Tag Archives: Poe Dameron

#2193: Poe’s X-Wing Fighter

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

POE’S X-WING FIGHTER & POE DAMERON

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION (HASBRO)

October 4th of this year as Triple Force Friday, the third major film product launch for Star Wars since Disney took over the franchise.  There’s been a definite cooling off of the events and their cultural impact as things have progressed and Triple Force Friday was quite indicative of this.  Despite a lot of hyping on the part of Disney’s marketing machine, it was just rather anticlimactic.  I did actually participate in an early run the morning of (since there were no midnight openings to be had near me), and picked up a whopping two things.  I know.  But, I did come up with enough items to do a week of coverage, so I guess here we go?  I’m starting things in the most me way of doing so, with a look at something Poe related, specifically Poe’s X-Wing fighter, and the guy what flies it, Poe Dameron himself.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

There were two vehicles present for the launch this year, which marks a serious scaling down from prior years.  There’s Luke’s X-Wing (which is OT-based) and Poe’s X-Wing.  That’s it.  Also unlike prior launches, these aren’t the slightly cheaper, more all-ages oriented offerings, but rather are part of the newly-returning Vintage Collection, meaning their designed to be (closer) to proper scale, and far more detailed that previous offerings.  While Luke’s fighter is purely an online exclusive, Poe’s is, in theory, supposed to be showing up at brick and mortar locations.  Like its slightly downsized counterpart from The Force Awakens, Poe’s X-Wing has a little bit of required assemble when taking it out of the box, though it’s slightly more intricate when it comes to properly getting the wings and such attached.  There are instructions included and it’s pretty straightforward, so I had no issues getting it all properly put together.  Once fully assembled, it’s definitely a big boi, at 18 1/2 inches in length and with a wingspan of 18 inches, making it noticeably larger than the previous Poe X-Wing, if still under-scaled for proper movie scaling.  It’s also a far more detailed item, with the shared details being a lot sharper on this particular offering.  Additionally, there are far less obvious points of assembly, and some of the less oft-seen parts of the ship are actually properly detailed this time around.  There’s a fully detailed cockpit this time around, which is far better scaled to the Poe figure that is intended to go in it, with a defined seat, console, and controls.  In order to make it more of a display piece and less of a toy piece (and no doubt in order to offer just a touch more customizability), the spot for BB-8 is not filled by a permanently attached BB, but instead has a spot that can hold either a BB or a classic Astromech unit.  With the BB removed, the launching mechanism for the wings also had to be moved; now it’s done via two buttons built into the rear of the ship, which are quite nicely hidden.  The vehicle also gets proper landing hear and such this time, rather than just the one foot at the front of the ship.  All three pieces of gear are designed to fold up compactly and out of the way, and are fully detailed when deployed.  They do take a little of work to get properly locked into place when deployed, but work better than I’d initially expected.  Also included with the landing gear is a little ladder, used for the pilot to get into place, which even has a dedicated spot on the underside of the ship, which is pretty darn nifty.  The biggest change to the Fighter in-universe is of course the colorscheme, which is generally a much brighter appearance.  I really dig this look, and I look forward to seeing it in action in the film.  The paint does a respectable job of capturing the colors, as well as still giving the ship a real worn-in appearance, which the prior ST vehicles have more frequently shied away from.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Unlike prior X-Wings, this one *didn’t* come packed with its pilot and droid.  There is, however, a Poe packed in the corresponding Vintage Collection assortment for the launch (if you need a BB-8, though, you’re going to have a slightly more difficult time of things), which I figured I’d take a look at alongside the vehicle.  While most of the assortment was all-new figures, Poe is actually a slight tweaking of Poe’s small-scale Black Series figure from 2015.  That figure definitely had its ups and downs, especially when it come to implementation of the articulation in the sculpt, so I myself wouldn’t have minded a fully new figure, but I’m hopeful that Hasbro’s got plans for an all-new figure in Poe’s non-piloting gear, and that this guy can be just a bit more of a place holder.  The primary selling point for this release (beyond the vintage style card, which is admittedly pretty cool) is the improved paintwork.  The last release had some pretty rough face paint, but this one uses the printing style.  It’s a little bit off center on my figure, but a marked improvement over my last figure.  Like his last release, this figure is packed with a helmet and a blaster pistol.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After being quite underwhelmed by the overall product launch, the only thing that really stuck out at the launch was Poe’s X-Wing, which I do have to say I like the new look of.  So, the Vintage vehicle was the main thing I was looking for when I hit up a handful of stores Friday morning, and was also the one thing I didn’t see anywhere at all that morning, meaning I ended up having to resort to order it online.  That sure made the getting up first thing in the morning to go out feel totally worth it.  In an effort to not feel totally defeated the day of, I grabbed the Poe re-release in person at my first hit-up.  The X-Wing is definitely a very nice piece, no doubt about it, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel it didn’t fit my sensibilities as much as the more gimmicky releases from prior films.  It also feels a lot less of package deal, given the lack of included figures.  For Poe, it’s not a huge issue, since the single card will no doubt be easy enough to get, but BB-8 has no 3 3/4 figures currently at market, which could prove frustrating to someone who doesn’t have a couple laying around.

