Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,371: BDX Droid (Green with Cresh symbol, Droid Factory, Boxed)

BDX DROID Green Cresh
Star Wars Droid Depot
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: 3 other droids
Action Feature: Hatless - I repeat, hatless
Retail: $49.99 $59.99
Availability: May 2026
Appearances: The Mandalorian and Grogu and theme parks

Bio: All different types of droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. These four were featured in Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. May the Force be with you... and your Droids! (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: It's time for me to look at the green BDX Droid. I checked my order to make sure I wasn't in error - but when I got this set back in May, it was $49.99. Disney Store increased the price to $59.99 at some point before or on August 1. For a fairly expensive, repetitive boxed set based on a movie most fans skipped? That's a curious thing to do. Target and Walmart have marked down most of their movie window The Mandalorian and Grogu toys, and there haven't been any reasons that I would guess to justify a sudden 20% price hike. It's not like there's a new low free shipping deal to counter, or some great coupon. As such, I'll spoil the ending and say "don't pay $60, wait for a deal or skip it."

At $12.50 a pop, these guys had some zing. eBay sellers are getting $10-$12 per on opened up sets, which is a bad sign. Typically, a figure from a boxed set commands a price at least slightly higher than its share of the boxed set. There are even complete sets selling for as little as $36 delivered. It feels weird to steer you to eBay rather than the original source, but we are in an amazing era where it's kind of hard to deny that a lot of these items are a bit overpriced.

Part of the reason for that may be profits. Disney did a good job making sure a tiny figure that could have gotten away with three joints had considerably more. Each leg is jointed at the knee, ankle, and hip. The neck is jointed to swivel and bend in two spots. That's 10 joints on a little guy and I don't think fans are going to give Disney credit for it since this isn't a figure that needs a lot of dynamic action poses. Since I assume we'll never see another of this theme park droid/cameo as a toy, it's good that Disney maxed out the feature set on the first drop so you can have them walk around your Rebel ships and pilots. And by that, I mean your old ones, because Hasbro avoided 3 3/4-inch ones this year.

The vaguely Tomy-flavored little robot has a couple of antenna and a hole for a hat or star or other accessory. There are even small holes for a stand. How thoughtful! The paint is perfectly fine for a Disney exclusive, with bright green stripes and a Cresh letter (C) on the side of the body. The eyes are painted, there are some decorated vents, and even the bottom of the feet got some black paint. They didn't skimp on deco, but what my theory presupposes, maybe they should have. A simpler 4-pack at $30 might have sold out, or maybe Disney knew this would be a struggle and decided to get as much as they could from a smaller potential customer base. Theme park fanatics know these guys from walking around and seeing or interacting with them, while the rest of us probably are unfamiliar with them outside their movie cameo. While I love a good droid cameo, this guy isn't 75% as good as one of Hasbro's increasingly impressive and robust The Vintage Collection offerings.

I assume theme park fans will get more juice out of these than Star Wars collectors. There doesn't seem to be much interest in building out a 3 3/4-inch Republic Base, so these guys will likely have to be adopted by another display or one of your many boxes or drawers. If the set didn't just happen to coincide with pre-orders and a free shipping offer, I likely would have skipped it. They're good enough that I would not say "avoid," but I'm finding I might have been happier to keep the fifty (now sixty) bucks.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Store's web site. It did not sell out.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,371: August 13, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,370: Captain Antilles (The Retro Collection)

CAPTAIN ANTILLES Kenner Debut
The Retro Collection Target Exclusive 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. G2554
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: DL-17 blaster pistol
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $64.99
Availability: July 2026
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: Rediscover the classics with The Star Wars Retro Collection - inspired by the Kenner originals! (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: The more I go through these figures, I can't help but wonder if the sculpts would be more interesting (read: Kenner authentic) if you assigned them to a sculptor that is mostly working from memory. Accuracy is not necessarily the name of the game for these guys, and Captain Antilles has a figure that's pretty accurate and feels pretty retro. I was expecting a tweaked 2025 Rebel Fleet Trooper [FOTD #3,260] and I'm glad to say Hasbro gave us a new, improved, and refined design. I should note that has more or less the same blue Rebel blaster, which is fine by me.

