Gamorrean Guard — Star Wars The Black Series 40th Anniversary

Overview

The Gamorrean Guard at the ROTJ 40th Anniversary lineup is the Black Series tribute release of the Hutt-employed pig-faced palace enforcers — the green-skinned brutish guards who patrol Jabba the Hutt’s Tatooine palace and famously attempt to stop Princess Leia’s Boushh-disguise infiltration during Return of the Jedi’s opening sequence. Released April 2023 single-carded in Kenner-inspired packaging. Target exclusive for the first few weeks, but shortly thereafter it could also be found on Amazon (not from a 3rd party seller). MSRP $33.99, premium pricing positioning. 20 joints including a swivel jaw. Three accessories: an axe, a vibro staff, and a hatchet. The Gamorrean Guard is a straight rerelease of the figure from 2018 (figure id=14242), shipped at premium retail in the new commemorative ROTJ 40th packaging five years after the original release.

The Target / Amazon Distribution

For a few weeks the figure was exclusive to Target stores, but shortly thereafter it could also be found on Amazon (not from a 3rd party seller). Specific distribution note worth flagging — the Gamorrean Guard launched as a Target-only exclusive but Hasbro expanded availability to Amazon’s first-party retail channel within weeks of the initial launch. This dual-retailer expansion improved overall accessibility beyond the typical store-exclusive distribution that often keeps figures hard to acquire.

For collectors who prefer Target’s brick-and-mortar acquisition or Amazon’s online ordering convenience, the dual-availability supports either acquisition path. Aftermarket pricing on the secondary market has remained reasonable due to the broader-than-typical exclusive distribution — the figure didn’t suffer the secondary-market premium positioning that affects more strictly limited Target-only or Pulse-only releases.

The 2018 Re-Release

The Gamorrean Guard was a straight rerelease of the figure from 2018. Same body sculpt, same articulation, same accessory loadout — only the packaging changes from the standard Phase 3 Black Series cardback to the Kenner-inspired commemorative ROTJ 40th cardback featuring the 40th logo on the packaging.

For collectors who own the 2018 source release, the 2023 ROTJ 40th version is functionally a duplicate body sculpt with commemorative packaging. For collectors building the complete ROTJ 40th Anniversary commemorative set, this Gamorrean Guard is essential despite duplicating the 2018 sculpt. For collectors building Jabba’s Palace ensemble dioramas, multiple Gamorrean Guard copies provide the foundation for proper-scale palace security deployments.

The Swivel Jaw Engineering

The Gamorrean Guard’s jaw can be opened — this allows for a bigger variety on a display shelf if multiple Gamorrean Guards stand next to each other. Specific articulation engineering worth flagging — the swivel jaw is a relatively uncommon Black Series feature (most figures don’t include functional jaw articulation), and Hasbro included it specifically to support display variation across multiple Gamorrean Guard purchases.

For collectors building Jabba’s Palace dioramas with multiple Gamorrean Guards (the canonical palace security deployment includes several individual guards), the dual-state jaw configuration (closed-mouth for at-rest display, open-mouth for active-grunt configuration) lets multiple-purchase squads read as visually distinct individuals rather than identical clone figures. This is a similar army-builder engineering philosophy to the Endor Rebel Commando at #P4-40A-RCD’s dual-face approach, applied here to the Gamorrean character class through jaw articulation rather than face-swap accessories.

The Three-Weapon Loadout

The Gamorrean Guard came with a vibro staff, an axe, and a hatchet. The accessory configuration captures the canonical Hutt palace guard equipment loadout — three different melee weapons that support multiple combat-pose display configurations across the figure’s palace-security role.

All the weapons fit perfectly into the Gamorrean Guard’s hands, and he is even able to hold the vibro staff with both hands at the same time. Standard Gamorrean grip engineering supports both single-handed (axe or hatchet) and two-handed (vibro staff) weapon configurations cleanly. For collectors who want display flexibility, the three-weapon approach supports multiple distinct combat-pose options.

