People have been asking for a Krrsantan figure since he debuted in the comics.  I know this to be a fact because our good friend Jimmy Jim Jam used to beg for this every time he did a comic review.  I wouldn’t even know who Krrsantan was, if it weren’t for James.  Once he appeared in The Book of Boba Fett, the wider community jumped on the bandwagon.  Krrsantan won the SWTVC 2022 March Madness bracket, and a little while later, Chris had him on his Top 5 Most Wanted Deluxe Figures.  Better late than never, we get not one, but two versions of the character in a short time span.

We had already known that Hasbro was going to release a Krrsantan figure in the deluxe line, which made some sense due to the size of the figure.  But then Hasbro snuck in a surprise announcement recently that a premium variant would be available as an SDCC exclusive, and thankfully Pulse as well after the con.  Mine just arrived a few days ago via Pulse, while the mass market deluxe version is coming soon

The thing that hit most collectors was the price.  This may be the most expensive single TVC figure that I am aware of.  I can’t think of one that had a higher retail price, whether basic, deluxe, exclusive, premium, or whatever.  $40 is a heart-stopper.  The Deluxe figure which will ship soon goes for $28.  If you can get over those raw numbers, we’ll take a look to see what you get for the additional $12 in this “pre-pack” con exclusive.

The most obvious difference is the packaging.  The premium box is pretty cool, even if you’re an opener.  I’ve seen some exclusive Black Series figures come in packaging like this, but never a 3.75” figure.  The sleeve art differs from the deluxe version, but is somewhat similar in overall aesthetic.  The removable sleeve reveals a box that swings open to reveal the figure and accessories packed away nicely and (mostly) visible.  It’s a lot like the con exclusive TBS Thrawn from a few years back.  I marveled at the packaging for about 45 seconds, and then tossed it all.

The figure itself is pretty impressive, but I can’t help but feel it’s a bit smaller than I would have liked.  I’ve seen some folks on the interwebs defend the size by saying it is in scale with the actor, and when you see a screen shot like THIS, it does kind of seem like he’s not insanely tall.  But the way his scenes are shot do seem to emphasize his tremendous stature.  The figure is larger than Paz Viszla, however, it is shorter than Chewbacca, and even shorter so and perhaps less massive than Tearful.  Despite perceptions of proper scale, the figure is pretty hefty no matter how you slice it.

Krrsantan has nice paint ops, which various shades of fur all around.  He’s got his large gold armored harness, which I assume is removable if you were adventurous enough to try (I am not).  His hands come with spiked knuckles.  The facial sculpt is really nice, and is complemented by the PhotoReal paint.  The articulation points are all there, but the sculpting of the fur demanded a few compromises that limit the range of motion.  The elbows and knees hit 90 degrees, but many of today’s figures bend further.  The shoulders are hindered somewhat by the large spiked armor pieces.  The fur and braids limit the ability to turn the head, or look up or down.  The wrists are ball jointed and the ankles are rocker style, but again, none of them are as rangey as found in other figures.  I understand the tradeoffs, and accept these limitations in favor of the great aesthetics of the figure.

Only based on some of Hasbro’s photography, since I don’t have the deluxe figure in hand yet, the only difference in this exclusive version of the figure itself is the head.  Here, Krrsantan is roaring, whereas in the deluxe version, his expression is more neutral.  It’s a neat difference, and (price aside) might be worth it for many collectors to have both.

For accessories, the package says it includes 14 accessories, although there are actually 15 pieces since the bowcaster is 2 parts.  You get that nowcaster, which is pretty much the same as Chewbacca has.  The strap forms and overly large loop, so it doesn’t do a great job of slinging over Krrsantan’s shoulder.  It comes with a large shotgun, as well as a large blaster that interacts with a large electrical effect that wraps around the barrel.  Also included are a pair of large blades/swords.  There are a pair of electrical effects which enhance the spiked knuckles on his hands.  Krrsantan also needs a break, so he comes with a large stein as well as a meiloorun fruit. Finally, he comes with 2 extra pair of hands (clenched fists and wide grips) in addition the standard mid-grip hands.  He interacts with most of the accessories pretty well, although I found it tough for him to perform a two-handed weapon grip (THWG) on the large blaster (with electrical effect).  You can mix and match the hands and he holds everything pretty well, although I wish he had a tighter grip on the mug.

The accessories here are more numerous and varied than in the deluxe version.  Again, based on official photography and the press release (which says 9 accessories), I believe (but could be wrong) that this version comes exclusively with the large blaster, the large barrel electrical effect, the dual blades, and the 2-piece bowcaster. It seems you get everything else, including the extra hands, with upcoming deluxe figure.

So $12 gets you premium packaging, a roaring headsculpt variant, and 5 more accessories.  It’s cool, but unless you’re a completist, you can probably be okay with the deluxe version.  To me, the roaring facial expression is the most compelling though. 

For purposes of grading, I generally try to set aside the price.  As such, Krrsantan gets a 9/10.  The drawbacks are the limited range of motion for some articulation (which I find understandable), and the possible perceived lack of “heft” the the figure.  Otherwise it’s outstanding.