If a figure makes me smile, it's a good one - and this one did. I noticed some dramatic improvements in how the details were cut, with deeper folds and exaggerated pockets and fabric layers giving it a level of detail that gets closer to the original Kenner figures. I particularly like the boots and pants, and it's worth noting the face - being painted, not molded - does a good job of highlighting the smile lines around the mouth. If the light hits him just right, you'll see tiny bags under his eyes and a weary expression that works well with the faux-Kenner eyes. The personality won me over here, with details like that added shell layer seemingly being added to the CAD file... unlike last time. I assume someone out there is expecting me to be angry about the lack of chin strap. Since the Death Squad Commander didn't have one, I don't much miss that particular detail. Colors are good, and textures more or less match what I would expect from someone who clearly referenced the movie.

He might be a little too good in spots. The five blue dots are painted, a detail Kenner just plain fudged Hoth Luke and the Rebel Commander. I assume Kenner would have sculpted the dots, or ignored them and made up a new badge, but not painted them. I also assume fans would complain if they didn't paint them, so really, nobody is going to be happy here. The position of the coat cuts on the legs more or less line up with the Rebel Commander. I find the pose to be a little uninspired - usually Kenner sneaks in an interesting arm or subtle ankle bend - but I think it passed the "vibes" test. The legs have a hint of a bend at the knee, and the folds in the pants look real good. Pick him up, stick him in that Tantive IV mini-rig you 3D printed, and he delivers the goods. They painted the black stripes on his pants, as we saw on most Han Solo figures from the old days, which makes for a pretty decent deco experience.

Articulation is standard, but well-engineered. The head on my sample moves with just the right amount of resistance, the arms move with no problems, and the legs? Oh ho ho, the legs! He has a squared-off butt, but when he sits everything lines up right. This is a hard detail for some retro figures to get right, so I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. He'll go great in that Kenner Blockade Runner that you don't have because there isn't one.

Nitpicks? Sure. I would have preferred sculpted rank dots, and it would be nice if the sculptor used his hands and a blade rather than/in addition to the computer. The outfit's pockets and creases are a little too perfect. A pal of mine (who I would love to get on the horn again) told me that you can "cheat" the process by taking a blade to the finished digital sculpt to add some imperfections and asymmetry, so that's my unsolicited annoying thing to suggest to Hasbro for next time. Just muck it up a little bit, make a "mistake" or four and the eye will probably buy that somebody sculpted this out of some putty before sending it to the factory. I can't tell if Hasbro did this with his helmet - it's a little "off" in a way that feels very realistic. I like the helmet and this figure a lot more than last year's Rebel Fleet Trooper.

The helmet seems to be a separate mold from the head, and the face is painted. That's probably more work than Kenner would have done, but the results are pretty good. I'd rather have both molded in color, but that's not what Kenner would have done either. By having the mold in plastic, it's likely to show less wear and tear over time thanks to the helmet likely causing a buffer from the nose getting dinged up during play. (But who am I kidding? No child is ever going to play with this figure.)

Captain Antilles and Yavin Leia were the two figures I was preparing to dislike... but I like this one. (I haven't opened Leia as of my writing this.) I admit that, as a kid, I never once thought about wanting this character because Vader can't hold him up and he doesn't do anything other than die. As an adult, I'm glad to have him walking around with my troopers. I appreciate Hasbro expanding the 1977 movie's Kenner cast by a dozen new characters and/or costumes over the past eight years. If you subtract the 35-figure overlap from the Kenner and Retro eras, this line is around 189 different figures. That's a lot of figures.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target. I am seeing more of this set in Target stores than any of their previous Retro exclusives, and that's just in the first week of availability. I'd recommend buying at least one at regular price to show 'em we still care.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,370: August 11, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,369: Obi-Wan Kenobi (Utapau The Vintage Collection)

OBI-WAN KENOBI (Utapau)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Walmart Exclusive 2-Pack
Item No.: No. G3191
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #398
Includes: Cloak, lightsaber, hilt, alternat hand
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $39.99
Availability: March 2026
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: On the planet Utapau, General Obi-Wan Kenobi faced General Grievous and his four imposing lightsabers. Upon defeating Grievous, he escaped in the warlord's Stafighter. (Taken from the cardback.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Walmart now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I got this Obi-Wan Kenobi (Utapau) in March and didn't open it until the end of July, in part because of the classic "I don't know where I'm going to put it" and "I was happy with the ones I have. The portrait of Ewan MaGregor looks better than previous Revenge of the Sith releases, no doubt. Sometimes by the time I'm ready to open a figure I'll be more excited by it but in this case, I'm not. It isn't bad, but it's another lateral release. It's great for fans who don't have an Episode III Kenobi, and on a technical level the articulation and head sculpt are the very best. But I'm not remotely disappointed in my old Kenobi figures, and there aren't enough new playsets or vehicles (or any) that I think could benefit from having an improved version of the Jedi Master.

