Original Review:  Chris - 01/31/2013 8:02 PM

We here at Bantha Skull are particularly fond of the Vintage Collection Weequay figure because it was first announced here on 6/14/11 when the Q&A was still active (boy we miss the Q&A).  Okay enough of the self-congratulatory crap, lets play The Feud! 

I honestly don’t know where to begin because there is so much to discuss here.  I guess I’ll begin with a disclaimer.  I always try to be honest about my biases with you, the reader.  Even if I don’t consciously realize that my opinions are prejudiced, I want you to be aware of the potential.  The first 30 minutes of Return of the Jedi are my favorite 30 minutes in motion picture history.  Bar none.  I’m thrilled when we get any Jabba related figures.  Keep that in mind as you continue to read. 

So I think I’m largely misunderstood amongst the collecting community when I discuss my collecting priorities.  When the Weequay Skiffmaster was announced, I wasn’t as overjoyed as you might expect considering the previous paragraph.  For me it’s a matter of priority.  This Weequay, who is named Queequeg in some circles, is the most prominent skiff guard, in my opinion.  Despite that, we were stuck with the god awful Power of the Force rendition for 15 years!  So while I was happy to get the Weequay Skiffmaster, I felt it was the equivalent of the proverbial lipstick on a pig.  As long as the POTF abomination was at the front of our prisoner skiff displays, I was not going to be thrilled with that particular set of figures.

That’s a long way of saying this figure was long overdue, and now that it’s been released, we can get down to the business of completing the prisoner skiff ensemble.  We’re now two figures away.  Hopefully 2013 will bring us the skiff driver, Vedain, and the human skiff guard, Velken Tezeri.  I really appreciate it when Hasbro completes a subset.  When it goes unfinished for too long, the figure technology, scale, and aesthetic can change to the point where displays look inconsistent.  Lets get this done!

Now onto the card.  Hasbro seems to lack consistency when it comes to the name pills on the Vintage Collection.  In this case it may be good or bad depending on your perspective.  You see, somewhere along the way “Weequay” was determined to be a species and not a character name.  This character has been named Queequeg.  I assume that was done by a Moby-Dick loving Decipher employee, but I could be making that up.  In other examples of figures with vintage analogues that have received newer modern names for the purpose of continuity, the new name is featured in the pill with a parenthetical reference to the Kenner designation (see Orrimaarko from this same wave).  I like consistency, so I would have preferred that this figure adhered to this Vintage Collection standard and used Queequeg (Weequay Skiff Guard) for the name pill.  If you prefer an exact replica of the Kenner card, you will be happy with the simple “Weequay” that Hasbro chose for this figure.

So onto the figure.  You already know it’s great.  14 points of articulation with ball joints where it’s absolutely required (shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles).  The detailing on the costume, head and braids is great.  The head itself being particularly expressive.  One bit of detail we seem to have lost at the end of the Vintage Collection is the paint apps on the weapons.  Previous releases of the DL-18 blaster and the Vibro Axe have come with silver highlights.  Those are now gone and the accessories are unpainted.  It’s a bit of a bummer.  Not enough to swing the rating needle one way or the other though.  The only thing that does take this figure down a peg is the unpainted joints.  The obvious gray knee and ankle joints can be a bit distracting (particularly the knees).  That keeps this figure from getting a perfect score.  9 out of 10.

Boy, I’m sitting here imagining how awesome it would be to have this figure in the skiff right outside a big Sail Barge toy* with a button that will play Jabba’s booming voice instructing Queequeg to “put him in” in Huttese. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Updated Review:  Bret - 10/11/2018 07:05 AM

CHRIS IS A TIME TRAVELLER!  How could he possibly know that Hasbro would be making a Sail Barge in 2019 when he was busy being a One Direction groupie in 2013?  He was so busy, in fact, that he probably had missed the news, a mere 6 months after he published his review, Leland Chee renamed “Queequeg” (a production name) to be Pagetti Rook, as an homage to his favorite childhood food, Chef Boyardee chess piece shaped pasta.

