Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,886: Darth Vader (Skywalker Saga, Gold)

DARTH VADER with Stormtrooper
Skywalker Saga Commemorative Collection Walmart Exclusive 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure 2-Pack
Item No.: Asst. E8177 No. E8183
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, blaster
Action Feature: n/
Retail: $14.92
Availability: October 2019
Appearances: Star Wars
Bio: Once a heroic Jedi Knight, Darth Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force, became a Sith Lord, and led the Empire’s eradication of the Jedi Order. (Taken from marketing copy. 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: When I first saw The Rise of Skywalker line, I knew things were going south. This Darth Vader figure is evidence of what's more or less wrong with the series over the last few years - on one hand, it's an easy-to-make gold repaint of a 2016 Rogue One mold. But Hasbro did a whopping nine of these packs, some of which are better than others. There were a handful of silver figures from about 2002-2006 too, but I think that grand total was maybe six figures. Walmart sold 19 golden figures in a couple of months, and if you like the whole gold thing, they're neat. Otherwise you can add them to the pile of Carbonized Metallic figures, Holiday Edition figures, Prototype Edition figures, and other things that are more in line with typical collector's edition fare - things Hasbro largely eschewed for the bulk of the toy line's history. Kenner did as well - repaints for the sake of repaints were rare, usually there was prior art or a story purpose for those droids, clones, or other repaints. (Even the 2002-2010ish holiday edition figures largely had precedent in existing holiday cards.)

This is a good set to leave in the package. (The Stormtrooper's neck peg immediately sheared off. More on that when that review comes.) Vader's joints are nice and smooth, but the gold paint is already sticking to itself. Limbs are sticking to the cape, and I assume the lightsaber's gold paint will stick to the hands over time - matte silver paint does not typically age well. I do love how it highlights just how much work went into the figure's sculpt, but curiously the gold also highlights the problems. Darth Vader's nose has an indentation that is pushed in too far, and it's made painfully obvious now that the black, shadowed area is brightly colored. You'll love seeing the folds and wrinkles in the costume, though - but I assume this figure is going to look terrible with any sort of touch as the cape flexes and joints move over time. I already see parts on the figure where the cape stuck to the body, and you can see pock marks of where they got stuck together.

I generally don't have a big problem with weird figures, but this one came out at a time when we were being told "kid line figures" weren't viable and it seemed Hasbro was intent on producing lines that were redundant, repetitive, and generally lacking in important things like the title character of a movie. Along with the Celebrate the Saga multipacks, these gold figures were the end of what should have been a much better cap on a mountain of toys. Hasbro doing hundreds of dollars worth of "just like the figure you have, but splattered/shinier" figures at once has made the hunt less and less enjoyable. It's one thing to drive around to get a figure you really wanted, but it's even worse when it is most likely something you didn't want in the first place - but recognize that if you don't have it, your collection may forever be incomplete, and then you're staring down if this matters to you or not. And who wants to have that level of introspection while shopping for toys? Not me, that's for sure.

For the die-hard fan who never opens a figure, I think this is a good set to leave packaged. I would emphatically advice against getting it to open unless your entire design on this collection is to open them, place them on a shelf, and never, ever touch them again. The gold paint looks cool but it's just not going to age well. It is, however, interesting in that it's one of very few Hasbro figures completely coated in paint - typically there are elements with exposed bare plastic. The only non-silver, non-gold 2-pack exceptions might be the various vac-metal C-3PO figures we've had over the years and those by and large held up better than Vader has after a mere fifty seconds out of the package.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. These sets were initially Walmart exclusives.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,886: December 30, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,885: The Emperor (The Vintage Collection)

THE EMPEROR Old Sculpt
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. F1902
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #200
Includes: Energy bolts, cane, hood, robe
Action Feature: n/
Retail: $13.99
Availability: October 2021
Appearances: Return of the Jedi
Bio: Scheming, powerful, and evil to the core, Emperor Palpatine restored the Sith and destroyed the Jedi Order. (Taken from marketing copy. 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 feel like I say "this is a weird one" a lot. This The Emperor figure is meant to be an update of the 1984 figure... and the funny thing, it's an update of a 2005 figure. This is the Revenge of the Sith Evolution figure with a new robe. The head is pretty much the same (PulseCon got a really nice new sculpt for the throne version), but you get some hands with short lightning and a cane too. So Hasbro gets to cash in on 16-year-old tooling, and because the robes are a bit improved (I think) most fans will not recognize the body sculpt is a reissue.

I didn't like the head sculpt before. Slicked-back hair and visible teeth were very, shall we say, extreme? Even for the time this was a stylized choice, and on a vintage cardback it just looks sort of like someone did a swap-out. The hood is nice, the face paint is fine, but the face says "I am from one shot of the movie and not a good all-purpose Emperor figure." The make-up is exceptionally well-painted, given that the figure has very little paint elsewhere I assume they could put the entire budget into the head - including painted hair you may never actually see. They did a nice job with the task at hand.

