Figure of the Day: Day 347: Max Rebo

MAX REBO Max Rebo Band Pairs
Power of the Force Wal-Mart Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. 69670 No. 84021
Number: 3 of 3
Includes: Red Ball Organ, Doda Bodonawieedo
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: Fall 1998
Appearances: Return of the Jedi and one episode of Droids

Bio: Max Rebo was a popular musician and head member of the Max Rebo Band. He was a skinny Ortolan, the youngest of five children. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: Perfect, he is not-- but he's darned good. Max Rebo sparks a lot of debate because how he's depicted as a toy and elsewhere-- some people say that the original plan was for the character, in Return of the Jedi to not have legs, what you see in the organ is the whole alien. Others don't like the diaper. I like him just the way he is. Max can be easily removed from the keyboard, and if the keyboard itself were a little better, we might never need to ask for a reissue of this little guy. It turns out it's missing the big "gramophone" speaker on the side, just like the 1983 version, so what you have here is a very good-- but incomplete-- representation of Max Rebo. The figure is pretty much as good as you're likely to get him, but if Hasbro ever reissues this figure, it'd be nice to see the keyboard painted up a little with a new sculpted speaker on the side. (And give us a new old Sy Snootles while you're at it, too.)

Collector's Notes: Apparently Max Rebo's "Expanded Universe" name is "Siiruulian Phantele", or, oh ho ho, "blue elephant." I like the fact that everybody has a backstory but can we keep the cheap jokes out, please? This nifty figure hasn't been reissued and isn't exactly worth a small fortune because online seller Entertainment Earth bought up a large number of these and was selling them through some point in 2006. He's totally worth buying, though.

Day 347: April 18, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 346: Lushros Dofine

LUSHROS DOFINE Battle of Coruscant
The Saga Collection
Item No.: Asst. 85770 No. 85940
Number: 023
Includes: Datapad, console, display stand
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Spring 2006
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: The Separatist flagship titled The Invisible Hand was originally commissioned for the Neimodian Separatist leader Nute Gunray. Darth Sidious later orders the ship and the crew to serve General Grievous, the new leader of the droid armies. Lushros Dofine, an esteemed captain, pilots the general's flagship and obeys Grievous' every command. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: Behold! The real stinker of 2006. The figure isn't bad, but Lushros Dofine was a figure that reminds me of an amusing quotation from The Simpsons that goes something like this: "The politics of failure have failed. It is time to make them work again." In 1999, Hasbro released 2 Neimoidian figures which, while excellent figures, sold poorly. In 2002, they put out another one. It, too, sat around. In 2003, another one was put in a multipack-- and guess what? The multipacks ended up on closeout. Oh, and in 2005? Hasbro made two Neimoidians, a Commander and a Soldier, and those could be had for less than a buck if you waited long enough. There was even a holographic Nute Gunray slated for production that never came out. These guys are cursed.

It's a bit of a pity because, as I said, this isn't a bad figure. The sculpt is great. For a robed figure, its articulation is about as good as can be expected. He's even got a really big hat. The paint is good, the sculpt is fantastic, the accessories are great-- so what went wrong? Hasbro didn't make too many, actually they haven't shipped any in quite some time. (The figure was removed from the assortments fairly quickly, never making it to the "red holographic figure" transition of wave 5-- and this figure shipped in wave 4.) Today, in many stores, you can still find pegs of this figure that nobody wants to buy. It's unfortunate because it's a good example of how Hasbro can make an excellent figure, but it seems that character wasn't taken into consideration. This figure really can't do much-- in the movie, he stood around and complained a little. There's no vehicle or playset he can go with on the market. Heck, the whole Invisible Hand sequence is actually pretty lacking in toys-- sure, there's a few, but hardly enough to entice people to buy lesser characters like this one. Maybe if we had more interesting Battle Droids, a playset, or some other thing for this guy to interact with-- he stands alone. He needs a friend. Maybe that friend needs to be you.

Collector's Notes: I'm sick of seeing this damned figure at retail. I went to go buy my Order 66 figures at Target, and I'm greeted with rows of this figure nearly a full year after he shipped. I've already bought a few, I did my part-- so when these guys hit markdown, go and do us a favor. Go buy one or two if you haven't already, you could use more Neimoidians in your Geonosis Arena, right? While a lot of fans complain about those Heroes & Villains waves of Episode III figures in new packaging, they still sold better than this guy. Which is to say, they actually managed to convince people to buy them with minimal effort.

