As I photographed VC261 Cassian Andor, I realized it represents a microcosm of our 3.75” hobby.  The figure is beautifully sculpted, and is light years ahead of the previous Cassian figure which debuted 6 years ago.  As such, it represents the best of TVC.  On the flip side, there are some shortcuts (well, one in particular), which represents the strict budgetary guidelines that the Hasbro Brand Team must adhere to.  And both of these aspects are dwarfed by the biggest problem facing the world-building scale.

So let’s look at the Good - and it’s very good.  The figure is exquisite.  The first thing you’ll notice, especially if you have the Rogue One version handy, is the vast improvement in the face.  Hasbro’s underlying sculpting of faces has been solid for a while, but the work has been hidden by weak paint applications.  While the sculptors have kicked it up a notch recently, the continuously improving Photo Real technology takes things to another level.  Here, we don’t just have a decent Cassian Andor, we have an outstanding Diego Luna.  Just look at that side-by-side pic in the gallery.  The original Rogue One release is more on par with Kenner than it is with current TVC.  OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.

Cassian Andor is an all new sculpt from the ground up, and it’s outstanding.  The detailing is great, and he’s got the Jedi-level Articulation (JLA) worthy of a main player in the Star Wars universe.  The coloring of the figure is true to the source material, and he comes with a blaster that he can grip well.  Cassian displays easily in a variety of poses.

And…that’s it.  That brings me to the Bad.  While this is an all new sculpt, there are 3 drawbacks to the figure.  The first is that the long overcoat hinders the figure from some posing.  It’s definitely not a deal breaker, as the coat is made from a very pliable plastic, but it still prevents Cassian from sitting down.  Again, not the end of the world because the character is mostly walking around and talking while wearing this outfit, with one notable exception.  Also, I’m not sure there’s a viable alternative to the execution.  It is what it is.  Hasbro also skipped out on a holster.  Now it’s possible that a holster isn’t particularly visible on screen, I’m not sure.  But for the figure, where is he supposed to put the blaster?  The PG answer is, “nowhere.”  He just has to hold it all the time (in his hand). 

Besides a few sculpting decisions, the second drawback is the coloring.  It’s just a bland looking character.  Totally not Hasbro’s fault, as the figure is true to screen.  But it’s not a particularly exciting figure.  It’s just a guy in a brown coat.  Which leads to the actual problem, noted by me ol’ pal Chris multiple times already:  Andor is simply not toyetic.  The colors and outfits are generally bland, and the series doesn’t lend itself to a lot of moments where collectors find themselves saying, “I must have that [figure/ship/accessory] in my collection!”

And that brings me to the Ugly.  Disney/LFL/Hasbro seems to have lost sight of what makes the 3.75” scale so awesome:  World Building.  This figure exists in a vacuum.  As alluded to above, there is one action sequence where Cassian escapes a warehouse with Luthen Rael, but we have in figure form neither Luthen nor the uniformed agents that give chase. Rubbing salt in this wound, Cassian’s casemate is Vel Sartha (to be reviewed soon), but he sheds these duds before he meets Vel on Aldhani.  So these characters, as they are represented here, do not interact.  Chris has said that he’s not really interested in more figures from Andor, although he loves the show.  I tend to agree.  I’d like a Luthen and a Mothma, and maybe a Kino Loy, but I’m not exactly looking to build out an entire scene from the show on my shelf.

And here we are.  A nearly perfectly executed figure (except for the missing holster), but one of the duller offerings out there.  It’s not Hasbro’s fault, they handled their end of the deal, but LFL gave us some lackluster designs.  So it’s hard for me to put this figure on the same pedestal as other 9’s and 10’s that have come out recently.  I therefore give it a VERY subjective 8/10.  (Still, I love it!)