Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,352: The Mandalorian and Grogu (The Vintage Collection)

THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU Gear Galorian
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Deluxe Action Figure
Item No.: No. G2532
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #395
Includes: Jet pack, pistol, rifle, knife, sword, Grogu shoulder sitter
Action Feature: Grogu slots on backpack, pistol fits in holster
Retail: $27.99
Availability: March 2026
Appearances: The Mandalorian and Grogu

Bio: The Mandalorian and his young apprentice Grogu embark on a thrilling adventure as they travel the galaxy. (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 eBay now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This gets long, but it's the best version of this character yet - and you're charged accordingly. You can pose him with a sniper rifle. His son can hang on his back. He has an extra hand, and an alternate sword, and a knife I assume we'll all lose. Considering version 1.0 was $12.99, $27.99 is a lot to ask. At least you know it has more stuff, and a revised sculpt, and the articulation is as good as Hasbro ever gives us at this scale.

This The Mandalorian and Grogu set for this year's movie occupies a territory between "the best" and "boring." I waited to open it until after the movie. I didn't grasp the significance of the accessories being new or if the armor had many changes until seeing the movie. I can tell you that this seems to have a lot of new sculpted parts, with a chest plate bigger than TVC #312A. The helmet has some added grooves in it. The thigh plates aren't the precise same shape or color. But there's absolutely no way you could tell without a side-by-side comparison, and Hasbro has made so many versions of Mando that I have lost count. I haven't reviewed or opened them all, despite each new release having something unique about it. If what you had was amazing, and what you are being asked to buy yet again is slightly more amazing, it might be hard to spend the money unless you demand The Very Best.

Little tiny details in the Beskar armor are indeed barely changed, but it seems that Hasbro had the budget to do a new mold of a guy and spent it on this rather than tweaking and repackaging an existing figure. It's a very good mold, but I imagine long-haul collectors will not appreciate the fact that they're being asked to spend $28 on a figure they may have six or seven other versions of at home. They might appreciate the chest plate is bigger and covers more of the torso. But they may also not have even been aware the previous one was in any way coming up short. Extremely online collectors who need to have the very best version are going to find it here, while those of us who were happy with what we have at home just wanted something new.

A Grogu figure that comes in the package is arguably the biggest selling point. This little guy has a hole in his chest that fits on a large peg on Mando's jet pack. It would be disingenuous to call it a separate figure as it can't stand and both of them look silly when separated. Heh olds on incredibly well, and Grogu's ear and face paint both look fantastic. The sculpting on his robe looks good, plus his tiny hands are holding specific parts of Mando's armor. Hasbro did a nice job with the assets available to them. Grogu's neck can turn, but he has no additional moving parts.

Mando's new gear is specific to the movie, with a sniper rifle, his classic pistol, a sword from the arena fight, and a knife. I am confident I am going to lose one or more of these over time. He also has an alternate right hand with an extended trigger finger for resting the rifle over his shoulder. The hand is very similar, includes extra paint, and requires assembly - so it adds a fair bit to the cost of a figure. (This is $8 more than a current standard release and you could convince me the extra stuff and Grogu is worth $8 for those needing the very best.)

I don't believe this is a great use of the budget, as a pared-down $20 figure probably would have sold better and fans might not have even realized they were missing the extra stuff. He has no problems holding or holstering any of his parts, and it would seem Hasbro went out of their way to make an exquisitely detailed figure with the best-yet articulation and gear for toy photographers. Is it fun for collectors? I don't think that was ever the intent - they know this item is going to sell on Amazon and would be the most popular character, so we're getting the very best figure set that the price point could warrant.

The sword is perfect for his fight with Rotta the Hutt. (There is no Rotta the Hutt figure to buy from Hasbro right now.) The leg articulation is great and would fit perfectly in a ship. (Hasbro doesn't have any ships scaled for this figure in its product line right now - but you may have an old one at home.) It's a weird place to be in when we're getting the top-of-the-line figure like this, but it's kind of a letdown because there are no dioramas to build, no vehicles to pilot, indeed no toys to play with anymore. This guy exists as a souvenir from a very good movie. I suspect more figures are coming, and sure he can pal around with the forthcoming Zeb, but there's no "collection" of stuff to go with the movie. Which dropped to #3 in week 2. Unfortunate - I really do wonder if a massive toy launch with creatures and ships might have helped capture the public's interest, or if what is effectively a season 5 pay-per-view special of a TV show couldn't muster that level of enthusiasm.

I have no complaints about Mando's articulation. It's super easy to get a good pose out of him, although balancing him may take some time. On the bright side, his hands can both grip the rifle and look awesome doing it. Hasbro really did a bang-up job carving out the joints in a way that might make you ask "why can't the other figures do this, too?" and I don't have an answer for you. All I can say is that they really went to town making sure Mando's hip joints, thigh swivels, knees, elbows, shoulders, and wrists all function well enough for an arena combatant with nobody to fight.

