Figure of the Day: Day 1,303: Whistler

WHISTLER Wal-Mart Exclusive Droid Factory Packs
The Legacy Collection Droid Factory
Item No.: Asst. 91939 No. 14860
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: 5 of 5
Includes: Corran Horn, third leg, Darktrooper torso
Action Feature: Twist dome for retractable sensorscope
Retail: $17.00
Availability: July 2009
Appearances: I, Jedi

Bio: Whistler, also called Xeno, was the astromech droid of Corran Horn. It was the same R-series model as the legendary R2-D2. Just like almost every standard astromech droid, Whistler's metal body was silver and white. Whistler had green details—the color of CorSec and Corran's X-wing. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray.

Commentary: Hasbro doesn't use the R2-D2 "vintage" mold for other droids all that much, but Whistler is one of the proud few. From the few illustrations of the Expanded Universe droid, Hasbro's figure is likely the wrong color-- he's portrayed as having a greenish body, and his dome has been seen with differing color schemes. It almost seems like he's a bit of a patchwork appliance, but given the inconsistencies with Corran Horn, it's a safe bet Hasbro just didn't quite make it as perfect as they could given time or budget constraints. It's still a distinctive design and with his bright green markings, a clear change from being simply R2-A6 with a few added dome stripes.

If you're a big fan of the droids, obviously, you need to get this one. Why wouldn't you? It's different enough and pretty slick. Expanded Universe fans may be upset with the coloring issues, but really, will Hasbro ever go back and redo this one? Probably not. As such, if the price is right, go ahead and get one. It arguably isn't worth premium pricing, but the entire wave of "Droid Factory" 2009 is a really neat set once you get it together and can get past the fact that Hasbro punked out and included a couple of repacks.

Collector's Notes: Since the figure bowed at $17 in a set, many fans considered that high. The market of supply and demand has dictated that it was, in fact, too expensive and the going rate on eBay is closer to $10 before shipping at press time. After shipping, it's still cheaper than retail price plus tax was at Wal-Mart.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,303: June 11, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,302: Lt. Janek "Tank" Sunber

JANEK "TANK" SUNBER with Amanin
The Legacy Collection Wal-Mart Exclusive Comic Packs
Item No.: Asst. 12974 No. 87883
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, hat, Amanin warrior, comic book
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.99
Availability: March 2009
Appearances: Star Wars: Empire comic books

Bio: Lieutenant Janek Sunber faces jealous Imperial officers and fierce Amanin aliens on the jungle world of Maridun. Determined to make something of himself, Sunber joins the infantry, where his tactical skills draw everyone's notice. His commander rewards him with promotions and the Amanin honor his courage, but others respond with resentment and betrayal. There's no shortage of battles, bloodshed and bravery as everyone fights "To the Last Man." (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' cardboard display.

Commentary: Made of new and existing parts, the figure of Janek "Tank" Sunber brings another one of Luke's old friends to life. In the comic, he's portrayed both as a man of reasonably normal build and as, well, a sort of a tank of a human being. His legs are new, his torso is borrowed from Moff Jerjerrod. The head and hat? Those are new. The figure is notable in that it's quite green rather than a greyish color that we usually get for this kind of figure, and he's also splattered in a little mud. The hat seems a bit big, but it comes off so you don't have to be stuck with it. The figure is almost perfect except his arms are the swivel joints and as of late, people expect ball shoulders and elbows. So while he does have 14 points of articulation, 4 of them aren't what you might be hoping for when it comes to a figure from 2009. As comic characters go it's a good enough interpretation, so why not pick this one up? It's certainly better than "good enough."

Collector's Notes: This is a great set, and seemingly one of the better selling of Wal-Mart's various offerings. Get it if you can, both figures are absolutely worth owning.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,302: June 10, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,301: R3-M3 (aka R3-O1)

R3-M3 or to some, R3-O1
The Legacy Collection Build-A-Droid
Item No.: Asst. 87535
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: n/a
Availability: September 2009
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: R3-M3 was an R3-series astromech droid which served the Galactic Empire aboard the first Death Star. He was most likely destroyed along with the space station over the planet Yavin. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' yard.

Commentary: Ever since I finally caught a decent (blurry) picture of R3-M3 in 2005, it was my mission to make it happen. Unfortunately, it was right after another Astromech-related mission was wrapping up, so it wouldn't show up for another four years. This mold is based largely on the same basic build-a-droid construction used since 2008, except the dome and the wiring under the dome are clearly (hah) new tooling. The retooled dome has some minor panel changes, and, for some reason, isn't as clear as the next build-a-R3 droid. The blue is quite bright, and the panel decoration is pretty unique as, well, not many droids get made with all-blue bodies. There's R2-B1, and this one, and that's about it so far.

