Skiff Guards, you have work to do, Hasbro.

[bigbarada]

First off let me say that Hasbro's 1998 Skiff Guards three-pack was probably the most misrepresented Cinema Scene of them all. Of the three figures offered, only one of them (Barada) was actually on one of the two skiffs in the film. The Nikto was one of the Sail Barge gunners and the Klaatu was another Sail Barge guard.

Of the key skiff in the movie (the one Luke, Han, Lando and Chewie were on) we have only gotten a figure of one of the guards on that skiff (Weequay). That leaves four characters who have never before been immortalized in plastic (Kithaba is kind of a strange pseudo-exception since the vintage Barada was scultped correctly but painted with Kithaba's colors, not Barada's).

Those four are:

Kithaba - the other Klatooinian
Vedain - the Nikto Skiff Driver and the one Lando wrestled with
Queequay - the other Weequay (yes, I know that according to EU all Weequays are referred to as Weequay; but that's just retarded)
Velken Tezeri - a human thug and I would completely understand if people balked at this suggestion

The second skiff is sort of a different story since it has been the source for a few Skiff Guards. Namely Barada, the vintage version of Nikto and Pote Snitkin. However, there are a few other characters on that Skiff that would make cool figures (including one that looks like Sgt. Doallyn).

Here's a reference pic of the four prisoner's skiff guards I mentioned above:

[bigbarada]

As for the second skiff, I could only find one clear picture of it's passengers. This is taken from the back of Pote Snitkin's POTF2 card and is supposed to represent the skiff from his viewpoint.

On this you can see Barada on the far left, the Nikto the vintage figure was based on between a human guard (on the far right) and what I believe to be another Klaatu. I also believe that to be Sgt. Doallyn flying off the skiff. I have to watch that scene a little closer to see if there was anyone else on that skiff.

[Rogue II]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'll buy just about any figure from the Classic Trilogy.

Finishing off the Skiff Guards would be cool. I don't even care if they are individually packaged or part of another cinema scene.

[bigbarada]

As I find more photos I will post them detailing the Skiff Guards we need made before you guys bail on the Star Wars liscense. I don't mind doing all the legwork as long as we get these figures made.:)

This is a pic of the vintage Nikto with reference photo and the POTF2 3-pack Nikto with reference photo just to show that we aren't just making all this stuff up, these characters exist and many people want them made. BTW, the vintage Nikto was on the second skiff along with Barada and Pote Snitkin.

[Rogue II]

Hey, BigBarada, I thought you might need some help with the pics. Check out these websites.

http://web.qx.net/red6/aliens/

And

http://web.qx.net/red6/forgotten/

and

http://www.jedinet.com/cgi-bin/galleries/multimedia/gallery.cgi?direct=Original_Trilogy/Individual_Films/Episode_VI_Return_of_the_Jedi&img=64

I read that there are 3 Nitko: 2 on the Skiff, 1 on the Sail Barge.

[bigbarada]

Thanks for the links Rogue II!:cool: I got a lot of my pics from Red6, good site (except for it always trying to upload Quicktime updates onto my system:mad: ). I've never seen JediNet, but used to use AlderaanOnline, however they seem to be down right now.

I was looking for a good version of that picture with all the characters on the prisoner's skiff, thanks. I had to settle for the one that was on the Skiff Guards POTF2 filecard, but it suits my purposes for the next portion of my lesson:

Continuing on with Skiff Guards 101, here is a breakdown of all the characters on the Prisoner's Skiff, with close-ups of the four skiff guards who haven't been made yet:)

(Edit: I hate when I forget to attach the picture!:o )

[Rogue II]

Since Hasbro has been loading figures with extra goodies in the Saga Line, I hope they include that blaster that hooks to the rail of the Sail Barge if they produce one of the other Nitkos.

[tagmac]

Pote Snitkin is actually visible in ROTJ. It is for a second, but when Barada swings at Luke and misses, you can see Pote right behind them at the controls.

[bigbarada]

I think there is a grand total of four Niktos in the Skiff battle: Vedain on the prisoner's skiff, one on the second skiff (the one detailed above), the gunner Nikto (the one we got in the 3-pack) and another one that just kind of pops his head out a hatch (more than likely to be clubbed by Luke's lightsaber - who knew it had a baseball bat setting?:) ).

Here is the fourth, his name is Nysad or whatever (we don't need him Hasbro, getting two more Niktos out of you will be good enough, this is just for reference):

[bigbarada]

Originally posted by tagmac
Pote Snitkin is actually visible in ROTJ. It is for a second, but when Barada swings at Luke and misses, you can see Pote right behind them at the controls.

Yep, he is slightly visible a couple of times, but you really have to be looking for him to find him. I don't mind that one bit, he's a great looking alien design and I'm glad he has a figure (and such a cool one too!). I don't really buy the fact that he died, if you were at the back of the skiff and saw this one Jedi slicing through everybody else like butter would you be stupid enough to take him on by yourself? I think not. (I'm of the notion that if we didn't actually see them die onscreen then there is a chance they survived the battle - I have a whole mini-story of how Barada survived the Skiff battle, minus one arm, and made it back to Jabba's palace.:) )

Anyway, here's Pote:

[Rogue II]

Hmmm, check that out, my book is wrong. I was using Star Wars Chronicles as a reference and it said 3.

Speaking of Pote Snitkin...Have you tried putting him behind the controls of the Skiff? It is a tight fit.

[bigbarada]

Yeah, Pote is nearly impossible to cram in that tiny space. With the Skiff toy being so small, I don't see being able to fit all nine characters in action figure form onto it. So that leaves two choices:

1. Remake the Skiff to be correctly scaled and include Vedain (the Nikto driver - for those of you who haven't been paying attention) as a pack in.

OR

2. Not make figures who probably wouldn't sell well: the Human guard, Velken, would be the only figure from the prisoner's skiff I would be willing to accept never being made, and some of the other guys from the second skiff could be passed over too if they are not interesting enough looking (we do need that Nikto I mention earlier and Sgt. Doallyn though). However, this is the least desirable option obviously.

Basically, correctly scaled Skiff or no, we want all the Skiff Guards made into figures.

BTW, as an aside to the comment I made about possible survivors of the Skiff Battle; I don't hold out much hope for Kithaba's survival,:cry: unless he managed to hitch a ride with Boba Fett.:)

[bigbarada]

Skiff Guards 101: Lesson 2: The Second Skiff :)

Not 100% sure of who all the guards are on this skiff and frankly I really don't care. I don't want, nor do I believe it is realistic to expect all of these guys to be made into figures. So I will list what we do know. Fact: Barada, Pote Snitkin and the Nikto the vintage figure was based on were on the second skiff. That's all we know right now.

Figure Fact: The Pote Snitkin figure is perfect.

Figure Fact: The Barada figure, that was released in the POTF2 3-pack, leaves a lot to be desired, but expecting a resculpt of him is a little unrealistic (but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated by me). His main flaws are his right arm being noticeably longer than his left and his paint job - especially the green paint wash over his face and bandana, it looks terrible and more than a little half-***. The good points of the figure are that his overall sculpting is first rate (apart from that right arm) and his head-sculpt is so good that if you used it to make Kithaba I would not complain. (I'm giving you guys suggestions to cut costs here :) )

Figure Fact: If you guys were to make a modern equivalent of the vintage Nikto, not only would you make me (and any other Skiff Guard fans) happy, but you would also appease the collectors who want contemporary resculpts of every vintage figure. You'd be pleasing two groups of fans with one figure! How can you say 'no' to that?:happy:

There is a character on the second skiff that appears to be Sgt. Doallyn (the guy who was tossed against the wall by Chewie in Jabba's Palace) I'm pretty sure that is him, but can't be positive. In the picture that follows, I offer a comparison shot so that you (and anybody else reading this thread) can decide. In any case, a Sgt. Doallyn figure would be much appreciated.

The two unkown characters would be nice to have made but only after everybody else is done; BUT if they never see the inside of a bubble I really won't complain.

Oh yeah, a new Jedi Luke to go with all these goons would be great too, but that's a topic for another thread.:)

[Jayspawn]

Skiff Guards was a great cinema scene. I'd like a few more skiff guards for my Jabba's Palace.

[Jargo]

I'd like the skiff guards. I see no reason why the human skiff guards shouldn't be made. If like me you have two skiffs you kinda want to people them with characters that'd use them. So far I've got one skiff part full and that's using Pote as a pilot. I really couldn't care less if I never see another ROTJ Han or Luke or Chewbacca, I just want background aliens now. I'm so bored of the core characters it's unbelievable. Just give us these interesting characters. Alien skif guardsare cool human core characters are poo.

But I'd like the sail barge characters too. As well as a Sail barge playset. See my half of a ship posts for that but yes to skiff guards. MORE MORE MORE!

