Chewbacca - TLC - Basic (BD 3)

Wounded during the battle to escape from Jabba the Hutt at the Pit of Carkoon, Chewbacca quickly bandages his injured leg. He walks resolutely through one of Tatooine’s sandstorms to reach the Millennium Falcon, where he can treat his wound in the ship’s medical bay.

While we have no empirical proof, Chewbacca must be high up on the list of the most visited action figure in Hasbro's basic figure line (ever). It seems to be a major goal (by at least someone at Hasbro) to realize him in every scene in the Star Wars saga. And to be honest, collectors don't seem to mind. He is a major and fan favorite character and it seems that we just can't get enough of his furry Wookiee likeness in plastic. Clearly not be desperate for non-movie versions, Hasbro thought a Chewbacca figure would nicely complement the Luke Skywalker (BD 2) and Han Solo (BD 1) action figures also from that very elusive "deleted scene." As of the date of this review, Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian are the only figures yet to be immortalized from this clip of the film. (Editor's Note: The Vintage Collection wave 11 took care of this problem.) Now we have a new Chewbacca figure which in all actuality is a perfect amalgam of scene-specific and deleted scene-specific likenesses. Chewbacca looks a little bit winded and he should be. Whether aboard a sail skiff or trudging through a whole bunch of sand and wind blowing in his face during a sandstorm, he is going to look a little unkempt. What we don't understand so much however is the very light color of brown used for his fur. When compared to almost every other Chewbacca figure ever made, this one is the lightest by quite a bit. Although his color may be off, his likeness looks pretty darn good. We must admit that we are especially happy to own a Chewbacca that showcases his injury he incurred while on the skiff. If you study the bandages, you will see that Hasbro even included a bloodstain. And the bandage also has the finest linen texture. It is absolutely stunning. These are fine details that really haven't had the opportunity to manifest themselves before except for now. We count ourselves extremely fortunate.

Chewbacca is a significant retool of 2004's VOTC Chewbacca figure. Multiple new parts have been newly tooled to give Chewbacca his injury and windblown hair effect. Chewbacca also comes with the same accessory as the 2004 figure. But that's not too much of a surprise anymore. It's almost standard for Chewbacca to come with the bowcaster for every release. As stated, there have been more than just a few changes made to this revised sculpt, so he looks significantly differently from the borrowed sculpt. The template is excellent as you may very well be aware, but it still has the same unfortunate issues tool. For example, ball hip joints are severely needed for this figure to allow for optimal movement. His legs are assembled so closely together that they basically lean against/touch each other which makes posing extremely difficult and frustrating. Of course, it also terribly limits his full range of movement. But, if you're looking just to stand him upright, then this won't be an issue for you at all and you will probably be a happy camper because this is a wonderful action figure otherwise. His joints (especially in the torso) are extremely loose and we wished Hasbro's factories would have tightened these up quite a bit more to keep him from leaning in an awkward position. It's strange how some Chewbacca action figures utilizing this sculpt have tighter torsos while others are jiggly and loose. It may sound like Chewbacca will have too many problems and not be worth the trouble, but that is not our intent for expressing these negatives. We think he is actually a very fine figure and are just offering suggestions on how he can be improved. As a perfectly scaled and well-designed action figure, Chewbacca thoroughly impresses us. It's just that some he has a few aesthetically displeasing "bugs" that should have been corrected before his release. As far as the figure's coloring, could it be meant to be some sort of sandblasting "damage"?

Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca (from wave 1 in The Legacy Collection) were all very strong sellers. This is quite impressive since this scene has not been viewable to most (if not all) of the public. (Editor's Note: All of this has clearly changed since the release of the Star Wars saga on Blu-ray.) It is fair to say that the figures for the most part look a lot like how we do remember them in Return Of The Jedi since they are essentially the same characters with different accessories. But it is interesting how these figures may have whet an appetite for something we thought that we would possibly never have to own in our collections. Besides, how boring would it be if Hasbro just decided to release the same old Chewbacca figure in each and every new figure lineup. We're thrilled they're thinking outside of the box and producing figures that will hold a special place in collectors' hearts. For us, not only is this a figure that was wanted, it is a smart way for Hasbro to meet their tooling cost budget while giving us something technically new. When they add tweaked figures into a wave, it ensures the future for completely all-new figures. This being said, we encourage Hasbro to keep the line healthy in any way possible. This goes without saying that the figures from this deleted scene for the most part were very well done. Some have more issues than the others. Chewbacca is a very solid choice to add to your collection. And because he is so popular, we know that he will hold a special place in your collection too. He is a fine choice and we hope that Hasbro corrects his issues at some point to release a definitive version one day. They likely won't revisit this figure again, but if they do they just need to tighten up the torso joints and somehow work in ball-jointed hips. Heck, we'll even take a generic Chewbacca action figure with these enhancements!