The joints are tight, and it's very good for a figure of that (ha ha) vintage - ball-jointed knees and elbows were all the rage, so he can sit on a throne if you got one. Also keep in mind, way back in 2005 the idea of getting super-articulated Star Wars figures was a new thing - our first one was a late-2003 Clone Trooper, followed by three waves of the very first Vintage Original Trilogy Collection in 2004 and 2005. (And some of them had only swivel joints, with C-3PO having 5 total - one fewer than his 1995 figure!) These "Evolutions" figures were the Vintage follow-up and were the standard collectors expected from then on (and did not get, by and large, for quite some time.) It just goes to show you that you can use really good designs for a long time, but I also went back in my old toy vault and was very happy with the 1997 Jedi Final Duel Emperor Palpatine (on the throne, no moving legs) and the 1997 carded Emperor Palpatine (basically a salt shaker with arms.) This is nice too, but getting the robes to look perfect is kind of tricky - that's cloth for you. The molded plastic ones limit your options, but look good. Which is better? Well, you decide. (Plastic. The answer is plastic.)

Carded fans may like this figure, as it looks good in this presentation. Openers may prefer the PulseCon version, which I will post here shortly. But it's a nice Emperor if you don't have one, and certainly not any worse than the many, many previous releases to use this mold. It may well be the best figure that uses this tooling, but after 16 years, it really ought to be. I'm just unexcited due to its "more of the same"-ness.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,885: December 28, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,884: AT-ST Driver (The Vintage Collection)

AT-ST DRIVER Photoreal Richard Marquand Edition
The Vintage Collection Walmart Exclusive Action Figures
Item No.: No. F3115
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #190
Includes: Blaster, harness, helmet
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.93
Availability: July 2021
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: AT-ST Drivers control the two-legged transports used by Imperials in both the Battle of Hoth and the Battle of Endor. (Stolen from Walmart's ordering page. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This AT-ST Driver sat next to my desk for months before opening it - I just wasn't in a rush, and since Walmart didn't sell out if it, apparently you weren't either. This figure is a redeco of a retool - the mold is over 10 years old, but this particular version uses a Richard Marquand head - which debuted later as a Kmart exclusive - and gives it photoreal paint. It's pretty essential as the only "vintage" carded AT-ST Driver, and if you take the helmet off it's a really nice Richard Marquand head you can use for your Jagged Edge making-of dioramas.

For a modified figure that's over 10 years old, this is excellent. It's a super-articulated body (pre-weird hip joints) so you get 22 points of articulation. The sculpt is nice and clean, but what I love about this one is that even though the legs are sculpted apart when he's standing, they swing forward and get closer together. He just slides right in the AT-ST's seat with zero fuss. That's a perfect pilot figure right there! It helps that he also has swivel wrists and jointed elbows, so you can get some pretty good poses out of somebody whose sole purpose is to occupy a seat in a small box on stilts. This is a well-made toy figure that is also a nice figure for collectors.

As mentioned before you could buy him at Kmart in a 2-pack, but this one is an upgrade - the head has pretty good photoreal paint that seems to shave a few years off the director of the third movie. He looks good! Not much else to say - but if you disagree, you can leave the helmet on. It slides off and on easily with the chin strap not getting in the way, which is in and of itself a notable feat. Sometimes it's a nuisance, here it's a joy.

Considering that this is an older figure brought back to market, it holds up remarkably well. It does everything I want a pilot figure to do, plus it has a secret cameo by the film's director. There's even an Imperial cog on the shoulder. What more could you ask for? Vintage packaging - and you got that too. If for some reason you missed this one, and he's still available, he's worth the $13. There's probably little chance of them making a more perfect and easy-to-use pilot for your vehicles, and it's a great example of them looking in their tooling library and saying "this is as good as it's going to get."

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,884: December 23, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,883: Obi-Wan Kenobi (The Black Series)

OBI-WAN KENOBI Sixth Redeco and/or Release
The Black Series 50th Anniversary The Power of the Force Line Look
Item No.: No. F1266
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Cloak, lightsaber (PulseCon set includes Ponda Baba, Dr. Evazan, bar, glassware)
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $104.99
Availability: November 2021
Appearances: Star Wars: A New Hope

Bio: On the run from Imperial stormtroopers, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker enter the seedy Mos Eisley Cantina in hopes of finding swift passage to the planet Alderaan. Inside, among the gallery of criminals are the murderous Dr. Evazan and the brutal Ponda Baba - both of whom are thirsty for a fight with Skywalker. Reaching for their blasters, the villains are suddenly cut off from Luke by the pulsating blaze of Obi-Wan's lightsaber! Will Obi-Wan triumph and save the Rebellion's only hope? (Taken from the single figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab. Sample pictured is from the Cantina Showdown PulseCon 3-pack.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: This is a good figure, but at this point you have to roll your eyes a little bit. I think these 50th anniversary items were a cute idea with poor distribution, lots of repetition, bizarre price increases (surge pricing, perhaps?) and other issues make some of them frustrating. This Obi-Wan Kenobi is the sixth release of this same figure sculpt - he was sold on a 40th anniversary cardback, a Black Series red and black box, and also sold as a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive with furniture from his house. This is his second entry in the 50th Anniversary line, the previous one being the vinyl cape "Kenner" deco as an Amazon exclusive. Oh, and I almost forgot the Spirit of Obi-Wan from Walgreens.