[bigbarada]

Thanks for your support Jargo.:) And I think that avatar is one of your best ones, very funny with the Tusken's brain just popping out of his head like that.:D

Okay, on to Skiff Guards 101: Lesson 3: Barada - What went wrong:

Thus far we have gotten two figures in the entire SW line named Barada. The vintage version was, quite simply, something of a disappointment, especially in the sculpting department (compare him to the vintage Nikto, Klaatu, WeeQuay, Bib Fortuna, Amanaman, etc to understand my point). Along with the substandard sculpting we got a completely inaccurate paint job for the character, especially when compared to the photo on the card.

It seems that the figure was sculpted loosely after Barada, hence the backpack (which Kithaba didn't have) and the shoulder strap that hangs from the right shoulder to the left side of his waist (Kithaba's shoulder strap hangs from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist - NOTE: the decipher card photo is backwards, compare the pic of Kithaba standing next to Luke in the Skiff scene long shots). Even this sculpting wasn't so great as he was missing his gun holster and his face looked like the wax prototype had partially melted before having a mold made of it.

On top of that, add the bull-neck syndrome that the POTF figures inexplicably had (how could it be due to mold restrictions of the day when no other figure released before had that problem?) and his buffed up physique (Barada gets the honor of being the first 'bulked-up' SW figure).

Now, along with the inferior sculpting (which seemed to somehow be more prevalent in many of the POTF figures) was the totally inaccurate paint job. In the reference photos Barada wore a white, butterfly-collar shirt; blue pants with red piping, an orange bandana and had greenish-brown skin. The Barada figure we got had red pants, a yellow shirt with white sleeves and a red bandana, along with dark green skin.

Apart from the completely inaccurate skin tone, the coloration of the vintage Barada is more in line with Kithaba, who wore red pants and a red bandana. Kithaba's shirt was a yellowish-brown sleevless top over a white long sleeve shirt. My only guess is that the QA/QC people over at Kenner saw the figure and guessed that he would be too obscure to sell very well in those last days of Star Wars, so they fudged the paint job to make him look more like the Klatooinian standing directly behind Luke on the prisoner's Skiff. Too bad they packaged him with a photo of Barada, so every inaccuracy would stick out like a sore thumb.:stupid:

Moving on to the POTF2 Skiff Guards Cinema Scene 3-pack Barada. First off, on the sculpting: much, much better job, Hasbro! The only complaints I have, have been mentioned before (his abnormally long right arm and terrible paint job). I used to believe that getting a corrected version of this figure was asking too much of such an obscure character. However, while out walking my dog this morning, it hit me like a ton of bricks! With Hasbro's sudden trend of recycling old POTF2 figures, why not repackage Barada along with a Tatooine Accessory pack or as a pack-in for a re-released Tatooine Skiff? Simply retool that right arm, and give him a much better quality paint job and there you go! (Oh yeah, and give him the staff he used in the movie, none of these funky designed staffs that we have been getting with our Skiff Guards)

As for a Kithaba figure, I have already mentioned that the Barada head sculpt is good enough to be used for Kithaba also (ILM used the same mask mold for both characters); but his body will need to be completely sculpted from scratch (no simple retooling of hands and feet like you did with the Colonel Calamari figure from the Admiral Ackbar mold). But that is no big deal, all he has to do is stand there and hold his staff with both hands, basic articulation (6 points) will do fine for this, maybe swivel elbows and twisting wrists; but it's not necessary. See? I'm not asking too much Hasbro. I know we will never see a 30-points of articulation Star Wars figure (outside of FX-7, who has 38-points). All I ask is that you trust us and trust the Star Wars name.

Anyways, to close this lesson, here is a pic of the vintage and POTF2 Baradas along with ref photos for Kithaba and Barada from the films. This is to simply add a visual aid to my points above about the inaccuracies of the vintage Barada. (figure photo taken from yakface.com):cool:

[manji]

Okay, BigBarada, please excuse my ignorance. Are you saying the POTF Skiff Guards Cinema Scence are NOT resculpts of the original Kenner Barada & Nikto? I have read all of your posts & have checked your comparison shots, but I'm still unclear. I passed over the three-pack because I thought they were resculpts of the vintage line and not completely new sculpts. Since I am fortunate enough to own all of the original Kenner line-up, I don't buy the resculpts - it's a compromise between my wife and me! Please advise.

P.S. I'm all for new skiff guards!

[bigbarada]

Originally posted by manji
Okay, BigBarada, please excuse my ignorance. Are you saying the POTF Skiff Guards Cinema Scence are NOT resculpts of the original Kenner Barada & Nikto? I have read all of your posts & have checked your comparison shots, but I'm still unclear. I passed over the three-pack because I thought they were resculpts of the vintage line and not completely new sculpts. Since I am fortunate enough to own all of the original Kenner line-up, I don't buy the resculpts - it's a compromise between my wife and me! Please advise.

P.S. I'm all for new skiff guards!

Well, the answer is "yes" and "no." Klaatu is a total resculpt of the vintage Klaatu Skiff Guard. Barada is technically a resculpt in name only, since the vintage version was so inaccurate (see my 'Barada - What Went Wrong' post above). The Nikto, however, is a completely new character. The Nikto offered in that pack was a gunner on the Sail Barge not a guard on the second skiff like the vintage Nikto.

Here is another photo layout showing the two different Niktos represented by each figure.

[bigbarada]

Here's a comparison of the two Klaatus. As you can see they are the same character (who incidentally was not on either skiff, but was on the Sail Barge):

[Beast]

Wow, how can I not support such a well researched and intelligent request such as this one from BigB. Come on Hasbro, make both BigB and Jargo happy and give us more skiff guards and Yarna.

And if you happen to wanna be nice and give me a correct non-action posed E2 Jar Jar Binks: Senatorial Address figure re-sculpt as well as a Jar Jar Binks: Gungan Senator figure, I would be thrilled. ;) :D

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[bigbarada]

Okay, here's the basic breakdown of all the characters on each skiff and the figures made of them (plus a few of the characters from the sail barge):

Prisoner's Skiff:
Luke Skywalker - Vintage, POTF2
Han Solo Carbonite- Vintage, POTF2
Chewbacca - Vintage, POTF2, POTJ, Saga
Lando Skiff Disguise - Vintage, POTF2
Weequay - Vintage, POTF2
Kithaba - never made (in name)
Queequay - never made
Vedain - never made
Velken Tezeri - never made

Second Skiff:
Pote Snitkin - POTF2
Barada - Vintage (see post about Barada above), POTF2
Unknown Nikto - Vintage
Sgt. Doallyn - never made
Unknown Klaatu - never made
Unknown Human - never made

Sail Barge:
Klaatu "Skiff Guard" - Vintage, POTF2
Nikto Gunner - POTF2
Leia Slave - POTF2, POTJ
Artoo (pop-up saber) - Vintage, POTF2

The rest of the Jabba's Palace Denizens break down like this:

Jabba - Vintage
Bib Fortuna - Vintage, POTF2
Ree Yees - Vintage, POTF2
Squidhead - Vintage, POTJ
Klaatu (Wooof) - Vintage
YakFace - Vintage, POTF2
Gamorrean Guard - Vintage, POTF2
Amanaman - Vintage, POTJ
8D8 - Vintage, POTF2
EV-9D9 - Vintage, POTF2
Rancor Keeper - Vintage, POTF2
Rancor - Vintage, POTF2
Sy Snootles - Vintage, POTF2
Max Rebo - Vintage, POTF2
Droopy McCool, Vintage, POTF2
Joh Yowza - POTF2
Doda Bodinwaeda (sp?) - POTF2
Barquin Dan - POTF2
Rystall, Greeata, Lynn Me - POTF2
Oola - POTF2
Leia Boushh - Vintage, POTF2
Ephant Mon - Saga
B'Omarr Monk - POTF2
Salacious Crumb - Vintage, POTF2, POTJ

The only vintage figures we haven't seen a modern version of are : Klaatu (Wooof), Nikto and Jabba (SE version and Ep1 version, never a ROTJ version)

[bigbarada]

Originally posted by JarJarBinks
Wow, how can I not support such a well researched and intelligent request such as this one from BigB. Come on Hasbro, make both BigB and Jargo happy and give us more skiff guards and Yarna.

And if you happen to wanna be nice and give me a correct non-action posed E2 Jar Jar Binks: Senatorial Address figure re-sculpt as well as a Jar Jar Binks: Gungan Senator figure, I would be thrilled. ;) :D

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

Thanks for the support, Jar Jar!:cool: This has evolved into my pet project (read: obsession), because I believe confusion over who is who on the skiffs is one of the reasons why we have so few of the Skiff Guard characters. Some people want every Cantina Patron made or every Jedi, Jabba's thugs are my thing so I campaign them.:)

As a side note, I also want a new version of AOTC Jar Jar without the goofy pose.

[TylerD]

GREAT thread BigB! I am in total support of all your ideas! I too have a fascination with Jabba's palace...It would be awesome if Hasbro could somehow reproduce all of the characters as action figures...

