Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,085: Chopper (C1-10P, The Retro Collection)

CHOPPER (C1-10P, Kenner Style)
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6874 No. F7307
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Removable third leg
Action Feature: Dome clicks, third leg removes
Retail: $11.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: Ahsoka

Bio: The Star Wars Retro Collection features design and detailing inspired by the original 1970s Star Wars figures and features original figure design and detailing! Continue your collection from a galaxy far, far away. (Stolen from the marketing copy. 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! 

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: Arguably a big, exciting improvement! Chopper (C1-10P) is a new figure of a familiar face, which is what I find to be the most exciting thing about Star Wars: The Retro Collection. I love the format so much, even a lesser figure is elevated! But we'll get to them later. Today I'm here to talk droids, because I was delighted to see how this one would turn out. Hasbro's packaging is still, sadly, quite thin but they did really tone down the ugly fake "shelf battle damage" markings, with only a few unsightly white splotches. Which aren't thinks you tend to see on old cardbacks - bends, sure. Tears where the price tags were? Yes. But not weird white blobs. That's just peculiar. The "Retro Collection Kollektion Colleccion Serie" sticker is, sadly, still there and costing Hasbro money for a feature fans don't actually want. "Drop the package sticker already" is what I'm saying.

As soon as I got this guy off the cardback I ran to my 1983 Y-Wing Fighter to see if he fit in the R2-D2 droid socket. He doesn't - the feet are a little too wide. I'm surprised! I mean, I'm not surprised that Hasbro didn't test a 2023 figure against a 1983 ship - that's just silly to expect unless you're LEGO, or Playmobil, or maybe Hot Wheels - but I didn't anticipate he wouldn't be the same dimensions as R2-D2 and R5-D4. He does, however, fit in the Y-Wing Scout "Mini-Rig" from Rebels and The Clone Wars... and fits best if you have the one with the booster seat. His dome does indeed click, and there's a little screw under the body holding it in place, just like R2-D2. You have to pull out the removable third leg to see it. He has no problems standing up, and that third leg is a snug fit - that's how you want it. As a toy, it's a lot of fun to fidget with him and I don't think there are any other features you could reasonably ask for out of a 1980s-style Chopper Kenner figure. This is it, they nailed it.

 But how accurate is(n't) it? Also perfect! Getting it wrong is getting it right. Hasbro dropped the dome arms, as I suspect Kenner would have done as well. The legs are different, but not very different - the "shoulders" are changed, but the rest of the legs are pretty much the same minus the piston running down the side and the colors. It's like they made it from an incomplete picture, which is how the very best Kenner figures got made. (For the record, I'm talking about the Class of 1979 - the Cantina Aliens, Power Droid, Boba Fett, X-Wing Luke, and Death Star Droid. In the words of the great Carly Simon "nobody does it better," baby.) You get an R2-D2 style body sticker and everything. If anything Hasbro may have made it a tad too good - the extra paint on the dome for the black and blue eyes, plus a yellow stripe and a beige dish seems generous. The dark leg also has some subtle gray paint on it that seems like a luxury - but he's a tiny guy, so Hasbro probably had some budget left to trick this guy out a bit. Everything and I do mean everything is molded in color, so from where I sit this seems like a very Kenner-flavored take on the character. I believe this is how Kenner would have done it, and it feels and looks like a real 1980s toy.

 It's figures like this that touch the spot in my brain that remembers what it was like to be playing with toys in my parents' house over 40 years ago. He feels like he could have been held by the Great Heep or just was part of some phantom toy line Kenner put out after Return of the Jedi. It's 100% what I want in a toy figure, and I would give it about as high of a recommendation as I can to anybody who buys Retro or Kenner-style action figures. If you were a Kenner kid, go buy this. $12, $20, whatever - just get it. And Hasbro, if you're reading, please don't give up on this format. 10 or 12 new figures a year is perfect (I know we got more in 2023, no complaints) so keep them coming.

 

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Target but also have the case on order at Entertainment Earth. (I couldn't wait.)

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,085: November 28, 2023