Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,094: Power Droid (a.k.a. Gonk, Advent Calendar 2022)

POWER DROID Droid Cosplay
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Silver BB droid, Nutcracker R5 droid, Gold R4 droid, Giftwrapped Power Droid with bow, Elf R6 Droid with hat, C1 droid
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $69.99
Availability: August 2022
Appearances: n/a

Bio: All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. Open up the Sandcrawler to reveal and build 6 new droids to celebrate along with them for 25 days this season. May the Force be with you... and your droids!" This droid is optimized to function in the sparsely settled, unspoiled frontier world of Vandor. Join R6-SNO on their adventures throughout the galaxy! (Taken from the packaging. Yes, the one quotation mark and reference to R6-SNO, who is not included, was on the box in three languages.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: As the year winds down, I've got a bunch of holiday droids we didn't get to yet - but we have to put those things away until next year, right? Right. So let's open one more gift - the Power Droid, or Gonk Droid, or EG-6 or whatever dressed up as a gift box. Given how these things were photographed I'd say it's arguable which accessories can go with which figure - the little bow & mistletoe could be a part of the golden droid, or seen as a bow at the top of the power droid. Problem is, the Power Droid's hat hole has paint in it, thus making it impossible to cram a hat in the hat hole. (Is this getting dirty? Is this dirty talk?) Anyway, you can give him a hat if you want, just be prepared to shave down the hat peg or to scrape some paint off the socket. I will be doing neither of these things.

As with other Power Droids, you can pop the hatch off and see the inside with what looks vaguely like old PC guts or cooling stuf. The droid mold itself is molded in green with red ribbon deco and silver highlights, including the face (which could use some more color), the restraining bolts, the antenna, and the vent on the back (no notes.) Springy silver deco is there on the legs too, which gives it a Santa Claus Conquers the Martians vibe. It's colorful - very not-Star Wars. On the other hand, the simple coloring does look like it could be a blurry background bot in a comic or on the Droids cartoon, doesn't it?

Articulation on this green robot consists of legs that can swing forward. And that's it. Honestly, even that seems pretty generous - he can stand just fine, and emote just a bit by posing him looking up or down. It's pretty much all you need, and I would argue it's one of the better droids in this set. If I were Disney I'd probably have cut costs by not painting some of the guts silver, but that's probably why you'll never see anyone hiring me to make budgets for these things. If you can see this set for a fair price, the per-robot retail is pretty good. But I'm a sucker for robots.

Thanks for another great year, dear readers, and I hope we can keep doing this until you or I can't stands no more.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from some guy on eBay for a lower price!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,094: December 28, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,093: General Hera Syndulla (The Retro Collection)

GENERAL HERA SYNDULLA (Kenner Style)
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F6874 No. F7306
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Blaster
Action Feature: Blaster can be stored in holster loop
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: As a kid, I didn't want Star Wars to end - I wanted new stories, new toys! It took a while to get them, and I honestly never thought we'd get more new Kenner-style figures but with General Hera Syndulla it seems like we're getting a bunch more. Shipping at the same time as The Vintage Collection figure (with the same coloring, same costume, same name... they're going to look identical to most people if they're ever in stock at the same time) it feels more and more like we're getting a toy line meant for the Internet era. These no longer exist to make a big brand statement at retail, which in turn promotes the show. Instead, they come out about 2-3 months late (or later) and probably will be a blip at the toy aisle. And for some reason, a whopping three versions of the bombad general are all hitting at roughly the same time, giving fans a lot of options. If they ever see those options. They probably won't.

It may surprise you that Kenner Hera is only the second-ever Kenner-style Twi'lek officially released - we never got an Oola, or Aayla Secura, or... hey wait a minute, do all their names end in an A? I digress. The figure is a pretty good one, but not perfect - which means it's a good Kenner design. For some reason Hasbro is allergic to giving the figures a slight slump in posture, or bent elbows, like the originals - but other than that? She's Kennery enough for you, old man. All five joints turn, the blaster fits in the loop, the colors are nice and bright. She's not line the original in that she has painted patches on her shoulders and back, and some of her holster details are painted. Kenner probably would've left these things off to keep costs down, but Hasbro has not been interested in keeping down costs in its collector brands as of late. They didn't paint the details on her Lekku (that's good) but they did paint her lips, and on my sample it doesn't look as good as the photos. I hope to see her in a store again so I can see if mine is unique, but I'm writing this during the holiday season which is "pretty much any new toy will sell" time.