Day 346: April 17, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 345: Captain Antilles

CAPTAIN ANTILLES Senate Security
Revenge of the Sith Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 85174 No. 85565
Number: III-51
Includes: Stand, blaster, headgear, removable cloak
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $5.24-$6.99
Availability: Fall 2005
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: Under the command of Senator Bail Organa, Captain Antilles retrieves a Jedi homing device beacon, which may help the Senator as he attempts to warn the Jedi about dangerous events taking place on Coruscant. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: Yes, it's a new figure-- it isn't just a retooled Bail Organa. Captain Antilles had a couple of scenes and had a funny little halo thing on his head, and didn't do a heck of a lot else. He's a good figure-- the design is solid, the scars on the face are a nice touch, and the articulation is quite good. He even has a working holster. The problem is that the original design is very bland-- he's a white guy in a grey costume. Not very exciting, really, but if he had a little more action in the film he might be an easier sell. I think he's worth getting-- I mean, why not get one? It's just that, ultimately, the character is somewhat forgettable and without a playset to stick him in, the figure itself doesn't really serve much of a purpose outside being one more notch in the belt that is "collect them all."

Collector's Notes: This figure was somewhat short packed compared to other figures in 2005, however its striking similarity to Bail Organa (and maybe relative unpopularity) caused these to pile up en masse at retail. I saw a number of stores with pegs of just this figure.

Day 345: April 16, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 344: Momaw Nadon

MOMAW NADON with Cantina Bar Section
Saga Collection Wal-Mart Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. 32539 No. 32544
Number: 2 of 3
Includes: Bar section, 3 glasses
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.96
Availability: Summer 2002
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: On the planet Tatooine, the Mos Eisley Cantina, also known as Chalmun's Cantina, is the hot spot for entertainment and intrigue. Many species intermingle there, spying and conducting shady business. Bounty hunters frequent the seedy joint, hoping to catch their prey in an unguarded moment. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker went to the cantina to find transportation off the planet, which led to their first meeting with Han Solo. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: When the new Momaw Nadon came out, people were pretty excited-- after all, this exclusive version had a better torso and significantly better paint than its 1997 ancestor. (And, for that matter, its 1979 ancestor.) Despite a new version of the character being produced in 2007, this one is still very good-- look at the texture and decoration on the skin, for example. Multiple shades of brown add to the "realism" of this hammer-headed alien from another galaxy, with his tunic being a fairly decent design. The 1997 version seemed to more closely resemble the early concept artwork than the on-screen character. (Note the first-ever neckerchief on this figure-- at least that's what I think it is. It was carried forward on future figures as well.) With six points of articulation, this figure (and future figures) never really broke the barrier of too-few joints, but this is less a figure for playing and more a figure for standing around and drinking. He looks great, and was an early example of what Hasbro could do, if so inclined, with a little bit of paint and a mold many considered antiquated. New fans and picky collectors will likely want to skip this figure for the newer version, unless, of course, they want more bar sections. Then they should totally get this one.

Collector's Notes: The big selling point of this figure was the faux-playset aspect of the bar section. For just $10, you could get an action figure and a big accessory which could link to other big accessories to create a diorama. In theory, this is a wonderful, genius idea that I believe Hasbro should continue in its basic line. (Hell, they should put a piece of Death Star with every figure for a year-- sell hundreds of figures. You can just toss in floor tiles with the bigger ones. But I digress.) The problem is that this design was somewhat flawed as far as I can tell-- take the barstools. Please. The bar didn't have stools around it, the various patrons just stood around. Given that the action figures aren't always designed to sit down properly, not having stools would have made these sections infinitely better. Still, for a fun playset, they're nice-- just not exactly authentic and, ironically, if Hasbro did a little less work they'd work better with our action figures.

A quick aside-- you can link together multiple bar sections to make a nice big bar scene. You can find more bar sections packed with the Wal-Mart exclusive Greedo and Ponda Baba figures, and the Kmart exclusive Cantina 3-packs (Obi-Wan, Zutton, Ponda Baba; Dr. Evazan, Kitik Keed'kak, Wuher.) A second wave of Wal-Mart exclusive packs was not distributed to stores. Finally, the "curved sections" to end the bar are coming out in 2007 in wave 4 of the 30th Anniversary Collection with Elis Helrot and M'iiyoom Onith. (So you'll probably want to buy those.)

Day 344: April 15, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 343: EV-9D9

EV-9D9 with Datapad
Power of the Force Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 69605 No. 69722
Number: n/a
Includes: Datapad, Freeze Frame
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $4.99
Availability: September 1997
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: EV-9D9 (Eve-Ninedenine) was a sadistic droid who supervised the droids in Jabba the Hutt's palace. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray.

Commentary: In the early days of the modern line, fans were thrilled that Kenner was cranking out so many updates to vintage figures (as in, 1980s) that were really hard to find. Although it doesn't seem like they were too thrilled when EV-9D9 hit, as the figure was clearly a resculpted version of the original action figure, minus the nifty mouth-moving mechanism. The figure itself is quite nice-- there eyes, dark bronze coloring, five points of articulation, and a true-to-movie look. However, it's modified from a toy sold in 1985, is missing that toy's most distinctive mechanism, and to the uneducated fan, could be mistaken for the vintage figure. (Not everybody out there is as on-the-ball as the likes of you, dear readers.) It's not that it's a bad figure, it's just reasonably unexciting-- it's a fun character, sure. A lovely design. It's just lacking in what makes a figure great in 2007, and even in 1997, it didn't have modern additions like a waist joint. Is that too much to ask?

