What Are Your Desert Island Star Wars Figures?

In the past 43 years a myriad of Star Wars figures have been released, so to pick your favorite one will always be a next to impossible task. But still, I wonder what would be your 10 desert island Star Wars action figures? Do you pick figures because of their emotional value or do you select figures because of their play value, aesthetics and number of accessories (accessories will be included in your desert island trip)? Click through for my 10 picks and then post your desert island Star Wars figures in the comments!

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For me, the choice of 10 desert island figures is relatively easy. When I look at my 300+ 6 inch figures I have my clear favorites based on the movie they are from and what the actual figure looks like. I don’t necessarily choose the “best” figures, as in best sculpt, best articulation or best accessories, just the ones that mean most to me.

1. SH Figuarts A New Hope Luke Skywalker – my favorite Star Wars hero in my favorite look, his farmboy tunic. SHF released a pretty great version with all the accessories you really need. All TBS versions of farmboy Luke are different kinds of horrible, but fortunately SHF is here to save the day.
2. SH Figuarts A New Hope Han Solo – you may see where is is going… Luke needs Han, he’s the scoundrel with a heart of gold everyone likes. Once again the SHF version of ANH Han is the best looking option available. The figure is light on accessories, just one set of alternate gloved hands plus the usual selection of standard hands, but that’s all Han really needs. Again, while the TBS version of Han has more accessories, the figure itself just looks wrong, even the photoreal update will look wrong, since the sculpt is inferior to begin with.
3. SH Figuarts A New Hope Princess Leia – no surprises here… Leia completes the trio. Once more the TBS version looks inferior. Neither TBS nor SHF nail Leia’s likeness, the best Leia is certainly the TBS Hoth Leia, but Hoth Leia and ANH Han and Luke don’t really fit.
4. Black Series The Empire Strikes Back Chewbacca – this is the best version of Chewie, it’s not as tall as the ANH version, it’s robust and not as over-engineered as the SHF Chewie, so ESB TBS Chewie it is. While there may be differecences between ESB and ANH Chewie I don’t really care about that so much, he can still play with his ANH buddies.
5. SH Figuarts A New Hope Obi-Wan Kenobi – I want one OT Obi-Wan, sadly, no truly great version of his A New Hope version exists. TBS lacks accessories, SHF has an inaccurate sculpt and the pegged in hood can look weird, but SHF Obi comes with all you need to recreate the duel with Vader, including an empty cloak or an alternate head for the split second before Vader cuts him down. You want variety when you are on a desert island with just 10 figures, and SHF Obi-Wan offers variety.
6. Bandai Model Kit C-3PO – this is the only truly shiny protocol droid available, this is also the best looking C-3PO by quite some margin, no other C-3PO comes close in the looks department. And he has quite a few extra parts to give him various looks.
7. SH Figuarts A New Hope R2-D2 – 3PO needs his best friend, and that is none other than R2. The TBS R2 is a joke, even though he comes with a ton of accessories, but the sculpt is just wrong and the astromech is seriously underscaled. SHF R2 has few accessories but the droid looks fantastic and has the correct scale and proportions. This is the best looking astromech and perfect buddy for model kit C-3PO.
8. SH Figuarts Return of the Jedi Darth Vader – when you squint you can pass him off as the ANH version as well. While the ANH/ESB Black Series Vader is really excellent it seriously lacks in the accessories department, ROTJ SHF Vader has also a great sculpt, even though not as clean as the TBS version, but in return you get all the hands you need for Vader, SHF Vader can rest his hands on his belt, he can point at people and accuse them of being Rebel spies, he can choke people etc. And since Vader’s hand gestures are such a big part of his personality SHF ROTJ Vader is the one I would take with me on a desert island.
9. Bandai Model Kit Stormtrooper – I need at least one Stormtrooper, the heroes already outnumber the villains by quite some margin. The Stormtrooper model kit looks fantastic, has a great range of articulation and he comes with several hands and guns which gives you more variety in the way you can pose him. The Black Series Remnant Stormtrooper is excellent as well, but he lacks extra hands and blasters.
10. MAFEX Return of the Jedi Boba Fett – doesn’t thematically fit with ANH figures of course, but Boba Fett is just too cool not to include him, and the MAFEX version of the character is still the best version, despite the recent Black Series deluxe figure.

And that’s it. Probably a pretty boring selection, all figures are from the OT, almost all of them are from A New Hope, but since this is the first Star Wars movie I saw in a theatre it’s the movie I am most attached to. I would have loved to include a few prequel trilogy or Mando figures – or maybe even SHF Kylo Ren and Rey for when I want some emo drama late at night on my desert island with lots of crying (it’s a desert island after all and only your figures keep you company), but the 10 figures listed mean the most to me.

You will also notice that few Black Series figures make it on my list, but that’s because most A New Hope Black Series figures are pretty terrible or are simply outdone by SH Figuarts. Especially the big three. Luke, Han & Leia deserve better Black Series figures, the photoreal updates don’t cut it here, since they still use the same old (bad) figure as the base.

So what are your 10 desert island Star Wars action figures? Post your list in the comments! Feel free to elaborate on your selection, or just post the list, whatever you feel like! You can also include vehicles if you like!

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