I love the painted details and I feel like Hasbro went not-quite-the-extra-mile on this one, which is good. The painted goggle lenses and straps are a nice detail, and she fit in the vehicles I pulled out to test without a problem. (How could I not grab the Phantom?) I would love for Hasbro to start doing something with the left hands other than "claw to grip weapon," which we're seeing in Mon Mothma but not others. It would be great to give her pose a little more personality, as a Kenner-style face tends to not be terribly expressive. The figure definitely looks close to how a real 1980s figure might look, but the digital sculpting techniques used to make figures today remove the asymmetry we saw in the originals and as such, picky old-school fans will know she (and her wave mates) aren't quite up to the sharp - but simple - details we saw in the original toy line. I have to say that because we're a picky bunch - her little head tilts and the way her head just barely arches forward on the show is remarkably different from her posture on the figure, which is far more stiff than the bulk of actual real Kenner figures from the old days.

Between you and me I'm just happy this line continues to exist and gives me toys I actually want to fuss around with a lot more than the other brand segments. I pop her out of the package, and she stands - no fuss. That's the way I like it - and if they feel like hiring some old-guard sculptors, if any are still looking for work, I'd love to see them take a crack at a future wave of these guys. It is unreal to me that I have a Super7 Svengoolie, a Kenner Hera, and a number of other "they'll never make that!" retro-style figures. All on my desk. Right now.

(Confidential to Hasbro: I assume you will never do another wave of Ahsoka Retro, but if you do, I'd be down to buy Thrawn, the two not-Jedi, Ezra, and some troopers please.)

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,093: December 26, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,092: Chewbacca (Life Day, The Vintage Collection)

CHEWBACCA (Life Day)
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Exclusive Action Figure
Item No.: No. F8382
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Life Day Orb
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $16.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: The Star Wars Holiday Special

Bio: Life Day is a longstanding tradition celebrating Wookiee cultural values including family, joy, and harmony. While festivities are traditionally held at the Tree of Life on Kashyyyk, Wookiees throughout the galaxy mark the day. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

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: If I had a short list of things I assumed would never, ever be made as a product, this Chewbacca (Life Day) would be near the top due to its appearance on the buried Star Wars Holiday Special, which aired only one time on CBS before a lot of us were born. To the fan of the saga, it's a bizarre show - but it makes a tiny bit more sense in the era of Sid & Marty Krofft's celebrity variety shows and other variety shows of the era. George Lucas has reportedly said he wishes every tape of it could be destroyed, and now it's on YouTube. There has never been an official commercial release of the special, but we have seen a few Boba Fett figures from the holiday special's cartoon segment. Chewbacca's slanket was never something I expected to see, so I was more than a little stunned when I saw it in the Hasbro booth last July.

What is it? The 2004 Original Trilogy Collection Vintage Chewbacca mold returns with a new right hand, a red robe, and a star-covered Life Day Orb. The head is new, as far as I can tel, but there are other similar heads. If I'm wrong, my bad - but the head doesn't seem to have any clearance for the bandolier Hasbro opted to not include, with fur brushed back a bit more and a bit more neatly than other heads. I like the sculpt, but I don't like the paint - the face is much darker than the cardback. Chewie's face has lighter hair around his eyes and mouth, so it would have been nice if they were a smidgen lighter. And if his lips weren't dark. Other than that? It's pretty great. Hasbro did a bang-up job retooling the right hand to hold the orb, which is the kind of thing we don't usually get to see. (I would have expected an orb tooled to fit on the existing figure's hands to cut costs.) He has the same articulation we've seen for 19 years - and again earlier this year - so it isn't bad. It's just not as good as some other new figures.

