Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,765: Mandalorian Loyalist (The Black Series 6-Inch)

MANDALORIAN LOYALIST 6-Inch Debut
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Yellow Star Wars: The Clone Wars Packaging - Walmart Exclusive
Item No.: No. F0015
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #04
Includes: Backpack, 2 blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: November 2020
Appearances: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Bio: When Darth Maul betrayed and defeated Pre Vizsla, Death Watch splintered into two groups. Those who wanted to embrace Mandalore's warrior heritage remained loyal to Maul. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This Mandalorian Loyalist is a great figure, and it's been nearly ten years since Hasbro made figures of them in any size. I'm glad they did - this Jango Fett retool isn't as ornate as the Super Commando, but it's still very good and fits in with the armor we saw in flashbacks during The Mandalorian. It shares some parts with Jango Fett and the aforementioned Super Commando, but the helmet and shoulder pads are unique to this figure, as is the deco. I'd love to get more of these but a) they're hard to find, and b) they're expensive.

Based on a design previously sold as other figures like the very good 2010 Mandalorian Warrior [FOTD #1,379] which was a bit more saturated, so this looks like a more "realistic" trooper. It's missing the Boba-style rocket pack and instead goes for Jango's Geonosis battle arena, but it does have the proper helmet. There's a bit more light grey and silver on the animation models, but they did a good job capturing the red markings on the jetpack and right shoulder, plus the white mark on the left shoulder. Sadly, the lighter grey was left off the helmet, and the blue body suit isn't that blue. It still seems like an accurate rendering of a cartoony costume, though!

Since he uses Jango's body, you get the same 29 points of articulation. The retooled thighs with the specific holsters (and slightly less armoring) are present, leaving you with quite possibly the most perfect bulk purchase Mandalorian. Hasbro could easily make Pre Vizsla or other Mandalorians from the cartoons based on this outfit. Customizers could build a number of characters off of this design. Also, you'd probably want to troop-build this one if Hasbro and Walmart reran a ton of them. At press time that seems unlikely - but the long tail of history tends to trend toward meeting market demands over the last few years.

Hasbro did a good job here - and could recolor, retool, and keep reselling it for years to come. The Mandalorians should be the new Clone Trooper, where Hasbro finally milks the molds dry to give us Fenn Shysa, Jodo Kast, Pre Vizsla, and anything else they feel like doing. They would probably sell really well - if people will buy weird green troopers, it might be prudent to make bright green Mandalorians with actual history and stories people remember and in some cases, really love. Kudos to Hasbro on a job well done here.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart.com.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,765: December 31, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,764: Mandalorian Super Commando (The Black Series 6-Inch)

MANDALORIAN SUPER COMMANDO Debut
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Yellow Star Wars: The Clone Wars Packaging - Walmart Exclusive
Item No.: No. F0014
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #05
Includes: Backpack, 2 blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: November 2020
Appearances: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Bio: Darth Maul's Mandalorians modified their armor to reflect allegiance to the Dark Lord. These super commandos wore red and black, and some even fashioned horns atop the helmet. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This Mandalorian Super Commando has been on my figure wish list ever since seeing the sneak peek at Star Wars Celebration about 8 years ago. I immediately asked for it as an exclusive - this did not happen. But at least we eventually got a pretty good pair of Jango Fett retools based on the show! As my favorite segments for toys tend to be The Clone Wars and the Return of the Jedi - Star Tours eras, this mashup gives me everything I want. I appreciate it when Hasbro gets a figure to market before I know I want it, but it's not nearly as satisfying as getting something I've wanted for years - like this one!

Our Mauldalorian is one of a few specialized Maul-esque repaints from the show, and probably the first one that stood out in preproduction materials. Later revisions include more stylized deco, a yellow t-visor, or hornless ones - plus countless other members of various clans, troopers, and Pre Vizsla. (All of which would be easy retools, hint hint Hasbro. Surely you know and love at least one online retailer that would adore to sell these.) While not at all sensible to have a $5 upcharge - there's less going on here than on Jango Fett - this red and black trooper is a gorgeous figure you're going to want to overpay for anyway.

