Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,393: Clone Trooper (Halloween Edition)

CLONE TROOPER (Halloween Edition)
The Black Series 2022 Closed Box Line Look Halloween Packaging, Target Shared Exclusive
Item No.: No. F5608
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Porg as Dracula, black trunk, Beskar chocolate bars
Action Feature: It's green!
Retail: $27.99
Availability: October 2022
Appearances: n/a

Bio: Celebrate the season with specially designed Star Wars figures from The Black Series! (Taken from the box packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Happy Halloween! Nigel Tufnel would approve of this Star Wars figure for monster kids. This is the kind of thing I'd be buying if I didn't already have hundreds of The Black Series figures I haven't touched in years. It's clever, and if you like how it looks it's worth picking up.

I've basically dropped out of The Black Series but the right item at the right price is hard to skip. I was on a work trip and found the Clone Trooper (Halloween Edition) for $9.99 in 2025, so I bought it. As you do. I'm not super fond of holiday figures but I like monsters and weird, weird figures. Seeing an all-black Clone Trooper in what turned out to be not glow-in-the-dark paint seemed fun, but the fact that it also looked a bit like Nigel Tufnel's shirt in This Is Spiñal Tap seemed interesting. A sidekick Porg in Dracula feathers also seemed like a good purchase.


The figure is a fun idea that I think I'd recommend it without reservations if I haven't written up over 3,000 figures. You can lose your sense of humor over time, and this sort of thing is probably more at home in a holiday tableaux on a credenza than in a collector's basement. Keep your eyes open for a deal, and if nothing else consider that it's a pretty neat deco-only reworking of elements from three unrelated action figures.

Figures like these may make fans ask "so what is a Star Wars figure anyway?" When I was a kid, most of them attempted to be faithful representations of on-screen characters and costumes to a pretty decent amount of success. This 6-inch line started as a reboot of sorts, and expanded over the years to include things that exist more as a keepsake, a collectible, a souvenir. The figure has to work for its own sake, it must make its corporation money with no new tooling. It is not interested in source material. These holiday figures have a lot in common with blind-boxed figures from over the years where you'd get a teddy bear in hundreds of colorways, and those tend to be a great impulse buy. I'm willing to bet collecting Halloween Star Wars exclusively is a lot of fun as a low-stakes, low-impact hobby.

The mold is the 2020 Phase II redux complete with the simpler knee and elbow joints. It still has the slug head under the helmet, and is completely molded in black with painted green highlights. I assume it's a cheaper figure to make, and they also left out the blasters on these guys. You get accessories, such as a Maz Kanata trunk with a ghost Hutt under the lid and a quintet of Beskar ingots painted to look vaguely like chocolate bars.

I like this figure for what it is - a weird collectible that was not manufactured to meet the needs of its audience. It's a great idea, and I think a more subtle approach might have worked even better. There's something garish about the all-over bones, and if it looked like they just painted a skull on the helmet of a Clone who self-customized his armor it might feel more authentic to the galaxy. But that's not the aim of this kind of product - it's a holiday decoration, a grab for acceptance from the kind of person who likes toys but doesn't make it a lifestyle. I would have preferred a "costume" blaster - even if it's in white and orange - over no blaster, mostly because this figure isn't going to look good hauling around a trunk. I would not miss these accessories were they left out to keep the price down.

The Porg is a cute bonus, but arguably not worth the mark-up. The black plastic feather fluffball has a blue face with yellow eyes and a very distinctive white belly pattern. I'm kind of surprised Hasbro didn't run with this concept and do blind-bagged Porgs painted up as various pop culture fixtures. I don't know how it would do, but it feels very in-line with Be@rbrick or other similar lines. It doesn't add much to a big collection, but it's clever enough to make me irate that the paint can't glow in the dark. It's still neat, but it could have been even neater.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from a place that is not open to the public at a very low price. The Cad Bane/Grand Inquisitor set is being dumped at closeout stores in 2026, so keep your eyes open for fun surprises.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,393: October 29, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,272 Imperial Royal Guard (Halloween Edition)