 The figure is nothing new - heck, Hasbro could've saved some money by doing one of its 5-jointed figures with a new arm too - but the robe is totally new. His hands stick out, which I do not recall from the special or the many stills I'm seeing online, so that's kind of weird - normally the hands are shown holding the orbs from inside the sleeves. (I assume nobody wanted to wear the full costumes under there.) I don't know if Hasbro could make a figure who has a hand that can hold an orb through the slanket like we saw from Funko and Diamond, so this design decision makes sense if you want it to work... and to look good in the packaging. I would say this is likely as good as you can get at this scale, with these materials, but I do wish the cut of the robe was a little less bulky on the toy. I'm happy Hasbro and Disney kept the price "down" at $16.99 for a body we've had a dozen or so times across multiple figure lines, especially for a holiday figure, an exclusive, and what I would hope is a lower-run item. (This is an item with a very specific audience.) If you are that audience, you've already bought this figure - maybe two, the cardback is pretty nice. Because I love wacky things from the time after the first Star Wars movie but before the saga had a codified look, this is right up my alley and I honestly wish they did a Kenner version too. (Funko made a Pop!) This is an item made for those old-school fans, and I think that's great that the powers that be came together to make something new out of mostly existing parts that a lot of fans will actually see as interesting and not just the same figure yet again. Sure, he can't be posed quite like the cardback, but at least it's close enough and weird enough to work for me. I'm very interested in anything Star Wars from the 1970s and 1980s movies, and TV shows, and if we're being honest, comic books too. Also I'm writing this while going through the original Land of the Lost so maybe I'm not a reliable source of what's awesome.

Again, not kidding, if Hasbro made a slightly smaller robe and packed it with Kenner Retro Chewie next year for $15 I'd buy it. (I probably wouldn't buy The Black Series version of this figure... but it might sell if kept to a reasonable run size!)

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse and it is also sold at Shop Disney. For anyone upset about such things - no bowcaster nor bandolier are included.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,092: December 21, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,091: Pre Vizsla (The Black Series)

PRE VIZSLA Paz Vizsla is the other guy
The Black Series 2023 Window Box Line Look The Clone Wars Packaging
Item No.: Asst. E8908 No. F7108
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #17 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Includes: 2 blasters, rocket pack, helmet, Darksaber
Action Feature: Removable helmet, holster holds blasters, there's a hook in the backpack for the Darksaber which does indeed have a removable blade
Retail: $24.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Bio: Pre Vizsla was governor of Concordia, a moon of Mandalore, during the Clone Wars. Behind closed doors, he led Death Watch, a secret group of commandos seeking control of Mandalore. (Taken from the The Mandalorian box packaging.)

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: Better late than never? I was hoping we'd get this revised version of Pre Vizsla in Hasbro's The Clone Wars line, but he never came to be - but now we have one, and by one I mean two. There's a The Vintage Collection one too, and weirdly, Hasbro is releasing a lot of characters in both (or three) formats all at once lately. How strange. Anyway, Pre Vizsla is a live-action version of a cartoon character which means there is wiggle-room in how he looks... and Hasbro wiggles. The figure uses a lot of old parts. Parts of him come from Jango Fett, a 2016 figure. That figure was retooled to various The Clone Wars Mandalorians in 2020, which means Hasbro slapped on a hew head, new helmet, new belt, new backpack, and new deco, and now gets to charge you $25 for it. (I'm being snarky, if I were in their shoes I'd do the exact same thing since the CG model on the cartoon shared a lot of parts with the existing Death Watch figures.)

I don't love the stiff, old-style double-jointed knees or stiff ankles as it makes it hard to pose the figure, the arm joints are pretty good. You don't get the elbow bends of more recent toys, but at least he can hold his blasters or Darksaber well. I had issues getting him to stand - I'm spoiled by Retro figures - so you might want to get him some support before he topples over. The old body parts don't necessarily work as well as the new, which just continue to improve and impress. The sculpting hasn't improved much, but that's not a knock against it - new parts mesh with old nicely, and the older parts looked pretty fantastic. It's not like the head and helmet look eight years newer - Hasbro has done a pretty consistently great job sculpting heads and armor on these figures from the beginning.

Pre's head has a gnarly scar, painted fuzz, and a pretty good photo real face. How they make a real human out of a cartoon look so convincing, I don't know, but good on them. His helmet looks just like the cartoon, complete with two articulated rangefinders. No complaints. The fit is a little tight but not so tight you won't be able to use it.

