Three Figures I’d Buy Again With Tweaks

Is there anything worse than waiting years for a figure on your wishlist only to have Hasbro fumble the ball at the goal line? I happens frequently. A current example would be the recently revealed Episode IV Princess Leia for those of us who put function ahead of form. There have been others throughout the years, but many have already been updated (the Rebel Fleet Trooper) or the sculpts are so dated that they shouldn't be tweaked. They should be updated (Episode IV Ben). There were many examples of this a few years ago, but recent advancements such as barbell hips and rocker ankles mean that they now need to be updated instead of tweaked. Here are three that I think could still fall into that "tweak" category, but some of you will assuredly disagree.

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This is the one that truly pains me. The vintage Kenner Hoth Luke meant a lot to me, mainly because Kenner made us wait so long for it. It was torture. It didn't get released until 1982, two years after the movie came out. The Wampa came out in 1981 for crying out loud. Its companion piece was missing until the next year. I remember being slightly kid-irritated having to use standard Hoth Rebels as my Wampa victims. You know what kid-irritation is. It's when you Capri Sun straw bends in half instead of puncturing your juice bag.

There are two things about the Vintage Collection Luke Skywalker (Hoth Outfit) that killed me from day one. The first, and biggest, was the scarf that swaddled the head. Luke Hoth doesn't get much screen time. In one of the first shots on Hoth, we see the stop motion Luke puppet on top of the Tauntaun. That Luke had his head wrapped in ten miles of scarfing. Then it transitions to the live-action Mark Hamill who unhooks the scarf to let it dangle from his thermal cap. It's much more modest in length. The second issue is the pointy shoulders. I would rebuy a Hoth Luke it if had the live-action head we first see in The Empire Strikes Back, which would actually be the head from the Black Series Luke Hoth minus the scars, and shaved down shoulders. I only need a Hoth Luke to ride his mount, so I'd be okay without the rocker ankles.

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I'll probably get yelled at in the comments for this one because Mara Jade super fans will say she deserves barbell hip, rockers, hinged wrists and a barbell neck. Truth be told, that's not wrong, but we have to face reality. The odds of getting a newly tooled Mara Jade are pretty slim among a sea of higher priorities. 2013's Black Series Mara Jade is unfortunately the one we're going to have to dance with for the foreseeable future, but, my GOD, that head sculpt. It looks like Kathy Griffin wearing an 80's Bonnie Raitt wig. The rest of the sculpt was actually really good for its time, but the swivel hips alone date it today. Still, update that head sculpt and slap it on a Vintage Collection card, and I'm a buyer.

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Okay, I'm totally cheating here. This figure straight up needs to be re-released, tweaks be damned. I can't believe the secondary market prices on it keep going up. Upwards of $90 loose and north of $100 carded. Great googily moogily. This sculpt needs to get back out on the primary market, period, but what about those of us who already own three (lights cigar with $100 bill)? As has been well documented, 2009's Hrchek Kal Fas is highly inaccurate. It was during the era when Hasbro though they had a right to play along with the Special Editions and improve what was on the original film. They gave Mr. Fas (or is it Mr. Kal Fas?) gold eyes and crocodilian feet, when in reality he had black eyes and wore boots. Again, this figure just needs to get back out there period, but if Hasbro could also sink a few tooling bucks into making some booted feet, and paint the eyes accurately, I'd be down for another one or three.

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