Bret:

Last week, thanks to LitzkyPR and Hasbro, Bantha Skull was treated to a special “early bird” press kit, and then followed it up with a nice boxed set of the 6 individually carded retro figures currently made available via Target and later via all fan channels.  To launch our galleries and brief reviews of Hasbro’s Retro Collection, we’re tipping our hats to Peter Mayhew and presenting Chewbacca.

When I was a kid, I had my fair share of Kenner figures and toys, and I remember them fondly.  Hasbro seems to be looking to tap into those memories by releasing some near-replicas of the original Kenner figures.  Now, I don’t mean to be negative, nor do I intend to offend those that are looking forward to owning these figures.  But personally, I feel that this is some overkill in the nostalgia department.  I believe that simply having reintroduced 3.75” figures in Kenner-inspired TVC packaging has already hit the nostalgia ball out of the park.  My itch for nostalgia, as I’ve recently recounted, was scratched when I got back into collecting in 1999 when I wanted to find a Darth Maul figure.  The mere knowledge that there were Star Wars figures available to buy was enough to get me into the game as an adult.  But on top of Vintage styling packaging that has been around in the modern line since the VOTC subset of figures was released in 2004, and then intermittently available through today as with the current TVC line, Hasbro also had offered a Kenner styled Rocket Launching Boba Fett as a mail away not too long ago.  And now, on the 42nd Anniversary of A New Hope, Hasbro is going back to that same well to bring us more retro styled figures.

In the same vein that I’m against the existence of the 6” line because the development, production, and marketing of those figures is done at the expense of shared resources that would otherwise be used to make more 3.75” figures and toys, I would also be adamantly against Hasbro expanding on this subset of retro figures indefinitely.  While they’re not my bag, I would have no issue with Hasbro releasing all the original 12 figures in this retro styling.  But the thought of there being any possibility of Hasbro doing all 92/96/100/whatever of the vintage figures is kind of upsetting.  I certainly hope Hasbro sells a ton of these, and maybe sells a ton of a potential second wave to complete the original 12, but then should take that revenue and pour it right back into TVC where it belongs.  My best case scenario is that this is just the short-term continuation of the 5POA line, in absence of any current media support.  Of course we all know 5POA is not OK, and I would hope that it does not return with the release of new media later this year.  But if it does, we certainly don’t need TVC, Retro, and 5POA to confuse the existing customer base.  I believe for the sake of the future of the line, Hasbro simply does away with these competing 3.75” lines, and focuses on TVC.
 
I only have a handful of Kenner figures in my possession, and Chewie is not one of them, so I have nothing to compare this figure to.  But I’ll basically let the gallery speak for itself as far as how close to the Kenner original it comes.  As for a critique of the figure, it serves its purpose for those interested in this particular form of nostalgia.  The figure holds the weapon pretty well, and stands straight.  That’s about all you can objectively ask of it.  The real draw here might be the cardbacks, which as you can see have a pretty nifty form of weathering/aging printed around the edges.  The presentation is the best part, and a set of 12 of these in their packaging makes for a neat display.

I won’t grade the figure, because it would be unfair to do so on our rating scale.  We’ll consider it a separate thing.  If this type of thing grabs you, you will likely love it.  If not, there’s probably no reason to own it. 

Chris:

Loose vintage Kenner Star Wars figures are not rare at all.  In fact, I suspect there will be more real Kenner Chewbacca figures in circulation than Retro Collection Chewbacca figures.  That is one reason I personally do not understand this concept.  A quick Ebay search shows that there are currently 311 results for a vintage Kenner Chewbacca, with high grade complete examples selling in the $20 range.  If I want to scratch that nostalgia itch, I can do so very easily with the real thing.  It seems to me that the appeal of this collection is as a carded collection only. It allows collectors to have a facsimile of a 12-back carded figure at a fraction of the cost of the real thing.  I hope Hasbro realizes that appeal is finite as far as character selection goes.  The 12 backs and perhaps 21 backs will sell (particularly because of the campy inaccuracy of the Cantina aliens), but it’s a limited runway.  A Retro Collection Lobot would sell about as well as Yarna.  When Litzky and Hasbro send us promotional samples, I feel it is our duty to do just that:  promote the item.  With that in mind, we hope the tone of this review doesn’t come across as negative.  It’s simply meant to be cautionary.  We have promised our readers (and Hasbro) to do our best to always been honest.  This concept works so long as the genie doesn’t get too far out of the bottle.  Feigning unbridled nerd enthusiasm would be a disservice to all. 

As nomad mentioned, promoting this item is largely unnecessary beyond merely documenting it.  It’s like a work of art.  It either calls to you, or it doesn’t.  Judging from the early retail response, many of you are heeding the call.  I myself have ventured out to see if I can spot these in the wild and maybe get the Vader.  Of course, once I have the Vader, I’ll need the Stormtrooper…