken from Hasbro Pulse. There is no bio on the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I went ahead and ordered this box of four Stormtroopers because this one was different than the other ones I had. You see, this one has an orange pauldron - but otherwise it's the same as the 2019 Imperial Stormtrooper [FOTD #2,598]. This is to say, it's more production of the best version of the trooper we've seen released thus far, but what may be a slightly better one is up for Walmart's future exclusivity. But for now? This is good.

Four of this figure is packed in a box - one has a pauldron, three do not. This one has iffy mouth paint on my sample, but it's otherwise a pretty great trooper. Check out the articulation - it's good! He can move well. The wrists have extra joints, he can hold his blasters, the soles of his shoes are painted, and you pretty much get everything you could want on a clean white Stormtrooper other than a holster or even more gear. It meets all requirements, and it's nice to have a slightly different trooper to add to your Disney-era armies.

The classic Stormtrooper blaster has the added extra scope thing on all the Disney-era blasters, but lacks the painted silver element of the previous single-carded trooper. It's just black. The longer rifle is just a longer rifle - perfectly good, and a nice bonus.

If you want more Stormtroopers, and they become available again, you should buy this set. Even if you don't like the pauldron, you can pop it off - but I like it. Back in the 1990s, Kenner customizers would make Sandtroopers with just the pad - usually they have more ammo pouches and backpacks in the films, but in the era of VHS and little to know reference materials, most fans didn't think to build them out. As such, this is sort of retro, but more accurately, this is how some troopers looked on Rebels and subsequent OT-era movies. Minus the lenses, which tend to be known to be green now, and this one is black. As such, if you're looking for the best version of the Stormtrooper as you may remember it, this is probably it. But if you have that recent The Vintage Collection figure and don't care if you missed a shoulder pad, then you can skip it. I just assume everyone wants more troopers so I'd nudge you to get it if life permits.

Collector's Notes: I got mine at Hasbro Pulse. As of my writing this, it's sold out, but it's been available and not available several times over the past year.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,916: April 14, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,907: Bodhi Rook (The Black Series)

BODHI ROOK Now Available in Large
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Rogue One: A Star War Story Packaging
Item No.: No. F2888
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #06 - Rogue One: A Star War Story
Includes: Blaster, backpack with removable cover and retractable cable
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star War Story

Bio: A former Imperial pilot, Bodhi has strong piloting and technical skills that he will put to use for the Rebellion. Ever practical, but highly anxious, Bodhi must gather his courage to bring the battle to the Empire. (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: Part of a fifth anniversary mini-line for Rogue One, Bodhi Rook brings another member of the cast to figure form, finally! Most of the major players now exist as 6-inch action figures, and this one has the added benefit of using a uniform that's probably pretty easy to retool to make other characters like an AT-ST Driver down the road. (We'll see next year, I guess, given it's the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi.)

For the money, it's a good figure. You get a 6-inch Riz Ahmed with goggles stuck to his head - and he looks great. The uniform is pretty generic, but true to the movie. Hasbro put in deep elbow cuts which give the pilot excellent range of movement, and there are a lot of painted elements on his vest and sleeves. He can stand, he can sit, the legs swing forward nicely, and everything works as well as you might hope. I wish I could say the figure surprised me, but on the whole collector figures can't/won't innovate - they meet expectations, or they're despised. This one meets expectations, giving you everything you might expect without challenging you with too many bonus features.

Bodhi does, however, have something you can play with. The removable backpack has a ripe in it, and you can retract the cable from the movie's climax up in there. The lid comes off so you can re-wind it, as there's no spring-loaded mechanism or other special parts. It's finger-powered. It looks good, but not particularly ornate. It's brown... beautiful brown. Bodhi also includes a blaster, cast in a somewhat light grey color that looks more like a figure accessory than a movie prop. Some paint, or a darker color of plastic, would have done wonders to make it great. As it is, it's good. Bodhi's accessories are largely better than most new figures we've received in recent years because they do things, and that's a lot more fun than having a small piece of plastic for you to lose in a box somewhere.

