Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,029: 4-LOM (The Retro Collection)

4-LOM and Zuckuss, Amazon Exclusive
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F6983
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $27.99
Availability: March 2023
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: Cold, calculating droid 4-LOM and Gand bounty hunter Zuckuss were summond by Darth Vader to locate the Millennium Falcon and her crew in STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKE BACK - and together, they make a deadly pair. (Taken from the figure's outer packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: There's something funny about 4-LOM being an Amazon exclusive. As one of the very last The Empire Strikes Back action figures, it may have been first sent to many homes from a Kenner mail-in offer. (Remember those?) You could send off some proof-of-purchases and get a free figure. The reason for that was to clear shelves - kids would buy a few figures they maybe didn't want to get the special new mail-away figure, making stores and Kenner happy without markdown dollars or buybacks or clearances. Now, they just prefer to sell the figures and have the figures sell out - and right now, 4-LOM is busy not selling out on Amazon.

But how is he? I was surprised they reissued him, because you could buy a Kenner original relatively cheaply - and while there are differences, they are not as significant as Zuckuss. The brown rubery vest isn't identical, but is extremely close. A lot of the detail on the front - especially the shoulder straps - was smoothed out and removed, but on the backside it looks pretty much the same. The head is also smoothed out, losing some of those deep grooves and bug-like skin markings. The eyes and facial detail is also a little washed out, sort of like someone had a meter to push the depth up a bit so the colors match and the basic shapes are there, but if you get in close, you'll realize this is the new one. This is annoying, because an eBay photo on your phone looks pretty much the same for the 1982 or 2023 releases - only in person can you easily tell the difference.

Under the robes, there is some loss of detail but at least from the parts I examined, it's not as bad as the head. Much stranger are the foot peg holes - they're small. Very small. Compared to other Kenner reissues, they're tiny - closer to The Vintage Collection foot holes. As much as I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, this is just sloppy work - foot peg holes should be a consistent size in a line, especially if the original figure had room for a standard, bigger one. You won't be able to fit him on old Kenner foot pegs. Articulation is the same, though, so there's that.

The accessories are largely pretty good. The fabric on his outfit is very similar, but not identical, and it feels pretty good for a material sourced 40 years after its original release. Similarly, the blaster isn't bad - you lose a little sculpted detail fidelity, but also they scrubbed some of the recessed circles on the bottom of the rifle off the 1982 original. That's an interesting choice - I like a major (but not significant) change so fans can immediately identify a reproduction beyond "compared to the original, it doesn't look as good." Heck, they could put a little R on these for all I care.

I'm always torn between "this is good" and "this is terrible" on some of the retro remakes. Hasbro is repeatedly doing what I assume has got to be an intentionally bad job with soft detail, because after six full waves and various exclusives, if they're still getting it wrong, it has to be a choice. You can't possibly make this many accidents - and if you see the new Retro Indiana Jones, woof. Horrible, worst one yet. Thanks to 4-LOM being mostly covered in cloth and he's able to hold his blaster well, I think this figure - standing on a shelf - is a fine replacement for an original. But you can also just go to eBay and buy an original for about $20. And if you have a junker original, you could probably steal the remake's parts to fix him up. I don't think the set is an improvement in any way, but in the sense that it's got a few differences, it's interesting. You'll want to keep the originals, though.

Collector's Notes: I got mine at Amazon. It was delivered to the wrong house. My friend's evaporated en route. This set carries a curse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,029: May 16, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,026: Zuckuss (The Retro Collection)

ZUCKUSS and 4-LOM, Amazon Exclusive
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F6983
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $27.99
Availability: March 2023
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: Cold, calculating droid 4-LOM and Gand bounty hunter Zuckuss were summond by Darth Vader to locate the Millennium Falcon and her crew in STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKE BACK - and together, they make a deadly pair. (Taken from the figure's outer packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: If inevitability has a name it's Zuckuss. Boba Fett is a given, but when IG-88, Dengar, and/or Bossk show up you know 4-LOM and Zuckuss are just around the corner. In 1982, Zuckuss was the name on the package of a silver/gray robot which fans realized was wrong years later in the 1990s when books and games started to correct the mistake. It really speaks to Kenner's then-dominance over the perception of these characters and films, as toys and toy marketing materials were the reference material a lot of kids had on-hand. Neither figure in this set is going to set the world on fire, but I like what Hasbro did here. Zuckuss has enough changed about him that, if it were the early 1990s and I were going to garage sales still, I would buy this variant because it's distinctive.

So what's new? The silver/gray color is changed, and the hand was retooled to better hold the blaster. The butt triangle is a little different, and many of the sculpted details are a little softer - the circles on the chest are clearly changed. In many respects, the 2023 Amazon-exclusive reissue looks more like what I remember - it doesn't have the metallic swirl baked in, the fingers nicely grip the blaster, and the details on the furrowed droid brow aren't quite as severe as the 1982 release. His joints are stiff, but so are many originals - this was one of the later releases from The Empire Strikes Back and the original 4-11-year-old Star Wars kids were a creaky 9-16, so some kids just got them as gifts and they sat in a carry case or a vehicle, unlikely to go on any adventures like Boba Fett did just a few years earlier.

The sculpting looks typical of the time, minus about 20% of the crisp detail. Hasbro softened the chest details, knee panels, finger joints, and so on to give you something that's good, but could be better. Every last detail from the movie is not represented on the figure, but you get the key ones - some of which are even correct. The Kenner toy coloring is much cleaner than the brown-lined movie costume with green eyes.

