Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Figure of the Day: Day 1,236: Boba Fett

BOBA FETT with RA-7
30th Anniversary Collection Wal-Mart Exclusive Comic Packs
Item No.:
Asst. 87557 No. 87560
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Boba Fett figure, comic book
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $11.87
Availability: January 2008
Appearances: Star Wars #81

Bio: Everyone believes Boba Fett is dead, eaten by the Sarlacc in the Pit of Carkoon. But the bounty hunter miraculously survives his ordeal and lies unconscious outside the pit, covered in mucus and sand. The Jawas and their RA-7 droid find him and, believing him to be a droid or cyborg, bring him onto their sandcrawler. Fett awakens with no memory, until Han arrives to rescue the stolen R2-D2 from the Jawas. Upon hearing Han's name, Fett's memory quickly returns...with a vengeance! (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' TV tray.

Commentary: This is one of my most favorite figures. Boba Fett's appearances in licensed merchandise in the 1970s and 1980s tended to be very off-model, with weird colors and inconsistent representations of his armor-- thanks in part to the character's long gestation. This particular action figure basically adapts his comic appearances, which were colored to look like the 12-inch Kenner action figure. This color scheme has a lot of big bright colors, plus the addition of some "Sarlacc goo" on his torso and leg to look like he just got spit out by a giant toothy piece of female anatomy. As it uses the "Vintage" 2004 sculpt, the figure has a wide range of motion and really does look a lot like a good representation of the original 12-inch action figure. (Which, sadly, will probably never be scaled down to 3 3/4-inch form with its grappling hook rocket and other features.) If you're a Fett fan, this is a good one to buy just because it really is different than anything else you're likely to have, although I could have done without the goo.

Collector's Notes: This figure was a strong seller in some markets, but not others. I dig it. Go get one.

--Adam Pawlus


Day 1,236: March 10, 2010

2 comments:

The Jaeger said...

Funny, I loved this fig too, but wished there was MORE goo!

Bravo said...

One thing that went wrong with the comic packs, they took a cash cow character, Fett, and made his pack a Wal-Mart exclusive.

While obscure Jedi sat, unbought. Even those Marvel Mandalorian characters sold eventually, maybe just for looking like Fett.