The Last 17:  Do We Have Barada Or Nada?

 
Kenner Name: Barada

Modern Name: Barada / Kithaba

Vintage Release: POTF 92-Back (1985) [No. 93750]

Does It Exist In The Modern Line: YES

Does It Exist In The Vintage Collection: IT'S COMPLICATED

Does It Exist In The Vintage Collection On Its Debut Card: NO

Latest Modern Release: The Saga Collection (2006 - 1999 sculpt) and The Vintage Collection (2012)

Is The Modern Release Good Enough: IT'S COMPLICATED

Review: 004 - Barada and VC56 - Kithaba



This is Barada (the Klatooinian with blue pants):


He appears on the second skiff at the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon. This is the character depicted in the name pill and film out of the 1985 Kenner figure.

This is Kithaba (the Klatooinian with red pants):


This is the character represented by the figure in the bubble of the 1985 Kenner release. He appears on the prisoner skiff. So this is one of a handful of examples from the vintage Kenner line where the film out does not match the figure. If you want another example, the vintage Bespin guard card depicts Pedar Solardo in the film out, but the vintage Kenner figure itself represents Helder Spinoza.

So when ticking off the Kenner O96 box in the Vintage Collection what matters? Is it the figure or the film out. Well, if you're a collector of refined tastes such as myself, you know that the answer is obvious. It's both. When it comes to O96'ers, the carded presentation is equally as important as the figure itself. Side note: I personally feel the card is important for most OT figures like Garindan, Labria and Arleil Schous. Back on subject, according to my sensibilities, that means we need both Barada and Kithaba in the Vintage Collection.

We have Kithaba courtesy of VC56. The figure is no where near up to today's standards with swivel hips and standard ankles. But as a figure that is really regulated to background status in my prisoner skiff, I can't bring myself to say that it needs to be upgraded. There are probably hundreds of higher priorities for me. Plus, because a Kithaba card does not exist in the vintage Kenner line, I feel no compulsion to have it released on a POTF replica card. I'm prepared to call VC56 good enough.

Barada, on the the other hand:


The sculpt we have is from a 1999 Cinema Scene in the POTF2 line. It was repainted in 2006 for The Saga Collection, but it's still a POTF2 sculpt. POTF2 figures do not count. Thanks to some excellent lawyering on my part, I even convinced Mr. "new before redo" Nomadscout that POTF2 figures don't count vis-à-vis the Randy S "5POA is not okay" proviso. [Editor’s note: Mr. Chris’s lawyering was laughably poor, and he has been disbarred for repeatedly making specious arguments and for not wearing a shirt in the courtroom. The “5POA is not OK” proviso has been established to apply to figures that were produced after the advent of super-articulation, representing a heinous devolution of action figure technology. This is settled law.] Please don't tell him that POTF2 is 6POA. I don't want him to win on a technicality. We need an all new Barada, and he appears on my March Madness Top 25. He should come on a POTF replica card to finally correct the 41 year old mistake.

One thing I do have to commend the POTF2 figure for is that I feel it's fairly accurate right down to the soft, pirate-esque boots. If we do get a new Barada figure, it's hard to imagine that it would be 100% newly tooled, and given the budget constraints, hard to argue for. The legs would probably be reused from a figure with the knee high leather boots like VC373 - Han Solo figure.

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