Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,572: Commander Pyre (Resistance line look)

COMMANDER PYRE Debut
Star Wars Resistance  3 3/4-Inch Single Figure
Item No.: Asst. E5035 No. E5359
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: January 2019
Appearances: Star Wars Resistance

Bio: A fearsome First Order stormtrooper officer, Commander Pyre stands out from the legions of identically equipped soldiers with his black and gold armor. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I'm slowly catching up on Resistance, and I can't say much about Commander Pyre yet. He's gold! And he gets to do slightly more than Phasma!  I assume he exists because it cuts the animation budget to just recolor and modify a base Stormtrooper, and to that end they did a nice job with the design.  It's not unlike the 1990s Star Wars comic and RPG characters we got - similar, but different.  It's appropriate to the story, adding a familiar pauldron and slathering gold paint everywhere really does the trick.

While the legs can't be posed at a perfect right angle, they can swing forward nicely. The arms swivel, and there's a ball-jointed neck that just works great.  Pyre is like the real classic Vintage figures, with a narrow profile and the ability to fit in many of the old Kenner vehicles.  This is good - because so far, there are no Resistance vehicles despite the designs looking pretty cool.  (Especially the pirate craft!)

There's not a lot of special painted detail here, mostly because it's black or gold everywhere you look.  The gun can't plug on the figure's leg like the movie First Order troopers, but at least he can hold it with no real problems.   It's kind of weird seeing C-3PO's colors on an evil trooper, but it works!   I like these figures a whole lot more than the TV show from which they originate, so I'd suggest going and getting yours before they disappear.  Hasbro and/or Lucasfilm have short attention spans when it comes to supporting their TV properties, and it wouldn't stun me if what we see now may be the bulk of what we get.  Get while the getting is good!

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,572: March 28, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,571: Major Vonreg (Resistance line look)

MAJOR VONREG Debut
Star Wars Resistance  3 3/4-Inch Single Figure
Item No.: Asst. E5035 No. E4379
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: January 2019
Appearances: Star Wars Resistance

Bio: A vicious, daring man of few words, Major Vonreg is known for his custom crimson TIE fighter and his lightning fast strikes against anyone who dares intrude into First Order territory. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I assume Resistance will go down in history like the 1985 Droids cartoon - colorful and neat, but sadly failing to strike a chord with the existing older fans.  I know I've whined about the show... but I love the figures.  The paint jobs on the human faces are just so perfectly precise and the names have that Droids-y Star Wars-y feel.  Major Vonreg sounds like he could have totally been around the Pirates of Tarnoonga or Admiral Screed's crew, but he's under the employ of the First Order.  He's a red TIE Fighter Pilot - basically an absolute gem of a figure for toy dorks or part-time fans that will no doubt infuriate collectors because they either don't care or are angry we still haven't gotten Neeku and probably never will.

This 3 3/4-inch figure does everything right.   It stands, it sits.  It has a narrow profile more like the classic Kenner figures, and as such it has a great center of gravity that allows him to stand unassisted.  The hand perfectly grips the small pistol.  The paint job is superb too - while Hasbro left off the bright red backs of the fingers, they got pretty much everything else right.  They even painted the darker red shoulders, gauntlets, and kneepads when they could have left them the bare plastic color and odds are most fans wouldn't think twice of it.

While $10 seems absurdly expensive on a $10 5-jointed figure, I like it. I assume Hasbro knows this - it wouldn't surprise me if Resistance evaporated quickly and was never spoken of in toy aisles again.  With that in mind, go get Vonreg now.  Just do it.The buttons are painted cleanly, and the design feels like another mutation spawned out of the imaginations of the late 1980s "everybody is phoning it in" era of Star Wars. It's new, but not too new.  It's different, but not in a boring samey way.  If Hasbro produced a normal quantity of this figure, that probably means it'll be something you kick yourself for passing up later.  I wish they just bypassed 5-joints and went right to Vintage for the extra three bucks, but I'll take it all the same.  It feels like an old artifact from the future, and it pushes all my old Star Wars cartoon buttons.  Get it.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. 