And who knows? Since we're getting Ephant Mon (THANK THE MAKER! ;) ) we may also be getting more of the skiff guards, and hopefully Yarna....oh and Hermi Odle would be nice....LOL...

[bigbarada]

Yes, we do need Hermi Odle and Yarna, there are several others but those two are just so big and cool, I don't know how Hasbro could not make them.

Back to Skiff Guards, I just watched ROTJ again last night and noticed that there are several guards on the second Skiff other than the six I mentioned earlier. I think there is like 8 or 9 of them total. Unfortunately the scenes go by so fast that it is nearly impossible to get good looks at them. Most of them, I fear, that unless there is some reference photos sitting around in the Lucasfilm Archices somewhere, we will never see action figures of.

I will try to dig up some pics of the second Skiff so that we can get a better idea of who all was there. What I wouldn't give for the ability to save images off of DVDs right now. I would go through the Skiff Battle frame by frame and pull out images of EVERY background character.:)

[Beast]

Did you happen to check Decipher.com's card list for images of some of those skiff guards, BigB. I assume that you did, but I wasn't to sure. :)

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

[stillakid]

I'm in. Is there a petition or something or do we just storm the castle? :)

[bigbarada]

Thanks for your support, stillakid.:cool:

I pretty much decided that petitions don't work. What's the good of getting 200 people to say they want a figure, when Hasbro needs to make AT LEAST 100,000 of that figure just to break even?

I just figure a sustained informative campaign is best. Like I said earlier, I believe confusion over who these characters are is one of the primary reasons we don't have more toys of them. That's one of the main purposes of this thread, to help sort through all these guys and place names with faces.

It had never occured to me to check out Deciphers site, JarJar.:o Thanks for the suggestion, I will go there post haste.:cool:

[bigbarada]

Okay, after checking out Decipher's site and going through the scene in ROTJ again, I have learned that there are seven aliens on the second skiff: Barada, Pote, the Nikto, one Klaatu, and (I think) three humans. I'm still not positive that the one character is Sgt. Doallyn or not.

Here is one of the Decipher cards with a rough pic of the second skiff when it approaches the prisoners skiff (after the attack starts), the picture isn't that clear at all and has evidence of more than a little Photoshopping. There is another Decipher card of the skiff from a less extreme angle but the figures on that one appear to be maquettes and not costumed extras at all. The most you can get from this picture is that there are seven guards on this skiff. You can clearly make out the Sgt. Doallyn looking guy, along with the Nikto. Barada is in the back with Pote, and the Klaatu is hanging off the side. A sixth figure is obviously human, and the seventh figure isn't too clear at all.

[bigbarada]

Here is the other card. Again, all you can really glean from these pics is that there were seven guards on the skiff.

[bigbarada]

Okay, after studying the pics closely I think I was able to figure out a few things. While we will never get truly clear pictures of all of these guys (since many of them were clearly just thrown together on the day of filming), I figure it may be best to come up with a compromise for some of the more obscure ones. Below is the picture off the back of Pote Snitkin's card again. If you look closely you can see another guard with just the top of his head showing (I circled it in red), he doesn't seem to fit in with any of the other guards and would bring the count up to eight. So, until I can find some other pictures, I will dismiss him for now.

For as many characters as I could, I paired them up with their most likely identities and two of those belonged to somewhat higher profile characters in Jabba's Palace:

- Sgt. Doallyn (if it is not him, the likeness is close enough and we do need a Doallyn figure)

- This Klaatu appears to be the same alien that was also the second Rancor Keeper (the match is very close and the Rancor Keeper Klaatu would be an acceptable substitute)

- The two human guards who I can only find a somewhat clear picture of one of them, the other appears to be the first guard shown falling into the Sarlacc (an editing glitch).

- Pote, Barada, the Nikto the ones we know.

[bigbarada]

As another interesting side note, the human skiff guard, Velken Tezeri, appears to be the same human who was hitting on Sy Snootles in that famous promo shot. At the very least they are wearing the same outfit (since that scene was supposed to be taking place simultaneously with the skiff battle, this is impossible; but since it was cut, anything goes:) ).

With such impeccable taste in women, how could you not want this action figure?:D

[Rogue II]

Wasn't this guy the first one that fell into the Pit? I remember seeing him falling in and losing his helmet, or was that a different human guard?

I didn't think Sgt Doallyn was on the Skiff, but obviously he was*. If they didn't produce him as a skiff guard, it would be a cool cinema scene to have him, Chewbacca(prisoner), and Leia (bounty hunter disguise).

* I'm going to have to double check Tales from Jabba's Palace. I don't remember if he was guarding the palace or if he escaped the Skiff and made it back. Either way, Sgt Doallyn survived and escaped with Yarna. I know, its EU.:rolleyes::D

[Dryanta]

I have to say that's alot of research BB!
I'm in.The original should be as complete in plastic as possible.All the core characters have been done to death,time for the complete back ground to be finished.

[bigbarada]

Some people go for quantity, others go for quality. I'm not taking any chances and going for both.;)

Velken Tezeri was the fourth person to fall off the skiff, but he was the first person shown going into the Sarlacc. Weequay was taken out first, then Kithaba, then Queequay, Velken fell next. The one whose helmet popped off when he hit the ground was Vedain, the Nikto that Lando wrestled with.

I'm about 90% sure that Sgt. Doallyn was the guy on the second skiff, even if he isn't he is pretty close and chances are greater that he will get made if he has another claim to fame. Few are going to remember "that guy with the black helmet," but if you say "that guy with the black helmet that Chewie threw against the wall and was in the skiff battle" then people are more likely to go, "Oh yeah, him." It doubles his chances of being recognized.

I realized this while reading an interview with some Hasbro guy, who stated that if the identity of the character stumped him the chances were slim that that character would ever get made. So we have to find a way to simplify these requests as much as possible. While that might include combining two characters, I'd rather have one character out of two, than neither of them.

I'll post a finalized list soon and kind of bring everything full circle. I just have to come up with another visual reference summarizing everything we have covered thus far.:)

[bigbarada]

Well, here's a composite pic of the four figures we are asking for from the second skiff. Since Barada and Pote Snitkin have already been made and the other skiff guard is still an unknown, I will just post what we know so far.

Thus, to kind of summarize everything, here are the figures we are asking for here, Hasbro:

Kithaba
Queequay
Vedain
Velken Tezeri
Nikto Guard
Sgt. Doallyn
Giran (the Klaatu Rancor Keeper/Skiff Guard)
Human Mercenary (for lack of a better name)

That's eight figures, which could be done as four two packs or, if Hasbro is a little hesitant, release two 2-packs to sort of test the waters. Kithaba and Vedain; Sgt. Doallyn and Giran

Or if Hasbro is really hesitant, do another Klaatu, Barada, Nikto 3-pack (without the base), consisting of Kithaba, Vedain and Giran.

In any case, make Kithaba first.:)

[bigbarada]

Well, thinking about it, I came up with a few cool ideas for how to re-release the Barada figure to make him worth everyone's time.

Since the whole backpack/holster/pouches section of his waist is a separate piece from the body then it can be resculpted to add a few cool features: removable backpack - sure we never saw him take off his backpack, but neither did the Endor Rebel Soldiers, it would just add a cool little extra; working holster - resculpt his gun to be correct scale and make the holster he wears on his size functional (this has almost become a staple of the line).

Apart from simply fixing his arm, maybe add some extra articulation in both arms to accomodate him holding his staff (you will have to give him a staff, y'know) in both hands.

Molding his head in brown and painting on green highlights would be cool also and would be more representative of the actual character.

As for accessories, packing him with one of the smaller beasts would be cool (Wol Cabas-hitte, or the Rock Wart). Or maybe even some EU accessories, some tools or diorama fodder spare skiff/speeder parts. OR make him along with a couple of other Jabba's Palace aliens, with mini-Jabba's palace interlocking playsets, like the current Cantina Sets. I dunno, just a little bit of brainstorming.

But, this is all just a pipe-dream since it is unlikely that a figure like Barada would warrant a resculpt considering how well he was made originally. So I guess you could just consider this the dreams of a hopeless fanboy.:)

[karinations]

I agree the newer skiff guards totally blow. The 3 pack figures in general are kinda.eh..even if they look good ,the quality isn't even close to the carded figures.They are made with a softer crappier plastic and the paint applications are a lot less detailed.
No one ever mentions this but me /shrug

-V-

[bigbarada]

I've noticed the same things, karinations. Figures offered individually carded are the best quality (most of the time). Any figure released as a multipack or pack-in seems to have less accurate and detailed sculpting and less precise paint applications. I think vehicle pack-in figures tend to be the worst though.

The Barada offered with the 3-pack is especially notable for having such a crappy paint job (one of the worst in the line). For one, they molded his head in yellowish-tan, then painted on his bandana color, THEN did a green paint wash over his entire head including the bandana.:stupid: Add to that the fact that his arms are one quarter of an inch different in length and you get two major, unprofessional mistakes that never would have made it past quality control on an individually carded figure.

