Sunday, September 23, 2018

Action Figure Review: Doctor Aphra from Star Wars: The Vintage Collection by Hasbro

    Don't be alarmed! This isn't a 6 inch scaled The Black Series version of Doctor Aphra! It is, indeed, the 1/18th scaled version of Doctor Aphra from the newly reignited Star Wars: The Vintage Collection. Series 2 and 3 of the Vintage Collection continuation just began hitting stores within the past week or so and I was stunned to walk into my local Wal-Mart Friday night and stumble on series 3. I haven't purchased a 1/18th inch Star Wars figure in two years as I mostly just collect the Black Series but I really wanted Doctor Aphra. I absolutely am loving nearly everything that Marvel is putting out in their Star Wars comics and Doctor Aphra is one of the best newly introduced characters. She's a rogue archaeologist with a lot of flaws but there's something inherently charming about the character, too (many others must have agrees as she won a fan's choice poll to earn a slot as a character in this series). The new Marvel Star Wars is absolutely one of my favorite Star Wars things ever and I'm really hoping that Hasbro continues to mine it as a source for more action figures (especially in the Black Series). While this figure isn't going to turn me into a Vintage Collection figure again (even though I still have plenty of my favorites around from the original years of the line). Let's check out Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 3 5/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, swivel/hinge knees, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge hips, mid-torso balljoint, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel wrists, and a double balljointed head.

Accessories: Blaster pistol and removable vest.

Non-Scalper Price: $12-$14 dollars
 Packaging:


* Let's start by showing off the Vintage Collection which is some of the best looking packaging around. Hasbro has been using it off and on for years and it continues to look astounding. Interestingly, while Doctor Aphra is a Marvel Comics based character, she has been given the standard Star Wars card logo. Some of the Expanded Universe figures were given the "Expanded Universe" designation so it would have been cool to have seen something more unique, though I couldn't tell you what that would have been. Doctor Aphra was released in a three pack at SDCC 2018 this summer along with BT-1 and 0-0-0. So far as I am aware this is the same figure as the Aphra from that set except she's by herself.
 The Positives:



* I love the sculpt here! Doctor Aphra has a very unique vibe to her removable red vest and her old school pilot's cap and googles, yet she still has that traditional Star Wars look to her. I like the way her pants sit higher up on the sides and how the vest fits over the shirt. She's a great looking rendition of the character.
 * Since she comes from a comic and has been depicted by many different artists (especially due to various covers) there isn't the same level of "accuracy" required as there is in capturing a figure based on someone portrayed by a specific actor, say. Still, this is easily recognizable as Aphra. She's quite pretty with a great roguish smirk and definitely appears Asian. Not that Asia is a place in the Star Wars Galaxy but, according to creator Kieron Gillon, if she were cast in a film she would be played by an Asian actress. Does that make sense? The paintwork is very clean and streets ahead of what we've seen on many of the 1/18th scaled figures released recently by Hasbro.




* Doctor Aphra's unusual tattoos are also very nicely rendered. The lines are clean and highly visible, even looking good despite the fact that they run across the elbow joint.


* Aphra's articulation is great. Her right hip is a bit inhibited because of her holster but everything else works like a charm. She feels like a very high quality, durable figure and you can get her into some incredible poses. This is so much better than the 5POA figures that Hasbro has largely been putting out over the past few years.


* Since Doctor Aphra doesn't mind turning to violence to solve her problems, she comes wielding her blaster pistol. It's a solid sculpt and even has a silver paint app on the muzzle. She holds it perfectly.



 * Her holster is rather cool looking and her blaster pistol fits right in for a snug, secure fit.
   Despite your feelings on The Last Jedi, which I know has divided the fan community like Lisa tore Johnny apart, I still think currently we're getting some amazing Star Wars stuff, particularly for those of us who grew up imagining the further ongoing adventures of the main OT cast. While it just ended Rebels was incredibly fun and nearly every Marvel title is just a blast. If you haven't read them you gotta give them a try. They're incredible and pay love to all eras of Star Wars. That being said, Doctor Aphra is a cool figure from this new era of Star Wars. She is well done and a Great and a 1/2 addition to the line. Hopefully Hasbro continues to pepper the line with more Marvel characters!