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,571: March 26, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,570: Stormtrooper (Mimban, The Vintage Collection)

STORMTROOPER (Mimban)
The Vintage Collection Walmart Exclusive Action Figures
Item No.: Asst. E0370  No. E2814
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #123
Includes: Blaster rifle, blaster pistol
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.86
Availability: Online January 2019, retail February 2019
Appearances: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Bio: Stormtroopers were the assault/policing troops of the Galactic Empire. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.  Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability:  Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: The Vintage Collection is a vexing thing.  It's plagued with reruns and characters the target collector market doesn't necessarily want, but when they do a good figure it's perfect.  After Klaatu and Yak Face, we now have the amazingly good Stormtrooper (Mimban), a hard-to-find Walmart exclusive that seems to be an entirely new sculpt.  It has thigh swivels!  It has bend-and-swivel wrists!  It has two weapons and a cape!   The muddy deco is really sharp, with splatters all over and darker mud on the shoes.   While the soles aren't black, I don't think anyone will notice.  Painted details on the helmet - complete with visor - all look superb.

Unlike other 3 3/4-inch Mimban Stormtroopers, this one has all the important landmarks on the helmet painted.  The little flourishes on the sides and back are all filled in, as are the vents on the cheek tube region.   I can't complain about the range of movement - he can stand and sit well, and even some weird, squatty action poses all had him standing without a problem.  The joints are nice and tight, and this figure is one of Hasbro's best Imperial troopers.  I would buy more, but I only saw one, and the lack of Empire-specific large vehicles and playsets has slowly put the brakes on my army building.   With the Barge I'm kind of questioning what the future might look like, but the opportunity to deploy a large Mimban population seems unlikely.

This is the best version of Hasbro's filthiest trooper.  The 6-inch one is nice, but I really like this one a lot more - it's just such a wonderful mess with a great cape.   I have had some difficulty getting both hands around the big rifle, but that's not going to stop me from telling you that this is the absolute best overall version of a Stormtrooper we've ever had at this scale.  A plain white one will be a surefire hit, or rather, it would be if you were able to find it and buy it when the time comes. Hopefully we'll see an Imperial installation requiring these guys in the future - they deserve an excuse to be bought en masse.   Nicely done, Hasbro.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart after going out for burgers.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,570: March 21, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,569: General Grievous (The Black Series 6-Inch)

 GENERAL GRIEVOUS XXL
The Force Awakens The Black Series 6-Inch Figure
Item No.:   No. E2989
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #D1
Includes: Pistol, 4 lightsabers, cape
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $29.99
Availability: March 2019
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: General Grievous  was a brilliant Separatist military strategist and a feared Jedi hunter, known for his ruthlessness and hacking cough.  His body itself was a weapon, allowing him lightning quick strikes and devastating blows.  But he was also quick to run from a fight, a tactic that worked until one final meeting with Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: As a kid I kind of rolled my eyes when a teacher on TV or real life went on about someone not living up to their potential, but now I'm old enough to totally get it.   I knew General Grievous would have issues due to the character design, but Hasbro managed to work around some but not others.  The Separatist droid figures have thin limbs that generally don't react well to gravity over the long run - even when placed on a figure stand's peg, the limbs tend to sag and bend over time.  This Grievous solved the problem - by not giving him foot peg holes.  Each of the joints is sturdy and ratchets nicely, but the plastic is still pretty thin so I expect this figure will face-plant and dive off of a shelf without some sort of doll stand to hold him in place.  It takes a tiny bit of effort to find the center of gravity to keep him standing, but with this design that's expected.  