New sculpted elements incude blasters, the upper legs (with molded holsters), a new belt, spiky shoulder pands, and a new, non-removable helmet. The figure retains the rest of Jango's gear, like the Geonosis-specific backpack, the gauntlets wired in to the biceps (which were not on the animated models), and the same feet. The articulation isn't as impressive as some recent releases given Jango was first released several years aog, but it's very good and a well-executed retool. Given The Clone Wars is stylized, Hasbro and anyone doing "live-action" interpretations has a lot of wiggle-room. Since the troopers were basically mostly tweaked Jango Fett suits anyway, it seemed relatively easy to tool up a few new parts and get two new highly-anticipated and, at press time, hugely popular characters. I hope and expect they rerun these for ages, it's a bit of a pity they're not main-line items given what I assume will be months of demand to go.

While I wish we got this guy in the 3 3/4-inch line - animated, live action, whatever - this is plenty good and I'd be happy to get more in any one scale. (I'd prefer they pick one and stick to it, though.) The figure is a bit back-heavy, but he can stand more easily than Jango and his holsters are a bit less rubbery - and therefore better. The helmet has sculpted horns and no rangefinder, making it distinctive and - so far - unique to this release. The mostly black and grey armor has Maul-like patterns all over, which is hugely cool in terms of the costume but horribly silly in terms of someone like Maul potentially keeping a low profile after being replaced in the order of the Sith after his whole forced bisection.

While not the best figure of 2020, this is another on my short list of absolute favorites. For a retool, Hasbro did an amazing job giving us a figure that looks exactly right by making use of existing tooling assets... but not skimping where there needed to be new ones. If I stopped collecting figures, I would've come back for this one - the Mandalorian Super Commando gives us the figure of legend, and it turned out especially well. If you can find one, buy one. Or two. I'm dying to see if we get the other figures from the series to go with him! (You know, like Cyborg Maul.) Good job, all those involved, which is why we're all sitting here waiting for more now.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart.com.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,764: December 29, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,763: R3-H17 (Droid Factory Line Look)

R3-H17 Disney Parks Christmas Exclusive
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Mistletoe, arm
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $12.99
Availability: October 2017
Appearances: n/a
Bio: All different types of Astromech droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. This festive Astromech is optimized to serve the Royal Advisory Council at the palace on Naboo. May the Force be with you... and your Droids! (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This is a good one - but not too flashy, and not too expensive. R3-H17 does some things differently - it has the clear R3 dome revision, which is good, and it's mostly painted up - which is unusual. The central eye is clear too, with white, gold, and green all over.

The general build is the same as usual, with a mostly white droid body and limbs with a very unique dome and accessory. The claw arm isn't new - we've seen it before with candy corn, for example - but the mistletoe is. Presumably they want a kiss. On the... well, there's no mouth or cheek, so you figure it out. Don't tongue the holo projector. Or the Burtt Acoustic Signaler. (I just found out it had a name. Ben must be so proud.)

The deco is distinctive, with numerous gold panels looking like bar graphs around the base of the dome, covered by a green band with an unpainted section on top. I've got hundreds of droids, and they don't look a lot like this. Were it not for the alternating colors of panels under the dome, this probably wouldn't register as a "holiday" droid.

It might not be worth the secondary market mark-up, but this is another nifty droid that doesn't look out of place in my droid stash. Well, OK, the mistletoe is weird, but I'll allow it. The arm grips it well, so hopefully you won't lose it when you move the figure around your various displays.

Collector's Notes: I got this from my pal Shannon.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,763: December 24, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,762: Luke Skywalker (Endor, The Black Series 6-Inch)

LUKE SKYWALKER (Endor)
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Packaging - Also PulseCon Boxed Set
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. E9360 also No. EXXXX
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #04
Includes: Lightsaber, helmet, belt, poncho
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Bio: Utilizing stolen schematics, the Rebel Alliance formulated a plan to destroy the new Death Star. Luke Skywalker joined his friends for this mission to Endor. (Taken from the 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: For older fans, Luke Skywalker (Endor) is a remake of a classic figure that was really hard to get in the 1980s - it was one of the last ones I tracked down thousands of years ago back in 1990. Any new version of those characters is delightful, and this one uses new and old parts dating back to 2014. This Luke started life as a "Death Star Luke" in the blue box line, but now has a new head, helmet, poncho, and belt. It's a really cool figure, but renders the 2014 Death Star Luke as kind of unnecessary - minus the belt.

