Editor’s Note:  This review has been updated with a second look…

Original Review:  Chris 8/11/2013 01:59 PM

Who are you calling effulgent?!?  I have no idea what that word means, so I’m going to assume it’s an insult. I bet this version of Biggs spends a lot of time insisting that the color of his flight suit is salmon.  But that doesn’t stop the other rebels for teasing him about wearing pink gear. For some reason Hasbro decided to change the color of the rebel pilot uniform significantly with this release.  While previous incarnations were probably too pale of an orange, Hasbro over corrected in this case.  The end result is a pinkish peach colored action figure.  The darker color seems more accurate, but the change in hue is jarring.  In a vacuum, you probably wouldn’t notice.  But place him in the Yavin hangar embrace with his bestie Luke, and it readily stands out.

When diagnosing the ancestry of a particular figure, I always need to qualify my comments with “I believe”.  Hasbro has built up a significant tooling library for rebel pilots and as such, most releases are a kitbash of various predecessors.  Rather than plagiarize the research of Dan Curto, I will simply generalize this figure as using the “tall body” formula for Rebel Pilots.  This is distinguished from pilots based on the X-wing Luke sculpt by not only height, but also the absence of a lightsaber hilt peg hole.  As near as I can tell, this makes the Biggs Darklighter figure a fraction too tall. But Hasbro is probably reluctant to tool up a “medium” height pilot, so the pilots will follow either the short (Luke) or tall (John D Brannon, etc.) parts recipes.  In order to distinguish Biggs from his buddy, the tall body is probably the lesser of two evils.

The head sculpt certainly seems more accurate than previous releases.  The hair color is also a more accurate black instead of the brown on earlier versions.  Hasbro sculpted a part into the hair.  I love this type of added detail.  Unfortunately, this creates a more complicated paint application, which, if you look at my sample, can lend itself to overspray.  Both of the figures from my case from Big Bad Toy Store had sloppy paint apps along the hairline.  I have seen cleanly painted samples in store, so look carefully before buying. There are added details to the helmet specifically the deco on the sides.  The warped checkerboard pattern on the top of the helmet is cleaner and more vibrant than previous releases.  This figure will be in heavy retail rotation due to the Toys R Us exclusive release of Biggs’ Red Three X-Wing which is just hitting stores at the time of this article.  I tend to give the super articulated X-Wing pilots a score of 8 out of 10, but the poor paint apps at the hairline and particularly the questionable flight suit color warrant a point deduction.  7 out of 10.

Updated Review:  Bret - 10/25/2018 07:05 AM

That flight suit color is a killer.  I’m somewhat colorblind, and even I hate it.  An otherwise outstanding figure with minor flaws is really a punch to the gut because of the pinkish color that is different from every other X-wing pilot flight suit in the Hasbro lineup.  It really sticks out badly when he’s standing next to other pilots.  Just look at him in the hangar pics above.  I SAID LOOK AT HIM!  It’s an egregious error by Hasbro.  Unforgivable! 

HE CAN’T SEE ‘EM!

One thing I was surprised to learn when I was setting up the diorama shots was that Biggs’s helmet isn’t painted quite right.  It looks perfect from the front, which is where you see Biggs’s helmet 99% of the time in the film.  When I tried to recreate the shot where he has the helmet in his hand talking to Luke and Dreis, I couldn’t tell the angle at which he was holding it.  I realized it was because the yellow/black checkerboard pattern appears on the front as well as at the back/base of the helmet.  You can also see it when Biggs is frantically looking around for the pursuing TIE’s during the battle itself.  For whatever reason, Hasbro left this off the helmet, which is too bad because it’s otherwise outstanding. 

As for the head, it’s pretty good.  He can pass for Garrick Hagon.  Actually, I think he looks more like Pedro Pascal.  You may know him as Oberyn “Red Viper” Martell, one of the best supporting characters in Game of Thrones, but there have been rumors that he may be the lead role in Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian,” which is about a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles Fan that choked on a cheesesteak while watching Super Bowl LII, and died before he saw the final score.  I’m looking forward to that show.  Anyway, Chris pointed out the issue with the paint applications for the hair, specifically bleeding past the edges of the sculpted part.  Your mileage may vary there, but it didn’t bother me.  The mustache on my sample is a little wonky, but I like the head sculpt.  And I like this pilot sculpt.  I don’t think I even want Hasbro to make any attempt at upgrading the X-Wing Pilot base figures they currently have available to them. They’re super-articulated, well sculpted, and should suffice as the definitive base for all X-Wing pilots for a long time to come. 

This figure has its flaws.  The missing helmet details and the pinkish uniforms are the worst offenders.  If Hasbro wanted to release Biggs on a TVC card, I think a lot of fans might welcome that, as long as it wasn’t overproduced.  I’m not sure I think Hasbro needs to invest in a new pilot sculpt, so let’s not go down the path of having to replace all of our pilots, like Hasbro wants us to do with those skinny VC45 clones we keep hearing about.  I’m going to call this “The Close Enough to Definitive Biggs Darklighter Figure”, even though it gets a fairly pedestrian score of 7.

Verdict: Re-issue in TVC with correctly painted helmet and jumpsuit (Very low priority) 

Again, low priority, but a properly painted Biggs on a TVC card would go over well.  They’re doing it with the 41st Elite Clone that nobody asked for, so why not Mr. Darklighter?  In the meantime, samples on eBay are pretty cheap.  If you’re satisfied with that ancient and grossly under-articulated TAC version, more power to you.  Otherwise, pick up one of these on eBay.

If Uncle Owen were around to find Biggs’s dry cleaner, there’d be hell to pay.

Verdict Guide:
Re-sculpt = The figure is not definitive, and a new version should be developed.
Re-issue = This version is definitive (or close enough), and shows sufficient secondary market demand to warrant a straight repack.
No Action = This release does not require new attention.