Tag Archives: Hasbro

#1151: Scarif Stormtrooper

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

SCARIF STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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Last night, showings started for Rogue One. I was traveling yesterday, so I won’t actually be seeing it until later this evening, but I sure hope it’s good. I’ve got one more Rogue One-related review lined up for today. This one gives us another look into some of the Empire’s new (well newly appearing, anyway) Troopers, specifically of the Scarif variety. I’ve already looked at one of the Squad leaders, but now I’m looking at one of regular grunts!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

scariftrooperbs3The Scarif Stormtrooper is Walmart’s Star Wars: The Black Series exclusive for 2016. He just started hitting right at the beginning of December, but as is always the case with these sorts of figures, he might be more prevalent in some areas than others. The figure is about 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation. I’ve already covered a lot of this figure before, thanks to most of his parts being shared with the TRU-exclusive Hovertank Pilot. This figure is really just a new head and belt/skirt. The designs share a lot of common pieces on the actual costumes, so the reuse is certainly warranted, and I had actually guessed this reuse was imminent when I reviewed that figure. It’s certainly a decent base body to start with, and I like it just as much here as I did the first time around. The new pieces mesh quite well with the preexisting parts, and look to be fairly accurate to the movie. The paint work on this guy is pretty solid, and actually a bit better than a lot of prior Black Series releases. The colors match up pretty well with the movie designs, and the base work is all pretty clean. What’s really cool is there’s even some additional accent work and weathering, which helps to make the Trooper look nice and battle worn. After a disappointing number of totally spotless figures, it’s a refreshing change of pace. The Scarif Trooper’s only accessory is a basic Stormtrooper blaster, though it’s worth noting that this blaster’s got the extra detailing that we saw with the Eadu Jyn, which is cool to see be a continuing trend.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Oh boy, this guy. Was getting this guy a fun trek. So, he wasn’t ever really announced by Hasbro. News of him instead broke when someone’s Walmart started running the ad showing off the figure on their in-store monitors right around Rogue Friday. Most other stores, including the one closest to me, followed suit shortly thereafter. Of course, while there may have been an ad, there was no sign of the figure anywhere. It was quite surreal, because it’s very rare to see an ad for any action figure these days, and it’s usually for figures that have long since left shelves. Getting the ad for the figure months before we see even a production sample? That’s weird. With no indication of when the figure would be showing up, I ended up stopping in at the closest Walmart rather frequently, and getting more and more disappointed with each visit. But, as luck would have it, after almost completely giving up, I stopped once more last week on a whim. I actually almost missed him at first; he’s supposedly hitting in solid cases of just him, but there was only the one left by the time I got there. I’m really glad I finally found him. The Scarif Trooper is my favorite of the new designs, and this is a very well put together figure too!

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#1150: Darth Vader

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

DARTH VADER

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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I don’t have any specific numbers off of the top of my head, but if I had to hazard a guess as to which Star Wars character had the most action figures, I’d probably go for Darth Vader.  Something about this guy speaks to the fans, and that results in a lot of merchandise with his face (or mask, I guess) plastered all over it.  It’s not really a huge shock that Rogue One found a way to include good ol’ Darth in the film, especially since getting him in there didn’t take too many insane jumps of logic (I mean, I think.  Still haven’t seen the movie).  Vader has found his way into a few of the toylines for the film, because really, what licensee in their right mind wouldn’t take advantage of his latest appearance.  Today, I’ll be looking at his newest 3 3/4 inch figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

