Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,842: Princess Leia (Endor, The Vintage Collection)

PRINCESS LEIA (Endor)
The Vintage Collection Walmart Exclusive Action Figures
Item No.: No. F3114
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #191
Includes: Helmet, blaster, belt, poncho
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.93
Availability: July 2021
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Leia Organa was a Force-sensitive human female political and military leader who served in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Imperial Era and the New Republic and Resistance in the subsequent New Republic Era. (Stolen from Wookieepedia. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: As The Vintage Collection marches on, the line has outlived its inpiration. Princess Leia (Endor) is a revision of a figure from 2007, and while some fans bemoan her release 14 years after the debut, it's important to put it in context. The original Kenner Leia Endor Combat Poncho figure came out in 1984, and Kenner's POTF2 (or, the 1990s The Power of the Force series) hit stores in 1997 - 13 years later. In 1997, she didn't seem like it was a "too soon" thing and 13 years was considered an eternity as a generation of kids grew up with the movies in VHS and the toys in garage sales or flea markets. While a new mold would have been nice, it was absolutely time to bring her back.

The packaging is similar to the 1984 original (and 2007 The Vintage Collection release, with the figure's colors looking like a bit more of how you remember her in the movie. The 2021 package is in the somewhat ugly global packaging, where "4+" replaces "Ages 4 and up" and the SKU is replaced by a "50 Lucasfilm Ltd." graphic which I think you're supposed to like. On any modern design I think it would be a great flourish, but on something meant to mimic a 1984 release - one that has the helmet separated in a separate compartment, to boot - it seems like a misfire. The fact that they changed her name from "Princess Leia Organa in Combat Poncho" to "Princess Leia (Endor)" also is sort of a shrug. The photo was composited differently as well, and the faux chrome doesn't quite match the original. But that's to be expected.

The figure is repainted, with things like her sleeves in a greener color and her head getting that photoreal makeover all the cool toys are getting. It's not bad - she looks a little less waxy and more lifelike, with more believable eyes and a hairline that's.... well, it's just as good. Some of the reissues got all-new heads with separately molded hair elements, but this was not one of them.

Her belt and holster is recolored in black (instead of brown) and her new helmet is smaller and fits her much better than the oversized reused piece from a few years ago. The blaster fits in her holster nicely, and the articulation is pretty good for 2007 but unremarkable for 2021. 20 points of articulation sounds like a lot, but other than her ankles, she's about as poseable as the Spin Master Batman and Jurassic Park humans in the same scale. And those are about eight bucks, and brand-new molds, often with more and bigger accessories.

While the helmet is a necessary improvement, the real reason to buy her is the poncho. It's brighter and greener, less muddy than the 2007 release. It looks more like how you remember her from the movie, and is a bit closer to the 1984 action figure. Even though Hasbro didn't make you an all-new head, this is a figure that's mostly about the helmet and poncho - and those are absolutely brought up to modern standards. If the opportunity presents itself, get this one. Especially if it's still $13 when you find it. Adjusted for inflation, if the figure were $4 in 1984 it would be about $11 today. The 2007 release was about $10 if memory serves, which puts it at $13.10. Granted, there's no tooling to pay off this time so it could be cheaper, but that's a whole different rant and I want to bid you good day.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,842: July 29, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,841: Grand Admiral Thrawn (The Black Series 6-Inch)

GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN 2017 Mainline Release
The Force Awakens The Black Series 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: Asst. B3834 No. C1774
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #47
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: September 2017
Appearances: Star Wars: Rebels

Bio: When Governor Pryce of Lothal wanted a stronger commander to dismantle the rebellion, the Empire answered with Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn was a male Chiss, with striking blue skin, red eyes, and an angular face, known for his brilliant strategic mind and ruthlessness. (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: Variant hunters will be cranky to know three flavors of Grand Admiral Thrawn exist. The first was a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive that left off the silver paint around his rank badge - but it comes with all kinds of accessories, making it unique. There's also an Archive version with different face paint. This is probably the least essential of the three, but it's the one that the most people are likely to have.