IMPERIAL ROYAL GUARD (Halloween Edition)
The Black Series 2025 Window Box Line Look Halloween Packaging, Target Exclusive
Item No.: No. G2780
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Bogling as the Mothman, blaster, pike
Action Feature: Glows in the dark!
Retail: $24.99
Availability: August 2025
Appearances: n/a

Bio: Celebrate the season with specially designed Star Wars figures from The Black Series! (Taken from the box packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: Holiday figures, like Standor of Eternia, exist as a sort of souvenir or a way to celebrate a thing that exists outside continuity. Some fans like it. Hardcore fans usually don't. Hasbro has made numerous Halloween and Christmas figures to the tune of hundreds of dollars, which you either loved or decided "not for me." While the entire 6-inch line slowly got to "not for me," we have a rare exception in this Imperial Royal Guard (Halloween Edition) that's a glow in the dark ghost. And this proves Hasbro's point - there are ways to sell people Star Wars who don't collect the line. I bought this figure to go with my other glowing toys - I have no real interest in Halloween or 6-inch figures. But a big guy made completely of glow in the dark bony green plastic? OK, you got my number.

Hasbro has generally stayed away from glow in the dark toys. Way back when, I asked Hasbro employee Andy Espenshade about some never-released Jurassic Park The Lost World Chaos Effect dinosaurs. The "Night Attack" line had a goofy glow-in-the-dark premise, and I non-ironically wanted them. I was told - this is not an exact quote, just a fuzzy memory from 25 summers ago - "usually when you see glow-in-the-dark, that means we're out of ideas." The line's star was fading, and that wasn't something people seemed too sad to see not get made. Glow figures were a staple in Kenner's 1990s toys, but in the 2000s they were decidedly less common. Other than some Toys R Us exclusive The Amazing Spider-Man kid figures and a quartet of Ghostbusters Plasma Series "slimed" figures, Hasbro has been super reluctant to do glow-in-the-dark items in recent years. 2025 has been a great year for glow, though. The Real Ghostbusters got a fully-glowing Ecto-Glow Ecto-1 and rereleases of the rare Ecto-Glow Heroes. Star Wars got this figure. And Transformers got a Target-exclusive Transformers EarthSpark Cyberglow Megatron. I've been asking for this kind of thing for years, so I'm kind of surprised we're getting a bunch all at once. It's a great time to collect glowing toys, if that's your thing. I assume this is a massive waste of a SKU for Star Wars fans.

And that's just the rambling prologue!

The figure itself is at least the fifth use of the mold, as Hasbro will absolutely milk its collector tooling for all its worth. The plain red Royal Guard has been done in Black, Blue (with new helmet), Carbonized, and Kir Kanos colors (in a Carnor Jax box, in one of the line's few nomenclature errors.) The mold is unchanged, and this is probably Hasbro's least-costly figure in the line thanks to deco. Specifically, the lack of deco. The glow plastic absorbs a lot of the sculpted detail, and it's molded all in a single color. Everything is pretty shiny and it looks just as good as the previous releases of the mold. If the mold is showing signs of wear, it's not obvious - glow plastic tends to do a good job of hiding imperfections. The figure has a holster under his cape for a blaster, but it's a little loose. I recommend having him hold the Biker Scout pistol in his hand.

The pike or staff is also cast in glow, which eats the visual details to my eyes. But this is what I want out of a glow figure - all glow plastic. No notes. Hasbro got it right.

The figure's only paint app is on the face. The visor on the head is painted black and augmented by a hint of a skull, that uses the glowing negative space under the eyes to make a pretty good "ghostly" pattern on the helmet. It's simple, and it's perfect. I would buy other Hasbro troopers that do some sort of glow spooky mask thing.

The only real change to the figure's physical being is the cape. The new pattern is more ghostly, very thin, and looks like any of a number of cheesecloth ghost crafting projects. It's great. I'm glad Hasbro made a new cape pattern for this one.