The figure is loaded with articulation - both more than you would expect, and not enough.  Rocker ankles, multiple elbow joints, and double-knees are most certainly welcome, but there's no meaningful bicep swivel thanks to the arm-splitting gimmick.  (Swappable arms may have solved this problem.)   The sculpting is top-tier, and the face paint is wonderful with little hints of mucus and gore under the mask.  The damage and scrapes are painted well,  and his scowl comes through nicely.  I'm impressed how well the figure works when all his arms are split up, but some things are missing - no wrist joints, for example - so the resulting figure is good, but won't "wow" anyone.  Hasbro got swivel wrists in the last super-articulated 3 3/4-inch release, which was a "basic" $10 figure too.   Given this has a 50% upcharge over a "basic" 6-inch figure, I'm not going to say it's great.  It's OK.

The cape, I don't like the cape.  It drapes oddly around the neck, it hangs strangely, and it lacks the distinctive robot skull on the back that most of the previous figures had.   It just feels weird - but so did the 3 3/4-inch cloth cape last time around.

But it's 1.0.  If Hasbro revisits this figure with a corrected cape, perhaps with a better drape and the symbol, you might want to buy it again.  A stand and retooled arms could also make a neat reissue down the road - I'm sure someone is already contemplating some sort of 2-pack with Obi-Wan Kenobi.   If you're reading this in a future where Grievous did get some sort of revised "Archive" reissue, I'm sure that one has got to be better than this one.  This one is OK - but it's a little blah given that we're 14 years out from Revenge of the Sith and things like that cape symbol should have been caught by Lucasfilm if Hasbro missed it.  Don't they have people dorkier than us in their approvals department?  Hasbro got it more accurate in 2010 with The Vintage Collection - given the premium deco and pricing with The Black Series, I would have hoped for something better.   It's by no means a failure, but given the quality of previous releases and the fact that those older figures were more accurate to the movie's design, hardcore fans will be disappointed but your average schmuck will see this as a perfectly acceptable General Grievous figure that will, over time, probably fall off your desk and will see a lightsaber blade snap.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,569: March 19, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,568: Jarek Yaeger (Resistance line look)

JAREK YAEGER Debut
Star Wars Resistance  3 3/4-Inch 2-Pack Figure
Item No.: Asst. E5034 No. E5361
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Helmet, blaster, Bucket (R1-J5) droid figure
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $14.99
Availability: January 2019
Appearances: Star Wars Resistance

Bio: Jarek Yaeger runs a repair shop on the Colossus  refueling station, enjoying the solitude of being so far off the beaten paths of the galaxy.  Bucket has been Jarek Yaeger's loyal astromech for years, and despite being a battered, decrepit droid addled by outdated, glitching programming, is also a skilled mechanic. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Resistance is a show that leans heavily on mentors and learning - our lead is, to say the least, green in many ways.  One of his minders is Jarek Yaeger, an old guy that runs a repair business for the ships racing on a water planet with seemingly no audience and no economy of which to speak so far.  There are people selling ship parts, but really, what's going on there? Maybe it has been addressed and I missed that episode - but Hasbro did study the character designs well, translating the oddly flat 3-D designs into action figures that sometimes look more lifelike than their on-screen counterparts.

Jarek Yaeger is skinny, matching his animated counterpart quite nicely.  He has a blaster - which I don't believe sees a lot of use on the first few episodes on the TV show - and a helmet.  The helmet is actually a swappable alternate head, with a clear orange visor as his hair would not allow for a helmet over it.  I don't believe  he's used the helmet much on the show as of yet either, but then again, a lot of the first wave of figures weren't regularly appearing on the show.

Hasbro's figure is a bit more lively than Kaz, with more wrinkles in the jacket and pants.  This looks like a slightly more living person, with subtle wrinkles and good facial features. I was surprised to notice glossy lips and eyebrows, possibly making this an early experiment in "real" faces.  Hasbro has been promising those printed-on mugs in the small size, and in this case I would say it could be a challenge to do better.  The eyes are lips are where they should be, and to the naked eye look superb.   A few ornaments on his jacket aren't just painted, but outlined in black so they pop nicely.  He has 5 points of articulation and has no problems sitting, although standing will require you to find his center of gravity.

