Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,983: IG-88 (and Dengar, The Retro Collection)

IG-88 and Dengar, Amazon Exclusive
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. F5561
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Two blasters
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $27.99
Availability: November 2022
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

Bio: Dengar is an effective bounty hunter preferring firepower and destruction to finesse and style. And IG-88 is a chrome war droid turned bounty hunter who answered the call to capture the Millennium Falcon. (Taken from the figure's outer packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: When I saw the announcement of this retro Kenner-flavor IG-88 I was dying to know if it was just a co-tool with the 2011 IG-11 [FOTD #2,818] and of course, now we know. It was! It's a Droid of Theseus. Or See-Theseus. Or something clever. Just pretend I wrote something witty here. This new 2022 IG-88 is based on the 2021 IG-11 tooling, which itself was inspired by the 1980 Kenner IG-88.

2022 IG-88 has legs and feet that seem to be identical to the 2021 IG-11. How can you tell? The ofter head details remain intact, with shallower, rounder grooves and lights. The legs and feet are the same, and still have IG-11's SKU stamped in them - F2021. Also the year on the foot is 2021, as opposed to the 2022 on Dengar. The torso is unique tooling first seen on this figure, and the arms are very similar to IG-11. They might be the same mold, but if they were, they are clearly retooled. The clamps aren't as thick as IG-11, yet somehow they have a better grip on the blasters and 2021 IG-11 and 1980 IG-88. Hasbro did a good job updating the tooling here. I'd love to know if the to IG droids were developed at the same time or not. It's also worth noting that this means not only do both the Boba/Bossk and IG/Dengar sets reuse existing tooling, but Hasbro and/or Amazon upcharged you $4-$8 per set for their corner-cutting.

IG-88 has the same basic weapons as his 1980 figure. They're the 2021 IG-11 black blaster tooling, just now in Kennerian blue. The Stormtrooper gun has the rounded ammo clip and they look pretty much the same as the originals but aren't as glossy. It's as good as one can expect - just different enough so you can tell them apart from the genuine article.

My figure came with a deformed leg - one foot was bent at the ankle. I thought it was a tooling error at first, but the boiling water trick (dip it in boiling water, pull it out, run it under cold water) straightened it out without a problem.

Is he worth it? Well, you can get a complete unpackaged 1980 original for about $26. This 2-pack is $28 and you also get Dengar. For those wanting a loose figure, I'd say the price difference is negligible and it would certainly be more interesting just to buy the 1980s originals so you have a cool old toy. This new one is pretty good and has much more vibrant orange paint. Most original Kenner IG-88 figures are still in amazing shape due to the lack of paint to wear down, and the fact kids probably didn't play with it much. If you don't want to dabble in old toys, Amazon's exclusive is very good - but the original one has a sharper sculpt with sloppier paint. If I could have the old figure with the new paint job, it would be the best of both worlds. (But that's either a completely different franchise or a title of another kind of movie we won't discuss here.)

Collector's Notes: I got mine at Amazon. It was supposed to be released last week (December 1, 2022) but arrived about three weeks early.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,983: December 6, 2022