It's easy to pose this figure and the articulation skeleton is excellent, but it's disappointing to see less exaggeration in his plastic textiles and the aforementioned knee issue. Is it a deal-breaker? No, not really. But in this era of endless figure remakes, I think it's fair to say fans expect and deserve figures that are improvements with no downsides. Each "replacement" figure should be superior across the board. It's very good, to be sure, but with no new accessory or action feature I would say it's essential to new collectors and worth a peek for the old guard. That head sculpt is eerily good, but the old figure's body sculpt is still pretty satisfying.

Compared to the Star Wars The Vintage Collection Obi-Wan Kenobi (Attack of the Clones) 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure, which has eyes like some sort of demon, this figure is an absolute dream. The plastic wig fits perfectly, the beard is painted cleanly and trimmed well. The eyes have visible whites on them, and he has just enough weariness around his painted eyes that you immediately know who he is. Maybe Hasbro will make a better one some day, or change the hair color to be 10% more realistic, but I don't know that it's necessary. They did good.

The previous The Vintage Collection Kenobi from 2010 was just The Saga Collection figure from 2006 with a higher price and two fewer accessories, as is the way. The head was great for its time, but it's a little puffier and more toy-like by modern standards. Id on't dislike it. The costume, on the other hand, seems better. It had the limitations of its day with no cloth soft goods and no rocker ankles, but you could still move it in most of the same places. Sure, this new one has optional swappable hands to lose and can sit more easily thanks to the cloth skirt robes, and the paint on the belt is better. But the texture of the 2006 robes is much richer, and the 2026 figure's legs are strange. His pants cover his boots, which I suppose is fine but there's a weird cut for the ring if you ever let the figure sit down. Even if Hasbro painted the articulation ring, it would still look weird in some poses. It's just a poor engineering choice and an inappropriate place to joint the figure. Maybe someone was new on the team, or they felt the location was more important than the aesthetics, but I don't agree on that design choice. It's kind of amazing to have good articulation and an amazing portrait, but a body that feels like a few steps back. Especially at a higher price, and even more especially because Hasbro already has an Attack of the Clones reuse of the body planned for later this year.

But how are the accessories? The robe has the same problem as other recent releases, with the hood sewn down. I dislike that. The lightsaber looks good, with decent painted detail and defined sculpted ridges. Both the hilt and the full lightsaber look good and are better than most previous releases, if not all, and the hilt plugs smoothly in the belt. They did a great job making sure the peg and the hole were the right size. I realize that may sound insincere, but it's not - some of these things are a real pain to get in there. Swapping hands also proved to be painless, which is good, I was expecting a fight with the peg hanging in for dear life.

I would say this is a great figure for carded collectors. Openers, you're going to have some complaints. As a display piece it's pretty good. If his cloth robes cover the body, you might not notice the knees being a little odd, or the shirt looking a little lifeless. I love the detail in the hair, and I can't complain a bit about the face. Hasbro has improved their work on human heads just so much in the past 10 years that I must know to whom they sacrificed a first-born to achieve these skills. I assume it was a Rumpelstiltskin.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart. It can still be easily found here.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,369: August 6, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,368: Vendor Droid (Silver, Droid Factory)

VENDOR DROID Silver
Star Tours Droid Factory Customizable Figure
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Removable limbs
Retail: $12.95
Availability: April 2017
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: A vendor droid, also known as a shopkeeper droid, was a type of droid assigned to sell merchandise. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I've had a few of these for a while, but haven't reviewed them - but I hear parts bins are supposedly making the rounds again in some parks. So let's check out the Silver Vendor Droid, or Shop Droid, or whatever the cool kids are calling them. Is there some reason to bring it up now, to showcase it, is it appearing in something, somewhere? No. It's just a build-a-droid, made from a parts bin, and it's more of a souvenir than a part of this complete breakfast action figure collection. My pal Shannon put it together for me since he's able to go to Disney more than I am. (I think I was last at a theme park in 2016?)

It's funny calling anything obscure in the age of the internet, but the Disney droids made of parts from bins with no names are somewhat difficult to identify and how many were "manufactured" by fans is hard to know. Given that Disney allowed fans to create what they will, these are likely some of the rarest mass-produced droids in the entire history of Star Wars collecting. Aside from Vlix.

While neat, I increasingly find that I don't know what to do with some of the droids. The Vintage Collection lacks open-ended playsets or new environments, and we've never really gotten shop or street playsets of note. As such, this guy is just sort of taking up space - but he's pretty cool. This particular configuration uses CZ-style arms, a Shop Droid head, a C-3PO body, and C-3PO legs. The end result is pretty decent, especially since the right shoulder has some blue metallic silver paint on it. It's a subtle accent, but it gives the figure a sense of having been repaired.

