Chewbacca (Prototype Edition) - RC - Basic (Exclusive)

This Chewbacca figure is inspired by the colorful prototypes that enable the development team to look past the deco and focus on the sculpt, analyze mold alignment, and adjust for quality.

After the many Target exclusive “Prototype Edition” releases, you know why they exist. Hasbro’s designers use the leftover plastics that make our action figures and cast samples to analyze the details of the sculpt, the alignment where the two halves come together to review any other quality control issues that may arise during the action figure process. But collectors beg to differ that Hasbro used rainbow-colored parts to assemble these action figures for quality control measures. Regardless, Hasbro decided to do the same for the Chewbacca (Prototype Edition) figure as they did with the multiple previous versions. And once again, the approach is made with a few variances from past releases. There is debate on how many Darth Vader (Prototype Edition) variations exist because Hasbro didn’t follow a protocol for those parts. However, with the Stormtrooper (Prototype Edition) and Boba Fett (Prototype Edition) figures, each has six permutations only, making it a more straightforward task to collect them all. If you gather one of each color head/body, you’ll have all of the variations produced of the Chewbacca (Prototype Edition) action figure.

Another Target exclusive, the Chewbacca (Prototype Edition) figure, is an easy cash grab. Star Wars collectors generally despise trying to secure Target exclusives. The pre-order process is almost nonexistent, although better with the most recent pre-orders, and pleading with your local red shirt to go to the back stockroom to see if they can find the item you’re looking for with the trusty DPCI number is hit or miss. With Hasbro producing indeterminate numbers of Star Wars action figure volume, distribution for store exclusives is spotty. The supply chain is still in complete chaos due to multiple reasons ranging from a reduction in the workforce to fewer resources to produce the items. Also, the store reports are inconsistent and varied. Someone in California will find them the day someone in New York does. And then some areas never see these things. Despite the impossible chore of buying Star Wars action figures, Star Wars collectors should expect to go through this routine for the foreseeable future. The Chewbacca (Prototype Edition) figure shouldn’t bring you many surprises. If you have the others, you know what to expect here.

The Chewbacca (Prototype Edition) action figure comes multicolored across six parts: head/torso, left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, and bowcaster. Hasbro returned to the same approach of adding colorful accessories as they did with the Darth Vader (Prototype Edition) figure. If you recall, Boba Fett (Prototype Edition) came with a black blaster. But each version of the Chewbacca (Prototype Edition) figure has a differently colored bowcaster, as it’s the sixth color used for this release. We still wish they’d use random colors, including pastels and whites, blacks, and grays. Chewbacca (Prototype Edition) is a repaint of 2019’s RC Chewbacca figure, which differs from 1978’s SW Chewbacca figure. The tooling is different, but that’s nothing new here. Although many collectors have complained about another rainbow-colored action figure, it’s proving to be a challenging action figure to acquire. Target online shows that many stores don’t carry the figure, and others have said that the stock magically appears later. Whatever your decision is on this figure, Hasbro seems to have made their point with this gimmicky exclusive.