I kid with the headline, but we've been asking Hasbro for Brea and Senni Tonnika since Galoob made one in Action Fleet in 1997. Or I have, at any rate. They're two of the includes (along with Wuher) in Hasbro's STAR WARS The Vintage Collection Mos Eisley Cantina. The base option is $399.99, the deluxe option adds another chunk of booths for another $100 at $499.99, and there are three stretch goals - a Greedo (read below for more on him), Nabrun Leids, and a real shocker, the missing wolfman Arleil Schous.

Is it all worth it? Will this be in a question and answer format? When should you backfill your missing alien stash? Buckle up, this one gets long.   Read on!


 

Is it really worth $500?

The short answer is "probably not" and the long answer is "probably not, but you've been after a big cantina for years. So you're not going to buy it?"  This is most likely the last crack at something like this for a Cantina Playset.

How's It Doing?

Since launching Friday morning, it's at 3,112 units as of 11:00 PM PDT Friday night. That's not terrible, but if you want all the stretch goals it needs to sell another 14,000 to get to the 17,000 for that final stretch goal. My bet is some dealers will do it, because while fans will balk at pre-paying for a $400 or $500 playset, eBay sales of other HasLab items show fans will pay $20-$40 for parted-out G.I. Joe figures, or $50+ for The Vintage Collection figures from previous HasLabs.

I bet Hasbro could get even more if they put the figures on The Power of the Force cardbacks with coins. But I digress - my point is dealers will probably count on being able to sell the 3-6 figures for $150-$300, and a figure-less playset for $300-$400 and another $100-$150 for the add-on segments for the deluxe set. I don't begrudge future flippers since we all have an equal shot at this if we have the funds or the stuff to sell to raise the funds, so it stands to reason flippers or dealers could make as much as $850 per deluxe set on a $500 buy if they part it out. Or more. And who knows what the whole boxed set will flip for? (Looking at the recent Mattel Creations Eternia playset - maybe not very much. It's hard to guess.)

Point is, it's going to fund with at least 3 figures and I can only assume that flipping Tonnika sisters will sell a whole ton of these playsets before the final week ends, and I'm trying to encourage them to buy more units so I get my wolfman alien.  Help me out, man.

How Are the Figures and Stretch Goals?

Good. The main box includes never-before released Brea Tonnika and Senni Tonnika action figures and an all-new sculpt of the twice-baked before Wuher, last released around 2004. They're overdesigned - each sister has two blasters, a drink, and one alternate hand. That's way more than either needs, but nobody can accuse Hasbro for shorting you on accessories. Wuher includes a glass, an alternate hand, and a rifle - I assume inspired by Guinan holding off Starfleets with night terrors. Again, it's fine - more than it needs to be. All three figures make sense to be included here, because the twins are pretty much only going to sell to us old farts over 40 (or 50, or 60) and Targeteers or Walmartians will not be interested. Also Wuher is available in other forms, so this is one that makes sense to put in this set because it's his home.

The first stretch goal Greedo appears to not be an all-new sculpt, but rather, the digital file of the body of the 6-inch The Black Series re-engineered for the smaller scale with a new, better-proportioned head. (The 6-inch one had weird, oval eyes. These are rounder and the spines on his head are merged together for stability.) It looks good, and if I were Hasbro I would also make use of fixing up the perfectly good digital CAD sculpt I had on hand, too. His hands appear to be new or new-ish. He includes a blaster, and a unique tumbler that actually looks really cool. The only thing here I don't like is the fact that it isn't sold in stores so everybody who wants the most recognizable cantina creature that isn't the band can get one.

Number two is Nabrun Leids, the same flight suit that seemed to inspire the original Greedo. Kenner made one in 1998 with a blaster and very little articulation, with a nice redeco as a Walmart exclusive in 2007 and I was perfectly happy with it, but this looks a lot better. It has a breathing mask with hose, a glass, and two blasters plus tons of articulation. Confidential to Hasbro: please retool this and make us a new Kenner-style Greedo too. It's goofy, but so am I. This is a nice figure and this is a good place for it.

