Nikto (Skiff Guard) - TVC - Basic (VC99)

If there was one figure that we thought we’d never see updated in the modern Star Wars action figure line, we’d probably have to confess we thought it was Nikto (Skiff Guard). A long running “yet-to-be-made� figure in the modern toy line, Hasbro has mercilessly made us wait years and years for him. And today this is only the second action figure representation of this character. So it’s a fair assessment to say Nikto (Skiff Guard) was a long time coming indeed. But it was all for good cause. Nikto (Skiff Guard) gets a coveted place in The Vintage Collection, beating out classic characters like the AT-AT Driver, the Jawa, Bib Fotuna or Princess Leia Organa (Boushh Disguise) to the classic silver and black vintage packaging. Again, we really wouldn’t have it any other way. The card back art has never looked better. The photo has been sharpened and cleaned and you can make out the eyes on the character portrayed in the image, something that we couldn’t see when he was originally released in 1984. Hasbro for some reason was unable to match the teal colored background featured in his name plate and behind where the figure has been places, and now it looks much greener in the modern The Vintage Collection. Nikto (Skiff Guard) also marks the very last figure in The Vintage Collection to have a VC number that’s only two digits, coming in the line as VC99. There’s nothing like useless trivia, right folks?!

Nikto (Skiff Guard) is a perfect action figure, well almost perfect. Our one and only gripe is the knee joints which are blatantly the wrong color and do not match the rest of the figure’s leg. We find it very annoying that Hasbro still cannot master this in a premium line such as The Vintage Collection, especially in its third year. With that put to the side we’d have to admit that Nikto (Skiff Guard) is flawless otherwise. As an interesting aside, this character remains unidentified after all these years believe it or not. He was featured prominently, as prominent as you can be in an action sequence, on the second skiff that Luke jumps onto that is steered by Pote Snitkin. It is assumed he fell into the Sarlacc pit, although it remains unconfirmed to date. Maybe that was part of the reason why it took Hasbro so long to update this action figure in the modern line. But who really knows? With an excellent sculpt and a brilliant paint job, Nikto (Skiff Guard) is an action figure that probably won’t get the credit it deserves due to his relative obscurity. This same kind of thing happened with 2011’s TVC Fi-Ek Sirch (Jedi Knight) (VC49) figure sadly, one of the greatest action figures produced for the Star Wars line of all time. Nikto (Skiff Guard) is evidently of the same caliber as that figure, but we hope that his ties to the Original Trilogy bode better for him.

Nikto (Skiff Guard) comes with 14 points of articulation. All of the standard points are here of course and we’re very happy with them, but we also have wondered if Hasbro could have taken him a step further and incorporated ball-jointed hips. It seems that skiff guards in general would benefit by the inclusion of ball-jointed hips. When you’re at the ready with a force pike, stance is everything. Speaking of the force pike, the one included with the figure here is awesome. It’s been cast out of a very strong plastic that appears as if it has the durability to stay straight throughout the years to come. Its design is beautiful and fits perfectly in his hands. He comes with a standard functioning holster and it can hold a skiff guard blaster that also comes with the figure. The skiff guard blaster is another excellent sculpt. Lastly, and new to The Vintage Collection figure, Nikto (Skiff Guard) comes with a removable helmet. This was expected quite honestly, but Hasbro really did a fine job with ensuring it has great interaction with the figure’s portrait. It stays on his head snuggly without being loose or too tight. It’s just perfect. The paint job is excellent, especially on the figure’s head. A lot of detail was put into his scales and facial structure, and his eagle-like eyes almost glow in a metallic yellow. The classic light blue and gray outfit looks fantastic and Hasbro ensured that the yellow blood stripes on the side of his pants weren’t omitted. Nikto (Skiff Guard) is a must-have and we hope he sees widespread availability so everyone can get him.