Chewbacca (Hoth Escape) - OTC - Basic (’05 #15)

The Rebel hero Chewbacca is a skilled mechanic who is always working on the Millennium Falcon to repair it or make it faster and more powerful. He sometimes loses his temper when the repairs don't work, such as when he and Han are trying to fix the ship and leave the Rebel base on Hoth before the evil stormtroopers arrive.

If you know anything about collecting Hasbro's Star Wars action figures, it's that you're going to see some of them over and over again. With some line looks they add more repackaged figures than others, but when it comes to The Original Trilogy Collection, Hasbro went into “repack overdrive” and Chewbacca (Hoth Escape) is a clear example of that. In all fairness, Chewbacca (Hoth Escape) isn't perfect, but it isn't a terrible action figure either. But we believe that the figure has reached a point in time where it's time to break the molds. Part of the standard The Original Trilogy Collection line as Chewbacca (OTC #08), it has been carried forward into the 2005 "transitional wave" with a new name and number so Hasbro can keep it out in the wild until the Revenge Of The Sith line hits. The figure comes with all of the same accessories in addition to the display stand. We wonder why Hasbro went through the trouble of redesigning the packaging!

This particular Chewbacca is an average action figure. The figure has a decent center of gravity, but his legs are posed awkwardly. He doesn't have too much trouble standing up, but he looks a tad bizarre doing so. The problem with all pre-2004 Chewbacca figures is the limited articulation that plagues them. When you’re a Wookiee, you need a lot more than seven points of articulation to be a useful action figure. What’s problematic in this scenario is that this version of Chewbacca is meant to represent the him from The Empire Strikes Back while welding the Millennium Falcon on Echo Base. The likeness is fair, but Chewbacca (Hoth Escape) isn't able to achieve positions that would be required while welding parts of the Millennium Falcon together. he figure does come with welding goggles, a torch and a display stand in case you have difficulty standing up your copy of him.

While not too many choices exist for a basic figure version of Chewbacca (i.e. not premium), Hasbro maybe should have used 2002’s SW [S - P1] Chewbacca (Cloud City Capture) (’02 #38) figure instead. That figure has much better proportions and better articulation. In fact, they could have repainted it somewhat to make it a unique release, but they decided to go with what we consider an inferior figure. Still, it wouldn't have been a perfect option. This figure isn't without merit. The torch is a neat accessory and the goggles can be held over his eyes beautifully. (They don’t go over his head, however.) OK, so Hasbro needed a quick placeholder or filler Chewbacca figure for a transitional wave of figures. Here it is. But we don’t think this sculpt does the character any justice. There are much better choices they could have resorted adding to the line instead. As we stated earlier, it's simply time to put this sculpt to rest.