Collector's Notes: This is one of two EV-9D9 figures ever made-- and the only modern one. As such, if you want one, it's this one or the very expensive original version. Since Hasbro will likely never revisit EV-9D9 in the near future, I can say this is a release to buy-- it's certainly good enough for most fans' purposes. If you care for such things, there's a fairly extensive backstory which was written for the character in 1996 which involved the torture robot being a criminal droid who escapes Cloud City with Lando out to put an end to whatever evil is going on. Whatever.

Day 343: April 14, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 342: Luke Skywalker

LUKE SKYWALKER Escape from Mos Eisley
The Saga Collection
Item No.: Asst. 85770 No. 86820
Number: 036
Includes: Lightsaber hilt, chest, poncho, binoculars, hat
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Summer 2006
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: When Luke Skywalker discovers that his aunt and uncle have been murdered at the hands of the Empire, he tells Obi-Wan Kenobi, "there is nothing left for me here." Luke agrees to join Obi-Wan on an idealistic crusade to the planet Alderaan. Now driven and focused, Luke is determined to learn about the Force and become a Jedi Knight like his father before him. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelf.

Commentary: Over the years, there have been many figures of Luke Skywalker from the original film. In 1998 alone, there were four-- and this figure is based on a 1999 version of the figure. They took that body (with its swivel-elbows and jointed knees) and tweaked it into this figure. The good news is that the 1999 version was pretty good-- the bad news is that they dropped a few good features that came from other, earlier Lukes. For example, the macrobinoculars were originally designed to clip on to a figure's belt-- we have the accessory, but not the belt. The figure's head is, in some respects, an improvement, but the decoration gives him unusual looking lips with hair that, by most fans estimates, seems to dark when next to his skin. It's not a bad figure, it just looks... well, like he's wearing a little bit of make-up. (There was a similar problem with the Battle Pack Clone Wars Anakin in 2005.)

The figure, though, is almost inconsequential. You're buying this one for the extras, which are pretty good. He has a lightsaber that plugs into Obi-Wan Kenobi's hope chest, a poncho, the aforementioned chest, a hat, and binoculars. Short of an ignited lightsaber and a blaster, this Luke pretty much has anything you could hope for, even if some of the accessories look better on other figures. It's still a fun figure that offers multiple play opportunities through the wonder of accessories, so if you like figures with lots of gear this should be a must-buy. However, if you already have 10+ unique Tatooine Luke figures, you won't miss this one too much.

Collector's Notes: This mold has been re-released with new accessories many times over, but this version is unique with the new head and added accessories. This configuration of the figure itself, and its accessories, have yet to be rereleased. I especially like the poncho-- especially on the Early Bird version of Luke. It just looks better, trust me. I have a feeling I'll be using these accessories with the upcoming 2007 Luke Skywalker with Moisture Vaporator figure coming out in early Summer. (They're just nice accessories-- arguably the best extras given to any basic figure in 2006.)

Day 342: April 13, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 341: Obi-Wan Kenobi (Acklay Battle)

OBI-WAN KENOBI Acklay Battle
Saga Collection 1
Item No.: Asst. 84851 No. 84870
Number: 0301
Includes: Pillar, lightsaber, spear, binders
Action Feature: Spear-stabbing action, hand magnet
Retail: $4.99
Availability: January 2003
Appearances: Attack of the Clones

Bio: Free of the binders that bound him to a column in the Geonosian arena, Obi-Wan Kenobi defends himself against the ferocious beasts that have been let loose in the arena to attack him, Anakin and Padmé for the entertainment of the crowd. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' Geonosis shelf.

Commentary: Nothing is more depressing than when Hasbro revisits a figure, and it makes you think of how much better the previous versions were. While Obi-Wan Kenobi does bring some new elements to the table, he's really no better than the figures sold in 2002. The head looks worse. The pose is awkward. The figure can't really sit or ever be used outside a display/action play environment. It's like a statue, but not-- it has a really rotten action attack that doesn't quite work. The spear is fragile because part of it is metal, and there's a really thin plastic peg keeping it together that, if mistreated, will snap. The handcuffs are worthless because his hands are so far apart-- why include them at all? Ditto with the pillar-- it's a nice value-add, but what am I supposed to do with it? I appreciate the scenery, but added articulation or better head deco would have made this figure a lot more fun. Or, rather, any fun.

