Rey (Jakku) - TVC - Basic (VC116)

Celebrate the legacy of Star Wars, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this collection of premium, highly-detailed 3.75-inch scale figures and vehicles. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)

In what seems to be some form of cruel irony, Hasbro has deemed Rey (Jakku) to be the first figure released in the return if The Vintage Collection. We’re joking, so relax Sequel Trilogy lovers. One of the greatest announcements after Hasbro breaking news that The Vintage Collection was making a return Spring 2018 was that the numbering sequence would continue where it left off; at VC116. It’s difficult to process (not calculate) that five and a half years separate wave 16 from wave 17. The great news however is that The Vintage Collection is back. And although 2018 will be repetitious with a significant number of repacks, 2019 and beyond Hasbro will fill the line with all-new sculpts, all-new characters, desperately needed updates and desperately needed repacks. We have a lot to look forward to in the very near future. So we need to get through 2018. It’s going to be a tad rough for all of us, but once we hit 2019, it will feel like we’re finally back in sync with Hasbro, like when we lived through the Golden Era of Collecting. What an incredible ride that was. Rey (Jakku) is a major character in the Sequel Trilogy. It makes sense that she was chosen to reopen the line. The figure is a repaint of 2015’s TBS [P3] Rey (Jakku) Walmart exclusive figure. Hasbro updated the figure with new paint operations. The dot matrix rosy cheeks are gone, and the other applications aren’t great. And since Hasbro did nothing to refresh the figure, she isn’t an exciting or anticipated release at all.

If there is one feature that Rey (Jakku) desperately needed, it would be updated hands. Technically, this Rey (Jakku) figure is her look when she rides her speeder on Jakku. The unwrapped head sculpt is technically the bonus for this figure. The only time she wore gloves was when she was riding her speeder. The rest of the time (with very few exceptions) her hands are bare. It would have been divine if Hasbro took this opportunity to update ungloved hands for this release. We’re happy to see her rosy cheeks gone, but the rest of her facial paint operations are weak. Rey (Jakku) doesn’t look great, and we’re not sure why she doesn’t look better. We have some concerns about the head sculpt deco for future The Vintage Collection figures. Hopefully, Rey (Jakku)’s deco is just evidence of Hasbro getting back into the swing of things for the 3.75” super-articulated line, and that things are in place to tighten up the deco. But we have to be honest and express that Rey (Jakku) should look better than she does. The Vintage Collection packaging does wonders for the figure. The awful red and black box is gone, and she has never looked better packaged. But when you inspect the figure up close, you’re going to find that the paint job is less than desirable. Hasbro needs to get this under control as soon as possible. It doesn’t make sense that the figure’s deco is flawless except for the deco on the head sculpt. We’re not saying “photorealistic” technology is required, but something needs tweaking here.

Let’s talk about the figure for a little bit. Rey (Jakku) comes with an impressive 26 points of articulation. She has been graced with ball-jointed wrists and hips. It is refreshing to see Star Wars characters get this royal treatment with premium articulation. Rey (Jakku) can be positioned in a multitude of ways, even with her molded skirt. She has a wonderful articulation system. The combination of parts and joints offer the figure a wealth of movement, something that is required for lovers of super-articulation. So many action figures with super-articulation in the past didn’t offer much regarding how the figure can be posed. But that isn’t the case here. Rey (Jakku) can move! We’re thrilled with the tooling here. Again, she looks great in The Vintage Collection line, and we hope that she is part of the first of many future waves. We want to see this line be long and fruitful. Rey (Jakku) comes with a nice dose of accessories. They include a staff (with strap), a removable backpack (with functioning “buckle” feature) and an interchangeable masked portrait/scarf combination piece. The interchangeable head sculpt is simple to install, and it looks nice. As we have stated earlier, this is the “correct” portrait for this version of the figure simply judging by the figure’s hands. Whatever your opinion is on Rey or The Force Awakens, collectors of this line need to accept that we’re going to see other characters added to the line that aren’t Original Trilogy based. We have gone five years without a dedicated line of super-articulated 3.75” action figures. It may take time to build momentum, but we’ll get there.