Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,738: BB-Series Droid (BB-9-style droid, black and white body and black head)

BB UNITS BB-9-style droid, black and white body, black head
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9931
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: BB-8-ish-droid in purple
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio: Collect stylized droids!  (From the packaging. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This BB Unit is the Moira Rose/Tim Burton/1930s Disney edition  in black and white.  It has the same basic nuts and bolts as the other BBs, but looks a bit more like a soccer ball.  The head is very similar to BB-9E.  This new one has a bit more silver on the head and none of the red or blue, but seems to be more striking thanks to the extra metallic paint.  Even the antenna are painted!  Details seem a little less sharp, but things are basically all in the same places.

The body deco is unique.  There's a white plastic ball with black circles and unique silver markings inside, making it look almost like a whole new droid body. (But not head.  You've seen heads like this.)   Like the others, the ball is flat on the bottom and it won't roll of your desk or shelf without a good push.  That's pretty much all you can ask for.

While not amazing or vibrant, it totally looks like something that could be rolling around in Maz' castle on Takodana.   Perhaps the droid is pals with Bazine Netal, which should be a figure and isn't yet.  (Hasbro really nailed most of The Force Awakens, didn't they?)  I'm thrilled Hasbro got to put out new color droids instead of more of the same, so if you're into that too you can maybe still find these sets.  Somehow.  I feel for you future eBay and Amazon people thanks to the lack of names on the boxes, one of my big pet peeves is naming toys or toy lines in such a way where they may be impossible to easily track down on eBay.  One of my holiest of molies is a 6-inch Solo: A Star Wars Story Han Solo in the little yellow box - I have no idea if it came out in the USA, and may never find out.  (I also need to get the Rise of Skywalker-era ones, but I digress.)

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,738: October 15, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,737: BB-Series Droid (BB-8-style droid, purple body and purple head)

BB UNITS BB-8-style droid, purple body and purple head
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9931
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: BB-9 with black head and white body with black markings
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio: Collect stylized droids!  (From the packaging. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This BB Unit is striking.  The body is a BB-9 style, the head is the round BB-8, and the whole thing matches nicely.  Mostly in purple, white and black markings make this figure pop like... well, nothing in particular.  Purple is a scarce color in Star Wars outside of things related to Mace Windu or Imperial Dignitaries, so seeing it on a droid certainly makes things interesting.

The flat bottom keeps the figure from flopping over, but it'll still tip if you nudge it. The only moving part is the head, which is appropriate - there's not a lot to the deisgn.   Hasbro or Disney's colorists did a great job making this look interesting,

The figure is a mix of BB-8 and BB-9E parts from a The Last Jedi-era multipack, but the deco is all new.  I love how the white pops against the purple, and it's something that doesn't look like anything else in my Star Wars collection.  I could see this rolling around in any one of the dioramas made of random figures, or maybe running errands on a battle station somewhere.  In this particular 2-pack, this is one is the clear winner.   I'd love to see more bright colors of droids down the road.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,737: October 14, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,736: R2-Series Astromech Droid (Red and Silver Markings with Bonus R5 Series White Dome with Red and Silver Markings)

ASTROMECH DROID R2-Series red dome with silver, R5 series white dome with red, red body, white legs
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9933
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Removable third leg (white plastic painted red) and optional R5 dome
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio: Collect stylized droids!  (From the packaging. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This is a hard droid to classify.   It's an R2 Series Astromech Droid in the box with an optional R5 head... so let's go with that.   The body looks a little familiar, because the color was used by the early Disney droids for the theme park bins that also used the Hasbro-era legs with foot cables.   I pulled out a red bodied droid and it's a very close match, if a bit brighter than this new one.  For hardcore droid completists, you have droids like this - but it's different.   It's also the same basic build-a-droid molds we've been getting since 2008.

While not essential, it's neat - it's a nod to what you could've built in a Disney bin dump since 2012, but cheaper, and at least at first easier to get.  So why should you, the droid fanatic, get this? Well, if you don't have a red dome droid, that's one reason - "red with silver panels" is so far exclusive to Disney parks in the bins and also this set.   It's a tiny bit different than the Disney model.  Disney has a hole in the head.  Hasbro has a red projector-adjacent light, Disney has yellow. Hasbro has a green dot set in the back of the dome in a silver panel, while Disney's is yellow surrounded by unpainted red.  Hasbro has a few silver painted panels that Disney left blank.   There are a few other tweaks - but someone going through a bin of parts should see an obvious few differences here.