vaderro3Darth Vader is another figure from the second series of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Rogue One line.  The figure stands about 4 1/4 inches tall and has a whopping 6 points of articulation.  Waist articulation FTW!  Can that become standard again?  Believe it or not, Vader’s actually an entirely new sculpt, which is a pretty big deal.  He’s based specifically on his Rogue One design, which is itself just a slightly cleaned up version of the A New Hope design.  Believe it or not, ANH-accurate Vader’s are few and far between, which means this guy offers up something pretty darn cool, despite just being another Darth Vader.  On top of the ANH accuracy, the sculpt is also just one of the best Vader sculpts out there, especially when compared to Hasbro’s last few attempts at the character (including the less than stellar Black Series figure).  The scaling is right, the proportions are well matched, the details are sharp, and his left hand is doing his ANH force choke (which was slightly different from later films).  I suppose the lightsaber grip on the right hand could be a little better (his hold on the hilt is a little loose and awkward), but that’s really the only major complaint I can come up with.  He even gets a nice sculpted cape, which is much nicer than the mediocre cloth capes included with the last few Vaders.  Even the paint’s pretty good on this guy.  The color work is all pretty tight, and there’s some nice variation on the finish of the different blacks of his costume (to be truly ANH-accurate, the helmet should really be matte finish, but it looks like the shiny helmet was kept for Rogue One, meaning this guy’s still accurate).  Vader includes his lightsaber, as well as a big missile launcher, which is really, really goofy, especially with Vader.  He makes missile launchers goofier.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, oddly enough, Vader was my most wanted figure from the second series.  It’s strange, because it’s not like I don’t already have a handful of smaller-scale Vader figures, but I guess after getting the Rogue One Stormtrooper, which was such a great rendition of that design, I just really wanted a version of the big boss man himself that was of a matching quality.  Like the last four figures I’ve looked at, I picked up this Vader figure from Target late on Black Friday, and I was quite happy to find him.  The figure really turned out well, and this is definitely my go-to Vader moving forward!

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#1149: Chirrut Imwe

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

CHIRRUT IMWE

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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Of the five Star Wars figures I’m looking at today, only one of them is actually a new character (well, one of them’s debatably a new character, but it’s iffy at best), and that’s today’s focus, Chirrut Imwe.  Chirrut is portrayed Donnie Yen, who isn’t the biggest name in the States, but is a pretty big name action star in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.  Given just how much of the original Star Wars was influenced by Asian cinema, Yen feels like a more than natural fit for the franchise.  I’m definitely looking forward to seeing him in action in the film.  Now, onto his figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

chirrut2Chirrut is another piece of the second series of Star Wars: Rogue One figures.  Given his prominence in the trailers, he was one of the more notable absences from the first wave of products, but he’s here now, and that’s what’s important.  The figure stands a little under 3 3/4 inches tall (he the shortest of the Rebels, excepting Jyn) and he has the usual 5 points of articulation.  I’m a little saddened that Hasbro didn’t take advantage of the loose sleeves to give him extra movement on the arms they war they did with the first Jyn figure, but oh well.  Chirrut’s sculpt is alright, but there are some oddities to it.  First and foremost, it’s by far the most pre-posed of the Rogue One figures. He’s posed sort of mid-stride, or something, but like only from the waist down.  His upper half is rather on the rigid side, but he also seems to have a slight hunch.  All that being said, the head sculpt has a halfway decent Donnie Yen likeness, which is certainly better than a number of other figures in the line.  The sculpt also does a nice enough job of translating his costume into plastic form.  It’s worth noting that we’re back to cutting the robes into an odd set of legs.  It actually works a bit better here than it does sometimes, though it’s quite clear it was sculpted as a solid piece and had the articulation cut into it.  The paint work on Chirrut is fairly well handled.  Th colors a pretty nice match for those from the film (well, I think so, anyway), and the application is all pretty clean.  His irises seem a little on the dark side, since he’s supposed to be blind and all, but they’re different enough from the normal figures’ eyes to be noticeable, which I guess is the important part.  Chirrut includes his staff, which he has a little trouble holding, but is overall a nice piece, as well as a giant missile launcher, which looks to be patterned after his crossbow-looking thing we’ve seen in some of the posters.  He has a lot of trouble holding the missile launcher, but it’s not like I’m really going to complain about that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Remember where I got the last two figures?  Wanna guess where I got Chirrut?  Yeah, same bat-place, same bat-story (wait, I thought this was a Staaaaar Wars post!).  Of the figures in Series 2, Chirrut was nearer the top of the list of the ones I wanted.  Ultimately, he’s not the best figure in the smaller scale line, but he’s hardly the worst either.  He’s certainly a nice addition to the team.

