“Guard! This protocol droid might be useful. Fit him with a restraining bolt and take him back to His Excellency's main audience chamber.”
The original Gamorrean Guard release from 2018 paved the way for the Deluxe format of larger or more complex figures that we know today. 5 years later, and to mark the 40th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi, the Gamorrean was repacked onto a Kenner-inspired card back and sold as an exclusive release. In the US it was exclusive to Target, while it was available via the Fan Channel retailers outside of the US. While it retained its ‘deluxe’ status in terms of pricing, the card back was the same size as the other 40th Anniversary releases to support in-package collections. The card was based on the original 1983 Kenner card and used the same photo of the Gamorrean and the 1980s Kenner logo. The card back also followed suit with the original figures, carrying a multi-coloured checklist of some of the other Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary Black Series figures.
Our Gamorrean Guard is modelled after their ROTJ appearance with a squat green-skinned muscular body, protected by bronze/brown chest armour and a pair of gunmetal shoulder panels. The armoured sections featured sculpted details as seen on screen with a central circular icon on the Gamorrean’s chest, and other shield-shaped icons across the shoulders. The outfit is completed with a black plastic shoulder and waist strap with silver buckle and a brown skirt section which features a dark brown sculpted waist/groin section covered over with a soft goods fur skirt piece. The fur soft goods work as intended and hold a good shape while also moving with the leg articulation if needed.
The head sculpt is the same skin tone as the body with added brown detailing around the eyes, nose and mouth and bone white on the protruding tusks and horns. The guard helmet is a leather brown skull cap with metallic armoured panels featuring sculpted studs and spikes.
2023 version on the left, 2018 version on the right
There are no obvious variations between our 2023 40th Anniversary release and the original 2018 other than some minor paint colour differences we would expect to see across two different factory runs some 5-years apart. You can see some weathering changes between the two figures, and the chest appears a touch lighter on the new figure while the green skin is marginally darker.
Our Gamorrean features three accessories as seen with the original all of which are seen in various parts of Return of the Jedi so by varying your weapons you can recreate various Gamorrean scenes from Jabba’s Palace. The largest of the weapons is the Vibro-Lance as used by the Gamorrean Guards who try and stop Luke from entering the palace. This is a grey cast piece with only a touch of brown paint at the business end to add weathering. Despite the lack of paint, the cast is crisp and the features of the weapon are clearly defined. It slots into one or both of the Gamorrean’s hands.
We then have a pair of axes, the smaller of the two is the weapon of choice for the Gamorreans who escort C-3PO and R2-D2 to Jabba’s Droid workshop, and the Gamorrean standing close to Luke on his arrival in the Throne Room is also carrying the same weapon. The piece itself is simple in design as per the prop with a brown handle and dull grey blade that also features the same brown (rust?) weathering as the Vibro-Lance.
The other axe is referred to in reference materials as a Vibro-Axe and is a larger blade connected in two places to a similar wooden shaft with the same brown weathering on its edge. This final weapon is screen-accurate but not clearly seen in ROTJ. It is the same weapon that Kenner released with the original Gamorrean back in 1983, it is also seen most clearly wielded by the Guards in The Force Unleashed video game. Both axes fit into either hand with a secure grip - there are no holstering options built into the figure.
Articulation is a standard 16-point system plus an additional 17th point on the jaw which is pinned internally so the mouth can be opened and closed to vary the look of your Gamorrean(s) on display. The other articulation includes pinned joints on the arms and knees but holds a reasonable range of positions considering the bulk of the Gamorrean body. While he won’t sit or kneel, there are sufficient options to wield any of the three weapons in neutral or dynamic stances, and the low centre of gravity makes the Gamorrean an extremely stable figure once posed - including walking or running poses.
The Return of the Jedi 40th Anniversary was a perfect slot to re-release the Gamorrean Guard back onto the Star Wars Black Series collector market allowing those who missed in 2018 to add the Guard to displays, and those of us that already owned the figure an option to expand our complement of Guards. The figure does show its age in terms of the pinned joints, but otherwise is a strong representation of the onscreen Gamorrean costumes with the ability to vary your Guards thanks to a trio of weapons. There is nothing substantially different here vs the original release, but that was probably never in scope or required considering the Guard's costumes in ROTJ were also fairly identical.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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