Special 3 Action Figures [Vedain (Skiff Pilot)/Vizam/Brock Starsher] - TVC - Multipacks

Jabba the Hutt sentenced Luke Skywalker and his friends to walk the plank of a Bantha II cargo skiff over the Great Pit of Carkoon. Vedain, a red Nikto slave, was at the controls at the rear of the desert skiff as it hovered over the all-mighty Sarlacc. While the surrounding guards confronted Luke, a disguised Lando Calrissian ambushed the skiff pilot. The red Nikto Vizam, Jabba's weapons master, fired a laser cannon from the sail barge Khetanna, but the blast sent Vedain into the Sarlacc's tentacled maw. The second skiff of Jabba's guards included the helmeted Brock Starsher, arrived to prevent the prisoners' escape, only to be defeated by the lightsaber-wielding Jedi Knight.

How impressive is it that Hasbro manages to get out both the Tatooine Skiff and the Special 3 Action Figures [Vedain (Skiff Pilot)/Vizam/Brock Starsher] multipack out at the same time without the need for store exclusivity? These two general marketplace items are two of the most desired collectibles produced for The Vintage Collection for 2019, and it’s overwhelming to process that they’re now available for us to enjoy. The Tatooine Skiff is a remarkable release, as you know. The Special 3 Action Figures [Vedain (Skiff Pilot)/Vizam/Brock Starsher] set is very nice too but doesn’t bring as much excitement as the vehicle. However, the big deal included here is the Vedain (Skiff Pilot) figure, a figure we’ve been waiting decades to receive to battle Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard) and to pilot the Tatooine Skiff, the prisoner version. We’ve had Pote Snitkin for decades, but we never had Vedain (Skiff Pilot), and we’re so glad we finally do. Vedain (Skiff Pilot) also proves how easy it is to take existing parts to make a figure look relatively all-new. Vedain (Skiff Pilot) utilizes the head and arms of 2012’s TVC Nikto (Skiff Guard) (VC99) figure with the legs of 2012’s TVC Weequay (VC107) figure. While the torso is all-new, Hasbro painted the recycled parts in a way that makes them almost unrecognizable, creating a first time offered character that meets collectors’ expectations. Hasbro needs to step up the momentum of releasing the skiff guards we don't have yet. There is more reason now that ever to start banging them out.

Vedain (Skiff Pilot) is VC152. Vizam is VC153. And Brock Starsher is VC154. The repackaged figures are noteworthy here too. For the first time, we get two figures from The Black Series [Phase I] line in a way that they should have been released from the start: in The Vintage Collection line look. Both the TBS [P1] Vizam (#17) figure and the TBS [P1] Jabba’s Skiff Guard (#27) figures get displayed in gloriously colorful The Vintage Collection packaging, complete with repainted details and one figure also experienced a name change for the better. Vizam looks nearly identical to its original release. Hasbro, for the second time, neglected to fix the figure’s knee joints, and sadly they’re bright blue in the middle of ribbed light gray pants. We aren’t able to understand why Hasbro cannot fix the mismatched joints when they re-release their figures, but it’s getting disappointing. Thankfully, Vizam looks amazing despite the knee joint color issues. But the greatest enhancement given to Vizam is the packaging. Hasbro placed him on a bright and colorful card back from a scene ripped right out of Return Of The Jedi. He comes with a removable helmet, a skiff guard blaster and an assembled cannon (for attachment on Jabba’s Sail Barge (The Khetanna) vehicle). Vizam isn’t a skiff guard, but he’s an incredibly cool alien from Episode VI, and it’s nice to see him again, even if you don’t need him for your collection.

We’re also thrilled to see the re-release of Brock Starsher, although, when first released, he was simply called “Jabba’s Skiff Guard.” Coincidentally, the words “Jabba’s Skiff Guard” are found on the packaging describing the contents of the box. There was great controversy when Hasbro told us they’d named this character generically in The Black Series [Phase I] line. It was around the time that the horrid news of the death of the original Expanded Universe has occurred, and Lucasfilm stared playing a little "hardball" by preventing licensees from using these characters’ real names. Thank the Maker most of that has passed. Unlike Vizam, Brock Starsher received significant paint operation updates. The bronze lines on his off-white khakis are bolder and brighter and more cleanly applied. Also, they fixed the color of his neck to be closer to human skin (like it shoulder be), and the lines are also clean and neat. Brock Starsher comes with an H.R. Geiger-inspired helmet, and it isn’t removable, and that’s something we appreciate. It maintains the mystery of the character, something that Star Wars should strive to do more often than it does nowadays. Instead of opting for another Special Action Figure Set packaging style, Hasbro decided to go with a different design that houses three carded figures. We appreciate this new approach because it’s wonderful getting these three figure in The Vintage Collection packaging.