Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 3,117: Ahsoka Tano (Epic Hero Series)

AHSOKA TANO New Kids Line
Epic Hero Series Basic Figure
Item No.: Asst. F9405 No. G0103
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: 2 lightsabers
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $9.99
Availability: January 2024
Appearances: Star Wars: Ahsoka
Bio: Once a Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano now forges her own path in the galaxy. (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!

Click here to buy it at eBay now!

Commentary: Whenever a new line comes out, I'm never sure if it's going to immediately click with me or if I'm going to roll my eyes. Those $80 8-inch figures - while impressive - just didn't seem to serve a purpose. I liked the quality of the Mission Fleet vehicles, but the scale seemed destined to be incomplete, despite being generally neat. Epic Hero Series 4-inch figures are starting off super slow, but they're generally good. Ahsoka Tano - a figure I absolutely do not need more of - tuned out particularly well. While she lacks the personality quirks of vintage and POTF2-era figure sculpts like bent elbows and poses that give them a little more life, she's not a boring fixed-posed soldier either. The colors are good and the results may be a little simple for $10, but you know what? She's good. Hasbro did a nice job here.

I'm sure most fans would rather have the super-poseable ones we've had multiple times in other packaging styles (or the Retro Kenner one), but this one occupies a lower-cost middle ground. In an alternate timeline where you might not see the Vintage Ahsoka at Ross for $3.99, I would steer you toward this one. She may be a hair taller, but the detail is good and she's sturdy. She holds her lightsabers well, and stands easily, and has no problems sitting down either. There aren't any vehicles for this line as of yet, but if there were I assume she would easily fit in whatever you had handy.

In terms of texture and sculpting, they did a nice job with pants that look like cloth, armor that looks like armor, and skin that looks really close to Rosario Dawson. The nose is right on, the facial markings look good, the blue highlights look great. The eyes and lips look good, and she generally looks like what you would imagine a modern "vintage" Kenner figure to be. If anything, I think - minus the lack of waist joint - she might push a lot of the nostalgia buttons of the 1990s kid. Those lightsabers remind me a lot of Kenner's revival offerings with a silver hilt and a clear blade with no flourish at the base.

If you take a look at all of Hasbro's figures at their retail prices, this is on the lowest end of Ahsoka toys and turned out well. She also came out a little late for her TV show, without any vehicles, and is in a line that doesn't really have its footing yet. A figure is just a figure - it's nothing, it needs a vehicle, or playset, or more pals to hang out with before you can usually say "this is the line for me!" It's a great demo of what Hasbro can do, and it has my hopes up for more figures of this style. Having said that, you may find $3.99 Ahsoka figures at Ross or Ollie's right now too - and this one has yet to get much distribution outside the Walmart Easter bins or online shops. I'd recommend it for fans of Kenner figures from the 20th century, especially if you got ten bucks in your pocket. Hopefully this line clicks with kids and fans at a more fair price than Hasbro's other offerings, but these figures are not necessarily better than what competitive toy makers crank out for similar price points.

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

--Adam Pawlus

Day 3,117: March 19, 2024