#2179: Poe Dameron

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

POE DAMERON

DISNEY TOYBOX

So, hey, you know what Friday was?  Yeah, it was Triple Force Friday!  The third “Force Friday” event since the sequel trilogy launched.  It was uhh…it was…well, it happened.  On a Friday no less.  Despite much promotion, it was easily the most anticlimactic and underwhelming event of the three events so far.  So underwhelming in fact that today’s item isn’t from Triple Force Friday at all!  Instead it hit at the end of this summer.  And yes, it’s a Poe Dameron figure.  Contain your shock, please.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Poe Dameron is figure 11 in the Star Wars branch of the Disney Store-exclusive Disney Toybox line.  This line started back in 2017 as a way for Disney to salvage some of the assets from their failed Disney Infinity game.  Seeing as Poe had a figure in that line, and they already had his render on file, it’s not a majorly huge surprise that he made his way in here. What’s ever so slightly surprising is that he made it into the line before Finn, who tends to get the secondary status of the new trilogy’s trio.  I mean, I’m not complaining about getting a Poe, or anything, so it’s not a big deal.  Poe’s Infinity figure was in his flight suit, and while some of the Toybox figures have changed up the character models a little bit, he did not, so flight suit it is.  Admittedly, not the worst choice, since it gives the figure some overlap appeal between movies.  The figure stands a little under 5 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  Poe makes out quite well on the articulation front, especially if yoyr used to things like the Elite Series, which were pretty limited.  Apart from some slight stiffness on the torso, there’s not much he can’t do.  His sculpt is obviously quite stylized, just like the Infinity figure was.  It’d definitely a bit more on the goofy side, but it does have that sort of classic Disney appearance to it, and it means that all of the figures in the line will look pretty good together.  Despite the cartoony nature, Poe’s head actually sports an alright likeness of Oscar Isaac, albeit in a very cartoony fashion.  There’s some pretty decent detail work throughout the figure, and he looks nice and clean.  The paintwork is all rather basic, but it does its job well, and looks the part.  There’s not real slop or bleed over, which is an area that some of the Disney in-house stuff has had issues with in the past.  Poe includes three accessories.   The first is his helmet, which is honestly the least impressive.  It’s a bit oversized, and it has an opaque visor, meaning it’s not ideal for actually keeping on the figure, versus just having him hold it.  He also includes a small blaster pistol, which is decent.  His last, and by far most impressive extra, is BB-8.  It’s fairly standard fair for BB-8, but cool nevertheless.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My keyboard on my laptop decided to spontaneously stop working, so I had to take it to the mall to get it fixed.  While there, I found out the warranty was going to cover the repair, meaning I didn’t have to drop the couple hundred dollars I thought I would.  To celebrate that, I swung by the Disney Store and found this guy, who I didn’t even know had been released.  I’d not yet given Toybox a try, so this figure seemed like a good starting point.  I can’t really see myself getting super invested in any other offerings, but as another Poe figure, it’s really not bad.

