Star Wars The Black Series Wicket review

Wicket doesn’t have a major role in Return of the Jedi, but he’s featured in a pivotal scene. And does some damage with his fellow Ewoks obliterating the Stormtroopers invading Endor.

I missed the first Black Series Wicket figure in the enclosed packaging but was happy to grab him in the 40th Anniversary Retro card presentation.

Let’s see if the cuddly Ewok earns a soft spot in my heart as well as my collection.

Packaging: I can’t hate when Hasbro rolls out the old school classic Vintage Card setup complete with the Kenner logo. The silver frame surrounding the ROTJ logo and a live action shot of Ewok’s debut is so classy. Along with the 40th anniversary of ROTJ on the top left. The blister card makes it nice and easy to see the figure and check out any flaws. That alone makes this better than the enclosed version.

The card back material is actually thick enough to get some cheap dents and folds like earlier Retro cards for the Black Series and G.I. Joe Classified Series figures. Over on the rear of the package we have the cross sells of the other figures comprising this wave of ROTJ figures. Hasbro does quality work on the bios for the Black Series so I definitely miss that here.

Likeness: I’m really impressed by Wicket’s sculpt. The Black Series sculptors did a fantastic job with the fur and nailing his likeness from the film. That’s probably not as hard as getting Harrison Ford or Mark Hamill’s likeness just so, but the reference photo and figure match up pretty closely.

The only thing that looks off is the missing stitch along the center of Wicket’s headwrap. The stitching is intact along the sides and on the back so it’s weird the sculptor missed the most obvious one.  Beyond that the headwrap/scarf hangs Wicket’s fur is nicely done with an actual sense of layering to get that full teddy bear visual. His belly is slightly sticking out as well.

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Paint: Wicket doesn’t have a lot of closeups beyond his initial meeting with Princess Leia so the reference photo is the best guide. It seems like he’s got a little too much white in the stomach and not enough in the face, which has too much brown. That feels like being a little too particular though. Most importantly, the paintjob nails the shiny, almost wet look of Wicket’s big bright eyes.

His wrap is suitably dingy orange with a well-utilized dark wash to further bring out the grime.

Scale:  As an Ewok, Wicket is clearly shorter than every other figure including the less than towering Princess Leia. He should come up to around her chest or slightly below it. He seems a tad smaller, but I don’t hate his scale.

Articulation:  The Ewoks didn’t move like ninjas and more or less wobbled along albeit faster than droids. Wicket’s articulation scheme is better than I would expect and covers all the essential movement he’d need.

Hasbro’s engineers sneakily added a mid-torso cut hiding underneath his head/body wrap.

And he can sit on a big log as well.

Wicket has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• hips
• ankles

Accessories: Given the dearth of accessories that come with some Black Series figures, Wicket has an impressive amount of gear.

First up is his spear. This was his main weapon in ROTJ. He has some additional weapons and tools of bloody Stormtrooper destruction.

He’s got what Hasbro calls drumsticks, but they could just as easily be a club and a torch. The smaller one has non-painted wraps around the tip resembling what they used to grill up Han Solo.

 

Finally, Wicket’s got a bow and arrow. The drawstring is one piece to provide that toy bow look. It does have a notch where you can place the arrow so it can actually rest in the bow.

I appreciate that since it might get tricky trying to keep a drawn bow pose for Wicket long-term. This is a rare case where the SWB team provides more than expected on the accessory front. Nice job.

Worth it?  Hasbro went with the standard $25 price point for Wicket. As welcome as his accessory allotment is, there’s just no way to justify that cost for a figure Hasbro could easily reuse the mold by constantly cranking out Ewoks. He’s now available for a more reasonable $18, which is still high. He’s the kind of quality figure that would be a tremendous find at Ross or Ollies where he’d be priced more accordingly.

Rating: 9 out of 10

I hate Wicket’s price, but he’s a really well-done figure. Hasbro even made a semi-good faith effort to balance out the costs by tossing in some extra accessories. The price holds him back from a 10, but in all other ways he’s an excellent figure.

Where to get it?  The 40th anniversary Retro figures seem pretty popular though Wicket’s price seems to keep in stock a little longer. Going online is probably the easier option. Entertainment Earth and Amazon still have him in stock.

As an Amazon and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.