Were it not for COVID-19, this Obi-Wan figure would have been a SDCC exclusive twice over. While there are changes to his face deco and cloak, there's really no way to sugarcoat how boring some of this can get. Hasbro did include bar sections (and two first-to-market figures) to sweeten the deal, but each is a $22.99 retail figure, and this set was $104.99 before tax and shipping. Hasbro also promoted the partial Cantina bar section as a selling point - buy two and build the whole bar! While obscenely pricey, Hasbro also had a limit of one per customer, so such a double-purchase wasn't exactly possible. Like I said, it's been a frustrating year for a lot of this stuff.

We used to be able to count on some new (or at least, not available for at least five to ten years) characters in every wave. The fact that we've had the very same Kenobi mold five times in roughly as many years just sort of makes me sad. I'm happy fans have opportunities to buy him, but four of them were in very short supply and one was a mainline regular boxed figure - and those tend to also be in short supply. I haven't even talked about the figure - which is good! - yet, but Obi-Wan certainly does feel like the canary in the coal mine showing how Star Wars action figure collecting has been a shallower experience for those who dare to collect them all, especially given some variations are just bonus accessories and packaging - you know, things that are important to hardcore fans.

For new fans, this is a great figure - plain ol' Obi-Wan was never produced in big enough numbers to satisfy market demand for very long, as is also the case these days, so if you never got an Obi-Wan? This is a good one. The robes are a bit nicer, and at least my sample seems to hang on the head much better than previous releases. (The weight could be improved on as it doesn't hug the head quite right, but it's still a good pattern.) The lightsaber seems to be the same, as does the body deco, but you'll want this for a movie-specific photo-real Alec Guinness head. There's a little color in the beard, with glossy eyes and painted lips. I didn't feel there was a problem with the previous head, but I admit these are a bit more lifelike and will no doubt spoil us. It meets the "just different enough to make you mad" qualifications, but odds are the Cantina bar section - complete with drink dispenser that does not exist in the 3 3/4-inch line - is enough to make this set desirable, even if you have other versions of the figures.

Of course, the original 1997 Cantina Showdown 3-pack is only worth about $15. It's not like it was even rare when it was new - I bought a few of them on clearance for $2 a pop. I assume it's being done to take advantage of the Ponda Baba (Ceremonial Luke retool) and Dr. Evazan (D.J. and Jedi Luke parts) molds in the mainline, combined with the anniversary, and Hasbro trying to make photoreal versions of just about everybody. It's a weird world we live in, the one bright side being that there are opportunities for newbies to get figures that they missed, but with figures like this selling out nearly immediately they're not exactly great experiences for any but the uninitiated fan.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse in the PulseCon exclusive boxed set.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,883: December 21, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,882: R5-D33R (Droid Factory)

R5-D33R Disney Parks Holiday Exclusive
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Antler hat
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $12.99
Availability: October 2021
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 is optimized to function in the sub-zero environments of Hoth and amongst its dangerous creatures. Join R5-D33R 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: Christmas is almost here, so we get a new holiday droid continuing the ongoing tradition! R5-D33R takes a break from previous naming conventions, all of which had the model number prefix (R3, R2, etc.) followed by HXX, the XX being the current year. (This year also saw a reissue 4-pack of droids from 2015-2018, but more on that in the future.) This R5 unit uses existing robot tooling and adds a newly tooled antler hat to, I assume, invoke either Rudolph the Red-Nosed Montgomery Ward mascot or perhaps the Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola cans of the 1990s. Only you can decide!

The droid uses the standard legs and feet cast in gold plastic, while the body and dome are cast in white plastic and painted gold. The match is excellent, but the shine is very different with the paint. At a glance, you wouldn't know they were different materials and that's quite the achievement. The droid body adds numerous gold panels to the front and back, and it looks like it could hang out with any small holiday village collectible shelf you may have seen in someone's home. Without the hat, it's just a cool-looking and original droid design, which is more or less exactly what I want from these releases.

The red beanie sort of looks like Rudolph's noses, with the antlers looking like antlers. Presumably you can hang a coat or a bra on them, if you have one sized appropriately. It fits on this figure's dome without any fuss, but it also has a small hole in it so it can cap R2 domes without being blocked. It's nice that they considered hat sharing. While it is very goofy, we've also had R5 units with gun heads - seeing horns or other accoutrements stapled to a robot head feels like something we could see in an upcoming streaming series nowadays. They're ready to get weird.

If you can find this one at a fair price, I'd say buy it. It looks neat, it fits in with pretty much any scenario, and you can lose the hat if you want. It's just a cool-looking droid repaint, and Hasbro hasn't given us a new astromech colorway in over a year, and prior to those three Droid Factory sets at Target, it was R1-J5 in 2019. I miss droids in stores outside of theme parks.

Collector's Notes: I got this from Shop Disney.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,882: December 16, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,881: Ponda Baba (The Black Series)

PONDA BABA 6-Inch Debut
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Orange Star Wars: A New Hope Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F1872 or for PulseCon, No. F1266
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #02 - Star Wars: A New Hope
Includes: Blaster, alternate hands (PulseCon set includes Obi-Wan, Dr. Evazan, bar, glassware)
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: November 2021
Appearances: Star Wars: A New Hope

Bio: A burly Aqualish thug, Ponda Baba smuggled spice for Jabba the Hutt alongside his friend Dr. Cornelius Evazan, a murderous former surgeon Ponda had rescued from a bounty hunter. (Taken from the single figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab. Sample pictured is from the Cantina Showdown PulseCon 3-pack.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: It will not surprise you - but it may disappoint you - to find out Ponda Baba has a Rogue One-inspired sculpt on a Luke Skywalker (Yavin Ceremony) body. In the interests of keeping costs down things like this are inevitable, but given just how much of this line is repaints - all those Carbonized, Credit Collection SKUs plus trooper and droid variants - it's kind of a pity to see a scrawny body like Luke Skywalker's reused here on a burly bruiser like Ponda Baba.

