Nomadscout’s Reaction To Yesterday’s Livestream Reveals

Man, are you in for a treat. Here are my thoughts on Hasbro's livestream yesterday. Isn't this exciting?

I wasn't able to participate in the Banthaskull discussion in real-time yesterday. I was a little late to the game, but unfortunately for you, I've got plenty to say about it. Let's not waste any more time on the preamble, and just get to wasting time on the actual article.

1. TVC Collectors are the worst. This is nothing new, it just kind of struck me a little more vividly than normal. I watched the stream late, but was paying attention to the corresponding commentary, and man, there are too many of us out there that simply find no joy in this hobby. I'm not even sure what motivates them to continue on, scheduling time out of their day just to make sure everyone else knows how dismal their lives are. I think there are some out there that have more or less given up on actually purchasing figures, and simply hang around just to make negative comments. It's a sad state of affairs. I mean, to each his or her own, but I simply don't get the psychology involved. It's a lot of effort just be annoying to a bunch of nerd collectors. And then there's the lovely commentary about the Star Wars team themselves. That's just gross. Have some dignity, or at least as much as can be mustered when one is simply typing insults on a keyboard anonymously. You know what I do? I root for their misery. That's what they want, and I support them. That's all I have to say about that.

2. This was a solid livestream for TVC: First of all, it was unexpected. Very little warning, and a surprise at a time when most of us assumed the next one would be for Toy Fair in February. Was it mind-blowing? No. But it accomplished a few things. It cleared out almost half of the pipeline, which is more or less going away eventually. To be clear, the community did "demand" more frequent and earlier reveals (mostly during the TVC desert of 2020), but it was self-defeating, as the practice ended up damaging the excitement of the reveal of the toys themselves. We had 7 figures that were pipelined prior to the stream, and all the non "Return to Tatooine" figures have been crossed off. Going forward, I would hope that Hasbro's pipeline announcements are few and far between, and reserved for when an item needs to be shared early because it either directly supports another toy that is being announced, or if it is in current media that would get stale if delayed too long.

3. Linking the 2 points above: If you're keeping score, there were 3 previously pipelined TVC figures shown, 1 previously unannounced TVC figure shown, 1 previously unannounced TVC 4-pack shown, and just for kicks, we got to see prototypes of the 5 Cantina Haslab figures. Contrast this with the 2 TBS figures shown (one of which is currently shipping to TVC collectors - got mine this week.) Again, it was't awe-inspiring, but the stream was good for TVC, despite some of the issues that I'll get into below. Yesterday I said that TVC drop-kicked TBS in this livestream. But don't worry, the small-minded folks I mentioned in the first point will be sure to ignore this and whine mightily that the scales are always unbalanced the next time there's an event where TBS reveals outnumber TVC.

4. Haslab Cantina Prototypes in Hand: This was a nice surprise. The figures look great, and I can't wait to have them. I recently set up my Cantina display on its new shelf, and the 25 year old cardboard diorama suddenly looks woefully inadequate. Fall (December 20) 2025 can't come soon enough.

5. Baylan Skoll: At first look, I wasn't sure, but I quickly decided it's a great figure. I thought the headsculpt looks outstanding, from most angles. Obviously this is up to the eye of the beholder. It never ceases to amaze me that there can be such an even split that some folks think it's a dead ringer for Ray Stevenson, and some think it's a wild swing-and-a-miss. Then, of course, there's the issue of it coming just a bit on the late side of the character's first appearance, so we might have a little Cobb Vanth situation on our hands. Additionally, the passing of Ray Stevenson and the re-casting of Rory McCann means, well, the figure's likeness will be truly be a swing-and-a-miss for season 2. If the character's arc ends up being as interesting as people might hope, then maybe there'll be an opportunity for a Rory Retool. The inclusion of a plastic skirt may seem debatable from a design standpoint, we'll have to see if it inhibits posing. According the wonderful official photography, it looks like it won't be a problem. But there is one problem that is hard to get past, which is that the figure is missing a cape. Along with the plastic skirt, the lack of soft goods seems to be for cost-cutting reasons. At least we got some advanced-level paint detailing in exchange for that omission. This may be an example of how the cost of a basic TVC figure is no longer sustainable if we want superior paint apps and soft goods. And it's weird that in the upcoming Anakin 3-pack, the TCW Anakin has a cape, which apparently is a nod to the Microseries, but Baylan is missing a main part of his live-action outfit. Whatever.

6. Shin Hati: Again, I really like this figure, and again, it seems there's a split over the likeness. I think it's pretty good, although not as good as Baylan's. There's also the same gripe with her missing cape, although I don't see much in the way of premium paint apps in exchange for this loss aside from the nice looking metallic armor pieces. The official image of the two figures together looks fantastic, and serves to highlight the height differences. Good stuff. I mean seriously, look at that image of the two of them. Those are 2 Star Wars figures from the year 2025. Now look at the crap from POTF2 and EP1 that we have just been reviewing, and tell me that the sculpting isn't off the charts incredible. If Ahsoka wasn't your cup of tea, I can understand being underwhelmed. If you're upset at the lack of capes, I can understand being frustrated. But it's hard to deny that these figures aren't little works of art.