#1936: Poe Dameron & BB-8

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

POE DAMERON & BB-8

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE (HASBRO)

“A hotshot X-wing pilot for the Resistance, Poe Dameron is a natural leader who keeps an eye on the crew of the Colossus.  When Poe sets out on his own missions, he leaves behind BB-8, a rolling BB unit whose spherical shell is packed with useful tools and computer interface equipment, to work alongside Kaz and the rest of the crew.”

With the somewhat longer hiatus than usual between Solo and Episode IX, plus the ending of Rebels, the market was in need of some other form of Star Wars media to tide us all over.  Enter Star Wars Resistance.  Set prior to The Force Awakens, it follows a group of Resistance pilots, and…uhh, well that’s all I know.  I haven’t actually seen any of it yet.  I *have* seen the toys, or at least some of them, including my main man Poe Dameron, who I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Poe Dameron and BB-8 are part of the launch for the Star Wars Resistance toyline.  They’re a slightly more deluxe offering, which appears to be replacing the two-packs we got for Last Jedi and Solo.  It gives us Poe in his X-Wing pilot gear, which appears to be (mostly) the same as it is in the films.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. I was a little saddened to see him only sporting the basic 5 joints, after the Last Jedi pilot release added in wrist swivels, but there are enough figures without those joints that it’s not a huge surprise.  Poe is sporting an all-new sculpt, depicting his animated design.  Obviously, it’s not going to fit in with your basic movie figures, but he’s fairly similar to the Rebels figures we’ve been getting the last few years.  He’s long and lanky, and the detail work is more on the reserved side.  His head sculpt, despite being based on an animated incarnation, may very well be the best Poe we’ve seen to date, at least from Hasbro.  He’s certainly more of a caricature than other figures, and it’s still not a perfect match, but it’s certainly better than I was expecting.  Poe’s paintwork is pretty basic, befitting his animated nature.  The application is pretty clean, and the face seems to have a bit more detail than I’m used to seeing on the basic figures.  I’m wondering if this is a change in how the paint is done, similar to the printed faces for Black Series and Legends.  I wouldn’t mind seeing something like this on future figures.  Poe is packed with his helmet (in the more generic blue and white, rather than his black squadron leader coloring), a blaster pistol, and, of course, BB-8.  BB is about an inch tall and has the usual ball-jointed head.  Unlike other small-scale BBs, this one doesn’t have the flattened out section at the bottom; he’s a proper sphere like the Black Series release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I *tried* to buy a Poe a lot earlier than I succeeded.  While grabbing a few other things at Target, I saw him there, and thought “hey, there’s a Poe figure I don’t have.”  Little did I know he was still street dated at the time, so I wasn’t able to purchase him.  A week later, I was at the same Target, and all of the Resistance figures that had been there were gone.  No Poe for me.  Then I spotted him stashed back behind another item, and grabbed him, though I still wasn’t sure I’d actually be able to buy him.  Well, as you can see, I was.  Yay.  He’s a fun figure.  Nothing amazing, or Earth-shattering, but he’s nice.

#1742: Poe Dameron

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

POE DAMERON

STAR WARS MIGHTY MUGGS

Man, I got a little side-tracked in my reviewing habits, and somehow, I’ve got this whole pile of “new” figures that have now gone months without being reviewed.  So, I guess I gotta make my way through some of that piles.  One of the lines that’s been the most neglected has been Hasbro’s relaunch of Mighty Muggs, which they’ve been trying to set-up as a competitor to Funko’s Pop! line.  Their primary focuses have been Marvel and Star Wars.  Today’s figure is Poe Dameron, from the latter license.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Poe Dameron is figure 9, part of the second assortment of Star Wars Mighty Muggs, which hit shelves a couple months back, right around the time Last Jedi was released on home media, in fact.  Poe’s got a few different designs to go with, so this one goes with his pilot gear.  It’s the one that crosses over from Force Awakens and Last Jedi, so I guess that makes it a reasonable choice.  The figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and has articulated shoulders, just like the other two I’ve looked at.  Also, since reviewing the last two Muggs, I’ve discovered that the head *can* turn; it’s just really tight, and only ratchets into one of four positions.  Still, it’s better than nothing.  Poe uses the same body as Luke and Black Panther, but with a unique helmet piece, patterned after the helmet he wears in the movie.  It’s pretty well-rendered and captures the look from the movie quite nicely.  Poe, like the other new Muggs, features three different facial expressions.  He’s got serious side-eyed, cocky smile, and intense and teeth-gritty.  They’re all pretty decent, and actually have a solid likeness of Oscar Isaac.  The slightly odd thing is that the cocky smile face doesn’t have the lenses like the other two.  Not really sure why, but it makes giving him an unhelmeted look even easier, provided you can find a proper hair piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I grabbed Poe from Target when he was first release.  I was pretty happy when he was announced, and kept an eye out for him as soon as the line started to hit.  He’s not my preferred look for Poe, so I’d definitely like to see another one, but he’s a fun addition to my quickly growing Mighty Muggs collection nonetheless.

