Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with a second look…

Original Review:  Chris - 6/28/2014 6:57 AM

So we finish the eighteenth and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, “HEY! Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.”

Surely you know exactly what I’m implying with that Caddy Shack quote.  The lips and eyes on my sample were painted so haphazardly that it left Toryn Farr looking like she had a twisted mouth and a wandering pupil like Carl Spackler.  It’s not just the facial features that Hasbro is apparently refusing to make any effort to get correct. Look at the black box around the rank badge on the figure’s vest.  It’s not even close to being accurate.  I don’t even get it.  If costs are a concern, how much can be saved with these sloppy paint applications?  From the outside it seems like it’s hardly worth the damage these careless efforts could do to the brand.  Of course, it most likely only damages Hasbro’s reputation in the eyes of adult collectors, and not in the eyes of parents and kids.  So again, they just don’t care.

The real insult in these sloppy facial paint applications is to the sculptor.  The portrait is a very nice representation of the Echo Base communications officer.  In profile it even manages to portray the apprehensiveness the character showed in the “stand by ion control” scene knowing that lives on board the escaping transport hung in the balance.  This is all undone by some horrible execution.

The body of the figure is reused from the Vintage Collection Hoth Leia figure with a slight retooling of the left forearm.  Unfortunately that base figure lacked articulated ankles.  Without ankles, the knees are essentially useless except for sitting.  If the knees are articulated, the feet no longer sit flat on the surface and the figure is impossible to stand.  It certainly won’t stand for long as it becomes a precarious balancing act. 

The paint applications on the figure are disappointing, but the figure isn’t as overall bad as the Dagobah training Luke.  It comes in at a lowly 5 out of 10.

Updated Review:  Bret - 11/17/2018 07:05 AM

The last couple of figures have put me at odds with Chris, and here’s another.  While we agreed that both #21 Luke and #22 Yoda were horrible, I felt that the scores should have been flipped because it seemed Hasbro meant well when giving us a hyper-articulated Luke, but the Yoda was tantamount to waving the white flag of surrender in their effort to please their core collector audience.  Here’s a figure that, while by no means spectacular, does its job and delivers just enough to make this collector favorite and oft-requested action figure. 

Most of us are big fans of minor background characters.  The Empire Strikes Back was a less robust source for such characters when compared to ANH or ROTJ.  Echo Base on Hoth and Cloud City were the only real sources for any depth in the action figure line, and both scenes were relatively underwhelming in that regard, when compared to Jabba’s Palace or the Cantina.  As such, there are generally far fewer characters left on the “need” list for collectors that are sourced from ESB.  Toryn Farr was one of the few that had a lot of collector support.  Hasbro did what Hasbro does, and delivered a niche figure by repainting and retooling an existing base figure.  In this case, they used VC02 Bespin Leia.

Leia was an outstanding figure, and we gave it a solid 8/10 in our recent revisit.  That’s pretty good for an 8-year old figure.  Our biggest complaint was the lack of articulated ankles and then, to a lesser degree, the thicker-than-necessary thighs.  The thigh issue is more or less becomes moot since we know very little about Toryn Farr’s physique, as she was only seen sitting at her control station, and even then, only briefly.  For all we know, when she gets up from her chair, her fellow troopers whisper to each other the secret phrase, “Thunder Thighs are on the move…Thunder Thighs are loose.” 

Then we are left with the lack of ankles.  I hated this oversight on the VC02 Leia figure, which represents one of the Holy Trinity of Star Wars OT characters wearing her dominant costume from the film. But for Toryn Farr, her only movie scene has her sitting down at her console.  As Chris alluded to, this is the one position for which articulated ankles are rendered irrelevant.  Sure, I’d prefer the ankles be articulated for improved posability, but I’d have to say that it is far less offensive that the articulation is omitted from this character than when compared with Leia.  The only remaining issue with Leia was that the uniform was probably too dirty.  This figure has no dirt painted onto the uniform, which again, is fine, because Toryn Farr wasn’t shown doing anything that would warrant such a paint application to her figure.  While VC02 is the base figure, Hasbro didn’t do a straight repaint.  Obviously they included a new head, but they also tooled new forearms and gave Farr a new vest.  The collar is higher, and the rank badge is positioned differently. 

When we look at accessories, we have one slight downgrade and one addition.  The blaster included with Toryn Farr is the same model that came with Leia.  However, in usual Black Series fashion, Hasbro cut a corner an deleted the silver-barrel paint application.  This is too bad (again, as usual for the line) because such minute touches added a premium air to the figure, which is now lacking.  That minor downgrade is more than made up for the inclusion of another accessory (Leia only included her blaster).  Farr comes with her all important headphones.  Hasbro could have really cheaped out and molded the headphones to Farr’s head, but they did the right thing and made it a separate piece.  This is a very good thing.

So if I can excuse just about everything that dropped Leia to an 8 rating, in theory, this figure should be a 10.  And, to boot, the figure as an additional accessory and some minor retoolings to help differentiate it from Leia.  All sounds great.  However, Chris blasted the figure for having a crappily painted head, which essentially ruined the figure.  You can see from the comparison pic that the paint apps on Chris’s figure, which he reviewed originally, and mine, which was reviewed here, that there is a definite difference in the quality between the two.  If I go by my sample, I have no issue whatsoever with the face paint, other than there being some unfortunate tiny stray marks which do not affect Chris’s figure.  I don’t believe that this is anywhere near bad enough to warrant a score of 5.  I’d probably give it a 7.  While I love the background figure, I’d say that I’d have preferred retooled ankles rather than retooled forearms.  Also, it would have been really cool if she came with a chair, high chair, big chair, or chair.  Chair.

I’m going to up the figure’s score to a 7.  It’s a baseline score for an collector grade figure, and should not it any way be left to rot in the same category as the egregious #21 Luke and #22 Yoda.

Verdict: No Action 

Here’s a figure that is close enough to be called definitive.  Sure, the figure could have articulated ankles, but I’m happy we have a decent Toryn Farr figure.  Ebay prices are barely above MSRP.  You can probably get one for under $15 shipped.  If you like backgrounders, Rebels, ESB, Hoth, or female action figures, you should add this to your collection.  Hasbro, for their part, should know that they did collectors a favor, and can move on to something else.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.