Hasbro Star Wars 3.75" Bounty Hunters at the Executor's Bridge

There are a lot of Bounty Hunters character in the Star Wars universe but when referring to the Original Trilogy, 6 out of 7 appears here... at least to how my memory serves. The 7th guy (or Alien species to be specific) was none other than Greedo. Killed by Han Solo of course, inside the Cantina on Tatooine.
Here, we have (L to R) Dengar, Boba Fett, IG-88, Bossk, Zuckuss and 4-LOM. All 6 of them were summon to the bridge of Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer (SSD) flagship The Executor. The mission were to capture the Millennium Falcon and its crew in the plot to lure Luke Skywalker to Darth Vader so that he can persuade Luke to join the darkside.
Hasbro has, through the years, produced quite a few 3.75" versions of each of the 6 Bounty Hunters over the years. I believe I've assembled 6 of the best looking version for this ensemble. My dream is still to own high quality 1/6 scales (12") figures of these 6 characters. So far, only Boba Fett, Bossk and IG-88 were ever given the high quality 1/6 treatment mostly by Sideshow Collectibles & Medicom. Hasbro made the other 3 into 1/6 scale figures as well but being Hasbro, they are more toy like and meant to target children instead of adult collectors.

BOBA FETT

Let's start off with the most popular of the 6 Bounty Hunters, the legendary, the most bad arse looking, the coolest and brainiest Boba Fett! Why brainiest? He is the only one who outwitted Han Solo and saw through Han's plot in floating the Millennium Falcon away with the Imperial garbage as a cloaking ruse. Little did Han knew, Boba Fett was right on his tail that leads Vader to Bespin and thus complete his mission. Of the few liners he got in the Empire Strikes Back, he says "He (Han Solo) is no good to me dead".
Combat skills wise, Boba Fett is really just a bummer. Sent to the Sarlacc's pit by a half blind Han Solo in The Return of the Jedi. Nevertheless, he has already earned a cult status and has a huge fan base all thanks to his good costume design.
The Boba Fett I chose to showcase here is a milestone figure by Hasbro Power of the Jedi series released in 2000. It is the 300th Figure Special Edition. You cannot believe that this figure is already 13 years old. At that time, this Boba Fett showcase the best sculpting and details for a 3.75" SW figure at that time. And it is a Empire Strikes Back version with the green forearm gauntlets as the clear indication. This version has limited poseability and it is pretty much frozen in this stance. I really should track down a Legacy (2008) ESB Boba Fett version sometime down the road.

Boba Fett survive another sequel to the movie migrating from The Empire Strikes Back to Return of the Jedi. None of the other 5 bounty hunters attain this glory to do the same. And Boba Fett got some "upgrades" in terms of having a nicely painted back jet pack (ESB version was mostly just sage green in color). And he also has a crimson colored forearm gauntlets.
The figure I have here was from Hasbro's 2007 Star Wars 30th Anniversary Saga Legends series.

BOSSK

Next up is my personal favorite among the 6 bounty hunters on the bridge. Although Bossk's screen time in the Original Trilogy only lasted like less than 5 seconds (and I'm gut guessing it), it has left a good enough impression on me. But the lizard face design is kinda generic of how a baddy will look but kudos to the character designer, they bother to give Bossk proper scaly lizard like arms and legs and a "bare footed" one to boot.
Here I have a 2007 the SAGA collection Bossk. The details of this figure far surpasses any other prior 3.75" versions ever released. Huge amount of articulations for a little figure like this. This time round, Hasbro also bother to apply some paint apps on the weapons and the sling of the blaster is now painted brown. Can tell that Hasbro has gone the extra mile in detailing of their 3.75" scale line and that is a welcome bit. However, cost of a single figure has also went up quite a bit since I started collecting them in 1999.

I also has a 1997 POTF2 Bossk in my collection as shown. Do a little comparison and it is not hard to pick up quite a few differences. But still, this Bossk is one of the better sculpted figure in the POTF2 line

IG-88

The 3rd guy ... erm, Robot, in the list is also my 3rd favorite of the bunch. IG-88 was introduced as an Assassin Droid. Hence I'm not sure why it is on the bridge for the kind of mission that Darth Vader sanctioned. The idea is to lure and capture, not to kill... so how does an Assassin Droid fits the job? Perhaps it has a lack of job and will take on anything whenever available. A robot head is same as a lizard head, both not too smart nevertheless LOL!
The IG-88 here is from SAGA Legends of 2010 - 2011. True to it's status of being an Assassin, Hasbro faithfully given the bot 2 weapons (or 4 if you consider the chopper and grenades as one too). At this scale, I don't expect the legs to be telescopic ie extendable or retractable and it doesn't.
What I really appreciate is the amount of details packed into this little figure. Wires on the legs, belt bandolier details and all the other itty-gritty robotic lines, bolts and nuts. Mind boggling.