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#1148: Cassian Andor

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

CASSIAN ANDOR (EADU)

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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Perhaps the most glaring omission from the first 3 3/4 inch series of Hasbro’s Rogue One line was Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor.  He got a 6-inch figure, and he was included in the big U-Wing set, but there was no basic single release for him.  It’s not a huge surprise that he’s one of the main figures in the second assortment, albeit sporting a different look than the U-Wing figure (though it’s actually the exact same look as the 6-inch figure).  So, was he worth the extra wait?  Let’s find out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

As noted above, Cassian Andor was released in Series 2 of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Rogue One line.  Like his larger counterpart, he’s based on his Eadu look, which is a look rather reminiscent of the Hoth looks from Empire Strikes Back.  It’s not a look we’ve seen him in very much in the trailers and such, but I suppose it’s just as valid as any, and it’s not like Cassian’s more prevalent brown-jacketed look isn’t getting it’s own share of figures in the coming months.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has the usual 5 points of articulation.  Cassian is sporting a brand new sculpt, and while it’s decent enough, I think it’s one of the weaker sculpts from the Rogue One line.  It’s possible that it’s because I saw this design on the Black Series figure first and that’s coloring my opinion, since this one is a bit simpler in terms of details.  On its own, the sculpt is a passable translation of the design from the movie (from what I’ve seen, anyway).  The proportions are decently balanced, and he does actually look like he’s wearing all of the appropriate layers (always a concern with the Hoth-style looks).  The lower portion of the coat is a separate piece, glued in place.  While I certainly don’t mind, I do kind of wish Hasbro could stick to either this style or the “cutting everything like a normal set of legs” style; the jumping back and forth makes the figures less cohesive. The hat isn’t removable like the larger figure’s was (though it is still a separate piece, just glued to the head), which isn’t a surprise at this scale, but it robs him of that extra look the other figure had.  The likeness on the face still doesn’t look much like Luna to me; it’s looking like he’s the Oscar Isaac of this particular film in that respect.  The overall stance of the figure is a little stiffer than I’d like, but it’s not awful.  The paintwork on Cassian, like the sculpt, is certainly passable, but a little bit disappointing.  A lot of the issues are on the face, specifically the beard, which is really, really inconsistent.  For some reason, there’s this whole strip on the underside of his chin that’s just clean, unpainted flesh.  It looks weird.  Aside from that, the rest of the paint is okay, but a little on the drab side.  Like so many others from this line, he really feels like he’d benefit from any sort of accent work.  Cassian was packed with a small blaster and a zipline contraption.  The zipline is a slightly different model than the one included with Sabine (though it works the same way), but it’s still a pretty cool accessory.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Remember how I got yesterday’s Rey figure?  Yeah, same story for Cassian.  Truth be told, this isn’t the Cassian I’ve been holding out for (that would be the jacketed one from the U-Wing, who’s set to be re-released in a two-pack sometime in the near future), but since I didn’t have the character at all in this scale, I felt sort of obligated.  I know, I have no restraint.  Ultimately, he’s not the most exciting figure, but I guess he’s not the worst thing ever.

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#1147: Rey (Jakku)

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

REY (JAKKU)

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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This Friday will see the release of the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One.  In honor of the movie’s release, I’m going to be doing a week of Star Wars reviews to countdown to said release.  “But Ethan, didn’t you just do a Star Wars week?” Listen you, if you’re just going to ruin my good time, you can just go read someone else’s toy review site!  No. Stop. Come back.

All of this week’s reviews are coming straight from Hasbro’s various Rogue One product, but as we determined earlier, that doesn’t always mean that the figures are Rogue One-themed, strictly speaking.  There’s a steady helping of Force Awakens product mixed in with all of the new stuff, including today’s figure, Rey!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

