Bib Fortuna - POTF2 [R/G] - Basic

Height: 1.88 Meters
Status: Jabba the Hutt's Majordomo
Classification: Twi'lek
Affiliation: Loyal to Jabba the Hutt
Weapon of Choice: Hold-out Blaster

If you were a rabid collector in 1997, and you probably were, you knew that was the year that Kenner/Hasbro was in overdrive to produce modern version of many characters from the original vintage Kenner line. They all came to us at a very brisk pace and every month that year it felt that we were getting another wave of first time offered as well as a ton more modern updates to the classic figures we had as kids. Bib Fortuna was another character at the top of our and Kenner/Hasbro’s lists. As a result, Bib Fortuna became one of the first figures released that year. For the first time, Kenner/Hasbro would abandon soft-goods and opt for a plastic molded robe (and armor) instead. The new approach was as good as it was bittersweet. But ultimately Bib Fortuna may have not met the expectations of all collectors, despite the figure’s release being an exciting event in modern collecting. Bib Fortuna is a prominent character in Jabba’s palace. So to see him revisited with a modern interpretation was indeed a very attractive thing. With an average sculpt and new attention to screen accurate details, Bib Fortuna became a highly sought after figure that year, and for good reason.

Kenner/Hasbro needed to think carefully how to approach this figure. As a member of the Twi’lek species, they had to think of a way for his head tentacles to not to interfere with the molded outer robes. Interestingly, they did an admirable job with it. Slightly sculpted in a floating manner, the head tails (actually called lekku) have little interaction with the rest of the figure. The approach is bittersweet because you don’t get a lot of articulation out of the head because of them, but let’s be honest. Bib Fortuna is a character that you just need standing around. He really didn’t perform much action of any kind in Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. So why do we need it in an action figure? We probably do not, do we? The head sculpt is OK we suppose, but we don’t think it accurately captures the spirit of the character. In the film, Bib Fortuna looks borderline demonic with an evil grimace, even when he is smiling. So what’s up with the friendly smiley face the action figure portrays? It’s a bit perplexing. Aside from this however, the rest of Bib Fortuna is admirably sculpted. The robes look great. They made a complex shell that goes over he figure’s head which splits right in the middle. Everything in the surface area of this part of his outfit is captured in the sculpt, cummerbund, robes, armor, etc. You get the point.

Underneath of the sculpted robe shell is a nicely detailed fully articulated action figure. But with the difficulty of removing the outer robe and the way it falls on the figure, it honestly inhibits any articulation this figure has. It’s definitely bittersweet. Bib Fortuna comes with a silly hold-out blaster, something that wasn’t seen in the film. Then again, the 1983 vintage Kenner figure came with a silly staff, so we probably can’t make a good argument on why the hold-out blaster is better or worse. It’s just the way it is. Action figures are going to come with accessories that may or may not make sense. Bib Fortuna comes with decent paint operations, although we’re not exactly sure how screen accurate they are. His skin appears too light, his outfit appears too teal and we aren’t see a whole lot of the darker colors we did in the film. It could all be lighting and whatnot, so this is really more of our opinion than anything else. But aside from hands that appear too large, we have to say that Bib Fortuna came out surprisingly well. Most collectors will tell you that they can’t get enough of Jabba’s palace aliens. They started off the run with the perfect opening candidate. We hope there is always a directive in place to continue this trend strongly. After all, what’s a Star Wars basic figure line without creatures from Jabba’s palace?