The Bogling has been released several times too. One came with the Werewolf Wookiee, another one came with a Holiday Sweater Mandalorian Warrior, one came with Kal Kestis in a multi-pack, another came in a creature set. This one is green with red eyes, white fangs, and a colorway no doubt inspired by the Mothman. (Cryptozoology fans, you know what's up.) It's a sturdy little sidekick figure and a nice bonus with decent sculpting that will most likely hang out on your desk during Spooky Season.

If I weren't into glowing toys, I would not have bought this set. If all you want are guys from the movies, games, and TV, you should not buy this. If you have a lot of Halloween decorations or just love things that glow, this is a must-buy figure. Hasbro did a nice job, and priced it well. I find it to be worth the asking price, mostly because I've paid about this for indie figures that aren't as fancy.

Glow Notes: Hasbro's glow plastic in 2025 is quite good. It's slower to charge than the Glyos/Onell Design glow, but it does glow brightly. If charged by the Sun it's easily one of the brightest figures I've picked up in quite some time. If you collect glow-in-the-dark toys and want something impressive, and don't care about the characters, you should buy this.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target. There was no pre-order.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,272 September 2, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,138: The Mandalorian (Glavis Ringworld, The Black Series)

THE MANDALORIAN (Glavis Ringworld)
The Black Series 2023 Window Box Line Look The Book of Boba Fett Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F9985
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #08 - Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett
Includes: Cloth cape, Darksaber, jetpack, blaster pistol, knife
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: December 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett

Bio: After entrusting Luke Skywalker with Grogu’s care, The Mandalorian--known to few as Din Djarin--sets off to learn more about the origins of his people. (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: If we didn't already know that under his helmet, The Mandalorian (Glavis Ringworld) was Din Djarin, we'd probably be joking that it's Theseus. Since 2019 we saw Hasbro follow the lead of Disney, releasing figures that follow the evolution of the character's costume on the show. Every few episodes we might see a new element added to his costume with something else traded out, leading to potentially endless changes in the evolution of the costume between now and when the series finally is deemed unprofitable by shareholders. I was really surprised they updated his cobbled-together costume to a full blinged-out Beskar suit on the show so quickly, but it makes sense for a variety of reasons - not the least of which being the maintenance of the costume on the show. Did something get stained? Work it in the script.

If you have earlier releases that you're happy with, you probably don't want to buy another one - unless you need a cloth cape, as that's something that this release does particularly well. As of now this is probably the "final form" for the character until the movie comes out, if the movie comes out, and/or if he gets a significant makeover. (I'm surprised the powers that be have resisted the allure of painting him a new color.) Since most of the "full Beskar" suits are very similar, in the box or on a shelf you won't notice a big difference from previous releases. The boot-knife and knee joints, though, provide new elements that change up how the figure functions and that tends to be the kind of thing that makes me say this is worth a look even though it's not a new figure.

This figure looks very similar to previous releases, but the most obvious improvements to me are neat enough to warrant yet another purchase. Or perhaps selling your old version(s) for the new one, because he now has the modern-style knees rather than the old butterfly joints, and a stretchy cloth cape that hangs quite nicely off his back. You also get a great jetpack with places to mount flames in the jets, a Darksaber with removable blade and a hook to hang on the back of his belt, and a blade that fits smoothly in his boot. A character like this is no doubt a dream for all parties involved, given you can keep his helmet on and replace the actor, endlessly tweak the costume, and sell revisions of the figure ad infinitum.

I had no problems getting the figure standing or holding his gear, but the cape does kind of get in the way with the jet pack - you can move it, of course, and it feels surprisingly great. The materials used are all quite nice, as the helmet doesn't give a hint at a nose in the head slug under the helmet, the droid thigh guard has unique decoration and scuffs, and the blue on his knee and hips looks just a smidgen more saturated than other releases. It's by no means perfect, but there's a limit to how good a figure can be before the price tag shoots through the roof - and Hasbro keeps getting closer and closer to perfect with most new releases. The new legs are great, the arms pose quite nicely with the blade, and he seems to be generally better than the other Mando figures I've bought. I have no doubt Hasbro will find other ways to gradually improve the character with a future release, but I don't know what that is - short of charging more and putting more stuff in the box.