I for one was glad to see the demise of the Cinema Scenes because I thought it was a chance to get higher quality versions of more obscure characters. Little did I know that Hasbro just planned to stop making the obscure characters altogether.:frus:

[Rogue II]

Originally posted by bigbarada
I for one was glad to see the demise of the Cinema Scenes because I thought it was a chance to get higher quality versions of more obscure characters. Little did I know that Hasbro just planned to stop making the obscure characters altogether.:frus:

What's the matter? Isn't Djas Puhr or Kitik Keed'kak obscure enough for ya?;)

You are right. Other than Kitik Keed'kak, there isn't any more obscure figures in the rumor mills, are there?

*sigh*

So, where's the Skiff Guards and Yarna?

[bigbarada]

Djas Puhr was a pretty decent figure and I am amazed that Hasbro actually made him. The idea that a Kitik Keedkak figure (or as I used to call him: "Crappy Praying Mantis Puppet") is being made totally blows my mind, I always assumed that he would be the last figure Hasbro would ever consider making. In fact, his existence gives me further hope that, no matter how obscure, any background character is a candidate for a figure.

Back to business, I finally found a good picture of the Klaatu skiff guard from the second skiff, but I can't scan it right now. For anyone who has the book (and I know Hasbro does) it is in Steve Sansweet's The Action Figure Archive on page 118, he is shown with the vintage Klaatu Skiff Guard figure. There is also a couple of pictures of the Klaatu Rancor Keeper on page 49, and from these pics, I can confirm that they are not the same character at all. As soon as I can scan these I will post them.

The reassuring thought, if such high quality pictures of these Skiff Guards exist, the odds of them being made increase (since Hasbro won't be working from fuzzy screenshots).

[bigbarada]

Just wanted to mention....

Aw, who am I kidding? I'm just bumping this up since we know nobody ever reads past the first page.:D

[bigbarada]

All that work and not a single new Skiff Guard figure in almost five years.:cry:

[Droid]

I would love them to make Velken Tezeri, Taym Dren-garen, or any one of the human guards from Jabba's palace who pretty much wore that same outfit. I would buy several of them. I was pleased he was on some OTC packaging for someone from Jabba's Palace so that he is at least on Hasbro's radar.

It's funny. I never hear anyone ask for Taym Dren-Garen or see him on most wanted lists. HE SHOT LUKE. Of all the obscure characters that have been made, HE SHOT LUKE. That is more significant than an awful lot of background character's contribution to the story. I know Hasbro would say he is human and not as interesting as other Jabba's Palace characters, but it seems like he could at least be in a Battle Pack or something. I was let down by the Battle Over Carkoon Battle Pack or whatever it was called.

Taym Dren-Garen - MAKE HIM!

[Gothiczartan]

First off let me say that Hasbro's 1998 Skiff Guards three-pack was probably the most misrepresented Cinema Scene of them all. Of the three figures offered, only one of them (Barada) was actually on one of the two skiffs in the film. The Nikto was one of the Sail Barge gunners and the Klaatu was another Sail Barge guard.

Of the key skiff in the movie (the one Luke, Han, Lando and Chewie were on) we have only gotten a figure of one of the guards on that skiff (Weequay). That leaves four characters who have never before been immortalized in plastic (Kithaba is kind of a strange pseudo-exception since the vintage Barada was scultped correctly but painted with Kithaba's colors, not Barada's).

Those four are:

Kithaba - the other Klatooinian
Vedain - the Nikto Skiff Driver and the one Lando wrestled with
Queequay - the other Weequay (yes, I know that according to EU all Weequays are referred to as Weequay; but that's just retarded)
Velken Tezeri - a human thug and I would completely understand if people balked at this suggestion

The second skiff is sort of a different story since it has been the source for a few Skiff Guards. Namely Barada, the vintage version of Nikto and Pote Snitkin. However, there are a few other characters on that Skiff that would make cool figures (including one that looks like Sgt. Doallyn).

Here's a reference pic of the four prisoner's skiff guards I mentioned above:

Vedian must have all the SA

ball jointed neck
ball jointed shoulders/elbows
swivel waist
swivel wrist
ball jointed knees and ankles

removable hat (his hat flips off after he fell off from lando in ROTJ)
working holster for gun
gun (same one he use and lando struggle with it in the movie)

Kithaba

ball jointed neck
ball jointed shoulders and elbows
swivel waist and wrist
ball jointed knees and ankles

staff (he holds in the movie)

Queequay

have in in the vintage star wars collection line since the original figure was made in the years.

that human thug

ball jointed neck
ball jointed shoulders and elbows
swivel waist and wrist
ball jointed knees and ankles

removable helmet
working holster and gun (same one luke use the force to snatch it off in movie)

here is link to pics of all thugs on skiffs and sail barge!

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9096/swrotjjabbasguardsrr9.jpg

that nikto was from the movie 3 pack and needs to be re tooling for ball jointed shoulders/elbows/knees/ankles, swivel wrists and guns for sail barge in movie

[Gothiczartan]

I would love them to make Velken Tezeri, Taym Dren-garen, or any one of the human guards from Jabba's palace who pretty much wore that same outfit. I would buy several of them. I was pleased he was on some OTC packaging for someone from Jabba's Palace so that he is at least on Hasbro's radar.

It's funny. I never hear anyone ask for Taym Dren-Garen or see him on most wanted lists. HE SHOT LUKE. Of all the obscure characters that have been made, HE SHOT LUKE. That is more significant than an awful lot of background character's contribution to the story. I know Hasbro would say he is human and not as interesting as other Jabba's Palace characters, but it seems like he could at least be in a Battle Pack or something. I was let down by the Battle Over Carkoon Battle Pack or whatever it was called.

Taym Dren-Garen - MAKE HIM!

the thug shoot luke's hand

ball jointed neck
ball jointed shoulders/elbows
ball jointed knees/ankles
swivel waist and wrist

removable helmet
working holster for gun
gun

[Gothiczartan]

As I find more photos I will post them detailing the Skiff Guards we need made before you guys bail on the Star Wars liscense. I don't mind doing all the legwork as long as we get these figures made.:)

This is a pic of the vintage Nikto with reference photo and the POTF2 3-pack Nikto with reference photo just to show that we aren't just making all this stuff up, these characters exist and many people want them made. BTW, the vintage Nikto was on the second skiff along with Barada and Pote Snitkin.

how about nikto skiff guard and sail barge

skiff guard nikto

vintage the star wars collection, he was the original figure for SW toy line

sail barge gunner

re tooling for ball jointed shoulders
swivel elbows
sail barge guns
ball jointed knees

[Gothiczartan]

I think there is a grand total of four Niktos in the Skiff battle: Vedain on the prisoner's skiff, one on the second skiff (the one detailed above), the gunner Nikto (the one we got in the 3-pack) and another one that just kind of pops his head out a hatch (more than likely to be clubbed by Luke's lightsaber - who knew it had a baseball bat setting?:) ).

Here is the fourth, his name is Nysad or whatever (we don't need him Hasbro, getting two more Niktos out of you will be good enough, this is just for reference):

that one from the sail barge that needs to be made as figure

I want all thugs from skiffs and sail barge to be made as figures!

[Gothiczartan]

Thanks for your support Jargo.:) And I think that avatar is one of your best ones, very funny with the Tusken's brain just popping out of his head like that.:D

Okay, on to Skiff Guards 101: Lesson 3: Barada - What went wrong:

Thus far we have gotten two figures in the entire SW line named Barada. The vintage version was, quite simply, something of a disappointment, especially in the sculpting department (compare him to the vintage Nikto, Klaatu, WeeQuay, Bib Fortuna, Amanaman, etc to understand my point). Along with the substandard sculpting we got a completely inaccurate paint job for the character, especially when compared to the photo on the card.

It seems that the figure was sculpted loosely after Barada, hence the backpack (which Kithaba didn't have) and the shoulder strap that hangs from the right shoulder to the left side of his waist (Kithaba's shoulder strap hangs from his left shoulder to the right side of his waist - NOTE: the decipher card photo is backwards, compare the pic of Kithaba standing next to Luke in the Skiff scene long shots). Even this sculpting wasn't so great as he was missing his gun holster and his face looked like the wax prototype had partially melted before having a mold made of it.

On top of that, add the bull-neck syndrome that the POTF figures inexplicably had (how could it be due to mold restrictions of the day when no other figure released before had that problem?) and his buffed up physique (Barada gets the honor of being the first 'bulked-up' SW figure).

Now, along with the inferior sculpting (which seemed to somehow be more prevalent in many of the POTF figures) was the totally inaccurate paint job. In the reference photos Barada wore a white, butterfly-collar shirt; blue pants with red piping, an orange bandana and had greenish-brown skin. The Barada figure we got had red pants, a yellow shirt with white sleeves and a red bandana, along with dark green skin.

