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Medicom Wicket the Ewok

Medicom Star Wars Wicket the Ewok VCD action figure

Medicom produces a wide variety of items for all their licenses, but Star Wars seems to get the extra special treatment. They produce figures for the license in their VCD (Vinyl Collectible Doll) series, but these are generally 'super deformed' i.e. with large sized heads, small bodies and generally cartoony appearances.

A little less than two years ago, Medicom released a Yoda in their VCD series, but it was NOT deformed, goofy, or weird in anyway. In fact, it fit in extremely well with both their own 12" series and the Sideshow 12" series of action figures. His articulation was a little limited of course, but the terrific sculpt and paint were accented by a great cloth outfit and with some nifty accessories.

Medicom didn't release any additional VCD figures that could fit in style-wise with the regular sixth scale line until now - Wicket the Ewok. Yes, yes, I know how you feel about ewoks...we all feel the same. Well, except for this one crazy nuclear scientist I know that lives up in the great northwest and thinks ewoks are just the cutest things. But there's some question about his mental stability. You would have thought that the mental exam, required to be around anything nuclear, would have had a question involving ewoks, but apparently it did not.

But even an ewok hater such as myself wants one in his sixth scale Star Wars collection. Hey, I've got the Hasbro Jar-Jar too! So when they announced that they were doing a normal ewok VCD, it wasn't as exciting as a Jawa, but I was still geeked up for it.

You can pick this guy up at a number of places (listed in my Where to Buy section of course) for around $60.
Medicom Star Wars Wicket the Ewok VCD action figure

Medicom Star Wars Wicket the Ewok VCD action figure
Medicom Star Wars Wicket the Ewok VCD action figure
Medicom Star Wars Wicket the Ewok VCD action figure

Packaging - **1/2
I've always found the Medicom Star Wars packaging tremendously dull and uninteresting. Some of this was based on the package style from a few years ago that Lucas Film was pushing, but that time has long passed. There's classy simple, and there's just simple simple. These are way too simple simple.

They are collector friendly, which is always a plus, but the black/gray exterior is very, very easy to end up with rub marks and damage.  Just look at mine!

Sculpting - ***
If this figure were going to be a stand alone item, and you were only considering the technical quality of the sculpt, this score WOULD be higher. That's because there's some very nice detailing in the fur and face, and he does look fairly good taken completely on his own. He stands great by himself (which is particularly important since there's no display stand), and he holds his spear nicely in his sculpted hands.  I'm not a huge fan of the walking stance (particularly since you're stuck with it), but I'll live.

But he's 5" tall. That makes him way too small to be posed with Sideshow figures, and even too small to be posed with the slightly smaller Medicom Star Wars figures. It's not just about height here - the shorter statue means less width and depth too.  He simply takes up far less volume overall than he should in 3 dimensions. This guy is itty bitty, and that was tremendously disappointing.

Paint - ***
The paint quality is decent, but there's still some basic issues with it particularly at this price point. While the cut lines are clean, and the eyes, nose and teeth look quite good, the general look of the fur is weak.

There's inconsistencies in the finish on various parts of the body, with some (like the legs) more glossy than others, and abrupt color changes between the limbs and back.

It also is very toy-like in the wash, dry brushing and detail painting.. It does not have the realistic look of say, Medicom's Yoda or one of the more recent Hot Toys figures. I'd expect this quality of paint work on a toy half this price.

Articulation - *1/2
Unlike Yoda, who had some great wrist articulation and decent neck articulation, Wicket is almost a Nerd Hummel. He has cut shoulders, and what appears to be a cut neck. That means the arms move backward and forward, and the head turns *slightly*. I say that because the head covering is glued in place, and greatly restricts the head movement.

It ain't much, that's for sure. The legs actually look like they should be articulated at the body, but they aren't and that was a bit disappointing.

Accessories - *1/2
Wicket comes with one - his spear. The sculpt on the spear is fairly soft, particularly around the stone tip, and the paint ops are fairly limited.  I'd expect to see a spear like this with a Hasbro figure.  One accessory on a 5" $60 action figure? Cmon.

Outfit - ***
The only piece of clothing he has is his leather head wear, which is nicely done. The size is about right, and it stays looking good because it's glued in place. It's decent, but it still doesn't have quite as  realistic of an appearance as the prototype had. That being said, it's easily my favorite feature of the figure.

Fun Factor - ***
While the headdress is a nice hunk of thin leather, I don't see any reason not to give this to a 7 year old to play with, other than the obvious fact that it's $60. It's that toy-like.

Value - *
Did I mention that this thing cost me $60? You can find it a few bucks cheaper if you shop around, but it's at least twice as expensive as it should be. You aren't going to feel like you've gotten your money's worth, no matter how much you love ewoks.

Things to Watch Out For - 
Be careful when you're working with the head, because you probably don't want to break the leather free from the body.

Overall - **
This figure was one of the bigger disappointments in awhile. I knew something was wrong as soon as I pulled the box out of the shipping box...how could that little box hold Wicket? Things just went downhill from there.

Even if this was the proper size, you'd have a hard time finding $60 worth of reason to own it. Unlike a Jawa, where'd you'd have a more complex outfit and perhaps light up eyes, not to mention a couple more accessories, here you're getting what ends up feeling like a very overpriced PVC.  Companies like Mcfarlane do figures this nice on a regular basis, and they do it for $12 - $15.

Score Recap:
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - *1/2
Accessories - *1/2
Outfit - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - *
Overall - **

Where to Buy -
There are a number of options:

- Alter Ego Comics has him for $53.99.

- he's also available through Sideshow for $60. 

- or you can search ebay with MyAuctionLinks.

Related Links -
Other sixth scale Star Wars stuff includes:

I've covered plenty of Star Wars sixth scale figures:

- Sideshow has had a strong year with Tatooine Han, Commander Praji, the exceptional Palpatine/Sidous and ANH Obi-Wan, and the not quite so exceptional Ilum Padme.

- in the sixth scale line, I've also reviewed Leia and Bespin Luke, the Holo-chess set, Sideshow's Asajj, a terrific figure, Yavin Luke, the Endor Troops, Jabba the Hutt and his throne, Bib Fortuna, Jedi Luke, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Bespin Han Solo, regular Anakin Skywalker and Kit Fisto.

- I also have guest reviews of the SDCC Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, and Qui-Gon Jinn.

- in the premium format line, I've reviewed Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Han Solo.

If you'd like to check out some of the 12" Star Wars offerings from Medicom, hit these links:

- my review of Darth Maul, the 501st Clone Trooper, Jango Fett, the Sandtrooper and  Boba Fett.

- guest reviews of the VCD Yoda and Boba Fett.

- guest reviews of the ROTS Vader, Jedi Luke, and this very Trooper.

- and my review of their first release Darth Vader, the regular Stormtrooper, and Clonetrooper and Blackhole Trooper.

Discussion:
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Medicom Star Wars Wicket the Ewok VCD action figure


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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