In 1979 Kenner gave us Walrus Man, a wildly wrong take on this character that colored our perceptions for decades. Kenner revised it in 1997, and future figures tended to get closer and closer to what we saw in the movies. This guy just doesn't quite seem to have it right - the torso is too narrow, teh arms are too skinny, and the sad thing is this could be the last The Black Series version of the character we get for quite some time. Were this a figure whipped up in a hurry to flesh out the line, or one of the first releases, I'd shrug and say "well, that's how you get product to market." Given that Hasbro double-dipped on this item as both a standard and a convention release, and before that Ceremonial Luke was also done as an expanded deluxe release and a single release, Hasbro could've sprang for some more new parts here. I shouldn't be able to pick up a new figure like this and immediately go "...hey wait a minute, is this just Luke again?" As only the second cantina alien in this line since its inception in 2013, I always assumed the delay was because they wanted to get the sculpt right, or it was just on the backburner for some reason. If I knew it was just going to be a head swap, I think I could have kept waiting. This version of Ponda Baba has a whiter shirt - as opposed to off-white - which makes this closer to his appearance in Rogue One. That checks out given his slightly shaggier beard, too. The head sculpt is great with big glossy eyes, dirty and freckled skin, and the mouth which could be the subject of jokes for years. The head was a very good recreation of what we saw in the movies, and the hands are very good recreations as well.

As to the body, it's Wormie. The jacket may share some similarities to what Ponda wore in terms of the unique ribbed sleeves, but the pockets are all wrong and a lot of other details are different. These are things they got more or less right on the 3 3/4-inch figures, which is what makes this sting a bit - the 6-inch line is meant for adult fans and collectors. This set was sold as an online convention item at a premium price, and what we got failed to meet a pretty low bar for success in a line like this one. It's possible each collectible crew is working from a different set of reference points, but things like the clear Holiday Special jacket do look different from this one. After all, there's what appears to be a rank badge over the Ponda figure's left breast - he didn't have this in the movies.

You're probably going to buy this because there are no alternatives of merit in this size. After seeing Plo Koon and Kit Fisto reuse parts of Obi-Wan and Anakin to few to no fan complaints, I assume we're going to see more shortcuts like this as time goes on. With Marvel comic figures, it's standard practice and sensible given the similarities in build. You could use Spider-Man for dozens of other figures. For Hasbro's flagship Star Wars figure line these days, it's just disappointing. It seems like nearly every tooling may be up for reuse given the metallic repaints, but seeing it for regular characters was a bit of a downer. If you're not all-in on 6-inch, just hug your 3 3/4-inch Ponda Babas tightly and be glad that good ones already exist for you to love.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse in the PulseCon exclusive boxed set.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,881: December 14, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,880: Dr. Evazan (The Black Series)

DR. EVAZAN 6-Inch Debut
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Orange Star Wars: A New Hope Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F1873 or for PulseCon, No. F1266
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #03 - Star Wars: A New Hope
Includes: Blaster (PulseCon set includes Obi-Wan, Ponda Baba, bar, glassware)
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: November 2021
Appearances: Star Wars: A New Hope

Bio: A grubby, scarred smuggler from Alsakan, Cornelius Evazan was once a promising surgeoun, but became notorious for conducting cruel medical experiments. (Taken from the single figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab. Sample pictured is from the Cantina Showdown PulseCon 3-pack.

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

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Did you realize it's the fifth anniversary of Rogue One this year? It's true! We got a bunch of repaints and retools to celebrate, but this Dr. Evazan isn't as Rogue One-y as his pal Ponda Baba is. (More on that in a few days.) But if this figure looks familiar, it's because Hasbro did an exquisite job at hiding that his limbs are all recycled parts - a new head and torso is what you'll notice first, but eagle-eyed fans will quickly see D.J.'s pants (from The Last Jedi and Luke Skywalker's arms (from the 2014 Jedi Knight figure.) Since there are very few good reference shots of the original costumes, Hasbro and DisneyLucasfilm probably assumed most fans would never notice - and they'd be right. But if you've been collecting figures for decades, you'll notice similarities to other 6-inch figures and differences from previous Dr. Evazan costumes.

Shot mostly in close-up and in the dark, Dr. Evazan's most notable elements are his head and torso - you can't miss the disfigured head, the brown worn vest, the belt, or the open shirt. These sleeves are tighter, as opposed to the more open ones in most reference pictures or The Vintage Collection figure. The body is right, the upper body colors all match nicely, and hands are hands. The face looks fantastic with the fancy photoreal paint, arguably more convincing than stills of the make-up from the movie. The hair looks closer to the 1977 film, a little whiter, a little less poofy than what we saw for a second in 2016.

