JEDI KNIGHT YORD FANDAR (The Kenner Republic)
The Retro Collection 3 3/4-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: No. G0386
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, cloak, and another 5 figures
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $59.99
Availability: October 2024
Appearances: The Acolyte
Bio: The Star Wars Retro Collection is 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!
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Commentary: Hey, it's Charlie Barnet!
Yord Fandar was a character on
The Acolyte who you were happy to see, and then died. He didn't get to do much - but since he was in the first couple of episodes of the show, we got him as a
Retro figure. Because he's a good actor, it's fun to have him as a toy figure, but I can't say I'm thrilled by this set's character selection. It makes sense Hasbro made him - why
wouldn't all these cool guys survive the show? Well, now we know, they don't. You get three Jedi in this set, but the thing that kind of stinks about pre-
Original Trilogy Jedi figures is that they're all pretty similar. But if you don't have enough Jedi, you should get this one because it understands the premise.
While not a perfect match to the actor - or the costume - it does feel like a step closer to what fans want out of a new Kenner figure. The pose has some nice bends in the elbows, arms out just a bit, and a tiny bit of a curve to the neck. It's a bit more human, still a tiny bit stiff but it's nice to see another figure that just doesn't seem to be repeating the old Bespin Luke pose. Everything swivels nicely, but his center of gravity is a little off - you're going to want to use his cloak to prop him up, or tilt his arms (or torso) ever-so-slightly forward or he falls backward. I'm not crazy about that, I just want to stand them upright and have him stand.
The figure's sculpting is pretty good - a bit chunkier, a bit less elegant, with colors that probably aren't quite right and a head sculpt that's just a bit off. In other words - arguably, they nailed it. The gold armor is a bit more saturated than the other figures, with a face that seems a hair too tall (with tall hair that's fine and a face that can't capture Barnet's stare) and enough landmarks that show Hasbro had decent reference. The boots seem a little more wrapped than the other figure, but hey, at least it looks interesting. The belt has a lot of sculpted bits with no painted highlights - which is how Kenner would usually do it - and perfectly nice boots. There's nothing particularly special about the pose, and the colors seem a bit saturated - it feels like someone put him through a toy compression process, and there's just enough of a lack of the actor likeness to make it feel old. It's not perfect to what old Kenner would have done, but it's got the spirit right - by getting it a little wrong.
Hasbro made the hands rather tight, so he's in no danger of dropping his lightsaber. The robe fits pretty well, but we're back to a hood that's kind of hard to fold down - just like the old days. I don't think I'd have done things particularly differently were I asked to chime in, so I would rate the gear as a success.
I think Hasbro did a good job with the character, the format limitations, the deco budget, and what I assumed was no useful information as to the character's fate. If you told me I could pick only 100 figures to make (or reissue), Yord wouldn't be a top contender - but he turned out fine, I probably would have argued about Prune Face too. Now that these figures seem to be exclusively based on non-classic sources and sold only in boxed sets, Hasbro is really hitting their stride - I hope they consider bringing them back to physical stores some day, but for now, this guy is a fine shared online Fan Channel exclusive.
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,196: December 10, 2024
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