Holiday 2004 Edition [Jawas] - OTC - Exclusives

Hasbro and Lucasfilm Ltd. are delighted to present the third in a series of Star Wars Holiday Edition commemorative sets. Inspired by the artwork of renowned artist Ralph McQuarrie, this specially designed set captures the imaginative vision of McQuarrie's art in collectible 3¾" action figure scale. Our gift to you, this piece is a distinctive addition to any Star Wars collection. May the Force be with you, and happy holidays.

If you have been collecting Star Wars figures since 2002, you know that Hasbro has produced a special “Holiday Edition” figure set to commemorate the holiday season. Inspired from Ralph McQuarries’ beautiful concept art, each set was based on either a sketch or Christmas card created by the renowned artist. In 2002 during the Star Wars “Saga” line, Hasbro released the Walmart exclusive Holiday Edition [R2-D2 & C-3PO] multipack. Packaged in a beautiful snow globe-esque styled package, the droid duo was quickly scooped up by collectors and sold out before most of us even knew it was released. Similarly, in 2003, Hasbro released the Holiday Edition (2nd Edition) [Yoda] figure set via the Star Wars Fan Club. Produced with astounding quality, it became even more popular than the Walmart exclusive. 2004 rolled around and Hasbro wanted to keep the Holiday Edition trend going strong. Entertainment Earth stepped up to the plate to released the Holiday 2004 Edition (3rd Edition) [Jawas] multipack.

Produced in a slightly different packaging style (this time based on the vintage Kenner inspired The Original Trilogy Collection framework), the Holiday 2004 Edition [Jawas] is an adorable three-dimensional take on the Ralph McQuarrie painting of the Jawas exchanging gifts on Tatooine. Sadly, collectors are only treated to two of the Jawas in that painting, but if Hasbro had any more, this set would have gone for even more than the overpriced $17.99 it already is. Both Jawas are based on the figures included in 1996’s POTF2 [R] Jawas set produced by Kenner shortly after the modern line was released. Yes, these sculpts are old now, but they are excellently done and certainly worth their reuse multiple times over. Although not painted that differently from the 1996 counterparts, the “new” Holiday 2004 Edition Jawas have new arms permanently jointed by a “gift” so they function more like hinge-jointed arms (at the shoulders) than independently swiveling arms.

The large Jawa is holding a Jedi training remote in between his hands (which is much too large for this scale) and the smaller Jawa is holding a nicely wrapped boxed gift in his hands. The bonus here is that Hasbro has included an environmental display stand (which says “Happy Holidays” on the outside). But the base is a quasi Tatooine terrain with two more boxed gifts permanently attached to it. The deco is very nice and the base complements the Jawas beautifully. The base even has two pegs so you can secure the Jawas to it as well. Also included in the packaging is a card and envelope which features the artwork of the Jawa gift exchange scene on which this action figure set is based. The MSRP was ridiculous for this set. $17.99 is almost double the price of what we wanted to pay for it. But between the novelty and exclusivity of this item, it almost makes sense why this is the price it is. The reuse of these old sculpt was quite clever. We hope that this is a tradition that Hasbro will keep up for year to come.