Apart from the completely inaccurate skin tone, the coloration of the vintage Barada is more in line with Kithaba, who wore red pants and a red bandana. Kithaba's shirt was a yellowish-brown sleevless top over a white long sleeve shirt. My only guess is that the QA/QC people over at Kenner saw the figure and guessed that he would be too obscure to sell very well in those last days of Star Wars, so they fudged the paint job to make him look more like the Klatooinian standing directly behind Luke on the prisoner's Skiff. Too bad they packaged him with a photo of Barada, so every inaccuracy would stick out like a sore thumb.:stupid:

Moving on to the POTF2 Skiff Guards Cinema Scene 3-pack Barada. First off, on the sculpting: much, much better job, Hasbro! The only complaints I have, have been mentioned before (his abnormally long right arm and terrible paint job). I used to believe that getting a corrected version of this figure was asking too much of such an obscure character. However, while out walking my dog this morning, it hit me like a ton of bricks! With Hasbro's sudden trend of recycling old POTF2 figures, why not repackage Barada along with a Tatooine Accessory pack or as a pack-in for a re-released Tatooine Skiff? Simply retool that right arm, and give him a much better quality paint job and there you go! (Oh yeah, and give him the staff he used in the movie, none of these funky designed staffs that we have been getting with our Skiff Guards)

As for a Kithaba figure, I have already mentioned that the Barada head sculpt is good enough to be used for Kithaba also (ILM used the same mask mold for both characters); but his body will need to be completely sculpted from scratch (no simple retooling of hands and feet like you did with the Colonel Calamari figure from the Admiral Ackbar mold). But that is no big deal, all he has to do is stand there and hold his staff with both hands, basic articulation (6 points) will do fine for this, maybe swivel elbows and twisting wrists; but it's not necessary. See? I'm not asking too much Hasbro. I know we will never see a 30-points of articulation Star Wars figure (outside of FX-7, who has 38-points). All I ask is that you trust us and trust the Star Wars name.

Anyways, to close this lesson, here is a pic of the vintage and POTF2 Baradas along with ref photos for Kithaba and Barada from the films. This is to simply add a visual aid to my points above about the inaccuracies of the vintage Barada. (figure photo taken from yakface.com):cool:


barada re tooling for ball jointed shoulders and elbows
ball jointed knees!

[bigbarada]

Vedian must have all the SA

ball jointed neck
ball jointed shoulders/elbows
swivel waist
swivel wrist
ball jointed knees and ankles

removable hat (his hat flips off after he fell off from lando in ROTJ)
working holster for gun
gun (same one he use and lando struggle with it in the movie)

Kithaba

ball jointed neck
ball jointed shoulders and elbows
swivel waist and wrist
ball jointed knees and ankles

staff (he holds in the movie)

Queequay

have in in the vintage star wars collection line since the original figure was made in the years.

that human thug

ball jointed neck
ball jointed shoulders and elbows
swivel waist and wrist
ball jointed knees and ankles

removable helmet
working holster and gun (same one luke use the force to snatch it off in movie)

here is link to pics of all thugs on skiffs and sail barge!

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9096/swrotjjabbasguardsrr9.jpg

that nikto was from the movie 3 pack and needs to be re tooling for ball jointed shoulders/elbows/knees/ankles, swivel wrists and guns for sail barge in movie

Now we're on the same page! :thumbsup:

Has anyone ever thought that the Skiffs should have just been raining body parts with the way Luke was swinging that lightsaber?

I guess he had it on the "baseball bat" setting.:D

[Droid]

Now we're on the same page! :thumbsup:

Has anyone ever thought that the Skiffs should have just been raining body parts with the way Luke was swinging that lightsaber?

I guess he had it on the "baseball bat" setting.:D

Ya, the bugs me too. Not sure how they could have gotten around it with filming as they couldn't have made it a gorefest. I guess he was just cutting deep enough to wound or kill, but not to sever so as not to make a mess. :)

[Jargo]

Well probably there's no gore and body parts for the same reason ewoks weren't blasted apart by AT-ST fire. Only droids, ugly aliens and lead characters are allowed to be siced and diced.

back to the thread.
I don't see any point making sail barge guards as we have no sail barge. I'd sooner hasbro concentrated on filling the skiffs. as it is possible to get two skiffs and fill them. Unless hasbro creates a playset that has the rear deck, observation deck and sail barge gun emplacement as in an almost to scale 'part' of the sail barge relevent to the skiff battle. kind of a two layer thing.

therefore my list would only extend to:

Skiff #1
Velken Tezeri
Wooof.
Vedain
Weequay white top
Weequay brown top
Kithaba

Skiff#2
Barada
Sgt. Doallyn
Gailid
Giran
Pote Snitkin
Nikto that was a vintage figure. Blue outfit.
Bowl helmet and grey jumpsuit dude at the front of the skiff.

If I got kithaba and barada on the wrong skiff forgive me but I get so damn confused with those two.

[Gothiczartan]

Well probably there's no gore and body parts for the same reason ewoks weren't blasted apart by AT-ST fire. Only droids, ugly aliens and lead characters are allowed to be siced and diced.

back to the thread.
I don't see any point making sail barge guards as we have no sail barge. I'd sooner hasbro concentrated on filling the skiffs. as it is possible to get two skiffs and fill them. Unless hasbro creates a playset that has the rear deck, observation deck and sail barge gun emplacement as in an almost to scale 'part' of the sail barge relevent to the skiff battle. kind of a two layer thing.

therefore my list would only extend to:

Skiff #1
Velken Tezeri
Wooof.
Vedain
Weequay white top
Weequay brown top
Kithaba

Skiff#2
Barada
Sgt. Doallyn
Gailid
Giran
Pote Snitkin
Nikto that was a vintage figure. Blue outfit.
Bowl helmet and grey jumpsuit dude at the front of the skiff.

If I got kithaba and barada on the wrong skiff forgive me but I get so damn confused with those two.

what about the other weequey who fell out of the sail barge, and other thugs on the sail barge that include the one shot luke's hand?

we need a retooled nikto (movie 3 pack) with ball jointed shoulders and knees, swivel elbows and wrist, a gun stand.

barada needs the retooling on the arms and legs with ball jointed on shoulders/elbows/knees.

[Gothiczartan]

http://www.rebelscum.com/photo.asp?image=/toys/potfniktofront.jpg

this guy needs a re tooling on arms, waist and legs and add a gun stand from the movie!

ball jointed or swivel elbows
swivel wrists
ball jointed knees

[Jargo]

as I said - I don't see any point making sail barge guards as we have no sail barge. I'd sooner hasbro concentrated on filling the skiffs. as it is possible to get two skiffs and fill them. Unless hasbro creates a playset that has the rear deck, observation deck and sail barge gun emplacement as in an almost to scale 'part' of the sail barge relevent to the skiff battle. kind of a two layer thing.


That's why no characters from the sail barge included. It's unlikely Hasbro will ever get around to doing anything with the sail barge. yes it would be nice to also get sail barge guards but as there's a skiff out there and some like me bought two, filling up a vehicle that already exists is preferable to making a bunch of characters with no vehicle for them to guard. so if sail barge guards are made it should be because they were seen in the throne room not for being a sail barge guard. if that makes sense.

[Droid]

I don't care if he was standing on the sail barge or on a skiff - I want the guard that SHOT LUKE.

[Jargo]

I want gets nothing. We say "Please may I have." or "I should very much like". Now go and sit on the naughty stool.

[bigbarada]

Just want to remind Hasbro that, out of 11 Skiff Guards, only three have been made into action figures in the modern line: Weequay, Barada, and Pote Snitkin. Out of the five Skiff Guards on the prisoner skiff, we've only gotten one action figure (Weequay) and the most recent version of that figure is over ten years old!

Easily the most neglected group of characters in all of Star Wars. And they're not from a minor little scene, they're from a primary action sequence in ROTJ.

Here's the rundown one more time along with a listing of every figure made of those characters:

Skiff 1:
Weequay - ROTJ 1983, POTF2 1997
Kithaba - never
Qeequay - never
Velken Tezeri - never
Vedain - never

Skiff 2:
Pote Snitkin - POTF2 1998
Barada - POTF 1985, POTF2 1999, Saga2 2006
Nikto (Beytmun) - ROTJ 1984
Giran - never
SGT Doallyn - never (rumored)
Human Guard - never

[Gothiczartan]

how about this guy needed retooling in the pic, the one shooting the skiff with han, chewie and lando!

http://img54.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vizamretoolingrg7.jpg

[Sinscia Fat'o]

A new Weeoquay is needed, a new Nikito would be welcomed as long as it's not the same old one that Kenner abd Hasbro has done...When you really look at it besides for Oola, a few band members, a better Gammorean, and Yarna there really isn't much left to do from Jabba's palace. Not to say i wouldn't buy them, but there are better places to spend reasources. I think that the skiff thing is better suited for battle packs and such and not carded release.