reyro2Rey is part of the second series of Hasbro’s smaller-scale Star Wars: Rogue One line.  She takes Kylo’s spot from Series One as the resident Force Awakens character in this particular line-up.  We’ve gotten quite a few different Rey figures, and a lot of them look rather similar.  What sets this one apart from the others?  She’s got a new hat!  Okay, it’s more of a head wrap thing.  And, it’s not actually “new,” just in a different configuration from the last two times we saw it.  This figure takes the Starkiller Base Rey and the Rey’s Speeder Rey and sort of averages the two looks, giving us a Rey that is sporting her head wrap and goggles, but one you can still see the face of.  Perhaps not the most noteworthy look, but she does appear like this in the film, for like, seconds.  Maybe even a whole minute!  I look forward to the eventual wearing Poe’s/Finn’s Jacket Rey, that way I can have all three of the mains wearing the *same* coat!  Oh, the continuity nightmare!  The figure is about 3 3/4 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  The main body appears to be the same mold as the Starkiller Base Rey; it’s not a perfect mold, but there’s at least some consistency.  My only real complaint is the thinness of the arms, but that’s minor.  This figure gets an all-new head, as well as an add-on piece for the additional wrappings on her torso.  The head is a pretty solid piece, and seems to have a slightly better likeness than the Starkiller figure.  It’s not like it’s spot on, but it’s decent, and there’s plenty of solid work on the rest of the head to make the sculpt worthwhile.  The torso add-on is a nice addition, mostly because it hides the slightly flat torso of the original Rey figure, and makes her look much more on par with the Rogue One stuff.  As far as paint, Rey’s pretty standard fare. She’s got all the right base colors, and everything’s pretty clean.  She’s the sort of figure that might be benefited by some accent work to bring out more of the sculpted details, but I guess this way she matches up with the rest of the line.  Rey includes her staff, a back pack, and, of course, the requisite giant missile launcher.  The launcher is patterned after her speeder, so I guess that’s kinda cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, against our better judgement, my family, Super Awesome Girlfriend, Tim, Jill, and I all went out early Black Friday (well, late Thursday, I guess).  Rey was not purchased at this time, because oh gosh the insanity.  Instead, I got her when we went back out much later on Friday, when things had calmed down.  This isn’t a Rey figure I knew I wanted, but I gotta say, I was pretty excited to find her.  Sure, she’s in that weird area of not really being a default Rey, but also being really similar to the default Rey, but she’s actually a pretty fun figure, and a great way for Hasbro to get the character out there one more time.

#1144: Wonder Man – Energized Emissaries

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

MARVEL’S WONDER MAN — ENERGIZED EMISSARIES

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

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Remember that bio I ran with Captain Britain that was no help as an intro?  I don’t think it’s any more help for Wonder Man.  That’s okay, I think I did an alright job of introducing the guy yesterday.  So, without further ado, here’s another Wonder Man figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

wondermanhas2Wonder Man is the fifth figure in the recent Abomination Series of Marvel Legends.  His official name is “Energized Emissaries,” which he shares with Captain Britain.  It’s…well, it’s not really a name that works particularly well for either of them.  They seem like an odd pair to share packaging really, since it’s not like they really have anything at all in common.  Ah, who cares about the names, it’s the figures that matter, right?  This figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s based on Wonder Man’s most recent costume design, which he was sporting in Uncanny Avengers.  Admittedly, it’s a design I have some issues with.  Most notably, the swapping out the belt for the straps on the upper arms and legs just feels like change for the sake of change.  Still, it’s far from the worst costume the guy’s ever worn, and at least it’s current.  Wonder Man is built on the Grim Reaper body, a fitting choice, given that Grim Reaper is Simon’s brother Eric.  It’s also the same body now being used for Captain America, who is canonically the same height as Simon, so it’s a good fit all around.  Certainly a better choice than the last ML Wonder Man!  Wonder Man gets an all-new head sculpt, which is a decent enough piece.  I personally would have liked the hair to be a touch longer, but this matches up with most of the character’s depictions while in this costume.  He also makes use of the bracer-wearing forearms we saw on the Walgreens-exclusive Namor figure, which are a great bit of re-use.  Honestly, it wouldn’t shock me to find out the pieces were deliberately designed for use with both of them, given how close the figures are in terms of release.  Wonder Man continues the trend of very clean paintwork that we’ve been seeing from Hasbro as of late.  There’s a little bot of slop on his leg bands, but aside from that, the work is very clean.  There’s even the slightest hint of blue on his hair, which adds a nice bit of pop.  Also of note: they actually got his logo right!  Finally!  The last few Wonder Men have all had the Ionic powers represented by a separate figure, but this time around they’ve just been rolled into the main figure, by way of some extra hands and some effects pieces.  He gets a pair of fists (slightly underscaled due to being outsourced from the Bucky Cap body.  How has Hasbro not yet sculpted fists for the Reaper body?) in translucent purple, along with the effects pieces from Havok done up to match.  It’s admittedly not a bad way of showcasing the powers, though I certainly wouldn’t say not to a fully Ionic re-paint.  I’m not sure the effects pieces work quite as well for Simon as they did for Havok, but they work well enough that they don’t bug me.  In addition to the Ionic pieces, he also includes the right leg of the BAF Abomination.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted yesterday, Wonder Man’s always been one of my favorites.  That, coupled with his last Legends figure being somewhat lackluster, meant I was pretty excited for this guy.  I ended up grabbing him off of Amazon at the same time as Captain Britain and Scarlet Witch.  Aside from not being my ideal costume choice, he’s a pretty solid take on the character, and a much worthier rendition than the last figure.  Wonder Man gets to be part of the default Avengers set-up again!

