This Month Smuggler’s Bounty Takes Us to Jabba’s Palace

Star Wars fans, real Star Wars fans, know the best part of Return of the Jedi is the first half. The first half of Return had the fun and the excitement. Han Solo, still frozen in carbonite, was used as a bar decoration. Princess Leia was busted as a bounty hunter and, much to the delight of young boys everywhere, made to wear a skimpy bikini. Poor R2-D2 was forced into servitude as a butler. Luke showed off new Jedi powers and Boba Fett was digested for a 1000 years in the Sarlacc Pit. All this and an epic rescue was found in Jabba’s Palace on Tatooine not on the kid friendly Ewok filled forest.

This month Smuggler’s Bounty box heads back to Jabba’s Palace. There’s no sand in July’s box, but what is inside is just as much fun as watching Jabba’s skiff blow up.

Usually, I start off these mystery box reviews with the small stuff. In July’s box though there isn’t any “small” stuff. So let’s start from the cool to the awesome.

Funko makes a lot of different toy lines based on what property licenses. This month Funko debuts their plush line of dolls. At first, I thought Funko already made a plush line of dolls. In a way they do, they’re called Fabrikations. Fabrikations though are bigger than the Funko Plush and squishier(?) than this plush. I always assumed plush dolls should be squeezable and soft. The Boba Fett “plush” is solid and only slightly squeezable.

My biggest complaint is how cute the little thing is. Sure, “cute” shouldn’t be a complaint. Some people like cute and this will be right up their alley. The plush resembles something that would have been in a Sock Boy line of plush dolls.

I will give points to the details on the little guy. Also, the stitching is solid. A lot of these plush toys aren’t stitched very well. The Deadpool doll in Marvel Collector Corps box came with some loose stitching at the seams. I would imagine if a collector were to use this doll for display purposes it would last a long time.

Funko also makes housewares. Yes, housewares. Funko makes salt and pepper shakers, cups, and mugs. If they ever decided to make plates and cutlery you could make geek place settings to match all your guest favorite pop culture characters.

This month’s Smuggler’s Bounty includes a mug. I don’t normally like these mugs, but this one is not a normal mug. It’s Jabba the Hutt. To be more precise, it’s Jabba’s head! The head mug, which I like to call them, is the close up of the Jabba head from the Funko Pop line. The coloring is a little different, but it’s still the same design. It’s also ceramic which makes it feel strong, but I wouldn’t want to drop it on the floor.

Let’s be honest for a moment. The real reason many people get their monthly mystery boxes is for the Funko Pop. There’s nothing wrong with that and I’m not criticizing anyone who gets these boxes only for the Funko Pop.

The average price for a mystery box is around twenty-five dollars. If the Pop is an exclusive it’s going to be slightly different from something you can buy on the shelves. The Chewbacca in a previous Smuggler’s Bounty was flocked whereas the “original” was flockless. From what I can tell “flock” is just a fancy word for saying there’s painted snow on the Pop. It may not seem like a big deal, but to the completist a flocked Pop or even a new exclusive character can significantly raise the value of the Pop. The increased value, even if it’s only emotional attachment, may be worth the price of the box alone.

You won’t be disappointed if you bought this month’s Smuggler’s Box only for the Pop. The exclusive R2-D2 Pop is, of course, based on R2 as he appeared on Jabba’s skiff. Basically, Jabba turned the little guy into a kegerator. The Pop includes tray, glasses, and a spout coming out of R2’s top. The smaller details, which Funko does so well, is the sand all over the body of the Pop.

I like Pops just as much as the next person. What I like though are the stylized versions of my favorite characters. There’s not much a designer can do with a square robot. So, you have to do things like add accessories on it.

With that in mind, I have to ask Funko, “Why R2-D2?” There were plenty of characters to choose from between Jabba’s Palace and the skiff. Characters ripe for a Funko Pop makeover. There’s the leader of the band, Max Rebo.

Or this whatever it is…

Or even this freak of nature…

Nine times out of ten mystery boxes include a t-shirt. This month’s Smuggler’s Bounty box does not include a t-shirt. It’s okay because what took its place is much better than a t-shirt. Funko has started a new line called Pop! Tops. The C3PO “Programmed for etiquette” cap, according to the insert, is the first in said line. It may be a stretch, but the black and the yellow of the cap is more C3PO than any t-shirt Funko could have put in the box. Plus, I’ll wear this cap more than I’ll wear any of the Funko t-shirts.

I may not have been overly excited by the plush doll and not totally overwhelmed by the Jabba mug, but there are collectors that will really like both items. The Pop and the ballcap rounded out another great Star Wars box from Funko.