If you see this one for $25 or less, and you don't balk at paying $25 for a good figure, get this one. I'm not saying to buy every version of the character, but this may well be the best one until they replace the Darksaber with another new accessory during his next appearance.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,138: May 30, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,129: Jannah (The Black Series)

JANNAH Really, Really Cheap Now
The Black Series 6-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E4071 No. E6055
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #98
Includes: Cape, blaster, quiver, bow, arrow, arrow group
Action Feature: Working holster, arrow fits in bow or quiver
Retail: $19.99 Availability: October 2019 Appearances: The Rise of Skywalker

Bio: From an oceanic moon, Jannah leads a band of warriors, ready to charge against the forces of the First Order. (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: Looking at a figure like Jannah with the gift of hindsight is peculiar - I had her sitting for almost five years before opening the box. I didn't exactly have a great time with The Rise of Skywalker, so a lot of the 6-inch figures just sort of sat unopened. That's not a knock on their quality - Hasbro did a great job outfitting Jannah with a lot of gear and articulation, plus she has that superior face printing technology from when it was still relatively new. I assume a figure of this quality would be "deluxe" by today's standards, given how much stuff they pack in the box - with paint! - for the price. And now it's worth less than half of what it cost, I assume in part because the sequels left people feeling pretty much done and then The Mandalorian was on. This is an ambitious figure with plenty going on, but since she didn't exactly have a great role in the last movie you can get her on the cheap now.

After opening her, I was impressed by the level of paint and articulation - and noticed that my sample had a missing paint operation. The glove on her right hand should have paint on the forearm, my sample was left undecorated. But she has red sandals, blue pants, silver armor on her torso and left arm, painted goggles, a painted face, plus black, white, gold, and silver bits. And a cape which is oddly clear plastic painted brown, which gives it an incredible texture in most light. It looks a little strange when backlit, I admit, but so did my friend's mom's intestine sculptures. And I assume this is some sort of skin cape.

I don't know that the figure was made after final casting was done - the level of detail is incredible, but the face isn't quite perfect, and the belt and some of the gear is not tilted the same as the publicity shots. It might be nothing, but you may have heard the legends of General Madine's beard. It's a nice sculpt. The hair is big and looks cool. The goggles look like something out of Rogue One and her pants are not unlike what we saw on Rey... but in terms of costuming, it really does feel like the modern era of Lucasfilm had lots of designs and pulled them out at random as needed. This figure would be right at home in a Rogue One shelf if you didn't know her from the final sequel film. The goggles and arm decor could probably have worked just fine in a Partisan stronghold. The elbow cuts are a little weird, but get the job done - plus she has double-jointed knees. This was around the end of when they were doing those, as they would be phased out in most new sculpts around 2020. Also notable, she has a mid-torso joint that's completely hidden by her silver belt and bandolier thing. That is how you hide articulation.

The range of movement is mostly great, the shoulders don't have quite the range of some other figures of this vintage but she can hold her bow and arrow. And blaster! It's really hard to get anything to sling over her back though, as her cape needs to be removed and the head does not want to come off without a fight (or heat.) As such, it's kind of a pain - but you've got options and you don't have to make use of the many, many accessories you got in the box.

