Star Wars Vintage Collection Wicket (Yub yub!)

Or Wicket W. Warwick, OBE, to be precise.

Ok so maybe he's not an OBE but he does have a very distinguished name for a hairy little furball.  Who knows?  Maybe in Ewok culture that "W" in his name means he's the most heroic and resourceful Ewok alive.  Kinda like George W. Bush is a resourceful Ewok...Nah, you're right.  Even the Ewoks would consider themselves way smarter than W. :P

Hasbro has really upped their game for Star Wars figures of late.  Yes, any new figures should be better than any of the first generation releases in general, but the current Vintage line blows all previous figures out of he water.  At least the new sculpted, new articulated ones.  And no prizes for guessing where Wicket falls.

 More after the jump!

Like: That lovable face! fur, paint, eyes, and those cute-ass gap-teeth! His face looks to be sculpted in brown, with a dark black wash and lighter brown/whitish drybrush highlights.  His eyes are jet black with shiny spots painted on them, just like in Return of the Jedi, while his teeth are so tiny on this guy but yet painted so sharply.

There's even little spots of pink in his ears.  And for your regular action figure, I'd say that's a little bit more than usual.  But Wicket isn't just regular, is he?  No siree!

Like: You gotta give it to them--Hasbro certainly didn't stop at the face when it came to detail.  His fur on the rest of his body has a dark wash, while his belly patch and toes are painted a creamy white.  Heck, they even painted the pads on his feet!

Like: The modern Ewok articulation.  Ewoks used to be 4-points when it came to PoAs.  Now look at them!

Like: The change of clothes he comes packed with.  I mean really, all that jungle bashing has really got to get his hood soiled.  The good thing is that they don't cover his lower body at all, so pee stains would be no problem at all, especially when Wicket's gotta go.  Besides, there's always plenty of bush around Endor...

Because he managed to seduce Leia with nothing but his undergarments and spear, Wicket is the champion of his kind.  And as befits a celebrated hero, Wicket's got more possessions than his kin, which means double the outfits!  With the extra clothes, he's practically the Barbie doll of Ewoks.

Beckoning you to come over? ...

Why he's flipping you off!  The little bugger!

Dislike: That he's rather hard to find.  And it's rather odd that Ewoks get slammed for being the original Gungans and yet they get swiped the minute they hit the pegs.  Admit it: Ewoks are cute.  Cute but badass.  And none more so than Wicket.  But in Hasbro's defence, they do get their product out there, so while Wicket may be tough to find now, there's a great chance that he'll unlikely remain so.  Do this is probably the only dislike and it's highly likely to be a temporary setback anyways. :)

Like:  That all the Ewoks from different generations go well together.  Unless it's the very first release, then in that case the old figure look just that--old and dated.  But on their own they still look great, and on their own or in a bunch, the new Ewok figures just have amazing symmetry.

RATINGS

Lovably off-balance?

Guess again...

Aesthetics: 10/10 - This has got to be the pinnacle of Ewok likeness in 3.75 inch form.  There's no way Hasbro can top this.  If they do, then they probably will have traded their souls for an eternity of toy-making hell, where they'll be forced to redesign and make Wicket every day, and just when the sun sets and they've produced the perfect action figure, it crumbles before them and they have to start anew again...

Yes, I have to stay off sugar at three in the morning...

Poseability: 8/10 - As far as Ewoks go, he's got all the best articulation ever seen on Ewok figures, except he's missing a waist swivel.  And I have to say that's a crucial point for Ewoks, because their cross-sections are more or less round, meaning that they'll never look cut in half when you have them turn to either side.  He probably doesn't have this joint because he never had it in Jedi--Warwick Davis managed to play him without ever turning his trunk so we don't get one. :P

Offering you a treat from his bag?

Why those look like a couple of...

Fun: 10/10 - Like I mentioned earlier, there's always something sneaky about Ewoks, especially Ewoks named Wicket.

Just imagine if he didn't help Princess Leia but instead stabbed her in the back and brought back the spoils of his hunt back to the village.  It could have happened at any time. And they were about to eat Han, Luke and Chewie before they thought ol' Goldenrod 3PO some sort of deity.

Cutely accosting a Scout Trooper?

I think not!

But they can be nasty, as any stormtrooper on Endor will tell you.  Swinging log traps, rock bombs and vine tripwires prove it. But that's exactly what makes them fun: they're cute and cuddly yet deadly at the same time.  They're sneaky bastards!

All adorable and hug-able in his new clothes?

Value: 9/10 - Wicket comes with his brown hood another green hood of a different cut, his spear, and his manbag.

More like the terror of the night!

All these are well-tooled, with the spear head looking very much like sharpened rock.  There's also sculpted stitching on the hoods and the bag.  And the real value comes in the sculpt and paint on Wicket himself, with some excellent detail in both departments.

Overall: 9.25/10 - Even though he's half the size of most other figures, Wicket is definitely a must-have for Star Wars fans both casual and hardcore.  It sure looks like everyone is aware of this because you can't find him on the pegs in these parts.  I'm sure glad I got him because I needed a Wicket to be my crowning jewel in my gang of Ewoks and Endor display.  I'm double happy he turned out so well, so if you do see him out there, you should pick him up--he'll be easy to sell on after if you decide you don't want cuddly lil' W. anymore.  As he would no doubt say, "Yub yub!"

Startled by a noise in the forest?

More like startling noise when he farteth!