As a realistic interpretation of an animated design inspired by a character from a novel, the bar for success is incredibly low. Thankfully, there's not much to gripe about - Hasbro picked a good reference for the head sculpt (whoever it was), the hair looks great, and sharing the same general Imperial Officer parts and pieces means you can't really screw this one up. Thrawn is a gift to toy manufacturers because perfection isn't actually necessary to provide a good figure. All he has to do is be engineered well, colored properly, and stand - and he does all of these things nicely. Old-school fans may be annoyed by the slight differences in appearance from the previous action figures or the comics, but for a character that survived oblivion-by-retcon, he's marvelous. I still recommend it for any Gen Xer fans who are still here, or anyone who dug those early relaunch novels. It's not like Doctor Who or Star Trek showers this kind of love on the fans of their expanded universe materials!

Sharing parts with Grand Moff Tarkin, Admiral Motti, Admiral Rampart, and General Veers, Thrawn is one of those figures that got to exist thanks to his appearances on Star Wars: Rebels after debuting in the decanonized Heir to the Empire novel and its sequels. That's why the uniform looks different - while it is still white, the epaulets have been replaced by gold bands on his shoulders. You also got a variant skirt with a holster for his blaster, which his a nice touch. Sadly no ysalamiri was included, but one just came out in 2021 with a Luke figure. Unsurprisingly, Thrawn sold incredibly well and like most new figures of characters over 25 years old, proved to be tough to find during his initial offering. (And 2021 reissue.)

Typical of 2017 figures, Thrawn has double-jointed knees, a skirt that blocks hip movement, and elbows that bend just a little better than 90 degrees. In other words, he's good! The pistol fits in his hand or holster without any fuss, and the uniform looks great. You get the Rebels series-inspired flourishes on the neck and shoulders, but aside from that he's the same blue-skinned, red-eyed Thrawn we've come to know and love since 1991.

If you can get a Thrawn - this one, or one of the other editions - I recommend it highly. He's also kind of expensive these days, so keep that in mind if you spot one at a toy show, garage sale, or dusty shelf in an old comic shop.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,841: July 27, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,840: Luke Skywalker (Heir to the Empire, The Black Series 6-Inch)

LUKE SKYWALKER & Ysalamiri
The Black Series Publishing - Shared Exclusive
Item No.: No. F3006
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, Ysalamiri (for Thrawn)
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: May 2021
Appearances: Dark Horse Comics

Bio: Five years after the destruction of the Death Star, Luke Skywalker fears there is no hope as the remnants of the Imperial fleet are readied for war under the command of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Using ysalamiri to sever a developing Jedi clone's connection to the Force allowed mentally stable Jedi clones to be created - a discovery Thrawn would use in his war against Luke Skywalker and the New Republic. (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: I was expecting to dump on Luke Skywalker & Ysamiri but it turns out it's good! Sure it's a repaint of last year's Dagobah Training figure with a different lightsaber and one new accessory. But it does closely mimic the reference material (Dark Horse Comics' cover of Heir to the Empire which used The Empire Strikes Back stills as a model) and it's engineered well. I'd have preferred they either match the cover exactly (blue blade) or update things to what Luke looked like canonically (ROTJ-ish head), but this is pretty good.

Luke is, as I said, the same as last year - which is good. Now black instead of brown, the Jedi master-to-be can still stand perfectly with arms that look great and can be easily posed to grip his lightsaber. The legs hide the joints nicely, and can swing forward with no fuss. There's very little paint to speak of - this was a very cheap figure to produce, so I'm not crazy about the mark-up - but it's perfect. Everything about him just works - the legs bend nicely, there are no belts or cloaks in the way, and I immediately got him balanced and standing on my desk without a fight. It's almost nothing like Hasbro's other super-articulated figures which generally had fussy joints and would typically fall over if not leaned against something.

The lightsaber is his green-bladed Return of the Jedi rebuild - he holds it well, and the silver hilt has cleanly painted gold and black trim. Short of actually making it light up through some alchemy, I don't know how they could have done much to improve it. It's great. It's also very amusing because this is, for all intents and purposes, Luke from an alternate timeline to his appearance in The Mandalorian. (It's been seven months, spoiler gloves were off around February.) The one thing the old Expanded Universe and Disney agree on is that Luke was clearly in a goth phase after he burned his dad's corpse and helped take down the space government.