#1567: Poe Dameron

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

POE DAMERON

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES (DISNEY)

“It takes defiant courage to stare down the threat of the First Order, and while Captain Poe Dameron is eager to fight, he worries that some of the Resistance leadership don’t have what it takes.”

Disney’s die-cast Star Wars: Elite Series is one of those lines that has a tendency to slip under my radar.  It’s not that it’s a bad line or anything, it’s more that it’s a line that’s exclusively available at Disney Stores, and those aren’t the sort of thing I tend to visit with much regularity.  As it stands, my collection of figures from this line is mostly confined to just my very favorite characters, which includes today’s focus, Poe Dameron!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Poe is part of Disney’s Last Jedi-themed assortment of Star Wars: The Elite Series.  He wasn’t in the initial assortment of figures, but was instead one of the seven figures released solo after the fact.  Poe hit stores on November 7th of last year.  Like most of his other figures from the movie, this Poe is based on his jacketed look from TLJ.  As his most prominent look by far, it makes sense, especially since his pilot look was already covered for TFA.  Poe stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 18 points of articulation.  As with prior Elite Series figures, the vast majority of this guy is made from die cast metal.  His head, hands, feet, and jacket are plastic, but that’s it.  I was impressed to discover that Disney’s made some improvements to how they construct these figures since the last Poe.  This one isn’t nearly as stiff and restricted as the last one when it comes to posablity.  In addition, the overall quality of the sculpt seems to have improved.  The details are much sharper, especially on the plastic parts, but on the metal parts as well.  He’s still slightly less detailed than the average Hasbro figure, but he’s certainly a step-up from the last figure.  It’s the little things, like his hands actually looking like hands, or the assembly screws on his back actually having mostly inconspicuous caps on them.  Then there’s the head.  I’m not 100% sure if the head sculpt on this figure is new or not.  Given how different it looks, I initially assumed it was all-new, but after comparing the two side by side, I’m starting to think this might just be a better pressing of the mold, coupled with some much, much better paint.  Regardless, it’s the best likeness of Oscar Isaac we’ve seen so far, out pacing even the recent Black Series offering, which I thought was pretty good in its own right.  Poe’s paint work also marks a definite step up for this line.  It’s a lot less thickly applied here than on prior figures, and there’s far less slop.  He’s also got some very clean work on his face, and I was certainly happy to get a Poe figure in a larger scale that doesn’t try to slather on a bunch of grayish paint in the hopes of replicating scruff.  Poe includes his blaster pistol and a display stand (same as the other figures).  It’s sad he couldn’t came with something else, especially since the last Poe had the helmet, but I suppose it’s not terrible.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m always looking for an excuse to buy a new Poe figure, and the Elite Series Poe from TFA was actually one of his better figures, so I was definitely on board for picking up this guy.  The only trouble was actually finding him, since none of the stores near me got him when he was first released.  A few weeks ago, I was killing some time at the local mall, and remembered I hadn’t yet found this guy, so I swung by the Disney Store there, and they had finally gotten him in.  Upon purchasing him, I realized he’s actually the first figure from this line I’ve paid full price for.  Of course, he’s by far the nicest figure I’ve gotten from this line as well, so I don’t feel that bad in that regard.  Now I’m tempted to check out some of the other TLJ figures, since Poe seems like such a step up.

