DarthBeek over at the Rebelscum.com forums clued me in to the news that Comic Images (who made the Rotta Backpack Buddy) are releasing a set of “Scruffies” for Celebration 5. Needless to say, I must have one of the Jabbas. Details on Starwars.com.
Jabba the Hutt’s Sail Barge by Deagostini (The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection #6)
In addition to their “Official Figurine Collection,” Deagostini also produced a line of Star Wars vehicles. Like the figurines, each model came with a short magazine covering the vehicle and related topics. The barge comes on a stand in a small plastic case (with a cardboard desert background). You can remove the top of the case to get a better look at the ship, but I don’t think it will come off of the stand.
At first glance, this sail barge is very similar to Hasbro’s Titanium sail barge, and in fact the two of them are almost identical in size (around 2 inches long). However, if you look closely you can see many differences. The Deagostini model is definitely more detailed. For example, the railing around the top of the barge is only hinted at on the Titanium version, but is completely present on the Deagostini version. And the detail on the Titanium version is very soft compared to the crisp detailing on the Deagostini barge. If it weren’t for many differences in the details, I would think that the Titanium version was a bad knock-off of the Deagostini one.
The Deagostini version
Hasbro's Titanium Sail Barge
The magazine that the comes with the vehicle is much smaller in size than the ones that came with the Official Figurine Collection figures, but if the sail barge is any indication, the quality of the content is considerably higher. While the magazines that came with the figurines often only had a couple of pages about that month’s character, the sail barge magazine is all about the barge and Jabba’s palace, and is actually pretty interesting to leaf through.
Hasbro Vintage Collection Jabba’s Throne Set
There had been rumors about this set for months before we got the first glimpse of it in May, so I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite a while. As I’ve said many times before, this is the first time we’re getting a complete throne with a Jabba figure since the original vintage figure in 1983. Before this set, the best we’ve gotten is the section of the throne railing with Jabba’s water pipe, which came included with the Ultra Jabba and Clone Wars Jabba figures, so many people continue to use the vintage throne even now, or even the cardboard Power of the Force diorama. Hasbro definitely went above and beyond with this set, including not only the throne (and railing/pipe) but also a variety of pillows that you can spread across the throne as you please, an “animal skin” that drapes over the side, Salacious Crumb (a repaint of the one that came with C-3PO a while back), and an Oola figure (only the second ever made).
This is a Walmart-exclusive set, and the stores are only just now starting to get them in. The “street date” for this set is August 6th, so even if stores do get them in, it’s likely that they won’t be putting them out until then or later. I got the UPC number for the set (65356950285) from some helpful people in this thread on Jedidefender.com and did some asking around. I found that one of my local stores was scheduled to get a delivery last night. I didn’t know if that would mean it would be going out on the shelves right away or if they would hold it until the street date, but I figured it was worth going in this morning to check. There was still no new Star Wars stuff on the shelves when I got there, but I asked a helpful woman nearby if she could check the UPC. She went into the back and got the two boxes that the store received. (One is for me and one is for the Japanese Jabba fan who runs Jabba the Hutt’s Palace.) I certainly hope stores will be getting more than just two of these in.
Inside the box, you have everything neatly arranged with tape and the new paper twisty ties. One plastic bag has the pillows and animal skin, while another has Salacious and Jabba’s pipe. The railing just sort of sits on top of the throne without attaching in any way. The paint job on the throne is actually a bit better in person than I had expected. I think I could probably do a better job if I repainted it, but for a production piece this is fine. The throne actually has wheels on it, allowing you to roll it back and do a dramatic reveal of the Rancor pit below. My only real quibble with the throne is that the gargoyle heads on it are considerably too small (see here). They did a good job with them otherwise, even including the hanging rings, so this is a little bit disappointing.
Jabba himself is made of two different kinds of materials. His head and arms are made of a somewhat soft rubbery plastic, similar to the kind that has been used on many other Jabbas. His bottom half is much softer and squishier, and conceals the wire that gives him the “posable tail” feature. The number of “poses” you can get with the tail is pretty limited. Frankly I would have preferred if they did away with this feature and just made the entire thing out of the same plastic used on the top, but at least the squishy lower body doesn’t really adversely affect his looks. He is similar in size to other Jabbas (see below), but is a bit shorter vertically.