The legs are a little redder, as opposed to the brown or grey of previous figures. Which is more correct? I have no idea. These see a little bulkier, but his boots more or less match previous Hasbro figures despite being D.J's lower extremities. The double-jointed knees are a dead giveaway that this was made of older parts, but it more or less works. The legs seem pretty thick compared to the scrawny arms, but that's what happens sometimes. I would have preferred a completely new figure - this set was really expensive - but he's sturdy. The figure stands with no problems at all, and everything looks good when you look at it as a whole rather than a compilation of eight years of pre-existing parts.

Up until 2021, the only Cantina alien Hasbro ever gave us was Greedo way back in 2013 - it's great to add to the mix, and this one made a great choice for so many reasons. I doubt we'll ever see a 2.0 in this scale, and that's just fine. I would've loved more paint on the facial scarring, but it could have been visual overkill. He's plenty creepy as it is, so if you see him I think you'd probably enjoy having him to add to your less-than-huge original trilogy 6-inch figure collection.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse in the PulseCon exclusive boxed set.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,880: December 9, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,879: Clone Pilot Hawk (The Black Series)

CLONE PILOT HAWK Clone Wars 6-Inch Retro Style
The Black Series The Clone Wars Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Collection - Target Exclusive
Item No.: No. F28011
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: May 2021
Appearances: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Bio: "Hawk" was a clone trooper pilot who served in the Galactic Republic Starfighter Corps during the Clone Wars. Bred from a human template, the bounty hunter Jango Fett, he often performed escort, drop-off, or extraction duties for Jedi General Anakin Skywalker's 501st Legion. (Taken from Wookieepedia. Package has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Despite being part of an anniversary line with 2008-2009 The Clone Wars packaging, this Clone Pilot Hawk is actually the Hasbro action figure debut of this character. (There is a Fighter Pods figure and a LEGO figure.) It makes use of a body that's been used for nearly seven years, with the double-hinged knees and elbows and not the newer bend-and-swivel joints. It has a new head. Is that enough? Well, yeah.

Since that's what's new, let's focus on the changes. I love the blue highlights on the armor, and the scuffs look pretty good too. The 501st legion blue markings are great, but the white soles on the boots are a little disappointing given this figure had a slight price increase and not much newness - and only one blaster. He has no problems holding it, and the figure stands well. The joints are the same as always, a little stiff and ratchet-y. The good news is this means he's sturdy and stiff, which may limit your action poses. Of course most of you will just have him in the package, or stand on a shelf, so once you open it you won't necessarily make much use of them anyway.

The helmet, hoses, and chest components are new and pretty great - they made a decent translation to "realistic" with few compromises. The animated designs for the chest box show more black and less visible white space, which gives this one a bit less dynamic look. The animation model looks more lively with black behind some of the sliders, while this one leaves the area near them largely unpainted. Still, it's nice to see them sculpted there, with most of the landmarks present. They're just not sized or colored in a way that "pops."

It's another Clone, with no vehicle to put in. (And, sadly, no 3 3/4-inch counterpart yet.) As part of a complete set, you can't miss it - but if you're skipping the cartoons, you won't need this one. It's good, it's a clever retool, and it's not too expensive on the secondary market. But is it exciting? If you're a 501st fan, it's a great addition to your army - otherwise it's another clone to shelve.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,879: December 7, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,878: TIE Fighter Pilot (The Vintage Collection)

TIE FIGHTER PILOT (Redeco, 2021 reissue)
The Vintage Collection
Item No.: Asst. E5912 No. F1883
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #65 (reissue)
Includes: Blaster, removable helmet
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $12.99
Availability: February 2021
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: TIE pilots served in the Starfighter Corps of the Imperial Navy by piloting the various TIE Series starfighters. Distinguished by all-black flight suits and bulky, fully enclosed, vacuum-sealed helmets, the Galactic Empire at its height produced millions of TIE pilots and generally considered them expendable assets. The TIE pilots formed the elite of the Imperial Navy's Flight Branch. (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 current era of The Vintage Collection straddles the fence between "awesome, incredible" and "I can't tell if this is new or not." Occupying the "just different enough to make you mad" space, this particular TIE Fighter Pilot is a mishmash of releases - the helmet deco (and indeed suit deco) are identical to the Vintage pack-in Imperial TIE Fighter Pilot [FOTD #2,589] from 2018, but the head under the helmet is different. Aren't you sorry you asked?

For ultimate completism sake you'll want this, but if it's arguably interchangeable with the Walmart The Vintage Collection TIE Fighter pack-in pilot. With the helmets on, they're virtually identical with the lettering and silver stripe down the helmet's crest. The buttons and switches are colored the same, with the same outlines, although some may be sloppier than others because that's life.

I'm always riding for cool variations and the 3 3/4-inch line, but the fact that I had to squint at this figure and compare it against a parade of existing figures to realize that it's different - and how it's different - shouldn't be the way things are in any collector's line. If it's the same? Awesome. If it's clearly different and marked as such? Fantastic. It's also worth noting that the TIE Pilot is a veritable ship of Theseus, as this figure has been upgraded with new parts since its debut in 2004. It's not super-articulated, but it's good enough to fit in the pilot's seat and the holster for the blaster is adequate for when it was retooled over a decade ago. An all-new TIE Fighter Pilot mold could be an exciting prospect, but as a repaint of a retool of a repaint of a retool, it's great for anyone who needs a Pilot. But I assume something better will, some day, see production. (But I also thought that in 2004, and we're still dealing with that one's offspring.)

