There was a time when there was uncertainty about the prospect of Rebels figures in the Vintage Collection.  It was the “will-they-won’t-they” of the Hasbro sitcom.  Fans didn’t know if TVC and Rebels figures would be Sam and Diane, or Sam and Rebecca.  Well after a successful Ghost HasLab campaign which includes four of the crew on TVC cards, the announcement of the additional two members on mural TVC cards, and the pipeline of an additional wave of earlier season figures, it turns out it’s neither of those.  TVC and Rebels figures are Jim and Pam.  They got married, had two kids, and weathered wandering eyes and conflicting priorities.  Hasbro is all-in on bringing these figures to the super articulated 3.75” scale.  But if we flash back to the “will-they” phase, fans felt that Chopper would be the likely first kiss (cue the studio audience “ooooooOOOOOOOOO”).  Chopper was the most popular character from the series.  Combine that with the cross-over appeal to droid and astromech collectors, and it was felt that the cantankerous bucket of bolts would be the safest test pilot for Rebels figures in TVC.

So finally, and at long last, Chopper is here in the realistic, adult-collector 3.75” line.  Standard astromechs are already half figures, and Chopper is small for an astromech.  That means the resulting sculpt is quite wee.  The way that Hasbro spread out the figure and accessories in the bubble reminds me of the way that Dave and Chainsaw padded their essay with extra adverbs:

And that is why we admire makeup artist and creature creator Rick Baker very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very much.

So how did Hasbro provide adult collector line value when sheer mass can’t be counted on?  The first way is by providing a new type of articulation for astromech droid figures.  The head on this Chopper is on a ball pivot instead of the traditional flat plane swivel that we usually get.  It operates similar to a ball jointed torso.  It allows the figure to tilt its head to the side in a mini “RCA dog” pose.  This is very important because it allows this Chopper to mimic the expressiveness he displays on-screen.  The dome also rotates in the traditional flat plane manner as well, and it sports the two utility arms that emanate from the sides.  Those arms swivel at the attachment point, but that is the extent of the articulation.  I don’t get it.  In 2001, Hasbro gave us an FX-7 figure that had 18 spindly arms.  Each one of those arms had a simple hinged elbow.  That’s all we needed here.  Just a simple hinge, but apparently two of those would have broken the budget.  (Note:  This review was written before the Middle Aged Kiwi Man’s Q&A with Hasbro).

This Chopper includes swappable antennae for…reasons?  If it’s to replicate something from the Rebels series, I don’t remember it.  It gives the impression that he’s sending a signal, which is cool I guess.  Chopper also comes with the tracking device that he chucks on the cargo ship in Episode 2 of the Ahsoka series.  It passably clicks into the left dome arm. The wheel that serves as the traditional astromech third leg can be removed to facilitate the “walking” two-legged pose.  There is also a utility arm the extends from the upper portion of the drum.  Speaking of that torso, it’s a tale of two decos.  The front features multiple paint applications, and a realistic grimy wash for that used universe feel.  The back is stark by comparison.  There are only a few paint apps, and nary a speck of the dirty wash from the front.  Chopper looks like he slid head first into second trying to steal a base.

Overall, the figure is going to look great in your display (facing front that is).  It’s going to make the perfect companion piece to the outstanding Hera figure, but I can’t give this release a high score simply because it’s hard to see the value.  What we’re getting for $17 is frankly insulting compared to what $25 gets you in the Black Series.  The TBS version has fully articulated utility arms that neatly retract into the dome.  It also includes a rocket effect and a swappable leg.  In TVC, we get nearly static utility arms, and a hockey puck. The disparity in engineering is apparent.  I feel like this is another case were Hasbro knew the name in the pill would sell the product as much as the figure in the blister, so they felt comfortable holding back on the features.  I’m giving this a 7 out of 10 due to the lack of value, and I might be being too generous.

I need to reiterate that the figure looks very good, and the head articulation allows you to coax a lot of expression out of a little package.  It’s just too expensive for what we get.

Finally, for those of you playing the reference home game:

• Cheers
• The Office
• Summer School
• Chase Utley

Did you get them all?