Articulation is just as good - and the same - as the previous Luke. He can double-grip the lightsaber just as well, but he lacks a pistol like the original Power of the Force (and later Power of the Force) figures. The colors on the earlier toys have all been pretty great, so this one matches them quite nicely. The paint is good, but the head sculpt seems to be another Luke figure that vaguely looks like the actor. It's by no means bad, but it doesn't feel quite right. The lightsaber is good, the articulation is great, and it's surprising we didn't get this figure packed with another Speeder Bike at mass retail.

I'd say this is an essential figure until Hasbro makes a better one. The Poncho does a great job obfuscating the old-style knee joints. Elbows aren't as mobile as other recent figures, but it's probably good enough. Had Hasbro packed a blaster in the box I'd say there's no real reason to do it again - but I think there's some room to improve the face and elbows, too.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,762: December 22, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,761: BB-H20 (Droid Factory Line Look)

BB-H20 Disney Parks Christmas Exclusive
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $12.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: n/a
Bio: All different types of Astromech droids populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. This droid aided the Resistance on teh salty, mineral world of Crait! Join BB-H2 on his adventures throughout the galaxy. May the Force be with you... and your Droids! (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Sometimes Hasbro seems to get it, and sometimes Disney seems to get it. BB-H20 shows that when left to their own devices - which makes sense - they do a pretty good job with the holiday action figures. Doing a droid repaint that somehow doesn't look too kitschy while also keeping in line with what makes a droid belong in Star Wars is tough, and Disney has done a bang-up job with these while Hasbro's track record went from amazing in 2002 to dreadful by 2005. (I would argue this year's The Black Series line may scratch the kitsch itch for non-collectors, but as a long time fan it was where I actually packed in the completism. I can handle 1 or 2 "meh" figures a year, but $200-$300 in a couple of months? No.) This little guy works for me.

It's the basic Disney BB droid design, which means a twisting head and a wobbly body that opens at the equator and has a removable, weighted, and still surprisingly painted ball inside. The Disney BB droids are slightly bigger and heavier than Hasbro's, meaning they won't fit in the 2019 Poe Dameron X-Wing from Hasbro. But they do look a bit better on a shelf!

Inside, BB-H20 has a grey and silver core. Outside, it looks a bit like Target's BB-Series Droid [FOTD #2,733] from earlier this year. BB-H20 could be inspired by a holiday sweater or a candy cane, but it's ambiguous. The pattern is unique to this robot, and since red and white is a common droid color scheme there's nothing that would prevent it from looking like it belongs in just about any post-Imperial diorama.

The holiday droid phenomenon is not a bad line-up - were it a run-of-the-mill Hasbro repaint you'd probably buy it and say "hey, cool." At $13 it's not very cool - after tax and shipping, less so - but it's well-executed with nice clean paint lines and a design that doesn't feel out of place, or tacky, when compared to some of the earlier releases. (Or Hasbro's 2020 The Black Series holiday figures.) I'd say this is one of the best ones only because it's subtle, but perhaps it's too subtle - and I was also anticipating a snowman-themed BB-unit. Maybe next year!

Collector's Notes: I got this from ShopDisney.com. 

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,761: December 17, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,760: Chirrut Imwe (The Vintage Collection)

CHIRRUT IMWE (Vintage Debut)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. E9397
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #174
Includes: Staff, lightbow
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Bio: Chirrut Îmwe was a blind human born on the moon Jedha in 52 BBY. One of the Guardians of the Whills, an order of spiritual warrior-monks, he was active during the days of the Galactic Empire and worked as an itinerant preacher in Jedha City. (Stolen from Wookieepedia. There is no bio.)

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 wasn't expecting a new Chirrut Imwe figure so soon, but Hasbro thinks everybody wants more Rogue One stuff. Maybe they do - but I'd put my money on background weirdos from The Mandalorian. This is the third release of Mr. Imwe, previous figures were based on simpler, cheaper figures with less articulation and one even had a big goofy bow. They stood well and looked cool, so I didn't think we needed an upgrade - I still don't, but hey, it's good. That counts for something.