Since this is the "photoreal" era, here's what matters: the 2018 pack-in? Unpainted black head, glued-down helmet. The 2021 carded version has a very pale skin tone with a complexion and deco that may strike you as "stoned/zombie" in appearance. The details are sharp with glossy lips and a bit of eyeliner, but one of the eyes on mine seemed a little uneven. It's a little peculiar in 2021, the helmet deco is fine but the human heads have evolved into such incredible things that seeing this I can't say that it's good. It's OK. For carded collectors, it just plain doesn't matter. But for those who need all the differences, this waxy, barely-different pilot is a variation you'll want. (And carded variant collectors, you'll want this.)

I you don't have a TIE Pilot, it's great! If you missed the 2018 TIE Fighter exclusive from Walmart, it's a good pilot substitute - heck, it's better! But if you've been doing this for 20-40 years and are looking for corners to cut, this may not be different enough to have been worth your creds.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,878: December 2, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,877: Wrecker (The Black Series)

WRECKER Deluxe
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Dark Red Star Wars: The Bad Batch Packaging
Item No.: No. F0630
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #05 - Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Includes: Blaster, Helmet
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $31.99
Availability: September 2021
Appearances: The Bad Batch

Bio: The boisterous bruiser of the Bad Batch, Wrecker has brute strength that makes him capable of lifting a clone gunship without any help . His muscle and size are matched only by his temper... and an equally pronounced sense of humor. (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: Rounding out the original Bad Batch, Wrecker joins Crosshair, Hunter, and Tech - and later, we'll get Omega and Echo - meeting our basic standard of collecting with the main characters seeing plastic. That's really the one thing you have to do when doing action figures for fans of any age - if you don't make all the regulars, it's not even worth kicking off a collection. (Hence, the disappointment on so many levels that is Star Wars Resistance.)

Given the much higher price point, Wrecker's a figure that has to show something to indicate it's better. After all, Chewbacca was huge, and cost the same as a basic figure. I'm glad to see that Wrecker does do some things that warrant the deluxe price point, but it doesn't seem 50% fancier than Hunter - but it's definitely unquestionably superior in production quality. Articulation is on par with the best of basic new figures, including the now-expected swing-forward shoulders and the armor that rotates with the shoulder. You get rocker ankles, elbows with good cuts and decent legs. Every joint moves surprisingly well for a bulky, armored figure with a rubbery armor vest hiding some of the torso joints. In terms of engineering, Hasbro did an A+ job - just like they did with the other Bad Batch-ers. You'll love how he can stand, you'll be impressed by the sculpted armor scrapes, and you're going to love the helmet too.

Also awesome, a realistic take on the distorted, goofy Temeura Morrison portrait used on the cartoon. Wrecker's wacky almost-a-sneer is unlike anything else I've seen in Hasbro Star Wars figures, and is probably one of the singular most expressive good faces we've ever received. Again, they deserve an award for this - it's quite possibly the very best human head they've ever done. Generally we just get good, neutral expressions - seeing what they did here with Wrecker makes me think there's still hope for a really, really, really good Han Solo some day. (Or, if they go that route, Indiana Jones.) With the sculpted scars and injured eye, everything about this figure looks like so much care and work went into getting it right. While that's not necessarily required for a deluxe figure, the extra effort is the kind of thing that makes me feel a little bit better about paying a premium for a figure like this.

Deco is also excellent - the head has an awesome paint job on the face which only highlights the spectacular portrait, but it's worth noting the scars and sides of the head are more or less left bare. I know you have to cut the budget somewhere, but I would've loved paint on the scars. The armor's paint is also excellent, but sadly they left off some stuff. We did get some painted battle damage - which we didn't on the others - but Hasbro left off the red highlights on the elbow and knuckle armor panels. At $32 we really should have those paint applications on a figure that's no more complex than a $23 figure. It's not nearly as ornate as the show - nor should it be, that paint job is complicated beyond a reasonable capacity for mass-production - but the big chest scar would be nice to have some silver there, and the red stripes would've been a plus. As it is, it's not amazing for the price, but OK.

You also get a removable helmet (good paint), a blaster (no paint), and a giant knife (perfectly painted silver blade.) Each element looks like it was handled correctly here, or is at least good enough that I can't complaint about it at the price.

While this figure absolutely has more going for it than some of the other deluxe figures, there's not a lot more here other than size to warrant a higher price point - and as we've seen with Chewbacca, size doesn't mean it has to cost more. But is it good? Yes. Did they do some amazing things with it? Absolutely. Is that human face worth the price of admission? Without a doubt - no other figure looks this interesting, and for that reason alone I'm going to go ahead and say hold your nose and spend the $32. The silver highlights on the sculpted damage were what I looked for when I first opened it, and I was not disappointed.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,877: November 30, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,876: Q9-0 (Zero, The Black Series)

Q9-0 (Zero)
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Orange Star Wars: The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F1868
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #11 - Star Wars: The Mandalorian
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: October 2021
Appearances: Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Bio: A bug-eyed protocol droid with modified programming, Q9-0 - or "Zero" to his colleagues - operates with precision timing. (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: Hey kids, it's Moss! (Also a prolific director of television.) Q9-0 is a character that I was really looking forward to, and a figure that turned out, well, acceptably. It's a good figure. I don't love it, but I like it a lot - and I'm crossing my fingers Hasbro does a Kenner-style one some day. (This is very retro!) The bounty hunter-adjacent droid of action is a new sculpt with a blaster clearly inspired by the old Boba Fett EE-3 carbine rifle, just shorter. Or perhaps sawed off. Who can say?