There are some pretty unsightly gaps around her bottom and her elbows when those joints swing forward, but other than that? It's a decent action figure. It's by no means perfect, but you got a lot for your money, and I would have preferred a slightly better head. And maybe the belt and stuff being tilted right. But that's sometimes as good as you can get when the figure comes out at roughly the same time as the movie, but I don't recall her (or many of the new movie figures) flying off the shelves. Heck, even her wavemate Cara Dune sat a while until... you know. I'm curious if we'll ever get another Jannah, or if she'll show up in the alleged Rey movie, but if she doesn't you can just be impressed her single arrow can fit through a little plastic tube on the bow and look like she's about to launch it. As I pretty much memory holed The Rise of Skywalker and have been putting off a second viewing since 2019, I am not sure if this figure is going to stay out on display. I'd recommend it as being a decent figure for the asking price, but especially if you're fond of the newer films and the future eras of Star Wars. Just don't pay full retail for this one, the eBay prices are incredibly low.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,129: April 30, 2024

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 3,120: R5-D4 (The Mandalorian, The Vintage Collection)

R5-D4 It's Sort Of Like the 2011 One You Forgot You Bought
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6878 No. F7322
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #303
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Removable limbs and dome
Retail: $16.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Bio: A battered astromech droid, R5-D4 has had a long operational span bouncing around various owners on Tatooine for decades. Now, he resides in Docking Bay 3-5 of Mos Eisley Spaceport in Peli Motto's employ. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

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: This R5-D4 comes on a The Mandalorian cardback, but is probably better in our Lars Homesteads or Sandcrawlers from the original Star Wars. It's a bit of a pill to swallow at $16.99, as somewhat similar droids were made from build-a-figure parts as far back as 2008 and 2009, as a bonus on a $7.99 figure. You, like me, may have also forgot that R5-D4 [FOD #1,607] was released in The Vintage Collection way back in 2011 for just over half the price, but without the same paint job. It is, as I have been fond of saying, just different enough to make you mad. This 2023 release lacks The Mandalorian-specific deco, but does add the missing red panels on the back of the 2011 release. So it's better, but it's not the Mando edition you want yet. If you're expecting a more old-school version of the droid, I think you'll be happy with the quality.

Get this one to open, get the 2011 one to leave carded.

Much like The Black Series one we recently got, this figure doesn't have the streaming-specific scoring burn marks for the bad motivator on the dome or the restraining bolt on the body. But it does have more and better paint overall! The blue and silver vents are painted, but there are no silver stripes on the feet. No big loss, really. The deco is, otherwise, quite similar with painted silver eyes and greeblies, the red panels and boxes, plus a nice splash of painted dirt. It's not a match for what you saw on the show, but it's better than what we got for the 6-inch scale droid.

For those who have been here too long, this droid is the same basic scale of the astromechs we got starting around 2005 to now - it doesn't use the smaller R2-D2 bodies we saw in Saga Legends during their dalliance with 5-jointed figures, nor the bar R2-D2 we got a few times since 2010. Honestly I would have liked to have seen them play with that tooling, especially if it meant we could have a pop-up motivator play feature. Hasbro is not very big on play features any more, as it seems a small number of vocal collectors are ashamed of the fact that they collect toys and mustn't have fun with their playthings. At least this version has a head you can pop off, removable limbs, and a third leg - and there are rolling wheels, too. I don't find the wheels particularly functional, as they could never roll freely across a table, but they're there if you need them.

 For those of you who have been here forever, there have been other build-a-droids with red R5 parts - like Porkins' R5-D8 droid at Toys R Us, customizable droids at Disney theme park bins, The Saga Collection R5-D4 (which got tweaked barely and put in a 3-pack with a Power Droid and Death Star Droid for Target), and many others. Most of them share these proportions and build, so if you already have a build-a-droid that looks like R5-D4, R5-SK1, or the one with the remote control, you may have something similar. Expectations are everything, and this is a good figure in what I would say is the wrong packaging. It'll sell just fine as R5-D4 is a requirement for fans of the N-1 we got last year, but it's not quite right if you want his newest look. Hasbro is the company that got us to buy dozens of versions of Darth Vader, which are basically the same, because they paid attention to movie-specific details like red lenses, or different gloves, or changes in the cape or chest lights. They are less detail-oriented with the lack of changes to R5-D4 here, but at least they made a better build-a-droid version of Skippy for your 1977 dioramas. You are absolutely not going to feel like this figure is worth the money at the suggested retail price, but it's not like a 3 3/4-inch R5-D4 has been on shelves for years.

