I have recently fallen under the spell of the Star Wars: Rebels cartoon. It was one of those things I kept hearing about, and it was on my list of “crap I need to watch,” which is a list that seems to grow daily. I knew I’d get to it, since it’s Star Wars and all, and I finally did, burning through the two season that have hit Blu-ray in a very short amount of time.
It didn’t take long for the crew of the Ghost to endear itself to me. A show lives or dies on the strength of its ensemble, and I consider each and every member an essential part of the Star Wars mythos, as crucial as anybody from the Original Trilogy.
The 3 ¾-inch guys have already been able to put together a handy selection of Rebels, but we in the 6-inch realm are falling behind. Hasbro seems to be aiming for an entire Ghost crew, but what I previous thought of as “often enough” is now “not fast enough at all.”
Hera is coming. We know that, we’ve seen the promo pictures. But there’s one rebel whose Black Series debut has yet to be revealed. The one who stands head and shoulders above the rest. There has never been a trash can with so much attitude.
Chopper.
C1-10P, affectionately known as either “Chop” or “Chopper,” has taken the top spot among my list of favorite droids. He is a scene-stealing machine, a shining light amongst an already gleaming animated cast.
I think it’s safe to say that, while Rebels would still be entertaining, it wouldn’t be the same show without Chopper. Even with the disparate attitudes and temperaments among the rest of the crew, there is nobody that delivers the exact right proportion of sass, attitude, and cranky congeniality than Chopper. You’ve never heard a droid sigh until you’ve heard Chopper sigh. And you’ve never seen a droid completely pleased with himself until you’ve seen this astromech spin his dome and flail his “arms.”
The thing about this is, I’m not going to be content with just a Black Series Chopper. No, I need the works. While a Black Series release would be a nice start, I’m already imagining the ways in which the Black Series Chopper might fall a little bit short. In fact, it might actually be too short. Or, of course, it could be fantastic, but that’s where options come in. And I am a man that likes his options. 
In addition to the Black Series version, I’d like to get a Bandai model kit Chopper because I want to be able to build my own Chopper and then tweak him just the way I want with my own personal paint job. I could even buy two to put together and paint one in imperial colors for when Chopper is incognito. 
Have you ever been in Cognito? It’s a nice place. 
But that’s still not enough. Let’s have MAFEX give him a shot. What the hell, they made one of the best versions of Artoo-Detoo out there, maybe they could pump out a Chopper that would put everybody else’s to shame. If they wanted to go the two-pack route like they did for Artoo and Threepio, MAFEX could pack Chopper with AP-5. Sure, it will never happen, but don’t stomp on my dreams!
But even though I’d happily buy each of those, what I really want is a Figuarts Chopper. Of course what I really want is a Figuarts everything, but I’ll settle for a Chopper right now. With all Bandai have on their plate for the Prequels, Sequels, Original Trilogy and offshoots, I doubt doing figures from the Rebels cartoon is really on their radar, but Chopper is a full-fledged movie star, appearing on cinema screens worldwide in Rogue One, so that absolutely legitimizes him. 
Or at least it does in my head.
Of course, I’m the guy that wants a Figuarts Lobot, so I’m probably not the best person to ask about these things. 
So while I would buy every version of him made from each respective 6-inch company currently pumping out Star Wars figures, Hasbro is no doubt the safest bet for getting him. Just please make sure he’s decked out with all the appropriate paraphernalia when he is inevitably made. I want to be able to move those dome-arms around, so they need to be articulated. And he needs all sorts of gizmos and whatnots. Gotta have the whatnots. And a jet, and that one big wheel. And a pony.
Please and thank you.