Figure of the Day: Day 833: M'iiyoom Onith

M'IIYOOM ONITH H'nemithe
30th Anniversary Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87500 No. 87273
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #3022
Includes: Blaster, drink, rounded bar section
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: September 2007
Appearances: Star Wars

Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray.

Bio: This female H'nemthe was stranded on Tatooine because of a dubious passage tax and was biding her time in the Mos Eisley cantina when Luke and Obi-Wan came in looking for a pilot. She has a razor-sharp tongue that is used in a deadly mating ritual. (Taken from the cardback.)

Commentary: When Star Wars was first released, most of the characters had fairly simple names. "Walrus Man." "Greedo." "Death Star Droid." As time went on West End Games and Decipher started naming and renaming a wide variety of aliens, leading us to increasingly unpronouncable and difficult to spell names like M'iiyoom Onith. (Legend has it her original name was "Yam Nose.") Since she was seen snuggling with Feltipern Trevagg (seriously, who names these things?), she was identified as a good candidate for an action figure and in 2007, she finally saw plastic a full three decades after she appeared on the big screen. With cut joint elbows, ball-jointed knees, and loads of detail, there's a lot to like here. The facial details are good, not Hasbro's best but certainly very nice. The textures on the costume seem to be far more well-designed, with little bits and pieces popping out and multiple layers of costume represented in just a few millimeters of plastic. Her working holster is a great touch (even though we never saw much outside her head in the movie), and alien fans should find her another worthy addition to their collection... even if her brown outfit is ultimately boring, and the character itself fairly unremarkable.

The big selling point here was the curved cantina piece. Never mind the fact it has stools despite the bar never having stools, it was a highly popular accessory and the real selling point here. Fans picked it up to attach it to the Cantina sections they had from the 2002 Wal-Mart packs, or the 2004 Kmart packs (they're the same pieces.) While your mileage may vary, I found mine didn't fit particularly well and it seems one may have to modify the tabs and slots for an appropriate fit-- which is a real shame, considering LEGO, Playmobil, and other companies seem to have no problem getting accessories to fit together, yet Hasbro frequently experiences such issues. Oh well. It's still neat enough to pick up, even as a stand-alone piece for use on your desk.

Collector's Notes: A one-timer so far, M'iiyoom is a nicely designed figure which Hasbro probably managed to contribute a great deal of its look and feel. She came and went in a hurry, but there seems to be no genuine demand for her on the secondary market. Appropriate, as there wasn't any real demand for her before Hasbro announced her, either.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 833: August 22, 2008