Releases like this really make you wonder about The Vintage Collection as a whole, sometimes we just get figures reissued with the same number and updated deco, and sometimes they make basically the same figure with the same tooling again and assign it a new number. And yet, somehow, there's still no Sim Aloo Imperial Dignitary, and our Bespin Guards were made out of Han and Lando parts. Like those, this is, for now, the best that you can get. Maybe we'll see another attempt later, perhaps in a gift set, or at a theme park. It is, as so many figures are in the last couple of years, OK. Newbies should love it, lifers will ask "don't I already have this?"

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,120: March 28, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,119: R5-D4 (The Mandalorian, The Black Series)

R5-D4 A New Chassis
The Black Series 2023 Window Box Line Look The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F7045
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #33 - Star Wars: The Mandalorian
Includes: Bad motivator, 5 other accessories
Action Feature: Telescoping neck, there's a hard-to-pry-open bad motivator panel on the dome, opening red panels on the front
Retail: $24.99
Availability: December 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Bio: A battered astromech droid, R5-D4 has had a long operational span bouncing around various owners on Tatooine for decades. Now, he resides in Docking Bay 3-5 of Mos Eisley Spaceport in Pelli Motto's employ. (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: One step forward, one step back? R5-D4 was sold as a figure in The Black Series previously, using the original 2013 R2-D2 mold body. This uses the 2023 body, which has more opening panels, plenty of tools, and a telescoping neck - it does a lot more than the last one, but somehow, the last one is now available pretty cheaply. It seems like there's a slow exodus away from The Black Series' older releases, even though some of them are quite good - but neither R5-D4 has the clear edge. Some elements of the older figure were left unpainted - and on the new figure, different areas are left unpainted. Neither has the edge, neither is superior, although this one has more fidgety parts. But the other one has really nice shiny silver bits on the neck, and that release's eyes are painted silver, while this one is oddly molded in silver that doesn't quite match the other greeblies. In short, a repaint of this figure would be the ultimate release. But it doesn't exist.

This droid is a super-clean R5-D4. Sadly, he could benefit from dirt - the circle from where the restraining bolt used to be would be nice to have, or the burned out areas around his "bad motivator" panel. Everything here is squeaky clean, including what seem to be some scrapings sculpted around his eyes - a customizer could turn this into something really amazing. The eyes being unpainted makes the figure look a little cheap, as silver paint - which is what we've had since the first rocket-firing POTF2 figure in 1996 - has been the norm. His central leg is now completely undecorated, as are some vents on the sides of the chassis. Looking at some photos of R5-D4 from the set, the actual prop was incredibly battered and we're missing out on all of that gorgeous weathering here. In a retro context or a kid's line, it would be no big deal - but this is Hasbro's flagship collector line, its highest-price basic figure. I would really have loved a few more pennies put in deco. I could go on about how I wish the neck had reflective silver, or that the blue on the legs had a metallic shine, but really, we're just bumping into what Hasbro will do in terms of making a premium figure. $25 gets you basic - and $33 also gets you basic deco. I'm curious what it would cost to pick up something that leaves you awe-struck these days.

The figure's body is more or less the same as last year's R2-D2 [FOTD #3,087], which was pretty good and had a lot of the same areas left unpainted. R5 has a dome panel you can pop off to put in a bad motivator, the two red panels under his neck open, and the long rectangle panels on the sides open to insert any of his five arm accessories. You get datalink ports and other tools - I assume diorama builders are going to love these. I would be much happier with them if I knew what they were, or if Hasbro called out their functions on the packaging rather than give us five paragraphs of bio. The detail is good, there are little painted black and gold bits that pop just right - it's better than we'd get in the old days.

