Qui-Gon Jinn And Eopie - LC - Exclusives

There have been distribution woes in the Hasbro Star Wars line pretty much since the beginning, but one of the saddest victims of this was the Eopie And Qui-Gon Jinn Creature Sets from the Episode I line in 2000. And it would take almost a decade later before Hasbro would correct its shortage and offer it “free” to longtime collectors in the form of a mail-away exclusive. Hasbro rearranged the name for the 2009 release in the Legacy Collection calling it Qui-Gon Jinn And Eopie, which is actually a bit more fitting since the Eopie has no speaking lines in the film. But not only has Hasbro reissued a very tough piece for a collector’s collection, they have also made in new again by giving it a completely new paint job and including a superior version of Qui-Gon Jinn (which is also redone) that makes this probably the final and most definitely definitive version of this duo our collections will likely ever see again. Call-out stickers started showing up for this offer with the first wave of the red phase of the Legacy Collection. Hasbro killed two birds with one stone for this mail-away set. First, it makes a very hard-to-find Star Wars toys available again and it was right on time to celebrate 10 years since The Phantom Menace entered theaters. And for a “free” item of this size and caliber to be included in a mail-away offer, it was more than generous on Hasbro’s. Of course, we did have to shell out $6.99 per item to cover shipping costs, but since this item originally retailed for $17.99 almost ten years ago, this is still worthwhile in every way.

So what makes this update so spectacular? Well, first and foremost, Hasbro gave the Eopie and completely new paint job. New life has been breathed into this decade old sculpt with a stunning array of colors that just brings the level of authenticity of this creature to a whole new level. Whereas the first version of the Eopie was essentially the color of the plastic he was molded, the new figure gets the royal treatment. Hasbro has given the 2009 Eopie a similar fleshy skin tone but has incorporated a fine yellow wash all over its body. What’s more, spots and dirt have been also added to give more authenticity that this beast dwells on the ruins of Tatooine. The Eopie’s backpack is cast in a truer brown (the 2000 Eopie has an almost orange colored backpack) and the saddle and other details just look so much better on this new release. Interestingly, while we have an absolute definitive version of Qui-Gon Jinn now included in this set, he unfortunately doesn’t fit into the saddle as well as the 2000 figure. (But we will take this awesome version of Qui-Gon Jinn regardless as he is near perfection.) Qui-Gon Jinn is an awesome repaint of the original Evolutions figure from the 2008 TAC The Jedi Legacy Evolutions set. If you recall, the paint job of the Qui-Gon Jinn figure in that set was extraordinarily pale for some reason even though the sculpt was astounding. Hasbro fixed all of that and included a poncho and the final result is mesmerizing. We doubt Hasbro will be able to top another Qui-Gon Jinn figure ever again. If you want his cloak, take the robes from your Evolutions figure and put it on this one. It is worlds apart from Hasbro’s first take of it.

With the way prices are today, this set would have easily retailed for $24.99, so we count ourselves extremely fortunate that we had the opportunity to get this for “free” (or only pay $6.99 shipping costs for it). A super-articulated figure (that essentially meets our definition for a “new” figure) with a beast is certainly worth the time and effort to do the mail-away. And it appears that collectors are eating this exclusive up and surprising Hasbro as well as they have alluded to in their Q&A sessions. (Editor’s Note: The Qui-Gon Jinn And Eopie mail-away exclusive did indeed exceed Hasbro’s expectations and projections. By the deadline date, Hasbro received so many requests for this item that they had to order another run of these sets to be made. They also had to decline many fans’ requests that slid in even a few days after the deadline. The second batch did not ship until August of 2010 which was nearly 10 months after the first sets were shipped out. This made collectors realize that procrastination is no longer an option for these mail-away exclusives.) You may not be a huge fan of Episode I or the creatures that starred in it, but Qui-Gon is a staple Star Wars character and because Hasbro really jazzed up a new and satisfying version of him with this exclusive, we suggest you make it a mission to get a set for your collections at some point. Hasbro isn’t a source any more, so it will have to be to the aftermarket you go to score this amazing set. The Eopie may not have the same luster as Qui-Gon having only five points of articulation, but the beast only serves as a vehicle for display. And it still has been painted beautifully. Be sure to grab this set as soon as you can!