Figure of the Day: Day 260: Nien Nunb

NIEN NUNB with Blaster Pistol and Blaster Rifle
Power of the Force Collection 2
Item No.: Asst. 69605 No. 69694
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster pistol, rifle, Freeze Frame action slide
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $5.99
Availability: Fall 1997

Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Nien Nunb grew up in the caves of his homeworld, Sullust with his sister, Aril Nunb. Later, he worked for the SoroSuub Corporation as a smuggler. During one of his smuggling flights he befriended Lando Calrissian - an individual Nunb would have great deals with in later years. It was with Calrissian that he would copilot the Millennium Falcon during the climactic Battle of Endor. He went on to become the administrator of the Kessel spice mines, and sporadically worked with the New Republic and its successor, the Galactic Alliance. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: As a pretty popular figure in the vintage line for many fans, it was only a matter of time before the memorable Nien Nunb was granted a modern figure-- and that amount of time was about two years. With a decent sculpt, excellent paint, and six points of articulation, it's a little old-fashioned compared to today's super-poseable figures with tiny blasters and more paint ops on their head than this figure has on his whole body. But this said, it's a good figure-- the head sculpt is excellent, the clothing is good, and the pose, while weird, is decent enough to stand on his own. For its time, it wasn't the best figure, but it seems to hold up fairly well and makes a good toy. After all, he can actually sit and be placed in vehicles, a distinction many figures over the past decade cannot claim. It's a good upgrade to the vintage figure, but, obviously, there's still a little room for improvement. A removable "helmet" or more joints would be nice, but the sculpt as it is, is a good one.

Collector's Notes: It's not Nine Numb. It's Nien Nunb. The figure sold from 1997-1998, and hasn't been seen since. The figure was clearanced out in many stores and one collector bought 100 of them for fun-- as such, you can guess it's pretty common. A new one is not expected soon, and this one is good and cheap enough to warrant tracking down.

Day 260: January 21, 2007