Collector's Notes: If you have at least one Obi-Wan Kenobi figure, you don't need this one-- it doesn't bring anything worthwhile to the table that you can't get elsewhere, unless you've got a serious need for arena-specific action figures. In which case, buy two.

Day 341: April 12, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 340: Arvel Crynyd

ARVEL CRYNYD Rebel Pilots
Power of the Force Cinema Scenes
Item No.: Asst. 84035 No. 84057
Number: n/a
Includes: Helmet, display base
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: Fall 1999
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: For generations, an evil power has spread throughout the galaxy. It began with Darth Sidious' sinister plot to conquer the planet Naboo and peaked with the Empire's domination of the galaxy. Throughout the era, brave starfighter pilots flew into space to fight this power. Naboo pilots braved impossible odds to save their planet from the superior forces of the Trade Federation. years later, X-wing pilot Wedge Antilles, B-wing Pilot Ten Numb, and A-wing pilot Arvel Crynyd were part of the assault on the second Death Star. Their success at the Battle of Endor released the iron grip on the galaxy. (Taken from the figure's box.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelf. Shock.

Commentary: So who is Arvel Crynyd, anyway? According to some sources, not this guy. Apparently Hasbro picked a Y-Wing pilot and gave it the wrong name, as Arvel is, according to many sources, actually an A-Wing Pilot which this figure obviously is not. My guess is that Arvel was originally meant to be this guy and Hasbro decided to make some changes, or perhaps it was Lucasfilm Licensing. Either way, the final figure isn't representative of the character(s) as seen in the movie. So now that we've established (basically) that this figure is an Expanded Universe release out of Hasbro's imagination and not a pilot from Return of the Jedi as most likely intended...

It's a pretty good figure and a pretty good mold. The helmet fits on nicely, the decoration is good (for the time), and the sculpt has the required 6 points of articulation and can sit in a vehicle with no real problems. It's a decent sculpt and a decent mold, nothing to sing about, and here's hoping it's reused as a pack-in for a Y-Wing some day, assuming they paint him right this time. Even if they don't, this is a nice figure, a good addition to your Rebel ranks, and probably cheap enough so that you can buy two.

Collector's Notes: Arvel isn't the only "error" figure in this set-- Ten Nunb is in his white suit, which was used in a lot of behind-the-scenes photography. You can see Ten Nunb in his correct red flight suit shaking hands during the celebration on Endor. (It looks like Nien Nunb, but look at the suit-- that ain't him.) In 2003, Arvel was repainted and reissued as a pack-in with a green A-Wing Fighter as a Target exclusive. This figure is notable for being pretty good, with an awesome Expanded Universe ship. Get one if you can!

Day 340: April 11, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 339: Gamorrean Guard

GAMORREAN GUARD with Vibro-Ax
Power of the Force Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 69605 No. 69693
Number: n/a
Includes: Vibro-ax, Freeze Frame (some releases)
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $4.99-$5.99
Availability: September 1998-1999
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: The brutish nature of Gamorreans, along with their great strength and violent tendencies, made them excellent mercenaries and guardsmen in Jabba's desert palace. (Taken from the figure's Freeze Frame cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' Toy Shelves.

Commentary: This Gamorrean Guard was a fantastic update to the vintage 1983 figure in that it solved a few of the original figure's problems, and kept some of them too. The figure now has an articulated neck-- a first-- as well as a waist, but it still has one hand in a sculpted fist, which reduces the amount of "army building" poses you can do with this figure. As a trooper, it's good to be able to pose them in different ways with different accessories, but with only one hand that can hold a weapon, and one weapon, you're kinda stuck. Still, this didn't stop me from troop-building this figure because of its great armor, excellent sculpt, above-par paint job, and decent heft. It's a good diorama figure, you'll want to get several-- but not too many.

The figure is good enough to the point where it's unlikely we'll see a new version in the near future, although it would be nice to see an all-new sculpt with both hands, a Force Pike, and a couple of extra arm joints/swappable limbs. Who wouldn't want a "choking" guard?

Collector's Notes: On the $1 clearances at Toys "R" Us in late 1998/early 1999, all POTF2 figures were $2.99 with a $2 off sticker affixed to many of them. Because of this, I bought a heck of a lot of POTF2 troopers, including about 15-20 Gamorrean Guards. In hindsight, even at $1 each, this was overkill-- it's a great figure, and now I'll never be hard-up for them in a diorama setting, but there's probably no reason to have more than 6 in any given scenario. The Hasbro Jabba's Palace Diorama can keep a lot of figures in it, but not every last alien that has been produced-- as such, if you feel like buying a lot of guards, you might want to keep the army smaller than I did. Also, an Original Trilogy Collection repaint in 2004 looks excellent-- I'll review it at a later date, but it makes a great "captain" to your Gamorrean security force.

Day 339: April 10, 2007