Cantina Aliens - POTF2 [FB/CT] - Cinema Scenes

Their remote location makes the spaceports of Tatooine havens for many suspicious travelers from across the galaxy. At the Mos Eisley spaceport, Chalmun's Cantina is a popular hangout for the rough crowd and deadly violence breaks out on a daily basis. Takeel, a Snivvian, is known to dabble in bounty hunting and smuggling. The horned Devaronian Labria calls himself an "information broker," though his information is questionable at best. No one knows for sure what the Morseerian known as Nabrun Leids looks like underneath his breath mask, which he must wear in all non-methane environments. The former fighter pilot will fly anyone or anything anywhere, if the price is suitable. These kinds of patrons have helped make Tatooine's spaceports famous as a wretched hive of scum and villainy. In the days before the Galactic Empire, the spaceport of Mos Espa hosted many similar characters. From the outdoor markets to the junk shops – overseen by the gambling crimelords, the Hutts – Mos Espa was a place where a nine-year old boy like Anakin Skywalker could learn the ways of the universe.

If it’s alien-based, it’s likely going to be hit for Star Wars collectors. While slowly adding new cantina aliens to the basic figure line here and there, Kenner/Hasbro surprises fans with a one, two, three-punch thanks to the Cantina Aliens Cinemas Scenes set. The simply-titled set is exactly what it calls itself, and brings to the basic figure line for the very first time Labria, Nabrun Leids, and Takeel. These long-awaited characters are welcomed additions to the basic figure line. Kenner/Hasbro tooled them and decorated them very nicely, although, some of the colors they’ve employed aren’t completely screen-accurate. They need some fine-tuning before we consider them good enough for now, but the average collector may not be near as discriminating. The Cinema Scenes line is excellent at capturing a certain scene from the Original Trilogy. Maybe these three aliens never appeared in the same frame together, but we’ll look the other way because getting three all-new aliens from Chalmun’s Cantina at once is a remarkable and incredible gift. Each figure has accessories, and fit into the framework of the Cantina Aliens Cinema Scenes set very, very nicely.

Labria, whose real name is Kardue'sai'Malloc, is a Devaronian who stood out from so many characters in the cantina. Dressed in mostly black, this vampire-like patron looks as intimidating as he does cool. The action figure has six points of articulation including a swivel head, swivel shoulders, a swivel waist, and swivel hips. The figure is simply but nicely painted, but appears to be missing some important details in the face that give him his bizarre and eerie presence. The figures in this set are painted flatly and the paint jobs don’t have much depth or texture, sadly. Labria comes with a removable molded cape. It fits against his frame nicely, but doesn’t stay in place if you articulate his arms, which is unfortunate. You have very little leeway to move his extremities without affecting the cape. He also comes with a blaster. Like most POTF2 weapons, it feels oversized and clunky, but it’s a unique sculpt and we haven’t seen this weapon added to the line until now. Overall, Labria looks great. He isn’t perfect is all. And he’s topped collectors’ wish lists for years now. It’s nice to see him as part of the line now. But Labria shouldn't get all of the attention. The other figures are excellent here, too.

Nabrun Leids looks the most “off” in this set. His coloring is incorrect, especially with his space suit. Kenner/Hasbro did a nice job with the figure’s sculpt, but there are too many issues with its deco, and collectors might be irritated on how wrong Kenner/Hasbro got this character. Nabrun Leids wears a silvery space suit, not a white one. Because of his extra arms, Nabrun Leids has more articulation than the other figures in this set. He comes with a huge heavy blaster rifle, and he can hold it with multiple hands, thanks to the figure’s design. The head sculpt of Nabrun Leids is beautiful, however, and we think that aside from the space suit, they did a remarkable job on this figure. Perhaps our most-favorite addition to this set is Takeel, which serves as the modern replacement for the vintage Kenner Snaggletooth. But even then, collectors will argue if that assessment is correct as well. The figure is bulky and comes with a hunched back, just like the onscreen character. And he also comes with a blaster rifle that fits well in his right hand. The Cantina Aliens set has more going for it than against it. But it isn’t perfect, and you might take issue with that. Whatever the assessment, Kenner/Hasbro should continue to make sets like this forever.