TVC Wicket

Thought I’d introduce the Ewoks to the blog, and there’s no better place to start than with good old Wicket! Ewoks are a part of Star Wars I’ve always had a fondness for; they’re cute, and well contained mostly to one part of the story.

The Vintage Collection’s take on Wicket is highly impressive for a figure of this size. He’s got a lot of movement, though not as much as Logray, and comes with a cool extra hood as well. The hood is the green one he wore in the Ewoks cartoon, which was a clever pack-in on Hasbro’s part.

Star Wars toys of today are highly impressive to me most of the time, but for the quality they provide they are priced to match. This is the problem with Wicket here. Sadly, it feels hard sometimes to pay $10 for such a small figure that still doesn’t come with much, even as a collector. Although Wicket is a must have for someone like me, the prices of figures today makes me feel very choosey.

Prices aside, Hasbro’s done a great job with the modern Ewok figures, and I’m just glad they’re making as many as they are.

Kenner R5-D4

R5-D4 didn’t do much in the movie, but he serves a good purpose as an action figure. Of the Kenner guys, you don’t have any astromech besides this guy and R2-D2. Without painting him, R2-D2 could only serve in a collection as himself. R5-D4 on the other hand, is a fairly generic droid that does look mistakable for a few others in the films. As such, he serves an integral part of my collection, as an astromech that’s not R2-D2.

R5 is both a charming figure as well as one that leaves a little to be desired. It would have been nice if some sculpted details could have taken the place of the sticker used for his main body, which is my biggest gripe with the figure. At the same time it does contribute to what makes the figure neat: his simplicity. Another nice touch is the ratcheted joint in his head that clicks when you turn it. I’m not 100% sure why this was done, but it adds a more mechanical feel to the toy I find to be very nice.

Kenner Imperial Commanders

Out of all the Kenner vintage figures to choose from, I pegged this guy out as one I had to have. While Kenner made a lot of strong sculpts based on the Imperial designs, this one might stand out as the strongest. The sculpt on this guy is so good I’d go as far to say he even looks alright alongside modern figures.

One thing that stands out to me is the expression on this guy. It’s a little subtle, but he’s somewhat frowning and appears a tad more grim than the normal, more neutral expression usual given to generics. It’s very appropriate given how many of these guys Vader offed during ESB, almost as if he’s next.

There are two interesting variants of this figure, one with a textured uniform (pictured above) and one with a smooth uniform (pictured below). I think the texturing really adds to the look of the figure, so it’s the one I personally prefer.
 

Modern Snow Troopers

From hot to cold and old to new, or newer at any rate. When I started back to collecting Star Wars figures this dude was one of the first I sought out, and I’m glad I did since it’s a rather righteous figure. As mentioned I’m a big fan of cold climates, so of course a modern update of the Empire’s infantry on Hoth holds some appeal with me.

There’s something cool about the bellowing look of this guy, I think the fabric coat/skirt they gave him really goes well with that. Under his helmet is a clone head which I’m not a big fan of, but I also don’t believe there’s any need for me to take his helmet off so no biggie. This mold is also the newest and most articulated version of this character, so he can do all he needs to kick some rebel butt.

POTF 2 Sandtrooper

I recently rediscovered this little gem while digging through an old tub of stuff from my childhood. After quickly finding his parts and studying him for a bit I believe he’s one of the nicer figures from Power of the Force 2, for a few reasons. I wouldn’t say I’m hard on this era of figures, but with a lot of the figures just being decent it’s real surprise when you come across one like this guy from early in the line, who still looks oddly pleasing.

A common feature during this time was Kenner’s speckle type weathering. Normally I have a bit of distaste for this, but on this figure it actually looks half decent. If you compare it to some of Hasbro’s newer Sandtroopers, it actually looks a tad more convincing.

 The sculpting is another nice aspect of this one, and his pose works very nicely as well. One of my bigger problems with POTF2 toys is the way they always have these dynamic stances, yet it’s always just dynamically standing there. This guy is actually designed to get a two-handed pose with his gun, and he looks far more natural than many of his bowlegged, bent-kneed contemporaries. They could’ve done him normally, but I think it helps him hold up better now.

 It's also pretty cool that he's the first figure of this design, it's almost worth having him for that alone.