For fans of the show and of the character, this is an easy buy. $25 for what is basically way better than any custom you could have made for an existing figure is pretty good, and the compliment of accessories is on the better side of what these figures tend to give us lately. Sometimes you get a blaster, sometimes you get a bunch of stuff, and I have no idea why - but this one gives you pretty much everything you could want in a box for the current standard price. If you ever see it on sale I'd highly recommend it, but for fans wanting the absolute best figures, keep in mind the engineering is a little creaky compared to the new hotness. Thankfully the deco and sculpting are as good as ever, and as I assume most of you will be putting these figures boxed (or unboxed) on a shelf and ignoring them, there's no reason you won't love this one too.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,091: December 19, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,090: R5 Droid (Advent Calendar 2022)

R5 DROID Droid Cosplay
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Silver BB droid, Nutcracker R5 droid, Gold R4 droid, Giftwrapped Power Droid with bow, Elf R6 Droid with hat, C1 droid
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $69.99
Availability: August 2022
Appearances: n/a
Bio: All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. Open up the Sandcrawler to reveal and build 6 new droids to celebrate along with them for 25 days this season. May the Force be with you... and your droids!" This droid is optimized to function in the sparsely settled, unspoiled frontier world of Vandor. Join R6-SNO on their adventures throughout the galaxy! (Taken from the packaging. Yes, the one quotation mark and reference to R6-SNO, who is not included, was on the box in three languages.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: An obvious tribute! Everybody knows about the Nutcracker, a famous ballet that takes place in space and involves a machine in which you put quarters that kicks people between their legs while a bear in a small hat drives a tiny car around in a circle. Admittedly, I am not super cultured but I do know that this R5 Droid from the 2022 Disney Droid Advent Calendar was modeled to look like a traditional wooden nutcracker. You get the same R5 mold you know and love with no leg wires and removable limbs, but now it's slathered in paint to look like the bearded man with the strong jaw.

This one is a pretty clever little tribute that makes something that looks like the familiar holiday decoration, while also not completely diverting from the possibility - a very, very loose possibility - that you could picture him rolling around the Star Wars galaxy. He has a black dome with gold trim, which looks sort of like a big hat. The ring around the base of the dome and some what underneath resembles the beard (and area where the nuts get cracked), with white and black rectangles representing a cross between a face while looking vaguely like the droids from Disney's The Black Hole. Epaulets, buttons, and other jacket elements are painted on the droid in existing panels, as is a gold belt buckle and a ring around the base that looks like a belt. They didn't stop there - they gave him black feet to look like black shoes. It's a clever design that's probably just a little over-the-top for the Expanded Universe but it's not as nutty as some of the other droids we've gotten over the years.

While not essential to any collection, those looking to decorate with droids would probably like this one. It's not as subtle - or garish - as the other droids in the set, is hard working, and will serve you well. There's some paint slop under the golden ring on the dome of my sample, but other than that it's a perfectly nice figure that could probably go in the background of your dioramas and look pretty cool. I'm not going to recommend it to you unless you need more droids, and you know who you are.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from some guy on eBay for a lower price!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,090: December 14, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,089: Gamorrean Guard (The Retro Collection)

GAMORREAN GUARD 2023 Remake of 1983 Figure
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure Hasbro Pulse/Shop Disney 6-Pack
Item No.: No. F6988
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Axe plus Mon Mothma, Yak Face, Emperor's Royal Guard, Wicket W. Warrick, and Admiral Ackbar
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $72.99
Availability: November 2023
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Bio: Star Wars Retro Collection includes Star Wars action figures from the 40-plus-year legacy of the Star Wars Galaxy, including movies and live-action series. (Stolen from the marketing copy. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: It's always a little weird to see a figure I got for Christmas as a little kid reissued, but hey, at least it's a sensible set! The Gamorrean Guard is one that dropped on eBay lately, but was going for a decent amount of money (especially with his axe) just a few years ago. I assume this set and Stan Solo axe repros drove prices down, so now you can get a loose original guard for around $15-$16 shipped, or this one in a 6-pack for $73 (about $12.16.) If I were you, and I just wanted pig guards, I'd buy originals - they're better overall, but they don't include a friggin' Yak Face. Or Mon Mothma. It's a really good set and you should get one, at least.

