Chewbacca (A New Hope) - S.H. Figuarts

S.H. Figuarts is a new standard figure series that incorporates the Bandai action figure "Art" under the theme "Pursuing Character Expression through Humanoid Action."

How do you describe something that is just shy of perfection, yet you still want to refer to it as “perfect” regardless of its imperfections? Yes, that is oxymoronic, but we can’t help how we feel in our assessment of the Chewbacca (A New Hope) S.H. Figuarts high-end 6” figure release. Sure, Chewbacca (A New Hope) has a few things we could easily point out that bother us, but there is just too much good here that overtakes the “evil” and ultimately leaves us hoping that they’ll approach future versions of Chewbacca in this line in the same manner. So, we’re going to briefly highlight some of the figure’s weaknesses before going into a tirade of how you’re a bad person if you don’t add this figure to your collection. (We jest. No one is a bad person is he or she doesn't buy an action figure.) If we had to highlight two exceptions we take with Chewbacca (A New Hope), it would be (A) his coloring and (B) a couple of the aesthetically displeasing joints. Other than that, Chewbacca (A New Hope) is exactly what we’ve always hoped for in a 6” action figure. Chewbacca (A New Hope) is colored brown, and S.H. Figuarts did a marvelous job with the washes to highlight the textures and colors of his fur, but there is something too “yellow” about his coat. It’s not a glaring problem, but it is somewhat noticeable. Again, the base coat may look off, but the details in the face and the highlights added to his fur are so nicely done that you might not care that the brown isn’t 100% correct. Then again, this may be the correct color in bright lights. It’s hard to know for sure when comparing to the film.

Chewbacca (A New Hope)’s facial structure is flawless. What’s more, S.H. Figuarts generously added a second portrait (Chewbacca’s roaring with an open mouth) to help add value and interchangeability to this figure. It’s hard to call the way a removable faceplate comes on and off of a figure a joint, but because we struggle for a better description, that’s how we have to refer to it. While we love the fact that Chewbacca (A New Hope) has this interchangeable face option, we aren’t crazy with how the joint looks. There are hard lines around his head (where the faceplate comes on and off), and it gives the illusion that Chewbacca had recent brain surgery. Also, the back of his fur is jointed so when you turn his head or pose him in some action sequences; his hair appropriately flows as needed. Again, we love the ingenuity in adding articulation here, but the consequence is that it added harsh cuts and lines into the portraits which can look jarring at times. We’re not complaining about them taking the figure this far; we just imagine that two separate head sculpts may have been better options for a character like Chewbacca. Humans have hairlines and other things that allow these cuts to be disguised seamlessly. But with a Wookiee character like Chewbacca (A New Hope), the options for making this a seamless option are quite nonexistent. Still, two is better than one, and we’re thrilled that Chewbacca (A New Hope) comes with options and still looks great with them regardless if the approach isn’t ideal. It must be hard for a company like S.H. Figuarts to develop a character like Chewbacca, but they’ve done a great job here.

Chewbacca (A New Hope) is lightly accessorized, but let’s be honest. He didn’t have too many accessories in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We would have only suggested adding the long-barreled blaster rifle (which was seen more often than this bowcaster) he utilized in many scenes in the film. Speaking of the bowcaster, instead of trying to wrestle a bowcaster weapon into one of the hand attachments, S.H. Figuarts included an extra hand attachment with the bowcaster permanently affixed to the attachment. It’s MUCH easier to switch out the hand attachment instead of risking breaking the weapon by forcing into the grip of a hand. S.H. Figuarts also included a left-hand attachment which has been designed to cup the front of the bowcaster so you can recreate scene-specific shots of Chewbacca through the Episode IV film. There are a couple other generic hand attachments also included here, but nothing about them is noteworthy. Finally, the bandolier is another affixed accessory here. It attaches at the top of his left shoulder and dangles below with free movement so it can interact properly with whatever action poses you choose for him. Chewbacca (A New Hope) is also nicely scaled next to Han Solo. We’re not sure if Chewbacca (A New Hope) is exactly the scale he should be next to Han Solo, but there is enough of difference here to look good enough in your display. Overall, Chewbacca (A New Hope) is one of our most favorite figures in the S.H. Figuarts line. It’s pretty bold to refer to this figure as a perfect specimen, but as we attempted to illustrate earlier, hopefully, the good things he brings to the line will heavily outweigh the negatives.