Garindan - TSC - Basic (SAGA 034)

Added: September 25th 2011
Category: Saga Collection, The
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: Garindan
Collection: The Saga Collection
Number: SAGA 034
Source: A New Hope
Availability: June 2006
License: Hasbro

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Garindan

Escape From Mos Eisley

homeworld: Kubindi

species: Kubaz

role: Imperial snitch

This Mos Eisley-based spy trails the two wanted droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, as they meet up with Luke and Obi-Wan at Docking Bay 94. He uses his comlink to inform the Imperial stormtroopers of the location. His actions enable the stormtroopers to engage the Millennium Falcon's new crew just before they make a daring escape.

Who wasn’t fascinated by the strange Kubaz spy communicating with Sandtroopers in Mos Eisley alerting them to the location of the two droids? Garindan (also known by his nickname Long-Snoot) was a peculiar Star Wars character, but he left an impression on Star Wars fans as the guy (alien?) who ratted out the heroes in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Garindan is unique in the fact that for all intents and purposes looks like an Imperial commander or at worst technician. Aside from his cloak and head, it seems as if he’d be more comfortable on the Death Star or Star Destroyer than on Tatooine under the hot binary suns, especially since his eyes were so sensitive to sunlight that he had to wear dark goggles. And some Expanded Universe sources has claimed that he was human in a Kubaz disguise. Mystery surrounds this character for sure. Hasbro thought he was a relevant Star Wars character and brought him to life as an action figure in the third year of the neo-classic era. It was a pretty decent iteration of Garindan (Long-Snoot) but lacked in some of the finer details and articulation. This new version is significantly ahead of the POTF2 release, but not exactly up to modern articulation standards. That however, is not a big concern because this figure is gorgeous as is.

Hasbro takes a second stab at Garindan and makes an accurately scaled action figure that is pretty decent in most respects. He comes with swivel articulation in the elbows unfortunately, but except for that, this action figure should impress most collectors. In fact, the details are quite astounding and they alone make up for the figure's lack of premium articulation. From the texture of his uniform to the weathering on his blaster ad especially his belt, Garindan shows how adept Hasbro is as making 3.75” scaled action figures so incredibly realistic. (Just so you know, the belt can accomodate both his blasteer and commlink. It's amazing!) The soft-goods cloak he comes with could use a little bit of work however. It’s too shiny because it’s made from an inferior polyester material. But the cheapness of the cloak really doesn’t deter from the overall quality of Garindan thankfully. Besides, it's not too big and fits like a glove around his head which really helps with posing the figure in a screen accurate manner. He comes with many points of articulation and is a mix of premium ball-jointed articulation but mostly the simpler swivel joints. Another update would be great and we hope that Hasbro finds a way to upgrade Garindan so that he can be hailed as definitive one day. But if they do not, there is no denying that this was a great way to leave this character as an action figure.

As of right now of course, this action figure can’t be considered definitive. It’s close to being definitive, but a few more enhancements would make this action figure flawless. The Saga Collection is known for its incredible complementing accessories. Garindan also gets more than the average and obligatory “one” also. He comes with a removable comlink (something that was molded to his hand in the 1997 figure) in addition to the aforementioned soft-goods cloak and blaster. The non-removable holster is also new for this figure since the POTF2 version came without one. You may also be interested in recalling that the cloak and the hood were not removable as well on the 1997 figure. So there is definitely a lot more versatility with The Saga Collection version. We see a pattern with The Saga Collection action figures. Hasbro has done a great job giving us all-new action figures, but they are also updating some of the very first ones we received in The Power Of The Force line. It’s very comforting to know that Hasbro sees the need for refreshing someof their earliest work. And as a result, we benefit by getting better and better versions of our favorite action figures into our collections. Garindan holds his own as a great action figure and will remain a great version for a while. But it would just be gravy if Hasbro finds it in their hearts to update him one last time and fix the things that need fixing.

Collector Notes

Garindan

Status: Garindan is an all-new figure.

Articulation Count: 14 points (12 areas of articulation)

Articulation Details: ball-socket head (1), ball-jointed left shoulder (2), ball-jointed right shoulder (2), swivel left elbow (1), swivel right elbow (1), swivel left forearm (1), swivel right forearm (1), swivel waist (1), swivel left hip (1), swivel right hip (1), swivel left boot (1), swivel right boot (1)

Accessory Count: 3

Accessory Details: removable soft-goods cloak, comlink, blaster

Date Stamp: 2006

Assortment Number: 86800/85770

UPC: 653569123491

Retail: $5.99 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.

The Saga Collection Wave 5
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