From left to right: Vintage Jabba, POTF Jabba, Jabba Glob, Spitting Jabba, Ultra Jabba, Clone Wars Jabba, Vintage Collection Jabba
This is without a doubt the best action figure of Jabba ever made. People saying that they’re happy with their older versions are fooling themselves. The sculpt is excellent. The face seems a little squished somehow, and some people seem to take issue with how his top half sits on top of his torso, but these are minor quibbles. The detailing is fantastic. The arms are just about perfect, with the proper vertical stripes, his “anchor” tattoo, and only 3 fingers (only the vintage figure and this one have gotten that right). This is also the first figure to include the scar on Jabba’s tail. The paint is actually quite good for a production paint job. I would make it more orange, but I’m very impressed with the way they managed subtle transitions of color (unlike, say, the Ultra Jabba). In short, this is the Jabba to get.
Oola is also very well done. She has a fully articulated body and an outfit made of real cloth that actually looks good on her (and yes, she’s naked under there ;)). She’s a big upgrade from the previous mail-away version. Many collectors are interested in getting extras of this figure to use as generic females for custom figures.
Salacious Crumb isn’t bad, but he’s not new either. I think they probably could have made a better version of him, but I’m glad they decided to include him in the set. Here’s a shot comparing all of the Salacious Crumb figures (and the one from the recent Sideshow Diorama just for the heck of it):
While there are a few minor issues, this set definitely does not disappoint. It’s a fitting successor to the vintage set, and likely the best action figure we’ll ever get of Jabba. At $34.97, it seems like a very good deal. Get it while you can.
The new Walmart-exclusive Vintage Collection Jabba started appearing on stores shelves in some places in the US (and at least one place in New Zealand) a few days ago. The actual street date for all of the Vintage Collection stuff is supposed to be August 6th, but apparently some stores aren’t paying attention to that. So far, stores have been getting them in very small quantities (like a single box of two), which is a little worrying. I hope there won’t be a mad scramble for what promises to be the best action figure of Jabba yet (and the first to have his throne since the original figure in 1983!)
I’m going to be prowling around my local Walmarts in the next few days in hopes of scoring at least two of these.
Rawcliffe Pewter Jabba the Hutt on Throne
I did an entry on a number of other Rawcliffe pewter figures a while ago, but I had trouble finding this one. It says it’s a limited edition of 2005 (which isn’t actually that limited for something like this) but for whatever reason, it doesn’t come up on the secondary market very often. Some online retailers do have them at ridiculous prices around $200, but of course I wasn’t going to spend that much. I finally got one for a nice price on eBay.
I believe this came out in the mid 1990s, which was before the renaissance in Star Wars merchandise we’ve been experiencing in the last decade or so. At the time this must have seemed very impressive. It’s still pretty cool. There is a real chain connecting Jabba and Leia, and I’ve got a weakness for things made of metal. It’s on a slab of wood that’s about 6 inches wide, but the throne itself is only 4.5 inches wide. The pewter part is a little over 2 inches tall. Still, as it’s made of pewter, it’s quite heavy. The Jabba sculpt is not bad, although the face seems a little strange. I do like the throne. It’s well detailed.
Below is a shot of it with the other Rawcliffe pewter pieces I have (click for a larger view). It’s a little small compared to the other figures. I discovered that their standalone Slave Leia is actually exactly the same as the one on this piece (they just sort of cut her off and put her on a base). They also had a standalone Jabba that I now see is just the Jabba from this piece. The Leia isn’t too bad looking when you consider that her head is the size of the end of a Q-tip.
Jabba the Hutt POG Slammers by Canada Games
For the uninitiated, the game of POGs was a short-lived fad in 1990s. Essentially you have a bunch of cardboard disks called POGs that you hit with a heavier disk called a slammer, with the goal of turning as many of the POGs face-up as possible. It was VERY popular for a little while and then basically disappeared. There were apparently whole stores that specialized in POGs and related products, and there was even a pilot for a POG-themed cartoon show produced. I was a little too old to be interested at the time, so I never had any of these, but they made them for just about every popular property, including Star Wars.
These are some of the slammers that you would have used to hit the POGs with. They’re made of thick plastic and have a sort of iridescent quality that is difficult to photograph. If you turn them in the light, the shiny flecks sparkle. It’s hard to describe but it’s actually pretty cool. They made several colors of each slammer, so in addition to the blue and orange ones here, I know there is a red one and probably a green one. too. I need to see if I can track down some of the Star Wars POGs as well.
