Death Squad Commander - Jumbo Vintage Kenner Figures

Ah, the infamously notorious Death Squad Commander. At least one Star Wars licensee can get it right, huh?! Then again, the whole point of this line is make larger replicas of those classic vintage Kenner action figures from the wonderful classic period between 1978 and 1985, so there's not much artistic license that needed to be taken here at all. In the neo-classic collecting era however, the Death Squad Commander is not been so easy to recreate and licensees like Hasbro have made murky interpretations of it at best. To date (and this is arguable), modern collectors still do not have this character in updated form from Hasbro. The gray suited Star Destroyer Commander with the communications cord coming down from his helmet has yet to see a modern and definitive update and it’s created more chagrin than perhaps any other Star Wars action figure (that comes to our mind at least). And Hasbro makes this even more confusing by placing 2012's TVC Imperial Navy Commander (VC94) on the same card back as the classic Death Squad Commander.

So it's safe to say that everything you remember about the 1978 figure has been carried forward for the one-sixth scale Gentle Giant Ltd. release. He was a major charcater for Kenner back in the day as he was one of the first dozen action figures released in the toy line back in the say. There will always be something extra special about the very first 12 Star Wars figures released by Kenner. There is no getting away from that. It’s so cool to see collectibles pay homage to these classics in such a powerful and meaningful way. The Death Squad Commander brings back a ton of memories for those who grew up with the original Kenner Star Wars line. And what a tremendous gift to buy these characters all over again in a larger scale to appreciate and savor the details like never before – it’s truly a collector-focused line for sure. Not all of the figures in the Jumbo Vintage Kenner Figures line are exactly perfect, but we have to say that the Death Squad Commander comes pretty darn close. They did a great job here for sure!

The paint operations are flawless. The Death Squad Commander from helmet to boot shines like a star. It brings everything to the table you want it to from the gorgeous packaging to the same accessories from the golden age of Star Wars collecting. The figure itself is immaculate. There aren’t any signs of bleeding and the lines are crisp. They even managed to capture the ranking badge exactly as it appeared on the figure from 1978 (even though it’s technically incorrect). The indentations in the helmet have more depth than the 3.75” figure, but Gentle Giant Ltd. has ensured that the proportions and shape of the helmet aren’t off in the least. It’s amazing how much more detail you can see in the large Death Squad Commander than his Kenner counterpart. You can see “sincerity of his cause” in his eyes and the portrait has expressiveness that we really haven’t seen until now. He comes with an Blas-Tech E-11 weapon. But be warned. We snapped off his hand trying to secure the weapon in it. A replacement request has been made. Other than that, we’re very happy with our purchase.