The cantina scene has always been one of my favorite scenes in ANH. Maybe it's the multitude of various creatures and aliens, or the complex designs for each one, I don't know. Hasbro has giving us a variety of cantina aliens in the past, some fantastic (VTSC Greedo, POTC Myo), others, not so great (POTF2 Dr. Evazan). One figure that stood out on fan's wishlists that hadn't been made was Hem Dazon. He was technicaly the first ever cantina alien, and sported a distinctive T-shaped noggin. Well now, Hem Dazon has received his first-ever treatment in plastic. Does it live up to the hype? Read on!
Sculpt: 5/5
Because Hem was only seen as a head-on-a-stick, the sculpt on 'Ol Goldeneyes is a combination of EU source material and the mind of Hasbro. He sports a teal and burgundy spacer jumpsuit, with a bandolier. He features a nicely sculpted holster, but we'll talk about that more in the accesories section. The head that made him famous is well sculpted, and as far as I can tell, accurate to the movie.
Articulation: 4/5
Mr. Dazon has 12 points of articulation. This is more than enough for a cantina alien IMO, and can be put in some pretty cool poses, like aiming his pistol, taking a drink of a Jawa Juice, and chattin' it up with Wuher. I tried him on my K-Mart Cantina Set, and he sits on the stool just fine.
Paint: 5/5
Hem has a great wash on his head, arms, and feet, that really flesh out his skin. It looks very lifelike, and accurate to ANH. He sports a fairly simple paintjob on his spacer outfit, and it looks nice and crisp.
Accesories: 5/5
Accesories are, IMO, the most important part of a figure, next to sculpt. Hem would rank among one of the best in terms of accesories. Everyone's favorite goldeneyed cantina alien has:
-Cantina Barglass
-Blaster Pistol
-Cantina Table
-Stand
-Red Mini Hologram (I got Count Dooku)
My favorite accesory is the Cantina Table, it looks really great and works well with Hem. I love larger accesories like this, a reason why Lushros's Command Console is one of my favorite TSC accesories. Another cool accesory is Dazon's Blaster Pistol, which is a resculpt of the Rebel Pistol that some Rebel Troopers used during the Battle of Hoth. It fits perfect in his holster, and easily fits in his hand. The barglass is a simple sculpt, but looks great.
Overall: 5/5
Hem Dazon is a fantastic cantina alien, and a worthy addition to either your FC Exclusive Pop-Up Cantina Diorama, or your K-Mart Exclusive Cantina. He has great sculpting, loads of accesories, and is a much requested figure that many collectors have been wanting since the Kenner toyline started in '78. If you see him, PICK HIM UP! That shoudn't be too hard, considering he's making the pegs quite toasty in my area.