[El Chuxter]

A new Weeoquay is needed, a new Nikito would be welcomed as long as it's not the same old one that Kenner abd Hasbro has done...When you really look at it besides for Oola, a few band members, a better Gammorean, and Yarna there really isn't much left to do from Jabba's palace.

I dunno. I'd take Sergeant Doallyn, Loje Nella, Velken Tezeri, Wam "Blam" Lufba, Nizuc Bek, Fozek, Taym Dren-garen, Melina Carniss, Jess, Bane Malar, Gauron Nas Tal, Cane Adiss, Vul Tazaene, or BG-J38 over any Clonetrooper repaint any day.

[Sinscia Fat'o]

I dunno. I'd take Sergeant Doallyn, Loje Nella, Velken Tezeri, Wam "Blam" Lufba, Nizuc Bek, Fozek, Taym Dren-garen, Melina Carniss, Jess, Bane Malar, Gauron Nas Tal, Cane Adiss, Vul Tazaene, or BG-J38 over any Clonetrooper repaint any day.

I'm not saying not any of these would make fine figures for collectors, but look at it realisticly, half of these figures were blink and you miss characters. They had no real EU importance, and their look is less than exciting. At least a repainted clone could serve a purpose for army builders. *Cough" shadow Trooper* But lets take a look at your formentioned characters...

Sergeant Doallyn-Cool look, would see to kids and collectors, no problem with him getting made, and will probably see the light of day.

Loje Nella-he's an accountant....Hmmm his main appearence in the movie was a shadow behind Max Rebo band...a shadow...*Confused as to why he should be made...*

Velken Tezeri- A human skiff guard..with no coolness factor...Loje has a better chance of getting made.

Wam "Blam" Lufba-much likeDoallyn this guy is cool and deserves to get made. appeals to everyone and has everything a cool alien figure needs, i hope he gets made and agree with you 100% about him.

Nizuc Bek-Why? If he at least had a speaking role as Wuhler then i would agree he'd be fine, but he's boring looking, as no real appeal to casual collectors or kids.

Fozek- I have no idea who this even is...he's not even on Wookiepedia. If your not at leasr on wookiepedia then he has little no no chance of being made.

Taym Dren-garen- of all the humans he's probably the better choice of them, but he doesn't have a whole lot going for him, maybe in a battle pack with some tuskens and moisture vaporators...

Melina Carniss-If done right this would be a very cool figure, and i gotta give the nod in her case.

Jess- Always thought she was interesting, and would make a fine character, though she's so hard to spot to the casual viewer that her chances of actually getting made is slim to none, but yes i would buy her because i gotta a thing for chicks and blue hair. :)

Bane Malar- Awesome character, though he's again hard to spot in the palace, but he would make a great figure.

Gauron Nas Tal- im mixed on him, the saurin from the mos eisly should be made first...but this guy had a clearer scene in the films. Though either way this species has yet to made in plastic, so again thumbs up.

Vul Tazaene-Im mixed because we used this guy in our Star Wars RPG game, so he would make a great figure for me personally...but hes boring looking. strap some clone armor on him and he would be a great figure LOL. But seriously he has no business as a figure....other than being the guy behind Dengar.

BG-J38 - id rather see a resculpt of 8-d-8 first... maybe as a varient or a running change this guy could get made, but he's got a decent shot.


My point is alot of these characters have little importance in the star wars story, majority of them wouldn' even have names if not for the old CCG, alot of them are boring. 6 of these out of 13 i would buy over a clone trooper... id say two of them actually have a chance of getting made.

[bigbarada]

So, let me get this straight, your entire argument revolves around the concept of Hasbro rereleasing the same 3-4 figures over and over and over and over and over again with only differing color schemes and paint jobs to distinguish them from previous releases, while all-new sculpt figures get completely ignored?:stupid:

Sorry, if Hasbro goes that route, then the line needs to die right now.

[El Chuxter]

Sorry, I spelled "Fozec (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Fozec)" wrong.

I would argue that every one of those, even the humans with less than astounding costumes, are far more interesting than Flavor-Of-The-Week Clonetrooper. Y'know, I wouldn't mind Clonetroopers nearly as much if they just kept releasing a standard Clonetrooper in each wave, using the same packaging, and just rotated the color scheme so that there were four or five a year. But, the way they're doing them now, they take up valuable space in the line, and the expense of creating new packaging for a few dots of red paint slapped on the same old figure is a waste.

Hell, I don't even think Gree and the Kashyyyk Trooper should be coming out in new sculpts already. Yes, the first releases were inaccurate and lacking, and they should've been done right to begin with, but an update already? How long have we been waiting for Dr Evazan to not look like crap, and his figure is far worse than the first-release Kashyyyk Trooper.

[Gothiczartan]

I dunno. I'd take Sergeant Doallyn, Loje Nella, Velken Tezeri, Wam "Blam" Lufba, Nizuc Bek, Fozek, Taym Dren-garen, Melina Carniss, Jess, Bane Malar, Gauron Nas Tal, Cane Adiss, Vul Tazaene, or BG-J38 over any Clonetrooper repaint any day.

Yeah, ones with removable helmets/hoods/hats will be sergeant doallyn, velken tezeri, and other skiff thugs wearing that will have removable tops!

retooled barada with ball jointed shoulders and elbows, ball jointed knees for a better articulation for holding a staff and bending knees!

that nikto with removable hat and other nikto one lando struggle with will have a removable hat and armor vest, working holster for blaster and blaster!

[Sinscia Fat'o]

So, let me get this straight, your entire argument revolves around the concept of Hasbro rereleasing the same 3-4 figures over and over and over and over and over again with only differing color schemes and paint jobs to distinguish them from previous releases, while all-new sculpt figures get completely ignored?:stupid:

Sorry, if Hasbro goes that route, then the line needs to die right now.

Your not getting what im saying, first and fore most, it's not the same figures over and over again, it's apart of star wars being the clones and a very important one at that for the lines survival. Clones sell whether they're peg warmers or not, they eventually do sell, its a bitter pill that we as fans must swallow. Do you think i want just clones? No of course not. But do i understand they have to make clones to justify you getting which ever obscure background character you want this month, and me getting which ever obscure EU character i've latched on to this moth... Face it Clones, Lukes, Vaders R2, ETC is what keeps the lines alive not OURS as collectors prefrence.

Let me also ask you this if your a parent, of child and your not a star wars nerd, someone who has only seen the movies a few times on cable who are you going to buy for your kid? Obsure Skiff thug, or Clone? Thats my argument. And you know im right, because Hasbro has said the same thing...if you want these guys your going to have to suffer through Clones and rehashes of main characters.

And as far as the non flavorful members of Jabbas court goes, there're just better characters than a human bartender, whos only on camera for second if not less, what about Ackbar? Isn't he in need of a new sculpt? What about Palapatine dont he need a new sculpt? Jedi Knight Luke? Lets not forget EU characters, like Kyle Katarn, Sassee Tinn's Clone Wars armor...Im just saying as much as i hope you guys get what you want, i can't logically agree, because there is still to much to be made, other than bland human thugs. Though i will say that Barada does need a new sculpt, and yes he needs articulation, but this is something that can be done in a battle pack, and should have been done in the skiff battle pack last year. So i doubt you'll see that any time soon.

[bigbarada]

Your not getting what im saying, first and fore most, it's not the same figures over and over again, it's apart of star wars being the clones and a very important one at that for the lines survival. Clones sell whether they're peg warmers or not, they eventually do sell, its a bitter pill that we as fans must swallow. Do you think i want just clones? No of course not. But do i understand they have to make clones to justify you getting which ever obscure background character you want this month, and me getting which ever obscure EU character i've latched on to this moth... Face it Clones, Lukes, Vaders R2, ETC is what keeps the lines alive not OURS as collectors prefrence.

Let me also ask you this if your a parent, of child and your not a star wars nerd, someone who has only seen the movies a few times on cable who are you going to buy for your kid? Obsure Skiff thug, or Clone? Thats my argument. And you know im right, because Hasbro has said the same thing...if you want these guys your going to have to suffer through Clones and rehashes of main characters.

And as far as the non flavorful members of Jabbas court goes, there're just better characters than a human bartender, whos only on camera for second if not less, what about Ackbar? Isn't he in need of a new sculpt? What about Palapatine dont he need a new sculpt? Jedi Knight Luke? Lets not forget EU characters, like Kyle Katarn, Sassee Tinn's Clone Wars armor...Im just saying as much as i hope you guys get what you want, i can't logically agree, because there is still to much to be made, other than bland human thugs. Though i will say that Barada does need a new sculpt, and yes he needs articulation, but this is something that can be done in a battle pack, and should have been done in the skiff battle pack last year. So i doubt you'll see that any time soon.