I admire what Hasbro did with these figures - they feel a lot more like old Kenner figures thanks to their proportions, poses, and articulation.  My compliments to the chef.  This set is worthwhile in that you get a perfectly good human character with one of Hasbro's best animated small-scale heads along with one of their most wonderful droid figures in recent memory.  It's absolutely worth picking up if you can find one.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,568: March 14, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,567: Bucket R1-J5 (Resistance line look)

BUCKET (R1-J5) Debut
Star Wars Resistance  3 3/4-Inch 2-Pack Figure
Item No.: Asst. E5034 No. E5361
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/
Includes: Helmet, blaster, Jarek Yaeger figure
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $14.99
Availability: January 2019
Appearances: Star Wars Resistance

Bio: Jarek Yaeger runs a repair shop on the Colossus  refueling station, enjoying the solitude of being so far off the beaten paths of the galaxy.  Bucket has been Jarek Yaeger's loyal astromech for years, and despite being a battered, decrepit droid addled by outdated, glitching programming, is also a skilled mechanic. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I can't say I love Resistance as a TV show, but I will say Bucket (R1-J5) is a true favorite figure.  The look of Resistance toys is, overall, sharp.  I just don't get much from the programming.  This time, the astromech droid is a shell with missing panels and parts, a rubbery series of metallic silver rings orbits the core of the droid.  There are three legs - the center one partially retracts - and ball-jointed shoulders.  The dome is mostly missing, all you get is an eye stalk with a helmet over it.  I love this.

Thanks to the articulation, this is one of the most expressive droid figures I own.  You can tilt the figure's head inquisitively, the legs tilt in and out and allow for him to emote in ways you don't normally see.   It would be awesome to see this applied to a Droids R2-D2, as that was an unusually expressive take on the character - but I digress.  The third leg partially retracts, and extends out way more than I am comfortable seeing.  There are no wheels, but it does look awesome.

The sculpt and paint job is nice and clean, with a couple of fascinating exceptions on the feet.  If you squint and look the sides of the robot feet near the ground, there are knicks and scrapes sculpted in there that are sadly unpainted.  I think they could do a wonderful job giving this figure a deluxe paint job, bringing out even more detail.  He's missing a few paints ops - like the helmet, and the feet - but there is a lot of silver on the body and some red wiring here and there.

This is my favorite Resistance figure because it does so much that's unexpected with a design that's likable.  A busted-up robot is such a wonderful idea, but adding in the amazing head with the movement of the legs shows that Hasbro is absolutely capable of doing amazing, surprising things in a line that seemed to be coasting.  Real surprises at the smaller size are hard to find, but so welcome when Hasbro has a chance to stretch its wings.  We've seen so many fun and weird ideas over the years, it amazes me that Hasbro has new ways to jazz up a design we've basically seen dozens of times.  Who knew there was so much more life in the R2-D2 form factor?  You have to get this set.  Go, get one now.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. 

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,567: March 12, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,566: Kaz Xiono (Resistance line look)

KAZ XIONO Debut
Star Wars Resistance  3 3/4-Inch Single Figure
Item No.: Asst. E5035 No. E3941
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/
Includes: Helmet, blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: January 2019
Appearances: Star Wars Resistance

Bio: Confident and skilled when a New Republic X-wing fighter, Kaz now feels out of his element having been assigned to be a spy for the Resistance. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: On the show, Kaz Xiono oscillates between bumbler and go-getter. Sometimes, he's a pilot with skill.  Sometimes, he's an idiot who will let people trample over him, only looking competent thanks to an even denser sidekick who, despite being a series regular, has no toy.  I don't know who is planning these waves - Kaz is the only series regular in the entire basic single first wave.   It's like a wave made mostly of Constable Zuvio or Paige Tico all over again, but at least this guy is on every week and gets a toy so those who love him on the show can indeed get him.  Unlike, say, Han Solo last year.  But I digress.