The R5 dome is, at first glance, very similar to the Disney R5 domes and Hasbro's various R5-D4 and R5-D8 - but it's not!  The big differences are obvious when you put them side-by-side, because this new Hasbro 2020 R5 dome is mostly blank white without the red pinstriping.  It also has an antenna, which Disney droids are missing. The 2020 nameless Hasbro droid's red is also a bit redder, as opposed to having a hint of orange on Disney and Hasbro's previous releases.   So from where I sit, it's different in a big way - moreso than the R2 dome.

The body seems to be unique - but it does resemble R5-X2 or R2-R9 a little bit this one has distinctive vertical white panels painted on the front - plus white legs, and a real design oddity. You may disagree but I find the red foot incredibly distracting.  It's painted - molded in white - so it was a decision that someone decided was worth paying to do.  It looks like he's wearing mismatched shoes - I don't get why they decided this was the "correct" look for this as it seems an accident happened.  But hey, you get articulated outer feet and a removable third leg - and you can swap these limbs with other droids if you want.  It can be fixed.

I'd say get it because it's different and weird - but there are more astromech droids in the modern line than there were total figures in Kenner's original vintage tenure.  Maybe you've got enough.  If you haven't had your fill, what's one more?

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,736: October 13, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,735: Zuckuss (Kenner-Deco 4-LOM, The Black Series 6-Inch)

ZUCKUSS Or, 4-LOM 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: As probably the lesser of the least bounty hunters, Zuckuss being done in Kenner colors is nothing new - aside from the 1982 original, Hasbro did it in 2010 with a con exclusive and I would argue they did a better job then.  Much like Boba Fett, Hasbro seemed to want to put too much movie styling in this one.  It's the same great modified C-3PO body with jointed elbows and moving rods - it's impressive.  It can hold a gun!  It has an awesome head!  But it's only sort of, kind of Kenner colors.

The base plastic is good, but there are two details where it goes sideways - and on a figure with so few details, it's kind of an issue.   There's a red swoosh on this 6-inch figure's chest - the original Kenner toy did not have this, but it was in the movie.  The wiring on the belly was a silvery color on the original Kenner toy, and here it seems to be just the wiring.  I suppose it all comes down to personal preference, but when you say "Kenner colors" I want "Kenner colors."  There were no quibbles about the sculpt at all - and I guess depending on when you grew up, this might not look at all odd.

The head is pretty much how I remember it, and I can't really fault that for being on the money.  If you have the means, go ahead and get yourself one - but much like 4-LOM, you'd probably be fine with either version.  They're different, but thanks to the relative obscurity of the characters and their coloring in media both looks seem right. 

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,735: October 9, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,734: BB-Series Droid (BB-9-style droid head, BB-8-blue body and white head)

BB UNITS BB-9-style droid head, BB-8-blue body and white head
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9930
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Red head BB-8 buddy
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio: Collect stylized droids!  (From the packaging. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This nameless BB-9-style BB Unit is a gem.  The body looks like blueprints, the head looks like R5-D4 - it's clean, and it looks like an accident!   You might recognize the mold from the twice-released BB-9E [FOTD #2,446] which first premiered in The Last Jedi and, as far as I know, doesn't appear anywhere else yet.  Since the packaging has it as part of Galaxy's Edge, which seems to be a large collection of elements, who am I to argue?

This pack swaps up the head and body - so you get a blue BB-8 body and a white BB-9 head here, giving it slightly different construction consistent with the "droid factory" ethos you may have seen at a theme park bin.   I appreciate the move for more variety.   The only moving part is the head and neck, making this a three-piece construction with a "barbell" between the head and body.  The round body has a flat base, but Hasbro's droids were never weighted like the Weeble-esque Disney figures.  It's good, but not as robust as the theme park tooling.  Given that it's cheaper - and for now, easier to get - maybe you should just happily gobble these little guys up while you still can.  This wave of 3 two-packs is the biggest BB expansion in the history of this style of droid.   Before now, each movie got a couple of droids tops - The Last Jedi introduced a grand total of three new on-screen figures via the Disney and Hasbro toolings.