Well the Skiff Guards aren't "flavor of the month" figures for me, they are characters that I have wanted in action figure form for over 20 years. This thread itself was started by me five years ago, so that should say something about how much I want figures of these characters.

Of course, kids want Clonetroopers at the moment just like kids wanted Ewoks back in 1983-84. However, kids will eventually move on, especially if the cartoon doesn't do well and Hasbro will be stuck with us again as the primary buyers of the toy line. They will quickly find that making those obscure background characters from the movies is going to keep collectors coming back again and again.

Sure, some fans really, really want EU figures and I have no problem with that, but not entire waves of them at the expense of movie figures. Maybe one per wave, similar to the McQuarrie figures. I believe focusing a majority of the line on EU will ultimately sink the entire toy line.

[Sinscia Fat'o]

Well the Skiff Guards aren't "flavor of the month" figures for me, they are characters that I have wanted in action figure form for over 20 years. This thread itself was started by me five years ago, so that should say something about how much I want figures of these characters.

Of course, kids want Clonetroopers at the moment just like kids wanted Ewoks back in 1983-84. However, kids will eventually move on, especially if the cartoon doesn't do well and Hasbro will be stuck with us again as the primary buyers of the toy line. They will quickly find that making those obscure background characters from the movies is going to keep collectors coming back again and again.

Sure, some fans really, really want EU figures and I have no problem with that, but not entire waves of them at the expense of movie figures. Maybe one per wave, similar to the McQuarrie figures. I believe focusing a majority of the line on EU will ultimately sink the entire toy line.

WE aren't the primiary buyers of this toy line. Kids and parents are the primiary buyers of this line, WE being collectors are the most loyal, but we don't make up the majority of their business for the line. (I know this because i work in retail, which means i see this everyday) Kids like collectors are fickle and go back and fourth between lines, and other things like video games, sports, CCG ETC, but making line after line of these obscure characters only, which is what your suggesting (Im guessing) will sink the line faster than EU, or lines of nothing but clones.

At the expense of movie figures? What does that mean, if anything characters like Jacen, Jainia, Clone Wars Cartoon characters, Exar Kun, Knights of the Old Republic, are taking hits because of these characters that wouldn't have names, back stories if not for EU (Mostly Decipher CCG back in the day) See what im saying, these prescious micro second characters from the films are just as EU as Kun, Bastillia, Guri, Dash Rendar, Jacen, Tenel Ka, ETC, in some reguards they might be more. (And when i say that "EU" characters have taken hits from the micro second guys i mean that they're just now starting to roll off the asembly line...this should have happened between episodes of the prequals)

I respect you wanting these figures, and again im not trying to be a prick, im just trying to show you just because you want something doesn't mean the community needs what you want. Sure 3-4 of the skiff guards should see some light of day when it comes to production, but not all of them and not every micro second character, thats the best way to loose ground, which means loss profits, which means the end of the hobby. As much as i want Tales of the Jedi characters made (and i want all of them) i know on the business side of things maybe 4-6 characters from the tales of the jedi series could habdle being realased. To me Jabbas Accountant is a waste of a slot in the line, to you Arca Jeth may be a waste of a slot, but to the business side of things both of them are wastes of space for a more exciting character like Obi, Luke, ETC. What i feel is sad is that we want the same things, but from different points of view.

(Oh and when i was a kid i hated ewoks, i think i owned two of the kenner ewok figures from ROTJ, and thats because they were gifts, when i was a kid i wanted Aliens: Cantania Jabbas palace, Storm Troopers, and Han solo, Ewoks i totally dispised. But by no means do i feel they shouldn't have made them furry critters. Because im pretty sure back then as a child i was alone in this demographic, in hating them.)

[bigbarada]

WE aren't the primiary buyers of this toy line. Kids and parents are the primiary buyers of this line, WE being collectors are the most loyal, but we don't make up the majority of their business for the line. (I know this because i work in retail, which means i see this everyday) Kids like collectors are fickle and go back and fourth between lines, and other things like video games, sports, CCG ETC, but making line after line of these obscure characters only, which is what your suggesting (Im guessing) will sink the line faster than EU, or lines of nothing but clones.

At the expense of movie figures? What does that mean, if anything characters like Jacen, Jainia, Clone Wars Cartoon characters, Exar Kun, Knights of the Old Republic, are taking hits because of these characters that wouldn't have names, back stories if not for EU (Mostly Decipher CCG back in the day) See what im saying, these prescious micro second characters from the films are just as EU as Kun, Bastillia, Guri, Dash Rendar, Jacen, Tenel Ka, ETC, in some reguards they might be more. (And when i say that "EU" characters have taken hits from the micro second guys i mean that they're just now starting to roll off the asembly line...this should have happened between episodes of the prequals)

I respect you wanting these figures, and again im not trying to be a prick, im just trying to show you just because you want something doesn't mean the community needs what you want. Sure 3-4 of the skiff guards should see some light of day when it comes to production, but not all of them and not every micro second character, thats the best way to loose ground, which means loss profits, which means the end of the hobby. As much as i want Tales of the Jedi characters made (and i want all of them) i know on the business side of things maybe 4-6 characters from the tales of the jedi series could habdle being realased. To me Jabbas Accountant is a waste of a slot in the line, to you Arca Jeth may be a waste of a slot, but to the business side of things both of them are wastes of space for a more exciting character like Obi, Luke, ETC. What i feel is sad is that we want the same things, but from different points of view.

(Oh and when i was a kid i hated ewoks, i think i owned two of the kenner ewok figures from ROTJ, and thats because they were gifts, when i was a kid i wanted Aliens: Cantania Jabbas palace, Storm Troopers, and Han solo, Ewoks i totally dispised. But by no means do i feel they shouldn't have made them furry critters. Because im pretty sure back then as a child i was alone in this demographic, in hating them.)

Well we do agree more than it seems. Balanced waves are the only thing that is going to keep the line alive. My stand on this is that Lukes, Leias, Vaders, Solos and Clonetroopers will ALWAYS be a part of the line and they need to be. However, since it is a given that we will see new versions of those characters year after year, then I believe it is a waste of time to ask for them. My point with this Skiff Guards thread was to bring some attention to these 12 characters in the hopes of increasing the chances that we will see 4 or 5 of them eventually made.

The reality of it is, unless Hasbro is going to make a correctly-scaled Skiff vehicle, there is no way that all 12 Skiff Guards are going to fit on the current toys along with Luke, Han, Chewie and Lando. So it's kind of pointless to make them all. So I think the human guards should go on the back burner and Hasbro should focus on the aliens.

Hasbro has already said that we can expect to see many of these guards made in the next few years, but we shouldn't expect more than 2 per year. That's great news for me. I've already waited 24 years, I can wait a few more to see the ones that I want made, made well and individually carded.

Honestly, if Hasbro planned to just throw out a half-arsed battlepack of all of these guys made of primarily repaints and kitbashes, then I would say don't bother.

When these super-obscure characters are made and sold individually carded, then Hasbro really has to go the extra mile in making them appear to be worth the pricetag. Look at figures like Ephant Mon, FX-7 and R1-G4, those are perfect examples of Hasbro going waaaay above and beyond to make an obscure character appealing. I would like these Skiff Guards to get the same treatment, but not necessarily all 12.

So, here are the figures I want broken down into tiers:

Tier 1 (I want these to be all-new sculpts and individually carded):
Kithaba (Barada alien on prisoner skiff)
Giran (Klaatu alien on second skiff)
Weequay resculpt
Vedain (prisoner skiff driver who Lando tangled with)

Tier 2 (I don't mind if some of these reuse parts - mainly alien headsculpts; but I would prefer them individually carded):
Barada resculpt
Nikto Guard (remake of the vintage figure)
SGT Doallyn (rumored for 2008)
Queequay (the second Weequay on the prisoner skiff)
Velken Tezeri (human guard on the prisoner skiff)

Tier 3 (If these are the only ones we NEVER see then I am not really worried about it, but I will buy them if Hasbro makes them):
Human Guard #1 from second skiff
Human Guard #2 from second skiff

Tier 4 (retooling of existing figure is acceptable):
Pote Snitkin resculpt (but only if we get a larger skiff toy)

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I'm not asking for a figure of Jabba's accountant. I would buy him if he was made well, but I'm not worried about it. I'm talking about characters who played a major role in one of the primary action sequences of ROTJ, there is a difference.

[Gothiczartan]

First off let me say that Hasbro's 1998 Skiff Guards three-pack was probably the most misrepresented Cinema Scene of them all. Of the three figures offered, only one of them (Barada) was actually on one of the two skiffs in the film. The Nikto was one of the Sail Barge gunners and the Klaatu was another Sail Barge guard.

Of the key skiff in the movie (the one Luke, Han, Lando and Chewie were on) we have only gotten a figure of one of the guards on that skiff (Weequay). That leaves four characters who have never before been immortalized in plastic (Kithaba is kind of a strange pseudo-exception since the vintage Barada was scultped correctly but painted with Kithaba's colors, not Barada's).