If you have no Mando figures, this is the one to get. I'm really happy with the quality of paint, the range of movement, and the amount of gear that you get. I also would like to see if Hasbro could see what they can do to bring costs down so more fans can enter the hobby and participate with the rest of us. In the early 1990s, the secondary market prices would squeeze out fans who weren't in early enough - and we're seeing that again. For those of you seeking incremental steps toward perfection? You need this. For newbies? This is very, very good. But the rest of us know the score - Hasbro will find ways to alter the same costume and improve it, again and again, and we'll probably have another version of this guy if and when a new season or movie see release. That is the way. And if you're happy with what you have at home, keep being happy unless you want to use this specific gear for him to take on the various Remnant figures we got so far.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. I have found this figure at local sellers of Hasbro wares. This is a good thing for new fans wanting to jump in, but given that scarcity (artificial or otherwise) has driven purchases since 1995? Maybe we're seeing the end of mass interest in The Vintage Collection.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,352: June 9, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,233: Grogu (The Book of Boba Fett, The Retro Collection)

GROGU Kenner Take Two
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6874 No. F8567
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Frog, reproduction of Jedi Training backpack
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: December 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett

Bio: The Star Wars Retro Collection features design and detailing inspired by the original 1970s Star Wars figures and features original figure design and detailing! Continue your collection from a galaxy far, far away. (Stolen from the marketing copy. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I had this The Book of Boba Fett Grogu since it came out in December 2023, and didn't open him until December of 2024. I'd seen him at Ross before I opened my full-price one. Why did I take so long to bust open this The Retro Collection figure? There wasn't much new on the box - nothing is bad, but I had all the parts in the box so I prioritized opening other figures. Four of The Book of Boba Fett Kenner eight figure wave were old molds with different accessories, three of which had no actual changes to the figure itself. If you look at The Child [FOTD #2,819] from 2021, the main differences are that the first release had a pretty nice Hover Pram with display base. It wasn't a full figure worth of plastic, but it was meaty enough to make the figure not seem like a rotten deal at $10 even though it kind of was. (I still like it.)

The 2023 edition takes that same Grogu The Baby Yoda Child figure with his unpainted bluegreen frog, and adds a pretty clever accessory - a remake of the original 1980s Kenner mail-in Survival Kit blue backpack accessory. You put this on your Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues) figure so he could carry around Yoda, because Kenner wouldn't make a Dagobah Luke in his sleeveless costume until 1996. You had to rough it. You had to pretend. (I hope Hasbro makes a Kenner Dagobah Retro Luke some day.) The 20023 blue backpack sculpt has a couple of changes like the copyright info inside, and your various Luke figures can still wear it to carry Grogu. It's a smart move by Hasbro and really cool of them to bring back an easy-to-loose vintage accessory that you can also put with your 2020 Luke and Yoda retro remakes.

The figure itself is good. He's a little tall to be in scale with the rest of the characters (like Kenner would probably have done), with a jointed neck and jointed arms. I think Kenner of old might have given him some more paint - his hands and eyes are the only deco hits here, even the original Jawa had more going on. The feet are sculpted, but unpainted. If you're the kind of picky weirdo who absolutely needs to keep "The Child" from 2021 separately identified from this 2023 Grogu, good news - Hasbro carved the new F8567 SKU on the bottom, as well as a date stamp. (Mine reads 32401.) The other markings are the same as the previous release.

So which Kenner Grogu do you get - this one, or The Child with the hover pram? The Pram edition feels like you get more for your money. The backpack edition has a scarce 1980 accessory in it. The figures are, for all practical purposes, identical. It's sort of like asking which R2-D2 you should get in the 1980s - they're all pretty much the same, plus or minus a mechanism in the dome. Given the relatively low prices I'd say just buy both if you're a fan of the format and can get them at or under retail price. He's a cute little guy and you may someday want the backpack to give a Dagobah Luke figure if Hasbro ever squirts one out. It's a shame this figure and wave never really hit the mass market big box stores in America, so I can't tell you if he was ever truly a pegwarmer or not, but I imagine he would have sold just fine at regular price. He's very small for the money (just like Yoda!) and he doesn't come with a lot of cool gear, but he probably subsidized the rest of the wave - and The Book of Boba Fett Kenner figures were some of the very best.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. As I write this we're probably two weeks away from Target shipping their Retro Star Wars six-pack with a whopping five new classic character figures - I confess I am sad this means we won't see more The Mandalorian-era Kenner guys for a while, if ever again, but it has been a pretty good run and I'm generally pleased with the vast majority of what we got and how it was done. Consider checking your weird collector stores (you know the ones) and scooping up any that are priced oddly low, goodness knows I've bought a few extras.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,233: April 17, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,229: IG-12 with Grogu and Anzellan (The Vintage Collection Deluxe)