I would argue these guys are probably worth the money - BB droids were previously used mostly as accessories.  You get one or two full-size figures with a BB (or two) before, so two for $10 is certainly reasonable.  Hasbro and Star Wars don't typically do a lot of bright colors, so it's a nice change of pace to see something like this - it's different, it's fun, and it seems right at home in your dioramas.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,734: October 8, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,733: BB-Series Droid (BB-8-style droid, white body and red head)

BB UNITS BB-8-style droid, white body and red head
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9930
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blue body, white and red head BB9 buddy
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio: Collect stylized droids!  (From the packaging. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This nameless BB-8 chassis BB Unit is a real charmer.   He's got a white body with red and black markings.   "This looks familiar," I thought.  My wife said "Isn't that the design on a German plane in WWI?"  And indeed she was right - it's very close to the coloring of the Red Baron, only with a little less red.  I assume that means we should assume this is a First Order droid, or an oversight.

Nameless Red Baron BB-8 redeco has a "barbell" piece between the head and body, giving him technically 2 points of articulation.  The ball has a flat bottom to keep it upright - the droid isn't weighted like Disney's droids, so you just need to put it down in the right position so it doesn't flop over.  It's a redeco of The Last Jedi BB-8 [FOTD #2,448] mold from 2017 (reissued in 2018), so it's sturdy and fits in the Vintage Poe Dameron X-Wing Fighter you probably skipped.   It's really cool and brings a lot of color to the generally drab and dull sequel figure line. 

Whatever your opinion of the movies, Hasbro did a bang-up job with the Disney-era movie line to start with - The Force Awakens was loaded with armored dudes, aliens, robots, troopers, heroes, villains, and everything you might want - minus obligatory droid repaints.  Rogue One was pretty good too, but The Last Jedi had a lot less going on (and so many reruns) while the less said about The Rise of Skywalker's toys the better.  Mostly because there's not much to say.   These droids expand that era of figures in a great way and I'd be curious to see if they can do more. The price is pretty good too - 2 for $10 is a bargain compared to Disney's $13 for one.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,733: October 7, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,732: R3-Series Astromech Droid (R3-Series, Clear Dome, Black Body with Orange Highlights)

ASTROMECH DROID R3-Series, Clear Dome, Black Body with Orange Highlights
Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure - Target Exclusive
Item No.: Asst. E9916 No. E9932
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Arm rockets, flames
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio: Collect stylized droids!  (From the packaging. There is no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This nameless R3-series Astromech Droid is cool, but I'm going to call it R3-E2.  Why?  It's an R3 series, and its SKU is E9932 - so that seems as good of a thing as any.  The Halloween-colored droid is a gem, and the first one I cracked open.  As far as I can tell it's not based on anything specific, it just looks cool.  It's part of a massive program of a Galaxy's Edge-themed store-within-a-store at Target, which I assume was in the works for months and now that there's no theme park to go to, is just a little weird.   Many of these products are unique to Target, but are in park-esque packaging.  These droids are exclusive to Target for the time being at least.

The figure seems to be a generic R2-D2 mold cast in new colors - the dome is clear and a little frosted, with orange panels, a blck eye, and some other highlights.   The body is back with orange panels.  You get clip-on rockets with a blue-to-orange fade optional flame piece.  There's a third leg - but most importantly, the right and left legs have wires on them.

Articulation is 2008 droid standard - the main 2 legs have ankle tilts, all 3 feet have rolling wheels, the head swivels, and the arms swivel.   There's nothing on this droid in terms of how the panels are painted that you haven't seen before.   It's a new colorway so it's good if you don't have enough droids in your life.  And really, who does?

What really bugs me - or rather, confirms a suspicion - is the pricing.  It's ten bucks for a "super articulated" droid mold - previously we've been charged $7.99 for these in The Last Jedi line and sometimes $12.99 in The Vintage Collection, basically whatever they feel like - now it's $10.  Nothing new has been added or taken away, it's basically just whatever they want to charge for the same product based on the week. With ultra-generic boxes, I hope this means that there's consideration as to how to make and distribute droids from here on out - if it's a success.  I could see these being ignored by collectors now and difficult to find on eBay later due to their lack of an on-pack name.

The main reason to buy this droid is because you like it.  If it's rolling in the theme park I may never know, if it's a background droid I haven't spied it yet.  Right now it exists to take away $10 from you.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,732: October 6, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,731: Anakin Skywalker (Clone Wars Redux, The Vintage Collection)

ANAKIN SKYWALKER 2020 Redux
The Vintage Collection   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. E9576
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #92
Includes: Lightsaber lit, lightsaber hilt
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: July 2020
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: Anakin Skywalker, a Force-sensitive human male, was a Jedi Knight of the Galactic Republic and the Chosen One of the Force.  (Stolen from Wookieepedia. 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!

