While not exactly as earth shattering and game changing as the 03-50 Clone Trooper, the TSC 039 Chief Chirpa was still a revelation.  Maybe Chirpa is the 03-50 Clone Trooper of Ewok figures.  Hasbro really started ramping up the quality and detail with their Ewoks with Chirpa.  It was a pretty decent leap beyond previous Ewoks, and kicked off a string of further improvements down the road.

Chief Chirpa sports “T-crotch” thigh articulation.  This may not sound too great.  Frankly, it usually isn’t.  But the angled “V-swivel” crotches from previous Ewok figures were awkward and not useful, especially when seated.  And guess what?  Chief Chirpa doesn’t “just stand there”, you troglodytes.  He sits on his throne.  And when humanoids sit, they should not be throwing their feet out to the sides like they’re doing hello dollies during morning PT.  Screw that noise.

Chief Chirpa has the first “usable” ball jointed neck among Ewoks.  I write that qualifier because in the 2003 Saga line, the Ewok with Attack Glider had a ball jointed head, but it was rendered useless due to the sculpted hood.  Chirpa’s hood definitely hinders the head’s range of motion, but if you were to take that hood off, you get something never seen before in an Ewok figure.  This is also the first Ewok with a swivel waist.  Chirpa also gets a pair of swivel wrists, which happened only one time prior with POTJ’s Teebo.  Put it all together, and you get an unprecedented 8 points of articulation. 

The detailing on the figure is better than had come before.  The fur, the paint, and the accessories are all the best Hasbro had done so far for an Ewok.  The removable headdress is highly detailed.  The staff is well painted and fits nicely in Chirpa’s hand.  And to take the accessories to another level, there is a tiny dagger which fits perfectly into the tiny, separately sculpted sheathe, which happens to be removable via peg/hole at the belt.  It’s one of those accessories that you have to really take care not to lose, but it’s otherwise great.  The dagger fits in Chirpa’s hand well.

It’s a winner, and was a sign of even better things to come.  It gets a modest 6, only because Hasbro upped their game mightily with future Ewok releases.  Back in 2006, this was probably a 9.