The triple-weapon loadout is structurally generous for a single-figure release — most Black Series secondary-character army-builder figures ship with one or two accessories, not three. The configuration supports collectors building palace-security dioramas with multiple Gamorrean Guards each carrying different weapons, capturing the canonical mixed-loadout palace patrol display reading.

The Permanent Helmet and Equipment

The Gamorrean Guard’s helmet is not removable. Standard Gamorrean character class design — the figure ships in the canonical helmeted configuration consistent with the broader Black Series Hutt-palace approach.

The harness across the chest is its own piece and can be moved around, but it’s not meant to be taken off the figure (the same goes for the fur around the lower body). Standard integrated-equipment design pattern with limited articulation flexibility — the harness supports some repositioning but doesn’t fully detach for clean removal. The lower-body fur sculpt is permanently attached as part of the body engineering.

For collectors who want costume kitbashing flexibility, the integrated approach is restrictive; for collectors who want the canonical Gamorrean reading, the integrated equipment captures the source material correctly.

The Articulation Limitations

The shoulder bells, which are not removable, limited the arm movement, but it’s not a deal breaker. Specific articulation note worth flagging — the integrated shoulder armour creates physical clearance constraints that restrict arm-movement range, particularly for vertical arm raises. This is the recurring costume-vs-articulation trade-off that affects multiple Black Series armoured figures (Snowtrooper at #P4-40A-SN3, Imperial Royal Guard at #P4-40A-RG7, etc.) — full screen-accurate armour silhouettes constrain articulation flexibility.

The head movement feels limited as well, but there is still enough wiggle room to have the figure look up/down and left or right. Specific articulation note about the swivel-neck range — the helmet’s geometry restricts head rotation, but functional left-right and up-down movement remains within the constrained range. For collectors who care about pose-variation flexibility, the limitation is meaningful but doesn’t fully block the standard standing-display configurations.

Articulation

20 joints. Swivel upper-neck, swivel lower neck, swivel jaw, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, ball-jointed wrists, ball-jointed waist, ball-jointed hips, swivel thighs, swivel joints above the knees, swivel joints below the knees, ball-jointed ankles. High joint count for a Phase 3-tooled mainline release thanks specifically to the swivel jaw inclusion — substantially above the 17-joint baseline. The jaw articulation is the standout feature; standard joint configuration covers the rest.

The Sculpt and Paint

Hasbro sculpted the figure beautifully, and the Gamorrean Guard is a spot-on representation of the character from Return Of The Jedi. Specific sculpt commitment commendation worth flagging — the Gamorrean Guard’s distinctive pig-faced character class is structurally challenging to translate to action figure form (the canonical proportions don’t easily translate to standard humanoid figure tooling), and the 2018-source-and-2023-rerelease body sculpt captures the screen-accurate character configuration cleanly.

The paint application looks great — there is subtle weathering and dirt on the outfit, and the face was painted very well. Specific paint note: it’s still painted like on the 2018 Black Series version and was not updated with the photo-real print. The 2023 commemorative version inherits the 2018-era paint application without upgrading to the contemporary photo-real face printing technology that distinguishes the better recent Black Series releases.

For collectors who care about the photo-real face printing upgrade, the Gamorrean Guard misses the technology integration that figures like the Endor Rebel Commando at #P4-40A-RCD or Princess Leia (Hoth) at #P4-40A-LH3 received. The traditional paint application reads as contemporary-acceptable but not best-in-class for the current Black Series technology baseline.

This Gamorrean Guard has no balancing issues — appropriate Phase 3 standing-stability engineering across the figure’s standing-position display configurations.

Distribution and the Jabba’s Palace Lineup

Target exclusive expanding to Amazon (first-party only) at $33.99, April 2023. The premium pricing positioning is structurally above the standard mainline $24.99 ROTJ 40th baseline. Aftermarket pricing on the secondary market has remained reasonable due to the dual-retailer availability and the dual-release configuration between this commemorative version and the 2018 source.

