Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with our second look at TVC…

Original Review:  Chris - 03/04/2012 8:45 PM

Mer.  It feels this figure could have been a little bit more.  Including a removable headset would have been a start. It’s the way the character appears in the card photo and also how he appears when he’s manning the gunner station in the deleted scene.  Colonel Cracken also appears donning the Endor Rebel helmet in several shots.  Since this accessory already exists, packing it in with the figure would have seemed like a natural.  I would have preferred either of these items to the heavy blaster with which the figure can’t do too much.  The legs on this figure come from the 2006 Rebel Trooper and are somewhat dated.  The articulation is modern with ball jointed knees and ankles, but the knee joints are quite large and obvious.  Overall, this amounts to a 7 out of 10 figure for me.  Good, but not worth going out of you way for if this isn’t a figure you would normally collect.

Updated Review:  Bret - 09/01/2018 07:05 AM

Here we get the 4th of 5 Blu-Ray deleted scene figures, and it’s the weakest of the bunch.  The big thing here is that it’s a figure that in today’s world would stand less than zero chance of ever being made.  It’s another testament to the greatness of the line during its heyday.  This figure exists because the popularity of the line could support it, and it shows the breadth and depth that once symbolized the awesomeness of the 3.75” Star Wars line. 

Colonel Cracken is actually in the final cut of Return of the Jedi.  He can be seen sitting behind Lando in the cockpit of the Falcon during the assault on Bigger Death Star.  However, he had a bit of a larger role in some scenes that hit the cutting room floor.  Most prominently, he runs to man one of the Falcon’s quad-laser cannons, which is depicted on the card art. 

The figure itself is pretty good, although as Chris points out, perhaps a bit dated due to the reused body parts.  Nevertheless, it’s a solid figure, with a nicely detailed sculpt, super-articulation, and good paint applications.  Personally, I would have preferred a bit of a grayer look to the hair.  In fact, in the side by side from image #16 above, the unnamed Rebel Soldier (it’s totally Cracken) figure does have a more salt and pepper look.  You know what else that older figure has?  A separately sculpted jacket.  It’s not so much for the removability, but just because it adds more depth to the figure itself.  We see this when analyzing some of the newer 5POA figures.  Those that have separately sculpted vests, jackets, or other garments look to be on another level from their less detailed brethren. 

Oh, and you know what else that older figure has?  A hat.  Yeah.  In the actual film, Cracken is wearing the Rebel trooper helmet.  But even more specifically, especially since it’s featured on the card art, this TVC version doesn’t even have any kind of headset.  Essentially, it’s not really a proper representation of the deleted scene Cracken.  He’s either wearing the helmet or the headset at all times.  This is more like an offscreen deleted scene Cracken.  In fact, the previous figure, while generally of more primitive quality, is more accurate to the source material, if they had just named it Colonel Cracken.  If they did, they probably wouldn’t have bothered with this guy, and instead given us some other never-before-made figure.

 
It’s very cool that Hasbro made this figure, and I’m happy to own it.  But Hasbro may have been asleep at the wheel on this one.  Instead of including the proper accessories, they were apparently practicing for the future TFA 5PO line and the ridiculously large non-canon cannons for accessories.  As Chris said, it would have gone a long way to include a helmet and headset instead of the nonsense cannon.  The only justification I can come up with here is that Hasbro threw it in to be a poor man’s Falcon quad-laser cannon, for some buyer who didn’t actually have a Falcon.  If so, then they still should have included the helmet and headset.

Verdict: No Action 

Kudos to Hasbro for making this figure.  If you own it, great.  If not, consider clicking the eBay link and picking one up for a not unreasonable price.  Hasbro shouldn’t need to revisit this figure, or even this character.  We’ll have to make due with a helmet from another commando, and just do without the headset unless such an accessory is created down the road for another figure.  Or you could skip this entirely and go with the inferior, but screen accurate, “Not Cracken” Rebel Soldier figure.  I concur with the 7 of 10.

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.