Figures That Make Me Happy:  The Tonnika Sisters

The Tonnika Sisters

HAS008 - Senni Tonnika
HAS009 - Brea Tonnika

I had some heavier content planned for today, but that didn't feel right for a Friday. Who wants to potentially be brought down on a Friday? We only have one more working day to get through until the weekend. Let's head into it on an up note! When I realized I was going to pivot the planned content, I decided to revive the Figures that Make Me Happy feature. So then I had to plumb the depths of my collecting nostalgia for a subject (or subjects in this case). I obviously didn't go very far back in the memory banks. It may seem cheap to start memorializing a release that just occurred a few months ago, but I have a reason for doing do. I don't want to let this moment go. Finally getting the Tonnika Sisters feels the impossible dream come true. I'm going to keep this moment alive in my heart, and here on Bantha Skull, for a long time.

So many of these Original Trilogy Figures that Make Me Happy entries are about figures that I wanted as a kid, but were not part of the vintage Kenner Collection. I'm not going to lie to you and say that was the case for the Tonnika Sisters. For my childhood, they just blended in with all the other (then) nameless humans populating Chalmun's Cantina. They didn't hit my radar unit the nineties when the Power of the Force "2" (POTF2) line came out. POTF2 started off with the chalk of Star Wars figures in 1995. As expected, it was the most core Original 96 figures. But shortly into the run, we got our first O96 departure with Dagobah Training Luke in 1996. 1997 showed things were really starting to open up. We got obvious O96 omissions like Grand Moff Tarkin, Slave Leia, and the Rebel Fleet Trooper. By 1998, the flood gates were open. Ishi Tibb, Labria, Nabrun Lieds, Lak Sivrak, and Pote Snitkin proved there was little that wasn't up for consideration.

It was somewhere during that four year stretch that I felt emboldened to dream, and it was right then that the Tonnikas jumped off the screen to me. There's an air about them. In a seedy bar filled with killers and crooks, they seem supremely unworried. That perceived confidence makes them compelling. Shortly thereafter, the first Fans' Choice poll took place with Ellorrs Madak winning, but fans had been pushing for the Tonnikas. We were told no then. There's a narrative that the reason for the Tonnikas' popularity with the fans is because we were told no, but there absolutely was a lot of genuine interest before the first "stop asking" was ever uttered. But the "stop asking" warnings kept coming, and were getting more forceful. I actually had given up hope. I had demoted the Tonnikas on our M.I.A.F. priority list because it felt like a waste of time. But then with TVC 2.0's first (and only) Fans' Choice poll, it seemed something had thawed. The Tonnikas were no longer verboten. We dared to dream again.

It took another seven years, some Herculean efforts by the Star Wars brand team, and a little behind-the-scenes facilitation by our friend Victoria, but this roughly thirty year itch has been scratched. It's rare when we can get a never-before-made A New Hope figure. Rarer still when it's a figure that wins fan polls, as the Tonnikas did with Last Figure Standing in 2023. Placing the Tonnikas in their permanent home in my Cantina display was almost a religious experience. The cherry on top of the sundae is that Hasbro absolutely nailed the figures. Uncle Owen is another "dare to dream" figure for me, but the one we have is a nightmare. As I'm sure you are aware, Emily is departing the Star Wars brand team. Her work will continue into 2026, but she definitely left us with an amazing gift with these Tonnika sister figures. I know it's only been a few months since they've arrived on our doorsteps, but I'm waiving the mandatory three year waiting period to enshrine them in the Figures that Make Me Happy.

---

comments powered by Disqus