Hasbro made concept figures a thing back during the days of POTF2 with such offerings as the weird Rebel Speeder Bike pilot and Airspeeder pilot.  They made it a can’t miss sub line during the days of The Thirtieth Anniversary Collection when they had the McQuarrie Signature series like Darth Vader and the Rebel Trooper.  There were even a few convention exclusives that continued the theme.  Then in 2009, Hasbro sprinkled a few more concept figures into the Legacy Collection.  We already reviewed Ki-Adi Mundi and the Snowtrooper.  Here, we get IG-88.

IG-88 looks like a cross between a Cylon and Maximillian from The Black Hole.  Obviously not a whole lot was carried forward to the final product that we see on screen.  Other than the the thin arms and legs, there’s very little that is recognizable.  This version has a more barrel-chested build, and looks a bit more like an armored human than an actual droid.  The real IG-88 ended up being a lot taller, and the design of the finalized IG model had more of his parts showing, as Threepio would say.  This concept version is encased in full plating, and is a much brighter chrome silver than the real IG-88.

The figure is true to the concept drawing, and was well-executed by Hasbro.  My sample, over time, has had his legs get slightly warped, so it was a bit of a trick to get it to stand upright while in a neutral pose.  The figure has full super-articulation, which is impressive for a figure that was designed off of a drawing (while also frustrating when movie-based figures are under-articulated).  The articulation allows for a surprising amount of posability for a droid, but IG-88 is essentially an assassin battle droid, so he needs it in order to kill people.  The feet are a bit strange looking, as they seem more like human dress shoes or boots, but they don’t seem to hinder the figure from standing.  The hands have five finger, and are more human-like than IG-88’s final claw hands.  With those hands, this figure can grip the included double blasters fairly well, although I’d prefer a better fit.  As for the holsters, they are more like clips than actual holsters.  For my sample, the blasters were very loose in the clips, and were constantly falling out whenever I was trying to move or pose the figure.

This Concept IG-88 figure is an excellent figure if you’re into collecting these types.  He can go well in a display with the numerous other concept art-based figures, or you can make a Bizarro Executor Bridge meeting, by lining up any number of your alternative Vaders and bounty hunters.  We just don’t have a good Bossk to complete the scene.  So I used Zuvio, who you can actually see on the bridge in one frame of the film.  In order to see it, cue up the bridge scene and hit pause while the camera is panning across the bounty hunter lineup.  Then hold up your Zuvio figure in front of the screen.  There he is!

Build-A-Droid 

Concept IG-88 contains the right leg of YVH-1, a battle droid developed to help fight against the Yuuzhan Vong.  Source:  New Jedi Order - (Legends).

Verdict: No Action 

This is the definitive concept IG-88.  Demand on ebay can push the price of this figure into the $30 range, but it’s not enough demand to warrant a re-release.  If you’re a fan of the concept figures, make sure you pick one up.  If you’re not a fan, then you’re a terrible collector.

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.