Also included is the Force-bubble-pushing ysalamiri, and this is his debut in this size. Of note, he was not sculpted to fit Luke - rather, this figure was designed to rest on Grand Admiral Thrawn's shoulders. (Since he shares parts with Motti, Piett, and Tarkin, he'll fit them just fine as well.) Luke's frame is a little too small. Our lizard alien pal has four eyes and no articulation, with Hasbro painting him lightly so the sculpted detail pops out a little bit. It's a nice extra, and since Hasbro rarely releases a figure with an accessory specifically for another, older figure, this is something I'm happy to commend. Luke's good, but if you already bought Thrawn you're going to want this set just for the lizard. He just curls around the neck and hangs out nicely, copying the look Oliver Vatine drew in the comic books a few decades ago.

While Luke does look young, and the comic look of these characters aren't everybody's favorites, you can't deny Hasbro did a staggeringly competent job with these figures. Usually I have something to nitpick - and I guess I kind of do with Luke's head - but it's still excellent. Hasbro picked one of its best molds to repaint, and engineered the accessory to perfectly fit an existing figure. It's a fun toy. Everything works. I'm happy. Get this one if you have a crack at it.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,840: July 22, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,839: C2-B9 (Droid Depot Line Look)

C2-B9 Disney Parks Exclusive
Droid Depot Droid Depot Droids boxed set
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $49.99
Availability: ??? 2020
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge
Bio: C2-B9 was an R-series astromech droid manufactured by Industrial Automaton. It at some point served in the palace of Jabba Desilijic Tiure on the planet Tatooine. (Taken from Wookieepedia. Box has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Not a member of D-Squad - but he has the upgrade markings! C2-B9 is another fixture at Galaxy's Edge, and he got a figure for reasons I need to find out. It's a good figure! It's not one I would have selected to exist, but I love the coloring and it's pretty close to the prop minus a few tweaks. The somewhat weathered deco comes across pretty well, and the quasi-Creamsicle orange with oranger bits and the caution tape all add up to a distinctive robot. It also looks a bit like Hasbro's R5-A2 droid, one of the build-a-droid figures.

Molded in orange, the head has white and silver trim around the neck and special weathering painted running down the three eyes. There are hints of flaking-off paint added around the head, and it translated nicely to plastic. There's even a dark orange ring circling the head. The top of the dome has white panel lines and dark orange pie slices, giving it a look of a 1980s plastic orange juice container. I like it.

The body is molded in white with abundant painted detail. There's a big orange swipe on the back that looks bizarre, but cool - I've not seen anything else like it on a droid. On top of that is some weathering, which is some of the absolute best weathering deco I've seen out of Disney. The front has some as well, but the back is absolutely stunning - it's better than any other droid I've had. The front is no slouch, with grimy orange paint also covered in dirt. I think the dirty deco is more impressive on the figure than on the prop photos, and the caution box is a little smaller than on the actual prop - but it's remarkably good. I would've expected Disney to trim some of the deco, but it's easy to see a bunch of opportunities for detail to show off just how far figure paint has come.

On the body, I mean. The legs aren't quite as good - you can see white panels missing on the feet, with white panels on the center of each prop foot completely missing on the toy. Some orange is also missing on the middle part of the legs, the sides of the figure are white rather than orange. There's less weathering on the toy than on the prop, but it's not like it's a huge deal. The colors match nicely, and it certainly is good enough to make the figure look better-than-average because the body and head do much of the heavy lifting here. There are no wires on the feet, and there's some nice weathering over the orange spots that don't show up particularly well unless you're looking at them under bright light.

If you don't have an orange R5-style droid, this is the one for you. Get the set, you'll like it. Unless you have too many figures, in which case there's not much to say other than this is one of Disney's better droids. I think it helps that we get fewer robot floods, so Disney does a better job on the ones we do get. Now where the heck can I buy a R2-RNBW dagnabbit?

Collector's Notes: I got this from eBay for about $63 delivered. I was not happy to overpay by $13, but after tax and shipping, it wasn't too bad. It's still cheaper than paying the theme park parking rate were I still relatively local.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,839: July 20, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,838: Remnant Stormtrooper (The Retro Collection)

REMNANT STORMTROOPER Kenner Style
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F2845
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, board game you can sell
Action Feature: Drops blaster
Retail: $49.99
Availability: December 2020
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: A remnant of the fallen Galactic Empire led by Moff Gideon was active in the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories during the time of the New Republic. (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: The Remnant Stormtrooper is a completely brilliant idea for a retail release! But it wasn't one - this awesome army builder was originally shared between Hasbro Pulse and Shop Disney as an exclusive pack-in to a more expensive Monopoly game. Later, it was opened up to Entertainment Earth and other stores which do not pay my salary.

