The Star Wars Black Series is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Lucasfilm in 2021 with a number of special releases. These include a trio of figures that have been given a paint treatment to pay tribute to the original Kenner figures, and then placed onto Vintage cardbacks.
Greedo is one of these figures, released in May 2021 as an Amazon exclusive. Like the other Vintage carded figures in The Black Series, the card itself is a direct recreation of the original Kenner card down to the promo image, nameplate, backing colour and twin tramlines. The back of the card does continue the Vintage theme, but there is a modern twist added with the timeline for the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary, under this is the text
"Commemorate the first 50 years of Lucasfilm with figures inspired by the original Star Wars trilogy!"
Like the original Kenner packaging, the card does not allow the figure to be removed and resealed later like the normal Black Series box. You will need to rip the card or cut the blister to extract your Greedo figure.
The premise of these Vintage Kenner inspired figures is to take the existing Black Series figure and tweak and recolour it as it was in the 1970's and 80's. For Greedo, this means a full bright green jumpsuit with darker green rings around the elbows. The head and hands are presented in a similar blue with darker glossy eyes.
The new figure does retain some variances to the original, notably keeping hold of the gunslinger belt which never appeared on the Kenner release. The Black Series figure also has shoes rather than knee-high boots.
The paint apps are relatively plain but crisp and bright and where detail is added such as the eyes, or on the belt, the application is neat and tidy. There are some slight variations in coloured plastic between the upper thigh, waist and lower torso and the corresponding lower legs and upper torso. These are more noticeable under strong light.
The new Kenner version of Greedo uses the entirety of the original 2013 figure, minus the jacket. It is noticeable that the new Greedo's legs sit straighter in the hip joints while the original Greedo always stood a little bow-legged.
Greedo comes with the same small black plastic blaster as the original 2013 figure. The original Kenner figure had a blaster like Han's DLT-44 and Kenner Greedo held this in his left hand rather than his right. These changes to the original Black Series figure would have been more difficult and would have required new parts, so leaving the blaster 'as was' works with the sculpt and belt holster. When not in use the blaster slips neatly into said holster and holds position well.
Greedo has 16 points of articulation, the exact same configuration as originally used on the Black Series with double-jointed knees and single joint rotating elbows. All the joints on Greedo work as they should, and they are tight and ratcheted where they need to be for stability and to hold posing.
With such a slim build, Greedo is easy to pose without anything to get in the way of any of the limbs. He can shoot (first or second) draw or holster his blaster and gesticulate with his extra long fingers.
These Vintage figures are certainly aimed at a nostalgic market and collectors of a certain age who remember these original, often oddly coloured, Star Wars figures from their childhood. It is a niche within the wider niche of Vintage carded 6-inch figures that itself is a niche within the wider Black Series.
The beauty of the figure is most likely the card and keeping the figure carded, and it's good to see Amazon seem to have resolved the damage issue they've had on previous carded exclusives like the Carbonite Han Solo. But he also has a place in a loose collection and is not so wildly variant that he could - like the Kenner inspired 4-LOM and Zuckuss - sit within a standard Black Series collection without looking out of place.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, star wars, black series, vintage, kenner inspired, hasbro, greedo,
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