Qui-Gon Jinn - TVC - Basic (VC75)

Time has an amazing ability to put things into perspective. When the 2008 TAC The Jedi Legacy Evolutions set came out, collectors pretty much believed we received the definitive Qui-Gon Jinn figure. That figure has become a mainstay ever since, so we actually thought correctly that this would be Hasbro’s “go to” figure when a release of Qui-Gon Jinn was needed. And Hasbro has gotten some great use out of the figure. After its 2008 Evolutions release, it was repainted and used for the 2009 LC Qui-Gon Jinn And Eopie mail-away exclusive and then shortly after that release Hasbro again brought it into the 2010 LC Tatooine Desert Ambush Battle Packs set. Fast forward to 2011, Hasbro once again reused it for the Episode I: The Phantom Menace Blu-ray Release Commemorative Figure & Mini-Poster Collection multipack. And with a little surprise (and some regret on collectors’ part) Hasbro uses the same stinking figure for The Vintage Collection. Without sounding ungrateful, we’re happy to get Qui-Gon Jinn in this awesome packaging, but there are just a few enhancements or tweaks this figure could benefit from that would make it definitive. Qui-Gon Jinn is first and foremost a pretty good action figure, but there are certainly some things that could make it significantly better.

It’s time for an upgraded head sculpt/portrait, Hasbro. The current head sculpt is a tad too small for his body. While a new tooling would be ideal, we still think a more precise paint job would do wonders for the existing sculpt too (or at the very least, help). First of all, Qui-Gon Jinn is so pale he almost looks jaundiced. Every version after the 2008 Evolutions release has been the same with an upgraded deco, but Hasbro needs to take it a few steps further to make it more screen accurate and natural looking. He has mismatched costume parts. Some areas are cream colored while others are quite a few shades lighter, almost off-white. All Jedi should come with ball-jointed hips at this stage of the game and this is an upgrade we desperately want to see applied to a definitive Qui-Gon Jinn action figure. Thankfully, his legs are at a healthy angle for optimal posing. Qui-Gon Jinn’s lightsaber also needs to enter the 21st century. Hasbro is still using the same one from the 1999 Episode I line and it’s high time to break the mold and create something new. The smooth green blade looks “fake” in this day and age when we get them with some texture now, and the hilt is in desperate need of an update as well. The soft-goods Jedi robe is pretty standard, and from what we can tell, some collectors love it while other despise it.

Unfortunately, the best part about The Vintage Collection release of Qui-Gon Jinn is the packaging. He is a major Star Wars character from Episode I and it only makes sense that he received a place in line in The Vintage Collection. When it became public knowledge that The Vintage Collection would be including Expanded Universe and Prequel Trilogy character, Qui-Gon Jinn’s name rose to the surface as one of the ones collectors wanted to see right away in “vintage” packaging. It took a year and a half before Hasbro got out any characters from Episode I in The Vintage Collection, but they had good reason to wait. But when it did come time, we understand why Hasbro “rushed” to get him out as one of the first Episode I releases. They wanted a basic figure of him on store shelves in time for the 3D release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It’s quite possible he will be one of the peg-warmers of the wave since we have so many iterations of him already. Hopefully The Vintage Collection packaging will entice the sale of this figure, but we bet that he won’t be appealing to all collectors. You know what to expect here. If you’re not a carded collector, you have this figure multiple times already. But if you’re a carded collector, well, it’s going to be a bittersweet purchase. It’s great to get him in that glorious packaging, but you’ll wish a better figure was behind the plastic bubble.