IG-12 with Grogu and Anzellan
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. G0670
Number: #286
Includes: Blaster, chest panel, 3 character figures total
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: February 2025
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: Clever Anzellan droidsmiths have refurbished IG-11’s salvaged parts into a pilotable frame for Grogu, who can operate the droid body like a vehicle. Stripped to base motor functions, the droid has been renamed IG-12. (Taken from the figure's set'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: Is this one figure or three? I'm having a hard time with that one given that The Vintage Collection IG-12, Grogu & Anzellan has two extra-tiny figures which both serve as a missing part of the IG-12 mech. "What is a figure?" gets brought up a lot, and I should probably count this one as three - but you might not enjoy that. So let's say it's one, and we'll just make them all brief. It's a neat set.

The meat of the toy is IG-12, a surgically enhanced release of 2021 IG-11 [FOTD #2,871] with a new torso. He was $13.99, this one is $24.99 and you get one fewer blaster. It's pretty good - the figure's head lacks two cream-color deco hits, one below the eyes and another just above the neck joint. It lacks some of the shine around the waist, but that makes sense because Hasbro gave us a removable baby gate part that would probably snap or decay if made from a hard, shiny plastic or vac-metalized. Everything else is pretty good with the light tan bits on the legs and arms, the red on the shoulders, and the same good design we got with IG-11. The problem on my sample where that the elbow joints were frozen, and needed a lot of encouragement with boiling water and some time in the freezer to move freely. The ball-jointed elbows are a smidgen loose, and while I can't engineer a better design I can say that I wanted something a bit stronger. If you got IG-11, it's a lot like IG-12.

The hands are wonderfully creepy with multiple clawed fingers splayed out, but unfortunately aren't very good at gripping the blaster rifle. This isn't the end of the world, as neither Grogu nor the Anzellan spent most of their time blasting fools. The new torso demands more examination, in part because Hasbro didn't point out how it worked on the packaging. The chest pegs in on the waist, so you can remove it to place in the Anzellan or Grogu as a pilot. Both can more or less reach the joysticks, and Grogu is a very tight fit. You will need to count on the flexibility of his ears to be crammed in there and be plugged in place securely in very specialized sockets. The Anzellan is a little looser. For what Hasbro aspired to do, I think they did a pretty good job repurposing existing parts - but the many tiny joints are very challenging to fully actuate thanks to paint and very specific tolerances. If you find it on clearance (and you probably will) buy two, just in case one snaps or is difficult.

I should also point out that the figure has an interior. Inside the chest panel you can see some pistons, levers, and what may be a screen. The body cavity has a sculpted upholstered pilot's seat, and it's even painted in spots. Hasbro could have left it unpainted and, with a pilot inside, you'd never notice. Someone over there clearly recognized that if they're going to charge us $25 they better put some extra detail in there. Sure, I would've put it on the robot head, but for all I know you'd be screaming at me for making the wrong choice. There's a lot going on here with sculpted cables and jointed ankles and a head with four swiveling layers, so I assume this figure is probably scraping the ceiling of what could be done at the price point given its complexity.

Piloting the EVA-11 are two familiar faces. The Anzellan is new to this scale, and is quite a remarkable tiny figure. It is difficult to appreciate that a 3/5-inch figure costs a lot of money to make when it has moving parts or painted elements. Paint, paint masks, and assembly cost similar amounts for a small piece as a large piece, so it doesn't matter if you could cram this guy in your nose, plug the other side, and shoot it out - it still costs Hasbro a fair amount of money to make it. If you can squint, you'll see tiny eyes, a little mustache, a shirt, goggles, a scarf, painted skin, and more. Size matters not - the factory in China is going to bill you for four or five colors on a tiny figure with jointed arms as if it were a more complex toy. If Hasbro made it as an unpainted slug figure, the price would be absurd. While it might be a hair higher than is necessary, I don't think they're ripping fans off here - this sort of thing is actually expensive to make, especially if you see how generally great and clean the paint applications are. You know I love to complain, and I don't think Hasbro shorted us on this little guy.

