Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,626: Castas

CASTAS Speeder Bike
The Clone Wars Class I Vehicle (Mini-Rigs)
Item No.: Asst. 29960 No. 29956
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: I
Includes: Blaster, stand, Speeder Bike vehicle
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $18.99
Availability: July 2011
Appearances: The Clone Wars

Bio: Castas pilots a speeder bike to hunt down his prey. The speeder bike is fast and lightweight, a suitable vehicle for hunters to chase anyone fleeing from capture. Bounty hunters like Castas prefer these bikes for their front-mounted blasters and hidden side blasters. (Taken from the figure's product info page on Hasbro.com.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' kitchen.

Commentary: Fact: collectors love bounty hunters. Upon its release, Castas and his speeder bike seemed to be the fastest seller of the new mini vehicles, largely on the strength of the figure. The vehicle is no slouch-- the newly-designed bike stands nicely, features a seemingly superfluous kickstand, and articulated handlebars-- but everybody wants Castas to go with Aurra Sing, Bossk, and Boba Fett. At this time it seems Aurra is suddenly shipping again as of late July, but Bossk remains exclusive to his Slave I vehicle set and single-carded Bobas are long gone.

Castas works nicely as an action figure. Stylistically, he fits in with the bulk of The Clone Wars but his design seems a little bit simpler, with fewer fabric folds and textures. If anything, he seems closer to the original Droids figures in some respects-- significantly better, but spiritually on the same page. The doglike face sits atop an asymmetrical body, slouched to one side with long legs and a beefy body. His hands sport two fingers and a thumb on each hand-- I didn't even notice this on the cartoon-- and he's much more colorful in appearance, which is a nice touch. He sports a logo on his costume and bike, although I have no idea what it actually means. Hasbro ensured the figure sat on the bike nicely, so be sure to give this one a try-- he even looks good without the vehicle, and we get so few cool villains in the line that I just have to advise you to get him before Hasbro starts shipping him and he shoots up to $40. Mark my words: this will happen. It might be 2 years but it'll happen.

Collector's Notes: This same bike was also slated to come with young Boba Fett at Toy Fair 2011. (At that time they pegged him for a Spring release.) To date no new date is given and it's not known when or where it will hit, but we can assume it might be in a later wave of this assortment if it hasn't already been pulled out as a future store exclusive. Also, this is the only Castas figure to date. The Aurebesh on his bike reads "Dog Faced Bounty Hunter."

--Adam Pawlus

Day 1,626: September 7, 2011