The figure has typical articulation for a modern astromech-- ankles, shoulders, dome, and a removable third leg. It's nothing spectacular, but it is about as good as these should be. Since all he really did on-screen was stand around and look cool, Hasbro did one better by letting the figure have a decent range of motion. Heck, you could put him in a vehicle if you wanted. As Imperial Astromech droids go, this is one of my favorite designs-- and if the blue was darker and the dome were clearer, it would be one of the best ever. But we'll just have to settle for really cool.

Collector's Notes: R3-M3 (then known as R3-O1) was on the cutting room floor of the Astromech Droid Packs for various reasons-- and it's one of the few times I'm glad a figure got delayed. This figure's mold was way better than the one that existed in 2006. As a build-a-droid with the Wave 9 Legacy wave, he was packed at a higher ratio than his counterpart, so odds are eventually completing one shouldn't be a huge challenge.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,301: June 9, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,300: Teek

TEEK Star Tours
Star Tours Boarding Party
Item No.: No. TBD
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Additional figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $34.99
Availability: May 2010
Appearances: Star Tours, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

Bio: Teek was a male member of the Teek species, and a native of the forest moon of Endor. He was a playful, mischievous being, with scruffy, white fur and two large upper incisors. As his species had an accelerated metabolism, he could move extraordinarily fast, and was often seen as a blur. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' yard.

Commentary: When dealing with shorter figures, articulation is all over the place. Ewoks have had all sorts of added articulation, and Teek here is somewhere in between the best and the most average. Small and hairy, this star of the Star Tours boarding video and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor has some added joints but not quite as you would expect. In addition to the normal 6, he has ball shoulders, swivel wrists, and, oddly, swivel ankles. His sculpt seems on par with the freakish hairy rubber masked used in shooting those projects, and generally speaking Hasbro probably couldn't (or wouldn't) do much better with today's toy tech. Sure, ball ankles would be nice, but probably wouldn't add much to this release since he can stand just fine.

Collector's Notes: At press time, this figure just hit. It's one of very few (heck, maybe the only) figure we'll ever get directly from that second Ewoks movie, so get it and be happy. It's great that Hasbro finally found a way to release this character which has been demanded by a vocal few for years now, plus it's a token Battle for Endor release. We really don't get much from the 1980s TV projects, so this is a delightful anomaly and a must-add to anyone who actually lived through the Ewok era's collection.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,300: June 8, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,299: Kyle Katarn

KYLE KATARN & Yuuzhan Vong
The Legacy Collection Comic Packs
Item No.: Asst. 87504 No. 87746
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #03
Includes: Lightsaber, Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: August 2009
Appearances: Star Wars Tales

Bio: Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn and New Republic agent Jan Ors help Imperial officer Pallin free a group of people on Ord Sedra who have been enslaved by the Yuuzhan Vong. But the flimsy cells in which the Yuuzhan Vong have been placed may not be strong enough to hold these cruel conquerors until morning. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' yard.

Commentary: As part of one of the final waves of comic packs, fans were lucky that Hasbro cranked out a new Kyle Katarn before apparently self-imposing some sort of Expanded Universe hiatus. You may recall the first version of Kyle hit in 1998 and was a smidgen tough to find, and the 2009 release was damned near impossible to locate until 2010. This version was vastly improved over the original, but not without concerns. For starters, it's based on an issue of Star Wars Tales (arguably Dark Horse's finest comic series) and not the video games. For the purposes of the assortment, it makes sense-- it allowed Hasbro to combine a popular and in-development alien with a popular and widely known game character, but for some, we never really got a Kyle as he appeared in the original game. Which is to say, clean shaven.

Kyle's sculpt emphasizes his physique, as apparently Jedi of the future wear tight shirts and pants. (My stuff doesn't even fit.) His working holster is a nice touch, and the look of the figure is very Katarn-esque-- it's a good synthesis of the character based on his many appearances. The pants have a fair amount of wrinkles and detail, and it's pretty easy for this to be the most-articulated version of Kyle to date. He's even got a nice little shoulder pad. For fans wanting a Kyle, this is a solid release. It's not a gamer's perfect figure-- this will likely never happen-- but it's certainly good enough to warrant shelling out for. Unless these get dumped en masse, or interest falls more, I would wager this is a set you'll want to make sure you pick up even if it costs more.

