Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,827: Greef Karga (The Retro Collection)

GREEF KARGA Kenner Style
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F0937 No. F2025
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, vinyl cape
Action Feature: Blaster fits in holster loop
Retail: $9.99
Availability: April 2021
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: Greef Karga was a human male and former disgraced magistrate before becoming an agent of the Bounty Hunters' Guild following the collapse of the Galactic Empire. (Stolen from Wookieepedia. Packaging has 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 assume the fact that Greef Karga comes in his season two gear, while pretty much everybody else is dressed for season one, is a Disney issue. (The Vintage figure was also in this costume. That's why you don't remember it either.) Both make use of a simplified version of the costume and different facial hair... and it doesn't look quite as good as the 6-inch head. But do things ever?

Like Gideon, Karga has a vinyl cape - and I would say the cape looks good here. There's no cloth analog for Greef's cloth robes that would probably look great, Hasbro would have to probably develop something new and we'd complain about it. Or, they'd have to do something like The Emperor or Anakin Skywalker... and then we'd complain about that. Given how the robes hang, the goofy piece of vinyl folded over makes a lot of sense. It could stand to be longer, but authenticity is not what makes Kenner figures interesting - it's the errors that make them fun.

The quilted gloves look a bit like the Hoth Kenner figures - a little bulkier than the costume - and the boots are brown, rather than black. I'm not sure if that's how Kenner would do it, but it looks good, so I have no complaints. The buckle is painted gold, and the chest piece has a whopping five colors! That's a lot of detail, what with his shirt and vest and pants and belt and everything. His head has three colors, which seems a good choice when I look at all my old Kenner toys. There's not much to complain about here, other than you have to take the cape off to get him to sit in a vehicle.

I like the blaster. It seems like a deformed version of the TVC blaster, with some elements resized and enlarged. Also the trigger guard is gone. You know, typical Kenner stuff. They did a good job, and I was pleased to see you can shove it in the loop on the figure's holster too. Greef Karga has no problems holding the blaster either, Hasbro did a much better job with the fingers than Kenner usually did. I pulled out some of my Droids humans lately, and I forgot just how rotten Kea Moll's fingers were. Thall Joben's aren't very good either.

I'd love to see a Season One Greef Karga in this format with the mustache and the other costume - but this one is good, too. Cara Dune from season one and Greef from season two means they're not quite a perfect match, which is a pity. And also a very Kenner thing to do. (I mean we didn't get Slave Leia in the format ever, but we had a place for her in a playset.) If you see this figure on shelves, buy it. Better yet, buy the whole case so you can just get everybody - they're all good and neat, occupying a weird place between being art pieces and also some of the better actual toys Hasbro has produced. There's really no reason to skip this one.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,827: June 15, 2021