Figure of the Day: Day 1,052: Jedi Padawan (Star Tours Small Girl)

JEDI PADAWAN Small Girl
Star Tours Jedi Training Academy Set
Item No.: No. 87801
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, 4 additional figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $34.99
Availability: June 2009
Appearances: n/a

Bio: STAR TOURS takes you to the Jedi Training Academy where you train to be a Jedi Knight! You and your fellow Padawans will experience the power of the Force and learn to battle with a lightsaber from a Jedi Master. May the Force be with you! (Taken from the figure's box.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy crater.

Commentary: For years, we've been expecting Hasbro to re-mine one of its better early mold reusing gambits. In 2003, they made 3 Jedi Padawan figures with the same torso and legs, changing up the head and arms to create additional characters. In 2009, we now have an additional two nameless children as Disney park exclusives. This figure is a young girl, probably modeled after someone's kid at Lucasfilm or Hasbro or a contest winner. We may never know.

This young lady reuses the Ashla arms in addition to the standard child body, and really her only new part is the head. Obviously, all children look alike to Hasbro. The figure has 4 points of articulation, so she's not going to win and toy snob awards in that department. However, the deco and sculpting on the head are really crisp, it looks almost like the figure was crafted by hand and specially customized as a one-off rather than a mass-produced toy. The talent in Hasbro's factories really did a wonderful job making sure she looked good, and even though she doesn't have a name she'll probably be remembered as one of Hasbro's finer human heads. Or maybe not, for all I know, perhaps the original kid design was a small boy from Honduras and it's totally off model. Still, it looks great, and everything is where it should be-- so if you want more younglings for your collections, dioramas, or slaughter scenarios, make it a point to get this one or have someone get it for you. (Thanks again, Shannon!)

Collector's Notes: As a brand-new release there are no known variants or snags on its distribution, but it is a bit pricey. The set also includes a Jedi Master (a revised Agen Kolar), Darth Vader (Vintage 2004), a small Padawan boy (uses the same body as the girl), and a larger Padawan boy (uses the body of the 2000 Anakin Skywalker mechanic figure). By modern day accounts, this thing would probably retail at or below $20, but given that it's an exclusive you're going to have to shell out the clams for this one.

Day 1,052: June 25, 2009