Bio: Garindan's eyes were hidden beneath dark goggles, as they were extremely sensitive to the harsh sunlight of Tatooine. His name translates to "Blessed One", "burnt wood", "dust from a windstorm", "ugly", and "toast" in five different languages. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.)

Commentary: It took 20 years for Kenner to crank out the very first Garindan action figure, and for its day, it was pretty good-- it also signaled the start of a new, bad direction for the toys. With a cloak, a communicator molded into his hand, and a nicely detailed face, fans gobbled this figure up, even though it wasn't colored totally correctly. With the little comm to contact Sandtroopers and a gun of his own, he was a welcome addition to the line and a much-needed new face for the Cantina or the streets of Mos Eisley. Unfortunately, Hasbro gave him a non-removable cloak which prevented him from sitting, or really doing much of anything but standing there. Arm articulated was restricted by this plastic garment, which effectively reduced his number of points of articulation to about two or three, depending on what you consider acceptable. More a statue than a toy, the figure showed signs of good design marred by one bad accessory which can ruin the whole thing. Still, fans as a whole liked it (myself included) so it's hard to complain too much.

Collector's Notes: This figure saw rerelease in 1998 with a Freeze Frame Action Slide bonus, and an entirely new Garindan figure was released in 2007. The 2007 release is arguably superior in almost every way, so if you want Garindan, I suggest you get the new one.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 789: July 3, 2008