Labria - TSC - Basic (SAGA 073)

It’s amazing how Hasbro managed to take several old figures and completely transform them so they’d be acceptable for re-release in The Saga Collection. Sometimes all it takes is a great paint job to make something old "new" and since it's unlikely that Hasbro may ever revisit some of their earliest cantina patrons, we think it's pretty incredible that they repainted some to make them fresh for collectors now. Labria is one fine example of this cost saving practice. The Devaronian drunkard may be severely lacking in most of the areas we all expect to see a higher level of quality in these days; but we still think he’s a worthy addition to your collection. Part of the very last wave of The Saga Collection (and also a Walmart exclusive), Labria comes to collectors new and revitalized in some impressive ways. (That's if you can accept him despite his limited articulation.

If Hasbro were to give us a straight repack of the Labria figure from the 1999 POTF2 Cantina Aliens Cinema Scenes set, we’d probably look at it on the pegs and be pretty unimpressed. So what makes this new version so special? It’s the hugely improved paint job. Hasbro has proven many times in The Saga Collection that stellar paint applications can make an old figure feel exciting and new again. The skin color looks a lot more movie accurate and all the details like those nasty orange teeth in that devilish grin of his, the dark shadows around his creepy eyes, even the big ugly veins in the back of his head; have all been captured perfectly. Even the cool looking gun has a nicer deco this time. In addition to his weapon and a removable plastic cape, the Mos Eisley spy also includes a (mislabeled) The Saga Collection display stand (which tells us he is sourced from Attack Of The Clones) and the little pack-in hologram figure that no one will miss.

So where does Labria fall short? Well, basically he’s got all the problems that make most POTF2 figures obsolete these days. And that might deter some collectors from purchasing him (and a couple of his Walmart wave mates as well) despite the big improvement described. He has limited options for posing him as he only comes with six points of articulation, and the sculpt (at least below the neck) hasn’t got a lot of detail to it. Realizing that this figure is from the 90s, it's still an improvement thanks to Hasbro's attention to detail in the art department. Because of this, we must recommend adding him to your collection. It’s just not likely that there will ever be a completely new Labria figure, so this is probably the best version we’re going to get. He’ll look great in those cantina displays. And if you look past those POTF2 flaws, he actually fits in quite nicely.