Kithaba (Skiff Guard) - TVC - Basic (VC56)

Celebrate the legendary Star Wars saga that changed the universe forever! This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. Iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are captured with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Star Wars saga. May the Force be with you!

The vintage Kenner line has been guilty of creating mass confusion with some Star Wars characters. The most common is the 4-LOM/Zuckuss switch. Heck, that’s almost folklore now. Then there’s the more arguable Rebel Soldier/Rebel Commander mix-up. And then there’s the 1985 The Power Of The Force Barada figure. And how to properly explain why it’s still confusing to this day is such a muddy subject to make clear. The 1985 figure is technically Barada via the colors of Kithaba. Does that make sense? There are actual costume and color differences between Barada and Kithaba and the 1985 vintage figure mixes the two together.... almost blatantly, but you have to look for it. What makes things extra confusing is that the 1985 figure pictures the actual Barada character on its card back. It is only the 2012 release of Kithaba that we get this figure accurate for the very first time. If we were to be extremely technical, the 1985 vintage figure is an Expanded Universe extrapolation of either (or both) Barada and Kithaba. Look at the back of the card in our gallery. You’ll notice that the 1985 action figure’s outfit matches Barada’s outfit (the character) exactly... except for the color scheme. The vintage figure even has Barada's backpack. (Kithaba didn't wear a backpack.) That’s because someone at Kenner back in the day confused Kithaba for Barada. Now do you understand what we mean when we say that the vintage Kenner line has been guilty of creating mass confusion with some Star Wars characters?

The good news is that the modern line looks to correct these mistakes, and Hasbro has done a great job so far. Hey, even the very first wave of The Vintage Collection corrected the most popular mistake and released a vintage-styled released of 4-LOM with 2010’s TVC 4-LOM (VC10) figure. So we’re proud to go along for a ride with Hasbro as they make things right years after the fact. Boy, isn’t a wonderful time to be a Star Wars collector? Between the name corrections and the updated card artwork like on 2011’s TVC Ponda Baba (Walrus Man) (VC70) and 2011’s TVC Rebel Soldier (Echo Base Battle Gear) (VC68), there are just so many things to be excited about with this line! And one of the most exciting things for collectors is when Hasbro focuses on the various members of Jabba’s retinue. And if we had to be honest, these characters end up being our most favorite in the various toy lines Hasbro produces. There is something about aliens and other masked figures that Hasbro seems to ace above and beyond the average human characters. Hasbro has truly excelled the process on how to give collectors perfectly scaled 3.75” scale aliens and they come out better than ever. Such can be said about Kithaba (Skiff Guard) as well. As you can imagine, Hasbro did a fine job replicating this figure for the very first time in the modern line without carrying forward any of their vintage mistakes. Kithaba should tell you just how far the line has evolved.

Kithaba comes loaded with super-articulation. He isn’t fully enhanced with complete ball-jointed articulation, but he’s well-proportioned and has a wonderful stance which gives him an ideal center of gravity. There are some impressive details that we really haven’t seen to this extent before except this figure. Klatooinians apparently have very textured leather-like necks. Kithaba’s neck is full of this texture and you’ll notice it right away. We’re very surprised with how much effort Hasbro sculptors put into this detail and we’re thoroughly impressed. The details of his costume and the corresponding color scheme are essentially flawless and very bright. His bandolier is removable and the skiff guard blaster he comes with fits perfectly in its holster. You’re probably going to be less impressed with his force pike. It’s a little too “bendy” for our tastes and we’re perplexed by this since the staff that comes with 2011’s TVC Princess Leia (Slave Outfit) (VC64) figure couldn’t have a more ideal solidness. There are some issues with the ball-joints matching the corresponding areas, but this time it’s a little too brazen as the elbow joints are sorely mismatched. (You’re going to want to keep his arms bent at all times. What a shame, right?) But if you can get past this little hiccup, there is still plenty to be happy about here. Kithaba (Skiff Guard) is another long-awaited vintage figure that was in desperate need of a modern counterpart. We finally have it and now we only hope a definitive update to Barada is next.