It still looks like Donnie Yen, complete with milky eye contacts and the better-than-average printed face on the pea-sized head. The lips and hair are good, and the face is consistent with his on-screen personality. He stands, but finding his center of gravity might be tough. The articulation is good, but the soft goods are a bit bulky. There's part of his robes that are plastic, too, so while you can get some good combat stances out of him he's worthless to sit in vehicles. I wish they'd pick cloth or plastic and stick with it - and lately, I wish they'd just skip the cloth when they get to be too thick. Assuming you can get him to balance once you find a pose you like, it's perfectly nice - but I wish it could be a bit more consistent with the robe materials.

Accessories are also good. It's a stick. The bow can't collapse but the perpendicular element can come off completely, which is annoying. It's sort of like Chewbacca's many bowcasters - you wish they included a dab of glue here, or joints to collapse it a bit. Deco on the accessories is very good, given the usual basis of comparison is unpainted plastic. The cane has brown weathering and silver highlights, while the lightbow has golds, browns, and silvers. It's good. You'll like it.

If you need a Chirrut, I assume this is the last 3 3/4-inch one you'll ever see until or unless Hasbro adopts them for The Retro Collection, which they should - complete with vinyl capes, given the chronology. If they can do a better one I'd be eager to see it, but for now it's fine. Maybe they'll go back and do some Blue Squadron pilots and aliens - I like Rogue One a lot, but I miss getting new characters a lot. "Do you want to buy the same guy again?" is not the kind of thing I wish Hasbro would do with their development dollars.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,760: December 15, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,759: R5-P8 (The Black Series 6-Inch)

R5-P8 (Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost)
The Black Series Galaxy's Edge Trading Outpost Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F1187
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Removable arm panels
Action Feature: Rolling wheels, retractable third leg when dome turns, opening compartments with claw and data link arms, removable arm panels
Retail: $24.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and The Clone Wars
 

Bio: R5-P8 is Hondo Ohnaka's most capable astromech and serves as an automated repair mechanic on Hondo's many starships. This sassy droid calls Hondo out on occasion, always keeping the pirate on his toes. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I like droids, and I'm glad when we get new and weird ones. R5-P8 was made in two sizes by Hasbro this year, and Disney made one a few years ago. There's also a die-cast metal one available from Disney Stores.

Comparing this toy from the models at the theme park that I've seen online - and also the cartoon - it's not particularly precise. It's good and the key landmarks are there, as the Galaxy's Edge droid lacks the blaster we saw in The Clone Wars. The crudely drawn underbite is on the dome, and looks great. The red panels closely match the prop on display, but a lot of deco elements are missing - the octagon on the front is left unpainted, the vents behind it are also left unpainted. The black box around the greeblies on the shoulders are unpainted. I don't see this as a problem, mostly because this droid is going to be bought by a lot of people who aren't able to get to the theme park any time soon.

Given the $5 upcharge, Hasbro didn't meet the low standards I have for a good exclusive. He's got a little dirt on his dome - not much - and there's no new tooling here. Hasbro could've and should've had extra paint applications for the price, but there's no room to make changes at this point. If the price is right, it's a nicely constructed droid consistent with the other robots Hasbro has released since 2013. No other 6-inch scale droid has painted teeth, and that alone makes it a fun addition to my robot shelf. I doubt we'll see them take a second crack at it. It has the rolling wheels the retractable leg, and the scuffed-up deco we want. It could be more impressive, but it's certainly good enough that I won't dump on it. I'd love to see more like this, but either at $19.99 or with more gear or more paint if it stays $24.99.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,759: December 10, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,758: Scout Trooper (Jedi: Fallen Order, The Black Series 6-Inch)

SCOUT TROOPER (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order)
The Black Series Gamestop Exclusive Gaming Greats 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: No. E9994
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, energy effect, baton
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Bio: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order features Scout Troopers, often tasked with reconnaissance or long-ranged engagements, but also capable fighters when a target gets near. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This Scout Trooper brings back the figure from last year, which brought back the figure from a few years ago, with more gear at a higher price! I'm not crazy about the 25% price increases, but I will say it's a nice figure. More than just a redeco, the figure adds a new harness, a new baton, and an energy effect. Is less paint and more gear worth $5? From Hasbro, it seems excessive - but if a fan-made upgrade pack were produced, it'd cost significantly more.