Collector's Notes: At press time, you may luck into this pack as it continued shipping into 2010. In 2009, Hasbro released only two waves of comic packs and the red packaged assortment in which Kyle debuted was in incredibly short supply in most markets. Combined with the popularity of his Yuuzhan Vong co-pack, this is one of those sets that Expanded Universe fans should grab on site just in case they never see it again. Also, it's pretty impressive-- the sculpt is good, the accessories are fine, and it's a rarity in that you get two newly sculpted characters which haven't yet been done to death as toys. Good job, Hasbro! Except distribution, but hey, we know how it goes.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,299: June 7, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,298: Queen Amidala

PADME AMIDALA Evolutions - Episode I
The Legacy Collection Evolutions
Item No.: Asst. 87874 No. 87601
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Additional figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: July 2009
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: Padme devoted her life to the people of Naboo and became a key figure in the dramatic events that changed the galaxy. Her courage and compassion deeply affected those around her, and was the pivotal legacy she gave to her children, Luke and Leia. While Queen of Naboo, Padme stood up against the Trade Federation’s siege of her planet. As a Senator, Padme fought to keep the Republic from falling into war. Her last act was to give birth to the twins who would fulfill her legacy by restoring peace to the galaxy. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' desk.

Commentary: Since 1999 fans have observed that Queen Amidala figures were in short supply, relative to her many costumes at least. In 2008 and 2009 Hasbro cranked out a few new ones, and this Episode I release was one of those. Sure, it was in the movie for like a scene, but it was a swell costume and now you have it as an action figure. Since her legs are wrapped in a robe, there isn't much need for leg movement. There are ball elbows and swivel wrists, but really, on a figure like this does it even matter? I appreciate the extra work Hasbro did here, but they already provided figure fans with a great sculpt. The added articulation doesn't do much to add to it other than insure the people who complain about joints can't point at it and say "Hasbro didn't do a good job here!" If anything, this is a case of too much figure-- they did a great job overproducing what should have been, essentially, a statue. It's great that they put in little details like the sleeves which hang down, the top-notch face paint, and all these little folds and creases in the dress. But the extra arm joints? Almost too much. It's great that Hasbro included them, and that's why this is one of their great recent figures. If you like the character, this is a great figure to own, and since it's part of an assortment that ultimately saw more production than necessary it's very likely to be had cheaply.

Collector's Notes: Likely still available at a slower store near you, the set is good, but didn't do well. This is one of those cases where Hasbro basically made a set of things fans specifically asked for, and we didn't exactly buy the numbers they expected. As such, well, that's all for Evolutions. The set is indeed worth picking up for $15 or less, even $25 or less. I figure that in the distant future I'll be able to point this out as one of those great things that happened which well always be sorry didn't continue. It's too bad the Evolutions line quickly descended into repackaged figures with the odd repaint.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,298: June 4, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,297: Darth Maul (Jedi Duel)

DARTH MAUL Jedi Duel
Episode I Collection 1
Item No.: Asst. 84085 No. 84088
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, CommTech Chip
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: May 1999
Appearances: The Phantom Menace

Bio: Evil personified, Darth Maul has been ordered to destroy Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi assigned to protect Queen Amidala. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' desk.

Commentary: In 1999 this Darth Maul figure was a big deal. Huge. As a matter of fact, I'm fairly confident this was the #1 most hotly anticipated figure from the prequels during their entire run and it was easily Hasbro's best seller of its day. Casepacks were adjusted to increase the quantity of this figure, and word on the street was that some stores even got solid cases of 32 pieces of just this one figure. That's pretty amazing, plus there were a few running changes to keep the still-engaged fans interested. Minor packaging changes incorporated the logo of the company responsible for CommTech, and the figure's own chin was initially pink and was later changed to a more uniform shade of red and black. The inner part of his robes also had darker shades of grey, and some fans did indeed pay premium prices for these minor changes. This was pretty common from 1995 until about 2000, when some figures proved so hard to get that people started being more concerned about getting a complete set than every last version.

People were paying premium prices for just Maul briefly, and even more for specific versions of the packaging or head, but eventually Hasbro caught up with the demand and people started to realize they didn't like Episode I all that much. Before then, Hasbro shipped a ton of this figure, and it seemed the public was quite eager to catch Star Wars fever and started out their collections here. With the standard six points of articulation plus additional wrist and swivel arm joints, this was considered to be about as good as Star Wars figures got in 1999. I mean, 10 points of articulation! What a jump! Most people remembered figures as having 5, so this was genuinely significant even if, by today's standards, the sculpt is a little outdated. People wanted Darth Maul, and while we haven't yet seen Hasbro's best effort on the character (or so I hope), this was a pretty good first attempt at retail.

