Yoda - ROTS - Collectible Figure And Cup

On the swamp planet Dagobah, the powerful Jedi Master Yoda teaches young Luke Skywalker the ways of the Jedi. In hiding since the fall of the Republic, Yoda struggles to train the reckless and impulsive Luke how to control the power of the Force.

You make a Yoda action figure better by adding…. real hair? Apparently that’s what Kenner/Hasbro thought would be needed to make a better version of Yoda for The Power Of The Force “2” [FlashBack/CommTech] lineup. Sadly, they’ve decided to reuse it for the TARGET exclusive Collectible Figure And Cup lineup. Maybe Yoda wasn’t completely terrible in 1998, but he hasn’t aged that well since. And in 2005 it’s time to retire this sculpt, especially since we have the superior 2004 OTC Yoda Vintage figure. Instead of “real hair” perhaps Kenner/Hasbro should have spent the extra money on correctly decorating Yoda’s gimer stick a more appropriate color. Or perhaps they could have just included a more modern update to this figure altogether. The off-colored orange accessory is a glaring error, and we wished Hasbro took a bit more care in decorating them to look like real miniature props from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. How hard would it have been to cast this accessory in brown plastic? The Yoda figure itself is not an abomination, but his proportions and detail are out of date.

This version of Yoda strongly resembles the 1996 POTF2 [Red] Yoda figure very much. In fact, had this new FlashBack version not been given real hair, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell at all that they are two different figures. Hasbro added a swivel head, two swivel shoulders and a hinge-jointed torso joint. It’s sad to think this figure comes with less articulation than his vintage Kenner 1980 counterpart. As a result of this strange and minimal articulation, Yoda does not possess a lot of great movement. You’ll be quickly disappointed by how little you can position him in your collection. The sculpt is above average, although, Yoda looks a tad too “alien” than he did in the film if that makes any sense. By this, we mean his eyes were molded after Albert Einstein, and that quality has dissipated with this release. Yoda is not a total loss, however. He has well-balanced proportions otherwise, and he has a great center of gravity, which means that you will be able to position him in your collection quite easily. We’re still uncertain if the rooted hair was wise with this particular Yoda, but the consensus feels that different means “a worthy enough purchase” for them.

We find it interesting that Hasbro decided to carry-forward only one accessory with this version of Yoda; his gimer stick. But if you look at all of the other figures in the Collectible Figure And Cup line, you’ll find that they all primarily come with one weapon each (there are exceptions). It feels odd however that Yoda’s basic accessories have been pulled from this release. Again, we have no idea why his cane is cast in orange plastic. Hasbro already has tooled a proper brown cane for this scale, so why couldn’t they use that mold again? Back when the 1998 release was produced, it’s likely the pot and cane were manufactured together. But this time seems like the perfect opportunity to upgrade it. At the very least, you would think that they would have ensured the cane got repainted. Yoda may not be the greatest update, but this exclusive line is all about the cup. The cup is another beautiful work of art. Yoda, Luke in his Dagobah fatigues and R2-D2 are all present on the glass. It has an aged feel to it, and it looks amazing. Yoda was first planned for The Original Trilogy Collection, but the first wave was canceled and put on hold until it was ultimately released in the Revenge Of The Sith line. See the FRONT and BACK of the canceled packaging by using these links.