Gamorrean Guard - TVC - Basic (VC21)

Celebrate the legendary Star Wars saga that changed the universe forever! This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. Iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are captured with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Star Wars saga. May the Force be with you!

How do we explain how magnificent The Vintage Collection Gamorrean Guard is? From 1983 to 2010, we received three unique sculpts (not including 2004’s OTC Gamorrean Guard (OTC #30) repaint) of this extraordinary and powerful Star Wars character, and each of those three spanned nearly a decade and a half apart from each other. For reasons unknown, Hasbro likes to pad some significant waiting time between each release, but we have to say that the wait has paid itself off in ways that words probably won’t ever convey. The Gamorrean Guard is a sculpted masterpiece and doesn’t fall short in any way as far as we’re concerned. (Believe it or not, there are already complaints about this figure. As a result, we’ve decided to pretend those critics don’t exist.) From a sculpt that will render you speechless to a paint job that breathes incredible life into the sculpting, the Gamorrean Guard remains the definitive version of this favorite Return Of The Jedi pig guard. Not only does it exceed every expectation regarding sculpt and paint operations, but Hasbro gave the figure impressive articulation, and their use of soft goods is fascinating. While even the best action figures (of which the Gamorrean Guard is one) may have a tweak or two we’d like to see made, the Gamorrean Guard is excellent on the highest level. Some are belly-aching about the use of soft goods. “Really?” we ask. Hasbro has investigated the globe carefully, found a brilliant fabric (faux fur), and utilized it to make the Gamorrean Guard’s skirt. The skirt looks ever so bunchy, but we love the final results. The realism it provides is spectacular.

We typically have only received the ax with any Gamorrean Guard to date, including 1983's ROTJ Gamorrean Guard figure. Hasbro was extraordinarily generous for The Vintage Collection release and has included not one, not two, but three awesome weapons to accessorize the figure. They also have included a “free-floating” bandolier that goes around the back and chest, which solidifies the groundbreaking authenticity Hasbro can capture in their figures. It seems that the days of “painting on” straps and gear are over as Hasbro adds separately molded pieces instead. The figure sports 22 points of articulation across 14 areas. While this level of articulation is essentially standard now, we couldn’t be more ecstatic that we have a Gamorrean Guard that sports it. A lot of articulation is not something we take for granted. The Gamorrean Guard is a testament to the finest in action figure construction. And the Gamorrean Guard has a unique body frame. Hasbro is not reinventing the wheel here to include this much articulation. They need to start from ground zero to see how to incorporate it into a frame of this rotundity. The portrait is simply stunning. Proportionate, beautiful, accurate, and finely detailed are just some words we can use to describe it. Hasbro didn’t hold back on the paint job here. Although other licensees decided to take a “prop approach” with their interpretation of the Gamorrean Guard, Hasbro has decided to go with the look that this is a real creature, not an actor in a costume. (Check out how Sideshow Collectibles included the “human behind the mask” details on their Gamorrean Guard Life-Size Bust). As far as the action figure line is concerned, we approve of this approach.

The Gamorrean Guard has a removable head plate, a first for the action figure line. And as if the figure wasn’t perfect already, it looks great with or without it. Hasbro has designed gear that interacts flawlessly with the rest of the parts. And for this, we are incredibly thankful. To further add realism to this action figure, Hasbro has not held back on the amount of plastic needed to make it. The Gamorrean Guard weighs a ton! The card the figure is on will bend if you don’t grasp it properly when holding it. While not the Hermi Odle of The Vintage Collection as far as size is concerned, the Gamorrean Guard is solid and no small figure. This heftiness allows for ease of posing the figure as you desire. While playing with our sample, we confirmed that you could pose it anyway, and it can stay that way. We can conclude that the Gamorrean Guard may be Hasbro’s finest effort to date. While the waiting was grueling to get a good update, the release of this figure has proven that time heals all wounds. Hasbro has engineered a perfect recreation of a Star Wars character we quickly came to love back in 1983. After more than 25 years, it’s come full circle, and a fantastic action figure is available again for us, in the same packaging from that glorious 80s era, no less. The Return Of The Jedi wave of The Vintage Collection may be one of the most impressive groups of figures Hasbro has ever done. But probably most importantly, we see Hasbro maintaining this high quality and standards, and we are more than confident that this trend will continue with each new wave announced. What a fantastic time to be a Star Wars collector, indeed! Reissued many times, Hasbro re-released it again in 2019 after The Vintage Collection relaunched.

Editor's Note: Hasbro re-released The Vintage Collection Gamorrean Guard (VC21) in February 2019 with a significant number of changes. Updates include: (1) revised paint operations, (2) different colored and texture fabric utilized for soft-goods skirt, (3) lighter colored accessories with transparent properties (4) new date stamp, (5) refreshed 2019 packaging with different graphics

Review Status Update: The original publication date of this review is November 19, 2010. It was subsequently updated with a new Photo Gallery and revised General Analysis and republished on February 11, 2019 after Hasbro reissued the figure.