Is it worthwhile? I'd say so - the original Speeder Bike and Biker Scout set was a good deal, and the trooper figure was above par for its time. It has held up remarkably well, as the double-jointed knees and elbows are a lot more subtle. You've also got boot swivels, rocker ankles, bend-and-swivel wrists, neck joints, bicep swivels, and a grand total of at least 33 joints. While I think the visor on the helmet may be a tad large, everything else about the figure's body and design is still exceptional. The new tooling comes in the form of the weapon, and also the harness. For some reason the harness covers the torso and elements of the right arm. Is it exciting? No. But it's something. It adds some distinction to what would've just been the same guy and a stick. 

A tighter blaster holster would be nice, but I'm probably going to settle for adding a rubber band. It's also easy to miss that this is the first "clean" Biker Scout in this size, as the Archive and bike-pack-in both had a lot of dirt on them for reasons I don't quite understand. 

The new baton fits in his hands nicely, with a slightly awkward blue energy surge on the tip. It's fine. I like how it looks, particularly since the figure has good arm articulation. I hope Hasbro just keeps using this sculpt instead of retooling it, and hopefully rereleases it a few more times with slightly different changes. I am hesitant to call it "essential" because I don't know if Hasbro will crank them out again on a 40th anniversary cardback later, but if they don't, this may well be the best Return of the Jedi Biker Scout thanks to it being clean. You can snip off the harness if you like - given the price, I'd advise against it - but it's just a nice, plain, good figure. I hope you got one, especially if you liked the game.  

Collector's Notes: I got mine from GameStop.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,758: December 8, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,757: Todo 360 (The Black Series 6-Inch)

TODO 360 with Cad Bane, Hasbro Pulse Exclusive
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Yellow Star Wars: The Clone Wars Packaging Deluxe Action Figure
Item No.: No. E9634
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $29.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: The Clone Wars
Bio: Cad Bane's techno-service droid had many built-in gadgets that made him incredibly useful, but he also had an attitude to match. (Taken from the figure's surprisingly long packaging bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I can't say Todo 360 - despite being played by the always great Seth Green and having a striking design - made a big impression. We got one about 10 years ago, and for about $7.99 he came with Cad Bane. Now he's barely taller, and costs an extra $10 for the slightly larger scale. Is it worth it? No, not really. But that's what it costs, and it's neat. It's also imperfect, so there's reason to reissue it - the figure's head is missing a key decal on the back that you can barely see in the cartoon.

The figure is somewhat tiny at 2-inches tall, which means it's not a 3 3/4-inch figure, which means it shouldn't be $10. Even Baby Yoda had some accessories at $10. This one has similar articulation - ball neck, ball shoulder, ball ankles, ball hips. The elbows and wrists are too small to make jointed, but that almost doesn't matter since they put in exactly as many joints as you need to keep this pot-bellied, toaster-headed droid remain upright. I find this to be incredibly impressive - someone figured out exactly how much articulation you need to deliver the figure's ability to stand, and that's exactly what we got.

The sculpt looks just like the cartoon - the proportions seem consistent with the animation, complete with brushed metal finish. Hasbro made sure it looked good with black detailing and bright yellow eyes that pop nicely, and my guess is most people will never miss the painted detail on the back of the elongated head. From the front, it looks absolutely perfect. You believe it could be animated, and you can believe it's "realistic." The ball-jointed feet do wonders to ensuring the figure can keep upright, but we'll see how wear-and-tear plus gravity and time affect that. I'd recommend you get this set if you can, and if you can't, please join me in begging Hasbro to reissue it on a 40th anniversary-sized retro card in the blue and black 2010 style with Cad Bane for a convention or something. It'd be awesome. Let's make some people happy.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,757: December 3, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,756: Wampa (40th Anniversary, The Black Series 6-Inch)

