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Review |
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| Sculpt: |
| Co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon and avid dejarik player Chewbacca, as seen in RETURN OF THE JEDI, is given the Vintage OTC treatment. Like Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper, the original Kenner figure of Chewbacca was never re-sculpted for each film line; Kenner just used the original STAR WARS line mold over and over. While the vintage-style cardfront recreation shows the same image from A NEW HOPE that was just re-used throught the various 1978-85 lines, the figure is quite obviously sculpted to resemble the ROTJ-era Chewie. His fur patterns, facial structure, and even "hairstyle" are straight from ROTJ. At 4 3/4-inches, this is the tallest Chewbacca figure to date in the 3 3/4-inch scale. The attention to detail is quite impressive, right down to the interior of Chewie's opened mouth, where you can clearly see each individual tooth! 9.5 out of 10. |
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| Paint: |
| Chewbacca is cast in the medium brown that is the predominant color of his fur. There are applications of darker brown and a medium yellow to create textures and highlights in the fur. His nose and toenails are black, his teeth are white, there is pink aplied to the inside of his opened mouth, and his eyes are blue. His bandolier with pouch is attached at the left shoulder, and is a reddish brown with silver accents; the pouch has some lighter brown accents, as well. His bowcaster rifle is molded in gunmetal gray, with no paint apps: 9.5/10. |
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| Articulation: |
| Another exceptional articulation job, as Chewbacca has 14 moveable joints. His shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles are all ball-jointed, while his wrists are standard planer-cut joints. His waist has double-segmented joints, very similar to the Saga line's Ultra Wampa. With the extra arm articulation, Chewie can hold his bowacaster in both hands. 9/10. |
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| Accessories: |
| Since his bandolier is permanently attached to his body, the only accessory for this figure is his bowcaster.This is the same bowcaster that came with the POTF2 Flashback Photo "Hoth Chewbacca," and it's still one of the better versions of the Wookiee's favorite weapon. Because of space limitations in the coffin-blister, the bowcaster comes in two pieces, but it assembles quite easily. 8.5/10. |
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| Packaging: |
| The same Vintage OTC clamshell outer case as the rest of the line, with an inner blistercard that reproduces most of the elements from the original Kenner card. The clamshell insert depicts the OTC logo with silver-foil highlights, with the UPC code on the bottom of the insert. In this instance, the reverse of the insert also shows how to assemble the bowcaster accessory. The blistercard reverse explains the significance of the OTC, showing a photo of an original, carded 1983-84 ROTJ Chewbacca figure. It also shows small pictures of all four figures in the ROTJ wave, with a list of all 12 VOTC figures below that: 8.5/10. |
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| Availability: |
| As of this writing, the figure has been appearing at retail for about two months, and is available from most online sources. Chewbacca sells out quickly, though, and many stores are still clogged with the earlier ANH wave, so you might need to hunt for him a bit: 7/10. |
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| Conclusion: |
| It would have been better if Chewbacca had come on an ANH-style card, as he was one of the first figures ever issued by Kenner -- he was one of the four Early-bird Special figures from Christmas 1977 -- but other than that minor gripe, I'm really jazzed by this version of the ol' "walking carpet." 8.7/10. |
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