Along with the new face paint reissues, Bodhi is arguably a must-buy figure if you're a fan of the scale. The figure turned out better than I could expect, with accessories that were engineered better than I could have hoped. I like it, and I assume you will too. I've been very happy with the 3 3/4-inch kid toy version, but this is a lot better. His hair and ponytail are great, the eyes are lively and shiny, the goggles are clear, and he looks like the actor who plays him. I don't think we could ask much more from Hasbro, other than maybe putting him out five years ago, but that's sort of impossible at this point. Get it now. Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,907: March 15, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,904: Stormtrooper Jedha Patrol (The Black Series)

STORMTROOPER JEDHA PATROL Debut
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Rogue One: A Star War Story Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F1875
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #08 - Rogue One: A Star War Story
Includes: Blaster, blackpack, antenna
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star War Story

Bio: The Empire occupies Jedha with Stormtroopers, who are elite shock troops fanatically loyal to the Empire. A prolonged battle between Imperial forces and scattered Rebels carries on in the timeworn streets. (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 The Black Series continues, pricing is all over the map. Exclusives that aren't particularly special may carry a big markup, or you can get a Stormtrooper Jedha Patrol figure - which is the basic figure from 2020, with a big backpack, a pauldron, and a blaster for the basic figure price. Of course it's not quite as tricked-out as the Sandtroopers from a few years ago, but it's still a generally nice basic Stormtrooper with some optional parts - so if you want to build your basic Stormtrooper army, you can remove some parts. If you want something to mix up your shelves, this is a good (and very tall) option.

If you don't have any of the newer trooper mold - and with the clean one, dirty one, flame one, mortar one, and others to follow, I'd be surprised if you didn't - this is a good one. To be able to go from a basic normal trooper to something that looks like a 1990s fan's off-model custom Sandtrooper figure is kind of spectacular. Back then, everybody used pauldrons, few fans made backpacks, and few to no fans made them perfectly on-model. This one has a neat orange pauldron, a familiar rifle, and a new backpack that looks like it's a mix of standard issue camping equipment with something to hold all your soda cans in table mode on the back. It also has a massive removable 4-inch antenna sticking out of it, which is truly distinctive and may cause chaos in your figure shelving displays.

Articulation is great, deco is clean, and it looks somewhere between a half-baked cosplay and a brilliant extension of existing Imperial costuming that certainly isn't trying too hard. It's a nice way to grow an army without buying too many duplicates, and also a fine way to let Hasbro cash in - again - on their popular Stormtrooper mold. It's kind of funny, if you look at Chewbacca, C-3PO, Stormtroopers, and a few others, they're probably getting as much action (if not more so) than similar 3 3/4-inch figures back in the day. And they're selling. I like this one because it just feels right, and if you like you can leave the backpack off to get a trooper that appeared in Solo or Rebels. But it's also close enough to things that you already own, so if you miss it, don't hurt yourself tracking one down at premium pricing. Just know that it is decent enough to own.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,904: March 3, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,896: Captain Cassian Andor (The Black Series)

CAPTAIN CASSIAN ANDOR Second Edition
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Rogue One: A Star War Story Packaging
Item No.: No. F2890
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #02 - Rogue One: A Star War Story
Includes: Blaster, front end of rifle, back end of rifle
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star War Story

Bio: An accomplished Alliance Intelligence officer with combat field experience, Captain Cassian Andor commands respect from his Rebel troops with his ability to keep a cool head under fire and complete his missions with minimal resources. (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: When The Black Series first started, the figures were considered pretty good. The heads looked sharp! But by the time Rogue One came out, some of the new heads looked... OK. You can tell the sculpt was good, but the paint job didn't necessarily deliver the goods - some were better than others. This Captain Cassian Andor (2021 rerelease) is an example of one that finally nailed it. Looking at the Target exclusive 2016 3-pack release... just throw it in the trash. It's dead to you now. You can see the sculpted stubble with a brown line painted over part of it, and it looks like garbage. The 2016 figure's body was perfectly good, and the sculpting job was perfectly good, Captain Cassian Andor [FOTD #2,319] turned out to be a poor deco job of a good figure. I wrote "I dislike the head. It looks like the sculpt might actually be pretty good, but the iffy plastic, terrible facial hair, and not as good as they could be eyes bring it down."

