Greef Karga, Grogu, and Zutton

 Greef Karga, Grogu, and Zutton

Star Wars - Hasbro Vintage Collection, Hot Wheels

Who would have thought that Apollo Creed and a Mogwai-cute version of Yoda would be the winning combination in bringing Star Wars back from the brink?  The Child has been marketed to death, but why so slow on my Greef Karga fix, Hasbro?!  After having to suffer through seeing a sub-par likeness on the 6-inch, Black Series figure, he’s here and ready to rumble!

It looks just like him...much better than the 6-inch figure.  This is my third Carl Weathers figure (having 2 versions of Apollo in the NECA Rocky line)...and I just can’t get enough of him.  I would have preferred Greef in his season one outfit, but his city administrator gear is a bit more flashy.  Maybe we’ll get season one before the slew of garbage Star Wars shows kill the franchise again?  (Hasn’t Cassian Andor peg-warmed enough already?)

The cape overlay is removable, but like most figures with plastic outfits, leaves him looking a bit long-necked.  The gun can be holstered, but looks a bit off...like it was supposed to fit a different model?  I would have to go back and look at reference photos to be sure.  In any case, it doesn’t hurt the overall presentation.

On the same run in finding this figure, I picked up a Hot Wheels version of Grogu in his pram.  I have a season two model in the form of the weird Mission Series (2-inch figures?!) line that I worked in a Grogu from a Walmart exclusive two pack, but this is the season one pod and it scales quite well with the Vintage line.  

The pod is die-cast metal, and has a nice, clear display stand to complete the hover effect.  It’s also just under $5...good enough compared to the close to $15 Vintage series.  Sure, Baby Yoda isn’t removable, but  he doesn’t necessarily need to be.  He can wield the force in a seated position just fine.  If you want to fast-forward and ruin him by giving him a lightsaber like they do all Jedi, you’re out of luck.

Also found on this run, another Cantina creep:  Zutton.  He’s not a particularly exciting looking alien...a person wearing a cow mask and a fake hunchback.  His “Snaggletooth” is very present in this sculpt, and he completes the Snivvian triad (along with Zutmore and brother, Takeel) in my collection.  

The most this guy has going for him is the controversy of blue/red outfit colors in the original Star Wars line.  His belt has a makeshift holster loop in the back.  Sneaky Snaggletooth...the kid is off limits!

With the Mando show going on hiatus while Disney + attempts to kill the brand via over saturation with shows no one asked for, these may be some of the last Star Wars figures I pick up for some time.  Get ‘em while you can, because you never know if you’ll get another shot.  Despite what some may think, even Star Wars a shelf life.

More Carl Weathers and Baby Yoda goodness from blogs past:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2017/10/rocky.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-mandalorian.html

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2019/12/baby-yoda.html

The Mandalorian

 The Mandalorian

Cara Dune, Remnant Stormtroopers, Imperial Combat Assault Tank

Hasbro

I’ve had these a while, but just now Getting around to having a closer look.  As I mentioned back in my custom Baby Yoda review, Disney/Hasbro underestimated the success of the show, and was way late getting any merch to the fans.  Still, how they got to a Raider goon and redecorated AT-ST before the titular character is a bit baffling.

Anyway, he’s here now, along with the badass, Cara Dune.  Not much to say about them...they are both well executed figures in the classic 3.75 inch scale.  This is Mando from the very beginning of the season, so no jet pack or upgraded armor.  Judging by how long they let fans of this scale wait, we’ll get some Beskar armored Mando from the end of season one right around the time season three ends.

No jet pack, but at least he comes with my favorite nod to the Star Wars Holiday Special:  the tuning-fork, disintegrator rifle.  If they’re going to integrate garbage from Clone Wars and Rebels into the show, why not explain this one in future seasons.  Boba Fett popping up again is inevitable.  I can live with it...if they can push the Holiday Special further into canon (Life Day exists!  Thanks, Jon Favreau!), I’m game.

Hasbro has also delivered some dirty-decoed, Remnant Stormtroopers in this scale.  Of course, I needed at least six to fill the slots on the now-canon Imperial Troop Transport.  This is the cheap-o Rebels model...I wasn’t paying $80 on the revamp.  Though I do notice its down close to $50 on clearance.  If it gets to $40, maybe...

 

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Like the tank here...I think it was $70 out of the gate.  I got it for $28 on clearance.  It’s a nice looking vehicle, but definitely not worth full price.  As much as I despise Rogue One, I do like the removable containers that house Kyber crystals.

 

Wrapping up, three new figures in classic scale from the Mandalorian is a step in the right direction.  However, I will not be satisfied until I have tiny versions of Werner Herzog, Giancarlo Esposito, and Carl Weathers in my Star Wars collection.

