Barquin D’an/Droopy McCool - POTF2 [FF/TKC] - Max Rebo Band Pairs

Barquin D'an:
HEIGHT: 1.5 Meters
STATUS: Musician
SPECIES: Bith
AFFILIATION: None
INSTRUMENT OF CHOICE: Kloo Horn
HOMEWORLD: Clak'dor VII

Droopy McCool:
HEIGHT: 1.4 Meters
STATUS: Musician
SPECIES: Kitonak
AFFILIATION: None
INSTRUMENT OF CHOICE: Chidinkalu
HOMEWORLD: Kirdo III

Many of the products released between 1997 and 1998 focused on bridging the gap between the Original Trilogy and the Special Editions of the Original Trilogy. With any toy line, newness is key, so Kenner wanted to focus on some of the newly added “things” that graced the revised versions of the classic films. Perhaps the most strikingly visual bridging of gaps was the “Jedi Rocks” new musical number in Jabba’s palace. Not only was the classic “Lapti Nek” ripped out of Return Of The Jedi, the whole sequence in the Special Edition almost felt like a new film altogether. Sy Snootles, despite Lucasfilm forgetting to remove a far off visage of her old puppet version in the background as the camera pans into the court where the stage is, was replaced with CGI and then a bevy of new characters were added to help round out the band. Some of it worked, and some of it didn’t work. But all of it helped Kenner plan a line of Walmart exclusive figures called the Max Rebo Band Pairs which gave us the three original band members paired up with new 1997 Special Edition characters. It was a great concept in all honesty, even if purists weren’t ready to embrace the new musicians that now would grace Return Of The Jedi from here on out.

When you look at the Barquin D’an/Droopy McCool Max Rebo Band Pair set, you’ll likely be immediately drawn to Droopy McCool if you’ve been a longtime collector. He of course represents the character from the Original Trilogy and he has been made in an almost divine way. Despite limited articulation, this is the Droopy McCool figure we have all been waiting so long to add into our collections. He has a phenomenal sculpt. His hands have been posed in an instrument holding friendly way and his pose sports a posture that is nearly identical to the film. What’s more, on top of a brilliant sculpt, Kenner gave Droopy McCool and illustrious paint job. You’ll find a wash that seeps into every crevice of his wrinkly and blubbery skin. What this wash does to the figure is just incredible and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the final figure. We’re even impressed with his chidinkalu instrument. It too has been sculpted beautifully and has been painted equally as well. Droopy McCool can’t pose in every way you’ll want him too, but we should make it clear that you’re probably not going to care. This is action figure making at its best. And we congratulate Kenner on making him so well.

Barquin D'an is just so-so. It was wise for Lucasfilm to add a Bith musician to the new lineup of the Max Rebo Band. Because we saw this species in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and we know that they’re musical, it makes his addition to this band very believable. A completely new figure, Barquin D'an comes with pre-posed arms, but they’re not posed in the best way and it is still difficult for him to hold his instrument. With a little patience you can make it work, but this is case in point of why additional articulation is so important to characters that are required to hold something like an instrument in a particular way. Despite the figure’s relative boringness, Barquin D'an has been nicely sculpted and painted. His instrument in particular in beautifully tooled and painted too. Exclusive to Walmart, this set and the Joh Yowza/Sy Snootles set were relatively easy to track down at Walmart stores across the country. But they sold rather steadily as collectors everywhere were looking to build up their Max Rebo Band for various displays and dioramas. Kenner still has quite a few musicians to do before the band is complete however. But we’re sure they’re just around the corner.