The Good: Cool alien, Decent (if inaccurate) accessory
The Bad: Poor balance, Poor poseability, A better version exists
The Basics: Momaw Nadon was a cool figure at the time, but recent advances and resculpts make this one completely obsolete.
There is something troublesome about the marketing of Star Wars figures from Kenner, which was later bought out by Hasbro; when the figure line was rebooted in 1995 in advance of the Star Wars: Special Edition films, the figures appeared on orange cards with limited accessories and sculpts that seemed impressive at the time. Many of them found their way into the second batch of Star Wars figures on green cards; these were the exact same figures, only with new packaging. In recent years, Hasbro has not simply repackaged some of the old figures, but completely reworked them with new sculpts, more flexibility, the works! These newer sculpts tend to have more realistic accessories, better coloring for the figures and increased poseability. Unfortunately, Hasbro does not have any form of convenient "trade-in" policy for those of us who supported the 1995-97 figure push that launched the renewed interest in the franchise. As a result, some of us are stuck with multiple copies of alien action figures from the Star Wars line like Momaw Nadon.
For those unfamiliar with Momaw Nadon, this creature is one of the many aliens seen in the Mos Eisley Cantina in A New Hope (reviewed here!). This creature was originally called "Hammerhead" in Kenner's old toy line. The part is one of many background aliens and this one had nothing remotely close to a speaking role. In fact, this character never even had a shot where he was in full frame.
Still, the 4" Momaw Nadon figure is pretty cool and it fleshes out the full Star Wars universe well, though there is a later recast that does the figure better.
Basics
Momaw Nadon is an alien seen in the Cantina in Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope). The figure stands 4" tall to the top of its shark-like head. Momaw Nadon is a robed creature that looks like it has a hammerhead shark head atop a curved up neck. The figure is made of hard plastic, save the arms and outer monk's cowl.
This toy is a decent sculpt, looking precisely like the extraterrestrial. It would be a much higher rating had better sculpts with more detailed coloring since been released. Momaw Nadon is fairly bland in his coloring detail, especially in that the skin tones are fairly monolithic and he lacks finer surface details. In fact, the leg and arm shading is more realistic coloring than the head or robes, which is ironic because the head and robes were pretty much all that were seen in the actual film. The alien's robes are simple soft plastic (not soft enough when it comes to possibility) and are made in three colors of plastic which are hardly detailed realistically. At least they are not bright blue like the original figure in the late-70's was!
Accessories
Momaw Nadon, alien that he is in the Cantina, requires few accessories. In fact, all he comes with is a giant two-barreled laser cannon. In the movie, he was seen with a drinking glass! This, obviously, is a bit more playable. Kenner didn't want alcoholic aliens, just gun nuts! The gun, however is pretty wicked looking and it fits into the alien's right hand perfectly. The gun is basically an upper and lower barrel, connected by a central grip and the three-inch long barrels end in a butt that fits nicely into Momaw Nadon's elbow crook. He is packing some serious heat, this one! It might not be realistic for the films (the resculpts all had more realistic accessories and play environments), but it looks pretty wonderful.
As part of the Power Of The Force toy line, Momaw Nadon comes with nothing else. The green carded version, though came with variants in packaging where the photograph was covered with a hologram or not.
Playability
The four inch toy line was designed for play and Momaw Nadon is fair in that regard. The figure is poorly articulated and lacks significant articulation to make him interesting with his firearm. In addition to low articulation, Momaw Nadon is not poseable at all. If the feet are moved even slightly out of a flatfooted position, this figure tips over, especially when it is holding its blaster rifle. He comes with only six points of articulation, though much of it is inhibited or guts its poseability. As a result, he has joints at the groin socket, shoulders, neck, and waist. The elbows do not extend and it may only hold the blaster in the right hand.
As well, the legs and arms cannot be spread or raised very far because the figure is so top-heavy, especially with its blaster cannon. This is a very tipable figure.
Collectibility
Momaw Nadon is part of the Power Of The Force four-inch series, a series of Star Wars action figures that was incredibly common. Momaw Nadon was ridiculously overproduced, appearing on at least two different cards as an identical sculpt. In other words, Momaw Nadon is a poor investment and it may often be found dirt cheap. But more than that, because the 30th Anniversary series did a complete resculpt (reviewed here!), it is hard to argue that it is worth picking this figure up even at discount prices.
Overview
Momaw Nadon is a cool looking alien figure, but has been resculpted better since this version, making it obsolete and lacking in value.
For other Star Wars: A New Hope figures in the "Power Of The Force" line, please check out my reviews of:
Ponda Baba
R5-D4
Death Star Gunner
Cantina Aliens 3-pack
Garindan
Death Star Escape 3-pack
Luke Skywalker In Stormtrooper Disguise
5/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my index page on the subject for an organized list of all the figures and toys I have reviewed!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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