PROFESSOR HUYANG Live Version
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E7763 No. F9778
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #311
Includes: Backpack with 2 removable collapsed arms or 2 extended arms, data pad, tool
Action Feature: Removable backpack with swappable limbs
Retail: $16.99
Availability: April 2024
Appearances: Star Wars Ahsoka
Bio: A repository of ancient Jedi lore, Huyang oversaw the construction of lightsabers in the Jedi Order for centuries, keeping an exacting record o every lightsaber constructed under his supervision. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)
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: Sometimes, it's more fun to review a figure late - you get weird insights. Roughly 3 3/4-inch
Professor Huyang came out earlier this year twice - once as a Disney-made figure, and then this taller figure. You might be asking "Which one is better?" and the answer will irritate you. Hasbro's is taller, with more gear, and more articulation. Disney's has some details painted in that Hasbro skipped, but it also includes an additional three droid figures you can't get from Hasbro. There's no conundrum for the completist, but fans on a budget who just want to keep one of them will probably err toward the wrong-sized, slightly-better-looking, droid-friended version from Disney. For display purposes, assuming your focus is beyond droid figures exclusively, you should probably get the more emotive Hasbro toy.
The figure itself has better articulation than the Disney release. They share bending elbows, but only Hasbro's has a thigh swivel and a double-jointed neck. He stands surprisingly well for a tall, skinny guy, no doubt thanks to the extra joints. The ball-and-socket hips and swivel thighs make a huge difference, and in his time standing on my desk he hasn't fallen over often. The hands are great at gripping the tool and the datapad, and the articulation helps him to emote too. The best figures have a decent face and enough articulation so that you can make it look like it's thinking, and Huyang fits the bill. It helps that the face on the TV show is a non-moving metal mask, so there's really no way Hasbro could mess this up short of making it the wrong color. While I do think painting the figure, rather than molding it in-color in a slightly translucent sheen, would help, it would no doubt further drive this figure's price up past the point of a basic $16.99 release. As it is, it seems to be one of the better figures in this assortment and is certainly one of the very best 3 3/4-inch droids we've ever seen. He's by no means perfect - that would probably take another $2-$3 on the retail price - but he's good enough that if this winds up being the only one we ever see, I can say Hasbro did good enough.
In terms of accessories, they're good, and they're ample, but they're not great. Again, we're dealing with the budget. Disney's Huyang figure has a lot of deco hits on the side, but the arms aren't articulated or removable. Hasbro's backpack is light on paint and the arms are devoid of deco, presumably an acceptable loss given how so many collectors are never going to open up the figure and look at it. The backpack pops off easily and the default collapsed limbs are relatively easy to pop out. The alternate arms are very good, with visible non-functioning joints and one of the tiniest droid thumbs I've ever seen. I would love a little more paint here, but again, that's life. His datapad and tool are also undecorated, and part of me wonders if they're even necessary - would I like the figure more if Hasbro traded them away for more paint? Maybe. There are very few droids where I feel the accessory is necessary. If and when Hasbro ever revisits EV-9D9, I don't need a computer console. But when they do (and redo) C-3PO, accessories are everything - would any of us have re-purchased the character without a net, or a throne, or Salacious Crumb in the package? ...probably, we love C-3PO. And I like Huyang - I would be very interested in seeing a deluxe version of even an alternate version with
less articulation and more paint, were Hasbro so inclined.
When it comes to deco, neither has a clear edge. Hasbro's Huyang has lots of painted neck and forearm details. Disney's has painted waist cables and an apron with greater contrast and weathering. And metallic paint on his dome, and extra paint hit on a chest bolt, and additional upper arm deco. It really is kind of maddening that neither looks better, and figures like this probably make a pretty compelling argument to do a deluxe release for this and other reasons. Had the backpack arms been fully articulated too, I think fans would begrudgingly go for it because you can see Hasbro starting to bump into budget restrictions on this figure in ways they don't for, say, R2-D2 and his being a mold from 2008 with a mere three points of articulation and removable third leg for $17.
Huyang has four extra accessories, and at least 26 points of articulation. I wouldn't mind seeing Hasbro not only consider deluxe figures for characters where the extra couple of bucks would make a difference, but maybe, just maybe, make a "basic" assortment for figures like R2-D2, a Jawa, Grogu, Yoda, an Ewok, or Salacious Crumb where you can't really make a case that there's $17 worth of toy there. If any figure is worth $17, it's Huyang. Heck, when it comes to Grogu I remain surprised he wasn't a pack-in accessory in a zillion poses so
every figure came with a different Grogu much like how figures once came with coins.
Given the nature of a The Vintage Collection figure, and budgets, and the timing of the release (and how far in advance Hasbro started to work on it) I would say this is an excellent figure. I wouldn't be upset to see another take on him if he appeared in a movie or a second season of the series, and I certainly would love it if Hasbro tried to do something really fancy like die-cast metal 3 3/4-inch droid figures with lots of paint and maybe less articulation. But I'm not in product development. Hasbro pat yourselves on the back here, you did a good figure for the price and I would be very interested in seeing what another few bucks could get us... or if this is good enough before hitting $30.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,176: October 1, 2024
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