Originally a figure I had as a kid, I can say it worked well in its design as an actual toy. You get one hand which can hold an axe, which can menace Luke or Chewie or whoever you like. The other hand was a fist - unusual for Kenner Star Wars at the time - so it actually gave him a little extra personality. He could punch people! Everybody else tended to have a gripping hand or an open hand, so something this simple gave the brutish guard some real thug energy. It was great! (And it was fun to punch other figures.) He's slightly hunched over, as is his design, with a generously portioned body - the widest in the line - meaning he won't fit in most vehicles. There were special wide slots on the C-3PO Carry Case for him, though. He can't sit like normal figures due to how Hasbro implemented the "skirt" design, which was really clever - the legs were inside and had a "v" crotch, swinging to the sides rather than swinging forward. It's kind of a pity that this design was not tried again with future figures, most of which got an actual skirt or just a t-crotch cut. He can't fit with his legs fully forward, but at least he can kind of, sort of sit a bit. I assume a person in the costume would do the same. It was a good design, even though it lacked some of the pink in his face this green ham (no eggs) was a fun toy figure for kids of the era.

This new Gamorrean Guard looks just like the old figure at first glance, but if you get in close there are lots of weird little changes - this is basically. He's a little smoothed-out, like he got botox and was squished a bit. His belt buckle was a circle, now it's an oval that's been squished a bit - just like Retro Skiff Lando. Sculpted details vary widely from the original, with some elements like his arm veins or dots on his armor seeming more detailed while the wrinkles on his face and sculpted toes seem less detailed. As I've mentioned with other Retro Collection figures, it's not better or worse - it's different. It's the 2023 Vietnam Variant, and the details are more smoothed out and cartoony. The 2023 figure is the one in your memory, whereas the real 1983 deal has a lot of intricate wrinkles around the eyes. The helmet hoodie has lost most detail on the silver element, giving you a figure that seems like it took a trip through the uncanny valley on its 40 year journey to us today. I don't think anyone who never owned the original will find fault with this one - he holds his axe, the arms and legs all feel exactly like the original when they swivel.

Paint on the new Gamorrean Guard is good, and the color matching is excellent. The axe is a little bit lighter, with brown paint and silver plastic just being a bit more vibrant. The same is true for the figure's silver armor, which is a heck of a lot shinier than I remember ever seeing on an authentic 1983 Kenner figure. The browns, blacks, and yellows match closely, with eyes that seem bigger, cuter, more surprised. The 1983 figure looks like Kenner made the best figure they could with 1983 budgeting and manufacturer techniques, while the 2023 Hasbro figure looks like they were trying to copy the aesthetic of that older figure - but not the manufacturing methodology. It's a minor quibble and most people won't notice a difference, but you can see a few alterations that seem like you lost a generation of toymakers and it is a good, but not precise, copy.

Would I recommend this figure? Of course - it's just different enough to make you go "OK sure" if you're an old-school variant fan, and it's pretty cheap if you just want a carded Kenner Gamorrean Guard. Having said that, army-builders have an endless supply of the 40-year-old originals, but the 2023 one has cleaner paint. I can't fault rerunning army builders, so I think this is going to make a lot of people happy. Hopefully Hasbro keeps 'em coming and hopefully puts some in stores - The Retro Collection figures hitting mass tend to sell out immediately if they're remakes of the 1978-1985 Kenner figures, and are very hit-and-miss if they're Disney-era stuff.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Hasbro Pulse, who seem to have sold out days after shipping. Check ShopDisney for availability too.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,089: December 12, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,088: Morgan Elsbeth (The Vintage Collection)

MORGAN ELSBETH Sans Pole
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. F7311 No. F7345
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #295
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $16.99
Availability: October 2023
Appearances: Ahsoka

Bio: Morgan Elsbeth was a Force-sensitive human female Nightsister who was instrumental in the construction of the Imperial Navy during the reign of the Galactic Empire. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

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!

Click here to buy it at Walmart now!

