Jabba’s Rancor Pit - TBS [P2] - Exclusives

In his palace on Tatooine, Jabba the Hutt treats Princess Leia as one of his slaves. Luke Skywalker infiltrates the palace but has no luck persuading Jabba to release his friends. Instead, the crime lord throws Luke into the rancor pit along with an unlucky Gamorrean guard. As the vicious rancor attacks, everyone gathers around to watch as Luke fights for his life!

Admittedly, we have lost much of our faith and hope in Hasbro over the last couple of years. Cranking out toys that seemingly have nice sculpts but to only be riddled with horrid paint operations makes them look more like an amateur toy company trying to get their feet wet in market instead of being a well-established leading toy company that they actually already are. That may seem harsh, but the collecting community has felt this unintentional abuse for much too long. The line in all honesty has been hit or miss. The future of the 3.75” super-articulated basic figure line still hangs in the balance as the attention and love for all things 6” is front and center through a constant façade of defense that it’s “doing well”. (We beg to differ on that.) And even when they did set their sights high in the 3.75” line for The Black Series line, the offerings were less than noteworthy. Even still, paint operations ruined what otherwise were definitive sculpts. Some of the most long-awaited first time offerings and ultimate updates suffered from these tragic sins. And then when it came time to deliver exclusives to the market, well, let’s just say they left a whole lot to be desired. For example, 2014's TBS [P2] Battle On Endor Toys R Us exclusive set may be the single most wasted opportunity of the entire exclusive program to date. It's amazing that Toys R Us entrusted Hasbro with another exclusive after it. This poor set of figures was situated around a re-release of a vehicle we really didn’t need to see again. Add to that an MSRP to make most collectors balk at (one penny less than one Benjamin Franklin before taxes), there was little the Battle On Endor set could do to capture the attention of longtime collectors. And none of us wanted to pay more than $40 for it. Sure, it was a great set for those just getting back into collecting, but between the inferior paint operations and bizarre screen inaccurate Ewok inclusions, to the inclusion of nothing new, it seemed as if the set was doomed to fail. (It hasn’t had record-breaking sales, let’s just put it that way.) Hasbro must have known deep in their hearts that they were losing their core longtime audience. Or maybe it was just serendipity that they finally have put their feet to the grind to produce a set to wow collectors. As the toy line began to concentrate on events leading up to The Force Awakens, Hasbro picked another Return Of The Jedi multipack to add to The Black Series 3.75” scaled line based on events within Jabba’s palace. Entitled, Jabba’s Rancor Pit, this captured the attention of most of the Star Wars buying public. We have to say immediately that it's exceeded our expectations and we're excited for its release.

For only $30 more than the pitiful Battle On Endor set, Toys R Us officially announced the Jabba’s Rancor Pit exclusive at 2015’s San Diego Comic Con where it also served as the chain’s exclusive (for SDCC) as well as their own chain. The bonus? It retails for a fair $129.99. It will also be part of the Fall lineup once more units can be produced and then be made available. It quickly sold out online only within a few hours after going up for order. Many were in grim denial until the proof was clearly evident, but the set boasts an all-new sculpt of Jabba The Hutt inside. Because of this alone, this multipack is warmly welcomed. Samples vary, but for the most part paint operations are where they need to be for a collectible item like this. We were worried about how Jabba The Hutt would turn out, but we're thrilled to report that he looks fantastic. Maybe he could use a tweak here or there, but this is the best Jabba money can buy. Clearly and evidently based on the digital files of the 2014 TBS [P2] Jabba The Hutt 6" figure, Hasbro scaled down that behemoth figure to scale it down to proper scale in the 3.75” line. The great thing about this new version of Jabba The Hutt is that it corrects what was wrong with the nice but imperfect 2010 SW [SOTDS] Jabba’s Throne figure (as well as all previous versions before it). This new version has stability; the rubbery tail and body are gone and the paint operations more closely reflect the character seen in Return Of The Jedi. Jabba comes with the same details as the 6” version, but without the opening mouth action feature (thank the Maker). We now have a Jabba The Hutt without a squished body, correctly colored eyes (that aren’t blood red) and an overall more accurate paint job (even though we would have loved to see some blood/flesh wound in the tail scar). Again, this is the best Jabba The Hutt figure in 3.75” that you will be able to purchase and for us it is the only reason to buy Jabba’s Rancor Pit even though the other contents of it are excellent too. We can’t recall the last time we received an all-new sculpt in an exclusive multipack, but here you go and it is truly worth the wait. With ball-jointed arms (in multiple places) and a swivel torso, Jabba provides collectors with premium movement. Another bonus to Jabba’s Rancor Pit is the inclusion of a repainted version of 2009’s TLC Jabba’s Rancor (With Luke Skywalker) TARGET exclusive beast/creature. The Rancor hasn’t been on the market since 2009 and has developed quite a demand in the six years it has ceased being on store shelves. The aftermarket values are astounding. This is a wonderful toy and it’s so nice to see it again in another exclusive.

It’s been repainted and differs from both versions released in 2009. (If you recall the Rancor received two distinct paint operations) and it too is the best coloring of the beast to date. This is another reason to purchase this set. Not only are the paint operations enhanced, the articulation is sturdier and tighter and can hold their positions much more easily. The rest of the set isn’t too shabby either. Collectors will receive four TVC quality super-articulated action figures that are scene specific for this exclusive, although they all differ from their original releases. These include repaints of 2009’s TVC See-Threepio (C-3PO) (VC06), 2010’s TVC Gamorrean Guard (VC21), 2011’s TVC Princess Leia (Slave Outfit) (VC64) and 20102’s TVC Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction) (VC87) figures. We should note that Luke Skywalker is actually a new tweak of the running change version of 2012’s TVC Luke Skywalker (Lightsaber Construction) (VC87) figure – the one with a lighter skin tone (that isn’t so tan). This version looks more like Luke than previous versions. While all of these are excellent releases to accompany this set, you have to wonder why Hasbro didn’t include more pack-in figures or some of the more highly sought after action figures that haven’t been released too widespread in the past. We’d like to ask Hasbro why figures like 2009’s LC Giran (BD21) and 2009’s LC Malakili (BD22) as well as the Oola pack-in figure from 2010’s SW [SOTDS] Jabba’s Throne Walmart exclusive didn't make the cut because these very much in-demand action figures only spent a fraction of time at retail when compared to the others. What’s more perplexing is the inclusion of C-3PO in this set as he was just released as 2015’s TBS [P2] C-3PO (#16) in the same The Black Series [Phase II] basic figure line. As you can see we’re slightly disappointed by some of these choices. Our disappointment is quickly overturned by joy because we have to admit that this is one of the sweetest exclusives we have see in 3.75” scale in a very long time. Is it flawless? Perhaps not. But it does cater to collectors both old and new as providing both key action figures that are always popular as well as an all-new Jabba The Hutt to keep the exclusive fresh and relevant on store shelves. We understand if this release isn’t for you, but we still feel that this is the way to make a great exclusive. And the value is here too. We estimate $50 for the rancor, $30 for an all-new Jabba, and four The Vintage Collection quality action figures at $13 each is about $52. If you add all of these amounts up you see that this isn’t an overcharge. As a result, this is a must-have release for us.