The final stretch goal is Arleil Schous, a surprisingly homely looking fellow in the light. The Defel was edited out of Star Wars back in 1997, so he's for the film and VHS and LaserDisc generation. He doesn't have much - just a blaster and a drink. So much for "no blasters," am I right? To my knowledge Hasbro has never made one of these and I don't think Galoob or West End Games had either. It's a shame it's exclusive to this set, because a lot of fans might be excited for it - but Hasbro has to make its nut and this is the kind of thing that's going to make some fence-sitters pounce.

What It Leaves Me Wanting

It gives you a lot for a realization of a three dimensional space that probably exists only in your imagination. While there are sets, there were at least two of them and the scene was built with editing of footage from London and Los Angeles. I need to rewatch the film with an eye for the floor, but I don't know if Ponda Baba's arm was an insert shot using the other Cantina sets, or in a bathroom in San Rafael, or what. The point I'm making here is that you don't get a floor. The Cardboard Galaxy, Etsy sellers, or Home Depot are going to get some money out of us to just plain finish the building. Hasbro could also do more add-on rooms or exterior elements, but the missing floor is one of two things that bugs me.  (Also bugging me, where's Tzizvvt?)

I assume I will most likely be getting a board, some spray adhesive, and a bunch of sand to make something acceptable. I hope Hasbro considers a cardboard base in the box, or perhaps a "play mat" as the cost on those is pretty minimal.

The other thing missing is somewhere for the Cantina Band, which I guess is up to debate between various blueprints and books with cross sections show the band in an alcove, but I don't know if it's going to work to cram six or seven guys in there. It's also worth noting that the band membership has been a debated topic for years, which probably renders any of my complaining moot. If one of the alcoves allows for it, maybe you can cram most of the band in there - but it doesn't look deep enough for this to work. Keep in mind this is just speculation too - they may well fit in there perfectly. That cross-section book seems to have them behind one of the tables, and I assume that's not going to work for us unless Hasbro produces a new module. Failing that, an enterprising fan project may be able to do it - but that's not something we've seen American toy fans do much.

How About That Deluxe Add-On?

$100 gets you 3 booth sections, 5 short stools, 2 single seats, 4 benches, 20 more cups, 6 round tables, and different deco. Is it worth it? If you want it, probably - there are neat alien trophies mounted on the wall, and you can tell your friends about this head you just got. Had Hasbro thrown in another figure (or bagged figures) it would be worth the cost.

Confidential to Hasbro: you should add a tier for an extra set of bagged figures, so we can keep the carded figures if we want. I'd buy 'em for another $100.

Do The Dollars Make Sense?

With Boba Fett's Palace getting quite a discount lately for Pulse members, there may be some wiggle-room in these prices. The set costs $399.99 - $499.99, and the math is open to interpretation. And here's mine, using the Deluxe version as the measuring stick. Yours may be different.

$100.00 - Add-on Pack with 3 alcoves and tables and glasses
$102.00 - 6x Action Figures at $17 each
$100.00 - The 3 alcoves and tables with the default segment (assuming the add-on pack costs the same as the ones you get by default, there seems to be more parts and heads and deco on the add-on)

That's $302, so (at the deluxe price) so where is the other $198? Being generous, we can say the stairwell is about as good as an average Hasbro The Vintage Collection playset, and those run about $50 with a figure. This one is fully realized on both sides with sculpted and painted detail, so even though there's no figure I'd say we can be generous and say it's about $60 worth of Hasbro playset (if it is worth that, that's another debate.)

So now we need to get another $138 - You get the Bar with lots of sculpted IG-88 head dispensers and distillery equipment galore, a couple of chairs. Given the painted deco, parts, and sculpted elements, would you be opposed to saying - generously - it's about $90? My math: we got the 2 curved bar sections for $6.99 a pop with a figure and a coin in 2007, and the straight bar sections with a figure were about $9.99 with a figure in 2002 or the 3-packs at Kmart for, I think, $19.99 per around 2004. Let's be generous again and do them at their issue prices and throw out the figures for inflation, and include the bottles and drink dispensers here in their place. That would be about $74 in 2007-ish dollars, the paint here is a bit nicer, and you get some upper rails too.

