Comics Spain Oddities

Every once in awhile you'll bump into an oddity, whether it be an oddly painted error, a custom figure, or in this case a keychain. In the picture below, you'll see how a collector converted a Latara figure into a keychain - and while this was never released by Comics Spain, it certainly would have been an interesting idea.

Kez-Iban Comparison

Many Star Wars collectors will have seen the Kenner version of this character which is rather large (nearly 5 inches in height), in fact its about an inch taller than the Comics Spain version. I enjoy owning both versions of this character, and its debatable which version sports the better likeness - but the Comics Spain version certainly has better paint deco and detailing. While the color of the skin tone is nearly identical in both figures, the Comics Spain version uses a larger and more realistic color palette. Take the bandoleer / satchel for example - the Kenner version is solid blue, while the Comics Spain version is painted green, includes his medallion, and looks like the version that appeared in the show. Comics Spain also painted the belt, included the white stripes on his arms, and made his boots a different color than his skirt.

Kneesaa: Paint Error

A collector from the UK recently put his Comics Spain figures up for auction, and among them was a Kneesaa figure with a drastic paint error that I have never seen before. The stem of the flower that she is holding was painted brown on accident, instead of green. The collector specifically remembers picking the figure up in a toy shop in the 1980s, when he was a child - so this is a great example of an error that slipped out of the factory.

Latara: Paint Errors

The Latara figure (covered previously) has been seen, now multiple times, with a few very clear paint errors. The feather on her head is actually detailed in the error figure with a pattern similar to that of Paploo. You'll also notice that her inner ears are painted black as well. Since these were hand painted, its possible that a number of them were accidentally released with this deco, samples of the errors can be seen below.

Wicket: Comics Spain vs Disney / Star Tours

The Comics Spain Wicket figure has a similar counterpart made for the Disney / Star Tours theme park, and the figures are often confused. The Disney figure was actually released in 1990 instead of 1986 - but you cant tell this by looking at the copyright stamp because the Disney figure is undated, and is only marked "LFL made in China" on the bottom of one of his feet. Even though the colors vary between the Comics Spain and Disney figures, and the Disney version is slightly smaller - they are readily confused.





The best way to distinguish between the two types of figures is the deco and the texture of the sculpt - the paint is different for all the Comics Spain variations, save for the final version of the deco - which is most often confused for the Disney figure. The first 3 Wicket variations released by Comics Spain can be easily identified because they all have pink eyes - a color that was never used on the Disney figure. If you own a Wicket or are searching for one - the pink eyes will always indicate a figure made by Comics Spain. When it comes to the final Comics Spain variant (seen in the center of the picture below), the colors are nearly the same as the Disney figure and often cant be told apart unless compared side-by-side. You'll notice with the Comics Spain figure though, the brown fur is lighter and is actually the color of the pvc plastic - while the Disney version is brown paint. Its also pretty easy to see the raised detail in the sculpt of the Comics Spain figure - especially throughout the fur, while the Disney version is very smooth.

Wicket: Variations

Of all the Comics Spain figures, Wicket is the only one to undergo an 'evolution' when it comes to his deco. The original figure, which is featured in the previous post, covers all the basics about the figure - but what most collectors don't know is that the characters deco was changed 3 times in order to make the figure screen accurate, based on his appearance in the cartoon. The original version shown below on the top left (and the previous post) sports oddly colored fur on his stomach, face, and hands / feet which is grey - he also has unrealistic bright pink eyes and mouth. The second version of the figure (top right) has a clear deco change, removing all the grey fur and coloring it tan.



This change wasn't enough, so Comics Spain decided to lighten the pink on the eyes and mouth, change the nose to brown, and lighten the fur to a beige (as seen in the figure on the bottom left). You'll also notice with this figure that it features the only paint error I've seen on a Wicket figure - the fur right above his nose wasn't painted. The final version (bottom right) is Comics Spains last attempt at the figures deco. They removed all the pink and used the same color that he was given for his 'hair' and inner ears. Tracking down all these variations took some time, but it helps to show the history of these figures and how often deco plays a role in their development.

Wicket

The last character to add to this blog and photo archive (but certainly not the last blog entry) is the Comics Spain PVC figure of Wicket. He was produced in 1986, and has multiple variations, three that are known and documented (which will be discussed in a follow-up blog entry). Wicket also received a similar figure from the Disney / Star Tours line which will be covered later. He is marked "1986 LFL Comics Spain" on the back of his cape. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Ewok figures, he is easy to find (1/5 in rarity), in both the US and abroad - mostly because he was produced in larger numbers and is the most recognizable Ewok character.