Rounding out the set is Grogu. He's shorter than other Vintage Grogu figures, no doubt because I don't think there would be a way to fit it in the tiny torso of a robot figure. He has joints at the neck and shoulders, which is what he needs to fit in and pilot his mobility walker. Hasbro did not skimp on paint here either. Not only are the eyes and hands painted green, but so are the feet. His collar and sleeve cuffs are also painted, as are the pink interiors of his ear. Hasbro could probably have left those last few bits unpainted and, when piloting IG-12, you'd never know. Given that this is a deluxe figure it seems they're acutely aware we have to feel like we're spending $25 on something really good, and while I would be curious what a $20 version would look like, at least I can't poo-poo what we got here. The little guy fits in the chest like a glove, but you might want to use a toothpick to put his ears in place. The figure's sculpt is all new, and he looks excellent. In terms of scale he's a smidgen smaller than I would expect, just barely taller than the Anzellan droidsmith.

While some deluxe figures don't feel like they're much better than a similar release from just a few years earlier, IG-12 is on the happier side of worth it. Things like extra heads with extra fine paint masks cost money, and Hasbro basically delivered a $17 figure with two extra heads here. A long time ago I was told a head is about 1/3 of a cost of many figures - I haven't a clue if it was/still is true, but let's say it is - making this a decent deal for what you get on the cardback. It stings that a deluxe version of a formerly $14 figure is now $25, but I can't imagine a world where tiny Grogu or tiny Anzellan figures would be under $4 in a blind bag or through some other format. You're not going to feel like you got an amazing deal, but it's a fair value for three characters in a single package.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,229: April 3, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,209: Grogu (The Armorer's Forge, The Vintage Collection)

GROGU (Armorer's Forge Playset Pack-In Figure)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Pack-In Figure
Item No.: No. G0360
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Carded The Armorer, Forge playset, anvil with alternate heads, Cabinet of Dr. Mon Calimari
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $59.99
Availability: November 2024
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: This set includes several accessories ideal for play and display, like the Armorer’s forging materials and a selection of her finished helmets – plus a Grogu figure! (Taken from the Hasbro product page copy.)

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: Does anyone need another Grogu? Probably - after his introduction on the show, I envisioned Hasbro switching the entire line over to support him - to make "The Child" in numerous poses as a collectible, non-articulated figure and sold with dang near everybody - The Client, Mando, etc. - instead of a coin or other gimmick. I still think it would have been a good idea - for a babbling puppet with only one shirt, they've found tons of ways to make him as a toy. This one sports a unique addition to his costume - beskar armor, which goes under his robes.

At about 3/4-inches tall, this is clearly not worthy of being sold as an individually packaged figure, but we've seen a few of them. In this case, he's packed with a $60 playset, which includes a carded figure (let's say a $17 value) alongside a chunk of cave, a Mythosaur skull, some tools, and absolutely no paint. If anything, the figure is a modern collectible - as is the Armorer - while the playset itself feels more like a throwback to something in Kenner's MicroCollection. It's actually kind of amazing, and I'd recommend the entire set to anybody who's all-in on 3 3/4-inch as a scale, just be sure to steal the playset and give it to your Retro figures.

The Grogu figure itself is about as good as the other ones. Tiny black eyes, big green ears with a pink interior, teensy green hands, and a brown unzipped robe gives you a clear view of what's going on underneath. The Armorer built him a plate of armor with a partially visible mudhorn signet, and a tiny bit of chainmail visible just below his head. It's tiny, it's subtle, it's the kind of thing where you might be left asking yourself how many of this character you own... and why. The tiny arms move well given the size, and the head turns - but there are no foot peg holes, and no real way to interact with the playset beyond standing near it.

It's easy to crack jokes, but the figure is impressive - his wrists are jointed. That's a minor miracle. But would we as collectors be any worse off if our dozenth or so Grogu was a non-articulated, painted figure that maybe helped to bring this set's price down a few bucks? I love articulation when it adds to the play value, but as he can't really do much other than stand or turn his head anyway, I don't benefit from the moving parts. It's a well-designed figure and the designers should be proud of their craftsmanship, but as a toy, it offers nothing to give you a better time than you would have with your existing figures.

At $60 it's a little tough to recommend this set, because it feels like the playset part should cap out at around $20, the bonus heads aren't much of an accessory, and the carded figure is worth about $17. For $45-$50, I think it would be a pretty good item. At $60, it's for a certain kind of completist only, or for the Kenner-crazed fanatic who would probably just as easily have paid $60 for a fan-made version of the playset to go with those figures. Grogu doesn't do much other than look cool, and everything about this set looks pretty cool - you just have to get past the fact that the figures feel like 21st century designs while the playset comes from the finest plastic forges that 1982 had to offer.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,209: January 23, 2025

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,160: The Mandalorian and Grogu (N-1 Starfighter Pack-Ins, Epic Hero Series)

THE MANDALORIAN | GROGU New Kids Line
Epic Hero Series The Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter
Item No.: No. F9950
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 2 figures, 1 vehicle, cape, 2 projectiles
Action Feature: Launching projectiles, rotating engines
Retail: $34.99
Availability: July 2024
Appearances: The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian Season 3   

