Lets get this out of the way.  10 out of 10.  I had to.  In fact…

We’ve been campaigning for this for almost as long as Bantha Skull has existed.  When I wrote the original (brief) review of the VC48 - Weequay Skiff Master figure, I wrote this:

I want to give this figure a bad grade because everything around it sucks.  The old skiff sucks.  The old Weequay Guard (Queequeg) sucks.

Three years later when it came time to review the TBS #27 - Jabba’s Skiff Guard figure (a.k.a. Brock Starsher), i wrote this:

Hasbro we need a new skiff.  I’m going to selfishly dedicate part of every skiff guard review to this campaign until you relent. I don’t think you can handle the pressure. I’m tired of having to twist and contort my figures just to get them to stand in the narrow walkway between the center of the tiny skiff and the railing.  A process that usually results in at least one domino effect during the set up.  WE NEED A NEW SKIFF.

When the dust had just barely settled from the HasLab Sail Barge campaign, we immediately started beating the drums for a new skiff in THIS ARTICLE.  If Hasbro made me wait any longer for the toy I wanted, I was going to threaten not going to college!  That would have showed them!  Now that we finally have that new and properly scaled skiff, it feels like it earns a 10 just for existing, but it does truly earn a 10 for meritorious reasons. 

I will start off with the negatives that will not compel me to deduct even a single point.  First, I feel the skiff is a little too far on the brown side.  The on-screen version appears to have a copper shade to it.  Second, I don’t like what I assume are supposed to be sand effects throughout the hull.  They’re too light and almost look like frost.  Finally, the skiff sits too high on its stand when placed next to the Sail Barge, but I’m not sure Hasbro could have done anything here.  It’s supposed to mimic the height that the prisoner skiff hovered over the Sarlacc pit in order to recreate Lando’s desperate rope climb to avoid becoming a very slow dinner.  See kids?  Your gym teach was right.  It is important to climb that rope. 

The positives are many, but first and foremost is that this simply exists.  Hasbro could easily have re-issued the previous skiff and let it ride the coattails of Barge-mania.  It would have sold.  The fact that we have an all new skiff is a gift.  Even though it’s not truly to scale (and neither is the Barge), all of the intended passengers can easily fit on the deck of the skiff, including a stand-in such as Vizam, who was used in place of Velken Tezeri in the above pictures.  Even if Hasbro painted the skiff pink, that would have been fine by me, but Hasbro, as has become customary, went above and beyond on the detailing.  The railings are weathered and beaten, and the deck is distressed.  There are gold and brass colored paint applications throughout, even in the recess under the nose of the Skiff that you’re not likely to see.  There is a dark wash over the pilot’s console that gives it a grimy used-universe look.  This thing kills it in the looks department.

But it also packs in some features.  The swappable railings to recreate the battle damage is a drastically better implementation than the auto-collapse railing on the old skiff.  The wires hanging down can easily support an action figure, and are thick enough to be securely grasped by the recent Lando in Skiff Disquise figure.  The plank fully extends and likewise supports Luke before his fake-out Sarlacc pit plunge that turns into a Triple Lindy lightsaber surprise.  The collapsing plank gimmick from the previous skiff is thankfully gone.  That thing had about a nanometer of tolerance between extension or collapse.  There are removable plates that expose the engine and can be used for storage.  There are also clips at the bow and stern that will allow you to store some of the skiff guards’ staff-based weapons (the ideal weapon for combating blasters and laser swords, said no one ever). But I’m leaving perhaps the best feature for last.  The two points at which the clear stand attaches to the underbody of the skiff are both articulated.  This means you can choose to tilt the skiff to recreate when the starboard side repulsor lifts failed during the battle, and Lando further advanced toward becoming dinner.  This is my favorite feature of the new skiff and fully cements it as a 10 out of 10 for me. But again, it was a 10 out of 10 the second they announced it.

At the time of this review, this amazing vehicle is available for pre-order the following site sponsors:

Click HERE to pre-order from Entertainment Earth (sponsored)

Click HERE to pre-order from Amazon (sponsored)

If you’re reading this review at some point in the future, I hope your land of tomorrow serves you well, but you’ll have hit the Ebay button below to find this item.