Covered well by Chris.  The figure is nearly as perfect as we could possibly expect.  The sculpt, paint, face, articulation, range of motion…it’s all outstanding.  The weapons are missing the typical TVC silver details, and some of the joints are too obviously the wrong color.  But it’s the guy who almost makes Luke walk the plank, and if he had just made a solid push, the galaxy would be a very different place.  Just think, if Luke was eaten by the Sarlaac, then people wouldn’t be upset with how Luke turned out in The Last Jedi. 

The important thing here is that this is essentially the definitive Queequeg / Pagetti Rook figure, and looks amazing on the Skiff, even one that is slightly under-scaled.  At this point, the Prisoner Skiff is almost complete.  We have 7 of the 9 characters set with versions that are definitive enough (maybe Chewie could have the wind-blown look from his deleted scene figure resculpted without the leg bandage).  Hasbro just needs to give us the Vedain and Velken Tezeri already.  WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG?

This is an outstanding and definitive figure, and it maintains the 9 rating Chris gave it almost 5 years ago.  You may have heard this before, but if you don’t have this figure already, you’re the worst type of person.  Get one.  DO IT NOW! 

WHY AM I YELLING SO MUCH?

The figure has spiked in value because of the Sail Barge.  Most other figures that share this scene have also seen a rise in prices.  Those figures should see some kind of re-release around the time the Khetanna ships.  And, of course, it would be an opportunity to do a multi-pack with Vedain and Velken Tezeri.  Don’t make me yell again, please.

Updated Review:  Bret - 7/24/2023 07:05 AM

Another Monday, another review of a re-released figure.  I’m not complaining, as this one really needed another shot at retail.  As we pointed out in the previous review, Weequay probably should have been timed to coincide with the Barge/Skiff releases.  But better a little late than never.

Arguably the most prominently featured of all the skiff guards in ROTJ, Weequay comes in a re-release wave consisting of Wooof, Nikto, and Saelt-Marae.  There are a few changes this time around, but they’re all pretty subtle.  As most of you reading this may know, I’m a bit challenged when it comes to deciphering colors.  So while I might not properly identify each color in question, I can say with some confidence that the colors all around Weequay differ just enough from the original release to warrant attention.  I’ll leave it up to the non-color challenged collectors out there to determine which is preferable.  For me, the most notable change was the skin color, as well as the ponytail, which is much darker this time. 

Most of the complaints when we reviewed the original releases for this wave of figures revolved around the joints being mismatched colors.  For 2023, Hasbro corrected Weequay’s knees and ankles, which is a welcome improvement.  However, for some very odd reason, Hasbro “uncorrected” the shoulder joints.  Instead of the shirt color, they are now the color of the shoulder armor.  As Stewie Griffin would say, “Wheird.”

The vibro staff is cast in a decidedly darker color, for some reason.  The figure received the PhotoReal treatment, although the difference is mild.  You can note a little bit more depth to the tones on the face due to this treatment, but give the dark skin color and the all-black eyes, the resulting change is much less dramatic than typical for PhotoReal applications.

Unlike Wooof and Saelt-Marae, but similar to Nikto, this figure doesn’t come with any special soft goods accessories, which adds some value (perceived, or otherwise).  Mostly because of this, We held the ratings of those figures steady, while knocking Nikto down a bit.  While all the figures have TVC 1.0 articulation, the soft goods and amazing execution kept Wooof and Marae from being penalized by the passage of time.  Weequay is an outstanding, and deservedly well-loved figure, but it’s hard to justify a 9/10 when compared to today’s figures.  This guy isn’t going to blow your mind, but you’re a terrible human being if you don’t pick one up, even if you have the original.

The best part is that, as we whined about in the earlier reviews above, Hasbro has already given us Vedain, and will soon grant us Velken Tezeri - and when that day comes, we will have completed the Prisoner Skiff.  It will be a day long remembered…