The figure has a harness with pouches (just like on the show!) and lots of articulation (just like on the show!) The head strikes me as softer in detail than some other figures, but it looks like they got the proportions correct. The unique mouth is there, the big silver eyes are there, and the antenna is there too. The cables on the elbows are clearly visible, as are clear pins in the knees for added stability and authenticity to what we see on the screen. He has just shy of 30 points of articulation, and is a marvel of articulation sculpting. All the joints move nicely and are integrated in his body almost perfectly, with a tiny bit of obstruction in the shoulders and the hips - but the latter can be worked around by rotating the thighs. That's great! He stands, he can hold his gun, he even has the fancy tilt-forward shoulders that they forgot to give Lando.

As much as I love the sculpt, the deco comes up short. Why? Materials. The grey seems to be a bit light - and isn't quite as opaque as I would prefer. A darker color would have been good, just to give the illusion that it's metal. As it is, it's plastic, and it looks plastic. I rarely would be inclined to say if Disney did a new 6-inch die-cast metal one I'd be interested, but in this case I would. The vest is fine, the paint is perfectly nice, it's just that his plating should be a slightly darker color. I like the chest's scratches and dirt, even though they are a bit overshadowed by his vest. Nobody took any shortcuts on this one.

If you've been collecting figures from this series, and you love droids, this is a can't-miss figure. Until version 2.0 comes along, that is. It's good enough for now, and with no other options, this is the Zero for you. I'm glad they made it, the sculptors did their work just fine, and hopefully more of the crew will make an appearance as action figures some day. (I still genuinely don't understand why they're not doing Mando theme waves once or twice a year.) Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving, I assume nobody is reading today.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,876: November 25, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,875: General Lando Calrissian (The Black Series)

GENERAL LANDO CALRISSIAN 6-Inch Debut
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Green Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F1871
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #07 - Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Includes: Pistol, cape
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $22.99
Availability: October 2021
Appearances: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Lando Calrissian served as a general in the starfighter attack on the second Death Star, showing off his superb piloting skills by guiding the Millennium Falcon into the Death Star superstructure. (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: With this release, General Lando Calrissian ticks the last Kenner box - now all the 1980s Lando figures exist in this 6-inch scale! I'm not sure how long ago this was developed, because parts of it seem like it could have been a design shelved from a few years ago. While it absolutely looks like the outfit from the movies, some of the niceties of more recent figures are missing - for example, the shoulders that can pivot forward? They're not here. The mid-torso cut (rather than a belt cut or something more subtle) is back, too. I wouldn't be shocked if the design work was mostly done in or around 2018 -but since he has an awesome cloth cape and great face paint, I won't complain too much.

Complete with working chest holster, the tiny blaster easily fits in his hand or in its place. It's not too big, and it looks great. Lando's cape is thin and despite being cloth, has a plastic "chain" which actually looks amazing. Hasbro managed to make the gear exactly what it needed to be.

Everything about the uniform seems about right - Hasbro even sculpted the belt as a separate piece, which does look a bit better than just painting some brown on the pants. The boots are good, the pants have their yellow stripe, and you even get rocker ankles. The articulation is fine - not up to late 2019 standards, but fine - with elbows that bend nicely and legs that swing forward, but not well enough to fit in a cockpit were one ever made. His head looks a lot like Billy Dee Williams, with painted on hair - not a separate piece, as we sometimes get - and everything seems to be painted on straight. It's a good recreation of a good costume, but things like the mid-torso joint are going to haunt me.

He's fine. He's not amazing, but he meets expectations and puts all the major costumes to rest - Hasbro could still do the smuggler's costume from the end of The Empire Strikes Back but I wouldn't hold your breath. Other than the articulation not being as integrated as nicely as I would like - and maybe hte costume being a bit more wrinkly in spots - I'd say it's good enough, and you should get it if you see it at a fair price. Maybe we'll even get Nien Nunb some day.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,875: November 23, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,874: Vice Admiral Rampart (The Black Series)

 

VICE ADMIRAL RAMPART Walmart Exclusive
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Dark Red Star Wars: The Bad Batch Packaging
Item No.: No. F2932
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #08 - Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Includes: Blaster, Mouse Droid
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $24.99
Availability: October 2021
Appearances: The Bad Batch

Bio: After the fall of the Republic, Vice Admiral Rampart is assigned to oversee the clone troopers on Kamino by Governor Tarkin. Rampart has eagerly taken to his role in the Galactic Empire as it aims to instill order in the galaxy. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: There are a lot of aliens, pilots, and other good figures that I don't think will be appreciated in their time. This is one of them. Nobody knew who he was when the pre-order went live and after a few appearances on the show, they still don't know much about him! Vice Admiral Rampart is yet another Imperial stooge who is there to hunt down dissenters, but his whole deal is transitioning the Empire away from clones to citizens for some reason. It's a living.

