Special 4 Action Figures [Ree-Yees/Tessek/Velken Tezeri/Taym Dren-garen] - TVC - Multipacks

Protected by Skiff Guards, Jabba the Hutt's sail barge bustled with court members, henchmen, and dregs of the galaxy who attempted to curry favor with the grotesque crime lord.

Many collectors assessed that Hasbro didn’t do a fantastic job celebrating the 40th anniversary of Return Of The Jedi. But then they announced some terrific products with release dates towards the end of the calendar year, and the 4 Special Action Figures set based on Jabba’s Palace “Court Denizens” theme is one of them, much to the delight of Star Wars collectors. We wouldn’t call it a perfect set, but it does manage to hit all the right spots for collectors. The set re-releases a figure that probably didn’t need to be, knocks out a relatively good O96 character, and then adds 50% first-time offerings in the line that we never expected to see part of the 3.75-inch line at any point in our lifetimes. So, we’ve got a mix of old and new, and never before issued, and that’s enough to pique the interest of longtime collectors and addicts of Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi. Unfortunately, the MSRP will not make many collectors happy, but that’s the price we pay when newness is part of the equation. Still, it’s either pay these prices or never get the characters we want to see immortalized as action figures unless they’re a part of the dreadful Disney Star Wars universe. Let’s take a closer look at all of the contents here.

The 4 Special Action Figures multipack based on Return Of The Jedi has some remarkable inclusions. The only bummer of the set is Ree-Yees. It’s a bittersweet addition here. We received Ree-Yees first as part of 2014’s The Black Series [Phase I] basic figure line as the Ree-Yees (#28) figure. Then, Hasbro repainted it slightly and added a carded pack-in figure to the Jabba’s Palace (Adventure Set), released as a Walmart exclusive. That version of the carded Ree-Yees was exciting at the time, but they misshaped the nameplate, the character’s name was misspelled, and often arrived damaged and curled when unboxed from Hasbro’s careless packing of the figure. Now, we have the graphics updated and the figure repainted, and it is probably the best version of this action figure to date and is a definitive updated to 1983's ROTJ Ree-Yees figure. Sadly, Ree-Yees still doesn’t come with articulated ankles. Next up is the long-awaited Tessek, also known as Squid Head. We’d assess Tessek as an exciting update to the character in super-articulated status, but it isn’t perfect and leaves us wanting a little more. That may sound ungrateful, but if you compare side-by-side images with the Power Of The Jedi Tessek figure, you’ll see they mastered this character’s likeness decades ago. However, the new version doesn’t capture the same magic.

Please understand that we feel it’s remarkable to get a super-articulated version of Tessek in the basic figure line. But we must be honest and tell you that the action figure’s likeness and coloring aren’t a dead ringer for the on-screen character. Tessek has paler skin. And if you compare the magnificent 2001 action figure version, you’ll see Hasbro accomplished remarkable and better accuracy with less technology. Yes, the 2001 version is essentially a statue, but it’s beautiful and captures the spirit and physical characteristics of Tessek much better. However, we are still fond of The Vintage Collection release and are pleased to have this character checked off our “Vintage Versus Modern” list. Tessek comes with stunning and fitted soft goods, not all that different from the approach taken with 1983’s ROTJ Squid Head action figure. Hasbro also added a dark gray gun, which we believe was intentional, as the 1983 action figure had a unique gray Bespin blaster from Kenner. Tessek is a mostly all-new action figure but uses the legs from 2023’s TVC Cal Kestis (VC265) figure. And, of course, Hasbro repainted the parts for a seamless look and feel. Tessek is an excellent action figure, but we wish they nailed the likeness better.

The two gems of this set are Velken Tezeri and Taym Dren-garen. We never anticipated receiving these two characters in The Vintage Collection. They are lovely additions to the lineup and give us hope that Hasbro still cares about the background or blink-at-you’ll-miss-it characters to add diversity and strength to the super-articulated 3.75-inch Star Wars action figure line. We aren’t sure if Hasbro had reference materials to design these characters’ unmasked likenesses, but whoever they used for inspiration has resulted in two brilliant new portraits that we anticipate them using again for other characters down the road, despite some facial hair inconsistencies. Velken and Taym use the legs of 2023’s TVC Cassian Andor (VC261) figure. And then Taym also uses the arms of 2012’s/2023’s TVC Nikto (Skiff Guard) (VC99) figure, which were also used for Vedain in another The Vintage Collection multipack cut from a similar fabric. The rest of the figures are all-new. Velken and Taym are outstanding action figures in this set, and both come with skiff guard blasters and removable helmets. However, we wish they added a force pike to Taym, too. All said, the $72.99 MSRP breaks down to $18.25 a figure, which is ridiculous. But it sold well, and we hope that points out to Hasbro that there is a market for more Jabba’s palace “court members, henchmen, and dregs of the galaxy” in The Vintage Collection.