Those four are:

Kithaba - the other Klatooinian
Vedain - the Nikto Skiff Driver and the one Lando wrestled with
Queequay - the other Weequay (yes, I know that according to EU all Weequays are referred to as Weequay; but that's just retarded)
Velken Tezeri - a human thug and I would completely understand if people balked at this suggestion

The second skiff is sort of a different story since it has been the source for a few Skiff Guards. Namely Barada, the vintage version of Nikto and Pote Snitkin. However, there are a few other characters on that Skiff that would make cool figures (including one that looks like Sgt. Doallyn).

Here's a reference pic of the four prisoner's skiff guards I mentioned above:

Vedain must have be near SA with working holster for gun, removable hood and gun

Velken Tezeri must be near SA with working holster and gun, removable helmet

Kithbaba must be near SA with staff

[bigbarada]

Unfortunately, there is a problem with the current Skiff toy. If you look at the photo I've attached, you can see that there is no way that figures of all five skiff guards, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Lando are going to fit on the vehicle as it stands now.

We can't crowd out the four heroes of the story, so I think we should prioritize which guards get made. First off Weequay, he's the guard who pushes Luke out onto the plank, so he is necessary. Vedain, the Nikto Skiff driver, is important because he pulls Lando out of the Skiff and in range of the Sarlacc.

So that leaves one of the middle guards. Velken Tezeri, to me, is pretty boring being just a human; so he's low on my priority list. Queequay is cool, but would be the second Weequay figure for that skiff. So, that leaves Kithaba, a very cool looking Klatooinian and a figure that received a minor nod in the vintage line and has a very memorable death scene as he is dragged screaming into the Sarlacc's mouth.

Ideally, it would be great if all the Skiff Guard figures were made, but if we just got a new Weequay, Kithaba and Vedain, I would be thrilled.

[Gothiczartan]

Unfortunately, there is a problem with the current Skiff toy. If you look at the photo I've attached, you can see that there is no way that figures of all five skiff guards, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Lando are going to fit on the vehicle as it stands now.

We can't crowd out the four heroes of the story, so I think we should prioritize which guards get made. First off Weequay, he's the guard who pushes Luke out onto the plank, so he is necessary. Vedain, the Nikto Skiff driver, is important because he pulls Lando out of the Skiff and in range of the Sarlacc.

So that leaves one of the middle guards. Velken Tezeri, to me, is pretty boring being just a human; so he's low on my priority list. Queequay is cool, but would be the second Weequay figure for that skiff. So, that leaves Kithaba, a very cool looking Klatooinian and a figure that received a minor nod in the vintage line and has a very memorable death scene as he is dragged screaming into the Sarlacc's mouth.

Ideally, it would be great if all the Skiff Guard figures were made, but if we just got a new Weequay, Kithaba and Vedain, I would be thrilled.

there will be plenty of room to hold about 8 figures on the skiff.

[Gothiczartan]

Well, here's a composite pic of the four figures we are asking for from the second skiff. Since Barada and Pote Snitkin have already been made and the other skiff guard is still an unknown, I will just post what we know so far.

Thus, to kind of summarize everything, here are the figures we are asking for here, Hasbro:

Kithaba
Queequay
Vedain
Velken Tezeri
Nikto Guard
Sgt. Doallyn
Giran (the Klaatu Rancor Keeper/Skiff Guard)
Human Mercenary (for lack of a better name)

That's eight figures, which could be done as four two packs or, if Hasbro is a little hesitant, release two 2-packs to sort of test the waters. Kithaba and Vedain; Sgt. Doallyn and Giran

Or if Hasbro is really hesitant, do another Klaatu, Barada, Nikto 3-pack (without the base), consisting of Kithaba, Vedain and Giran.

In any case, make Kithaba first.:)

I hope this is the right thug you add on there

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Giran

[Gothiczartan]

Unfortunately, there is a problem with the current Skiff toy. If you look at the photo I've attached, you can see that there is no way that figures of all five skiff guards, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Lando are going to fit on the vehicle as it stands now.

We can't crowd out the four heroes of the story, so I think we should prioritize which guards get made. First off Weequay, he's the guard who pushes Luke out onto the plank, so he is necessary. Vedain, the Nikto Skiff driver, is important because he pulls Lando out of the Skiff and in range of the Sarlacc.

So that leaves one of the middle guards. Velken Tezeri, to me, is pretty boring being just a human; so he's low on my priority list. Queequay is cool, but would be the second Weequay figure for that skiff. So, that leaves Kithaba, a very cool looking Klatooinian and a figure that received a minor nod in the vintage line and has a very memorable death scene as he is dragged screaming into the Sarlacc's mouth.

Ideally, it would be great if all the Skiff Guard figures were made, but if we just got a new Weequay, Kithaba and Vedain, I would be thrilled.


I think they should make a new sculpt skiff in movie accurate size to fit the figures in to recreate movie scene.

[El Chuxter]

there will be plenty of room to hold about 8 figures on the skiff.

Do you have a picture? No way I can fit eight on mine.

[Gothiczartan]

Do you have a picture? No way I can fit eight on mine.

they should make a little larger scale skiff just like they already did made the x wing fighter and the bigger wings for the tie fighter.

[Gothiczartan]

Do you have a picture? No way I can fit eight on mine.

here are links

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9901/skiffguardsgf0.png

[bigbarada]

Those guys are crammed on there like sardines! If the Skiff was that size in the movie, then Luke could have killed everyone (include Lando, Han and Chewie) with one swing of his lightsaber. :stupid:

We do need a larger Skiff, but since Hasbro seems so reluctant to rerelease the current one, I doubt we will ever see it.

[Sinscia Fat'o]

Those guys are crammed on there like sardines! If the Skiff was that size in the movie, then Luke could have killed everyone (include Lando, Han and Chewie) with one swing of his lightsaber. :stupid:

We do need a larger Skiff, but since Hasbro seems so reluctant to rerelease the current one, I doubt we will ever see it.

The skiff was one of the things that so ruined me on this scene in the movie. I wanted this very badly, and when i couldnt find it...it really broke me on everything ROTJ realated. Though if they would bring this item back or even yet make it better because yes, those figures are packed on there... it looks a little to tight and no room for new addtions that may come down the pike over the years.

[bigbarada]

The skiff was one of the things that so ruined me on this scene in the movie. I wanted this very badly, and when i couldnt find it...it really broke me on everything ROTJ realated. Though if they would bring this item back or even yet make it better because yes, those figures are packed on there... it looks a little to tight and no room for new addtions that may come down the pike over the years.

I would still ideally like to have all of the Skiff Guards made, no matter how unrealistic you think that is. Collectors would never be able to fit all of them on the Skiff toy, but at least they could choose which ones the wanted and which ones to leave out.

But there is still plenty of space for new arrivals, out of the 7 guards on the second skiff, only two have been made in the modern line (Barada, Pote Snitkin), so Hasbro could make 2 or 3 more before the vehicle begins to get too crowded. Of the 5 guards on the prisoner skiff, Hasbro has made only one (Weequay), so 1 or 2 more are truly necessary.

[Sinscia Fat'o]

I would still ideally like to have all of the Skiff Guards made, no matter how unrealistic you think that is. Collectors would never be able to fit all of them on the Skiff toy, but at least they could choose which ones the wanted and which ones to leave out.



I wasn't cuttin on your skiff guards dude :) i was just commenting on the fact that the skiff is to small and very very hard to find, and that vechile being hard to find is what ruined me on this scene in the movie, when i heard they where going to bring it out i was very happy...but when none of them even came to the Ronoake VA area (At least on my 4-5 trips i made to find it) i got very jaded on that scene and figures for that scene. (Sounds very self centered i know.) I dont think these figures are unrealistic i just think they're better options to be made first, i think 1-2, or even 2-3 of these guys a year isnt a bad thing, i just dont think a wave made of these figures would go over real well. (And i dont think the basic humans would go over real well either, but thats neither here nor there.) Though i never attended to rag on your choices of figures.

[bigbarada]

I wasn't cuttin on your skiff guards dude :) i was just commenting on the fact that the skiff is to small and very very hard to find, and that vechile being hard to find is what ruined me on this scene in the movie, when i heard they where going to bring it out i was very happy...but when none of them even came to the Ronoake VA area (At least on my 4-5 trips i made to find it) i got very jaded on that scene and figures for that scene. (Sounds very self centered i know.) I dont think these figures are unrealistic i just think they're better options to be made first, i think 1-2, or even 2-3 of these guys a year isnt a bad thing, i just dont think a wave made of these figures would go over real well. (And i dont think the basic humans would go over real well either, but thats neither here nor there.) Though i never attended to rag on your choices of figures.

It's all good, and I understand where you are coming from. If Hasbro totally screws up an attempt at a Kithaba figure, it will probably severely hamper my interest in recreating this scene.