For
most of us around since the Seventies, there are things we regret.
More over, there's evidence in picture form of most of these
things. I can think of an Easter picture my mother has of a knee-high Nerd on an Easter Bunny's knee wearing a blue
blazer with a wide white belt and turtle neck. For George
Lucas, it's the Star Wars Holiday Special. That TV variety
show that all the Star Wars fans are both horrified and fascinated
with. Bea Arthur, Art Carney and Jefferson Airplane.
This "special" plays more as "Star Wars" meets the "Love Boat."
The one thing that came out of the Holiday
Special that Lucas will admit to, is the introduction of Boba Fett.
Not Boba Fett as we would know him in Empire, but in an animated
short film that is integrated into the rest of the wackiness.
The segment was animated by Nelvana, the company that went on to
produce the "Droids" and "Ewoks" animated series in the 1980's.
Ironically, with the advent of file sharing and
the Internet, the Holiday Special became a little more difficult
to ignore. People had interest in some of the characters.
Boba Fett and the dragon thing he rode and the Chewbacca's Wookie
family are popular fodder for fan fiction. In the January
2002 Toyafare, there is a spoof article about the Holiday Special
and revealed "lost" figures from it. One of these figures
was a Boba Fett with his mount painted in the animated special
colors.
Appearance:
Ever since that animated version hit the small screen November
17, 1978, folks have been fascinated with the mysterious bounty
hunter. The animated Fett sported a color scheme that was
quite a bit different than what we saw on the big screen in
Empire. A yellowish chest plate and light blue helmet.
His jumpsuit is a bit lighter that the standard Fett, as well.
On first glance, the reminds me of some of the GI Joe desert
repaints. The lighter helmet and sandy chest plate and
rocket pack just really make me think of this as Desert Storm Boba
Fett. That being said. I like it. I
don't know why, but I do. Maybe because the colors are a
little more subtle. This scheme would have made
more sense on Tatooine, for sure.
The other thing that I like about this color scheme is that
it's almost a transition between Jango and the Empire version of
Boba. The all one color helmet looks closer to Jango's with
out the blue accents than Boba's Empire helmet. Also this
figure doesn't show all the dirt and wear that his outfit showed
in Episodes 5 & 6. That always kind of bugged me. More
so after seeing Jango in neatly maintained gear. Didn't
Jango teach young Boba to take pride in his gear and uniform?
It just seems for the soldier culture he comes from, Boba would
have at least fixed the big dent in his helmet.
You'd have to say that the color scheme is close to the
animated representation. However, the sculpt is a modern
detailed sculpt of Boba Fett colored in the cartoon colors.
While he's a cool figure, I'd have really like to have seen Hasbro
go old school with this guy. I'd have been fine if they had
done him in an animated style even. I'm not a huge fan of
animated figures, but this figure is more about Boba Fett's first
appearance than anything else.
I doubt a casual fan would
pick him up just to put in a display. Now, I could see some customizers wanting him to turn into an EU Mandolorian.
But, as far as Fett's go, this one isn't too bad. I haven't
got all of them to tell you if he's a repaint or not. I can
tell a couple of the things I like about him.
One the way his right gauntlet is sculpted. It's fuel
lines connect back up above the elbow. This is a cool
detail and retains most of the articulation.
The other thing I really like is his belt and holster.
It's a couple of colorss and has little silver painted buckles on
the back. Again, this belt seems like a transition between
Jango and Empire Boba. Jango had two holsters and pistols,
Empire Boba had none. The belt has some pouches on it,
as well. To me it makes sense even if Fett carried a rifle,
he'd have a pistol in a holster as well. (See bottom
picture.)
Now, the couple of small things I don't like. One, I've
yet to see a Boba where the Wookie Braids look good. This
version isn't any different. I'd almost rather have them not
there at all. Second minor issue. The articulation
twist point for the forearm is behind the gauntlet instead of the
wrist. This isn't a big deal, the posability doesn't seem
impaired, I've just gotten used to it being at the wrist.
Fun:
Yes, if you got this far, the figure I'm reviewing is a gold
coin Galactic Hunt figure. I almost didn't open him, but
convinced myself when I realized if he hadn't been a gold coin
version, I'd have opened him a heartbeat. I had enough
trouble finding this one, let alone a second one. As
luck would have it, I found a regular version the next day that I
passed on buying.
The gold coin is decent with Boba and his dragon poking stick
on the front and the bounty hunter logo on the reverse.
Ironically this Boba Fett is considered Expanded Universe.
I'm just shocked that the Holiday Special is being acknowledged as
part of the EU.
Ah, back to the dragon poking stick. It's a little double
ended pitch fork. It's molded in a goldish color with a
little bronze paint on the end. The detailing is fairly
soft, but since it's based on an animated version, I don't really
expect more. It reminds me a bit of the thing that the
vintage Ree-Yees came with, mainly due to the color.
This Boba Fett comes with a pistol as well. The pistol
fits okay in the holster, but the cut in the holster makes it look
like it should go down farther than it does.
Lastly, Boba comes with his famous rocket pack. Jango's
went flying out of control and Boba's sent him straight to the
Sarlacc's mouth. You'd think they would learn.
This one is done in the lighter colors. The missile seems like
it might be a separate piece, but I wasn't willing to possibly
destroy mine to find out. My one complaint about the pack is
that it's really loose. You also have to make sure the
permanently attached cloth cape isn't in the way or it won't seat
right. But, overall, it's still loose.
As for articulation, this Boba has all of it you could ask for.
I mentioned the wrists above, and other than that I'm good with
him.
Overall:
This is a figure I've seen some customs of over
the years. I never expected to see an "official" version.
That's a testament to Boba Fett's fan popularity. I have to
say I like the fact that instead of a straight repaint, Hasbro
gave us a figure with a gun and holster as well as the poking
stick that he's famous for in the animated Holiday special clip.
While he's not something for everyone, this Boba
is a pretty cool version of the classic bounty hunter. Now,
if they would just make Bea Arthur to tend bar at my Cantina...
Engineernerd Score: 90/100
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