He's got standard articulation for one of the Disney droids, with swivel wrists and jointed ankles. It's kind of funny to think that the body is riffing on what was more or less standard for Hasbro's build-a-droid releases in 2008, and here we are 18 years later with some of these molds still in rotation... without a price drop. If you look back to the 2000s and earlier, old molds usually gave us cheaper toys too - that doesn't seem to happen anymore. At the time, $13 for a single droid was still kind of expensive but not horrible for a theme park souvenir. Given how hard these are to get outside the parks, you'll probably pay considerably more for a junker made of random parts, and good luck to you if you can find something cohesive. I like this droid because I generally like droids, but the yellow eyes and blue scanner do little to really add zing to a pretty bland gray/silver chassis. It is a perfectly fine robot, but nothing about it is likely to stand out in a pool of over 3,000 Star Wars action figures in an era where there's no single complete tome of reference allowing any collector to see them all in one place.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Hollywood Studios. Thanks Shannon!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,368: August 4, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,367: Wedge Antilles (The Retro Collection)

WEDGE ANTILLES Kenner Debut
The Retro Collection Target Exclusive 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. G2554
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: DL-44 blaster pistol
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $64.99
Availability: July 2026
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: Rediscover the classics with The Star Wars Retro Collection - inspired by the Kenner originals! (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: Originality is the art of concealing your source, and something seemed off about Wedge Antilles right away. I don't love this one. It looked familiar - but not like the 1979 X-Wing Luke or the 2020 Snowspeeder Luke [FOTD #2,698]. When I went into my ship room to see how Wedge fit in X-Wings and Y-Wings (just perfectly, even with the bulky helmet) I walked by my 2015 Saga Legends X-Wing Luke [FOTD #2,123], and there it was. Hasbro ripped off their own modern sculpt, rather than ripping off their previous real and faux retro sculpts. It certainly looks as if the sculptor cheated on the assignment for this one.

When I see this figure out of the corner of my eye, it reminds me of 1998 Biggs Darklighter - it's just not a first-gen flavored sculpt but it absolutely is very functional, can use his gear, and fit in old ships perfectly. It is a good toy figure, even if it does not look like a legitimate 1980s toy figure. I think they did a better job capturing the vibes with Snowspeeder Luke. If Wedge's sculpted torso detail was toned down a bit I could buy this 2026 Wedge as something that might have come out around 1984. Having said that, it feels amazing - the legs and arms swing perfectly, and the butt area isn't weirdly squared-off like some retro figures. It isn't a perfect Kenner figure sculpt, but I really do appreciate how it feels in my hands.

Wedge has very short arms, with fingers that more or less stop at the bottom of the torso. The level of vest and chest detail is much higher than any Kenner-era (or previous Retro) pilot figure, with many more vest ribs anything of that era. The torso doesn't really match the limbs stylistically - the level of detail on the boots, pants, arms, and gloves is much lower but generally in line with most of the best of Hasbro's retro modern figures. They're just very short. It's also worth noting that Wedge's helmet fits perfectly on that 2015 Luke - and vice-versa. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this sculptor used the CAD files for Luke as a starting point for Wedge, and just sort of didn't finish refining it.

Wedge retains details Kenner-era pilots lacked. While they did edit out the pockets on his pants, he does have the code tubes and shoulder pockets, same as 2015 Saga Legends Luke. Wedge has the same dube, the same basic straps (pushed up a bit on the legs, but same on the torso), plus the same tube on the lower left of the body. The chest computer has many of the same switches and buttons, just fudged a bit or moved slightly. He even has that often-ignored buckle on the back of his vest, same as 2015 Pilot Luke - the Kenner and Retro ones didn't have that.

Deco is more 1990s and 2000s than 1980s or 1970s. The previous Kenner/Retro pilots had black, not gray, chest computers and straps with white leg straps. The A-Wing and B-Wing pilots eschewed painting the leg straps completely, and if Hasbro's going for a 1980s vibe I wish they did that here too. The head sculpt is good in the "1980s removable helmet pinhead" sense, so no notes there. It was painted well, and sculpted appropriately. Painting the gloves made sense, but all of Hasbro's 1980s Rebel Pilots had bare hands - no gloves. Wedge feels more like a 1990s or 2015 figure, sculpted by someone who was probably on a deadline and painted by someone who didn't look at the previous four Rebel Pilots in this style. I don't think it's asking a lot for someone to look at Google and ask "how did they do this in the olden times?"

