AHSOKA The Clone WarsThe Vintage Collection Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. 37499 No. 38524
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #VC102
Includes: 2 Lightsabers, 2 hilts
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: October 2012
Appearances: The Clone Wars
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's photo hole.
Commentary: The 2010-era "Adult" version of Ahsoka in the animated line was a tough score. She was out very quickly and disappeared from stores fast. This one never even hit stores. As I write this, this very figure is the only "realistic" interpretation of Ahsoka as an action figure and I assume it will remain to be such. The sculpting and deco is really good, the eyes were painted looking up giving the character a different personality than we're used to. I mean, sure, we've had a lot of dead-eyed stares, so a character looking up like she might jump and slash something is a nice departure from the norm. The leather-ish shirt is rendered with a lot of detail and texture, with folds and creases throughout. She has leathery arm bands for some reason, plus long, fingerless gloves. I have no idea why. The character is frequently lauded as a great woman character in sci-fi, but she still has a Power Girl-esque cleavage window which I'm pretty sure will negate that for anyone who hasn't yet seen the show. "This is a positive role model, it's a young teenage Jedi warrior!" "Then why does she have her boobs popping through?" Eh, I'm old. I don't understand modern costuming.
The figure has 14 points of articulation and even has a cloth skirt to help her movement go mostly uninhibited. The sculpt is good, the lightsabers plug into the belt, and this is a fantastic collector-grade figure that it actually saddens me continues to remain elusive for kid buyers. We're always told that kids love Ahsoka, but Hasbro has not made it easy for anyone without adult collector resources to track her down as of late. I really dig the whole notion of "real" The Clone Wars figures, particularly when the character has no "realistic" release yet. For that, I give you my permission to overspend on Ahsoka because, seriously, it's a well-constructed figure with some nice personality in the face department. I think it helps that she's orange and has unique face markings, as Hasbro has had... difficulty rendering womanly faces in 3 3/4-inch scale. I think the uniquely-colored make-up provides a handy cheat for humanoid faces, and while the figure doesn't impress it does have the 14 points of articulation which are basically the minimum requirement for a lot of people to even consider buying a toy these days. (In my day figures had 5 joints... and we liked it!)
Collector's Notes: This was part of what was billed as the "last wave of Vintage," an online exclusive, quick-to-sell-out assortment of figures. Oddly, Amazon also had them and the cases were broken up and some individual figures blew out fast. I remember Ahsoka being pretty cheap for a while there. As such, she could cost anything from $5 to $20. (I assume the $5 days are over.)
--Adam Pawlus
Day 1,997: February 7, 2013
I really wish that this action figure had ball jointed hips. Ball jointed hips should be the standard for any Jedi. I had the same complaint with Starkiller. THey are both characters that are normally seen with a wide crouched stance that cannot be recreated with these figures. Hasbro really should have given us the definitive versions of these figures. Especially for the prices these figures are going for. Thumbs down...
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