Kenner Star Wars Buddies Max Rebo
This is the last of the Jabba-related characters in Kenner’s “Star Wars Buddies” line of plushes. Max Rebo’s design is such that many people probably wouldn’t even know this was a Star Wars character just from looking at it. It just seems like a blue elephant. It’s kind of too bad that they couldn’t fit in something like his piano to make him more recognizable.
Saga Bib Fortuna by Hasbro
This is the newest Bib Fortuna figure, and the best one for my money. I wasn’t at all sure about his mouth when I saw pictures online. He appeared to be wearing very heavy lipstick, which really isn’t a feature of the character at all. I still think they probably could’ve done without the dark red around the lips, but I will say that when you see the figure in person it looks pretty natural.
He’s actually worse than the previous Bib Fortuna figures in terms of articulation, though. The lekku (head tentacles) basically prevent head movement, his outfit totally prevents any sort of leg movement, and his arms only move at the elbows and wrists. So basically all you can do is have him gesture in slightly different ways, or hold his dagger (which fits into his sash when you’re not using it). Ironically, the vintage figure is probably the best articulated version.
If you’re looking for a Bib Fortuna for a modern Jabba display, this is the one I would get. Open mouth aside, the sculpting on his head is quit good, as is the work on the body, and the paint work is nice and clean.
The Power of the Force Bib Fortuna and Original Trilogy Bib Fortuna are the same figure, but with slightly different paint jobs. They’re similar enough that I’ve decided not to even open my OTC Bib, so I’ve only got an out-of-package shot of the POTF version. I’m not really sure which is better. I’d say the paint is better on the OTC version, although it does have a blue tinge to his skin that I’m not crazy about.
In any case, the figure appears overly bulky, which is common with the POTF-era figures. I’m also not crazy about the hands and arms. There’s no articulation except at the shoulder, so there aren’t very many natural poses you can get out of this guy. His outfit and lekku (head tentacles) pretty much make it impossible to pose the rest of his body as well. He does come with a blaster (which I have temporarily misplaced) but it doesn’t really make much sense for the character, so I wouldn’t use it for display anyway.
John Coppinger (Jabba sculptor and puppeteer) and Toby Philpott (Jabba puppeteer and friend of the site) will be appearing at Celebration V this August in Orlando Florida. Here is the full guest list as of this moment. Unfortunately it’s looking less like I will be able to go, but I’m excited to see some Jabba-related people there even though it’s going to be focusing pretty heavily on The Empire Strikes Back this year.
Jabba the Grim
Chuck Harrison, author of the “Decaffeinated Coffee” web comic, sent me this doodle entitled “Jabba the Grim.” In case you couldn’t tell, it’s a mashup of Jabba and the McDonald’s mascot Grimace. Pretty cute.
It’s a little strange to call this a two-pack, since it essentially comes with three figures — kind of a bargain. But I guess the Han in Carbonite can be considered to be an accessory. Leia as Boushh and this version of Han Solo were both in the Jabba’s Palace Cinema Scene, but to get the Han in Carbonite you need to buy this two-pack.
Galactic Heroes Weequay and Barada Two-Pack
Hasbro loves to repack Galactic Heroes over and over, often forcing you to buy figures that you already have in order to get a couple of new ones. If you pick up the four Cinema Scene sets, you can get nearly all of the Jabba-related Galactic Heroes, but there are still a couple that you will have to buy via two packs, so I’ll do separate listings for these. But I won’t be doing an entry for Slave Leia & Sail Barge R2-D2, for example, since you can get both them in the Jabba Cinema Scenes.
This one includes Weequay and Barada. Weequay is the same figure you got with the Jabba’s Skiff set, but Barada is only available in this two-pack. He’s an okay figure, but nothing to get too excited about.
Galactic Heroes Rancor Pit Cinema Scene
This was a Toys R Us exclusive, and includes the Rancor, two identical Gamorrean Guard figures (same as the one from the Jabba’s Palace set), and a Jedi Luke (the same one from the Jabba’s Skiff set). I think it’s pretty silly for Hasbro not to have included a Rancor Keeper figure with this set instead of one of the Gamorreans. As it is, you’re basically just buying it for the Rancor, since the other figures are recycled from other sets.
Still, the Rancor is pretty nice, even if he looks a little odd. His mouth is large enough that he can “eat” a figure, and his tail opens up so you get the figure out (if you prefer, you can say that he “poops the guy out” ;)) The rancor’s bone is a separate piece, so you can have Luke use it to prop open the monster’s mouth if you so desire.
Galactic Heroes Jabba’s Skiff Cinema Scene
The Jabba’s Skiff set includes Jedi Luke, Han Solo, Boba Fett, and Weequay. But the real reason for the set is the skiff vehicle. All of the other figures are duplicates of things you can get in other sets (or in the case of Weequay, in a two-pack). The skiff is pretty well done, although it seems a little small compared to most of the other Galactic Heroes vehicles like the X-wings. It has moveable rear sails, a moveable instrument panel, and an extending gangplank.
Galactic Heroes Jabba’s Sail Barge Cinema Scene
The Jabba’s Sail Barge set is a Toys R Us exclusive, and is still available in stores as I write this (all of the other sets are not available at the moment, although they do periodically bring them back). With this set you get Jabba (the same on from the Jabba’s Palace set), two thirds of the Rebo Band (Max Rebo with his piano, and Droopy McCool), Slave Leia, drink-serving R2-D2, Boba Fett, and Jedi Luke. The only figures in this set that you can’t get elsewhere (either in the other Cinema Scene sets or in two-packs) are the ones for the Rebo Band, so they’re the main draw for this set. That’s why I find it so strange that they didn’t make a Sy Snootles figure to complete the band. Maybe we’ll get one later, but I kind of doubt it. In any case, Max and Droopy and really well done. I love his piano (apparently called a “Red Ball Jett Keyboard”). I think this is the only Max Rebo action figure to include the horn-like part of the keyboard on the left side.
Mighty Jabba's Collection 