VTSC Sand People figure reviewed

[plasticfetish]

Sand People always hang single file on the pegs to hide their prices.

When I was a kid there were two Star Wars figures that you really wanted to have at least a pair of. The first and most obvious was the Stormtrooper. (Who could have just one?) The other choice for the budding army builder (long before the concept really existed) was the "Sand People" figure. It was an unspoken rule that you'd need two or three to attack that landspeeder, and to knock Luke with the telescoping lightsaber (but you'd pretend he didn't have it yet) to the ground. For whatever reason, the Sand People figure, with it's vinyl cape and that funny stick weapon, was one of my favorites. (I'd always pretend that Greedo, another favorite, was secretly leading them.) So, how does this new "vintage" version of the old Sand People figure rate compared to that classic gem?

First, how's the packaging? This vintage style packaging isn't exactly a new concept at this point, but it deserves the praise it's due. In particular, and for whatever reason, I happen to think that this is one of the best looking carded figures of the new VTSC (vintage the saga collection) bunch. More than likely it's just the nostalgia factor working its magic, but I really like the way this one turned out -- which is kind of silly, because the figure itself is pretty boring under the bubble. My one gripe, and I've mentioned this before about the vintage style packaging, is how the choking hazard sticker covers up so much of the Star Wars logo. It'd be nice if the card was more visible all around.

How does the figure look? Fresh out of the package, it doesn't look like much. The fabric robes cover everything except the head and hands. (Thinking about it some more, I think it would have been nice if they had packed the figure with the robes open.) The cloth itself is decent, but not perfect. It could stand to be a little darker and perhaps more aged. The quality isn't terrible, but I'm instantly noticing that the edges are bound to fray apart, and that some of the stitching isn't tied off. Still, I'm more than happy with the cut and fold of the fabric.

Under the robes there's a fair amount of detail. The torso and arms are nicely textured, the bandoliers are well detailed, and the head looks basically right, though it could maybe stand to be a bit more accurate. For what this figure is, and considering the price (between $10 and $12), I'd like to have seen a head sculpt and paint job that was better. The head's too round and the detail is a bit muddy -- both sculpt and paint. I'd have to look, but I'm guessing that this head may be reworked from an older Tusken Raider figure. Comparing it to the SAGA version or the POTJ version, it's perhaps not as good.

The figure comes with two accessories. There's the old standard gaffi stick, which as usual, is a bit off from being movie accurate. I'm not impressed by this thing -- it doesn't even seem long enough. As well, there's a nicely painted and detailed long rifle. Seems like they tightened up and repainted the POTJ rifle, doing a good job of it.

How does the toy feel? In general, this is a well built figure. The plastic used is firm, all of the joints are snug, and I'm really impressed by the way they've built the lower skirt onto the figure. Sometimes this just doesn't work out with these smaller figures, but this time it fits together well. My one and only complaint, and this is more of a design thing than a production issue, is how the elbows want to pop apart too easily. With that said...

What about play value? One of the main reasons to shell out the extra money for these particular figures, is the promised amount of detail and articulation. In many ways this figure does and doesn't deliver. I'm happy with the idea of having a Sand People figure with ball jointed shoulders, knees and neck. I'm even happy to have the wrist and ankle articulation, but the choice of a cut joint for the elbows is completely weird to me. This limits the play value and poses that you can put an otherwise fun toy into. More importantly though, there's the sad fact that these stupid elbows tend to break apart when you're fiddling around with the toy. Go to pull his robes off, and one or both of the forearms end up lost inside.

Taking into consideration what I said earlier about the Sand People figure being a natural classic when it comes to real honest-to-goodness play, I'd have to rate this version as being less than perfect. Better elbows would have made this guy great, but as is, he's just adequate.

Would I recommend that you buy it? Yes, I like this figure and in spite of the price that some stores are putting on them, I do recommend buying it. Would I rate this as being another one of those figures, like the original Sand People figure, that you need to have multiples of? Well, I suppose that all depends on the price. In my mind, as nice as this figure looks carded, and as much as it's more detailed (sort of) and articulated than previous versions, I'm not sure that it's worth nearly twice as much money. In this case my one "sand person" may just have to travel alone.

