The venerable 2004 VOTC Chewbacca makes another return, 15 years later.  It’s quite impressive.  Few molds have enjoyed a run of this magnitude, and still hold up very well.  This has been considered the definitive Chewbacca since it was first released, and other than a few minor tweaks for particular version of Chewbacca, it remains the standard.  The original version was released as a Return of the Jedi version, although the image on the cardback was from A New Hope.  Unlike Chewbacca’s slicked back hair in A New Hope, he had what appeared to be a part of sorts in his hair for both ESB and ROTJ.  Later, a new head with slicked back hair, but non-roaring face came in the Early Bird Kit.  More versions followed, with the same basic body.  A Falcon headset (with the wrong head), an asteroid gas mask accessory, windy sandstorm fur (and bandage), and a couple of repaints and new heads in The Black Series. 

This figure is a repaint of the TBS Phase 2 (blue) #11 figure.  It is Chewbacca from ANH, while roaring.  He’s perfect for scaring MSE droids and for signaling Alliance personnel that the medal ceremony had concluded.  I had mistakenly passed on the TBS version, thinking that it was a repaint, but it was not.  I blame Chris.  He’s supposed to ensure I don’t make those mistakes.  So when this figure was announced, it was a chance to make things right.  Hasbro made a mistake during one of the conventions when they accidentally put out the wrong version of Chewbacca on display, but the issue was soon clarified, and we ended up with the figure we were supposed to get.

Personally, I think the “original” TBS version is terribly painted.  He’s way to blonde, and I think it looks kind of silly.  But the sculpt was pretty much perfect.  This new release, is so far superior to the TBS release in the paint applications that it’s not even funny.  Look at the comparison shot of the TBS and TVC versions above in pic 19.  That TBS version maybe didn’t look so ridiculous at the time, but it certainly does now!  It’s like he went through some kind of mid life crisis and got his hair colored.  Put that one in your drawer, and get several of these instead.  This is a winner.

The body sculpt, again, is pretty awesome.  I have only two real concerns for Hasbro to consider in any future upgrade (I mean, as good as it is, it’s 15 years old!).  First, if there is a way to properly sculpt in ball jointed hips without ruining the aesthetic, that should be addressed.  And second, I always thought the hands were a bit odd because the cascading hair only looks correctly when falling straight down.  Any other position makes the hair look like it’s defying gravity.  Perhaps a less dramatic bit of fur in the hand sculpt would go a long way. 

The bowcaster is the typical two pieces and is made of a very soft plastic.  The crossbow piece fits into the end of the barrel, but is very loose.  The weapon is painted a single color, which is not as nice as some earlier versions.  We expect a bit more from TVC, but it’s likely you have about 12 different bowcasters from past Chewbacca figures that you could swap out if you prefer.

It’s a really nice Chewbacca.  It’s a good choice for TVC, since Chewbacca hadn’t been released in the line yet.  I’m glad they chose that TBS figure to release as a repaint, since I definitely needed it in my collection.  Not all repacks are created equal.  This one is superior.  For a 15 year-old mold, it gets a very impressive 8/10.