Wedge has two sensible accessories. The helmet was painted with an appropriate level of detail, including a yellow visor and some big green stripes on top - this is the right choice. I would have been happy if they cut out the visor, and I find the shape of the helmet odd. X-Wing and Snowspeeder Luke figures had helmets that bent inward toward the neck, while Wedge's flares out. It doesn't match and it looks too big for his head. The blaster is interesting. Cast in Kenner blue, it's a completely new digital sculpt with an appropriate level of detail. The lines on the grip are a little higher, and the cuts on the scope, the barrel, and the greeblies all seem to be a better depth. They're sharper, not as fuzzy or rounded as the scanned-in blasters of previous figures. Having said that, it's a little undercooked. One side of the blaster body is missing detail found in Kenner/Retro blasters, and the grip lines seem unfinished - like they should extend a bit more. I would have liked the area in front of the trigger to be more squared-off like the prop, but that's just a matter of taste really. As a new design, inspired by the old design, it's pretty neat. Nobody's going to be fooled into thinking this is the original.

If this were the first sculpt from the 2019 reboot, I'd grouse "it's a good first attempt, let's see how they do later." Last year's new figures were generally better, although the Rebel Fleet Trooper and Luke grew on me a bit. I'll be curious to see if Wedge does, but as first impressions go I would say a) Hasbro tried too hard, and b) Kenner was not beyond reusing molds when it suited them. In this case I think I would've preferred the Luke body with a new head, or at least this body with the Luke-style of deco.

Packaging Notes: I would say the 2026 packaging is easily the best packaging of The Retro Collection's entire eight year run to date. The front of the cards lack the faux weathering, and now feature a low-tack sticker that you can remove easily and apply to your phone case. I would give the card fronts an A+ in terms of template revisions and execution. Sure, you have the choke warning and yes, now you have the obnoxious 4+ circle for age rating, but that's not going away until they stop making multi-lingual packaging. The back of the packaging is as likely as good as it gets. Over half tof th cardback is hideous, multi-lingual legalese - which I wish they could just leave on the box as the figures are not labeled for individual sale - but you do get a 1979-style 3x2 figure grid showing the wave. That's a plus! I hope they do something similar next year to showcase multiple items. I love an upsell, but if you've bought everything in one set it is a little less useful. Charming, sure.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target. It was on shelf, they did not fulfill my pre-order yet.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,367: July 30, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,366: Battle Droid (Right side of tray, The Vintage Collection)

BATTLE DROID (Geonosis, far right)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. F9259
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, backpack, antenna, 2 slightly different red droids and 1 Super Battle Droid with gear
Action Feature: Blaster
Retail: $67.99
Availability: July 2026
Appearances: Attack of the Clones

Bio: Battle droids, also known as combat droids, war droids,[2] clankers, droid soldiers, or battle bots, were a type of droid designed for combat. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I love a nice surprise. This is one of three barely different Battle Droid figures in a four-pack with an all-new Super Battle Droid. I appreciate there was some subtle variety, but I particularly appreciate that this figure is not identical to the 2022 Battle Droid [FOTD #2,913] from Walmart's "Clone Wars" (no "The") collection. Not only is it a different shade of red, the hands and feet had some changes.

Looking at my review of the previous red droid, Hasbro listened. The same plain basic droid is a new shade of red, with some silver enhancements painted on the arsm, ribs, and metal antenna on the backpacks. On this particular robot, Hasbro added some excrutiatingly subtle silver weathering on its right neck collar area and around the right area of its torso. It has to catch enough light just-so, or you won't even notice it's there. I wish Hasbro could have amped it up or left it off, but it's appreciated. The backpack has similar weathering, also on its right side. There are also black blast marks over the vents of the backpack, and some on the front of the figure's torso too. Check out the right thigh and a unique rusty drip coming from the nipple - the pattern is different on each droid in the set. Hasbro could have put them all out with the same (or no) weathering and while I would probably complain, I certainly would understand why they didn't go all-out. But they did! There are some black enhancements to the eyes too, but they're so small you might miss them.

Hasbro was not content to use the same body as last time. A few parts may be derived from similar CAD files or tools, but the legs are new. The arms are new. The chest seems to be new. I can tell because we have things like bend-and-swivel wrists, swivel knees, and what seem to be attempts at rocking ankles. I can't get the ankles to move much from side to side, but the pins are much more subtle and that can be said of the arms, too. Hasbro getting more movement out of one of the skinniest figures in the line is quite impressive. He can mostly fold up and crouch, but I found the telescoping neck will cause the head to bump into the backpack. 

