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Review |
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| Sculpt: |
| Based on early concept design from 1976 of George Lucas' THE STAR WARS script. The most-referenced image for this is the concept painting by Original Trilogy designer Ralph McQuarrie of the "Famous Five"--R2-D2, C-3PO, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and a female version of Luke Skywalker, with Darth Vader's disembodied looming in the background. At this point in the development of the story, Chewbacca was envisioned as a hulking alien with pointed ears, large luminous eyes, and short fur that tended to be more green than brown. Lucas still envisioned Chewbacca as a member of a primitive species, although this version wore clothes and used advanced weaponry. As a 3-D realization of a concept art piece, this sculpt rates an outstanding 9 out of 10. |
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| Paint: |
| As with most Chewbacca figures, the major color is brown. It might have been a bit more exciting if Hasbro had gone with the green-furred version, but since this Chewbacca is so different from the one in the films already, the decided to play it safe with the colors. So, all parts of the figure are molded in a medium brown. The head has bright yellow eyes with tiny black pupils. There are very light pink paint apps to the interiors of his pointed ears. The teeth are white, with no other mouth paint apps. The nostrils are filled in with black, and the eyes are rimmed in black. There is a bluish-gray paint app to the fur, and rust-colored paint apps to the brows, cheeks, beard, and back of the head. The rest of his furred areas have the same alternating bluish-gray and rust paint apps, giving his fur a mottled appearance. The torso is covered with an armored jacket. It is mostly a bluish-gray, with a coarsely woven texture. There are large, ivory stitches, and yellow buttons on the pouches. The armor plates are yellowish-brown. Each arm has a bluish-gray shoulder plate, and an ocher-colored arm band. The gloved hands are painted blue, with light blue-gray piping. There is a separate, ocher-colored double bandolier over the torso, which also has his belt and blaster holster. This has various brown, blue, yellow, and silver paint decos. His skirt piece is molded in dark ocher, with medium brown and silver paint apps. His feet are in roughly stitched boots, painted gray with ivory laces. His long blaster rifle is molded in gray, with a silver paint app that‘s been given a black wash. His blaster pistol is molded in black, with no paint apps. Overall, a really intricate design: 9/10. |
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| Articulation: |
| Ball-jointed neck, elbows, knees, and ankles. Planer-cut shoulders, waist, wrists, and hips. A figure this large would really have lent itself to ball-jointed shoulders for that extra level of articulation, but it’s still highly poseable: 8/10. |
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| Accessories: |
| Chewbacca comes with a large blaster rifle, a blaster pistol, and a collectible coin: 8.5/10. |
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| Packaging: |
| The Thirtieth Anniversary Collection card is basically rectangular, but with several die cut wedges that make it the most serious departure from the basic card design in the modern line. The McQuarrie Signature Series card art features light blue accents and lettering on the front and on the card insert, with the art that inspired the figure enclosed on the front. The reverse of the card features a portrait of Mr. McQuarrie, with text explaining his pivotal role in realizing STAR WARS creator George Lucas' unique characters. The collection number and figure's name are also on the card insert ("Chewbacca" being #21): 9/10. |
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| Availability: |
| As of this writing, the figure has been appearing at retail for almost two months. It sold out instantly on initial release, and still is a huge seller with collectors. Finding these on the pegs at retail remains a rarity. It's also available at most online sources, although it sells out quickly there, too: 6.5/10. |
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| Conclusion: |
| Chewbacca comes on the heels of the extremely well-received McQuarrie Concept Boba Fett. While not as big a hit with collectors, the Chewie figure still seems to be very popular with casual collectors, and those that are only concentrating their efforts on the McQuarrie Signature Series line. It’s a novel figure that has a lot of interesting features, plus it simply looks cool! The extra effort you might expend in hunting it down is worth it: 8.3/10. |
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