Monday, February 27, 2012

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,749: Rebel Pilot (Mon Calamari)

REBEL PILOT Mon Calamari
The Vintage Collection Basic Figures
Item No.:
Asst. 37499 No. 49704
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #VC91
Includes: Helmet, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: February 2012
Appearances: Return of the Jedi (deleted scene)

Bio: Celebrate the legendary Star Wars saga that changed the universe forever! This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. Iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are captured with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Star Wars saga. May the Force be with you! (Taken from the figure's packaging. No specific character information.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' photo area.

Commentary: By your request, it's the Rebel Pilot (Mon Calamari) whose entire claim to fame is that he was cut from a movie and basically nobody knew he existed until last year. Hasbro selected a handful of figures to produce as figures, and this one was the one you voted to see here first! The funny thing is that he's the second pilot from the Rebel Pilot scene to get a figure, the first being Sila Kott. (She was dubbed with a male voice in the final cut, and the figure has a male body.) Like most figures from this wave, the Mon Cal Pilot reuses a lot of existing parts. The legs are from the B-Wing/Y-Wing pilot bodies (see: Nunbs, Keyan Farlander, Yong), at least one of the hands seems to be from Admiral Ackbar, while the other is similar but was probably retooled. The torso seems new, the head is new, and the upper arms seem new or potentially based on another figures-- but so far they seem "new" new. You can't see the rings in the shoulder joints, and they're clearly not reused Tycho arms from 2007 either. The gun is a reuse, if you have Jake Farrell you'll recognize it.

He looks great-- the open-headed mouth is perfect, really the only problem I have with it as a collectible figure is that the neck seems small. It's not a huge deal, but Admiral Ackbar has a huge honking neck and this just looks funky to not hve one. The detail is excellent, the green suit with the new hoses and tubes just looks fantastic. The helmet fits like a glove, although the choice of plastic seems like it could have been better. The light grey border surrounding the face looks weird, even though that's how it looks on the cardback. The spots on the skin are quite different than Ackbar's, and it's another fantastic addition to the Mon Calamari Pilot squad. (He's the second.)

As an actual pilot for a toy A-Wing Fighter, he's basically acceptable. He's not compatible with the most recent release from 2008, but he works with the 1997 and 2002 A-Wings if you fidget with them-- his helmet gets in the way of the vehicle's canopy coming down. If you're a long-term collector you should enjoy this, and it's not like your A-Wings need a pilot anyway-- all 3 modern releases have included pilots, after all.

Collector's Notes: I have not seen him at retail yet. Based on last year, I would not assume him to be in subsequent waves, but I don't know how long this wave will be shipping. I got mine online.

--Adam Pawlus



Day 1,749: February 27, 2012

2 comments:

Phantom Troublemaker said...

Between my wife and myself we got the whole Deleted Scenes set today in Metro Atlanta over a couple of Walmarts. I haven't opened them for review yet, but they all look neat-o.

davy said...

it's a trap.....yeah i know this is not akbar but he's close enough.