The figure exists probably thanks to its speedy development - the body parts are shared by Tarkin, Thrawn, Veers, and Piett, just to name a few. I assume it's because of the existing body with 26 points of articulation that this figure exists. After all, you don't need to make new bodies like you would for any of the other recurring characters. There are minor differences between the various Imperials in this scale, and the figure has some minor accuracy issues, but it's a good figure. It's just not an accurate figure. The Imperial Navy rank badge is not always a consistent thing in reference books, so it's not surprising Hasbro's figure uses the same one with the Moffs and Admirals and such rather than the one on the show - which has two code cylinders, two blue rectangles, and four red rectangles. The figure has twelve rectangles - six blue, six red. Most fans probably won't notice (or, frankly, care) but it's the kind of thing that could probably have been done correctly and more easily in the 3 3/4-inch line thanks to more torsos and a system developed to plug in different rank pins from about 12 years ago. The Black Series was not created to be as robust nor as scalable.

It's worth noting that his head is new, and it looks like what it is - a realistic interpretation of a stylized, blocky cartoon head. The shin is a little big, the head is a little thick in spots, and it doesn't look like a specific famous person as far as I can tell. The shading and paint is excellent, but since it's not an exact representation of an actual person it's hard to rate well or not. As an action figure, it looks like an action figure. It resembles his TV appearance, and there's not a whole heck of a lot else to say other than they did a good job bringing a cartoon character into a photoreal space.

The blaster pistol is perfectly fine, but for $24.99 - a full $2 over the price increase of $22.99 we got earlier this year - I would have liked to see more new elements, like a retooled torso, given that we'll probably never get another figure of this guy. You do get a repack of the Disney Galaxy's Edge First Order Mouse Droid - the scuffing is so similar, I assume it's meant to be the same exact piece - but it's still not a heck of a lot of extra for your money. Tarkin got an Interrogation Droid, Veers got all that armor plus hats. At $22.99, I wouldn't complain, but at this time I'm not quite sure why some exclusives cost more than others, even at the same store, for varying levels of changes. 

But hey, if you want a Rampart, this is the only game in town right now and my guess is absolutely nobody will be excited for him until a couple of seasons in the show. You know, after he dies, or joins the Rebels or something.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,874: November 18, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,873: Trapper Wolf (The Black Series)

TRAPPER WOLF Pulse Con Exclusive
The Black Series 2020 Line Look Orange Star Wars: The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: No. F1265
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #13 - Star Wars: The Mandalorian
Includes: Blaster, helmet
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $26.99
Availability: October 2021
Appearances: The Mandalorian

Bio: A veteran of the Rebellion against the Empire, Trapper Wolf now serve as a pilot in the new Republic. He flies his X-wing as part of a squadron which patrols the outer reaches of the galaxy. (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: A quick sell-through, Trapper Wolf is Dave Filoni's character on The Mandalorian - and with two appearances, he should have a figure! (Hopefully Carson Teva is coming, also 3 3/4-inch equivalents.) This one is, sadly, a convention exclusive, which I think everyone can infer was meant for San Diego Comic-Con International, most likely, which was canceled two years in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A small "Special Edition" is set for next weekend, although it sounds like the toy industry and all of popular culture is largely giving it a pass. So Hasbro sold this one online with a limit of one per customer, and should probably consider another run.

The figure itself is the 2013 X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker figure from the very first wave in this scale, but with minor deco changes and a new head.  That means a 47-year-old man's head is on a 26-year-old man's body. The lightsaber hook is there, but now the straps around his waist and legs are white instead of gray. The switches on the figure's chest match Luke's, which qualifies as "good enough" but not necessarily accurate. In his first appearance on the show his suit's orange collar is unbuttoned and is open over his white vest, plus he has a white chin strap and what appears to be white areas in his helmet.

This doesn't mean it isn't neat - Hasbro doesn't sculpt a ton of pilot bodies these days, so whenever they do one it gets used repeatedly. A new body would probably be appropriate here due to Filoni's different build and it could give us a crack at deco improvements, but given you never get a really good look at the man walking around I can also throw my hands in the air and say "well, it's better than nothing." The head sculpt is excellent and the helmet deco looks really cool with his wolf symbol and everything, and it seems to match his second appearance quite nicely. (I guess they changed it a tiny bit.) The blaster also looks just like his appearance when he met Mando on the planet of the ice spiders.

Much like the upcoming George Lucas Stormtrooper figure and other special and weird cameos, we've come to accept that a lot of figures in this line over the past 20 or so years - since Power of the Jedi on - are likely to reuse existing molds because it's sensible to do so. It's not like there are full-body shots from the show to compare to, and as long as it's Dave Filoni's head on a pilot body you really can't make a huge fuss about them needing to make a series of changes. More recent figures have far more forgiving joints when it comes to posing, so I hope there's a Pilot 2.0 body in the works for Biggs or other pilots. But this figure? He's fine. There are no special improvements, he meets expectations and you'll likely be disappointed if you missed him and are a The Mandalorian or pilot completist.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,873: November 16, 2021