#1550: Captain Poe Dameron

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

CAPTAIN POE DAMERON

STAR WARS: TITAN HEROES (HASBRO)

“It takes defiant courage to stare down the threat of the First Order, and while Captain Poe Dameron is eager to fight, he worries that some of the Resistance leadership don’t have what it takes.”

If that bio sounds familiar to you, it’s because you’re losing your mind!  Nah, it’s actually because it’s the exact same bio that was used on the Black Series Captain Poe Dameron figure.  He’s the same guy and all, so I guess it’s okay.  So, today I’m breaking from my trend of Black Series figures, and switching gears over to the line that’s sort of the exact opposite, at least from a collecting perspective, Titan Heroes.  Let’s have a look at the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Poe was one of the first three The Last Jedi-themed Star Wars: Titan Heroes, released back in September for Force Friday II, alongside Rey and a Stormtrooper.  He was also available in the big Target-exclusive 6-pack with Rey, BB-8, Kylo, and two troopers.  The figure stands 12 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  His construction is pretty much the same as the other two Titan Heroes I’ve looked at, with the main body being molded in a harder, hollowed out plastic, with softer pieces for his head and hands.  He’s also a little skinny like those two, but that’s really just the aesthetic of the line.  Poe’s sculpt is surprisingly good, given the line he’s from.  These figures tend to be more on the basic side, but Poe is quite detailed, and the head in particular is one of the nicer sculpts I’ve seen out of this line.  I can’t say it’s a spot-on recreation of Oscar Isaac, but it’s pretty decent, and it looks like a real human being, which is certainly a step-up.  The work on the body is also pretty decent, with lots of texture work.  The hands in particular impressed me.  His paint work is also pretty decent, again, given the style of the line.  What I found most impressive was the work on Poe’s face scruff.  It’s something that Hasbro’s been unable to handle with any sort of subtlety on any of their Poe figures, but they actually managed to do it really well here.  Hopefully, this will translate to future figures.  Poe is packed with his usual blaster pistol, sadly without any painted details, but well-sculpted nonetheless.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After picking up Rey on my own and then getting a Finn for Christmas, I figured I might want to track down a Poe from this line, just to complete my power trio set.  I ended up finding him at the same time as the Black Series Finn and Kylo figures.  He was a bit of a spur of the moment purchase, since I had just seen the movie, and it was a Poe figure I didn’t have and he was relatively inexpensive.  That said, I’m happy I picked him up.  He’s a better figure than I’d expected.

#1463: Captain Poe Dameron

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

CAPTAIN POE DAMERON

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“It takes defiant courage to stare down the threat of the First Order, and while Captain Poe Dameron is eager to fight, he worries that some of the Resistance leadership don’t have what it takes.”

What’s this?  Another Poe Dameron figure?  On this site?  Gadzooks, what a shock!

Okay, all joking aside, yes, I’m looking at another Poe Dameron figure today.  Now, this is in part because I just really like Poe and therefore want as many figures of him as possible, but it’s also because every single Poe figure released so far has been compromised in some way.  So, let’s see how the latest fares, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Poe Dameron is part of the second assortment of The Last Jedi-themed assortment of Star Wars: The Black Series.  He’s figure #53, placing him right after Leia, and he’s also the first proper Last Jedi Black Series figure I’ve looked at on the site.  As the rank in the name may have clued you in, this Poe is sporting his brand new jacketed look.  It’s the more obviously different of his two main looks from this film, so it makes sense for this release.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  It’s an all-new sculpt, which I’d definitely say is for the best.  Not only does the design not have much overlap with prior Poe designs, the last two Poes in this scale were also not super great when it came to sculpts.  In particular, Hasbro’s had a lot of trouble nailing down Oscar Isaac’s likeness, especially on the larger figures.  Without a doubt, this figure has the best Isaac sculpt we’ve seen to date.  It’s still not 100% there, but it’s definitely close.  I think the thing that really sells it for me is the nose.  Isaac has a very distinctive nose, and I think this figure really gets that down.  Not to be outshone by the head sculpt, the body’s got some pretty awesome detail work going on.  Gone are the issues with odd spots of softness like we saw with the prior Poes.  Paint on this figure is also a notable improvement on the prior figures, but given just how bad the last two Poes were in that department, it means there’s still a bit of room for improvement.  The basic paint is way cleaner, and the details have a very pleasant tendency to not totally miss the spots where they’re supposed to go.  Hasbro still seems very much perplexed by how to handle Poe’s slight stubble.  It’s still way to dark (at least on my figure; there’s a good degree of variance from figure to figure), but at least it doesn’t look like he just slathered solid grey paint on his face.  It certainly helps the likeness to shine through a little bit better.  Poe is packed with his smaller blaster pistol, which is actually painted all of the correct colors this time.  I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more, but it’s better than nothing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Poe as the same time as yesterday’s Leia.  As much as I can appreciate the prior figures for what they are, they definitely left a little to be desired.  Early shots of this figure didn’t look much better, but once in-hand photos started showing, I definitely knew I wanted one!  The figure still has a few minor problems, but he’s hands down the best version of Poe to date.