Bio: The Mandalorian is a formidable bounty hunter in an increasingly dangerous galaxy. Grogu has chosen to follow the path of his protector, the Mandalorian, and continues to share adventures at his side. (Taken from the single figure packaging. Box has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: Since this vehicle comes with two old figures and one new accessory, I'm lumping it all together - if you're an accessory completist, you'll need to buy all versions of these. The Mandalorian is almost identical to his single card release [FOTD #3,118] except the single card has a Darksaber and blaster, whereas the vehicle version trades them for a jetpack. Grogu includes none of the accessories from his single carded release, effectively rendering him as an accessory. You can read those reviews for details, because Mando's got 5 joints, Grogu's got 3, and they're pretty good. The new jet pack is huge, and Mando can't wear it while in his vehicle - it's also incredibly oversized. I would have loved to see any minor change to either figure that might make me say "hey it's different!" beyond the accessories, but alas, it was not to be. They're both very nice figures and for what you get in the box, arguably a very good deal.

When Hasbro introduced Mission Fleet, I was agitated because I didn't want a new scale. If those were 3 3/4-inch vehicles I'd have gleefully bought them all, because I had no interest in a scale where Hasbro would lose interest within a few years. And they did. Now we have Epic Hero Series, and the N-1 Starfighter is its first vehicle. Yes, first vehicle. It's not as big as The Vintage Collection ship, but it's about $100 cheaper and the same size figures can fit inside. Just chew on that for a bit. It doesn't have the high level of paint detail, or the display stand, or removable engine parts, or on-board accessory storage either... but it's $100 cheaper. As collectors I really do feel we've lost our minds when it comes to accepting and demanding figures have a level of quality that demands that much of a price increase, but that's what we do. So instead, Hasbro made one for kids and wouldn't you know it, it's sturdy and a lot of fun. The details are not exact, as the spires coming off the back are a lighter gray, and nothing seems particularly metallic like that previous release. But that's OK, you get plenty of exposed mechanical bits and the size is such that you can cram The Vintage Collection or The Retro Collection figures inside without much fuss.

Functionally, it's about as good as a 1990s Kenner ship design with two firing rockets, seating for Mando and his son, and some nifty opening "boost mode" engines. The rockets fire nicely, and being bright green you can find them in the carpet. This toy reminds me a bit of Kenner's 1997 redesign of Darth Vader's TIE Fighter - which I believe was the first all-new Original Trilogy-specific vehicle we had at that point in the line. (There were other new vehicles for Shadows of the Empire, everything else was derived from 1970s and 1980s toys.)

While the ship is more advanced than anything made by Kenner in the 1980s, it does work well with The Retro Collection figures. That Grogu is bigger than The Vintage Collection one but a tiny bit smaller than Epic Hero Series, so he has a little extra room. The same is true about Mando - you can get his Retro figure in the pilot's seat even with his jet pack molded to the back. If it were a true 1970s vehicle parts would probably come off. Fans of Retro, give this a look because five years in I doubt Hasbro is ever going to make vehicles for that segment.

Actual play features, on a nicely sized toy, at a price that would be expensive 20 years ago but dirt cheap by modern standards. If you value the figures at $10-$15, and consider the ship adjusted for inflation, this might be one of the best vehicle values we've ever had. There are no stickers, there's very little paint, but it looks right and it does stuff. I wish it came out to time with the show, but with any luck Hasbro can get a few years out of selling this one with new series and a movie. That might be hoping for too much. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this package for the figures alone, but if you missed the figures I would strongly recommend it for the ship with the figures. The last time we got a new "kid" vehicle was 2018 for Solo: A Star Wars Story, and I think Hasbro should really consider making more ships at this price point because they're affordable and, in most cases, arguably as satisfying as the deluxe models for the average fan. It may not look like a tiny prop replica, but also, it's not priced like a tiny prop replica.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,160: August 6, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,155: Grogu (Epic Hero Series)

GROGU New Kids Line
Epic Hero Series Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. F9405 No. G0100
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Pram, stand
Action Feature: Articulated opening lid
Retail: $9.99
Availability: January 2024
Appearances: The Mandalorian Season 3   

Bio: Grogu has chosen to follow the path of his protector, the Mandalorian, and continues to share adventures at his side. (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!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: This is a weird one - it's a season 3-specific version of Grogu, one of surprisingly few Hasbro toys made based on designs from the show's season which ended last year thus far. There's a The Vintage Collection figure based on this pram on the way for $17, which has swappable "open" and "closed" pram lids, slightly more pram paint, and - it seems - less articulation on the figure itself. (And the shirt, the TVC one has the shirt.) It is unlikely that fans will see these side by side on the pegs, but any customer who sees this figure for $10 and that one for $17 who isn't a specific kind of collector might just go the cheaper route. But should they?