7. Mandalorian Super Commando: This one wasn't thrilling by any stretch. It was already pipelined, so there was no surprise. Most collectors already have decided this is a waste of a slot. How and why Hasbro chooses its repacks/repaints is something we're not privy to. It could be sales, cost, convenience, Disney mandate, or maybe it just made sense since we're also getting other figures from the Ahsoka World Between Worlds episode. (Reviews for Anakin and the wrongly named Clone Trooper Lieutenant are in the works.) The figure looks to be a kit bash using the body of the VC243 Mandalorian Super Commando, and the head of the VC246 Mandalorian Super Commando Captain, with the main idea being the absence of the shoulder spikes from the Captain figure. So this is the live action version of the trooper that was established in TCW, but with slightly different armor and different coloring. I'm not really a fan of this practice of highlighting the differences between animation and live-action representation. They're the same character, so they should be the same figure. However, I concede that live-action trumps animation when it comes to canon appearance, so this should be the correct look. It's just silly that we invested in the realistic interpretation of the TCW soldier already, only to have an actual live action soldier appear a year later. A quick note about the card/numbering. This figure is a kit bash of two existing figures, is sourced to Ahsoka, and has different card art than its predecessor. It is given the new number of VC353. Remember this...

8. Clone Trooper (501st Legion): A surprise, to be sure, not having previously been pipelined. Obviously, I LOVE this figure. Having recently passed on army building the VC240 501st Clone Trooper (because it's awful), this is finally the 501st I'm looking for. It's a re-issue of the figure that was packed one per set in the Clone Trooper 4-pack, so this is the proper chance to acquire it in large numbers, if you are so inclined. It's probably short of perfect, but instantly renders obsolete all previous 501st figures. This may break my personal record for army building. I'm certainly no SWTVC Tyler, but it will give my VC231 stormtroopers a challenge. Now, all that aside, you may be aware that I don't see colors right. I'm hoping this is the proper ROTS color blue, and not some "flashback / dream sequence / petrified Padawan trying to remember" weird color blue. Sideshow already duped me into buying a 501st Clone that is colored specifically based on Reva's Obi-Wan Kenobi flashback. Since this is sourced to OWK for whatever reason, I hope that's not the case here. It better be the same exact blue as the one that came in the 4-pack. Oh, about the card number: This figure is a complete resculpt, is sourced to OWK, and has different card art than its predecessor. What number does it get? VC240, obviously.

9. Battle Droid 4-pack: Another surprise. We were just discussing the merits/faults of the old Episode I Battle Droid earlier this week, and how they persist in many collections today because the newer sculpts are rife with problems. Personally, I just keep them around for background fodder, mostly because I have so many of them. But they do have some advantages over new sculpts. So Hasbro obviously read our article on Monday, and decided to quickly 3D-print some prototypes with improved legs for this livestream. The team hyped the sturdiness of the legs, but didn't really make any mention of improved articulation. "Improved joints" were mentioned, but my takeaway was that the purpose was for standing more reliably.

To demonstrate the new legs, Hasbro went all out on their official photography (Thanks to Alientek for the GIF inspiration!):


Our good friend Mr. Matt Cohen has some explaining to do. After the awesome action photography for the other figures in this reveal, I can only assume that it is indeed true that Hasbro just thought of this when they saw our article on Monday and hastily threw together some battle droids fashioned from Mr. Glass's bones. The droids are barely posed in the 9 different photos, but they sure do stand, especially when glued to the base like they were in the stream.

This is certainly a welcome change, but not as a standalone update. Now, I like these figures and I do want more battle droids in my collection, but this comes across to me as a half-baked improvement, on the way to a likely eventual full re-sculpt. I kind of felt the same way about the Phase I Clone 4-pack, which was out right around the time that Hasbro had revealed the all-new Clone sculpt, almost immediately rendering the set obsolete. I will pick up one (okay, maybe two) of these, but I can't go all in like I will with the 501st clone. This Battle Droid needs a complete update, so that it has full articulation, and is able to perform the ubiquitous two-handed weapon grip. You know, exactly like the one being demonstrated by all 4 droids on the damn package artwork. Hasbro obviously knows the current B1 is inadequate, but frankly, so is this one. I can say that I am not bothered in the least by the thickness of the legs, although the figure proportions do look a little bit off because the old thinner arms are still present. If the figure had new arms with the same thickness as the legs, I think it would look great. They also have to figure out how to add rocker ankles. I am really torn by this release.

10. Sixer Rex: As a 501st collector, I will be getting this figure. But more importantly, it almost confirms that TVC will soon be getting the same Phase I update to VC317 (which obviously will be numbered Z4QQQ-Batman Symbol). It's never been done in 3.75" realistic styling, so the time is now.

Overall, this was a nice surprise, and a solid effort for TVC. It clears the pipeline as we gear up for Return to Tatooine, which I would guess is what is being held back for Toy Fair. LFG!

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