Modern Biker Scout

Return of The Jedi really took the Imperial designs in a different direction with ones like the Biker Scouts and more so with the Royal Guards, but this profile is about the former. The Biker Scout’s been a guy who’s gotten his fair share of good toys, but the 2006 sculpt is the one I’m looking at today.

This is a really nice figure for the time he’s from. I think there was a lot of interesting stuff Hasbro was making then, but the quality on a lot of the mid-2000’s figures is a noticeable step down from what we expect nowadays (not to say newer is better, it isn’t always). Frankly, this figure has all of the articulation he needs, he’s plenty accurate, and the paint’s pretty good too. It’s really no wonder Hasbro sold this one for so many years, as this figure really doesn’t need too much updating. Hasbro’s recent/upcoming Black Series version tries to update this one a tad, but from my point of view you really don’t get much more with that one than you do with this older and cheaper one.

I really like the way Star Wars Battlefront uses these guys as snipers too. I think it fits them well, and it fills a hole in the Imperial army. All in all, this is a fun figure and all it really needs to be.

Kenner Rebel Commando

Prior to my acquisition of him, the Rebel Soldier from ROTJ didn’t interest me as much. That’s not to say I had no interest in the figure, but he’s the kind that looks bland from the surface, yet upon further inspection is such a pleasant surprise.

I think this figure’s problem is that he’s a tad generic for a Star Wars design. He looks like a generic, green army man with little to distinguish him. Then again, it’s not like that’s a bad thing, rather I think it has a place in the line when so many of the designs are so outlandish. Perhaps a soft-goods piece like Endor Han had would’ve taken this figure a bit further, but he’s still a fine soldier that could be imagined in many scenarios besides Endor. It helps level things out for the Rebels when the Empire already had so many grunts.

This figure’s blaster is one of the best the line had to offer. I think it really shows how much Kenner had improved their quality by the time this figure was made. It’s a good looking gun brimming with little details, and by modern standards still looks pretty good. The strap nicely adds to the figure as well, allowing him to also carry the gun over his shoulder.

TVC Widdle and Wunka

Last year was a big year for the Ewoks, with around eight new bears. For a fan of the little guys this was a pretty good thing, although the exclusive nature of many of these was a small frustration. In the case of Widdle and Wunka, they were K-mart exclusives. Now, my last K-mart closed just before these were released leaving me no option to get them myself. Thankfully a good friend helped me get both of these K-mart sets.

Starting with Wunka, he features a new head, new hood, and new weapon. I like the look of this one, the teal/green hood helps him stand out among the other Ewoks. His head is the source of criticism from some fans that dislike his cartoonish face, that has bigger eyes and more stylized teeth than the other Ewoks. I tend to not mind this, but I do see how it might irritate some. His axe is a nice weapon too, and is a nice change from the typical spear.

Widdle is the orange bear in the set. This is a nice color for an Ewok given their usual shades of gray. Widdle’s hood and club are new, but his head is reused from Leektar in this case. There’s enough of the modern Ewoks that this head reuse can be forgiven as it’s not really noticeable. A club also seems like a pretty strange weapon, but again, I like it for being different.

In ROTJ, Widdle and Wunka are the two Ewoks that help Chewbacca hijack an AT-ST. This was a pretty cool scene in my eyes, so it’s nice to finally own these two in action figure form.

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.