Culture on My Mind
Ahsoka Tano Collectible Grails
June 15, 2026

Every toy collector has their grails. Something highly sought-after. Something rare. Something pricey.

When it comes to Star Wars figures, I mostly focus on Hasbro, from the various 3-3/4″ lines to the 6″ Black Series offerings. I started as a completist in 1995, but eventually slimmed my collection to characters I truly care about. (Based on that selling experience, trust me when I tell you that these vast majority of these toys have little to no return on investment.)

One of those characters is Ahsoka Tano. She was introduced in 2008 with the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie as Anakin Skywalker’s padawan apprentice, and has since become a major player in the galaxy far, far away. I liked her from day one, from her start as a foil to Anakin’s cockiness to her symbolism as a child soldier turned mental health icon and Jedi rogue in the vein of Qui-Gon Jinn.

I identify in many ways with Ahsoka Tano, and I follow Ashley Eckstein, the voice actor who brought her to life, because of how she embraces the character, the fans (especially women and girls, who are often bullied and under-represented in fandom), and discussions of mental health without question. She’s an awesome role model, just like Snips.

While I don’t have many collecting grails, some of mine are Ahsoka-focused. Specifically, the Hot Toys and Sideshow Collectibles line for the character, which easily run ten times (or more) the cost of my typical collecting fare.

Hot Toys and Sideshow Collectibles have produced six figures that catch my eye in the sixth scale line. The Sideshow item is Ahsoka’s look from The Clone Wars, specifically the costume introduced in Season Three. This is probably the hardest of the set to find, but the soft goods costume and attention to detail look amazing.

The other five come from Hot Toys and reflect Ahsoka’s journey in the Disney era of the Star Wars franchise. One figure represents her journey during the Siege of Mandalore in Season Seven of The Clone Wars. The next two reflect her appearances in The Mandalorian and the early part of Ahsoka, one with her standard gray outfit and one as a set with young Grogu when she helped unlock his memories. The final two represent her evolution to knighthood, from a revamped version of her padawan look (complete with Ariana Greenblatt’s image) and her most recent form as Ahsoka “the white” from the latter portion of Ahsoka: Season One.

All of these figures outclass my typical Hasbro fare with price tags to match. The only significant variation I think they’re missing is Ahsoka’s look during Star Wars: Rebels. The quality alone makes them grails in my book, and they are a true representation of “you get what you pay for.” Mind you, I’ll be happy if I never see them come home. I’m not going to break the bank to buy them. But if they come home one day, I’ll happily find a place on the shelf to display these works of art.

For me, collecting isn’t a quest to be better than someone else or show off how much I can spend. It’s about having fun and keeping icons of characters and moments that inspire my creativity and drive.

That’s why one of the Hot Toys offerings will never sit on my shelf.

Earlier this year, Hot Toys announced a version of Ahsoka from The Clone Wars movie in 2008. It included her in the infamous tube top costume with Rotta “Stinky” the Hutt. The character in her early TCW outfit hasn’t really been offered since the toy lines that accompanied the early seasons, so this could have been a chance to test those waters.

Unfortunately, the Hot Toys team stumbled. They tried for a “real life” version of Ahsoka by using Ariana Greenblatt’s likeness in that outfit, a move that oversexualized that character in my opinion. It looked creepy, especially since Greenblatt has never appeared in that outfit, and reminded me of the disgusting nature of fandom. (No, I will not be posting the promotional image here.)

Back when Ahsoka was introduced, the common advice was to not search the internet for images of her while at work. As soon as she entered pop culture, fanboys began producing pornography featuring the character, cast in all sorts of costumes and scenarios, including certain situations with Anakin and the troops they led.

Rule 34 on the internet isn’t a new thing, especially when it comes to Star Wars. But, at the start of the Clone Wars, Ahsoka Tano is canonically a 14-year-old girl. Her costume, let alone her existence in the franchise, does not excuse the behavior. This goes far beyond horny fanboy fantasies and skirts the boundaries of child porn masquerading as “harmless” fanfic.

I’m not saying the artists at Hot Toys had this in mind, but given that history, placing Greenblatt’s likeness on a character she never embodied is far too close to legitimizing the behavior. The figure has since been cancelled and unceremoniously wiped from the Hot Toys catalog. A few have been shipped, making this a super rare (and incredibly expensive on the secondary market) figure in the series.

It’s one that I have no interest in pursuing. That vision of the character is not Ahsoka Tano to me.

But those other figures? I’m going to keep an eye out for them. If the Force is with me, they may even grace my shelves at some point. Because Ahsoka Tano means a lot to me, and these grails are elegant pieces of art that honor her legacy in the Star Wars mythos.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.