Both the head and the backpack were knocked off when I tried to do this. (He works fine with the OOM antenna, though.)  At least he can get pretty close, though. I was particularly pleased at the range of motion given to the shoulders thanks to its ball-and-socket construction, which lets him get a few decent blaster poses when combined with the wrists. Hasbro did a generally excellent job here, and we're probably approaching the limits of what you can do with joints on very thin limbs. Swappable arms might be a way around this, or slug figures specifically meant to crouch and only to crouch.

The one accessory that I think could have knocked this set out of the park would have been a single C-3PO head to swap out on one of the droid bodies. Maybe next time. What we do get is an unpainted black blaster and silver-antenna'ed backpacks. They fit nicely, even if they sometimes get in the way of some poses. It's a pretty decent load-out given what we saw in the Geonosis arena in 2002.

While I'd be lying if I said the prospect of a new Battle Droid in 2026 was something I was excited to see, I can say it's an improvement over the ones I had at home already. It's nice to see them fit in wrist articulation, and I appreciate the attempt at the tilting ankles. I had a hard time getting this figure to balance in a lot of poses, but at least he can stand on a shelf. If you're on the fence, I'd nudge you to give this set a shot. It's slightly cheaper than four carded figures, which is nice to have in this economy.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,366: July 28, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,365: Night Trooper (Gray Jaw, The Vintage Collection)

NIGHT TROOPER Gray Jaw
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Set
Item No.: No. F9259
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: Blaster
Retail: $54.99
Availability: July 2024
Appearances: Ahsoka

Bio: The Night Troopers were stormtroopers who served Grand Admiral Thrawn during his exile on the extragalactic planet Peridea, comprising the majority of his forces. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: As I finish up reviewing the many (many) figures around my desk, which will never end, let's look at the third Night Trooper from 2024. This one has a gray jaw with a lot of red wrappings, and is the only trooper in the set to have an unwrapped chest. (Well, other than Enoch.) It's funny looking back on the set - and show - with a tinge of "Maybe George Lucas was right." In the 1990s, we got a lot of stories in comics and in video games, plus a few novels - there were no TV shows and only one single new movie. By keeping things tight, fans were always left wanting more and we were really never left wanting for a new monthly or bimonthly adventure of some sort since 1991. There was really no reason to compare the new stories to the old stuff, because the medium was different. Shadows of the Empire delighted a lot of new fans on their own terms, on a Nintendo 64 or PC, or at the book store, or comic shop. You could have a new story, and not have to worry too much about a budget or the potential of changing anyone's opinion on a legacy.

Ahsoka season one wrapped three years ago in October, and left me kind of cold. I liked the concepts, I liked the costume, I liked the toys. But Thrawn may be a better character for the page, and I can't help but think I might have had more fun swinging lightsabers at an Xbox or doing some sort of Jedi training under Ahsoka. As a passive observer we got an incomplete story, and it will have been nearly four years between seasons. The entire sequel trilogy wrapped in four years, and I may be alone in saying that while I appreciated visiting with Mon Mothma, C-3PO, Sabine, and of course Ahsoka, I get the same kind of warm fuzzies from a toy or a comic. No matter how good the show is, it makes more homework for new fans and Star Wars managed to do a lot with its coursework of three (or six) movies in terms of cultivating a massive, hungry fanbase.

But, like I said, we got some cool costumes. Hasbro mixed and matched its "mummy" Stormtrooper parts and pieces in this set, and it's a pity Enoch ate a slot - otherwise I might've bought a second to swap parts between figures. This one has a distinctive white helmet with gray jaw, plus lots of gold filler. The red wrapping exists on every limb, but not the upper torso. Some subtle red wrap exists above his belt, on both shins, on both forearms, on the upper left arm, and of course the upper right thigh. Hasbro did a nice job giving us an army builder set where no two figures are the exact same mold - but enough parts are mixed and matched that it's effectively two figures in unique configurations. I bet they could sell slightly different versions again, were they so inclined. The red wrap is nicely painted, and the gold looks good. I hope it lasts for the ages as some gold painted figures sort of molds with age, or at least, that's what I saw in Fisher-Price Adventure People's space lines.

