The Black Series

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Dak Ralter

Info and Stats
Number:  
#25
Year:  
2014
MSRP:  
$9.99
Grade:  
8/10 Bantha Skulls
 
* Bantha Skull is compensated for any purchases made through these Ebay links.
* Bantha Skull is compensated for any purchases made through these Ebay links.
Review by: Bret
Review date: 11/20/2018

Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with a second look…

Original Review:  Chris - 8/12/2014 8:00 AM

The Vintage Collection “Dack” Ralter was one of the first figures I photographed and reviewed for Bantha Skull almost exactly four years ago.  I don’t really know what I’m doing now, but I really didn’t know what I was doing then.  I thought doing this would be fun.  Soon thereafter I started spending my nights plotting the demise of Mr. Nomadscout (better known as Bret on the front page).

Dak Ralter was a Vintage Collection figure that was in particularly short supply.  Wave one of the Vintage Collection shipped in two revisions and Dack, as the name was then spelled, wasn’t included in the second revision.  Despite this scarcity, collectors didn’t seem to care and the figure accumulated in stores.  At the time of wave 1 in 2010, fans had no idea what the breadth of the Vintage Collection would be.  Fast forward to the end of 2012 and the Vintage Collection became a massive collection of 115 figures plus the unnumbered Jocasta Nu figure.  Fans now viewed it as a comprehensive line that represented the apex of modern Star Wars collecting, and scrambled to build complete sets.  Those earlier figures that didn’t see re-release shot up in value.  This resulted in the demand for the VC07 Dack Ralter figure finally exceeding its limited supply and it routinely sells in the fifty dollar range.  For that reason, Hasbro had good intentions in re-releasing this figure with the corrected spelling of the first name as Dak.  However absent of the Vintage Collection appeal, the collector demand for this figure is dubious especially when, for some God unknown reason, the Snowspeeder vehicle is highly unavailable.  The Shadows of the Dark Side packaged Snowspeeder commands a hefty secondary market premium and the Vintage Colllection packaged version of the same vehicle fetches upwards of $70.  Why there isn’t a contemporaneous retailer exclusive release of the Snowspeeder for both this Dak Ralter and the upcoming Snowspeeder pilot Wedge Antilles figures is beyond me.  Both figures have questionable merit when released in a vacuum in the current climate.

The figure itself is identical to the 2010 release with the exception of some paint variations.  The ammo bandolier above the left boot is painted with a darker brown and the boots themselves are a shade darker as well.  The darker boots provide better contrast with the lighter straps so it pops a bit better than the previous release.  The paint application on the skull cap is atrocious however.  There is a ridiculous amount paint outside the boundaries of the skull cap sculpt and onto the face of the figure.  As if to make up for that over painting, there are several holidays in the paint where it should be. You’re likely going to display this figure with the helmet on, so this isn’t disastrous, but my God, what is going with the paint application on the heads of all figures coming out of Hasbro these days.  The body is the standard super articulated Snowspeeder pilot body that was first released in the Legacy Collection Evolutions line (boy I miss that line), which is to say it’s a perfectly valid sculpt in the modern line.  I gave the Vintage Collection figure a 9 our of 10, but the aforementioned sloppiness compels me to nip off a point.  8 out of 10.

Updated Review:  Bret - 11/20/2018 07:05 AM

I’m definitely glad the figure exists, even if Dak wasn’t actually able to take on the whole Empire himself like he promised.  I actually never got this release, because I already had the TVC version.  I chalked up the paint variations to factory or operational reasons, rather than any kind of intentional change or improvement.  As such, my review from the VC07 figure is a suitable stand in.  You should read it.  It’s hilarious. 

Chris docked the figure for sloppy paint apps when compared to its TVC predecessor.  Fair enough.  The only “improvement” worth noting is that they spelled his name properly on this packaging.  I’d rather they had re-released the figure on a corrected TVC cardback, but at this point, it’s no big deal.  Stick with the TVC version for a sharper figure that was appropriately QC’d.  We’ll keep this as an 8, and give the edge to the TVC version, which got a 9.

Verdict: No Action 

If you are missing a Dak Ralter figure and can’t find an appropriately priced loose figure, you might as well stick with this TBS version, because it goes for half (or less) the prices listed on Ebay for a carded TVC sample.  That one is better, but not enough to justify the extra money.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.

* Bantha Skull is compensated for any purchases made through these Ebay links.
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