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#1142: Marvel’s Captain Britain – Energized Emissaries

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

MARVEL’S CAPTAIN BRITAIN – ENERGIZED EMISSARIES

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

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“Heroes from around the globe team up to vanquish evil wherever they find it.”

Okay, so that’s not as good an intro for this guy as I’d hoped…

Hey, so I looked at an older figure of Captain Britain yesterday, why not look at his newest figure today?  That seems fairly reasonable, doesn’t it?  Of course it does!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

capbritainhas2Captain Britain—sorry, *Marvel’s* Captain Britain—is figure three in the Abomination Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s officially titled “Energized Emissaries,” a name he shares with Wonder Man.  It’s sort of an odd choice of name, and their sort of an odd pairing, but they’re far from the worst shared name figures Hasbro’s given us (Vision and Doctor Strange’s turn as “Marvel Heroes” is still way more forced).  This is Brian’s first Marvel Legend since the Toy Biz figure I reviewed yesterday.  Rather than going for the same costume, Hasbro’s decided to use his New Excalibur look from a few years back.  It’s certainly not a bad choice; it hits all the proper Captain Britain notes, but also allows long-term collectors a slightly different look for their money.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation.  Brian is built on the Hyperion buck.  It’s not a perfect body and, as one of the oldest bodies still in regular use by Hasbro, it’s starting to show its age.  That being said, it’s definitely a far better fit for Captain Britain than the Black Panther body used on the TB version.  If nothing else, the scale is much better this time.  Brian gets a new head, forearms, hands, and lower legs, and also makes use of the belt add-on from the most recent basic Captain America (and, by extension, Red Guardian).  The new pieces are all quite nice, and fit well onto the pre-existing parts.  The head is actually made from two different pieces, allowing for his helmet to actually look like a helmet, and not just a simple mask.  Also, another figure that avoids the dreaded Hasbro scowl that cropped up on like 90% of their male Legends figures in the last few years.  Yay!  The new arms and legs both feature a surprising amount of detail, showcasing some slight folds and wrinkles to make his costume actually look like, you know, clothes.  That being said, I must say I’m perplexed by how his pants are super skintight on his thighs and knees and then really baggy at his shins.  The belt piece works well enough, but it’s worth noting that, since it was designed for a smaller figure, it’s very tight on this guy.  Captain Britain’s paintwork is pretty decent overall.  There’s some slop here and there (mostly on the white sections of the costume), but for the most part the application is pretty clean, and the colors match up pretty closely with how this design was portrayed in the comics.  Captain Britain’s only real accessory is the left arm of the BAF Abomination.  It would have been cool to get Excalibur, since he carried it from time to time in this costume, but oh well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was ordering Scarlet Witch online, I noticed that Amazon also had this guy in stock for about 40% his usual price, so I figured that was as good a time as any to grab him.  Despite not really being a huge Captain Britain fan, I was pretty excited to get this figure.  There’s something about the design that just looks really cool as an action figure.  While I can’t say he’s quite as “wow’-inducing as Scarlet Witch, he’s still a solid figure, and a definite step up from the Toy Biz version!