This figure hits all the right marks - had Hasbro any vehicles, his articulation seems designed to easily sit with legs at the right angle and arms that don't swivel out too much.  He's skinny and closely matches the colors on the show - the pants aren't quite right, but everything else seems more or less on point.  The face looks like the animation model, the jacket is perfect, and the belt buckle is even right.  Bonus credit to Hasbro for sculpting the jacket as a separate piece, allowing the figure to look a little more three-dimensional and not in any way restricting movement when being posed.  The proportions and style are more cartoon-like than some previous animated lines, with texture as appropriate in a few spots.  Mostly he's smooth, and one might assume the grey sideburns are to indicate he's old.  But he acts like a dumb kid, so... take your pick.

I admit I'm behind on the show and just haven't been feeling it yet.  I'll keep giving it a chance, because I can't not.  He rarely used his helmet or blaster from what I remember, as the show seems to be trying very hard to not have every episode be a shoot-out.  Kaz has no problems wearing his helmet, or holding his blaster.

Hasbro did a great job on what seems to be a tough task - increasing prices, decreasing accessories and features, and a show with ratings about as low as Rebels at its nadir, it's a wonder we've got anything.  I like the character design, the character's performance is good, and the action figure is well done for what it aspires to be - you just have to get excited for the show.  Maybe it gets better?  If you get a chance to pick up a Kaz figure at a good price, you might want to do so.  I can't complain about the toy.  The show, sure.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,566: March 7, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,565: Imperial Patrol Trooper (The Black Series 6-Inch)

IMPERIAL PATROL TROOPER Debut
The Force Awakens The Black Series 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: Asst. B3834 No. E1216
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #72
Includes: Pistol, holstered baton
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: October 2018
Appearances: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Bio: As the Empire reinforces its hold on worlds across the galaxy, local defense forces are supplemented - and eventually completely replaced - with Imperial Stormtroopers.  To cover distances across sprawling settlements and cities, Patrol Stormtoopers police the streets and alleys aboard swift interceptor speeder bikes. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: The nonlinear nature of Star Wars narratives can be fun and vexing.  The Imperial Patrol Trooper takes cues from the entire saga to date, or at least, its troopers.  The helmet is similar to a 1977 Stormtrooper, but with the combined visor of the 2005 Clone Trooper and the forehead visor of the 2016 Scarif Stormtrooper.  The body lokos like a mutation of the 1983 Bike Scout, with gloves painted like First Order 2015 troopers - note the white finger and palms - and legs like the aforementioned 2016 Scarif Stormtroopers.  It's a weird amalgamation of numerous kinds of cannon fodder, which is also interesting because the Empire's armored meat for the grinder tends to be pretty uniform.

29 points of articulation and smart decisions like a soft codpiece mean this figure could straddle a bike! There isn't one. But he could!  I had a lot of fun posing him on my desk with his nicely-painted scout trooper blaster, but even more fun with the dippy baton. At about 1-inch long (meaning "real life" would be about 12-inches) it's roughly the size of a ruler and about as frightening.  It's this dumb little stick, and now he's going to fling it at you or something.  It'll bonk you on the head. "Ow!" you'll say to the faceless enforcer of the Emperor's fascist regime.  "Oh, uh, sorry pal," he'll say.  "Look, I don't have a stun blaster and I threw my only stick at your head, could you just, like, come quietly?" 

We didn't see it in action on-screen, but I imagine it would be deployed in a scene much like that.  I appreciate Hasbro made it a removable, as opposed to just a chunk of the belt.  It does something - it gives the figure more personality.   The only thing I dislike about the figure is we didn't get his bike. Enfys Nest got hers, but this one might have provided a better seller to army builders.  Such is life.  It's a cool trooper, so go get it - and if it shows up at Celebration or a Comic-Con with a bike, go buy it again.   While it breaks absolutely no new ground, it's top-to-bottom exactly as good as it could and indeed probably should be.  Add your own weathering, and buy a bunch.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,565: March 5, 2019