The new figure is less pasty, has more lively eyes, and the facial hair actually looks like the actor. It's good! It's amazing to think it's the same sculpt, and just a few pennies of paint transforms it into something that's really, really good for $23. It's not Hot Toys good, but it's probably one of the very best human heads I've ever seen at this price point.

As to the body, it's 2016 chic - the arm joints don't have quite the range we have today, the double-jointed knees are pretty good, and the hips have an excellent range of motion for the time. The costume itself is fundamentally the same paint job we got last time, so if you like the original portrait there's no need to upgrade. (The figure. Your sense of aesthetics would have to be truly broken if you can't see how much better version 2.0 is.)

The 3-part gun is great - you get a pistol that fits in the holster, and two pieces to slap on it to make a sniper rifle. It's fun and easy and it works. Not only does it fit in the holster with no fuss, but assembling the "super mode" is easy.

If you missed the first release, this is essential - skip the original. If you have the original release, go ahead and take your comparison photo and sell or give away the 2016 release. It's trash. I didn't think I'd really like these photoreal upgrades - I really rolled my eyes when K-2SO showed up in the mail and the first announcements left me shrugging - but dang if Jyn and Cassian didn't turn out to be some of Hasbro's very best work and upgrades that are actually worth the money. (Haven't got Baze as of my writing this, Chirrut is not bad.)

I skipped Hasbro Pulse's Luke and Han upgrades on 1995 The Power of the Force cardbacks so far, but now I'm wondering if I should give them a look. $27 per seemed too steep for me, but if you got any hi-res head shots to look at I'm all ears. But I digress. Go buy the Andor upgrade.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,896: February 3, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,889: Jyn Erso (The Black Series)

JYN ERSO Fourth Edition
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Rogue One: A Star War Story Packaging
Item No.: No. F2889
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #01 - Rogue One: A Star War Story
Includes: Blaster, scarf
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: December 2021
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star War Story

Bio: Putting behind a checkered past by lending her skills to a greater cause, Jyn Erso is impetuous, defiant, and eager to bring the battle to the Empire. Used to operating alone, she finds higher purpose by taking on a desperate mission for the Rebel Alliance. (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: Sometimes low expectations can bring a good surprise! After three releases - the regular individual figure, the SDCC exclusive variant package debut, and another release in a Target-exclusive 3-pack with a unique Death Trooper and Cassian Andor - I did not expect nor did I want another Jyn Erso. For the fifth anniversary of Rogue One, Hasbro did an online exclusive series of figures to celebrate with the photoreal face paint - and it's good. It's breathtakingly good. And when you pick up the 2016 releases and compare them, you will learn just how precious and sentimental you are about your old toys. I'd never toss out an old 3 3/4-inch Luke figure from the 80s or 90s (or I assume 00s.) But the 2016 Jyn Erso, I got no reason to ever look at her again. This new one is remarkable.

I've got a few figures to open still, but this one I opened within minutes of the box arriving from work. And I ran back to get my 2016 Erso to compare - and it's amazing. Old Jyn Erso figures were pumped out due to a large demand for Rey being unmet during the movie launch, and they sold well - and I assume long-term collectors will get rid of them after seeing the new release.

If you have the old figure, this one is virtually the same with a new head and some tiny improvements. First, there's the face - printing her face on here completely changes the figure's entire personality. I'm know giving side-eye to all my original trilogy humans because I assume this means upcoming Leia reissues are going to look amazing, and maybe it means we'll get some really good Han Solo and Luke figures at some point. The picture says it all. Less obvious are minor improvements on her outfit - the zippers and buckles are now a shinier silver rather than a dull grey. The brown boots are a little richer. The badge on her vest near the waist is a bit cleaner, but still not perfect ias far as I can tell.