#1419: Poe Dameron – Resistance Pilot

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

POE DAMERON – RESISTANCE PILOT

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

Didn’t I *just* review a Poe Dameron figure?  Like, two days ago?  Why yeas, observant reader, I did.  But there’s a second Poe in the initial The Last Jedi offerings, and as an admitted Poe-fanboy, I of course picked up both versions of him.  It’s just what’s done.  So, without further ado, here’s a second Poe!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Poe was released in the first series of The Last Jedi figures, as part of the Orange assortment.  The last figure gave us Poe’s “casual” look, but this one gives us his X-Wing pilot gear.  It looks like his pilot stuff will be largely unchanged, which seems fair enough.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Yes, you read that right; he has 7 points, not 5. That’s because this Poe figure has wrist articulation!  Oh yeah!  Now we’re movin’ on up!  At first glance, this figure looked to be the same sculpt as the Poe included with the TFA X-Wing, but after opening him up, it appears he’s an entirely new sculpt.  It’s very similar to the prior sculpt, but everything is much sharper, there’s much more texture, and there’s some slightly tweaked details.  It’s really a much better looking sculpt.  The head isn’t quite as close to Isaac as the Captain Poe, but it’s a cleaner sculpt than a lot of the prior figures, and isn’t a terrible likeness.  In terms of paint, this guy’s quite nicely handled.  The details are all a lot bolder and more precise than the last pilot Poe, which is much appreciated.  Poe is packed with his helmet and small blaster.  Both pieces appear to be the same ones used on the last pilot Poe, but the helmet is actually black this time and looks to be closer to the actual prop than the last one.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Okay, so, despite my whole Poe-fanboy thing, when the images of all these figures first started showing up, I can’t say I was much excited by this figure.  He really just looked like a straight re-release of the TFA figure, and I already have that one.  When I found all the figures early, I took a closer look and noticed he seemed at least a little bit tweaked, but I still wasn’t biting.  So, why did I get him?  Well, Target had this nifty “Spend $100, get a $25 gift card” promotion on the Star Wars toys, and Super Awesome Girlfriend and I were $5 short of $100, so I got Poe.  I’m glad I did, because he has a lot more to offer than I initially realized.

The Blaster In Question #0023: Poe Dameron Blaster

Posted by Tim Marron in Nerf Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

POE DAMERON BLASTER

STAR WARS EPISODE VIII: THE LAST JEDI

While the vast majority of the Force Friday haul was action figures for Ethan, I did manage to pick up something for myself, and, big surprise, it’s a Nerf blaster.  It is the smallest and cheapest of this year’s Star Wars releases.  I am, of course, talking about the Poe Dameron Blaster pistol.  Let’s take a look at it.

