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Star Wars Collectible News, Photos, and Reviews

JTA Presents: Evolutions - Gamorrean Guard

Welcome to another one of our JTA Presents: Evolutions features! Let’s check out how close or far we are from having an ideal Hasbro 3.75″ Gamorrean Guard action figure. Have we arrived at definitive status yet? Weigh in and let us know what conclusion you’ll come to by clicking through and adding your two cents in the comments!

Gamorrean Guard

 

When it comes to Star Wars, everyone’s favorite tough guy is the pig guard, and of course, they’re more commonly known as Gamorrean Guards. Their unforgettable appearance in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of The Jedi forever placed them in the annals of Star Wars collecting, and it often feels that no Star Wars line is complete with MANY of them. Well, for some collectors more than others. Almost every release of the Gamorrean Guard has turned out better than expected. And despite each release possessing one issue or more, collectors embraced every version that Kenner and Hasbro produced throughout the many years Star Wars has been a thing. It’s easy to state that we have a definitive version of this character. And we honestly do in the form of The Vintage Collection Gamorrean Guard (VC21) figure. But it still can be perfected. Do you think Hasbro should take one more stab at this character?

Gamorrean Guard from 1983’s Return Of The Jedi line

            

The vintage Kenner Gamorrean Guard figure stands out as one of their most beautiful during the original run of action figures. The paint job was simple, but the sculpt was excellent, and they captured the brute force of these strong characters exceptionally well thanks to thoughtful and artful tooling. The 1983 ROTJ Gamorrean Guard came with an ax, but that’s all we needed as kids to defend Jabba The Hutt against Luke Skywalker and his band of forces from the Rebel Alliance. While we needed about half a dozen of them to populate our Jabba’s palace play scenes, most of grew up with two at the most. The figure still holds a special place for Star Wars collectors who grew up with the original line.

 

Gamorrean Guard from 1997’s The Power Of The Force “2” [Green/Freeze Frame] line.

            

In retrospect, it’s difficult to fathom that it took Kenner/Hasbro 14 years to give us the very first modern version (from the original figure’s release). But in all fairness, Kenner/Hasbro were only two years into the modern line before we got the hugely popular The Power Of The Force “2” [Green/Freeze Frame] Gamorrean Guard figure. The figure was an instant hit. It looks very much like the onscreen character, and paint operations came very far from the ones Kenner employed in the late seventies and early eighties. This Gamorrean Guard comes with two more points of articulation than the vintage Kenner figure, but it still wasn’t enough to make Star Wars collectors happy. A new version would soon be required.

 

Gamorrean Guard (#30) from 2004’s The Original Trilogy Collection line.

            

Yes, The Original Trilogy Collection Gamorrean Guard (OTC #30) is the same tooling as the 1998 The Power Of The Force “2” [Green/Freeze Frame] Gamorrean Guard figure, but with a wholly all-new and very distinctive paint job. It’s worth including in this analysis because it looks so drastically different from the 1997. It’s amazing what a great paint job will do for an old sculpt. While this Gamorrean Guard looked great, it’s lack of articulation was a huge issue, and Star Wars collectors began to beg for a super-articulated version.

 

Gamorrean Guard (VC21) from 2010’s The Vintage Collection line.

            

Everything changed in 2010 when Hasbro released the breathtaking The Vintage Collection Gamorrean Guard (VC21). It proved so popular that Hasbro ensured it made its way into 10 out of 11 case assortments for the third wave of Return Of The Jedi figures. Then it still didn’t meet demand. The Gamorrean Guard was reissued in 2011 as well. And then Hasbro added him to The Black Series [Phase II] Jabba’s Rancor Pit Toys R Us exclusive set. The figure isn’t necessarily perfect. The removable helmet is a paint in the butt. And his soft-goods skirt is much too bushy and thick. And despite having incredible super-articulation, you don’t get the array of movement that you’d wish you’d have here. We’ll have to see if Hasbro makes any changes at all to the figure when it’s re-released in 2019 as part of The Vintage Collection’s rebirth. Of particular note, the Gamorrean Guard won the #1 spot in our hugely popular A Digested Look At The Vintage Collection Special Report. You should check it out. (Don’t forget to download your poster!)

 

Gamorrean Guard Group Shot

Gamorrean Guard

 

Questions for discussion:

1. In your opinion, do we have a definitive version of this figure?

2. If we don’t have a definitive version of this figure, should Hasbro tool a new figure from the ground up again, or should they tweak a current sculpt to perfect it instead?

3. If the figure ranks as definitive for you, do you want to see it repackaged in vintage Kenner packaging (The Vintage Collection) if it isn’t already?

4. Add any other points of note or interest in the comments about any of these versions of Gamorrean Guard action figures.

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