That leaves us with $48 to scrounge up somewhere for the remaining tables, glassware, and seats... and while those aren't free, it's worth noting there are a lot o them and Hasbro is going to charge us for them if we want that many or not. There are over 100 glasses in the picture. I sure don't think they're worth 50 cents each - or 33 cents - but also, I have a lot of glasses already and wouldn't want to pay for more. You may not have every existing Kenner or Hasbro Cantina toy, and this might be new and necessary for you - so I begrudgingly have to say that I think the math works out to being not great, but at least, not horrible if and only if we hit those stretch goals.

Also I don't consider the stickers into the mix, because Aurebesh didn't exist in 1977 and none of this is canonical. I like them - they're cute - but wildly unnecessary (and something I will not use) for a set like this where I don't think we're going to want to use them. But if you want to factor them in at a buck or two, that's up to you.

When Should You Buy The Figures You Skipped from 1995-2023?

Right now! I collect old video games, and there's a pattern. When a high-profile FPGA-powered clone system comes out that can play cartridges, the cartridge and peripheral prices tend to jump after the consoles get in peoples' hands, but not during the pre-order or waiting period. NES and Super NES game prices went up a bit with the Analouge Nt systems, Super Nt, RetroUSB AVS, and so on. Game Boy Cameras and game cartridges were dirt cheap for a long time - and then the Analogue Pocket shipped, driving people who can't plan ahead to pay $30-$40 for a Game Boy Camera that my record store haunts couldn't give away for $8 the previous year. (I bought some when it was cheap. I am smart. You can be smart too.)

Dozens of Cantina Alien reviews are up on Figure of the Day, although there are some that never got imported there. (Oops.) But you can see a lot of them, many of which have affiliate links that are probably dead by now but could've made me money otherwise. The point being, you can get a Garindan or BoShek now because who knows when - or if - Hasbro will do new ones? There have been so few new or old aliens in the figure waves that I wouldn't bet on more than a couple in the main line. (With Boba's Palace and the Barge, we did see some exclusive reruns and new guys.)

Go look at Muftak and Kabe on eBay right now - the set was $12.99 plus shipping in 1997, and you can buy-it-now for under $20. Adjusted for inflation, that set should be $25.38 before shipping. Sure, Muftak doesn't have joints but he's massive and even if Hasbro considered making a new one, he's be a $25-$30 figure. The old one stands and is sturdy and is cute - so go buy it if you don't have one, or lost it. It's not going to be any cheaper next year when this thing ships and people with more money than you scramble to fill in the gaps of their collections when they see all the space booze not being guzzled in their new empty playsets.

I also assume Hasbro won't make new ones, so go to eBay take a look at BoShek (starting at $15 + shipping), Mosep Bineed (the last all-new never-before-made barfly) is around $25, Bom Vindin is around $30 and that's not cheap. But POTF2 1996 Momaw Nadon is a gleeful treat at $5.   And yes, these are affiliate links, so if you buy something I might get a few cents.

Others are cool but already expensive, like Feltipern Trevagg, Myo, and Dannik Jerriko (around $50 new) were highlights from 2005 and some of my favorites. But maybe you can find a small collection with these and other figures for a lower per-figure price.

So Are You Buying It?

I haven't backed it yet, but most likely yes - I've been wanting a non-cardboard Cantina since I was a kid, and the closest Hasbro ever got were sectional bar sections spread over a few years. And they're nice - but the reason I've been hoarding figures is specifically for something like this STAR WARS The Vintage Collection Mos Eisley Cantina. I'm annoyed it has no floor, but that's life. It's unlikely Hasbro will do another one, or let go of the license, so it's this or nothing. Are you in or out? There are very few of this kind of thing left on my wish list, and this one was on the top, so I'm going to buy it. I might wind up selling off a lot of The Black Series, now largely cheap, to fund it. No shade, I just don't play with them and they're not why I came here. I want nice things, and this is pretty nice - and I need to make some room, too, and big figures take up big space.

Are you going to buy it?  Before you say "no, I've got too much stuff," ask yourself if you really need every toy in every scale that you've got and could let some things go.  You might be able to find it a home where someone might enjoy those M&Mpire figures you're never going to do anything with again.

--Adam Pawlus