If you got the Stormtrooper [FOTD #2,621] from Target or Entertainment Earth a few years ago, it's the same basic figure, but it looks like it has some mildew on it. This is probably not how Kenner would have done battle damage in the 1980s, but there's also no precedent. Ships of that era just had stickers you applied, and figures were largely just clean. Jabba the Hutt had some spray on him, and this figure's damage is sort of like that. Is it worth $50 for a $10 figure and some paint (and a game?) Probably not. But I really like the Kenner style and wanted the official release, so I bought it.

Articulation is same as the 2019 (and 1978-1985) release, with arms you can swivel forward and legs you can swing forward. He can stand fairly well and sit just fine. He has some difficulty gripping his blaster, but some of the older Kenner figures do. (I just pulled out my Thall Joben and Kea Moll and they can't hold theirs to save their lives.) The Stormtrooper can hold it somewhat acceptably, but I may boil some water to see if I can make the fingers better than they presently are.

If you wanted a retro Stormtrooper, this is one. This is probably a "completists only" release given its high original price and somewhat absurd secondary market price (people were paying $90 for the figure when the game with the figure still sold for $50), and I hope Hasbro considers releasing it alone or in a multi-pack. I'd love to buy a few of this guy, but at $50 a whack I'm just not interested in owning more than one. For the Kenner loyalist, you owe it to yourself to get this one. But if you're not crazy, save your money.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse (sold out as of my writing this) but supposedly still orderable at Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,838: July 15, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,837: Anakin Skywalker (The Clone Wars, The Black Series 6-Inch)

ANAKIN SKYWALKER Clone Wars 6-Inch Retro Style
The Black Series The Clone Wars Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Collection - Target Exclusive
Item No.: No. F2809
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: May 2021
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: Anakin Skywalker was a legendary human male Jedi Knight of the Galactic Republic and the prophesied Chosen One of the Jedi Order, destined to bring balance to the Force. (Taken from Wookieepedia. Package has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: The retooled Anakin Skywalker took the Attack of the Clones mold and made some neat modifications while slapping it on an upsized 2008-style cardback. This figure seemed to come and go immediately, and I hope more are on the way - you're going to want one of these. It's really cool.

Our Jedi hero uses elements of the arms and legs from the previously released Attack of the Clones Jedi Anakin with a great new head, new armor, a new torso, and some new hands. And I think a new shoulder. The lightsaber sort of awkwardly plugs in the belt, and the construction is a little strange. If you collected Masters of the Universe Classics - which frequently had a soft rubber shell over a body - it's like that. It's a little bulky and awkward, but it still looks decent enough and gives you the Darth Vader-like silhouette (sans cape) you need and want.

Since I'm a fan of the TV shows - the ones that aren't Resistance - I'm pleased that this figure turned out well. The elbows are cut fairly well, bending slightly more than 90 degrees with bend-and-swivel wrists and those fancy shoulders that can pivot forward a bit. You can get some decent double-handed lightsaber poses, and the clamshell robes block some robe movement - but since they had some cloth and strategic vinyl cutting, you can still squeeze a few decent duel poses out of this one. The rubbery skirt has a decent amount of flex to it, and the design seems to hit most of the key markers of the outfit from the cartoon. The belt has some nice gear, the gloves look right, and the face... well, the face is acceptable. It's not quite Hayden, and it's not quite as harsh and angular as the face on the show. It's very much Anakin but the eyes don't seem quite as dark, so it's a decent take on the character. It's also a little odd to see the figure walk the tightrope between live-action and a cartoon, resulting in something that will delight some fans and annoy others. I would have absolutely loved to see an upsized cartoon-style figure just once, but it might be bad to further splinter the various action figure lines with yet another style within a scale.

