Nien Nunb - POTF2 [FF/TKC] - Basic

The outstanding Rebel Pilot from the planet Sullust, Nien Nunb served as Lando Calrissian's copilot in the Millennium Falcon during the Battle of Endor.

What Battle of Endor diorama is complete without a Sullustan co-pilot to complement it? And oh the controversy that surrounds Nien Nunb. A character that looks exactly like him and standing RIGHT NEXT to Lando Calrissian appears during the Home One Rebels briefing but wearing a B-wing pilot uniform. And then a short while later we see “another” Sullustan talking in the background with other Rebel pilots as Han Solo offers the Millennium Falcon to old pal Lando Calrissian for the assault on the second Death Star. Many believe this “other” pilot is the same B-wing pilot that was in the Rebel briefing, who just changed outfits since the Rebel Alliance promoted him to Lando’s co-pilot for the Battle of Endor. And for the record, Nien Nunb is wearing the same red jumpsuit as a B-wing pilot. Could it be that he only added a blue vest for his copilot promotion? If you read bios on Nien Nunb, some refer to him specifically as a B-wing pilot, while others are more generic in their descriptions. But no matter where you stand on who Nien Nunb is or is not, there is plenty of proof that action figure interpretations of the character don’t reflect all of the truth, today or yesteryear. Always portrayed a little too short for a Sullustan, Nien Nunb is quite tall if you skim for him carefully in Return Of The Jedi where you can see his full body. He isn’t the petite pilot we had believed. The action figure lines, both past, and present showed something different.

Regardless, the 1997 POTF2 version of Nien Nunb is still a nice action figure and a fantastic update to 1983's ROTJ Nien Nunb figure. However, we’re sure some will fault its accuracy. Nien Nunb is a brightly colored action figure, but most of that has to do with the red flight suit. Breaking up the monotony of the red is a blue vest that seems to be the style pilots of rogue vehicles wear a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Nien Nunb has a wonderful resemblance to the onscreen character, but it’s important to point out that Nien Nunb, in certain scenes, wasn’t much more than a complex puppet in the film. For close-ups, the character wasn’t an actor behind a mask. This approach was required since Nien Nunb has so many close-ups in the film. Realism needed to play a huge role in bringing this character to life, and the folks at Lucasfilm did a great job in achieving this effect. The action figure of Nien Nunb is equally good, albeit incorrectly scaled. One thing we don’t care for is the way the head sculpt is looking upwards, ever so slightly. This direction was an odd decision on Kenner/Hasbro’s part, or maybe it was just something that they overlooked. Either way, it does create a “snooty nostrils in a flare” type of demeanor with Nien Nunb. The head sculpt is quite excellent and captures a great amount of detail. Nien Nunb is complete with the large mouse-shaped ears, and the wide mouth. The action figure truly looks great!

The paint operations are equally excellent on Nien Nunb. There are multiple layers of color utilized to accent the mouth as well as the face, and they used dark black paint for the big round “soul-less” eyes. They painted the rest of the figure nicely as well, and we find minimal fault with the figure in this regard. Nien Nunb comes with two weapons: a blaster pistol and a blaster rifle. As a pilot, none are visible in the film, but as an action figure, accessories are basic requirements for it to have play value. Both weapons fit nicely into Nien Nunb’s hands. However, Nien Nunb has an awkward center of gravity. When the figure isn’t holding any weapons, it is easier to stand up without falling over, but if the figure is holding weapons, they throw off the figure’s balance terribly. You have to lean Nien Nunb a little bit backward to prevent the figure from falling forward. It’s a minor disappointment and not certainly the end of the world, but it is noticeable. For 1998, Nien Nunb was refreshed for The Power Of The Force “2” Freeze Frame Action Slide lineup and came with a gorgeous film slide pack-in premium. It captures a moment of the film where Nien Nunb is in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon during the assault on the second Death Star. We love the Freeze Frame Action Slides, and we feel they complement the figures beautifully. It adds something extra special to your purchase.