For comparison sake, I happen to have a vintage Kenner IG-88, from 1980, in my collection. The bluish blaster is a good indication of its age. And I'm missing the short blaster. However, a figure from 33 years ago still bears the very impressive sculpting and details. But it is easy to compare the many differences and how far the latest version has advanced.
There wasn't too many IG-88 made since the first modern line of Star Wars 3.75" figures, the Power of the Force 2 line in 1997, were back up in the pegs of toys sections. Seems like Power of the Jedi (POTJ) line in 2000 saw the first glimpse of a new IG-88. The next version came up from The SAGA Collection Vintage Line in 2007. This version is essentially the same as the one posted above. Hasbro is good at having a single version of figure and repackage it with different lines through the years.
I'm still needing to hunt down a Sideshow 12" IG-88 at a good price!

DENGAR

The only human species Bounty Hunter on the bridge. Dengar is also known as "Payback" and that nick suit him aptly. He got a pissed off face and a burly stature. Getting some payback wouldn't be a problem at all for Dengar.
This Dengar was covered exclusively and extensively in this very RED6 Blog here. So I'm not gonna dwell into this version too much.
Instead I'm gonna track a little bit of history for the 3.75" line just for this figure specifically.

1981 Kenner Empire Strikes Back Dengar
1997 Hasbro Power of the Force 2 Dengar
2004 Hasbro Star Wars Saga Dengar
2010 Hasbro The Vintage Collection Dengar VC01 which is the one here.

ZUCKUSS

Based on what was written of Zuckuss, he was actually a Bounty Hunter with a special skill for tracking and finding "hidden quarry". Who knows Boba Fett actually got to Han Solo first. Some special skills he has eh?
The Zuckuss version I've decide to use in this line up is in fact an older version from POTF2 Freeze Frame series from 1998. It has a molded robe - as in everything is molded on a 3.75" figure at that era. But what stood out is that paint apps were especially given attention. The dry brushing on the detail infested robe really brings out the 3D feel and make it believable that it is mimicking a leathery material garment. Head sculpting is also ahead of it's time.
This POTF2 version withstood the sands of time, 15 years later, it is still relevant and looking outstanding.

Here is it's vintage counterpart. When the original Zuckuss figure was released by Kenner back in 1982, Kenner actually mixed it up with 4-LOM and had "4-LOM" printed on the card instead. So when you want to search for a vintage Zuckuss 3.75" figure, you could get a better coverage if you also search the key word "4-LOM".
At one time, I was looking around for good condition lose vintage Star Wars 3.75" figures. And this Zuckuss was acquired at that time. But I think the weapon I had on it in this picture is wrong.
The latest version of Zuckuss was released in 2009 with The Legacy Collection. Do a quick comparison and imo, it is like a step back from the version 11 years prior to it.

4-LOM

Not too sure if 4-LOM is the partner with Zuckuss or is Zuckuss's sidekick. It is not difficult to tell that 4-LOM shares the same chasis body with C-3PO. And it was a Protocol Droid before it's chips were altered by another computer and it become a bounty hunter. The design of this character is kinda unimpressive and I have never been able to wrap my mind around a C-3PO type being menacing and is a bounty hunter. Hence 4-LOM is my least favorite among the 6.
This 4-LOM I have in the picture is from Hasbro's 2007 Star Wars 30th Anniversary item 30-41. Articulations, together with great details sculpting are the selling point of modern Star Wars 3.75" figures. 4-LOM has all these but this particular figure I had has a locked left elbow. More of a manufacturing defect than a design.
4-LOM wasn't only unpopular to me but probably not very well received by most Star Wars fans as well. The only other modern version that was available were from 1997 POTF2 series.

And I happen to also has a vintage 1982 Kenner "Zuckuss" (which is 4-LOM actually) in my collection. The weapon is wrong - again - here. Seems like it is difficult to buy lose vintage figures and expect it to come with it's original weapons... or any weapons at all.
Vintage figures exudes those chunky stocky old school look which is charming in their own self. The modern figures are sleak, neat, full of articulations and full of amazing detailing.

Last Words
The small figures have come a long way and it is still improving in the articulation and detail sculpting area. And they are becoming more interactive as well with some figures that now have removable helmets (Stormtroopers, Boba Fett etc) and Dengar can even remove his pelvis armor piece. However the price of each figure is coming up fiercely (S$19.9 each now). Be very selective and buy only the character you wanted or wait for 20% sale.
With the 1/6 scale (12") figures price keeps escalating and reaching new heights, I can take some of my collecting budget to buy these 3.75" which gives an almost equal sense of satisfaction. They are smaller means easier to keep and there are no box to worry about :)