Monthly Archives: November 2022

#3218: Fifth Brother

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

FIFTH BROTHER

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Originally introduced in the second season of Rebels, the Fifth Brother is a character that’s never been all that deeply explored, despite now having been in two different shows.  Like, I’ve watched all of his canon appearances, and I couldn’t really tell you much about the guy beyond that’s he’s got that fancy hat thing going on.  I suppose that’s a pretty respectable thing in Star Wars, though, since distinctive looks tend to be a character’s biggest selling point.  Did wonders for Boba Fett.  Anyway, let’s look at this guy and his fancy hat.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Fifth Brother is the fifth figure in the Kenobi-inspired series of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Retro Collection.  He’s the third of the three Inquisitors included in this assortment, and marks the Fifth Brother’s third figure, following up on a small-scale figure from Rebels and a Black Series figure from Kenobi.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is all-new, though it certainly has its share of similarities with the Grand Inquisitor.  That makes sense, of course, since they’re kind of in the same profession and all.  That said, they’re totally unique from each other when it comes to the actual parts break down.  He’s a little bulkier than the Grand Inquisitor, which makes sense, and allows for the uniform to sit just a little bit differently.  His head, and his face in particular, gets quite a bit of sculpted detail, moreso than the others in the set.  It gives him quite a distinguished look.  The Fifth Brother’s paint work is pretty much on par with the other Inquisitors in the set.  Still feels like a bit too much for a proper vintage paint scheme, but honestly, it still works out pretty well, and I do appreciate the internal consistency.  The Fifth Brother is packed with his Inquisitor Saber, which is the same one included with the Grand Inquisitor.  It makes sense, since they have more or less the same weapon in the show, and it’s definitely the way Kenner would have handled things on a proper vintage figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t have much attachment to this guy.  I mean, honestly, does anybody?  Well, somebody does somewhere, I’m sure.  Like, just statistically, right?  Anyway, I wasn’t invested enough to get the Black Series figure, but since I was planning to pick up the rest of the series, this guy was along for the ride.  He’s not a bad figure.  Not my favorite or anything, but I can see the appeal.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

 

#3217: Grand Inquisitor

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

GRAND INQUISITOR

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

While some of Kenobi‘s returning characters were picking up from where they’d left off earlier in the timeline, there were also a few that were *technically* making their earliest appearances within the timeline.  Today’s focus, the Grand Inquisitor leans heavily on the “technically,” since, via retcon, he was actually present in one scene in Clone Wars, but as far as proper appearances go, the Grand Inquisitor truly hails from Rebels, where he serves as the primary antagonist for the first season, and ultimately closes off his story.  For Kenobi, he’s more of a background character, sidelined for most of the story, but he’s still present enough to justify some toy coverage!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Grand Inquisitor is the fourth figure in the Kenobi-series of Star Wars: Retro Collection, the fifth overall series of the line, and the third at mass retail.  Thus far, this is his first figure from the show, since his Black Series offering is still pending.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He’s sporting an all-new sculpt, obviously meant to be based on his live-action design, though thanks to the styling of the line, he serves as a nice mid-point between live action and animation.  The sculpt on this guy is pretty decent.  Obviously, lighter on the detail side, but all the key stuff is there, and his outfit is actually quite well detailed.  It’s cleanly handled, and the details are well rendered.  He’s got another vinyl cape; this one’s got a far more unique cut to it, which fits the design from the show pretty well.  It does make it a little trickier to get it on and off, but it’s certainly not impossible.  His paint work is again probably a touch too involved for proper vintage coverage, but it’s consistent with that of Reva, so they go well together.  It also still dials things back just a little bit, so it won’t look too out of place with actual vintage offerings.  The Grand Inquisitor is packed with his lightsaber, which is similar to Reva’s, but has a guard that goes all around, accurate to his personal weapon.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I enjoyed the Grand Inquisitor well enough in Rebels, but given how his story wrapped up in that show, I wasn’t really sure there was much more to do with him in Kenobi.  I actually kind of liked the misdirect within the show, and I don’t mind the opportunity to get him in figure form.  This one’s actually a lot of fun, more than I was expecting, even.  He honestly makes me kind of want the proper Rebels cast in this style, just because that seems like it would be pretty nifty.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.