Chewbacca - POTF2 [R/G] - New Millennium Minted Coin Collection

The Star Wars Mint is officially re-instituted with this limited edition series! New gold-colored coins feature character images from the classic silver-colored coin release – all with brand new reverse-side stampings specially designed for this exclusive commemorative offering.

Not too many of us were satisfied with Kenner’s first attempt at a modern Chewbacca action figure. So we wonder why they felt it was a good choice to re-release it (with new paint operations) in The Power Of The Force “2” [Green/Freeze Frame] line’s New Millennium Minted Coin Collection. Yeah, we know. Existing tooling is easier to re-release than to resculpt an all-new figure, but this version of Chewbacca doesn’t favor the onscreen character much at all, even if you can find some charm in the bizarre interpretation. All Star Wars fans are well aware of Chewbacca’s strength and valor in the film. Heck, even the vintage 1978 Chewbacca action figure seemed to capture the essence of the character very well. But this Chewbacca action figure? Well, let’s say that it looks nothing like the onscreen character. Chewbacca is more ape than Wookiee. And this resemblance exists because his muscular body and facial features more closely represent something you would see in a primate family than the tall, lean structure of the Wookiee species we saw in A New Hope. Yes, his presence in the film is foreboding, but that had a lot to do with his height. Sadly, The Power Of The Force ”2” action figure doesn’t possess the intimidating presence the character in the film does. Also, the action figure isn’t tall enough by a long shot.

We’re not sure if this version has a better paint job or a worse paint job. But either way, Chewbacca’s paint job is off in more ways than one. He once again has too many shades of dark brown. Perhaps Kenner/Hasbro went for a different and modern take on the classic Wookiee, but we’re pretty certain hardcore fans will see this as a travesty. The figure itself isn’t terrible. It just doesn’t favor Chewbacca at all. He has a warm smile on his face and is positioned in a confident stature. But don’t expect him to copilot a Millennium Falcon or carry C-3PO on his back because this doesn’t look like the character who did all of that. That makes a point of buying an action figure of Chewbacca moot. But with a nice sculpt, a warm face and a few features resembling what we saw with Chewbacca, this action figure will likely do well despite its inaccuracies. This time, Chewbacca comes with a single weapon: his signature bowcaster for extra play value. His left arm is more outstretched, and this enables you to achieve some aggressive poses with the figure. Accessories always brighten up a stagnant action figure. But until we get a more screen accurate Chewbacca action figure, collectors will be waiting before getting excited about the inclusion of extra accessories.

Chewbacca comes with five or six points of articulation, depending upon your point of view. Although it seems that six were intended, the head is impossible to turn despite being a separate piece apart from the body. As a result, the head functions like a faux point of articulation. He does however come with two swivel shoulders, a swivel waist and two swivel hips. Aside from the head, that is standard articulation for almost all of the figures in The Power Of The Force “2” lines. The last thing we should probably mention is that Chewbacca has a marked weightiness to him, especially when compared to the other figures in The Power Of The Force “2” lineup. Of course, he is thicker than the others, but Kenner/Hasbro added some mass to this action figure which feels like it has been produced in a quality way. Besides, the selling point of this Toys R Us exclusive line are the included coins, resurrected from 1985’s The Power Of The Force line but now struck in a gold color with an all-new reverse side making it fit into the modern line a little better. We’re thrilled to see these released again, but we wish Kenner/Hasbro opted to release the rarer coins instead. For example, how could they not release Boba Fett in this lineup? Or Greedo? Or Yak Face for that matter. Either way, it nice to see an homage to the vintage Kenner line paid so beautifully with this exclusive line.