This figure uses the same basic mold we've been getting for roughly a decade. It's the best super-articulated Stormtrooper we've had to date, with better bending elbows and crisp details - but it also has those older-style hip joints and I still hate those. They're bad for getting figures to sit, but they hold up well in a diorama. Which is more important? Well, I don't hear stories of kids buying figures and vehicles these days, so we're probably throttling what would've been a potential market with how the adult crew prefers things. Comparing this older mold to newer figures from competitors in the American market, Hasbro's figures are generally superior. (I can't speak to Hiya, I haven't been buying theirs.) I really love Mattel's daffy Jurassic World creations, but they're a little puffier. But, they're also cheaper and have great hip joints and wonderful vehicle compatibility. You can't have it all, I suppose.

I really like this set. Now that we're post-tariffs (I hope) it's worth noting that this is a good deal on the secondary market, often selling under $45 for four figures. Unless you demand cardbacks, this is actually a really good deal in the modern marketplace. I'd recommend picking one up this year before the show comes back and makes people go "Oh, I should buy that." That was how I did things in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and it worked nicely for me.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. But they're sold out, so use the Amazon sponsored link.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,365: July 23, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,164: Tig Fromm (Droids cartoon)

TIG FROMM The One, The Only
Droids Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. 71760 No. 71830
Manufacturer: Kenner
Number: n/a
Includes: Collector coin, baton
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $3.79
Availability: ca. Fall 1985
Appearances: n/a

Bio: The leader of an underworld gang of thugs and cutthroats who prey on the weak and helpless of INGO. (Taken from the packaging. The cartoons had bios.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: I was feeling uninspired, so I decided to review an actual pre-1990s figure for a change. I got Tig Fromm from a toy dealer in 1991 (hi Ron) because, at the time, nobody really wanted the cartoon-original figures from Droids. Anyone from the Star Wars movies was a big deal, but people weren't excited by Sise Fromm or Tig or Jord or Kea - but they'd pay a princely sum for Boba Fett or an A-Wing Pilot. I saw Tig at Kay-Bee Toys in the 1980s when they had pegs of unsold figures, but as a child with zero allowance it was hard to convince my parents to get me the weird alien gangster since he wasn't in the movies they saw. I even saw this guy a couple of years later at the Horton Plaza Kay-Bee in San Diego, but I was after R2-D2, C-3PO, Logray, and Wicket - and I found Logray (and Klaatu) on that trip. The Droids and Ewoks figures were somewhat hard to find, I bought every single one carded for a couple of bucks because opened ones weren't even available - people still were hard at work getting rid of these guys. Well, bully for me I guess. Older fans didn't watch the cartoon, but I did - and that's why I have him today.

I didn't play with him a whole heck of a lot, but he did spend time in the Side Gunner. The figure included the same staff you got with 2-1B, and is one of two Tigs I would see near show business. (The other being Tig Notaro, who I had the fortune of seeing host Comedy Death Ray when I lived in Los Angeles.) This guy was a gangster, but he was actually more of a tech bro. His whole thing was robots and engineering, designing machines to do the dirty work while he put together a weapons satellite that was expensive because it was made of teensy-weensy little components. As a character, this guy was a mix of stock bad guy and evidence of some real visionary work on the part of the writers, who clearly understood that the future was in technology and automation before most people even had a computer at home. Tig was a bit of a weasel, but so was Starscream and people can't stop writing about his imagined exploits.

His sculpt was pretty fantastic - especially for 1985. Kenner's quality for humanoids was all over the map, with fat and thick necks on some characters and basically a turtleneck for the evil green Steve Jobs here. Each hand has a thumb and three fingers, with a suit that looks like it's out of some Jean Giraud art. (Actually, the whole Droids cartoon feels like a big tribute to the works of the late Moebius.) Comparing the figure to the artwork, it's a pretty good match with puffy shoulders, a big collar, a distinctive belt, bizarre toed shoes, and a few signs of what seem to be cybernetic enhancements. Tig has them, Vlix and Sise do not. Did I mention this guy was bullied by Vlix? Yeah, this is the guy who was bullied by Vlix, and a big reason why Vlix was so memorable on the show. I love the deep grooves carved in the outfit, exaggerating the belts and vests so old eyes don't have to squint. I got this guy as a child, so I never once gave that any thought - I just appreciated the fact I had another awesome alien to play with in an era where Star Wars seemed like it would be dead forever.

