Hem Dazon - TSC - Basic (SAGA 033)

Guest review provided by David Delgado from EchoBaseNews.com.

Hem Dazon
Escape From Mos Eisley

Species: Arcona
Homeworld: Cona
Main Hangout: Mos Eisley Cantina

Hem Dazon, one of the more infamous reptile-like Arconas, is enjoying a drink at the Mos Eisley cantina when trouble suddenly erupts. An old Jedi Knight and a young boy suddenly tangle with two "wanted" men. Using a lightsaber, the Jedi Knight disables both men rather quickly. Being accustomed to outbursts like this at the cantina, Hem settles himself after the skirmish and goes about his business.

When Hem Dazon’s head pops up on screen to introduce us to the Mos Eisley Cantina, he’s really the first totally bizarre space alien we see in Star Wars. Yes, we met the Jawas and the Sand People in the Jundland wastes first, and as cool and iconic as they are, Hem Dazon (and the other creatures shown in the cantina scene) first truly demonstrated the wide range of weird looking (and super awesome) extraterrestrial races we were going to experience in the Star Wars saga. It’s taken nearly three decades for Hem Dazon to be immortalized in plastic, and although it’s been a long wait, it’s not too surprising it took Hasbro some extra effort to get Hem Dazon right. After all, no reference material exists for the character below the neck since the character in the movie was just a head held up on a stick (sorry if we just ruined the magic for you)! For this reason, Hem Dazon could be considered just as much an Expanded Universe figure as much as a character directly sourced from Episode IV.

So is Hem Dazon worth the wait? We think so, although he does have a slight design flaw. But let’s start with all the positives. Hem Dazon is just an incredibly cool figure, and one of the very best cantina alien figures released to date. Hasbro needed to take creative liberties with pretty much everything below the neck. They decided (most likely with significant collaboration from Lucasfilm and perhaps some EU sources) that the Arcona are a reptilian race with three pointy digits at the end of their hands and feet. (Editor's Note: Although four years later Arcona anatomy seems to have been drastically altered; see 2011 TCW El-Les (CW47) for example.) Arcona legs are curved forward and they apparently walk around barefoot. Their three long, clawed toes are spread apart and almost resemble chicken feet. Hem Dazon also seems to have a “bounty hunter� look. The figure includes a removable bandolier as well as a neat looking new blaster pistol that fits in a working holster attached to a thick belt around his waist. The sculpt is highly detailed and Hem Dazon looks ready for a fight!

Hem Dazon features twelve points of articulation, which is terrific for a background character figure in this day and age. New sculpts aren’t very common in The Saga Collection but when they do come around they seem to almost always be exceptional action figures. We’re inclined to complain about the swivel elbow joints, but overall it really doesn’t detract too much from the figure since it can definitely achieve a sufficient range of poses. Hem Dazon also has all the accessories he needs for a visit to the cantina. In addition to the blaster and the bandolier mentioned earlier, Hem Dazon includes a bar glass and a great little table. The tables are way too small and narrow to be accurate to anything seen in the movie, which is a bit of a bummer. However, they still serve a good purpose and it’s very nice to have them included to help fill the packaging and make the figure feel like a better value in this age of price hikes. Hem Dazon does have one slight design flaw, unfortunately. On our sample, the curved legs seem to make the figure prone to falling over. Thankfully, he does include the standard display stand which remedies the problem. And lastly, Hem Dazon includes a boring and useless blue or red “villain� mini-hologram figure pack-in. We strongly encourage you to add this fan-favorite cantina alien to your collections! He’s an outstanding action figure and if he’s any indication of the quality new sculpts in the line will be delivering in the future, then we’re in for a real treat!