I sometimes worry that, at times, the hobby gets overrun by bored alpha collectors who are fresh from a Wes Anderson marathon.

A vision once came to me in another man’s dream.  Darth Vader was wearing linen pants and a velvet cape of of the deepest vermillion.  I demand Hasbro make a figure of this vision so I can be quite pleased by its whimsy.  It’s oh so whimsical and makes me merry.  Tra-la. Tee hee.

I am pragmatic in my collecting desires. My want of a figure is directly proportional to how much it completes one of my dioramas.  That’s why “boring human characters” like Velken Tezeri and Taym Dren-garen end up ranking so high on my personal want list. Other collectors sometimes campaign for the most obscure, gratuitous or arbitrary figures. I half wonder if it’s just a show of knowledge or creative wish listing.  It could be argued that this figure counts in that category.  It is based on exactly, and only, this:

It’s based on a movie within the movie.  After the power trio of Chewbacca, Wunka and Widdle Warrick hijack an AT-ST on Endor, Han uses it to send a fake transmission to the bunker to get the Imperials to open the blast doors. Han dons, at a minimum, an AT-ST Driver helmet and glove to complete the ruse. It’s hard to imagine that he’s such a method actor that Han actually put on the entire uniform, but who am I to say?  If that’s his process, more power to him.  Regardless, that is the inspiration for this figure.

Now, if you’re saying to yourself, “the world-building scale is all about these types of obscure figures,” my response is, “What world?”  There is no scene which this figure helps complete.  It’s really a bit of off-screen imagination.  Can you sense the flip coming?  Here it is:  I think the fact that this figure exists is fun, and I can’t really explain it.  The source of this figure is barely better than the once considered “orange Stormtrooper” which was intended to represent the environmental lighting of the carbon freeze chamber.  When that “orange Stormtrooper” was being debated, I roundly booed it. One possible explanation for my acceptance of this one is that it could always be used as a standard AT-ST Driver.  It doesn’t bear a tremendous likeness to Harrison Ford.  It looks more like an optometrist.

Enough about the source.  The 17-year old figure itself is obviously dated.  There is no lower body articulation south of the swivel hips.  The figure’s right arm is preposed to ninety degrees with swivels at the bicep and forearm.  It doesn’t add much poseability. The left hand holds a permanently sculpted communicator.  The left arm has a cut elbow and another forearm swivel.  This does allow the figure to hold the communicator to its mouth in a fashion similar to the movie, so that’s a neat thing. Another positive is the sufficient crumpling of the jumpsuit. Good crumple.  Still, if our base score for a 5-6 POA figure is a 4, I can’t see giving this figure more than one point beyond that, so it’s a 5 out of 10.

If Hasbro put a Han Solo head on the current AT-ST sculpt and put it on a Vintage Collection card, I would be happy to buy.  Yeah.  I can’t explain it either.