Wicket - TVC - Basic (VC27)

While this may raise some eyebrows, we’d like to admit two things. We say this with a smile and your opinions are just as important as ours, but we need to express a few things first. One – we are thrilled that Hasbro has decided to pack Ewoks one per card back (thanks be to The Vintage Collection for really making this happen). We like to see Star Wars characters packaged separately so they get the “respect� they deserve. Two – we love Ewoks and think that Hasbro could never make enough of them for us. Shameless suckers for Return Of The Jedi are we. It’s the movie that brings back the best Christmas memories for many of us here at Jedi Temple Archives and it truly has the best selection of aliens and heroes for any Star Wars fan. Every year we cannot wait to here the character listing of action figures Hasbro chooses to make from this film and the third wave of The Vintage Collection is indeed one of the best groups of figures from this film in many years! Thankfully, Hasbro delicately balances never-before-made Ewoks in addition to revisits of previously made ones very nicely. Their approach is allowing us to build a fur ball army that we probably never expected to create in the modern line. But they keep getting better and exceeding our expectations. The most popular Ewok of all, Wicket, gets a much needed update and has been released in the glorious The Vintage Collection. We don’t think we would ever be able to make a reception as joyous as this little action figure deserves, so we’ll need all of our Research Droids Reviews readers to join in on this celebration because the most incredible version of Wicket has been released.

In lieu of a second action figure, Hasbro has decided to include additional accessories for Wicket based on one of his many appearances in the Star Wars: Ewoks cartoon from 1985. (Kneesa was to be the other figure packed with him and although we desperately want her just as much in the action figure line, we think she should come separately or in some other exclusive set. We’ll need to ensure we pester Hasbro to get her out as soon as possible. But we will say that she definitely should have never been packaged with Wicket.) The additional Expanded Universe accessories coupled with the movie accessories make Wicket a stellar action figure and we love the ingenuity Hasbro applied here to give collectors the most bang for their buck. (And it’s wonderful that they gave us an option to recreate a realistic version of Wicket from the animated series too!) Wicket is pure joy for the basic figure line. And Kenner/Hasbro really haven’t impressed us with a Wicket action figure since the 1984 “vintage� version. We first got him in the “now dreadful� The Power Of The Force 2 line in 1998. It was admittedly exciting to get him back then (he was packaged with Logray and they were the first two Ewoks in the modern line) but time hasn’t aged him well at all. He is terribly out of scale, has a walking pose and just doesn’t look like the onscreen character from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. What’s more, it was the only version of Wicket Hasbro used to release throughout the modern line’s duration until now. (In fact, Hasbro developed a lot of other generic Ewoks from this mold as well!) Wicket is brilliantly sculpted, painted and Hasbro has included an amazing amount of premium articulation in an action figure that is this tiny.

Wicket comes with the tannish-orange cowl that we all saw in Return Of The Jedi as well as the green cowl with bandolier that was seen in the cartoon. In some unexplainable way, this sculpt of Wicket is so incredible that he looks realistic in his movie cowl and “almost� animated in the green cowl. Yes, it’s a realistic version of his animated appearance, but something about the combination seems to make it favor an animated look or style. Along with the green cowl is a pouch that can be placed underneath it. If you choose to pose Wicket without his headgear you will find the cutest action figure face you’ll ever see. Wicket has his two front buck teeth and Hasbro has painted his tummy and his face with a lighter color over the dark brown fur to replicate his look in the film. It’s subtle and blends in with the rest of his fur ever so nicely. Wicket has nine points of articulation and even comes with ball-jointed hips. This is a completely unexpected use of articulation, but it really enhances the experience of this action figure for the collector. He comes with his signature spear and it is the perfect height. One of his arms could have used an elbow joint to help with the posing of this spear. But Wicket is fine as is. This is of course the most definitive version of Wicket and there is no reason for him to be revisited. Wicket is such an exciting addition to The Vintage Collection and it makes us desire more Ewoks. Rumors abound that Logray may be the next Ewok on tap for release. We hope this is so. The original eight Ewoks are nearly all updated to definitive status. After the rumored Logray, Teebo and Lumat are all that is needed to complete them. We’ll just have to see. Be sure to enjoy Wicket until they come!