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More photos of this figure are located >> here << in database.

[JediTricks]

I don't get why collectors complain about those choke hazard warning stickers, they're not on the actual cards, and they're completely removable from the bubble.

Your review seems pretty good, you're totally right about the head sculpt and the lame elbow articulation - which they didn't even try to make look good when straightened (luckily it's under cloth to hide that). I think I like this figure more than you though.

[Kidhuman]

I love this figure. I have gotten about 5 of them so far. It is the perfect Tusken army builder. The only downfall is with the cape on, it bunches around his head. Otherwise it is perfect to me.

[Slicker]

I'm actually impressed with this figure. When I first saw it I thought Hasbro was making a BIG mistake by making it a softgoods cape but they managed to pull it off quite well. The material isn't nearly as thick as some of the capes in the past (i.e. Jedi robes) and it flows quite well from the pics.

[plasticfetish]

I don't get why collectors complain about those choke hazard warning stickers, they're not on the actual cards, and they're completely removable from the bubble.

Yeah, but you'd have to cut the protective case apart to get at it... which isn't exactly a fair option for those people that want to to keep them sealed. The real point is, that with a little thought and effort they could have come up with a better way of doing it. For $12 I shouldn't have to move a sticker that covers up part of the reason why I'm paying an extra $5 for this figure.

I think I like this figure more than you though.

Don't get me wrong, I like the figure. It's just that for what it's supposed to be (for the price) it should be better. It's not bad at all, but after paying $12 for a $7 figure, I shouldn't open it up and think, "Gee, that's pretty good." Again, with a little extra thought and effort they could have come up with better elbows, head sculpt or gaffi stick. For $12 this figure should be a 10 out of 10, not an 8 or a 7.

[Kidhuman]

You should have gone to WM, only ten bucks there, so the price is alot less. One of my favorite things about this figure is you can finally pose a Tusken with the Gaffi stick overhead.

[plasticfetish]

...they're $9.99 at TRU also. Can't understand where Target gets off charging $12. (I avoid the W*M if I can possibly do it.)

[JediTricks]

Yeah, but you'd have to cut the protective case apart to get at it... which isn't exactly a fair option for those people that want to to keep them sealed.

There's got to be a way to cut it open unobtrusively, of course I didn't find it with mine, I hacked the damn thing up bad. You have a point, but I still think they could just open the protector and take it out.

For $12 I shouldn't have to move a sticker that covers up part of the reason why I'm paying an extra $5 for this figure.

That's what you get for buying it at Target. They have to put it on there by law, it's either on the protector or the card, this way you can at least see the card still. The real problem is that they didn't foresee people stealing the POP tabs and didn't design a secure protector case - the jerkweed thieves are the ones who are really to blame.

BTW, I bought mine at TRU and am judging it on MSRP, not Target's inflated price. My guess is that they had it first and thought that'd carry them.

I'm actually impressed with this figure. When I first saw it I thought Hasbro was making a BIG mistake by making it a softgoods cape but they managed to pull it off quite well. The material isn't nearly as thick as some of the capes in the past (i.e. Jedi robes) and it flows quite well from the pics.

It's the exact same material (in a different color) from ROTS Shaak Ti's skirt, that worked well for her too, it's like a miniaturized burlap material, it's thin yet tough and takes bends & creases well.

[jedibear]

Granted, crammed into the vintage-style bubble doesn't show it off very well in the package, but that trade-off doesn't bother me with the nostalga factor of the packaging being such a big part of the presentation here.
Once out, the Raider is pretty cool. Yes, the fabric could be "aged" or "distressed" a bit in appearance, but it actually works pretty well (with some major futzing with). I like the posability of this figure...right now mine is on display with that iconic staff-over-the-head pose.
So far, there hasn't been a clunker in the lot of these new Vin-style figures...

(BTW...so glad these forums are back...you folks always make good reading!)

[JEDIpartner]

I really like this figure. It's funny how thins one is lingering on the shelves with Greedo. It's MUCH nicer than Greedo and a lot more interesting than either of the "hero" figures in this wave. Well done Hasbro!