Dr. Evazan/Walrus Man/Han Solo (Imperial Stormtrooper Outfit)/Luke Skywalker (Yavin)/Rebel Fleet Trooper/Sandtrooper - RC - Multipacks

Where the Target-exclusive Star Wars Retro Collection 6-Pack succeeds in spirit, it partially fails in execution. Or, it might be more accurate to say that some of it got lost in translation. We now officially have our third Star Wars Retro Collection 6-Pack set—the first two sets released all 12-Back Star Wars action figures. Now, Hasbro is branching out a bit and using the Retro Collection branding for what most collectors feel is its sole purpose: to give us vintage Kenner-inspired action figures that they never got to have during the line’s original run from 1978 through 1985. Introduced here are five characters that everyone and his mother feels Kenner should have released in the Star Wars line from 1978 to 1979 or in The Power Of The Force umbrella line in 1985 when they started reintroducing characters from past Star Wars films. Very few collectors will argue that we should have had a Sandtrooper, Dr. Evazan, or a Rebel Fleet Trooper in the line. Now, unofficially, that’s come to pass in the form of this exclusive multipack from Target. The cast of characters here is excellent. Walrus Man may be the only “head scratcher” here, but likely included so collectors can pair Walrus Man with Dr. Evazan. For years, many of us had to insert Snaggletooth as Dr. Evazan in our Kenner collections. That’s no longer an issue. There is much to appreciate in this set, and the figures look fabulous displayed together, but we’re going to be honest and let you know it’s not perfect. It needed some tweaking.

Dr. Evazan looks excellent. The paint operations on our sample are off, but when we look past that, we’re pleased with both the figure’s sculpting and approach. Dr. Evazan comes with a gray blaster pistol and a black blaster pistol. The black blaster pistol is reminiscent of the weapons we’ve received with realistically styled iterations of Dr. Evazan, so we appreciate the inclusion of both blasters here. The figure has a good center of gravity and doesn’t appear overly detailed. We think it’s a perfect fit in the Retro Collection and pairs beautifully with Walrus Man (both vintage Kenner and Retro Collection), Hammerhead, Greedo, and Snaggletooth. Walrus Man looks fantastic, too. Some wanted to see a “corrected” version of the character in Kenner style, but Hasbro didn’t think outside of the box hard enough here to do that. The coloring is a bit different, and the figure is shorter, but overall, it looks excellent. Luke Skywalker (Yavin) is, for us, the biggest disappointment here. Hasbro messed up by designing an all-new head sculpt here. While not entirely out of alignment with how Kenner revised portraits as the line progressed, Luke Skywalker (Yavin) is placed on a Star Wars card and should reflect the approach of the figures designed between 1978 and 1980. It should have the same portrait and similar body design as those older Luke Skywalker figures. Also, the figure’s booths look too curvy and smooth.  It comes with Princess Leia’s blaster pistol and a medal of honor.

We like the design of the Han Solo (Imperial Stormtrooper Outfit) figure. It borrows quite a bit from 1985’s POTF Luke Skywalker (Imperial Stormtrooper Outfit). Still, they gave Han Solo a prepositioned left arm and a soft removable Stormtrooper helmet, so it doesn’t pair all that nicely with Luke. We’re not sure why Hasbro didn’t faithfully recreate the helmet, but they must have their reasons. It reminds you of the “small head” Han Solo, and the body from the neck down closely resembles the classic 1985 Luke Skywalker figure. The Rebel Fleet Trooper is another lovely addition here. And while we cannot pinpoint it, something is ever so slightly off about it. It appears to have a much too thin body type, and the helmet looks a little small for the figure’s body. Hasbro intended to mimic the helmet approach of the Death Squad Commander; however, something is lacking here. The Sandtrooper is another welcome addition here, and we’re happy to see its inclusion. But again, they should have taken a different approach. The Sandtrooper features a head sculpt that barely moves, yet it still manages to do so. For posterity, we wish the figure had only four points of articulation, a larger pauldron, and a backpack with a better design. It comes with a heavy blaster file, and all of the figures in this et hold their respective accessories well. This 6-pack is an exclusive at Target, with a suggested retail price (MSRP) of $59.99. It will appeal to many collectors, but it’s worth noting that Hasbro could have improved it.