Chewbacca (With Electronic C-3PO) - TSC - Basic (SAGA 054)

When it comes to Repack & Repaint waves, Hasbro is either usually right on the money or way off with bizarre action figure choices to bring back to collectors. Chewbacca (With Electronic C-3PO) is debatably somewhere in the middle. It’s clearly a very fair sculpt of Chewbacca. He may not come with all of the articulation you’d prefer, but between the near perfect scale and great portrait, it’s certainly one of the better versions of Chewbacca we have received early in the line. This doesn’t mean it’s perfect by any means. But perhaps a little bit more interesting than the Chewbacca action figure is the Electronic C-3PO “accessory” that comes with it. It would be hard to refer to the included Electronic C-3PO as an action figure. But it’s brilliantly sculpted to mimic the battle-damage he sustained on Bespin and that coupled with a stunning and realistic paint job should confirm to collectors just how awesome this “two-pack” is indeed.

First brought to collectors in the 2003 Star Wars “Saga” line as Chewbacca (Cloud City Capture) ('02 #38), Chewbacca (With Electronic C-3PO) was unique for its time. (Note that it actually borrows some parts from the 2001 Power Of The Jedi figure.) For years we have been accustomed to getting either a C-3PO or Chewbacca figure separately, so to receive “two” in one package from a specific scene in Episode V is certainly a cool and unique idea. Even if you don’t like the Chewbacca figure exactly, Electronic C-3PO really makes up for where Chewbacca lacks. In fact, many collectors feel that this version of C-3PO is the perfect modern update to the vintage C-3PO (Removable Limbs) figure. Of course there are many who'll disagree and say that this interpretation of C-3PO is an accessory and not an action figure. We think it’s both, and as a C-3PO in complete disarray, we’re not so sure if Hasbro could do this better. Did we even mention the included soft-goods cargo net yet? It’s amazing and can house C-3PO’s parts perfectly!

The set certainly isn’t flawless. For example, it’s hard to tie the sack of C-3PO parts up high on Chewbacca’s back. We’re sure it’s possible to do this, but Hasbro certainly hasn’t made it easy for us. And perhaps they should have reinvented this two-pack by including the stunning 2004 VOTC Chewbacca figure instead. Because things like Chewbacca’s right-angled elbows make posing him quite intolerable. There are a few slight paint deco changes on Chewbacca. This is especially notable in his face and the pouch at his side. Other than that you should consider him a straight repack. The Electronic C-3PO parts however have been repainted but in all honesty don’t look any better or worse than they did before this re-release. OK, maybe they’re a little bit better now. The gold is richer, the wiring in the midsection is muted and not so bright and the dirt collecting in the crevices of his metallic shell is more pronounced, so it’s clear that Hasbro took strides to improve the paint job. Did we need to see a re-release of this figure [set]? Probably not, but we think the Electronic C-3PO accessory is just too cool. You’ll have to see if you feel the similarly.