I love how his neck and head can pivot, and the costume's colors look like a semi-realistic take on the popular CG outfit. If this were a main line figure, you'd buy it. Heck, it's great, and I was thrilled to stumble on it at Target. This may be one of the very best Anakin figures we've had in this scale. It's also not from the movies, which you may see as a pro or a con. History seems to be favoring the cartoons over the prequels, and I can see why - there are great costumes, wonderful aliens, and most importantly, a heck of a lot more stories. I hope Hasbro releases more of this one - even in a different box - so you hopefully have a chance to easily get one. It's absolutely cool enough to justify spending a few bucks, but not overspending. There are too many figures to buy thees days to warrant a secondary market premium for most of them.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target. And I hope I can find Echo and Obi-Wan some day.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,837: July 13, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,836: FN-2187 (Finn Stormtrooper, The Force Awakens)

FN-2187 Finn
The Force Awakens Desert and Snow Figures
Item No.: Asst. B3963 No. B6339
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: "Combine" gun, blaster, helmet
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: January 2016
Appearances: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Bio: After his first taste of combat during a brutal First Order night assault on a Jakku village, stormtooper FN-2187 defects from Kylo Ren's forces, becoming a fugitive.. (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 sat on FN-2187 for quite some time - well, it hung on a peg over my desk since 2016. Which is a shame, it's a good figure and probably should have been the first figure released in the line. It would've been a good Sneak Preview figure, had Hasbro still done those things. It's kind of fun to look at these figures later, with decent quality figures and a few oddball decisions that look even weirder in context.

The body is fundamentally the same as all the 3 3/4-inch First Order stormtroopers, which means it stands well, sits well, has a place to plug a blaster in the thigh, but can't sit. The legs don't swing forward all the way, so it's a rotten vehicle pilot - but if you need someone to stand at a cannon, he's great. The arms have no problems swinging forward, and the ball-jointed head is just the right size so the helmet slips on without too much friction. Having reviewed thousands of these things, it's kind of surprising to know that every figure you buy is something of a coin toss as to if the accessories will fit, or if the legs can be positioned in a way to fit in the vehicles. Kenner pretty much hit them out of the park in the 1970s and most of the 1980s, although I will say there's no question that the sculpting is a lot better on these newer guys.

The Finn head likeness is good, and the blaster is a little loose in the plug - if you knock it, it'll fall out. Thankfully the helmet is more or less perfect, and if you just want a cool figure to stand on your desk - or stay on the card - it's amazing. The big cannon accessory is kind of dopey, and looking back on it, they're especially maddening. We got charged extra for these things. Sometimes less is more, but Hasbro was probably also wise to sell a figure at a higher price point at the time because the mania in 2015 was so high that people would likely have paid $10 just to get something new. That's one of the things I don't much love about the hobby - the prices seem to be somewhat fluid based on hype and availability. It wasn't a great impulse price point at the time, but when you can convince fans to line up at midnight to buy toys, such things really don't matter a whole heck of a lot. It's a great figure. It's no the best toy.

One of my go-to tests for "is this a good toy?" has been "can it pilot an old Kenner Landspeeder?" and in this case, the answer is "barely." I just fit him in the MTV-7 Mini-Rig I keep on my desk, and he can pilot it - but he's leaning back a lot. The figure ticks the boxes of what you need for a good action figure, but I think with better hips it would be superb. As it is, it's just OK - but since it's from the new trilogy, you're probably not going to care about this figure for another ten, maybe fifteen years as the kids who grew up on this trilogy may later decide to collect these things.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,836: July 8, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,835: 4-LOM (Droid Factory Line Look / Droid Depot)

4-LOM Disney Parks Exclusive
Star Wars Droid Depot
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney?
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $12.99
Availability: October 2020
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back
Bio: All different types of droids populate the galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. A rusty droid with insectile features, 4-LOM was originally a protocol droid, but logic glitches allowed him to escape his programming and become a bounty hunter. That proved a perfect occupation. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Since Star Wars as a toy line has been around for about 43 action figure-filled years - plus or minus 1986-1994, depending on where you lived - it is not wholly surprising we're seeing reruns. The last 4-LOM figure from this size was from Hasbro in 2010 (and that was a convention exclusive, prior to that was 2007.) That means the last time a kid could walk into a store somewhere in the USA and see this droid may have been born around 2003, or maybe 2004, meaning no kid under 18 has likely had a crack at 4-LOM in a store at a decent price. It's very easy to forget just how much time has passed, and why Disney would want to take its build-a-droid tooling and whip out something kids, fans, and collectors might recognize and want to buy. Also, it's good.

Due to lighting and dubious reference photos, a lot of figures which we previously bought as "definitive" are being revisited on the regular. This figure is more in line with rcent figures from the likes of Sideshow, which is a departure from Hasbro's and Gentle Giant's older takes on the figure. (It's also a bit different than The Black Series figure, which has more silver on its head.) Which is right? Heck if I know anymore. This is the whole "Han's jacket is blue! No brown! No black!" thing, but it's getting spread over more and more characters. I can't tell you if it's true to the movie anymore - but I can tell you that the figure looks good, and is sufficiently different from all of Hasbro's 3 3/4-inch offerings to make it worth your while.