HOTH WAMPA San Diego Comic-Con PulseCon Exclusive
The Black Series 40th Anniversary Deluxe Action Figure
Item No.: No. F0878
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $29.99
Availability: August 2020
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back
Bio: Wampas are powerful furred bipeds that dwell on the snowy wastes of the ice world Hoth. These hulking predators have razor-sharp fangs and claws, yet move with surprising stealth, relying on their white fur for camouflage while hunting prey such as tauntauns. (Taken from the figure's surprisingly long packaging bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I admit, the retro fifth-panel packaging won me over. The Hoth Wampa from the 1980s was my very first Star Wars toy - so remakes are always fun, and are always something I'm a bit critical of because they should be as good as (or better than) the original. Since 1998, Kenner and Hasbro tend to give them a couple of distinctive features like a bloodied arm stump and/or yellow urine stains. As a kid I liked the old Kenner toy even thought it was off-model, because the reference was hard to scrutinize and it's not like those pre-Return of the Jedi toys were usually 100% anyway. There were more than one Wampa costume anyway, so the triangular eyes and nose with the arrow mouth were pretty vague and glossed over the movie costumes, which sometimes looked like a Froud troll of some sort and sometimes looked like an eerily humanoid deep sea creature from some sort of snowy oblivion. By the late 1990s, Lucasfilm redid the suit and redesigned the creature with most of the toys being modeled on the 1997 redo - which I was never crazy about.

As a creature the Wampa always struck me as a really cool example of what these movies did right. Around every corner could be a horrible mysterious fate, with animals or not-yet-evolved future-sentient beings that could end your adventures really fast. The original trilogy was loaded with these kinds of threats, which seemed to diminish with the prequels and sequels and even the TV shows. Their role in the movie was cut down because - according to legend - the Echo Base scenes looked terrible, but hey - the brief glimpses we got were really something, right? Sometimes less is more, and that's why I'm sitting here talking about a snowman toy 40 years after the movie came out.

This 2020 convention Wampa is a redeco of a spectacular set from 2015. At the time, it came with Luke and cost $40 - it seemed super cheap, which Hasbro probably figured out and that's why you're paying $30 for just the Wampa this time. I am hesitant to say it's completely superior, but it is sufficiently different. The sculpt mixes up elements of previous Wampas, so its nose is a little more pronounced than the '97 suit, but it does have the blood, and of course it's got the stump. The interior of the paws is now decorated, whereas the 1997 movie version had hints of paw pads but was mostly visible fluff inside the hands. The horns and claws are a bit darker brown, much more like the original Kenner action figure, and there's more brown around the eyes and on the nose like the 1980s toy too. The yellow is toned down a bit, and the mouth blood is mercifully gone. (I never liked that.) I'm not crazy about the mouth - the 2015 version's dark interior made more sense, the 2020 one is bright pink with a brown lip outline that just doesn't seem right. I don't hate it - but it does seem strange given most mouth interiors tend to be darker, shadowy places and this is downright bright and cheery. In terms of deco, I prefer this - it may not be more accurate to the film amalgamation we got before, but it feels right. When it comes to retro toys, feeling right is sometimes more important than complete authenticity.

The sculpting is still great. It may not be my favorite modern-era wampa (that'd be the Solo-era ForceLink 2.0 Wampa [FOTD #2,485] but it's still really good. It's big and heavy, putting other deluxe $30 The Black Series figures to shame. This sucker is outright heavy compared to Zeb, Gamorreans, Moloch, Grievous, the not-so-Heavy Infantry Mandalorian, or the shockingly slight Probe Droid. This sucker is meaty and fantastic - and he's got about 25 joints with a removable right arm complete with meaty ring underneath. I would've loved it if they kept the paw-slam action of the original toy, but someone mistakenly decided that collectors don't want play features on their toys. I would very much like a silly slap mechanism, but I'll settle for things like rocker ankles, thigh swivels, and multiple torso joints expertly cut in rings of rubbery fur.

If you missed the original 6-inch scale Wampa with Luke from 2015, this is a good substitute. Well, at least it is for as long as the price is fair, it sold out quickly and I hope Hasbro considers doing another round of it and the Tauntaun for everybody that missed out. They're really good! If you have the 2015 release it might be good enough - I certainly wouldn't have gone to my grave thinking Hasbro should've given it a more Kennerian paint job - but seeing it in front of me, it's a lot better. And it's certainly better than the early test shots from 2015 which forgot to paint the horns!

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse. Thanks for your help, Seth!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,756: December 1, 2020