The amount of accessories and opening panels here are impressive for a modern figure, especially since the bulk of figures we get these days exist only to be posed and placed on a shelf. I like the parts and pieces, but also, we've had so many R5 figures that I was really hoping to get one with some deco specific to The Mandalorian, instead of a squeaky-clean version. If you just want a 6-inch scale R5-D4 this one is perfectly good - and arguably more fun than the previous release on a Vintage-style cardback. But that other one is cheaper, and arguably looks a tiny bit better despite being smaller. I guess the important thing is you have choices, only neither one is a clear-cut victor.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,119: March 26, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,112: Tusken Chieftan (The Black Series)

TUSKEN CHIEFTAN Big Retool
The Black Series 2023 Window Box Line Look The Book of Boba Fett Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F9984
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #06 - Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett
Includes: Staff, cloak
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: December 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett

Bio: The leader of a tribe of Tusken Raiders, the Tusken Chieftan captured Boba Fett after his escape from the Sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon. (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: Despite having a very small line, The Book of Boba Fett for The Black Series is mostly made of old molds and/or figures from other shows. The Tusken Chieftan hides it well - but you can't hide the C2142 on his foot. And I know you know what it means - it's the SKU for the 2017 Tusken Raider [FOTD #2,382] figure. The arms and legs are reused, but the head, cloak, skirt, torso, necklaces, and accessories are new. And that meets my standards of "new figure." While I would vastly prefer Hasbro treat its "premium" line as such, I know tooling is expensive and sales on action figures seem a little rocky. (That's no secret, check Amazon or eBay to see what the free market decides what new releases are worth.)

As of my writing this, it's still selling for SRP - which means Hasbro probably made a hair too many for the needs of the market, which is largely par for the course for a lot of figures lately. I'd go as far as to say this one feels a bit better than a lot of recent rleeases, with painted robes, extra neck accessories, and a very nice staff. They sculpted new lower robes - honestly, they didn't have to - you can tell because they're nice and clean, not tattered like the 1977-style figure. The chest is new, without the bandoliers. The painted elements look superb, but the sculpting seems a little soft and the brown plastics on the chest and feet are just the tiniest bit opaque. It would work great for skin, but for clothing, you don't want there to be any indication that light is passing through meat. Still, it's dark, and it more or less works great except under bright light.

The head looks great, better than the 3 3/4-inch one and painted well to boot. The painted wrappings look good, and so do the faux metal and leather bits. They did a nice job - the textures on the head are excellent overall. The breathing tubes hang on his neck strangely, but the necklace looks acceptable. I think it could look better, but I also assume someone is making an argument about "value" and may not be taking into account that a Tusken Chieftan without the lady warrior or the prisoner Rodian or Suns-bleached Boba may not be a compelling argument, regardless of relative quality. You can really see that they made a figure with shortcuts that doesn't feel like they took the cheap route, which is great, but I think we all get to a point where you want to see some savings when you see reused parts so often. That ship has likely long since sailed, so the real question is... can this guy be worth the $25?

I'd say "yes but." I love aliens, and things related to Tatooine and adjacent to original trilogy stories - and I love building alien cultures out in the toy box. This ticks all the boxes for me, but if we didn't get a new body I'd be a little grumpy, and if they didn't give us a new staff I'd be furious. If it were a $20 figure I'd be singing its praises and its cleverness, and at $25 I'd say I like it a lot more than many recent arrivals. (It takes me a while to get through these things as I write them up as I go.) With so few figures from The Book of Boba Fett I can't say it's a rewarding line to collect, but if you accept that you're just going to get a few and have an anemic collection? This is a good one, this is one to get. You should get it.

