Sio Bibble - EI - Basic

Naboo's governor, Sio Bibble, remains on his besieged planet while Queen Amidala travels to Coruscant. Meanwhile, the Trade Federation's invasion begins..

Is he of some significance or relevance in The Phantom Menace or is he just a Santa Claus lookalike background character? Whatever his lot in life, he was the rarest and most elusive action figure in the entire Episode I lineup. He was so obnoxiously unavailable in fact that collectors who swore they would never pay aftermarket prices did so from the closet and would never admit they did. What makes Sio Bibble’s obscurity so perplexing is that he was just about as rare as the rest of the figures that shared his case assortment. But maybe because many of the other characters were “rehashes” of previously existing figures and Sio Bibble was truly “all-new” is what gave him the edge. The action figure itself is quite wonderful. Wonderful that is for a rotund, smiling and violet-eyed governor of Naboo. Hasbro created a faithful likeness to the onscreen actor, but if we’re honest, we have no idea how this character even made it to Hasbro’s radar. Then again, back in the Kenner days, Imperial Dignitary was just as odd (and equally purple). Sio Bibble is an action figure that adds more depth to the political confusion in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and other than that he is diorama fodder. Sadly there isn’t much else he offers to the line.

As the Episode I line came to a close, Sio Bibble was a tail-end Charlie. In fact, he made up the final wave of Collection 2 figures in the Episode I line. As we all have learned pretty early on, as the line look changes, the last couple of waves in that line look seemingly are the most difficult to find. When collectors started realizing this figure had hit, Sio Bibble commanded over $25 on the aftermarket. That is a significant up-charge for an action figure that should cost you no more than $6.99. The figure itself is excellent. The head sculpt has a great likeness, albeit not perfect, but Hasbro managed to capture his head and facial hair beautifully up to and including the bald spot on the top of his crown. There is a great amount of detail in his outfit. The purple and gold colors used have been translated well and they help to express his sovereignty and royalty nicely. The way they designed his jacket interferes a little bit with the lower leg movement, but overall this is a figure that you’re just going to pose on a shelf. You don’t need him running or leaping or doing anything too energetic. In other words, he’s fine as is. His articulation is pretty basic, like POTF2 basic. Hasbro took some risks in the Episode I line by giving figures additional articulation, but they remained conservative with Sio Bibble. It’s all good.

Sio Bibble comes with a much appreciated, but unnecessary Naboo blaster pistol. The gun fits nicely into his left “firing” hand, but also works well in his right hand. Other than that, this figure come with nothing else. You’ll have to appreciate him for his “beauty” and excellent likeness and pretty much things end there for this action figure. Sio Bibble also comes with a CommTech chip which allows figures to talk and interact with other action figures. These CommTech chips went through a small transition towards the 200 phase of the Hasbro Star Wars lines. Instead of a metallic/pearly background (where the picture of the character and brief bio sits – on the back of the chip), these backgrounds were changed to solid white. Sio Bibble’s CommTech chip can only be found with this white chip. Other figures (who were carried forward during the transition) can be found with both types. We’re pretty happy about the release of Sio Bibble as an action figure. It’s not about his role in The Phantom Menace. It’s about Hasbro thinking outside of the box and not going for the first idea that makes the most sense. The basic figure line has always been about diversity for main characters as well as background characters. Sio Bibble illustrates this perfectly.