Ugnaught - LC - Basic (BD28)

On Cloud City, Ugnaughts operate the carbon-freeze chambers that are typically used to freeze Tibanna gas but can also freeze living matter. Ugnaughts work in Bespin's Tibanna gas processing plants or as general laborers in the city.

The first Ugnaught action figure from the blue phase of The Legacy Collection happens to be our very first Research Droids Review. And after 160 more reviews, we finally look at the running change of this excellent action figure which is a classic character that dates back to the vintage era. Ah! It took the basic figure line a very long time to finally get the second issue of the Ugnaught action figure out to collectors. In fact, the entire line look changed its color, redecorated its design and dropped a word in its title name before we saw its eventual release in wave 2 (or wave 9 - depending upon your preference) of the Legacy Collection. The Ugnaught obviously utilizes many of the parts of the first The Legacy Collection Ugnaught (BD 43), but it has probably more new parts than you had initially expected. Clearly the figure has a new portrait, but the new Ugnaught also has a new molded lower skirt (actually part of his jacket and not a true skirt) as well as a whole new paint scheme. Whereas the first Ugnaught was blue, this one favors the use of browns and grays. We are happy to report that the heads on both Ugnaughts use the same ball joint so the portraits are indeed interchangeable as expected. And just for fun, we did switch the heads to make and complete a faux version of the vintage Ugnaught figure (that you probably already know was first made available in the POTF2 line). Having a much more pronounced "pig nose" than the first Ugnaught, this figure also has a much "pinker" skin tone. The good thing about this is that there aren't flesh colored hands to worry about matching since they are both wearing the same gloves, so both heads look fantastic on both bodies. And instead of the white hair of the first figure, our new Ugnaught has a dark gray hair color with white highlights. There are enough transitions and differences between the two Ugnaught action figures and it makes complete sense that Hasbro released them in two different lines (although many of you still consider all of the product under one line still). Regardless of what line he falls under, the "running change" Ugnaught is indeed a very cool variant and he is certainly new enough to warrant its purchase. Falling under only one remix case this year, we sincerely recommend picking him up without any reservations if it is definitely your goal to add him into your collections. He likely will not hang on the pegs for long.

Ugnaught comes with the same two accessories that the first one did. And while the white briefcase is exactly the same, the controller stand is painted the slightest bit differently. The tiny buttons that were painted in an orange-red color on the first version have now been painted in a brighter and more solid red color. Yes, it may be a bit too analytical or pathetic that we looked this deeply into the figure and his parts, but the difference is there. Also, this may just simply be due to the way the control stand was cast, but it is just a tad shinier than the first one. But this is honestly no big deal, just an observation on our part. We are thoroughly impressed with the new color scheme on the new Ugnaught and would like to reiterate this point again. His boots are not only just cast in brown, but the soles of them are painted in a lighter tan. This is a big difference from the solid blue boots of Ugnaught #1. Little details like this really bring out the unique characteristics each figure brings to the mainline. Hasbro has decided to sculpt tools (that cannot be removed) on the new "skirt portion" of his jacket. This is very similar to the tools sculpted on the first Ugnaught's apron. While removable pieces would have been lovely, this is fine and does the job very well in our opinions. And they look good on the figures. These details and accents bring home the "worker" aspect of these characters. Also, his jacket has a beautiful dirty wash (it looks a reddish brown color was used – not typical for a final wash, but very practical here). This is without doubt one of the nicest final washes we have seen on an action figure. It is impressive to say the least. Full of articulation, the Ugnaught sports an impressive 18 points of articulation (just like his action figure cousin) that will be the most joints we will ever need on an Ugnaught action figure. Hasbro really did us good by these two figures. And if they can produce a couple more Ugnaughts at a later date by tweaking these two figures, it will be great. We think they could give us a few more surprises down the road. But for now, we truly have two amazing figures!

The Ugnaught species tends to be a secondary favorite alien species among collectors. But because they do appear in a fan favorite film (Episode V), they are also a desired character across the board. After all, in the film they were wholly responsible for placing our hero Han Solo in frozen carbonite. And it is so nice to get ultra modern action figure versions of them in today's collecting age. Back in 1998, Hasbro made the first modern Ugnaughts, they were a two-pack (with a freeze frame action slide) so it was a bitter pill in 2008 to hear that we would have to purchase these separately. Trivia lovers note: these were at first meant to be packaged together but separated by Hasbro to better meet tooling costs. But we honestly wonder if the "penny wise, pound foolish" principle applies here. After all the work Hasbro had to do to get the second Ugnaught into the line and then only to have to cancel it and then reissue it at a later date and in only one case assortment, we truly wonder if Hasbro's goals will indeed be met as needed in the long run with all of these interruptions. We suppose only time will tell, but we wish excellent action figures like these would get their chance to make an impact in the basic figure line and not be so hard to get out to the fans. So far, all of the figures from TLC The Empire Strikes Back wave have been selling through very well and we can almost never find them on the shelves. This is a good thing. We also expect this new Ugnaught to have a similar story at retail. So, please don't be left in the cold. Do your due diligence and make those runs to get this great "new" figure into your collections. You will be happy. And just to think we have a perfectly sculpted and multi-jointed Ugnaught pair just makes us giggly happy. We sometimes forget our roots that we had mere statues for these characters back in 1998. This is anything but the case now and we hope you will allow yourself to enjoy the significant progress forward. The new Ugnaught is one of the best! Check him out sometime.