Figure of the Day: Day 208: Dexter Jettster

DEXTER JETTSTER Coruscant Informant
Saga Collection Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 84861 No. 84866
Number: 0216
Includes: Cleaver, knife, saber dart, energy accessory
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $4.99
Availability: April 2002
Appearances: Attack of the Clones

Bio: A cook in a Coruscant diner, Dexter Jettster picks up plenty of information as he's serving his patrons. An old friend of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he's always willing to share his information for a price. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam's toy shelves.

Commentary: Before Attack of the Clones was released, I was enamored with one rumor I heard-- that George Lucas was working in a diner sequence, with some alien short order cook guy. The end result was Dexter Jettster, a lively creation that really didn't get to do a whole lot other than look cool, sound cooler, and act as a constant reminder that extremely interesting people inhabit the Universe outside the focus of the main story. With four arms, ill-fitting pants, and sharp objects, how could this figure possibly disappoint? Well, he's based on an early maquette-- the figure is very close to the movie, but not perfect. It's still very good, and with four jointed arms and all the normal joints, as well as a lot of unique paint applications like tattoos on the hands, it's a gorgeous toy. It's just not 100% perfect to the film. Little details like a filthy apron and a shirt that seems designed for another species give this toy a lot of character, and he'll be right at home with your other figures.

Collector's Notes: He was fairly common, and he's somewhat cheap. He was only released once, so other than packaging variants and an unproduced "pipe variant," what you see is pretty much what you get. He's not what you would call loads of fun, and a new version would be nice to see someday-- but the character on film was just so gosh darn likable that it's hard to not want to own this guy. Of course, I'm biased-- I've always been a fan of sci-fi oriented characters who have extremely mundane jobs. (Garak? Yes.) You'll probably have no other shot at a toy of an alien short order cook, so you'd better get this one.

Day 208: November 30, 2006