ANAKIN SKYWALKER Mail-Away or POTF2 Style
The Vintage Collection 3 3/4-Inch basic figure
Item No.: Asst. F6878 No. G2610
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #405
Includes: Cloth robes
Action Feature: Removable robes
Retail: $19.99
Availability: August 2026
Appearances: Return of the Jedi
Bio: On Endor, Anakin watched over Luke and his friends Yoda and Obi-Wan as they celebrated the galaxy’s new freedom . (Taken from the cardback.)
Image: Adam's photo lab.
Availability: Click here to buy it at eBay now!
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Commentary: We haven't received a new version of this particular iteration of
Anakin Skywalker in quite a while. It's kind of a strange one to explain, but here goes. Back in the 1980s, Kenner had this Spirit of Anakin Skywalker as its last mail-away figure - carded samples were scarce. In the USA, it came on a coin card
Power of the Force package while overseas, it was a trilogo
Return of the Jedi cardback. The figure had grey robes which did a surprisingly decent job of conjuring the image of a blue-tinged apparition in an era before "clear blue" was a real consideration. We got an attempt to update this figure as
Anakin Skywalker (Jedi Spirits) [FOTD #3,317] last year, and it got pretty close except for the sheer negligee Jedi robes. This figure in opaque plastic with brown robes is meant to recall the original 1980s carded figure, but does so by giving us a figure in non-toy colors, on a cardback style that hasn't previously existed. But I'm a stickler for such things and it is baffling to me that Hasbro isn't doing
Power of the Force cardbacks, even if they had to swap out the coin with a POG for cost reasons.
But how is the figure? Fine, more or less. It's very similar to the 1999
Flashback Photo Anakin Skywalker [FOTD #7]. That figure makes a very compelling argument for the plastic robe - sure, this new one hangs fine, but the plastic one hangs with intention. Anakin's movie shot and previous figures always have it fairly open so you can see the robes on his torso, while this one is packaged with it wrapped closed. If anything, it just makes an argument to rerelease the figure in
Retro if you want to eventually get the original 92 (let's be honest, 116) remade. Once removed from the cardback, 2026 Anakin can be posted to look acceptably. But I still prefer the legs-can't-move 1984 and 1996 versions in terms of functionality (it's one of few figures that has no need to sit or be posed) and how it looks on a shelf. The new likeness seems to be more like the cardback than the actor, but hey, why not. It's what people probably remember. If the eyebrows were a smidgen darker, I'd say this head is probably difficult if not impossible to improve upon. Also, Sebastian Shaw was 78 in
Return of the Jedi with Darth Vader being around 46. As a kid, you probably didn't think anything of how old the old Jedi looked, but if you're reading this feature you might be older than that today. And you don't look
that old.
The figure's new robes are of a better material and cut than the Spirit version. The clear blue see-thru mesh was just plain not appropriate for the purpose, and this one blocks you from seeing what's under the robe. That's good! It has a hood, and the cut is fairly clean. I think this is an accessory Hasbro could improve on a future release, as there were some signs of folding and rumpled-ness that we just plain don't get - or possibly
can't get - with a cloth piece at this size.
While the figure itself is very good with rocker ankles, bend-and-swivel wrists, and everything you expect from a $20 figure, these joints are kind of a waste of expenses. The robes restrict a bit of movement, and the lower plastic robes restrict all movement. Fans would sometimes deride figures from being a chess piece, but you know what? For a few figures, that's a more sensible and cost-effective way to make a figure. We never see Sebastian Shaw Anakin do much other than move his head - so why pay for layers of plastic robes and joints you won't see and not use? (To charge you $20 for what could have been a really good $10 figure, of course.)
I prefer this figure to the blue robed ghost version, and will probably keep the Hayden head on the Spirit from now on.
The question of super articulation versus not, or Vintage versus Retro, is normally one of taste - but like with Andor Mon Mothma, I think there really is a case to be made from not-premium figure assortments. R2-D2 3 3/4-inch? Not premium. A Jawa? Not premium. This Anakin? It is premium - but unlike other Jedi, you get no lightsaber, no hilt, no swappable hands. Really, this figure exists to remain carded or to go on a display shelf of some sort, so you will not benefit from the extra engineering here. I recommend this as a neat carded figure, particularly for those putting together a modernized set of the original line. This is very much the figure I would want on my Endor display if we ever got (or I ever 3D print) a new Ewok Village. But if I ever want to fuss with a Sebastian Shaw Anakin figure, I'm going to the POTF2 version or the mail-away from when I was a kid. This new one's ankles and robes are easily knocked out of whack, and the simpler 20th century figures more or less get the job done just fine. TVC 405 a much more impressive take on those old figures, but sometimes impressive isn't what makes for the best action figure. And it may be bias talking, but I prefer the old mail-in one overall. The gray robes were a creative way to make a Jedi Spirit and I wouldn't mind seeing them rerelease Obi-Wan and Yoda in similar colors to match it. (Yes I know about Stan Solo's spirits. No he did not use the right molds for the job.)
Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. Two cases of Vintage showed up at the exact same time, which seems like overkill in a light year - I wish they spread these out a bit more.
--Adam Pawlus
Day 3,384: September 29, 2026
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