Mighty Beanz Jabba the Hutt
It was only a few days ago that I first heard these were going to be released, and I’ve already found them in a store. Mighty Beanz are a line of plastic capsules that are about 1″ long and are decorated with cartoony characters (some original, some from lines like Marvel and Star Wars). They each have a ball bearing inside that makes them move around in unexpected ways, and also lets them stand up on end as shown in the picture. The Star Wars line is supposed to have more than 75 different characters, but I don’t have a complete list. The characters from Jabba’s palace that I’ve heard of so far are Slave Leia, Max Rebo, and the Rancor.
If you’re looking for these right now, Target seems to be in the process of getting them. Some people have reported finding them, but none of the ones I checked in my area had them. They did have Darth Vader carrying cases and shelf tags for the Star Wars packs, so I imagine it’s just a matter of days before they get them. I finally found some at a Toys R Us. They’re $4.99 for a pack of 4 at Target but $5.99 at Toys R Us.
EDIT: Here’s some more of the Jabba-related beanz that I’ve found.
John Coppinger (left) and Toby Philpott in front of the painted version of the bust
Most of the items I write about on my site are things in my own collection, but I’m going to make an exception for this. John Coppinger, who sculpted and painted the original Jabba puppet from Return of the Jedi (and operated Jabba’s eyes by remote control to boot) created this wall-hanging bust from one of the original skins created for the movie, shown below.
The original skin
According to John, the foam was still in remarkably good condition after more than twenty five years, and he wanted to preserve it in a more sturdy medium like fiberglass. He did an extremely limited run of these busts and sold them for a time through the Prop Store of London. They are no longer available through Prop Store, but I recently exchanged emails with John and was happy to hear that there are still a very small number of these available.
They actually made two versions of the bust: a fiberglass one that was realistically painted (shown above) and another made of cold-cast aluminum, entitled “Han Solo’s Revenge.” I think I actually prefer the metal version, since it reminds me of a classical sculpture of some kind (and also has a “Jabba in Carbonite” vibe to it that I like). They are 60″ wide, 37″ tall, and 6.5″ deep.
The cold-cast aluminum version of the bust
If you’re interested in purchasing or would like more information, you can contact John through his website (there is an email link at the very bottom of the page). I can’t afford one at the moment, but hopefully someday…
Engraved plaque on the back plate of both versions
Jabba the Hutt Kubrick and Cardboard Display Background
Let’s face it. Jabba himself is the real draw for the Jabba’s Palace wave of Kubricks. Each of the other figures in the wave comes with “bonus” parts that can be assembled to create Jabba on his throne. How cool is that? They really did a good job on him. I think the paint is just about perfect, both in terms of the colors they chose and how they were applied. Of course it’s really only the trademark Kubrick arms that really make him obviously a Kubrick, but that’s a minor issue.
Each “master case” (containing 4 boxes of 12 figures) came with a single cardboard background that you could use to display the figures. Medicom claimed they were really for use by stores, but I think that’s bull. Even in Japan there are relatively few stores that would have a display of open Kubricks. This background is really just another “chase” for the customers to search after. In any case, they are relatively rare since only people buying master cases got them, leading to prices of nearly $100 on eBay. Even in the pricey world of Kubricks, paying $100 for a cardboard background seems dumb. I did hear of some online merchants selling some for $40, but I missed out on those. I was starting to think I wouldn’t be able to get one when I tried submitting a “best offer” of $40 to an eBay seller who had listed theirs for a lot more. Luckily my offer was accepted. $40 is still too much, but I’ll have to admit that it does add to the display. (Just in case anyone notices, I forgot to include Boba Fett in these pictures, and I don’t have the Yak Face Kubrick, as it’s rather expensive.)
The background is clearly an homage to the cardboard Power of the Force diorama, right down to the Rancor in the pit below, but it’s much simpler in design and uses thicker cardboard, so I actually prefer this to the original.
Bib Fortuna Kubrick (Jabba’s Palace Wave)
Aside from Amanaman, the other totally new figure in this wave (aside from Jabba) is Bib Fortuna. I’m a little undecided about the face they went with for him, but otherwise he’s very nicely done.
His “build-a-Jabba” part is the other end of Jabba’s throne.
Mighty Jabba's Collection 