The basic build-a-droid body is more or less black, with less rusty than Hasbro's releases. It's subtle and restrained, so it stands out more - I dare say it looks a lot better. Part of the figure seem slightly glossy, and the big compound eyes look better on this figure than on any Hasbro release in this size. The gold "mesh" over the green looks gorgeous, with tons of tiny, hard-to-properly-paint applications showing just how far we've come since the last time one of these was in stores. (Hasbro more or less nailed it - with clear green, as a bonus - for the 6-inch figure a few years ago.) Disney 4-LOM has no problems sitting or standing. You can pose him, and tear off his limbs.

I was kind of beating myself up for paying around $20 for one of these on eBay, but it's not bad. ($13, + tax, + shipping, + my not going to a theme park.) I would be furious if it were $20 at Target, but $20 delivered to my door seems reasonable for a figure that seems sufficiently different and like a big improvement. This will likely be your go-to 4-LOM, replacing all your Hasbro figures that aren't intentionally done in the incorrect Kenner deco. You don't necessarily need it, but for those of you wanting something new, or shiny, or possibly the very best, I assume the specially painted rust lines, the red swoosh, the glossy plastic, and the obscenely intricate eyes will be enough to push you over the edge. Hasbro's does have better shoulder joints, but I'm also at a point where a good figure is a good figure is a good figure. If it looked this good and had 5 joints, I'd be happy, but to be effectively what would be two joints short of super articulated is good enough for me.

Collector's Notes: I got this from eBay.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,835: July 6, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,834: Enfys Nest (The Vintage Collection)

ENFYS NEST Easy for you to say
The Vintage Collection Action Figures
Item No.: Asst. E0370 No. E1645
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #125
Includes: Electroripper staff, wrist blades
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: August 2018
Appearances: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Bio: Enfys Nest was a human female resistance fighter who led the Cloud-Riders, a band of pirates and rebel group that fought against the crime syndicate, Crimson Dawn. (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: A few months after a vehicle pack-in figure ($20 for the bike and the figure), we got a The Vintage Collection take on Enfys Nest! The good news: it's an improvement. The bad news - it doesn't have a removable helmet so you can see the character's face, so it's something of a lateral move. The earlier release was good enough to pilot a bike, so this new one has other positive qualities. The lined cape is very cool, the deco is improved, and of course you'll get more than 25 points of articulation.

When you pick up the TVC release, it's easy to see more color in the lined cape, the chest armor, and even on the boots. Added red stripes around the ankles and a slightly more off-white finish give it a look slightly closer to the movie. It's not perfect, but it's good for a figure that was in production prior to the release of its very troubled movie. And it feels rushed.

She has no problems holding her spear, but I'm not getting great poses out of the figure. The fanning-out gauntlet parts fall off with minimal provocation, which I dislike. They're also missing the stripes that appear on the middle of the feathery bits. The helmet deco could benefit greatly from a total repaint, but other than that, it's a pretty decent looking figure to live in a cardback or to stand on a shelf. The cloth cape is praiseworthy, but I don't think that this kind of hip articulation (or indeed, the articulation of these figures on the whole) lend themselves to being good toys. Compared to the 5POA figures - which just work - this one requires a lot of fidgeting, so if your idea of an ideal figural interaction is trying to find its center of gravity without knocking off any pieces, you're going to love it.

In an alternate timeline we would've had her appear in a Solo sequel or streaming series by now - heck, maybe she will reappear as the actress was also on Disney's payroll still for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - but I wouldn't be stunned if we never saw another 3 3/4-inch figure of this character. This figure stood on my desk for months because I struggled to find something interesting to say about it. It looks good, but it's not perfect. It has a lot of articulation, but it ultimately doesn't serve the figure in a fun or interesting way. It remains the better of the Enfys Nest figures in this size, but again I would absolutely love to see Hasbro revisit this movie in a Kenner style at some point. (Or every movie, with maybe 12-20 figures per, would be a hoot.) She costs a bit more than she did three years ago, but given how absolutely everything has been skyrocketing you may find it worthwhile just buying her at a reasonable small mark-up until/unless she gets a return to the market.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,834: July 1, 2021