THE BLASTER ITSELF

The Poe Dameron Blaster was released in 2017 as part of the Force Friday lineup of new products promoting the upcoming Star Wars Episode VIII.  The blaster is about as simple as it gets, mechanically.  It is a single shot muzzle loaded pistol with a priming tab in the rear of the blaster.  The tab is a separate piece from the plunger and has its own return spring so it doesn’t stick out the back of the blaster when primed like the Nitefinder or Firestrike.  In addition to priming the action of the blaster, pulling the tab back also activates the Glowstrike feature which is part of every Star Wars branded blaster at this point.  There is a single purple LED with a clear inner barrel that “charges” up the dart so it glows in the dark when fired.  The light turns off following a trigger pull which, in turn, fires the dart and sets off the blaster’s light effect and sound.  I can’t speak for the accuracy of the sound as the film has not yet come out, but I have to say I find the light effect a little disappointing.  I wasn’t expecting the same level of light effects as are on higher end blasters, but the single light on only one side of the blaster feels a bit underwhelming.  This is only accentuated by the fact that the light stays on for almost a full second after the trigger is pulled.  Even with the lackluster setup, I would have much preferred a quick flash of light than the drawn out night light effect the blaster has.  Ultimately, it’s kind of a nit-picky criticism to make, but I know Nerf have the capability to deliver better and I wish they had done it just a little different.  The form factor of Poe’s blaster, thankfully, brings us back to the positives.  Like with most of the prop blasters in Star Wars, Poe’s blaster in the film is built on the frame of a real world firearm, in this case the Sig Sauer P226.  This won’t matter to 98% of people who buy the Nerf replica, but what it means is that the grip is exceptionally comfortable.  It may seem like a small detail, but if a blaster is genuinely pleasant to hold, even if it’s only so-so otherwise, I’m much more likely to pick it up and pew pew around my house than I am with a functionally superior but less comfortable blaster.  The handle also houses the single AA battery that powers the light, sound, and Glowstrike feature.  The little bit of extra weight in the grip also helps with comfort.  The build quality is good and everything feels solid, as you’d expect from a Nerf blaster.  Poe’s blaster has an attachment rail on the top for accessories if you really think it needs them.  Unsurprisingly, Poe’s blaster is a bit underpowered compared to the Elite series.  This is the case with just about all licensed blasters Nerf makes so it’s not surprising.  This is an indoor blaster, plain and simple.  It doesn’t pack nearly the same punch as core Nerf blasters, but that just means you’re less likely to accidentally injure your younger siblings when you burst into their room.  Besides, the glowing darts and sound effects leave enough of an impression to make up for it, especially for nighttime ambushes.  The Poe Dameron Blaster comes packaged with 3 Star Wars branded Glowstrike darts and one AA battery already installed.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

To be completely honest, I was pretty disappointed with this years selection of Star Wars Nerf.  I didn’t even buy this blaster just because I wanted it but because Target was giving away freebies if you bought something from Force Friday.  That being said, do I regret buying this blaster?  No.  It has plenty of issues and I wouldn’t put it anywhere near my top 10, but for what it is, I feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it.  And besides, it’s just so dang comfortable.

 

#1417: Resistance Ski Speeder (w/ Captain Poe Dameron)

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

RESISTANCE SKI SPEEDER (w/ CAPTAIN POE DAMERON)

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

“An older design predating those of the Rebel Alliance, these low-altitude, high-power ski speeders use a stabilizer strut to keep balance when zipping across alien terrain.”

The Star Wars franchise has a history of introducing fun new vehicles with just about every installment.  The Force Awakens didn’t do this as much, preferring to stick with variations of some old favorites, as a call-back to the older films (I didn’t mind).  The Last Jedi looks to be meeting somewhere in the middle, giving us both old favorites and some new designs.  I’ll be looking at one of the newer creations (though, if the bio’s any indication, that’s not the case “in universe”), the Ski Speeder, which looks to be the standard Resistance transportation following the trailer’s ominous hints at the destruction of their old fleet sometime during The Last Jedi’s runtime.  Hasbro’s offering a small-scale version of the vehicle, packed with ace Resistance pilot, Poe Dameron!

