"What do you want of me?"
"A recommendation—a letter of reference, if you will. I want into the Hutt Guardsman's Guild…with no questions asked."
"That's—all? But—but why?"
"Let's just say I need to retrieve some stolen merchandise…"
―Quaffug the Hutt and Lando Calrissian
After Calrissian was admitted to the Hutt Guardsman's Guild, he adopted the pseudonym Tamtel Skreej, with help from an associate in the nearby town of Anchorhead. In order to be placed in the Hutt's palace as a guard, Calrissian next had to endure certain "tests", such as leaping across the rancor pit and stealing krayt dragon eggs. Boba Fett himself acted as a referee for Calrissian during these trials. However, this was not enough to gain Jabba's trust and so, hoping to prove himself and impress the Hutt, Calrissian volunteered to enter Jabba's demolition games, piloting one of Jabba's modified desert skiffs. It was during this time that Lobot also came to Jabba's Palace, hoping to dismantle the rogue droid EV-9D9. Though Jabba was planning to feed the cyborg to his rancor, Calrissian suggested that Lobot instead be placed in the games with him. As Lobot did not know that the disguised Tamtel Skreej was in fact Calrissian, the two became opponents. Calrissian hoped to demonstrate his worth as an employee to Jabba by winning the competition, despite being forced to face off against a determined Lobot, as well as other contestants such as Aurra Sing, Quagga, and Boba Fett. Calrissian survived the games, and his performance in them was enough to impress Jabba.
I wouldn't say Lando is a character I particularly like in the Star Wars franchise but this Skiff Guard design really captivates me and this interest persist. Therefore I concluded it is not Lando that I wanted but the Skiff Guard character itself. It can be anyone in that outfit and I will buy the figure.
Well there is no need to go into detail review since watching a Youtube video on this is much relax and entertaining than squinting the eyes to read the monotonous text here. Just a brief "Likes" and "Dislikes" about this figure.
Likes!
Sculpting - High points given to the Sleeves and Pants sculpting that mimic natural flow of the cloth material very well. Helmet sculpting is excellent and headsculpt says immediately "This is Lando". It is that good.
Paint Works - High points again. The little loin cloth and the helmet painting gives a believable natural leather colour with some weathering. Chest and Shoulder armour pieces mimic metal and again subtle weathering. There are however some bleeding on the helmet to the helmet's visor but that's it. Acceptable (and inevitable) for a mass produce toy.
Removable Helmet! - I think this point speaks for itself. It is a functional piece but there is no compromising on the shape, size and the details. Underneath the helmet is an excellent Lando sculpt.
Dislikes!
Articulation - Elbow joints are really stiff on both arms. It has to be pulled - with force - and I wonder if the plastic hinge actually deform (instead of swivel) into position. It is that bad.
Groin joint is kinda lose - in contrast. No waist articulations but a torso one. My piece seems to also has a stuck torso which seem to lob slightly to the right permanently. Perhaps using some force (again) could center it. Will have to give that a try.
(Lack of) a Blaster - Lando has a blaster pistol he shot the Salaac's tentacle with. It is missing here. Not even a pseudo blaster sheath.
Overall it is still an excellent figure. Dislikes are there but is not a unique thing to this figure. Many other 6" Black Series figures suffer the same articulations issue.
Got this guy at S$35/-. The price seem to have settled around this amount so just get it before stocks dwindle. First toy purchase in 2021 and think I have gotten on a good start with a good figure.
Hope SH.Figuarts or even Bandai 1/12 model kit make one somewhere down the road. That should address the "Dislikes" portion. And there is also a Sideshow 1/6 version just started shipping. Buy or not? hmmm.....
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