Commentary: Can I go on a tangent? I hate that spoilerphobes run the business now. Back in 2002, Hasbro released a Jango Fett figure with a decapitated head before Attack of the Clones. I could have done without that - but now Lucasfilm is keeping stuff so tightly under wraps for "surprise" or whatever that Hasbro can make a really nice action figure like Morgan Elsbeth, a character with multiple great options for accessories on the shows, and what do we get? None. In The Mandalorian, she had a beskar spear that would become a big deal on the show - no such weapon is included. In Ahsoka, she had Talzin's Sword - another significant weapon, also not included here. The character also got a significant Super Saiyan makeover which could have allowed for alternate body parts or even little clear Magick energy bits - also none of those were included here. So you get a perfectly nice figure with a superb skirt, but she's $16.99 just like the figures with alternate heads, alternate hands, and actual gear. It's just not here, there's no value, and so far the figure seems to be selling well. (Oddly, The Black Series figure's price is dropping precipitously as of last month. $10 off a new figure is a pretty bad sign, but she also had no gear.) Confidential to Hasbro and Lucasfilm: if you want to keep the accessories a mystery to us during pre-order or presentation phases, do it. Mattel used to do it. We can see what the gear is after the figure ships, rather than be charged for a figure with no accessories that I assume is unlikely to ever get said accessories. But, as I said, I digress. This is a nice figure, and I have to parse "this is a nice action figure that was manufactured well" from "what insanity is this insane pricing with no accessories." Perhaps the problem is The Vintage Collection itself - in years gone by, we'd get coins, or holographic figures, or even droid parts. Something. Hasbro could easily hide a spoilerly accessory behind the figure in the bubble, or they could take the attitude of Hasbro in 2002.

But here in 2023, you have a good figure. The hair is a separately-molded wig with multiple shades of gray. The strands are exquisitely sculpted, with tiny buns on the back, a part in the middle, and more hanging down framing her face. If there was an award for best-sculpted hair, this would probably get it - we never had it quite this good in the old days. Her face looks like Diana Lee Inosanto, complete with fantastic and tiny make-up elements. Take a look at her forehead, her eyebrows, and her lips - everything looks perfect. Her top looks great with sculpted folds of fabric and perfectly painted Ahsoka belt. Her costume did change a bit between The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, while keeping the basic silhouette and color palette. It's kind of obnoxious - sort of like Finn's costume changes between the first two movies being his pants. In Morgan's case, she has a skirt with perfect little pleats. It's really impressive - the fabric pattern is black and red, with more texture than I'm used to for soft goods. The execution is, again, tip-top.

Her articulation is good, but nowadays "good" is "nothing special." For a figure with no weapons, no reason for combat poses, and no reason to sit, rocker ankles, ball-jointed hips, and an exceptional range of motion are nice - but Hasbro could also have cut them a bit and given us a simpler figure, possibly at a lower price point. (They don't want to do this, they want to sell $17 or higher figures. And if they threw in coins I'd probably pay the extra money without a fight.) Her wrists only swivel, and her arms have a good range of movement - but the elbows stop at 90 degrees. I know some fans complain when I say this - but she could probably be a salt shaker with arms and most fans would never notice. She's just going to stand around, or be carded - there could be cost savings for Hasbro which could be put into accessories or a lower price point on the assortment.

Looking at the legs under the dress, my first reaction was "Did they announce an Asajj Ventress and I forgot?" Those could totally be reused for other figures - but we haven't had a new one in over a decade. We're about due. (She's popular and could probably also reuse the skirt, just add lightsabers and a new head/upper body.)

So is Morgan Elsbeth a good figure? Yes. Is she worth $17? I mean... no? You've got a well-executed barebones figure here. The fact that the lining of the dress is red and it has this nifty black pattern printed on the outside is really amazing, but all she can do is stand - and with skinny legs and lots of articulation, she might need help. I have many similar gripes about Retro Morgan, but she ain't here yet. So for now I'll say if you love the character, and you love 3 3/4-inch figures, this is your best bet... but The Black Series may be even cheaper online.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,088: December 7, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,087: Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2, The Black Series)

ARTOO-DETOO (R2-D2)
The Black Series 40th Anniversary Return of the Jedi or 2023 Window Box Line Look The Mandalorian Packaging
Item No.: Asst. F6853 No. F7075 and Asst. E8908 No. F8351
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #32 - Star Wars: The Mandalorian
Includes: Four arms, two scopes
Action Feature: Neck extends for on-board arm storage, retractable third leg, opening ports for scopes in dome
Retail: $24.99
Availability: September 2023
Appearances: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Mandalorian

Bio: As Luke Skywalker ushers Grogu into his Jedi training, he's accompanied by R2-D2 who is particularly enthused to encounter the foundling. (Taken from the The Mandalorian box packaging.)