He can stand, he can hold his staff, but he can't sit and it's not like you were going to put him in a ship anyway.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,112: February 29, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,107: Cad Bane (The Black Series)

CAD BANE Live Action (released twice nearly simultaneously)
The Black Series 2023 Window Box Line Look The Book of Boba Fett Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F9982
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #05 - Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett
Includes: Hat, 2 pistols
Action Feature: Holsters, removable hat
Retail: $24.99
Availability: December 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett

Bio: Renowned bounty hunter Cad Bane was known for his impressive arsenal of weapons and allies. His work with the Pyke Syndicate on Tatooine led him face-to-face with Boba Fett. (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: Over the holidays I rewatched The Book of Boba Fett, a fantastic example of what the current creature creators can do with a bunch of excellent casting choices and enough "please clap" cameos to delight and confound fans of all ages. Camie! Fixer! Cad Bane! I liked the character on the cartoon, I liked the 6-inch figure I already had - but here was a new one, coming in similar to the 3 3/4-inch one also released a few months ago. Despite the fact he doesn't look like the other 6-inch releases, he's similar enough that I assume most fans would walk by this figure and go "I got that" or "Hey, that's the one I missed." To make matters worse, a nearly identical figure (with more fireblasts) was sold in a two-pack with Cobb Vanth as a Target exclusive last year. It would seem Hasbro continues to experiment with solid packs, exclusive variants, and other ways to get out (I assume) popular characters and make sure the market gets their needs met. Seeing his secondary market price on eBay is now below SRP, it would seem they succeeded.

I did not immediately take a shine to this figure, and it took me a minute to figure out why. It looked cheap. The face sculpt is good, and Hasbro painted the skin blue - that makes it look a lot better, and really highlights the sneer. The alien hands look great, with unusual blue fingers with wide tips and bony knuckles. Those are great! But then it hit me - it was the shine. I consider a glossy finish a real perk when it comes to retro-style figure, as some of the old ones (Ewoks, Walrus Man, and so on) had an a shiny finish in the original Kenner era. That's part of the appeal - but with 6-inch figures, you want "realistic" textures. Cloth needs to look like cloth, metal needs to look like metal, plasteel needs to look like... I don't know what. But not plastic. The figure's boots are molded in a brown with a hint of translucency, which destroys the "premium" illusion. The chest has a shirt that's almost distractingly shiny, and the choice of material doesn't make it look like a $25 figure. The 3 3/4-inch figure actually looked a little bit better.

Paint is acceptable, but I think the elements popped better on the small version too. The shirt was darker, as were the pants, contrasting from the jacket. The silver highlights on the ammo belts and actual belt seemed a bit nicer, and the painted blue gauntlets on the little version also had a more "premium" look than the molded-in-blue. I realize this may sound a bit hypocritical, as I've been impressed by Mattel's molded-in-color limbs and boots on Masters of the Universe Origins. (Seriously, Filmation Skeletor is unpainted except for the black on his eyes and mouth!) I think that sort of thing works great with toys and cartoony characters. Seeing the pains Filoni and Favreau and Rodriguez took to translate a cartoon character to a believable moving mask with the cartoon voice, the figure doesn't quite capture the presence of the character on TV. This is just due to materials, though.

The sculptor did a good job, and the engineers who put the articulation in deserve an award. The shoulders can shrug forward and backward in the coat, giving the sneering baddie additional body language that's subtle and absolutely sells the figure's "I don't care" or "I hate you" vibe. He stands well, and he's easy to pose. I love the moods he evokes just by standing there, snarling at you with his teeth showing. The eye color is superb. The prototype looked good too, so it just lost a lot in translation on the way to (from?) the factory.

With the 3 3/4-inch line the occasional bad joint, or wrong-sized holster, or other problem was something we all had to take on the chin every year or two. Sometimes Hasbro owned up to it - like that first Vintage IG-88's holster on his back couldn't hold the accessory due to a factory glitch. It happens! For $5 or $10, it's not a huge deal. But this one was $25, so seeing such a wonderful sculpt with excellent textures and one of the most striking alien faces in a decade of these big figures marred by a chest that says "I cost $2.99 at Remco in 1987" is a bit disenchanting. I'm not saying don't buy it - but if you're the kind of fan who's inclined to customize the figure, you're going to make him awesome. The boots and chest aren't everything but ultimately they do make what is a genuinely impressive design and make you ask why it's $24.99. Sure, the joints are great. Yes, the personality is good. But if you're happy with Cad Bane at home, maybe wait for a sale on this one.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,107: February 13, 2024