Chewbacca - ROTS - 12 Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Years before he befriends smuggler Han Solo and becomes the first mate and copilot of the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca serves under the command of Jedi Master Yoda in the Clone Wars. When Separatist forces invade Chewbacca's home planet of Kashyyyk, the Wookiee warrior fights with ferocity and courage to save his home planet.

For one reason or another, the last two Prequel Trilogy films have allowed Hasbro to set the MSRP for various products in the line at more-than-acceptable prices. From basic figure to vehicles, the Revenge Of The Sith line was affordable to all. And nothing makes Star Wars collectors happier than buying well-made toys that don’t cost you an arm or a leg. In 2004, during The Original Trilogy Collection, Hasbro released a line of premium Large Size Action Figures, imitating the original releases of the late seventies and early eighties. One of the characters produced was Chewbacca. And while it wasn’t the greatest interpretation of the character, it was the best likeness to date. They molded the figure in plastic and with a height that finally felt like we had a Chewbacca of substance. And KB Toys was given the opportunity to select it as their exclusive. Chewbacca was received with mixed reviews from the collecting community. Set with an MSRP of $39.99, Chewbacca didn’t necessarily fly off of store shelves, but there was enough interest to consider the figure a relative success. The following year, Hasbro opted to take the same Chewbacca figure, release it once again as a KB Toys exclusive, but base the likeness on the character’s younger years as reflected in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. The most interesting aspect of this “re-release” was that Hasbro managed to set an MSRP for $10 less. Prices for the same items rarely decrease, so it was a boggling and perplexing thing that they did here. And of course, not one collector complained.

The Revenge Of The Sith Chewbacca 12 Inch Figure isn’t the most exciting figure in Hasbro’s long line of one-sixth scale action figures. The likeness wasn’t fantastic from the start, and although the “fur” is repainted in a lighter color to show Chewbacca’s youthfulness, it doesn’t look at all that different from 2004’s OTC Chewbacca Large Size Action Figure. The draping of the fur is much different for the Prequel trilogy version of Chewbacca. And when you compare Original Trilogy Chewbacca to Prequel Trilogy Chewbacca, you’ll find that the differences are staggering. You don’t get a staggering feeling while comparing the two versions of the 12 Inch Figures. It merely looks like one is faded, and one is not. There are some plusses here, however. It’s incredible to have a properly-scaled Chewbacca 12 Inch Figure. Hasbro tried and failed multiple times to bring us Collector Series and Action Collection versions of the beloved Wookiee, but none of the versions ever came close to meeting the standards collectors held in high regard for the line. The plush versions were nightmarish, and the first all-plastic version from 1999 showed that hard materials were the only way to go with Chewbacca, yet the tooling needs a ton more work. The 2004 OTC mold proves how far Hasbro came with developing a good Chewbacca 12 Inch Figure, but we believe one more try is required before they nail it. Sadly, the 12 inch Figures line ends with Revenge Of The Sith as Sideshow Collectibles as Hasbro leases out the license to them moving forward.

Aside from a completely new paint job, Chewbacca comes with a Wookiee blaster from Kashyyyk. It’s a beautifully designed weapon, and Hasbro took great care when developing and designing it. They decorated it with pearly paint and flat paint, and the contrast is gorgeous. Surprisingly, they also ensured that the new weapons fits in the current design of Chewbacca’s hand. You aren't afforded many options for Chewbacca to hold it, but the one main pose you get looks fantastic. As briefly mentioned, Chewbacca was once again picked up by KB Toys as their exclusive in 2005. Coincidentally, many OTC Chewbacca figures sat on store shelves on clearance as the new 2005 Revenge Of The Sith Chewbacca 12 Inch Figure arrived to store shelves. But with a new population of Star Wars collectors heading to all the toy stores looking for the latest Star Wars products, those “older” Chewbacca figures began disappearing quickly. Chewbacca is not much more than a quick “cash grab” by Hasbro. That’s not necessarily meant to sound negative. But we feel like the very least they should have tooled an Episode III-specific head sculpt to help change things up a bit more. The sleek and slender frame of this figure works better for Original Trilogy interpretations of Chewbacca, but in the Prequel Trilogy, he looks fuller. To make an ideal Episode III version of Chewbacca, perhaps all-new tooling would be required. We appreciate the effort here. It’s not without merit. But it certainly isn’t a screen-accurate version of an Episode III Chewbacca.