Nikto Skiff Guard

September 8, 2012 | By More


 

Well, Hasbro’s new Nikto Skiff Guard (VC99) is a long overdue update to the original figure made by Kenner for the vintage Return of the Jedi toy line. This is important for some people, because ever since Hasbro re-launched the license back in 1995, fans have had the lingering desire to see the complete roster of characters produced by Kenner done in whatever the current line is.

 

I have a very personal connection to the original Nikto action figure because it was one of the very first purchases I made on my own and with my own money in my early teens, back when I began to be allowed to go out to malls without adult supervision. Those trips were always a little bit scary, yet exhilarating and the feeling of going back home with an action figure in my pocket is something that I miss.

 

But enough remembrance. How is the figure? Well, it is mighty fine, I’d say. I always thought that the color palette in the original Kenner figure was rather unusual for the line and to be honest, I don’t think I ever actually catched a glimpse of this Nikto on the screen back then, so I really would not know if the toy was an accurate depiction of what was in the movie . The new Nikto Skiff Guard shares the same color scheme, but the attire is much more detailed this time.

 

One thing I like very much about how Hasbro is handling the Star Wars Vintage Collection, is that they are not reusing previously sculpted pieces for these aliens, but instead developing all-new sculpts for heads and hands. A common theme with these characters is that the sculpted faces tend to look much more alive than the masks actually worn on-set by the extras, and the Nikto Skiff Guard is no exception to this trend.

 

The body proportions were also reworked, and now this Nikto looks a bit slimmer than his Kenner counterpart despite having some pouches added to his belt as well as a functional pistol holster. Articulation is the standard for the line, consisting of:

 

• Ball jointed neck.

• Pegged hinge shoulders.

• Pegged hinge elbows.

• Pegged hinge wrists.

• Swivel waist.

• Swivel hips.

• Pegged hinge knees.

• Pegged hinge ankles.

 

Of course, some of these joints get some limits imposed by the character design, like the ankles having limited forward range and the hips don’t allowing this Nikto to sit because of the rubber skirt piece, but the overall range is still very good.

 

Hasbro really does a masterful use of the natural colors of the plastic to help complete the look on the figures, but something that has consistently slipped their control is matching the color of the articulation pins to that of the surrounding areas, like in the knee joints found on this Nikto.

 

The arms are molded in white plastic, the torso and skirt piece were molded in light turquoise blue and the lower half was molded in gray. These pieces have simple blocks of color painted on to bring out small details like straps and fasteners, with the largest being the sculpted chest armor.

 

The head and hands were molded in a reddish brown color, but also given a shading wash to enhance the skin texture and the bony protrusions on the face and the back of the hands were picked out in an almost black shade of brown.

 

 

The Nikto Skiff Guard comes with a removable helmet, a force pike and one of those ornate blasters favored by Jabba’s security personnel.

 

Even though the mismatched color of the knee pins does stand out a bit too much, the overall look is quite nice, and I’m happy to have the Nikto Skiff Guard joining the ranks of Jabba’s menagerie.

 

Errex Score: 95/100

 

 

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Category: Featured, Star Wars, Toy Reviews

About the Author ()

I've been collecting action figures since the original Kenner Star Wars days. Nowadays, I still collect pretty much anything that catches my eye.

Comments (3)

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  1. David says:

    When will Hasbro produce an “All New” Skiff?

  2. Errex says:

    I don’t think we will see a really new skiff anytime soon, unless they are featured in the upcoming movies.

  3. Engineernerd says:

    I’m glad I got mine when I did.