Wedge Antilles - TVC - Basic (VC28)

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Wedge Antilles is an anomaly in the Star Wars basic figure line. For a background Rebel who survives three significant battles in the Original Trilogy, the character certainly didn’t get the proper respect deserved regarding a place in the basic figure line. Now, we have an installment based on the third appearance in the Original Trilogy, thanks to The Vintage Collection. The previous oversight doesn’t mean Hasbro completely ignored Wedge, but the character seemed more of an afterthought than a proud addition. Wedge Antilles popped up here and there throughout the years, even once as an exclusive, but mainly as a pack-in figure for various exclusive or general release items. The best version of this Rebel hero, not including The Vintage Collection version, is the one that came in 2009’s LC Wedge Antilles’ X-wing Starfighter Target exclusive. Would it make us proud to finally see Wedge get a coveted place in the basic figure line? Well, yes. But we’re not satisfied. In a sudden last-minute move, Hasbro decided to yank Wedge Antilles from Wave 3 of The Vintage Collection in November 2010. They wanted to finally do right by this character and design an all-new head sculpt with a few other refreshers. They originally planned to repackage the figure from the 2009 Legacy Collection Wedge Antilles’ X-wing Starfighter Target exclusive set. And since hindsight is always 20/20, that may have been the best route to go because the whole drama surrounding this action figure was anything but smooth. Despite good intentions, Wedge Antilles was to see even more problems.

After Hasbro pulled the figure from the intended wave, they only managed to squeeze Wedge Antilles into ONE case assortment, the infamous “Revision 11” assortment. Yes, there were eleven case assortment variations of Wave 3. That one case didn’t nearly come close to filling or meeting demand. What made matters worse was that this case was only available online. And then single-carded samples began commanding ridiculous secondary aftermarket prices, infuriating fans. (Editor’s Note: Hasbro has included Wedge Antilles and the Gamorrean Guard as carry-forward figures in future assortments.) All Hasbro tried to do was to ensure a definitive interpretation of Wedge Antilles, but things fell apart. Things went awry and ended up causing more distress than intended. The high levels of angst this issue created are ironic since Wedge Antilles is essentially an old action figure with a new head. There’s a little more brought to the table here. Hasbro made a small switch with the lower legs, which placed the ammunition belt on the figure’s left leg instead (first seen on Griz Frix (Red Five) (X-Wing Pilot) from the 2011 SW [SOTDS] Battle Over Endor (2 of 2) Toys R Us exclusive multipack). But all of the other parts are the same. Of course, most of the figure originates from 2006's VTSC Luke Skywalker: X-Wing Pilot figure. We did notice some slight discoloration on some of Wedge’s features. For example, sections of the legs aren’t the same shade of orange as the midsection. Please understand that it’s barely noticeable, and you must look for it. Overall, this is a top-notch figure.

The new and improved portrait for Wedge Antilles is good. We wouldn’t call it fantastic. But while we appreciate this update, we do not see why Hasbro needed to “waste” the time and energy to develop all-new tooling. The available portraits would have sufficed. You may have a different opinion here, and that’s great. But again, would you rather have had Wedge Antilles part of the original wave assortment in a timely fashion, or would you have preferred to continue experiencing months-long difficulty trying to secure it for your collection? Wedge Antilles has nicely moving articulation points. They’re not loose, but they’re also not impossible to manipulate. The removable helmet fits a little too tightly for our liking, but at least it’s not loose and wobbly, which is often a problem for X-wing pilots. Taking off the helmet is challenging because the figure’s head pops off when attempted. Hasbro painted the helmet with precision, and the details are sharp. There are many details flawlessly applied. Besides appearing slightly too short, Wedge Antilles may remain the definitive version. That’s fine by us, and besides, we’d like to see a snowspeeder pilot version next, anyway. (Editor’s Note: Hasbro released 2014’s TBS [P1] Wedge Antilles (#29) figure, which is the character in the snowspeeder pilot outfit). Variation hunters, beware. Wedge Antilles comes on three unique cards. One has updated graphics on the card back, including the correctly carded Revenge Of The Sith Yoda, and they updated the historical reference image and changed it to a scene from Return Of The Jedi. The third version comes with a 2012 Life-Sized Darth Maul Statue promotional offer. There are a lot of notes to take when you’re talking about Wedge Antilles!