I used to think The Black Series was a line where latecomers got screwed out of awesome things as the line goes as Hasbro seemed very hesitant to bring anything back as new fans discovered the line - and lately we've seen them reissue the Carbonite Block and Salacious Crumb from SDCC (Amazon and Disney parks, respectively) as well as some other great things. Now that we're seeing good figures improved to the nth degree, I'd almost say it's worth skipping any main character that looks like it could use some help. We've seen photo real upgrades on so many main characters that it's hard to say no to some of them once you see it in person. Get her if you're so inclined, just prepare by selling your old ones while you still can. And you probably can't. They'll just want the new one.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,889: January 11, 2022

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,881: Ponda Baba (The Black Series)

PONDA BABA 6-Inch Debut
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Orange Star Wars: A New Hope Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F1872 or for PulseCon, No. F1266
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #02 - Star Wars: A New Hope
Includes: Blaster, alternate hands (PulseCon set includes Obi-Wan, Dr. Evazan, bar, glassware)
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: November 2021
Appearances: Star Wars: A New Hope

Bio: A burly Aqualish thug, Ponda Baba smuggled spice for Jabba the Hutt alongside his friend Dr. Cornelius Evazan, a murderous former surgeon Ponda had rescued from a bounty hunter. (Taken from the single figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab. Sample pictured is from the Cantina Showdown PulseCon 3-pack.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: It will not surprise you - but it may disappoint you - to find out Ponda Baba has a Rogue One-inspired sculpt on a Luke Skywalker (Yavin Ceremony) body. In the interests of keeping costs down things like this are inevitable, but given just how much of this line is repaints - all those Carbonized, Credit Collection SKUs plus trooper and droid variants - it's kind of a pity to see a scrawny body like Luke Skywalker's reused here on a burly bruiser like Ponda Baba.

In 1979 Kenner gave us Walrus Man, a wildly wrong take on this character that colored our perceptions for decades. Kenner revised it in 1997, and future figures tended to get closer and closer to what we saw in the movies. This guy just doesn't quite seem to have it right - the torso is too narrow, teh arms are too skinny, and the sad thing is this could be the last The Black Series version of the character we get for quite some time. Were this a figure whipped up in a hurry to flesh out the line, or one of the first releases, I'd shrug and say "well, that's how you get product to market." Given that Hasbro double-dipped on this item as both a standard and a convention release, and before that Ceremonial Luke was also done as an expanded deluxe release and a single release, Hasbro could've sprang for some more new parts here. I shouldn't be able to pick up a new figure like this and immediately go "...hey wait a minute, is this just Luke again?" As only the second cantina alien in this line since its inception in 2013, I always assumed the delay was because they wanted to get the sculpt right, or it was just on the backburner for some reason. If I knew it was just going to be a head swap, I think I could have kept waiting. This version of Ponda Baba has a whiter shirt - as opposed to off-white - which makes this closer to his appearance in Rogue One. That checks out given his slightly shaggier beard, too. The head sculpt is great with big glossy eyes, dirty and freckled skin, and the mouth which could be the subject of jokes for years. The head was a very good recreation of what we saw in the movies, and the hands are very good recreations as well.

As to the body, it's Wormie. The jacket may share some similarities to what Ponda wore in terms of the unique ribbed sleeves, but the pockets are all wrong and a lot of other details are different. These are things they got more or less right on the 3 3/4-inch figures, which is what makes this sting a bit - the 6-inch line is meant for adult fans and collectors. This set was sold as an online convention item at a premium price, and what we got failed to meet a pretty low bar for success in a line like this one. It's possible each collectible crew is working from a different set of reference points, but things like the clear Holiday Special jacket do look different from this one. After all, there's what appears to be a rank badge over the Ponda figure's left breast - he didn't have this in the movies.

You're probably going to buy this because there are no alternatives of merit in this size. After seeing Plo Koon and Kit Fisto reuse parts of Obi-Wan and Anakin to few to no fan complaints, I assume we're going to see more shortcuts like this as time goes on. With Marvel comic figures, it's standard practice and sensible given the similarities in build. You could use Spider-Man for dozens of other figures. For Hasbro's flagship Star Wars figure line these days, it's just disappointing. It seems like nearly every tooling may be up for reuse given the metallic repaints, but seeing it for regular characters was a bit of a downer. If you're not all-in on 6-inch, just hug your 3 3/4-inch Ponda Babas tightly and be glad that good ones already exist for you to love.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse in the PulseCon exclusive boxed set.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,881: December 14, 2021