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#1140: Scarlet Witch

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

SCARLET WITCH

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

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As superhero movies have begun to feature larger and larger casts of colorful heroes and villains, sadly the toys that tie-in with those films have become smaller and smaller.  When it comes to the MCU, ever since the first Iron Man (which really only has like, what, four figures you really need to make?  And two of them are essentially the same sculpt), no movie has really gotten a full-lineup, especially not in the 6-inch scale most collectors prefer (Avengers did eventually get there, but only after a few years and additional movies).  Age of Ultron came pretty close, giving us the six basic Avengers and Ultron Prime, but the three newest additions to the team were sadly left out.  Hasbro’s put quite a lot of effort into getting as many figures as possible out of  Civil War, including Scarlet Witch, one of the characters who got left out of the larger Age of Ultron product.  I’ll be taking a look at her today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

scarletwitchcw4Scarlet Witch is the first figure in the Abomination series, which is the latest series of the Captain America-themed Marvel Legends.  She’s this series’ resident movie tie-in, and appears to be the last of the Civil War-based Legends, unless Hasbro pulls a surprise out of their sleeves, but that seems unlikely at this point.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Scarlet Witch features an all-new sculpt, based on her Civil War design.  It’s my favorite of the three looks we’ve seen her in so far, so I’m pretty happy about the costume choice.  This figure may actually have one of my favorite MCU sculpts (really, only Panther is better, and his was reeeeeaaaaaally good).  There are a few small details that are a little off (the shoulders on the coat should really be a little more squared off, but that change probably has more to do with better range of motion than anything), but the overall figure is very accurate.  The head’s easily got one of the best likenesses of any of the MCU Legends; there are a few angles where it’s ever so slightly off, scarletwitchcw1but there’s really no denying that this is Elizabeth Olsen.  Also, I rarely talk about hands, but the hands on Wanda are pretty phenomenal; they’re perfectly posed to replicate her “spellcasting” look from the movies, and look awesome in a ton of different poses.  Hasbro’s been trending upwards in terms of paint application, and Scarlet Witch definitely benefits from this.   Slop and bleed over is minimal, and the colors match pretty well with the onscreen design. The face in particular is not only very clean, but also has degree of life to it, which a lot of the MCU figures haven’t quite gotten.  If there’s one downside to this figure, it’s the accessories.  She includes two effects pieces for her hands, which aren’t awful, but don’t really look much like how her powers manifest onscreen, and are just sort of a general step down compared to the effects pieces included with more recent figures.  She also includes the head of this series’ BAF, Abomination.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is a figure I’ve been waiting for since Hasbro first showed it off earlier this year.  I’ve yet to see this particular series turn up anywhere nearby, and on top of that, Wanda’s by far the most sought after in the set.  Her price online was pretty high for a while, but she finally came down to pretty much retail on Amazon, so I ordered her there.  I really like this figure a lot, and I’m very happy to be able to add her to my MCU collection.  Between her and Panther, I have high hopes for future MCU Legends.

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#1137: Sabine Wren

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

SABINE WREN

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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Alright, let’s wrap up this here Star Wars week with yet another review from the world of Rebels.  It seems like ever since Boba Fett graced the small screen in the Star Wars Holiday Special, the franchise has always put a lot of effort into representing those wacky Mandalorians from whom Boba/Jango got their armor.  The Clone Wars devoted a whole sub-plot to the Mandalorians and where they came from, and Rebels has picked up on a few of those threads, mostly via the main team’s resident T-Visor-wearing warrior, Sabine Wren, who I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