Kneesaa

The next addition to the archive is the Comics Spain PVC figure of Kneesaa, one of only 2 female figures in the line. She was produced in 1986, and has one variation (which will be discussed in a follow-up blog entry). She is marked "1986 LFL Comics Spain" on the bottom of her foot. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Ewok figures, she is rather difficult to find (4/5 in rarity) in the US, but seems to be easier to find in Europe, most often found in complete sets with the other Ewoks.

C-3PO: Comics Spain vs Disney / Star Tours

The Comics Spain C-3PO (gold) figure has a few similar counterparts made for the Disney / Star Tours theme park, and the figures are sometimes confused. The Disney figure was actually released in 1990 instead of 1986 - but you cant tell this by looking at the copyright stamp because the Disney figure is dated 1986 even though that's not when it was released, and is marked "1986 LFL made in China" on the bottom of one of his feet. Even though the colors are a bit darker on the Disney figure, and its slightly smaller - they are readily confused. The best way to distinguish between the two figures is the deco - the paint is different for the Comics Spain figure - you can clearly see that it sports a bright gold color, as well as green eyes. The Disney figures were made in brown / bronze and a metallic bronze. Likewise, the eyes on the Disney figures were silver, instead of green - as seen in both Comics Spain figures. The silver paint is also present on the underarms, waist, and neck of both Disney figures, while the Comics Spain figure is solid gold and has no silver paint whatsoever.

C-3PO

The next familiar Star Wars droid to cover is the Comics Spain PVC figure of C-3PO, from the Droids cartoon series. The likeness on the original yellow Comics Spain figure is amazing, it far surpasses the Kenner figure, and that's the reason that it is my favorite Comics Spain figure from the Droids cartoon. He was produced in 1986, and has one variation or running change, other than paint errors. He is marked "86 Lucas Film Ltd." and "Comics Spain" on the back of an arm. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Droids figures, both variations are easy to find (1/5 in rarity), in both the US and abroad. He shows up at auction rather often, so tracking down the yellow version or the gold version is easy to do.





When it comes to variations, the C-3PO figure is the only Comics Spain figure to have a totally repainted variation or running change. The yellow figure, based on the cartoon, was the original design - the company decided to do a running change in the line and later produced an all gold version of C-3PO based on his movie appearance (sans the silver leg). Comics Spain decided to keep the eyes bright green on both versions - which would later come in handy when trying to distinguish the gold version from the Disney / Star Tours version(s).



I own another Comics Spain C-3PO that shows an example of a paint error; since these were all hand painted, errors aren't all that rare. If you take a look at both figures, the errors may not be immediately obvious, but the droid on the right actually has 5 of them. All the errors are visible from the back - starting with his head, the circle on the back of it is entirely painted gold, when only a dot should be in there. Moving down to his back, there should be a gold x across his waist, where the wires are visible, but they are not painted on this figure. The other errors are on the arms - the underarms should be painted blue (as seen with the figure on the left), the elbows should also be yellow, but in the error on the right, they were simply painted over with gold - the final error is a seemingly random gold rub of paint over the Comics Spain logo on the back of his arm.

R2-D2: Comics Spain vs Disney / Star Tours

The Comics Spain R2-D2 figure has a similar counterpart made for the Disney / Star Tours theme park, and the figures are often confused. The Disney figure was actually released in 1990 instead of 1986 - but you cant tell this by looking at the copyright stamp because the Disney figure is undated, and is only marked "LFL made in China" on the bottom of one of his feet. Even though the colors are a bit darker on the Disney figure, and its slightly smaller - they are readily confused. The best way to distinguish between the two figures is the deco - the paint is different for the Comics Spain figure - you can clearly see that it sports a yellow 'eye' in the front and the back, as well as 2 green panels. The Disney figure lacks any yellow or green paint - so that is the best way to tell them apart.

R2-D2

I'd like to switch to some familiar Star Wars droids and cover the Comics Spain PVC figure of R2-D2, from the Droids cartoon series. He was produced in 1986, and has no known variations, other than paint errors. He is marked "86 Lucas Film Ltd." on the back of one leg and "Comics Spain" on the back of the other. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Droids figures, he is easy to find (1/5 in rarity), in both the US and abroad. He shows up at auction rather often, but is usually mistaken for the Disney / Star Tours figure which is almost Identical.





