Ah, good old 4-LOM Zuckuss and Zukuss 4-LOM.  They go together like peas and carrots.  That “strike through” shtick is in reference to the naming confusion of the vintage Kenner figures where the names of those two characters were reversed, and it’s easy to see why.  The two bounty hunters stand side by side on the bridge of the Executor waiting to be dispatched by Lord Vader to hunt down the rebel heroes despite the protests of Admiral Piett.  Apparently “scum” is a pretty big burn in the Empire.  They fall back on it a lot.  The pair of bounty hunters look alike with cylindrical noses and insectoid fly-like eyes, and it’s established in the Expanded Universe that they work as a team.  Do they look alike because they are a team, or did they form a team because they look alike?  I’m putting my money on the latter.  It’s similar to the way that the cargo shorts guys at work always seem to form a clique and mock the less-pocketed.  So the confusion out of Cincinnati was understandable except for one huge tip off.  The alpha numeric “4-LOM” designation was a strong indicator that it was the name of a rowbit.  Zuckuss is clearly the organic half of Wizard Robot and His Less Successful Friend.

When this figure was released in 2009, it was one of the last two Empire Strikes Back bounty hunters that were awaiting super articulated upgrades.  The other was Dengar who was upgraded with the VC01 Vintage Collection figure the next year. Despite the importance of this release, it didn’t fare well at retail and was a bit of a peg clogger.  There may be a few reasons for this.  First, this is a figure that greatly pulls at the two collector demands.  The more this figure pulls toward on-screen authenticity, the further away it pulls from pose-ability.  On screen, Zuckuss wears what appears to be a full length duster fashioned out of a tarpaulin.  Traditional soft goods, as seen on the lower half of this figure, are simply not accurate.  Hasbro complicated this matter by attempting to recreate the silver highlights of the actual wardrobe item, but the end result looks like Zuckuss was assaulted by bird droppings.  A more realistic interpretation probably would require a sculpted lower body which would result in a static, un-pose-able lower body (aka the dreaded salt shaker).  Thus, collectors who erred on the side of form over function likely considered the fully sculpted POTF2 predecessor of this figure as superior, and bypassed this release.  I am not in that camp.  I will gladly sacrifice a degree of authenticity to put the “action” in action figure. 

Despite this being my preferred approach to figures, it has some warts. Zuckuss stands in at a meager 1.5 meters.  That’s 4’11” to those of us who prefer our measurements arbitrary and based on themselves BECAUSE THEY SAY SO! Either way, that’s almost Tom Cruise short.  Complicating this, the aforementioned wardrobe design is somewhat bulky.  Short and bulky in terms of an action figure is mutually exclusive from highly pose-able.  While the figure has the standard 14 points of super articulation, the range of motion isn’t fantastic, particularly in the arms.  This Zuckuss figure can achieve the vaunted two-handed-weapon-grip (THWG) insomuch as Corey Clement caught that touchdown pass in Super Bowl 52.  Yeah, he caught it, but on the other hand, he kinda didn’t.  This figure can achieve a THWG, but it’s not a realistic shooting pose.  Complicating this is the fact that the figure can barely interact with the GRS-1 snare rifle, but it’s hard to fault Hasbro here.  That is a weapon meant for human anatomy, and Zuckuss features a three-digit claw (I have it on good authority that 4-LOM called him “trips” behind his back).  The stock of the grip basically rests in the figure’s hand with zero chance of placing a digit on the trigger, but I highly doubt that Ms. Munro could have achieved this while donning the Zuckuss costume on set.

One neat thing to note is that the back pack and the attached breathing hoses are removable.  Now, this is clearly not meant to be a display option as Zuckuss is left with face holes which Dannik Jerriko tried to make fashionable, but failed miserably.  But in doing so, it allowed these components to be separately sculpted pieces which adds a lifelike layer of depth to the figure.  While this figure can’t do things that are achievable by truly dynamic figures, I can’t bring myself to lower the score below the standard 7 for a super-articulated figure.  This Zuckuss figure does a perfectly passable job of being a Zuckuss figure. 

Credits 

The photo of all the bounty hunters on the bridge of the Executor was shamelessly stolen from Mr. Nomadscout.

Build-A-Droid 

Zuckuss contains the left leg of HK-50.  This was a model of assassin droid from the Old Republic era, built by Revan.  Source:  Knights of the Old Republic II - (Legends).

Verdict: No Action 

As mentioned above, this figure has room for improvement, but also wasn’t lighting a fire at the cash register.  This is complicated by the fact that it was re-released in the “Shadows of the Darkside” Saga Legends line.  So it has had plenty of availability, and the original TLC release is perfectly accessible on the secondary market.  If you want a Zuckuss figure, just hunt Ebay and Amazon until a price meets your comfort level.  If you absolutely have to have on on a Vintage Collection card, hunt down that weird name-swap Celebration exclusive (Ebay sponsored).

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.