The sides of his head aren't a perfect match for the show. His unpainted cybernetic tabs over his cheeks look similar to what should be above his ears, but aren't. There are some odd unpainted vent-like details there instead, hinting at another character model used to inspire the toy sculpt... or maybe someone just made it up because it looked cool. The colors aren't a perfect match for his animation cel, as Tig-the-figure lacks any of the red seen in his cart art. Kenner's figure's eyes were painted a little strangely, with extra green under the peepers. He could have benefitted from a couple of black dots to bring out his eyes. There are no sculpted (or painted) red cheek dots to indicate anger/rage, but at least there's a lot here you could work from in order. If this guy were still worthless, I'd probably buy a second one to repaint it - but he's not worthless. The amount of money people spend for him today - north of $500 - is what I expected I'd some day have to pay for Vlix, given the chance. That hasn't worked out so well for me, and I'd be hesitant to recommend you spend $500 on one of Kenner's very last alien Star Wars action figures from the original era. He's one of my very favorites, and he stood up well to age.

For a five-jointed figure, the sculptor did a dynamite job. His left leg has a knee bent slightly, so it looks like he could be shifting his weight from one side to the other - Hasbro doesn't do this with their "retro" figures very often. The right hand is posed to grip an accessory, but the left is turned a bit so you can pretend he's typing at a computer or working the controls on a ship. The wide mouth is a bit of an exaggeration, but it looks pretty close to his frown on the show. I think it gets the point across - this is the bad guy.

You won't find a figure with sleeves quite this puffy from the 1980s, I'll tell you that. While sadly no longer priced as an impulse purchase, you can get one for the price of one of the more expensive game consoles. I'd love to see Hasbro reissue this guy, and if they do I'd love to recommend they cash in by doing a two-pack with "toy colors" and "cartoon colors." (I'm good for it.) I don't know if a ton of people are dying to own this guy, but he got captured by Boba Fett - that has to make him more than a little interesting to fans of the oldest-school Star Wars stories. To my knowledge this character has not had a second action figure - although there are certainly fans working in the industry who have been making requests for the past couple of decades.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Ron at a toy/collectible round-up in 1991. Thanks Ron, I owe you/I blame you for enabling me.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,364: July 21, 2026

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,363: Chopper (C1-10P in Mining Facility Disguise, Droid Factory)

 

CHOPPER (C1-10P in Mining Facility Disguise)
Star Wars Droid Depot
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Collector card, RX-01 torso
Action Feature: Pulls apart, jointed arms, opening front repair arm
Retail: $19.99
Availability: April 2026
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. This droid can be found aboard freighter 2716 in Faos station. Join Chopper on his adventures throughout the galaxy! May the Force be with you... and your Droids! (Taken from the packaging.) (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: While I will of course grouse about the price, as I must play the hits, I also quite like Chopper (C1-10P in Mining Facility Disguise). It's an existing mold, in a color I pretty much forgot about, despite remembering a lot from the "In the Name of the Rebellion" episodes. He's in part 2, and unlike the Imperial disguise I didn't remember the normally orange Chopper's yellow makeover until I saw the figure. I've seen this color scheme on other toys, as it looks a lot like various caution signs and an old Imaginext robot I had on hand. He has a yellow body with black and gray highlights, making the figure look like a completely new droid. If Disney wants to give me bright new colors on a mold that make it look different from my other droids, I'm going to be a lot more chipper about wasting $33 or so to ship one to my house.

The markings all match closely. The orange on the sides of the dome are actually lights, not just an orange stripe, so that doesn't look quite right - but everything else is pretty much on the mark. You don't get panel lines, but at least the sculpted panels look pretty good and I guess you could add your own grime wipe if you're the kind of person who still has the time and drive to customize your toys. I'm leaving it pristine.

There's a lot of extra paint on this one. Not only is the top of his dome silver, but the little dish has painted black panels on top. We haven't seen that on other Chopper figures. It's distinctive, making this the kind of figure you could have in a background on a shelf or in a playset to mix things up a bit.

Construction is the same as the other Disney Chopper figures, with jointed dome-arms, ankles, a rotating wheel leg, plus that pop-out claw arm. If you've bought another one, you know what to expect. Joints are generally tight, with a dome that swivels more easily than some other astromechs. I especially appreciate the black wheels. You'll probably never bother to look at them, but they pop nicely.

The figure includes the core body for RX-01, which I assume you will build out between now and December. He takes up about 1/3 of the figure's bubble. The cardback on my sample was thicker, but with some of the worst non-bootleg printing I've seen in a while. The text appears more fuzzy than usual, perhaps it's a color alignment issue. Even the portrait on the front looked a little rough.

If you're a Chopper completist, this is a decent one. It appears on an actual episode, and it brings us the mold in new colors. That's about as good as one can expect these days. I wouldn't recommend it at premium eBay pricing, but it's charming enough and different enough to warrant blowing a few bucks.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Disney Store's web site. It took a while to sell through.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,363: July 16, 2026