For all intents and purposes, Lobot should be one of the dullest characters in all of Star Wars.  But because we fans obsess with every detail that we see on screen, Lobot became a favorite.  To the casual viewer, he’s just a plain white guy who doesn’t really do much of anything.  But to Star Wars Nerds, Lobot is the right hand man to the smoothest cat in The Galaxy.  Lobot sported a bad outFIT comprised of a dancing shirt and bell bottoms as his work attire.  He’s was wearing his headphones behind his head before it became a thing.  And he always had Lando’s back, even if Lando didn’t necessarily always have his.

Lobot was first made into a terrible figure in 1980 by Kenner, but that’s not really fair, since all Kenner figures are terrible - we just remember them fondly because we played with them as kids.  He was then “updated”, if you can believe it, into an even worse figure in the POTF2 line.  Lobot was part of the Freeze Frame sub-line, during which figures were still experiencing the ripple effect of the horrific He-Man styling that plagued the early “modern” collections.  While perhaps not quite as muscular as the original Hasbro figures, he was frozen in a strange (but appropriate?) disco dancing pose.  In 2004, we got an all new Lobot in the Original Trilogy Collection.  This figure had limited articulation, but the sculpting was quite decent, and wasn’t too out of place in a display of today’s figures.  Many collectors demanded an upgrade as it has been about 17 years since the last release, while others felt the OTC figure was good enough, especially for a character “that just stands there” in most of his scenes.

Well, as 2021 came to a close, we finally got our hands on this beauty.  Now, a quick apology on that note for taking so long to present Lobot for review here at Banthaskull.  But as our regulars probably know, I had to put my photography and reviews on hold for over year while I moved.  And while I have been able to get back into the groove, at least weekly, I was able to take the time to set up the proper Carbon Freezing diorama until recently.  So I put off the review until just now.  Hopefully our reviews will be a bit more timely, but sometimes it’s fun discussing a figure after everyone has had time to acquire one a play around with it for a while. 

So for a guy that just stands there, Hasbro really pulled all the stops to give us a realistic looking figure that can not only just stand there, but also kick some hiney.  Looking at the comparison photo, it’s hard to say that the 2004 figure is bad.  It just isn’t poseable, and even the arms have the annoying cut-swivel elbows which will drive a collector mad.  Not all figures need Jedi-Level Articulation, but I’d rather Hasbro err on the side of too much articulation than not enough, and that’s pretty much what they did here.

The figure is great, even if it’s a bit over the top.  The face sculpt and PhotoReal are outstanding.  The articulation is about as good as it gets.  And the colors and sculpting are simple, but excellent.  One weird feature about the OTC figure was that the AJ-6 implant was removable, leaving a weird slot in the back of the figure’s head when absent, giving it a kind of decraniated look.  This time, thankfully, the implant is sculpted into the head.  My only complaint, is that the sculpting does suffer slightly from the over-articulation.  Lobot has that chest joint that breaks the aesthetic a bit, and also has a bit of the “diaper” effect from the hip joints. 

Lobot comes with a single accessory, which is the Imperial Stormtrooper E-11 blaster.  Perhaps Hasbro could have included a second blaster, since the only time we see Lobot holding the weapon is when he is actually handed two by Lando. 

Overall, it’s a joy that we have a fully modernized Lobot figure.  If you’re an animal and prefer statues to action figures, you might stay with the OTC version.  But if you’re a good nerd, you’ll have added this Lobot figure to your collection.  I’ll give it an 8.  He’s pretty awesome, a worthy upgrade, and I love me some OT releases.  But I can’t honestly say it’s as fun a figure as the recent hyper-articulated releases like Bo-Katan or https://www.banthaskull.com/photo_galleries/gallery/ph-vc221-fennec-shand, or an awesome alien like Kuiil, or just an overall work of art like Ahsoka (Mandalore).  Still, you’re a terrible collector if you don’t have this in your collection.