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: In a period of weeks, Hasbro demonstrated how it is dealing with being tasked to use fewer SKUs by releasing the same Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) figure on two different styles of packaging. As far as I can tell both releases are identical, and I opened the 40th Anniversary Return of the Jedi one for this review because the packaging arrived smashed. This new astromech droid body is a little bigger and has a different set of features from the one we got way back in 2013, addressing some issues but not others. It is a little more than just different enough to make you mad, but it is not, sadly, the ultimate R2-D2. You're still being charged a regular price for a smaller figure, but at least this time Hasbro made a few more parts move and added some features to make the most out of the budget. (They did not, however, add instructions so the average Joe can use them.)

 

BanDai did a similar figure a few years ago, and what it tells us is that Lucasfilm apparently does not have a definitive R2-D2 schematic. For those of you who bought that Incredible Cross-sections of Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace: The Definitive Guide to the Craft book, you know that R2-D2 has an extendable neck so his head pops out of the top of the ship. BanDai went with a five-piston version, while Hasbro's is one big extending piece. In terms of toy functionality, Hasbro's has a slight edge because you can store the figure's extra arms in there, if you want. The dome rotates on the extended neck, and two of the panels on his dome are removable/easily lost for you to use with the included periscope and sensorscope. What's more, R2-D2 has a third leg with an unusual feature - a foot that not only pivots, but swivels. We never get those. They managed to cram a lot in here... but not everything. More on that below.

The figure has four opening bodily compartments, without the little tabs to help get them open. On his sides, each one has three holes in it, so you can put in a manipulator arm, a datalink port, an oil-slick arm, or a utility/interface arm. Also the blue panels under his dome open, but I can't see any function to them in terms of a place to put arms or accessories. It's just a cool extra, and sign that Hasbro is making the most of its tooling budget. I had no idea those panels even opened until I got this in my hands, so you can say I'm more than a little impressed and surprised to see it. I'm also surprised two versions of this figure were released without any mention of all these features on the packaging or an instruction sheet. If you're going to put money into making such a robust droid with so many moving parts, why not tell everybody?

I haven't even talked about the sculpt yet. It's good! It looks like R2-D2 and the size seems more on the money. I like the wires on the feet, the painted blue panels, and his "bald spot" on top of his dome was actually painted this time. (Hasbro frequently leaves the circle on top silver.) They left the vents under his legs unpainted, and also and the areas around the silver greeblies on his arms were left unpainted. But they did recess the octagonal silver element on the bottom of the figure, while leaving off the blue paint in that region. The back of the dome also has a place for a long, rectangular light but Hasbro opted to leave it unpainted this time. On the front of his dome, the Logic Function displays - those little stacked rectangles - were sadly also left unpainted. Since they're hollow, I wonder if Hasbro just left a piece out?

The dome has two pop-out panel slices. Sadly neither hinges up like in the movie, so R2-D2's periscope with the blue top looks like it belongs, but the sensorscope just looks like a piece fell out. It's good, but not perfect. Maybe the next one will be perfect, but it might also be at a higher price for the extra bells and whistles. (Confidentially, if Hasbro made an R2-D2 that does everything at a deluxe price, maybe incorporating some die-cast metal, I'd probably buy it.)

For those looking to replace their older figure, it's two steps forward and one step back. Fans have been asking for a do-over for R2-D2 since the first one came out, because we're hard to please. We may ask for one again as this R2-D2 lacks any sort of lightsaber storage, has none of the arm booster rockets, and lacks wheels. It is difficult to get that third leg out, and still doesn't have the key Return of the Jedi pizza cutter to escape the Ewok net. It's by no means a bad figure, but for those looking to get the best version and call it quits, it is sadly worth noting that this is also not the final definitive R2-D2. You'll probably want the old version too.