Grogu himself is a weird figure - not bad, but there are some curious design choices. He's the same size as The Child from The Retro Collection [FOTD #2,819], which puts him a little taller than The Vintage Collection mini-minifigure. He has jointed arms - Vintage ones don't always have those. Epic Hero Grogu has a jointed head as well, plus unpainted feet, and has a sculpt that seems to be derived from the same source material as the Retro "Kenner" figure. A lot of the folds line up, so they very much seem to be cut from a similar cloth, but with different levels of texture. Retro has no pink in the ears, and Epic adds very tiny (and probably unnecessary) whites around his eyes. The fuzzy cloth around his neck and wrists are painted, although I do not think it works to the benefit of the figure. Hasbro could probably just change up the texture a tiny bit, and call it a day, but at least it matches nicely.

The pram is good - it plugs in the display stand, and the lid rolls back quite smoothly. Form fit issues are a problem with a lot of current toys, but whoever engineered this one made sure the lid snaps in cleanly and rolls back without a hitch. There aren't any foot pegs to secure the figure inside, but he does have one hole in one foot for some future use. Presumably. Maybe not. The deco on the pram is light, and the little elements painted on the Vintage version weren't decorated here - but it's no worse off. And basically half the price.

There are no "Epic Hero" connection points on the figure - no backpack hole, no wrist holes. Nor should there be. He's too tiny for any of those to be very useful, although a clear stand that could plug in his back so he could "leap" could be cute if they do a version 2.0.

I don't know if parents or kids will see the tiny guy who is the size of an accessory as worth the price of a full human figure at $10, but a popular character tends to sell regardless. I think he's as good or charming as the retro figure, with a slightly more realistic sculpt, but is still a little cutesy. I hope this line gets built out, because the eight figures we have so far don't make much of a splash - but as part of a hypothetical bigger thing? I really like this figure.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,155: July 18, 2024

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,072: Grogu (and Luke Skywalker, The Black Series)

GROGU & Luke Skywalker
The Black Series The Book of Boba Fett Deluxe Figure
Item No.: No. F8345
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #07
Includes: Yoda hilt, Yoda lightsaber, Luke lightsaber, backpack, frog, wrapped gift, box, clear stands, bolt stand, rock formation, training remote
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $44.99
Availability: July 2023
Appearances: The Book of Boba Fett

Bio: To help him hone his skills and understand the ways of the Force, Grogu trains with a new Jedi Master: Luke Skywalker . (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!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Click here to buy it at Walmart now!

Commentary: It is rare that you hear about a toy in a store because you can hear some guy complaining to his girlfriend about the price. This Luke Skywalker and Grogu pack - a slam-dunk from a product development perspective - rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way at $45, as it's basically a $25 figure with a $10 smaller figure with a $10 upcharge. Is it cool? Yeah. If Hasbro didn't make it, would you probably complain? Eventually, yes. Given that you get a rocky base, a training remote, a few lightsabers, a chest, a little chainmail packet, and some other goodies, it's a lot of stuff in a box - but "a lot" does not equate to "visibly worth the asking price." Little accessories are awesome, but fans don't clock those as a true value-add after the numerous price increases in recent years.

Hasbro has sold fans many Grogu figures in The Black Series, most of which were "accessories" in deluxe action figure sets with obligatory mark-ups. Like many, this one has moving arms and a moving neck - it also looks pretty much like everything else you've seen despite having a new pose. He can plug in to a clear plastic effect part so he looks like he's jumping to dodge training remote blasts, and it looks great. Hasbro did a nice job here, but I would say that adult fan collectors probably have all the Grogu they need right now. It might be interesting if we saw some unique, expressive, non-articulated figures as cheaper accessories, because there isn't a whole heck of a lot that's different about this figure. It's by no means bad - it's just that you had multiple chances to get something nearly identical.

I have heard a number of fans lament that a lot of products seem to exist not for fans nor collectors, but rather Internet toy photographers. This would probably serve as evidence for this. You can pose Luke with the little package of armor, or showing Grogu the lightsaber, or pulling out the little box, or any of a number of scenes - but they're not fun, and the parts are easily lost without a storage mechanism included in the set. It would be great to see more emphasis on storage, be it in the figure or tucked in an accessory's alcove, mostly so the fan is not tasked with finding small baggies or boxes to store all the extra accessories they will never look at once this figure goes on a display shelf.