sabinewren2Sabine is another figure from the first series of Star Wars: Rogue One figures.  She’s the second of the two Rebels figures in the set, and the second version of Sabine to be released as well.  This figure is based on Sabine’s look from the show’s second season, which fits nicely with the other figures released recently.  The figure stands about 3 1/2 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  Sabine gets an all-new sculpt, which is pretty decently handled. Rather than the typical straight-armed pose we’ve seen on most of the line, Sabine gets one arm bent at the elbow, giving her something of a quick draw pose, which is actually pretty cool.  I’m glad Hasbro’s moving away from using the same pose on every figure.  Sabine’s sculpt is a pretty good recreation of how she looks on the show.  I’m not sure she’s quite as good as sabinewren3Kanan, but she’s certainly not bad.  I think the head is the most “off” part of the figure; the hair’s pretty good, but something about the face doesn’t quite jibe with Sabine’s on-screen appearance.  I think the chin might be too small.  Fortunately, if you’re not a fan of Sabine’s headsculpt, that’s okay, because she comes with her signature helmet, which actually fits the figure very nicely, and is very well-rendered.  The paintwork on Sabine is quite nicely handled, which is good, because all that graffiti on her armor is pretty integral to the character.  I’m glad to see it’s all been translated so well to the figure.  I also appreciate the color scheme on her; she uses a lot of colors you don’t frequently see on Star Wars figures.  In addition to the removable helmet, Sabine includes two blaster pistols and a zipline contraption.  The zipline is a little on the goody side, but it’s probably one of the better gimmicky weapons we’ve gotten, especially since it actually goes pretty well with the character.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sabine Was picked up at the same time as yesterday’s Kanan figure.  I actually held out on getting Kanan until I could get him and Sabine together, but it wasn’t really that difficult a task attaining them both.  Like Kanan, Sabine is definitely one of the stronger figures from the initial assortment, though my enjoyment of these two may simply have to do with already knowing the characters.  Of course, now I’ve got Sabine and Kanan, and I’m feeling like I need to pick up the rest of the crew…

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#1136: Kanan Jarrus

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

KANAN JARRUS (IN STORMTROOPER DISGUISE)

STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE

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For my last two entries in Star Wars week, I’ll be moving over to my newest Star Wars obsession, Star Wars: Rebels.  I’ve been steadily making progress through the show (or at least I *was* until Disney XD took the first two seasons off of their site…), and have become familiar enough with the characters that I felt the need to own what I could in action figure form.  Fortunately for me, there’s a nice helping of Rebels figures being mixed in with the Rogue One product, offering me the chance to pick up a few of the main characters.  Today, I’ll be looking at the leader of the show’s band of merry Rebels, Kanan Jarrus!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

kanandisguise2Kanan is part of the first series of Hasbro’s smaller Star Wars: Rogue One line.  He was one of the figures to hit on Rogue Friday, but seems to still be available in decent numbers two months after the fact, which is certainly a good thing.  This is Kanan’s third figure (though his first figure was released quite a few times on its own), and it’s based on his appearance from the Season Two premier, after he steals a Stormtrooper’s armor.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and has the standard 5 points of articulation.  Kanan has an all-new sculpt; he’s actually a little taller than the basic Rebels Stormtrooper, so I guess Kanan’s a little tall for a Stormtrooper.  I like that he’s close enough to the normal trooper to pass, but different enough that we can easily identify it’s Kanan.  The head sculpt is a fairly decent recreation of Kanan’s design from the show.  It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough, and it certainly appears to be better than the prior versions of him.  The shoulder pauldron is a separate piece (so he can be either a sand trooper or a basic Stormtrooper if you want), which sits a little weird on the body.  His neck is also slightly on the long side in order to compensate for it.  In general, the sculpt is pretty good, though.  The paintwork on Kanan is pretty standard fare for recent Star Wars figures.  Not incredible levels of detailing or anything, but he’s mostly pretty  clean.  He’s better than the basic Rebels trooper I have, so that’s definitely a good thing.  Kanan includes his lightsaber, a blaster pistol, the helmet to match his armor (which fits surprisingly well, especially given his ponytail), and a big ol’ disk-launcher thing.  Because Hasbro, I guess.  He’s actually got one of the better accessory selections from this line, and really for the scale in general.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, after getting into Rebels, I realized what a horrible mistake passing up the two Rebels figures in the first series of Rogue One figures was.  I went back to the Walmart across the street, and they still had both Kanan and Sabine, so I got them.  Thrilling story, right?  Kanan’s a cool figure to be sure, definitely one of the cooler figures from the initial Rogue One assortment.

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