JODO KAST Bounty HunterThe Legacy/Vintage Collection Kmart Exclusive
Item No.: No. 98396
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Pistol, helmet, rifle, stand, rocket pack, game card
Action Feature: Removable helmet, working holster
Retail: $8.99
Availability: Fall 2010
Appearances: various Expanded Universe
Bio: In the comic "Boba Fett: Twin Engines of Destruction," Jodo Kast is a bounty hunter who wears Mandalorian armor. He pretends to be Boba Fett to take advantage of Fett's reputation as te galaxy's most notorious bounty hunter. However, the real Boba Fett is not flattered by Kast's impersonation and makes plans to stop him. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)
Image: Adam's kitchen.
Commentary: Since his debut in the late 1980s as a role-playing character, Jodo Kast hasn't got a lot of love in the toy world. The first one came out as a repaint in Fall of 2008, and it suffered the indignity of being based on a Boba Fett mold with an iffy action feature and a visible hole in the shoulder. Flash ahead to 2010 and Kmart gets a version that's clearly better but not necessarily perfect. Based on the awesome Boba Fett "evolutions" body, the figure gets a new head, a new paint job, and drops the cloth cape. The coloring is largely more realistic than the 2008 release, but a few elements seem to be a little more drab-- the red symbol on the chest is now black, and the dirt is missing. It actually looks more than a little like Llats Ward from a few years ago, but this new version is clearly Jodo. Why? Because the helmet comes off.
Jodo Kast didn't get a lot of face time, but the helmet did get popped off after Boba Fett beat the snot out of him and left him to die. This is a pretty good representation of the artwork in the book, minus the blood and freaked-out facial expression. If anything I would say it looks a smidgen like a blonde Guy Gardener, but with a slightly better hairstylist. What I like most about this figure-- aside from the fact that it really, honestly does look more like Jodo than the previous release-- is the way the body suit has multiple shades of grey. A little dry brushing goes a long way, and Hasbro managed to replicate the technique on a wide scale, giving Faux-ba Fett a slightly more expensive appearance. As I'm a sucker for armored figures, exclusives, bounty hunters, and 1980s Expanded Universe (Jodo debuted in a West End Games "Tatooine Manhunt" supplement) this is a automatic buy for me. I assume you'll want one, too.
Collector's Notes: When I first found Jodo, I was making a comment about how Kmart seems to be really bad about putting some toys on the right aisles-- and then I looked down at a pile of Littlest Pet Shop toys and found Jodo. The figure was slightly harder to get by virtue of being exclusive to the diminishing Kmart chain, but if you got out a little bit in the Fall of 2010 you could probably find a few of them. Unless you weren't near a Kmart, in which case, you're out of luck. Thankfully, his eBay price is only around $10, which isn't much more than he cost at retail in the first place.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,505: March 22, 2011
It should be noted that Jodo is packed with his belt on backwards.
ReplyDeleteEven though I never really liked Jodo Kast, this is one of my favorite figures. Yeah, it's just Boba Fett with a different paint scheme and a new head, but I like it that the figure (at least I think) so greatly resembles Matt damon. It's like having a little Jason Bourne, Bounty Hunter.
ReplyDeleteHasbro after the Legacy release of Jodo Kast "we probably won't be revisiting him soon"
ReplyDelete2 years later...a better one
Don't take Hasbro at their word, especially when they can double dip Mandalorians.
You'd think he and Boba would've been ideal Comic Pack fodder, but making mass release comic packs that would sell well seemed to be a struggle for Hasbro.
Love, love, love this figure- Except that his chin sticks out from under his helmet and his rocket pack falls off under a stiff breeze.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I like the best about him is that even though I despaired of ever finding him, I found him at my local K-Mart on clearance! I have to mention that this is a once-in-a-lifetime situation, as we here in SE Massachusetts get the short end of the straw when in comes to figure distribution.