The 2004 VOTC Chewbacca has proven to be one of the most timeless and versatile molds in the history of the modern line.  While it’s not perfect by today’s standards, it is certainly acceptable.  For 2004, Hasbro went crazy on the articulation, with multiple upper body joints, allowing the tall figure to bend in several realistic poses.  The fur sculpting is tremendous.  And really, once Hasbro hit on a great Chewbacca figure, what else needed to be done?  Well the years have proven to us that Hasbro could do a lot with the mold, usually just by changing the head sculpt.  We know that Chewbacca had a different hair style in A New Hope (slicked back) than he did in Empire or Jedi.  Beyond these simple differences, you know you’d want a Chewbacca that both has a roaring face as well as a neutral face.  And we’d also like a Chewbacca that has a wind-blown look.  Well, we got all of those, along with numerous slight repaints, over the years.

This figure, from 2008, made good use of the sculpt in a surprising way.  Hasbro went all in on the deleted sandstorm scene for Wave 1 of the Legacy Collection (Blue).  After Han and Luke, we get this Chewbacca.  Of course, Hasbro followed up in 2011 with Lando and Leia from the TVC Collection.  Throw in an R2 and Threepio of your choice, and you get the full crew as they stumble through the dunes of Tatooine to their awaiting ships at the rendezvous point.  (Did I mention there’s a Y-Wing there?  No?  Well there’s a Y-Wing there.)  During the Skirmish at the Pit of Carkoon, Chewbacca was wounded in the leg.  This was something I had no idea had occurred until this figure was released.  Apparently while travelling away from Carkoon on their hijacked skiff, the crew had the time and resources to wrap Chewie’s leg in a bandage, and make sure everyone else had shmatas and goggles.  Of course, as if Chewbacca didn’t get snubbed enough at the Yavin Ceremony, he gets no goggles for this journey.  He’s just a big dog, anyway, right? Dogs don’t wear glasses!

You’ve basically seen this figure before.  It’s a fantastically sculpted base figure, with a ton of articulation.  It lacks modern ball jointed hips and wrists, but still holds up amazingly well today.  For the desired look, Hasbro gave Chewbacca an all new head and upper arms, to simulate his fur being whipped around by the violent winds.  He’s also painted lighter than other Chewbacca’s, presumably in an attempt to show that his hair is being blasted and clogged with sand.  (Chewie probably hates sand now, if he didn’t before.  Someone should warn the Jedi Council!)  In addition to the new hair, the biggest difference is the bandage on Chewie’s left shin and foot.  The bandage is really sculpted amazingly well, with a ton of minute texture for added realism.  Chewie also comes with his bowcaster.  You’ve seen it before.  It’s got the big droopy shoulder strap, and the seperately sculpted crossbow piece, which is quite soft and rubbery.  Basically, you won’t care about this.  The figure’s sculpt and deco are the real attractions here.

My only real complaint with the figure is that the bandage is sculpted onto the figure.  This guarantees that the figure is specific to this deleted scene.  Like the BD1 Han and BD2 Luke, these figures, even when you remove the accessories, are not quite able to stand in properly for their on-screen counterparts during the Skirmish itself.  Han’s awkward waist, Luke’s gloved hand and lack of a Jedi vest, and Chewbacca’s permanent bandage make these scene specific figures.  I’m almost always okay with this, and I’m okay with that here.  But I think Hasbro could have gotten a lot more mileage and play value out of these figures with just a few simple tweaks.  Hasbro seemed to remedy this when they released the TVC sandstorm Lando and Leia figures.  Both figures are excellent versions of their pre-sandstorm selves simply by removing the accessories.  Of course, Hasbro just announced a new Lando (without the sandstorm accessories, but with taller legs and FACE! technology.

Now, despite my statement above that the figure is scene specific, both Chris and I seem to agree that this is the best Chewbacca for you to use in most cases for your Sarlaac setups.  Because of the wind-blown hair, he looks perfect standing on the Skiff with the other 7 passengers (8 if we can get Velken Tezeri!).  At least on the old POTF2 Skiff, you can easily hide Chewie’s bandaged leg.  Things may be a bit different with the new, larger skiff, or even if you choose to set up your display later in the battle, when the prisoner skiff is less densely populated, making it harder to obscure the bandage.  Or maybe you don’t care about the bandage at all, and just prefer the windy hair look. 

Bottom line, it’s amazing to me that this base sculpt is 15 years old, and Hasbro has recently announced that it will be used again in 2019 for a TVC Chewbacca.  That really is incredible if you think about it.  Like a computer (except for Chris’s laptop), most Hasbro figures are obsolete within a few years with the ever rising level of realism that can be attained.  I really like this figure, and I give it an 8, a tick higher than what we originally gave it back in 2008.

Build-A-Droid 

Chewbacca (First Release) contains the head and third leg for the astromech R4-D6, which could be seen rolling in the background of the Yavin Hangar while Luke and Han had their snippy farewell. Source:  A New Hope.

Verdict: No Action 

Chewbacca with the sculpted bandage and windblown fur is perfect for this specific deleted scene.  We also know that we are getting Chewbacca in an upcoming TVC wave this year.  I’m a fan of this base sculpt.  It’s one of the most enduring in the history of Hasbro’s line, and I have no real issues with it.  Hasbro can continue to give us slightly different headsculpts and accessories with this sculpt until the cows come home…unless they figure out a way to include ball jointed hips and wrists without ruining the aesthetic.

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.