 

More Mando goodness:

The Child custom figure

AT-ST Raider

AT-ST Raider

AT-ST Raider

Hasbro - Star Wars Vintage Collection

Best Buy Exclusive

So one of the few products out when The Mandalorian first hit was a store-exclusive, vehicle repaint.  Jeez, along with not anticipating the universal love for Baby Yoda, this is another case of Disney demonstrating they have no clue what to do with Star Wars.  At least it's a bone to throw at 3.75 inch collectors, right?  Sure, even though we may have this sculpt several times over.  And if you don't it can be yours for only $80.  What?!  

Do not pay $80 for this toy!  Considering that it's a rehash from 2012 (and again in 2017), it may only be worth $40 tops.  It does feature more detail and articulation than the Power of the Force 2 days, so again, if you don't have it, it is quite an upgrade.  

The new Mando episode paint job may not be enough to close the deal, but it does look nice.  I like the "kill" tic marks and dirty weathering here and there in particular.  It also has a few strange additions in the soft goods cargo net and...um...some sort of leg wrap?  The functions of those pieces were not made clear, but I guess they work from a design and balance point of view?  The biggest missed opportunity to give this a lil more bang for the buck would have been the inclusion of a red LED in the cockpit to mirror it's spooky, ominous look in the episode.  This is something you could probably remedy yourself on the cheap with a visit to the dollar store...but the point is, its something so small and cheap to begin with that we shouldn't have to.

You do get an all-new figure with the vehicle.  The Klatooinian Raider is a great figure that would run you at least $12 as a standard release.  Man, $12 is still staggering to an old 3.75in collector, even with the improvements in sculpting and articulation. Still, there are lots of layers to his plastic armor, and he comes with a pistol and removable headgear to make it worthwhile.  Without this guy, I guess the walker would make some great post-Empire salvage for my Ewoks.

It's hard to believe that this set hit a whole six months before a we are to get the Mandalorian himself.  That's probably why this exclusive is still available, and at fluctuating prices.  I got one as a damaged box deal for $50, which is still about $10 more than I wanted to go.  If you can get this for under $50, go for it, especially if you are a fan of the show.  If you don't like the show, buy one anyway...we need to show Hasblow that there are still some vintage collectors to cater to.  It's getting tough out there...cardboard playsets ($45?!)...overpriced products ($80?!) from crap movies...gaps in collections being held hostage ($500?!)...help us, Baby Yoda, your're our only hope.

Baby Yoda

Baby Yoda

Star Wars - The Mandalorian

Custom 3 3/4" scale figure

I have seen "The Mandalorian", and as far as the future of Star Wars goes...this is the way.  Fan service done right without the goofy "Guardians of the Galaxy" humor and without lightsaber-a-second action sequences.  You also get the most adorable practical effects character since baby Ewoks:  Baby Yoda!  Yes, even the Terrible Toyman is on the cutesy bandwagon.  If it's good enough for Werner Herzog, it's good enough for you, cowards!  Baby Yoda is everything and bag of Star Wars Pop Chips!

Even though the floodgates are about to be opened on merch (The quick-fix Disney cranked out looked like Cafe Press garbage and the good stuff won't arrive until early 2020) covering this adorable lil fella (dubbed "The Child" or "The Asset), I'm betting us die-hard, crotchety 3 3/4" figure collectors are getting left out.  At best, we get ten to twelve "vintage" figures a year, and we're not even getting a Mandalorian until April 2020!  They could always surprise us with a pack-in accessory, but I have a back-up in case they don't.  

Ice Cream Maker Guy's ice cream maker isn't a Rebel data core anymore?  It's just a storage safe? Oh, that crazy canon!

I found three different tiny Baby Yoda sculpt to choose from with one seller alone, and the quality looked pretty decent...I took a shot, and I am not disappointed!  Sure, $10 for a figure that stands about an inch high sounds steep.  And sure I have to paint him myself...but it's Baby Yoda!  The savior of Star Wars!  

My paint job is pretty minimalist, with the appropriate greens and browns.  I'm not much of a painter, and I certainly don't have the customization skills of a Warhammer miniatures fan.  I think it turned out fine, especially compared to other tiny Hasbro offerings of late.

Get Disney Plus just for "Mando." (Looking at the other content, one should burn out on it in two months tops.)  Feel all that Star Wars could and should be.  (Future prediction:  this feeling cannot be found in Ewan "I've-got-an alimony-payment-to-make" McGregor's Obi-Wan series or the Cassian Andor series.  Who cares about Cassian Andor, seriously?!)  Get your fix on Baby Yoda.  Buy this tiny figurine for your tiny figures.  Be happy...until Disney mucks it up again.