Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,084: Admiral Motti (Imperial Officers set, The Vintage Collection)

ADMIRAL MOTTI Imperial Officers Set
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Hasbro Pulse / Shop Disney Exclusive
Item No.: No. F8300
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster, 3 additional figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $59.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Star Wars

Bio: Imperial officers fought against Rebel forces in an effort to maintain the Empire’s stronghold over the galaxy. Add these four unique figures to your collection, including two new officer portraits; Admiral Piett (with his admiral rank badge); and -- for the first time in The Vintage Collection -- General Motti. (Stolen from Hasbro marketing copy. It says "General" Motti on their page.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: You'll probably want Admiral Motti. He comes in one of those odd white boxed sets, and as of my writing this isn't planned to be a part of the carded line so far as I know. He's not the first Motti figure - we got one in the CommTech line over 20 years ago, and he got repacked in The Saga Collection as part of a big Imperial Officers gift set. Since then he's been dormant, but now you can get one loaded with articulation. That's good! But he doesn't have that "tugging at the collar" hand we saw previously, so you may want to get both releases. The 2023 one is objectively better overall, but it also illustrates how we've gone forward and back. Yes, the new figure is loaded with articulation and is one of the best-jointed Original Trilogy figures Hasbro has ever made. However, it comes at the expense of a figure's personality, a pose and a simple joint that gave you everything that this character was about. Breathing problems.

If you want a figure to sit at a table (that Hasbro has never made), this is it. He can sit! The skirt piece is a little stiff but he has those new ball-jointed hips that give him a tremendous range of movement. The knees and ankles move, the shoulders move, the elbows move, the wrists bend and swivel. It's a very good mold and one they're using for Piett, Thrawn, and undoubtedly many more figures in the years to come. I'm glad they gave Motti the right rank badge and code cylinders, because some Imperial Officers just get hand-waved as being "good enough" without every last change. (Admittedly, it would be better than nothing.) I should also note that he has no problems holding his blaster, even though we never saw the character with a sidearm.

Hasbro's sculptors did a great job here. The scowl looks amazing, the hair is fantastic, and the uniform is nice and crisp. It's the kind of figure that would make you run back to your giant Death Star playset, if Hasbro made one, which they still have not. While you have to assign the figure's personality by posing the otherwise generic male Imperial stooge body yourself, it's nice to have the option. It's so rare that we get new minor human character in this line that I'd say, overall, it's great. Hasbro needs to maximize its tooling investment, which means that somehow we wind up paying more for more articulation and we trade away a little personality. I think most adult collectors will prefer this The Vintage Collection release, but I'm not going to be getting rid of my The Power of the Force Motti. There's an element of charm I would lose in the upgrade, and I can't have that. As such, I recommend both figures. At current prices, they're still affordable.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,084: November 23, 2023