Commentary: This Anakin Skywalker figure is pretty neat.  I liked it when they put this Anakin Skywalker [FOTD #1,944] back in 2012, but 8 years on it has some elements which are great and some which haven't aged well.

Since he was a little hard to find - and expensive - I'm glad Hasbro reissued him.  However, it doesn't make any improvements over the original release.  The big change are the eyes and eyebrows, now "hyper real" and printed on the head through a different technique.  The eyes have a tiny bit more color around them and the scar has a little more color, but they somehow also look a little lifeless.   The rest of the figure is fundamentally the same.

One element of live-action cartoon Anakin I loved are the soft goods.   Anakin's legs swing forward without any plastic blocking their movement, and the cloth matches the color of the plastic nicely.   This may have been the peak of doing this kind of articulation right - cloth is less and less frequently deployed, and with a reduction in vehicles Hasbro puts less emphasis of making sure the leg articulation is any good.  I always find this loss to be upsetting.

The figure's neck seems way too long - and even longer when you consider he's got shoulder armor on.   Other than that oddity, the proportions are good and the articulation is fine.   You get bend-and-swivel wrists and perfectly acceptable ankles, but it lacks the thigh swivels, lateral hip movement, and other niceties we've seen integrated in new releases.

I still don't know why they included the lightsaber hilt since you can't hang it on his belt, but it's there.   I prefer the 2012 deco on this figure, but if you missed it then the 2020 one is a good substitute.   I hope Hasbro considers making more animated characters in the "realistic" style, preferably new ones, because all we have now are mostly clones.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,731: October 2, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,730: Obi-Wan Kenobi (Clone Wars Redux, The Vintage Collection)

OBI-WAN KENOBI 2020 Redux
The Vintage Collection   3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. E9577
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #103
Includes: Lightsaber lit, lightsaber hilt
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: July 2020
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Force-sensitive human male, legendary Jedi Master, and member of the Jedi High Council during the Fall of the Republic. (Stolen from Wookieepedia. 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!

Commentary: I think this was made to tie in to the finale of The Clone Wars and/or The Bad Batch.  This Obi-Wan Kenobi gives you a realistic interpretation of the 2008 TV costume - a neat outfit, to be sure.   Previously released in 2012, this new version changes the coloring a bit and tweaks the eyes.  Without a side-by-side comparison, I doubt you'd know the difference.  To fans seeking the new release, look for a "4+" in a grey circle in the top-left of the cardback, also the SKU "E9577" up there.

In most respects it's the same figure as the original release - that means standard hip joints swing forward, no thigh cuts, no bend-and-swivel wrists.  The standard for super-articulation in 2008 was applied here, and at best it's fine.   It's not impressive, but it's a lot cheaper than getting the original.    The main reason to buy it is because you prefer the changed deco, but most of the smudges are in the same places in on the armor.   The original 2012 release was a lighter, almost oranger brown and the new one has more desaturated markings.  The main tell is the eyes - the 2012 version are the standard bright clear blue peepers, while the 2020 release has the "hyper real" printing and, I gotta say, it's not an improvement.  At certain angles, in certain light, the 2020 one does look really good - but the 2012 version just seems generally clearer.

The gold on the belt pops more with the new release, and the lightsabers are pretty much the same - you get a gorgeous blue blade and a nicely painted hilt which plugs in his belt hole.   It's a good figure, and a decent substitute for the original if you missed it before.   I'm a big fan of standardization - I don't necessarily care what that standard is, so if Hasbro says "we're doing all animated!" or "all real!" or "all 6-inch!", whatever it is, at this point, I welcome.  We're kind of all over the place right now, and that makes it hard to put together a legit collection.  A lot of The Clone Wars Clones and a few Jedi made it to the "realistic" 3 3/4-inch collections, but it's a little frustrating that some are "real only" and some are "toon only."  And don't get me started on disparate scales. 

Hasbro did a great job with this one 8 years ago and the improvements here are minor... or not really improvements.   But getting this one for less than the increasingly obscene going rate of those Vintage guys is a joy, so take advantage while you can.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,730: October 1, 2020