Collector's Notes: Like most once-valuable figures, this one is pretty worthless today at a couple of bucks, and most sellers aren't remotely interested in the variations. Hasbro has done better, but this one is a neat item as far as the line's history goes. I'd suggest getting one just because it's a uniquely popular piece from the past.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,297: June 3, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,296: Rom Mohc

ROM MOHC and IG97 Droid
The Legacy Collection Wal-Mart Comic Packs
Item No.: Asst. 93269 No. 93609
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster pistol, IG97 with accessories
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $14.96
Availability: March 2010
Appearances: Tales

Bio: Rom Mohc is an Imperial general involved in the testing of advanced battle droids known as Dark Troopers. One of these droids ends up on Tatooine and becomes activated by scavenging Jawas. The Dark Trooper attacks three friends camping in the desert. But things change when the prototype encounters a clumsy IG97 Battle Droid on Tatooine, and the machines battle each other. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' desk.

Commentary: This Rom Mohc figure is a mishmash of existing figures, and the sum of its parts is pretty good. I mean, it's a new character, which is cool but it's not terribly authentic. For example, the torso is that of the Revenge of the Sith Grand Moff Tarkin, often cursed for his iffy arms and difference from traditional Trilogy-era Imperial costumes. The legs are from Janek Sunber, who we'll be looking at soon, and those are actually pretty good with their knee joints and whatnot. The head sculpt is new, but not exactly true to the game-- the character is generally portrayed as a little older, a little greyer, and a little fatter. So even though this is from the comic-- where he is a little younger and trimmer-- the figure itself looks to be in significantly better shape.

If Hasbro packed on a few more pounds, odds are this would be a pretty solid figure as resculpts go. It's certainly not awful, it's just not as accurate as one might expect from a new sculpt. Since the comic packs are generally made a little more cheaply as of late, it's no surprise that a minimum of new parts were employed to make this release. The head looks closer to an actual real-life person than it does the illustrations of Mohc, but eh, such is life when transitioning 2D stylized likenesses in to plastic. I really can't complain too much, and even though I had to chase this figure down quite a bit to find it, I think it was ultimately worth grabbing. It's not like we have a ton of non-movie Imperials, after all.

Collector's Notes: I hear that in some markets, this set is abundant to the point of being a pegwarmer. In Los Angeles, it sold through pretty much before I ever saw them and had to make a massive sweep of stores more than 20 miles away just to see it-- and I saw one, only once, and bought it. I just moved to Phoenix over the weekend and saw like a dozen so far. Is life fair? No, it is not.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,296: June 2, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,295: Clone Tank Gunner

CLONE TANK GUNNER Carded Edition
The Clone Wars Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87638 No. 91278
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #CW36
Includes: Blaster pistol, gatling gun, projectile
Action Feature: Firing gun
Retail: $7.99
Availability: September 2009
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: Some Clone Troopers received specialized training in targeting and operating the Republic's heavy artillery. These tank gunners control the laser cannons on All-Terrain Tactical Enforcers (AT-TEs), Turbo Tanks, Republic Gunships and other heavy assault vehicles. Trained in marksmanship and battle tactics, tank gunners blast the droid army with destructive firepower. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' desk.

Commentary: This Clone Tank Gunner is very similar to a Battle Pack/vehicle pack-in from earlier, except Hasbro redid the helmet sculpt. Also, rather than making it specific to any one vehicle, it's merely a "Clone Tank Gunner" so you could, in theory, use it with the Turbo Tank, AT-TE, AT-AP, Fighter Tank, and so on. He has 14 points of articulation including the fancy extra movement on the wrists, and well, you see the picture. It's generally similar to most of the Clone Troopers made by Hasbro except this is, to date, arguably closer to the TV model in the helmet design. If you need vehicle pilots, this is about what you should buy, except, well, don't expect to find too many.


Collector's Notes: I haven't seen much of this one. It seems that the wave was sorta hard to find, and this figure being a clone was doubly tough to get. So if you see it cheap, get it. You might have an easier time getting the AT-TE Assault Squad Battle Pack, which has more figures (as well as the predecessor to this one) for a generally decent going rate. The "gunner" figures are close enough that most of you probably won't care to have both flavors unless you really need them all, and if you're army building, I guess you do. A repaint of today's FOTD was sold with the Turbo Tank in 2009.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,295: June 1, 2010