April 4, 2021

Hasbro Star Wars 3.75" Vedain Skiff Guard - VC152 The Vintage Collection

 
From Wookieepedia :

Vedain was a Kajain'sa'Nikto slave owned by the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
Vedain was assigned to pilot the skiff carrying the prisoners : Luke, Han and Chewbacca, to the Great Pit of Carkoon to be fed to the Sarlaac as a form of execution.
A piece of interesting behind the scene trivial on this character :
Vedain was played uncredited by stuntman Paul Weston in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, the final installment of the Star Wars original trilogy. Weston's leg was broken while playing Vedain, as fellow stuntman Julius LeFlore, who was playing the Weequay Rintel Aren, landed on top of him.

Verdain comes in as TVC VC152 in the series and was released in June 2019.


Vedain was bought together with Vizam (and Brock Starsher) few weeks back. He is packed together as a 3 pack "Return of the Jedi Special" and thanks to a friend who help me snag it at a Takashimaya sale.
Honestly, Vedain is the only figure I really wanted in that 3 pack. He is going for quite a bit, as an out of package figure at Tunghori's. Almost pulled the trigger there but good thing my procrastination helped me save a few bucks.


There was relatively little screen time for this guy. Most significant scene was when he was doing the cha-cha with Lando on top of the skiff and eventually fell overboard straight into the Sarlaac's opened "mouth". Quite unimpressive actually. But his value comes when he is an integral part of the scene on the skiff being it's pilot/driver. If there is a skiff in the collection, Vedain is a necessity.


This is the first time Vedain is made into a 3.75" action figure and there are still quite a few of his colleagues - especially the goon who shot Luke's hand - that need to be made into action figures. Hopefully soon.

The ratings now.

Sculpting - 5/5
It will seems to be like a broken record by now for me to keep lauding about how good the sculpting is for these modern TVC figures. Vedain has all the qualities present with all his other skiff guard brothers. Nothing else much to point out now. If interesting in my specific take on pointers, do refer back to my earlier postings of the other Skiff guards starting from Wooof.

Painting - 4/5
Vedain too gets all the fine attributes of paint works that was present with his other Skiff guards brothers. The washes, the effort to have different colour for the "horns" on the head, paints on the fingernails and the list goes on.
BUT! BUT! The painter somehow decide that enough is enough. It would be nice to have the belt and the belt pouches painted - and in different shades of brown. Hasbro is totally capable of doing that. And to do a paint wash to finish it.
Coupled with some paint bleeds here and there.
Still a respectable score taking into consideration that this is a mass produced toy made in the thousands. Some bleed can be forgiven to a large extent.

Articulation - 4/5
Vedain has the same articulation point as Nikto Lathe (http://red-6.blogspot.com/2021/03/hasbro-star-wars-375-nikto-lathe-skiff.html#more) except that it has 1 more point of articulation on the torso area. That moves the score up 1 from Lathe.

Accesories - N/A
The figure came with a blaster pistol and also a removable head cape (or cap of sorts). In the movie, don't remember he uses the blaster. He has what he needs, and more, here.


Verdain is a very nice figure and the one I really wanted in the 3 pack. Glad that I got it at a very reasonable price mint on card.
This is my final installment for TVC Skiff Guards for now in this blog. I know there is still a Skiff Master I'm missing. Will keep on looking for one and until then, hope Hasbro release more of his brethrens in the TVC line. Giran, that was release under The Legends Collection (back in 2012), is actually good enough to be repackaged into a TVC figure straight away. That need to happen quickly. It is basically effortless on Hasbro side. Till then...



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