Figure of the Day: Day 917: Yarna d'al' Gargan

YARNA D'AL' GARGAN "Fat Dancer" in the movie's credits
The Legacy Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 87535 No. 87678
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #BD05
Includes: Droid piece, knife, glass
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: July 2008
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Yarna is a dancer in Jabba's palace, entertaining the Hutt with a graceful ballet that soothes the irascible gangster when nothing else can. Yarna stays behind at the palace on the day of the planned execution at the Pit of Carkoon, a decision that saves her life. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray.

Commentary: Hasbro has been surprisingly successful with what are essentially "joke" figures. By knowing what the "magic" number is, the company can afford to crank out astoundingly obscure or kid-unfriendly figures like Yarna d'al' Gargan (better known as "Gargan" to vintage-era fans like myself, "Yarna" to modern-era fans). Why would anyone want this figure? Well, Expanded Universe fans will tell you it's because she's actually a hottie stripper lady under layers of makeup. Movie fans will likely tell you it's just because she's distinctive. And there's vintage figure fans, who know that this figure was in pre-production and that prototypes have existed since the original Kenner era. So the character has a surprising amount of history endearing it to multiple fan groups beyond the "ha ha look it's the fat dancer with six boobs" crowd.

Her fairly simple design translates well to a toy. Hasbro got the skin tone right, and added the wart makeup to make the face look surprisingly authentic for a small human figure. She probably looks more pleasant as a toy than she looked in the movie because she isn't squinting and showing her teeth. Yarna's brown garments are colored in brown, just like you'd expect, with a little light brown thrown in for detailing purposes. In short, Hasbro nailed it.

Knowing the need to get it right the first time, Hasbro basically went all-out making this one. She's super-articulated to a fault, as you can see joints tend not to look as good on an arm or a leg as they do on a shirt. It's a little disturbing to see a big ol' cut in a lady's ankle, but it's nice that Hasbro went out of their way to meet fan demand for an over-articulated version of a figure who is going to spend most of her time either in a package or standing in a diorama. Actually, that's the main reason to get this figure. If you love Jabba's palace as a reason to collect figures, you simply must buy Gargan. If you have that cardboard Jabba's Palace diorama, you also must buy this figure. And if you have this figure, you should probably go and get the diorama.

Collector's Notes: Depending on where you shop, you might actually be able to find her. She shipped in the early Legacy cases and if I don't miss my guess, that's going to be it for this one short of a hypothetical battle pack down the road. You may as well get her now, I suppose you could wait for clearance but the assortment in which she ships is apparently scheduled to continue through most if not all of 2009. So if you think she'll be around in 2010, go ahead and wait for clearance.

Day 917: December 18, 2008