This set is a great package for a new fan. It's a spectacular entry-level product that shows off what this line can do and probably will convince a few fans to try collecting this line since you get a lot of cool stuff in a box without a lot of chasing things around. At $35 (the rate on Amazon as I write this) I'd go as far as to say it's an excellent set for the price - but at regular retail it's hard to really make a case that it's worth the asking price.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,072: October 12, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,041: Grogu (The Rescue Set, The Vintage Collection)

GROGU (The Rescue Set)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure PulseCon Set
Item No.: No. F5551
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #245
Includes: Cuffs, plus Grogu, Mando, and Moff Gideon
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $74.99
Availability: December 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: The Mandalorian leads a crew on a rescue mission to Moff Gideon’s ship where a garrison of dark troopers – the advanced droids that captured Grogu – are waiting. (Stolen from Hasbro Pulse. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: In the last couple of years, most items were made in numbers that were too big - but we don't know what that really means. Were runs bigger than usual? Are fans turned off? (Is it a mix?) Items like Grogu (The Rescue Set) are being sold on eBay somewhat cheaply, and what was most likely developed to be an awkward SDCC-type exclusive just sort of resulted in a semi-shrug given no one character in this set was truly exclusive. Grogu is a new mold, sure - but does it matter if you already have one, two, or several from other items you've bought?

This version of the figure has a jointed head and is specifically based on his appearances in The Mandalorian season two. He has slightly stretchy removable handcuffs which slip off his tiny hands pretty easily. (Just don't lose them.) He looks pretty good, because much of his person is molded in color. The brown robes, tan sleeves, and seemingly even the hands are all molded in their respective colors. Only the head has any paint, with pink inner ears and black eyes. It's a pretty impressive tiny figure, standing at a mere 3/5 of an inch, more or less.

Grogu's sculpting is good, especially for the size. The robes are wrinkled like he's crouching and extending his arms out. The head has subtle wrinkles and texture, but I'm too old to really see this well. While a lot of you are Grogu-ed out, the Hasbro team did do a nice job on this figure accessory. The one thing I don't love is that the head pops off easily... they also left off sculpting the feet under the robes. But it's not like you're going to notice.

This set (and what they charge for it) is a little absurd, but it seems to be that way with Hasbro's collector toys across the board right now. They're good, but a little too complex (and priced accordingly) if you ask me. I wouldn't recommend this set just for Grogu, or for $75, but people are selling just the little guy for $10 on eBay sometimes. It might be worth a look at that price, and given the price increases $75 for two $17 figures and a $30 Dark Trooper isn't terrible unless you recognize that 10-15 years ago, this would have probably been a $25-$30 Battle Pack. The important thing is that it looks like Hasbro did their best here, but nothing really makes paying 6-inch figure prices for your 3 3/4-inch figures easy to swallow.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,041: June 27, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,999: Grogu (The Black Series)

GROGU at full price
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Orange The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F4357
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #26 - The Mandalorian
Includes: Storage box, frog, knob, bowl, Beskar mythosaur skull necklace, cookie tube, floating pram
Action Feature: Connecting lightsaber parts
Retail: $24.99
Availability: December 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: A mysterious alien pursued by bounty hunters on behalf of Imperial interests. (Taken from the packaging, which occupies a fair amount of space in six languages.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: You should be insulted. Hasbro and Disney and Lucasfilm and everybody have been milking the popularity of The Child to the point of the absurd, but you also get to see so many riffs on the idea. Baby dolls, Pop! vinyl figures, 1980s-style collectible figures, games, clothes, and just about everything. With The Black Series (and to a lesser extent, The Vintage Collection) Hasbro elected to push for premium pricing. Just a Grogu by himself with some gear was once $10. Target's exclusive Grogu was $35 - but it also included a lot of accessories and Mando with him. Retro and Vintage Grogu were $10 and $15, and some were packed in as accessories with other figures. But this is $25 - and that's absurd. Hasbro has a 6-inch scale "toy" one with pram for $5, a 9-inch scale one for $10, and so many other toys that offer more for less. If Hasbro put all of this on a Vintage cardback for $18, you'd complain about the value. It's basically an accessory pack with no action figure, but priced as a full-blown action figure. And it'll sell, because it's Grogu, but it's just one more figure that people who are still collecting-them-all will begrudgingly buy in the name of completeness. It is not a bad product - it is just a wildly poorly priced one.

The Retro Collection Grogu gave you a similarly sized figure minus a couple of accessories for about $10. You could buy that figure, plus the first The Black Series Grogu (which features the same accessory box in this set), and it'd only be $20. Not included in the overlap are the cookies or necklace, which at best would be around $1 or $2 - and both of those other Grogu figures were also overpriced for what you got. I'm being repetitive now. My expectations for this one were low, and that turned out to be appropriate.

The figure itself has your little green buddy sitting down with jointed arms. Each hand has open fingers, and the right hand can hold his cookies. The head and each hand are jointed, and some brown paint over the brown garment is barely visible. His black eyes have a little pink around them, as do his ears. You wouldn't miss it if it were left out, and it's good that they did something with the deco to make it not seem like the most cynical product in the line.