I own another Comics Spain R2-D2 that shows an example of a paint error; since these were all hand painted, errors aren't all that rare. If you take a look at both figures, the errors may not be immediately obvious, but the droid on the right actually has 2 of them. The central panel on the error droid in painted silver all the way down, making 1 large box, when in fact it should be 2 separate silver boxes in the central panel, as seen in the figure on the left. The other errors are the panels right above the feet - the entire panel is painted silver, when the inner panel was only intended to be painted (as seen in the figure on the left). This is actually a nice error, because I think it looks better this way.

Dulok

The next figure I'd like to cover is the Comics Spain PVC figure of the Dulok - he isn't a named character, and like the Kenner figure, he is a generic Dulok warrior (comparison picture below). He was produced in 1986, and has no known variations. Since these figures were hand painted, you can often find some differences in the application of the green paint on the ears and tail - and I have seen an error figure with paint on the top of its head. He is marked "1986 LFL Comics Spain" on the base of his club. This figure is often found damaged, especially if the previous owner was a child - I have seen figures missing the ears, tail, or even the top of the club. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Ewoks figures, he is increasingly difficult to find (5/5 in rarity), in both the US and abroad. Figures like the Dulok can occasionally be found in sets, but rarely come up at auction.

Latara

The next addition to the archive is the Comics Spain PVC figure of Latara, another one of my favorites and one of only 2 female figures in the line. She was produced in 1986, and has no known variations. I have seen one Latara figure from a private collection that had black paint on the feather, but this was a factory error, rather than any type of real variation. She is marked "1986 LFL Comics Spain" on the back of the feather. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Ewok figures, she is marginally difficult to find (3/5 in rarity) in the US, but seems to be more widely available in Europe, and I've seen her up for auction multiple times by herself.

Kez-Iban

I'd like to change gears and cover the Comics Spain PVC figure of Kez-Iban, from the Droids cartoon series. He was produced in 1986, and has no known variations. I have seen a few Kez-Iban figures go up for auction that were missing the hair, but this is not a factory error, rather merely a damaged figure, which is something to watch for if collecting these figures. He is marked "1986 LFL Comics Spain" on the back of his skirt. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Droids figures, he is reasonably difficult to find (3/5 in rarity), in both the US and abroad. If you are able to find one, you will most likely find him in a set, but he does show up at auction once in awhile by himself.





Many Star Wars collectors will have seen the Kenner version of this character which is rather large (nearly 5 inches in height), in fact its about an inch taller than the Comics Spain version. As I discussed with the Kenner animated Logray figure, they weren't made in any exact scale. I enjoy owning both versions of this character, and its debatable which version sports the better likeness. As you can see in the comparison photo, my Kenner figure is unfortunately missing his bandoleer, but its easy to see the different way each sculptor went with this character.

Paploo

The next figure I'd like to cover is the Comics Spain PVC figure of Paploo, one of my favorites. He was produced in 1986, and has no known intentional variations - other than various paint errors on the blue feathers. Since these figures were hand painted, you can often find some differences in the application of the black paint on the feathers. He is marked "1986 LFL Comics Spain" on the back of his belt. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Ewok figures, he is increasingly difficult to find (5/5 in rarity), in both the US and abroad. I actually spent a few years trying to track one down and ended up getting one from Germany. Figures like Paploo can occasionally be found as singles in Europe, but I have only seen him in sets in the US - and finding a complete set for sale in the US is rather rare in itself.




To show the size difference between Paploo and the other Ewoks, here is a comparison photo with Teebo. As you can see, he is much taller - which puts them in scale to their cartoon appearances - Paploo being an older and larger Ewok. All of the smaller Ewoks are around 2 inches tall, while Paploo measures in at nearly 3 inches.

Teebo 2

As a follow-up to my first post, I wanted to include a comparison shot between a Comics Spain figure (in this case, Teebo) and one of the two Kenner Ewoks that were produced and released for the cartoon, this one being Logray. As you can see, they are roughly the same height - as is the Kenner Wicket figure, that's based on his cartoon appearance. While both of the Kenner Ewoks and the Comics Spain figures are all roughly of the same size, Kenner decided to scale Logray down - his proper height should be closer to that of the Comics Spain Paploo figure (which will be shown in the next entry). Overall though, the Ewoks from both companies look very nice together.

Teebo

The first addition to this blog and photo archive is the Comics Spain PVC figure of Teebo. He was produced in 1986, and has no known variations. I have seen a few Teebo figures go up for auction that were missing the feather, but this is not a factory error, rather merely a damaged figure, which is something to watch for if collecting these figures. He is marked "1986 LFL Comics Spain" on the back of the feather. Compared to all the other Comics Spain Ewok figures, he is marginally difficult to find (4/5 in rarity), in both the US and abroad. If you are able to find one, you will most likely find him in a set, rather than alone.