DEENA SHAN with Lt. Jundland30th Anniversary Collection Comic Packs
Item No.: Asst. 87504 No. 87554
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #14
Includes: Hat, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $10.99
Availability: Late 2007
Appearances: Star Wars: Empire comics
Bio: Deena Shan leaks false information about the Rebels' base to lure Imperial forces into a trap - but at a heaertbreaking cost to her. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)
Image: Adam Pawlus' floor, in front of the Imperial ARC-170.
Commentary: Figures based specifically on original characters from the post-Star Wars, pre-The Empire Strikes Back era are far and few between. In a way it's kind of a shame that one of the few, Deena Shan, is based on a relatively recent introduction to the galaxy. So, what's the deal with Deena? Turns out that this is the first of two (so far) figures based on the character, and this one was developed as a repaint of the Juno Eclipse figure. However, it was released before Juno due to a number of delays which are the kind of thing you really only see in the Hasbro toy line.
Compared to Juno, Deena is paler, with lighter hair, and a grey costume rather than black. The articulation is about as good as you can expect, with 14 joints plus the annoying "skirt" element which restricts leg movement and prevents Ms. Shan from taking a seat in your favorite vehicles, which really renders a lot of that lower leg articulation moot. If you can't move the hips, do knee joints really matter? Not really. As a rare female addition to your Imperial forces, or technically Rebel forces, you may as well pick this set up if you are given the chance. The level of detail is excellent, and it's not like there's a lot of women toys to be made from the military parts of Star Wars. But is it authentic?
Basically. The costume is pretty close to how she looks in the comic, but her hair is different, the bust of the figure is far smaller (hey, I notice these things!), the belt is different, there are no logos or pockets on the sleeves either. Truth be told, the comic character looks a little more like an AT-ST driver costume jumpsuit. So really, this is a pretty poor reproduction of the comic character but it does make for an excellent generic female Imperial officer.
Collector's Notes: Deena has two unique head sculpts. One has a bun on the back of her hair, one does not. As it's fairly pronounced, there's really no missing it. This bun is on later shipments, and is truer to the comic art. While she doesn't look too much like the comic art, it's not like I expect a lot from a repaint. Hasbro apparently needs to cut costs where they can, and the total lack of fan outcry over this piece shows they were smart in deploying those cuts here.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,070: July 21, 2009
I bought one of these to lead my squad of 4 Juno Eclipse figures. I mean really, if you had a cloning facility, would you only clone dudes? I mounted the team in an Order 66 tubular package. At first I thought I'd call the piece "The Clone Whores", but sensibility won out, and I named it "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the ISD".
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