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

The Resistance Ski Speeder was one of the launch items for The Last Jedi’s Force Friday II event.  It’s a C-Class-sized vehicle, and is the only one of its size at launch time.  Time will tell if that’ll change later.  In terms of assembly, this vehicle’s a bit easier than the last few vehicles.  Pop on the right wing, the stabilizer strut, and a  blaster cannon and you’re good to go.  When fully assembled, the vehicle measures an impressive 18 inches long and stands about 5 inches tall when sitting and about 8 inches when the strut is fully extended.  In terms of moving parts, there’s the landing gear, which drops out of either wing, as well as a very small rotating gun on the left underside of the cockpit.  There is *not* an opening cockpit hatch; it’s open-topped, which does appear to be accurate to the film.  The Ski Speeder is sporting all-new tooling, based on its film design. Though they may be a new design, the Ski Speeders definitely take influence from earlier ships, most notably the Rebel B-Wing, which it should be noted is one of my favorite OT ships.  I tend to like this design, as impractical as it would be in real life.  From what we’ve seen of the Ski Speeder, this toy does a respectable job of translating it into plastic.  Like a most recent SW vehicles, the Speeder looks to have been scaled down a little bit from its on-screen counterpart.  It doesn’t look to be as expensive as the AT-ACT or even the Resistance X-Wing, which is likely due to the ship’s more feasible size.  The details have also been slightly simplified, so as to better fit the line’s overall aesthetic, but once again, it seems to be a less drastic change than we’ve seen previously.  There’s still quite a bit of detail on this thing.  Paintwork on this vehicle is a step up from recent vehicles.  It’s still not quite up to the level it used to be from Hasbro, but there’s a bit of weathering and such, which keeps it from being too dull.  There’s a few action features built into this ship, though nothing particularly obtrusive.  The most obvious is are the two missiles which can be launched from the central engine.  The stabilizer strut serves as a handle, and there’s a trigger at the top of it.  It’s essentially a big gun.  Shame that they went back to hard plastic missiles; this would have been a perfect place for Hasbro to work in some Nerf.  It would literally just be a Nerf gun.  The second feature is a detaching wing.  When you press the turbine at the top of the engine, the right wing springs off, in a similar fashion to the wings on the TIE Fighter.  I’m guessing at least one of these ships is losing a wing in the movie.  The final feature is the ForceLink feature, which looks to be the same basic concept as with the figures.

CAPTAIN POE DAMERON

Oh, he’s a captain now, is he?  That’s new.  I think.  I mean, I don’t know what his rank was before, if there was one.  I’m assuming this is a promotion.  Good for Poe.  This figure gives us Poe in his casual gear from The Last Jedi.  Since he gave his awesome leather jacket to Finn in the last film, he was in the market for a new one.  Now he’s got this snazzy dark brown jacket, which makes him look not unlike Han from the last film.  Or the Fonz.  I guess cool guys have a consistent look.  I’m not complaining.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The sculpt is all-new to this guy; nothing re-used from any of the prior Poes.  The proportions are all well-balanced, and the detail work is all quite sharp.  I dig the texture on the jacket.  We’ve gotten yet another stab at an Oscar Isaac likeness on this new head sculpt.  It’s not awful.  It’s closer than earlier attempts, I think.  His cheeks are definitely too pronounced, which makes him look ever so slightly like a young Al Pachino, but his not terribly far off.  Maybe they’ll get it by Episode 9.  One thing I think is probably helping this figure is the paint, which is a step-up from the last few figures.  I did have to pick through a few sets to find the one with the best work, but they did seem a bit sharper in general this time.  There’s still a bit of slop around the wrists, but that’s a minor issue.  Poe’s packed with his blaster pistol (the same one included with several Poe figures), as well a headset, or as a like to call them: “Beats by Rey.”  Yeah, I went there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s no secret that I’m a pretty big Poe fan. Ever since the first images of this set leaked, I knew it was going to be at the top of my list.  It was actually one of the few items I didn’t find the week prior to Force Friday, which bummed me out initially, but less so in the end, since I wasn’t able to buy anything then anyway.  This set was the very first item I grabbed on Force Friday.  I almost got stepped on to get it, but them’s the risks you take, right?  The ship’s pretty fun and I look forward to seeing it in action.  Honestly, I kind of bought this for the new Poe figure, and he didn’t disappoint.  Now, knowing my luck, he’ll end up released on his own in like a month.  Still, this is one of my favorite items I picked up this time around.