Concept Chewbacca (Ralph McQuarrie Signature Series) - TAC - Basic (30 21)

Inspired by his Alaskan malamute, George Lucas created one of the most enduring and well-loved non-human characters of his saga. Constructed from knitted mohair and yak fur, Chewbacca was given life by the actor Peter Mayhew and voice by a wide array of animals from walruses to black bears.

Large, tall, scary, awesome and foreboding are just some of the words that can describe 2007’s TAC Concept Chewbacca. This action figure was one of the most anticipated in the 30 (77-07) line for us and we have learned over time that the same was true for many others. The biggest surprise for us when he started hitting pegs across the country was his actual size. And when we finally saw him on the pegs, we were completely shocked by how huge he was. Towering over almost any action figure in the modern line, Concept Chewbacca brought hardcore collectors something to cherish for years to come. We do get large action figures often enough, but something set this figure apart from the rest. The figure may not be as articulated as you may have hoped but Hasbro focused their efforts on giving him one of the best paint jobs and accurate sculpts any action figure has seen. And this is saying a lot for bringing a drawing "to life". Extremely faithful to McQuarrie’s drawings, Concept Chewbacca is a success on nearly every level despite some of his limited movement. Perfectly in scale with Concept Han Solo, Concept Chewbacca adds depth and distinction in your McQuarrie sub-collection, yet blends in flawlessly with the rest of the line. Concept Chewbacca is a treat for collectors of the Star Wars line and it really makes us hanker for more and more concept figures in the basic figure line. We truly hope they don’t go away.

Concept Chewbacca looks part bat, part Bigfoot, part space captain and part bounty hunter. He has a very unsettling presence and stands out solely based on his wary-slash-angry expression. The action figure is indeed super-articulated but believe it or not, he has swivel shoulders which really affect the way you can pose him with his included weapons. While the elbows are ball-jointed and the wrists are swivel-jointed, the shoulder joints slightly work against attaining an ideal pose (with weapons in hand). But this is only an insignificant setback because he succeeds in all the other areas. Besides, do you really need all of those action stances with a concept art figure? Concept Chewbacca’s costume is perfectly replicated from McQuarrie’s sketches and we have to admit that Hasbro exceeded our expectations with the paint job they gave him. His body fur has texture and multiple layers of color and his head sculpt has one of the most alarming expressions we have come across in the basic figure line to date. His bright yellow eyes look right through you and he is showing some very sharp fangs with his open mouth. (And no, we don’t think this figure is smiling at us at all.) He has a holster which holds his smaller black gun and his large silver rifle can be held in his hands very well. It’s just that you can’t pose it in his hands very well. Concept Chewbacca has flawless posture and can stand unaided. He is a heavy figure so this certainly helps with his balance.

We have indeed come across some Concept Chewbacca figures in the wild that do have some paint application issues whether it be in the eyes (cross eyes) or the yellow buttons on his costume (painted unevenly), but overall and by most accounts, this was a figure that was hard to mess up. Concept Chewbacca is significantly taller than most other action figures. He has muscular legs, but they appear a little bit too narrow for his large frame. And interestingly they also look ideal in the same light. That should give you an idea just how big he is and how he catches you off guard. There are many details to digest on his outfit and we are so impressed with all of the various colors used by Hasbro to bring this figure to life. He has Robin Hood-era boots on his feet which look fantastic and the ball-joints in the ankles are so well hidden we almost didn’t even realize they were there at first. Concept Chewbacca may just be the best figure in the Ralph McQuarrie Signature Series group of figures in the 30 (77-07) sub-line. All of those figures have their positives and negatives, but Chewbacca doesn’t seem to have that many negatives in our own assessment. This is one magnificent figure. Ultimate Galactic Hunt collectors will be interested to know that this figure was part of the 2007 promotion and comes in a gold-embossed package with a gold coin. Admittedly, this variation of him is pretty cool and it's one we picked up for ourselves. But variations aside, get him into your collection in some way. He’s worthy of your dollars.