Jabba’s Throne - SW [SOTDS] - Exclusives

Jabba the Hutt and Salacious Crumb sit on a throne as Oola dances for the crime lord. The loathsome Hutt is momentarily entertained by the Twi'lek dancer's graceful performance. His monkey-lizard cackles with glee, knowing that Jabba will soon turn to some other amusement, such as throwing another victim to the hungry rancor.

Do you believe that Kenner/Hasbro made us wait a grueling 27 years to give us an update to the vintage Jabba The Hutt play-set? Always clinging to the platform that play-sets have no place in the modern line, Hasbro broke down and released a stellar product of Jabba, his throne, his dancing girl, his pet and last but not least his throw pillows. And the response to it has been thunderous. Clearly taking a nod from the exquisite Sideshow Collectible's 12" Jabba The Hutt Throne Environment, Hasbro has included accessories (pillows) we really never expected to see in the Hasbro line. To be honest, probably all we desperately wanted (and would have been thoroughly satisfied with) was a dais to place our many previous versions of this crime lord on, but Hasbro went all out and created an almost entirely new set for collectors. And collectors should be thrilled at what Hasbro has done for us. (But likely some will never be impressed by Hasbro stunning work and find this to be unimpressive, so we will ignore the naysayers for the time being.) Jabba's Throne is a phenomenal update to not only the 1983 vintage version, but the few modern versions of Jabba we have received as well (but never really Return Of The Jedi specific). The set is excellent as you will see from this review, but there are a few issues with Jabba and his entourage, but overall this is a set that is pretty much what we have been expecting and should satisfy most of you who are desiring something distinctly "Jabba The Hutt" (in the original way we remember him). There is a lot of plastic in this box and the value is really here. Retailing as a Walmart exclusive for in between $34.97-$38.88, we effectively dodged a bullet as Hasbro could have tried to command a lot more for this set. For a large Jabba figure, a super-articulated Oola figure, and mildly articulated Salacious Crumb figure, a dais and a plethora of colored pillows, this set is certainly more than worthy of its fair price tag. If you need help putting things into perspective, think of 2008's TLC Disturbance At Lars Homestead multipack for $49.99 or even 2009's LC AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) vehicle for $43.96. These exclusives don't hold a candle to the Jabba's Throne set as far as quality and value are concerned. Your opinions may vary here of course, but we believe you will be sold on this incredible exclusive.

The Jabba figure is an all-new sculpt. Cast in a thicker plastic in the head and arms and a much more rubbery plastic in his lower half, Jabba has a lot more articulation and movement than you may expect. He has a some sort of "bendy" device in his tail which works fairly well but if you over extend it, it does bunch up the thinner rubber material and gives Jabba a "latex" look that diminishes his authenticity. But the option exists to curl up the tail in multiple ways. The tail has been finished off with his trademark scrape and it looks perfect and also makes this version of Jabba irrefutably Return Of The Jedi specific. This is a very good thing because fans associate Jabba with Episode VI first and other sources second. While Jabba is multicolored, we think Hasbro went a little too crazy with the green paint. It's not that Jabba isn't green, but it just appears to be a few shades off which makes the contrast to his tan areas a little too dramatic. The hookah pipe is pretty much what you would expect. There are none of Jabba's treats inside however, so it looks a little bare. The top also doesn't split from the bottom, so you can't display Jabba with just the bowl section opened for Jabba to grab his treats and this is unfortunate. But as this entire set is fantastic, this is only a small setback. Jabba has ball-jointed shoulders and while it is nice articulation to have, it really isn't necessary as it doesn't provide as much mobility as you may initially think. Probably the most important point of the Jabba figure is that he fits on his dais perfectly even with the railing placed on the base as well. As a bonus, the dais comes with four wheels so you can recreate the functionality of his throne rolling forward for a bird's eye view of Jabba's Rancor devouring its next meal. While it doesn't have the awesome flip doors of the vintage toy, that play feature was replaced with authenticity which is something we as collectors prefer as "mature" adults. (But part of our childhood wants that darn play feature back!)

Collectors will be thrilled to finally get a super-articulated "Dancing Girl" Oola. Her face sculpt isn't absolutely perfect, but the rest of her action figure body is. In fact, she is covered in a fish net soft-goods material that can be pulled and moved to show some private areas. He skin color looks a tad too light but still looks great. She is wearing a collar and attached to it is a very long black string. Jabba has clearly doesn't have her on a tight leash. We love the Oola action figure in this set, but to be completely honest, we couldn't wait to see how awesome the 2009 Legacy Collection Princess Leia (BD17) figure looked instead. And Princess Leia looks perfect in this set. (Sorry, no pictures including Princess Leia are in this gallery.) As another bonus, Hasbro included a slightly retooled and repainted version of Salacious Crumb (from 2007's TAC C-3PO & Salacious Crumb (30 30) figure two-pack). Crumb really doesn't bring anything new to the set, but it is definitely nice to get him again and Hasbro designed a few of the pillows to work perfectly well with him when seating. The pillows in this set are a weird favorite part of this set for us. They are multicolored and various shapes and sizes. The dais and Jabba come to life when these accessories are included in your display. And we are extremely thrilled that Hasbro decided to tool these extra pieces because they really perfect and complete this set. We think it is a bit of a misfortune that this set is only available as an exclusive. We think Jabba is a major Star Wars character and it would have been best that this set saw mainstream release. Making sure that this product gets into all facets of retail probably would have exceeded Hasbro's sales projections. But hopefully the modest price point will guarantee brisk sell through. Jabba's Throne will indeed be one of the best Hasbro products of the year and we hope that all of you have the chance to get this into your collections. It is wholly a phenomenal set and it is something we've wanted a very long time in the modern line. It's here for our taking, so vote with your dollars and ensure that it exceeds both Walmart's and Hasbro's expectations so that this trend of awesome exclusive products continue to come from Hasbro.