 This is the first action figure of Doctor Aphra that I've reviewed. For more figures from Star Wars: The Vintage Collection, check out the following:
Imperial Scanning Crew

8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. What's wrong with Doctor Aphra? I think Hasbro did a pretty fine job on her. I appreciate getting lots of characters from diverse sources rather than new versions of the same few Sequel Trilogy characters they've been putting out over and over. Besides, she's the main character of a popular ongoing Star Wars comic. It's nice to see Hasbro give the comics some attention.

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  2. Replies
    1. Doctor Aphra. She's been a major recurring character in Marvel's ongoing OT based Star Wars comic which is at around 50 issues and she's the star of her own self titled comic, Doctor Aphra, that's now in the #20s. She's a cool character, kind of an Indiana Jones styled archaeologist but definitely more morally grey and selfish.

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  3. If it weren't for Han Solo's pistol (that's how I always think of that particular blaster model), I'd mistake Dr. Aphra for a G.I. Joe character (and why hasn't Hasbro been making new Joes and Cobras, by the way?). How different is this line from the other three-inch figures I've seen that come in Star Wars Black Series-style packaging?

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    1. See, I think Aphra looks so Star Wars. Vintage WW1 and 2 era gear mixed in, a vest, high boots, lines on her pants. I think she's definitely one of the newer characters that just screams OT era to me.

      About new G.I. Joes, the Collector's club has been releasing some nice (but very expensive) subscription service figures. For mainstream retail I think Hasbro really suffered some setbacks during the poorly received Retaliaton line. The fact that the studio delayed the film's release by a year so shortly before it was scheduled put Hasbro in a bind. They had product already ready and on shelves in some cases, meaning that they had product sitting on shelves for 2012 for a film that was delayed until 2013 and then, once the movie hit, no one was that interested. Hasbro also cut the articulation back which was a big turn-off to G.I. Joe fans. Now, with Toys R Us out of the picture and the Collector's Club going away, there isn't much hope on the horizon for collectors unless Hasbro reinvents G.I. Joe or goes full blown nostalgia again. It feels like military toys are largely unpopular again (they've always kind of ebbed and flowed), so maybe Hasbro needs to revisit the Adventure Team?

      As to the Star Wars figures, the vintage collection figures are very close to and sometimes identical to the figures that were released in Black Series styled packaging. They use the "super articulated" model versus the standard 5 points of articulation that most of the movie figures have used since around 2015.

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    2. I have only two three-inch Star Wars figures -- Power Of The Force Boba Fett (the ordinary one, not the one with the flight pack) and a loose Boba Fett with Black Series-style articulation that pre-dates the Black Series. I know the Black Series has had two Boba Fetts (the normal one and the white one) but I haven't seen any new three-inch super-articulated versions lately.

      Oddly enough, I have seen Toryn Farr (a female Rebellion officer on Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back) at half-price at a mall toy section and that makes me even more surprised that Fett and the other bounty hunters haven't appeared at this smaller scale.

      It makes me sad that the Joes--which, for me, pretty much were the face of Hasbro--have gotten such poor treatment. I agree about the Retaliation toys; unless it was The Rock, very few other figures made it to the Philippines. I had my heart set on the Retaliation Steel Brigade trooper since it looked like a Spartan HazOp/Spartan Recon trooper from HALO but it was never sold here.

      Given Dr. Aphra's look, I already have a suggestion for the next character in this toyline: Rik Duel, one of Han Solo's rivals.

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    3. That Steel Brigade figure from Retaliation is an incredible figure. I think it is one of the five Retaliation figures I bought.

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