Tusken Raider - TBS [P3] - 3.75 Inch Figures (Exclusive)

Fearsome desert savages inhabiting the rocky Jundland Wastes, Tusken Raiders are the foremost reason Tatooine colonists do not wander far from their isolated communities. Extremely territorial, Tusken Raiders will attack with very little provocation.

Sigh. What’s the reason Hasbro didn’t shrink down The Black Series 6” version of the Sand People/Tusken Raider and release it instead of this figure? Don’t get us wrong. The Walmart exclusive The Black Series [Phase III] Tusken Raider 3.75” figure isn’t a horrid mess, but it’s much further from perfect than we would have liked to see. A Tusken Raider MUST have ball-jointed elbows, and that’s really the only setback (aside from a too small head), that keeps this Tusken Raider action figure from feeling ageless. So many other aspects of this old sculpt have held up very well. But sadly what keeps getting ignored to be updated is really hurting the overall quality of the figure. Obviously, the eighth wave of the terribly-handled Walmart exclusive 3.75” super-articulated line was intended to be the budget saver of the year. These slightly repainted figures certainly have saved Hasbro’s tooling budgets, but would have really broken the bank to at least update the elbows of the Tusken Raider? We shake our heads in utter confusion. If there is any saving grace here, Hasbro appeared to have used the already updated 2012 SW [TPM 3D] Tusken Raider (11 of 12) figure to update this release even further. You’ll see how the soft-goods quality is almost identical, and the paint operations, while different this time, are close to that 2012 figure than the original 2006 VTSC Sand People figure.

Other than the paint operation updates, the Tusken Raider is pretty much identical to past releases. The Tusken Raider would likely be ranked as a “good” figure by today’s standards, so it is neat to know the sculpt is holding up well enough six years after the fact. Tusken Raider is a repaint of 2012’s SW [TPM 3D] Tusken Raider (11 of 12) figure, which is a repaint with new soft-goods of 2006’s VTSC Sand People figure. A different material (for the soft-goods) was used and its color is different with a light tan hue. The same sculpt and articulation has sadly been carried forward and we’d like to reiterate that we wish terribly that Hasbro would have taken the time, energy and money to upgrade those darn swivel elbows that just don’t “cut” it by today’s standards. The figure loses functionality because of this choice of articulation. When you try to pose his arms, you’ll be lucky if you don’t snap off one of his forearms in the process. And it’s very hard to pose him with his accessories. With an excellent digital file created for The Black Series 6” version, there is no reason why Hasbro couldn’t have made collectors happy by giving us an all-new sculpt. It’s very upsetting to feel so neglected and ignored. They have the tools to give us what we desperately want. Both the gaderffi stick and the sniper rifle from the original releases are included here as well.

It’s nice to see a whole wave of action figures that focus on the Original Trilogy, but admittedly all four figures are weak considering it’s the 40th anniversary of Star Wars. Hasbro should have tooled an all-new Luke Skywalker, all-new Princess Leia Organa, and an all-new TUSKEN RAIDER! Hopefully that will come when The Vintage Collection returns in Spring 2018. Any re-release of an old Star Wars action figure certainly gives new collectors a first chance to buy these figures, but Hasbro must keep newness and ingenuity in the line if they want to maintain long term collector interest. There just aren’t enough new releases in a calendar year anymore. We’re all getting bored waiting for new products to get released. Heck, we’re bored now. If you’ve been a collector since 2006, you probably have this figure at minimum four times already. Between its releases in Battle Packs, Walmart exclusive basic figure lines and its original release, we probably have it too many times already. But all of these different releases are good to help create diversity in a similar looking species. But we need more diversity, and an all-new sculpt would remedy that. The Tusken Raider is perhaps a better-than-average figure, but in all honesty it has overstayed its welcome in the basic figure line. And super-articulated freaks are waiting for an all-new sculpt. Because Hasbro has to do something about those swivel elbows!