Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) (Darth Vader/Stormtrooper) - Skywalker Saga Commemorative Edition

It’s an odd way to celebrate the Skywalker Saga by adding a line of figures that Hasbro no longer supports as Walmart exclusives. As you know, Hasbro canceled the 3.75” 5POA figure (the line for kids supposedly) and replaced it with a highly-articulated 5" line. The nine sets of 3.75" 5POA figures commemorate the celebration of the nine Star Wars films. Disney and Lucasfilm consider them the Skywalker Saga. With a series of two-packs, not all that different from the Commemorative DVD or Commemorative Blu-ray sets of years’ past, Hasbro designed a "GOLD" celebratory line that reduced the content to two figures. Cast in gold-colored plastic and painted in a shimmery gold paint finish, each figure feels like a golden idol that perhaps Hasbro wishes collectors to worship or something. Displayed as the Skywalker Saga Commemorative Edition, this line of figures (except for the Episode IX set, which has three figures) contains two high-profile characters in solid gold (with the accessories also included in gold) and houses them in deluxe black and gold packaging. While we’re critical of the figures, we have to admit that the packaging is truly exceptional. It may be the only reason collectors will consider this line. The reverse side of the card back contains an episode-specific montage of the Star Wars film it memorializes. What's more, you can line them up together to create a stunning “holographic-like” mural that paints a beautiful picture of the Skywalker Saga as a whole, without any breaks or interruption. You can see each "uninterrupted" trilogy-specific grouping in our Photo Gallery by Prequel Trilogy, Original Trilogy, and Sequel Trilogy. Or you can see the whole collage HERE.

Wave 1 comprises all three Original Trilogy films. The three two-packs in this grouping include Darth Vader and Stormtrooper (from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), Han Solo and Princess Leia (from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back), and Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca (from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi). The latter is perhaps the oddest figure combination in the entire series. Unlike the second wave that focuses on the Prequel Trilogy, wave 1 (the Original Trilogy) picks figures from some of the more recent figure lines, like Rogue One and Star Wars [The Last Jedi] and Star Wars [Solo]. These new lines contain figures where Hasbro aggressively included new articulation points when compared to the standard 5POA format. Some characters are surprisingly well-articulated. Typically, Hasbro chose characters (with only a couple of exceptions) that directly interact with each other in the films. But sets like Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca have us scratching our heads a bit. Wouldn’t Emperor Palpatine have gone better with Luke Skywalker than Chewbacca? Still, it’s interesting to see so many characters all one uniform color: gold. Most collectors are familiar with the base sculpts of the figures chosen for these sets. We’re impressed with how much detail is etched into them. The solid gold plastic allows you to see the details previously unseen in the tooling. Interestingly, some figures look better in gold than they did properly colored. It’s a shame that their original paint jobs didn’t meet expectations.

Darth Vader is based on the popular Rogue One sculpt and is now cast in a golden plastic with a shiny gold finish. The figure comes with a removable cape and lightsaber. Darth Vader has a ball-socket head, so it’s relatively easy to remove the cape. Darth Vader may be the standout figure in this entire run. We have multiple “solid” oddly-colored Darth Vader figures in the line now. The Stormtrooper is a recast of the figure from the popular Star Wars [Solo] “army building” multipack, which was a TARGET exclusive years ago. The Stormtrooper comes with an E-11 blaster (also cast in gold). Because of limited articulation, the figures’ poses are stiff, but as previously mentioned, they do have some redeeming qualities in solid gold. Both figures in this set are relatively “new” when compared to the sculpts Hasbro dusted off from 2013. Still, is there a need for solid gold figures with minimal articulation? We’re not so sure about that. Every last part of these figures is cast in the same gold plastic, enhanced by a final gold coat of paint. These will chip and peel over time, depending on how much abuse they sustain. Still, for what they are, they look fantastic. If you didn’t know better, you might believe for a moment that these figures are cast in metal. Regardless, we’re not going to defend these figures’ existence. We think there are better ways to celebrate the Skywalker Saga. And until we get the long-awaited super-articulated versions of characters we desperately need in the line, collectors will continue to complain. Hasbro is getting some important figures out in the line, but their pace will never be fast enough for collectors.