SANDWATCH by Sandtroopers.com: J and Spice's Hasbro Toy Reviews

'03 | #06 Tusken Raider - Tatooine Camp Ambush (Reviewed 03-26-2003)

Includes:
• Gaffi Stick
• Fire pit base

Deja Vu - Another Tusken Faker

Dangling the carrot. Can you imposters do ANYTHING original?

Spice: It is quite troublesome to see the gang at Hasbro release yet another Tusken Raider to hit the Saga line. So before I go off half-cocked like I always do, I will take the time to thoroughly review this offering. I won’t mention the numerous characters that have yet to be immortalized in plastic. We know their names. At least it is not the same figure as Tusken w/ Massiff or the POTJ version. We did get something new here to balance out the reused head. The fine detail in the coat (you can actually see the material lines in the coat), as well as the “dirty” look, one could see they are desperately trying to appease the fans.

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J - They aren't appeasing me, theyre making me hungry. What is this? When I pick this up I have to think I just cracked open the newest kiddie toy from the house of the red-haired clown, complete with cardboard hamburger and partially gelatinated drink? Hasbro is now throwing in trite little stand up bases to really give you a good value, just another thing you pay for now in every purchase.

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Spice - Yes, the stand is sort of a novelty, but you can also see the room for expansion, so does this mean we are getting another Tusken, or worse - Anakin soon? How about the beat down Shmi figure? At least we only have one other incarnation of her, it may be a little easier to stomach. This figure also has the ability to go into several different poses, unlike the Massiff/POTJ. The one pose wonder syndrome is much too common these days. This figure is really a bore for carded collectors, the real fun starts when the bubble gets cracked.

J - Always with the magnets, at least they gave us a decapitation feature. Here's what's wrong with it. First, they should have used the decapitation feature with the POTJ repaint version because the stiff standing Tusken would have played better with that. Then they could have saved the Massiff for this new version since in the movie it is around the camp fire that we actually see them (and here is camp fire base right here). Second, they had to go and reuse the same TIRED head mold from the POTJ/2002 Saga Tusken fakers we already have. And to really shake things up they went and gave it a completely flat monochrome paint job. This raghead looks more like one of my Middle School paper mache' projects than the filthy smelly noggin wrappings of a Tusken Raider.

J - I can tolerate the stand pack-ins too. And this one is trying real hard, being a translucent lime green plastic with cherry red to simulate the fire embers and then the painted fire kindling and sand base. Now I went and got two of these - and guess WHAT? The tabs don't allow for interconnection in any meaningful way - so here is another Hasbro mystery that rivals the Jedi Master Points debacle.

Spice - I guess there are worse things they could have done here but I really think real cloth is the way to go, the Tusken that was packed with the Bantha is a perfect example. That was a great beastpack. Why not make Tusken huts and sell them as deluxe figures? That would make sense; no Hasbro would never do that. They would rather stick us with buying up all the Tatooine Anakin on clearance to complete our Tusken Camp dioramas.

J - At least there is some variancy between this version and the POTJ release. This one has the neck canister, the bandolier is swung around the other shoulder and has markedly different pouches rather than the POTJ dual buckled baggies. Then instead of a belt wrapping around the waist you have more pouches. Then you have the coat. Hasbro had a great chance to buy up some wholesale cloth here and do an entire SOFT GOODS wave. They carried through with Mace, but how cool could this wave had been with a soft goods Padme, Anakin, and Boba, and Tusken?

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Spice - To sum it all up, was it necessary? Probably not, but neither is cranking out 3 Darth Vader figures a year every year. These people who design these things probably make more yearly than most Troops. It is a shame they couldn’t even begin to be as creative as most collectors. I am usually one to bash a resculpt but in this case I will make and exception. It pulls a hesitant thumb up, but it does get one.

Jason - No it wasn't needed, but I will give you that the dozen or so POTJ and Saga version standing around together look like a complete joke. I really like the overall look of this one, but there are too many hidden touchstones that bother me. Add to that the hunched over posturing and I have to point my thumb earthward.

Grades	J	Spice
Visual Impact	7.9	7.5
Detail & Paint	4.1	8.8
Accessories/Weapons	5.0	8.8
Articulation/Function	8.7	10.0
Overall	5.9	9.1

+	I can hear Beavis giving this one a thumbs up with the fire and decapitation
-	I still like the idea of packing these in with huts to recreate the camp
+	the decapitation really woooed me on the Articulation and Function
-	the same old head, UNPAINTED at that!
+	okay, they did try real hard with the frock

(Figure '03 | #06, Asst. No. 84861, Item No. 84921, Backing Card P/N 6190300300, Window Insert P/N 6190540300, Date code 23131, 23361, 23511 (1st shift on 313th, 336th, and 351st days of 2002; can be unique for different samples of the same figure, these samples show the long production run of this figure) )

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