Accessory interactivity is not fantastic. The clear box of gear is good to not lose the tiny accessories, but no such love was given to the other stuff. He can't wear the necklace without popping off his head, and I am hesitant to do that. The cookies can be held just fine, and the hands are not posed properly to make use of the bowl or the shifter knob really. Alternate arms or a bonus alternate figure would have helped. He can sit in his pram just fine, but getting the pieces on it to align and shut properly has proven difficult. It won't fully close - the form fit is awful on mine. The deco is nice, I appreciate the weathering and orange tripes, but it seems poorly manufactured. Having said that, the interior is nicely painted and sculpted.

What I wish Hasbro would've done was to include more than one Grogu in the set - there's so little going on here that they could toss two or three uniquely posed figures, with different expressions, and it would still feel like something of a bad value. But not this bad. If this were the only way to get the character, I would say hold your nose and buy it. But it's not - you have a lot of options and almost all of which can be had at a better price. (Surprising no one, my favorite is the "Kenner" one.) Making money is important but I think Hasbro really whiffed this one. Including a Grogu with a lesser character (say, the Client) to boost sales as an "accessory" would have made sense. Throw in other accessories as bonuses with other slower-selling figures to encourage collecting, or alternate Grogus, also makes sense. If this figure included droid parts or extra gear for Mando or just something that would make this seem like you got more plastic than a 3 3/4-inch scale figure for $10 cheaper, I wouldn't complain. But this did not happen. And it won't matter, because this will fly off the shelves as a 1-per-case figure during the weeks before season three of The Mandalorian premieres. The character's popularity will probably make this a critic-proof product unless people are over The Mandalorian or season three of the show winds up turning people off. I expect they'll be confused given how many people skipped The Book of Boba Fett, but such is life.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,999: January 31, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,955: Grogu (& Ahsoka Tano, The Vintage Collection Deluxe)

GROGU & Ahsoka Tano
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Deluxe Walmart Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5576
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Two lightsabers, cloak, rock, shifter knob, Grogu, Morai, lantern
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $20.97
Availability: May 2022
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: Now a wandering Jedi, Ahsoka Tano forges her own path in the galaxy, righting injustices that she discovers. Grogu, a mysterious alien, is being pursued by bounty hunters. (Taken from marketing copy. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: At maybe 3/5 of an inch tall, Grogu is tiny. This one seems particularly small, and he has but one joint - at the neck. The body has uniquely posed figure that may share tooling with the Incinerator Trooper's Grogu, but as Walmart has still not shipped me mine I can't be sure. I can say this is different than the other ones just because there's less articulation. One joint is not really great, and Hasbro's decision to charge a lot for him in packs as a bonus accessory (or as a figure on his own) is kind of troubling in spots. But, he sells. He sells as collectible figures with multiple series, he sells as plush, as dolls, as statues, as action figures, as magnets, Grogu is this century's E.T. - but successful.

It's funny that I have at least two unopened 3 3/4-inch The Vintage Collection Grogu figures in my house (Spiders, the Razor Crest one) and at least two on pre-order. The Kenner-style one scratched the itch - but these are more accurately scaled. This figure has pink ear interiors, black eyes, and not much else. It's kind of criminally expensive for a slug accessory that's slightly better than what you'd get out of a gumball machine for fifty cents. There are no sculpted feet, the hands are outstretched but not jointed, and the head pops right out if you touch it funny. I see the collar and hands/sleeves are separately molded, no doubt to allow for future use of the tooling with cookies, shifter knobs, or other accessories.

The sculpt is perfect, the deco is very good, it just doesn't do much of anything - it's a teeny-tiny collectible figure. I'm a little surprised Hasbro didn't embrace Grogu as a value-add, much like a coin or a Freeze Frame. If they gave you every last variation of a 3 3/4-inch scale Grogu on a Vintage cardback with another figure for $20 - say Dr. Pershing, or The Client, or the aliens who kidnapped him in the first place - it'd sell. They could charge more for it, and it'd be a fun gimmick - especially for little green man completionists. It's a perfectly nice little figure - and I am glad they're all selling - but it would also be nice to see tooling devoted to Q9-0, or any of the dozens of awesome new major and minor aliens and droids appearing in recent shows.

I'd say this set is worth it if you missed out on Ahaoka or a previous Grogu, especially because of the included Morai. For $20, it's neat enough. But if you've already got a Grogu, you might not see the need to have this one too - despite the grabby hands, and the Force-levitated shifter knob. It's something. It's not bad. It's just that we keep circling a lot of the same characters over and over, and a little diversity never hurt nobody.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,955: August 30, 2022