Colonel Cracken (Millennium Falcon Crew) - TVC - Basic (VC90)

This isn’t the first time we got a Colonel Cracken figure in the basic figure line you know. Apparently some Star Wars collectors don’t realize this. What confuses us about people not realizing this fact is that Colonel Cracken’s likeness (from a publicity still) actually appeared on the packaging on both of 2006’s TSC Rebel Trooper (SAGA 046) figures! (Hasbro was able to manage running changes incredibly well in 2006 and 2007 and we got two distinct Rebel Troopers in The Saga Collection.) That 2006 version of Colonel Cracken is far from perfect, but all-new super articulated legs were sculpted and added to the upper body of 2002’s SW “Saga” Endor Rebel Soldier (’02 #33) figure making it at the time the best Endor soldiers in quite some time. There were other new parts as well added to that figure. Technology today has made all previous efforts obsolete now, but as Hasbro knows all too well to not throw the baby out with the bath water. Instead, they reserved the newly sculpted legs from the 2006 figure for later. Later has translated into 2012 and now an incredibly definitive version of Colonel Cracken (Millennium Falcon Crew) has been released and it's honestly one of our most favorite figures from wave 11 of The Vintage Collection. A perfect likeness and a great upper body sculpt, albeit a bit inaccurate to what was viewed in the deleted scenes accompany the legs from 2006 which have never looked or functioned better. We always wanted to see these legs utilized for a greater figure and here it is. You’re going to love it!

We suppose Colonel Cracken with a helmet means he’s from Return Of The Jedi, but Colonel Cracken without a helmet means he’s a gunner in a deleted scene of Return Of The Jedi. Does this then mean Colonel Cracken should be sourced to the Expanded Universe? No, that’s insane! Forced to be EU on the packaging because he is part of wave 11 which encompasses multiple deleted scenes from Episode VI, Colonel Cracken is technically Expanded Universe, but you can clearly see him sitting behind Lando Calrissian in the Millennium Falcon during the Battle of Endor. The great news is that Colonel Cracken is one of the most impressive Rebel soldiers released by Hasbro in a very long time and we’re even including 2010’s TVC Rebel Commando (VC26) and 2011’s TVC Rebel Commando [ROTJ] (VC26) into the comparison mix. He has an infinite amount of detail sculpted into him and the final production figure is a pure joy. He’s likely not going to be the first figure collectors run to from this wave, but you’d be doing a disservice to yourself if you dismiss him and relegate him as case fodder. He isn’t heavily accessorized and he isn’t the brightest figure you’ll ever come across, but he just is honestly one of the finest “background” Rebel soldiers seen in recent years.

Take for example his excellently designed outfit. And think about 2011’s TVC Rebel Fleet Trooper (VC52) figure and technology when looking at it. Cracken’s vest is molded as part of the figure’s torso, yet it hangs slightly below his belt line. It looks stunning and because it isn’t a removable piece, it appears slim lined against his body. It isn’t like some bulky accessory has been added to alter his proportions. The wrinkles, folds, and various bunching of his uniform are so natural and realistic. And Hasbro kept him relatively clean, which makes complete sense since his part of the Battle of Endor took place on a ship. If you took the helmet from 2006’s TSC Rebel Trooper [Gunner] (SAGA 046) figure, you’ll have a perfectly screen accurate version of Colonel Cracken. Apparently deleted scene figures like Princess Leia (Sandstorm Outfit) and Lando Calrissian (Sandstorm Outfit) can switch back and forth from their scenes in the film to their deleted scenes since Hasbro included most of their accessories, but the same isn’t true for Colonel Cracken. Again, it’s no big deal. Despite its small misgivings, Colonel Cracken is a figure that you should fall for very easily without any prompting from others. And we hope that Hasbro keeps the trend going of giving us periodic deleted scene figures. They truly have turned out to be some of their most impressive work yet.