If you never got the first R2-D2, or its various reissues or deco variants, I would recommend this one. $25 or so ain't bad, and the added play features make it genuinely worthwhile. The action features are more subtle this time, and the size may be more to your liking. I just wish it was as good as it could possibly be - it's so much better, but short of budgetary reasons (or maybe a new variant with different legs next year) there's nothing really keeping those arm rockets off the toy. I shouldn't dump on it for what it isn't, particularly since what it is, is better than the 2013 version. According to the inflation calculators, $20 from 2013 would be $26.42in 2023, so you might even look at this figure as, in some ways, a decent deal. Also Hasbro still hasn't done a "disk drive" in the modern era - the 12-inch figure from the 1970s had Death Star plans you could cram in the back, but nobody has worked with the diskette from the original movie yet. Free unrequested feedback for the next one: plans, lightsaber, maybe some drink trays, and booster rockets.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,087: December 5, 2023

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,086: BB Droid (Silver, Advent Calendar 2022)

BB DROID Droid Cosplay
Star Wars Droid Factory
Item No.: ???
Manufacturer: Disney
Number: n/a
Includes: Silver BB droid, Nutcracker R5 droid, Gold R4 droid, Giftwrapped Power Droid with bow, Elf R6 Droid with hat, C1 droid
Action Feature: Comes apart
Retail: $69.99
Availability: August 2022
Appearances: n/a
Bio: All different types of astromech droid populate the Star Wars galaxy. Each droid is different and has their own unique personality and colors. Open up the Sandcrawler to reveal and build 6 new droids to celebrate along with them for 25 days this season. May the Force be with you... and your droids!" This droid is optimized to function in the sparsely settled, unspoiled frontier world of Vandor. Join R6-SNO on their adventures throughout the galaxy! (Taken from the packaging. Yes, the one quotation mark and reference to R6-SNO, who is not included, was on the box in three languages.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: It was Thanksgiving last week, but it's not December yet, so let's look at the Advent Calendar BB Droid. While some of you say that the gold R4 droid is a bell, I don't buy it - but I could buy this one being a bell, or maybe a snowflake, or just a riff on a traditional ball ornament. Or not. I guess I have no idea what the authorial intent is, but the author is dead so I guess I'll just say it's a nice silver ball robot.

Riffing on the BB-9E head on a BB-8 body, you get a blue-gray metallic plastic robot with painted metallic blue and matte white highlights. The design doesn't feel holiday specific - if you squint you could probably place it at another holiday, or just as a robot rolling around in a post-Empire galaxy. Since the mold is nothing new, you're buying this for the colors and I'd say they're just fine. (Maybe it's a snowflake?) There's a lot to like here in its simplicity. It's not an eye explosion like the elf or nutcracker, it's not painfully obviously Christmas incarnate. You can let this little one roll around anywhere you like, and I can admire that - expanding the universe is something Star Wars should do more often, although it can be tough to do. If you come up with something too weird it's uncomfortable, but within the context of a droid redeco that adheres to the coloring book lines we've seen before it's easy to like this droid. You can put him in a sandcrawler, or under a tree. Options are nice to have, especially if you don't celebrate Christmas and just want a nice little new droid.

For those of you who don't have any BB droids from Disney, they're sort of like Weebles. The round ball robot cracks open like a plastic Easter Egg with a weighted ball inside. Curiously, the weighted interior ball has a lot of silver paint that you'll never see after you assemble it. I'm sure a lot of collectors will express admiration for attention to detail, but I'd rather not pay for paint applications I'll probably never see after I buy it. I wouldn't mind if Disney started to mold these things in color so we can - I hope - put off a price increase a little bit longer. (The exterior paint is perfectly good, don't change a thing, Disney.)

Somehow this figure is more interesting as a "Christmas" droid that's not very "Christmas" than it would be as a random grab of parts out of a bin. The silver top of the head and bright white around a big black eye give him just enough life that it seems he could go beep at any second now. For you reading this in the future, he has no given name. How you'll find it on eBay I don't know - Sandcrawler Advent Calendar BB Droid? Blue Silver BB Unit? Good luck. But do find one, if you are so inclined. He's part of a big set that's arguably worth getting if you swing that way, and I'm more willing to accept a droid with open arms if it's smaller and more reasonably priced. And this one is.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from some guy on eBay for a lower price!

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,086: November 30, 2023