For collectors building the complete ROTJ 40th Anniversary Jabba’s Palace ensemble diorama, this Gamorrean Guard pairs specifically with Bib Fortuna at #P4-40A-BF6 (Jabba’s majordomo), Boba Fett ROTJ at #P4-40A-BFROTJ (visiting bounty hunter), Chewbacca ROTJ at #P4-40A-CW6 (chained prisoner configuration), and future Jabba/Han/Princess Leia Boushh-disguise releases for the complete palace-rescue-sequence ensemble.

Other Gamorrean Guard Figures

The Gamorrean Guard has been a recurring Hasbro release subject across multiple lines. Other notable releases include the Power of the Force 2 Jabba’s Palace version (figure id=133), the Vintage Collection ROTJ release (figure id=572), the original 1983 Vintage Kenner ROTJ release (figure id=1945), the Original Trilogy Collection version (figure id=2195), the Black Series Phase 2 Jabba’s Rancor Pit release (figure id=3423), and the Black Series Phase 3 ROTJ-era release (figure id=14242) which is the source release this 2023 commemorative version repackages. The ROTJ 40th Anniversary release joins this multi-decade catalogue as the dedicated 6-inch Black Series anniversary-tribute version.

Secondary Market

Single-carded Target/Amazon exclusive on Kenner-style commemorative ROTJ 40th packaging featuring the 40th logo, April 2023. Available at MSRP through original retail and the secondary market with broad availability due to the dual-retailer initial distribution. Verify the axe, the vibro staff, and the hatchet are all included. The smaller hatchet is the most easily lost component during transit.

Verdict

The Gamorrean Guard at the 2023 ROTJ 40th Anniversary line is one of the standout figures in the entire commemorative collection from a sculpt-and-articulation engineering perspective — the swivel jaw articulation supports clean visual variation across multiple-purchase palace-security squad displays, the three-weapon loadout (axe, vibro staff, hatchet) provides exceptional accessory density at the deluxe pricing tier, the beautiful sculpt captures the screen-accurate Gamorrean character class spot-on, the subtle weathering paint commitment delivers appropriate environmental commitment, the high 20-joint count supports dynamic combat poses within the integrated-armour clearance constraints, and the figure stands reliably across multiple display configurations.

The non-photo-real face paint is the figure’s most defensible structural negative — the technology upgrade that distinguishes contemporary Black Series releases didn’t apply here despite the 2023 release date. The integrated shoulder armour limits arm articulation. The integrated harness and lower-body fur restrict costume kitbashing. The duplicate body sculpt vs the 2018 source means collectors with prior Black Series Gamorrean Guard figures are buying repeat tooling for the commemorative cardback. The premium $33.99 pricing positioning is structurally above standard mainline baselines.

Buy this figure if you collect the ROTJ 40th Anniversary line as a complete set, if you build Jabba’s Palace ensemble dioramas requiring palace-security army-builder configurations (multiple copies recommended for proper-scale guard deployments), if you appreciate the swivel jaw army-builder engineering for visual variation across multiple-purchase squads, if you missed the 2018 Black Series Gamorrean Guard at original release, or if the spot-on character sculpt commitment matches your screen-accurate display preferences.

The Hutt palace enforcer with the swivel jaw army-builder engineering. The figure with the three-weapon loadout including axe, vibro staff, and hatchet. The Gamorrean Guard that anchors Jabba’s Palace ensemble dioramas alongside the broader ROTJ 40th palace character roster. Target / Amazon exclusive distribution, April 2023.

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Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Phase 4 40th Anniversary Collection. Related: Bib Fortuna P4-40A-BF6 | Boba Fett (ROTJ) P4-40A-BFROTJ | Chewbacca (ROTJ) P4-40A-CW6.