Oh Asty, we hardly knew ye.  This is one of three Resistance pilots from the TFA 5POA line, including Poe and Snap Wexley.  Hasbro has had so much success with its OT-era Rebel Pilot figures in super-articulated form, is it even possible that a 5POA figure can compete? The answer is yes, as we know from the very cool Paige TLJ figure that was recently released.  But in 2015, was Asty an example of awesome 5POA-ness?

No.  The answer is no.

Taking a step back, the figure isn’t bad.  It’s sculpt is decent, although it really could have benefited from the vest being a separate piece, as you can see in that Paige photo, or in the photo comparing Asty to the Black Series Poe in this gallery.  There is some texture and foldiness to the sculpt, but it’s not awesome by any stretch.  The good parts, which definitely help this figure, are the separately sculpted chest control box, the air hose, and the holster.  The holster works well, and Asty can hold the blaster tightly in his hand.  The paint applications are okay, nothing special.  There’s some bleeding and overspray.  This would have been easier to execute if the vest or other parts were separately molded, but it is what it is.

So the real focus is on the head.  After all, he’s an alien design, so he should have an awesome head sculpt since the rest of his body is covered in basically the same suit as a human pilot.  The only thing that shows here is the front of the face.  The custom helmet that Asty sports is not a separate piece, so therefore cannot be removed to reveal the full head.  This is a shame.  The helmet itself has some interesting colors and tampos, including a yellow and black checkerboard pattern that is very reminiscent of Biggs Darklighter’s helmet deco, and according to Wookiepedia, was part of the Resistance effort to honor past Alliance pilots.  There’s some writing on the front in his native Abednedish writing.  All that is well and good, but the whole thing is nearly ruined by the yellow “banana” visor paint applications.  The idiot visor strikes again, as it did in the previously reviewed Resistance Trooper.

Apparently Lucasfilm decided that the alien design was cool enough that Asty’s quick death shouldn’t cheat viewers out of seeing more Abednedo pilots on screen again.  At NYCC 2017, it was revealed that there will be a figure of C’Ai Threnalli, probably no relation, but a Resistance Pilot allegedly from The Last Jedi.  Hopefully that figure is not terrible like this one.  Personally, a really interesting choice for a figure would have been another Abednedo named Crusher Roodown, who was on Jakku.

In any case, this figure isn’t great, but it meets its requirements and can serve as a little variety to your pilot lineup.  If you like it even less, it can just serve as some Resistance Base background fodder.  Otherwise, skip it altogether.  It’s just a shame that the helmet isn/t removable, and it has the idiot visor.