Since you can get the original pretty cheaply on eBay I was initially grumpy they picked Zuckuss to reissue, but Hasbro did a great job updating the figure. Sure, a Snowtrooper might be more exciting, but Zuckuss in a visibly different color with a retooled hand that better can hold his blaster? I'm all in for functionality. If you collected old Kenner toys and are a variant hunter, I'd suggest you get this set for that reason alone. It doesn't quite have the same metallic luster as the original, and it doesn't have the history behind it, but as someone who loves toys I just appreciate that Hasbro made the hand better. I'll buy anything from that era again if it's improved, even if it's not a 100% improvement. At least I can interact with it differently than I would the 1982 original.

Collector's Notes: I got mine at Amazon. It was delivered to the wrong house. My friend's evaporated en route. This set carries a curse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,026: May 4, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,720: 4-LOM (Kenner-Deco Zuckuss, The Black Series 6-Inch)

4-LOM Or, Zuckuss in 1982 Kenner Colors
The Black Series 40th Anniversary 6-Inch Figure Amazon/Hasbro Pulse 2-Pack
Item No.: No. E9925
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: July 2020
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio:  When Kenner first produced the 4-LOM and Zuckuss figures, the names somehow got reversed. In this Star Wars 2-pack, the original packaging has been recreated -- switched names and all.   (Taken from Hasbro's marketing copy.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I assume this 4-LOM in Kenner colors (and companion Zuckuss) were originally meant for Celebration or Comic-Con, but who knows?  As a shared 2-pack, making two popular bounty hunters in the colors most older adult fans will remember is an easy, smart move.  This figure (as Zuckuss) was previously a shared item strewn to the retail wind in the wake of Toys R Us' demise - so maybe you got it, and maybe you didn't.  If you didn't, this is a perfectly good replacement.  In the movies he was a little darker, but the still photos look much more like this lighter, tan figure.  And that's fine - this is the one I tried to chase down as a kid in the 1980s.

As with before, the figure has big cloth robes that hinder a lot of articulation.  His rifle is back, held in his left hand.  Articulation seems a smidgen better, perhaps due to thinner soft goods, for this release - but you'll note the robe is still nicely weathered.  Our fine Findsman friend has some marvelous sculpting on his head, and you can get a better idea of just how much work went into every wrinkle and crease thanks to the lighter color with the tiny bit of paint to highlight each part of the craggy cranium.   What's more, the silver eyes and tubes pop right out - even in a darker room.

The names of bounty hunters were largely unclear.  Boba Fett, IG-88, and Bossk were well known, but Dengar was "Zuckass" in some publications.  Kenner swapped 4-LOM and Zuckuss - and a lot of us had no idea until West End Games or various video games showed them with the corrected monnikers.

This is not the first version of a "Kennery" Zuckuss - we got 4-LOM in another 2-pack for Star Wars Celebration a few years ago as a 3 3/4-inch release.  I like this one best, mostly because it meshes my memory of the original toy with how the alien looks in my mind.  Is it accurate?  Does it matter?  He looks awesome and fits in well with everybody else, plus gives Hasbro another easy redeco exclusive that Amazon and Pulse quickly blew through.  Good choice, all around.  Get one if you can.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,720: August 27, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,547: 4-LOM (or Kenner's Zuckuss)

4-LOM ...or Zuckuss in Vintage Kenner Colors The Vintage Collection Jedi-Con and Celebration V Exclusive Item No.: No. 19672 Number: #VCP01 Includes: Blaster, Zuckuss figure Action Feature: n/a Retail: $14.99 Availability: August 2010 Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back Bio: Referred to as "The Uncanny One" by his fellow hunters, Zuckuss was renowned for his ability to discover hidden quarry. His tracking skills derived both from his training as a findsman and from his innate Force-sensitivity, which allowed him to sense individuals at range and decipher the motives of his prey. Due to his famed abilities, Zuckuss was highly sought after, and he found employment with the Bounty Hunters' Guild, the Hutt Cartel, TaggeCo, and even the Rebellion for a time. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.) Image: Adam's bathroom. Commentary: Since I grew up heavily interested in the 1970s and 1980s Kenner toys, this 4-LOM and his cohort Zuckuss were a real treat. Along with Gentle Giant's jumbo take on the line, these figures are a wonderful reference to the toys so many of us had in our pockets before the weight of the world crushed our collective spirits. What's particularly neat about this figure is that Hasbro decided to do more than just repaint him. Based on the 2009 Zuckuss figure, this figure has been given a tan paint job with silver eyes. The faded look is right out of 1982, and it's hard to say exactly what inspired the original coloring-- black-and-white photographs? Toyetic license? No idea. What I do know is that I vastly prefer this one to the more accurate version Hasbro sold earlier, but that's just a matter of my weird taste. If Hasbro did a Luke repaint with screaming yellow hair and a lightsaber to match, I'd be willing to overpay for that, too. (Seriously, Hasbro. Do it. Original 12 figures repainted in Kenner colors, an easy $120 boxed set. Throw in Boba Fett in Kenner colors and I'll shell out even more.) While the plastic elements of the figure didn't receive any sculpting tweaks, Hasbro did change the material for his lower robes to more closely mach the thickness of the 1982 figure. While not an exact match, it's much closer to the 1982 figure than the very thin, somewhat transparent dark brown of the 2009 release. Heck, I don't know why I'm even continuing to ramble on this one-- it's the best Zuckus mold in 1982 4-LOM colors. If you aren't already excited, there's something terribly wrong with you. Collector's Notes: The complete set can be had for under $20, so don't overpay for this one either. Due to the weirdness level, I'd say it's worth shelling out for this one if the secondary market eventually warrants it. --Adam Pawlus

Day 1,547: May 19, 2011